peace out farm subsidies

i am and have always been opposed to federal subsidies to america's farmers. it's not that i dislike farmers or dislike food, it's that i am enraged by the effects of these subsidies on a variety of other government programs, and their resulting financial and health-related burdens.

let's start with corn. the u.s. government subsidizes about 50% of the corn produced in america, at a cost of about $10 billion per year (much of which is subsidizing ethanol, which in and of itself is a stupid and wasteful attempt to ween ourselves off of oil). of that amount, between $1.5-$3 billion per year is for full-stop corn. and what is it that we do with all that corn?

we make popcorn. we have corn on the cob, creamed corn, and corn mash. and we have high fructose corn syrup, also known as the fattening poison used to make soda, potato chips, unhealthy juices, and other high calorie, zero value foods that are priced so cheaply that they present themselves as the best options to those least able to afford to eat healthy. and why is this a problem?

because the consumption of that shit has resulted in societal obesity, an increase in type-2 diabetes, and an across-the-board increase in medical costs - much of which falls back on federal and state governments who are subsidizing medical care if not full-stop paying the medical bills via medicaid (i mean, it's a bigger problem with the poor, who are the ones benefitting from the low cost of junk food). which also means that i'm paying for it, not just with my tax dollars, but with higher insurance premiums and co-pays, and costlier services for my own health care.

which is, in a word (or three), complete fucking bullshit!

more simply put, costly government farm subsidies = even more costly government health costs = higher taxes and higher healthcare costs for you and me.

there are many other associated costs of these subsidies, ranging from trade barriers to encouraging inefficiencies in farming, to the destruction of fertile farmlands (these big ass farms destroy the lands with chemicals and overuse), and the devastation of small farmers (here and around the world) to the benefit of the corporate big-money farms. in the end, we lose, our government loses, poor countries lose, our health loses, and the market loses.

so let's take away the subsidies, put $10 billion per year back in the government coffers, and let the market right-size the value of america's farms and the fruits of its labors.

~k

the beauty of _my_ blog

dear paris wagon guy -

this is my place. mine. my safe place to be me, express me, and be comfortable with me.

this is where i feel free to write what i will, express whatever tickles my fancy today, put out there whatever is on my mind. this is _my_ place to do with as i please. and if you don't like what i'm writing, then peace the eff out.

if i want to write about politics, i will. if i want to write about how madly in love with my boyfriend i am, or how much more amazing life is with a dog, or how the above two loves have changed my life's priorities, i will. if i want to write about discovering life in my new city, above and below her streets, this is my place to do so.

i am not here to be original, above and beyond what's new or important to me. i'm not here to satiate your need for me to be something greater than just a girl exploring her new city. and gosh, i sure do hate to disappoint my fans, but i'm just a girl exploring her new city with her new dog, whilst exploring new feelings for a new boyfriend.

if you want to come here and read about me, you are welcome. and you are even welcome to post comments that i won't delete. but don't you dare come to _my_ place and tell me what i should be doing here. this place is _mine_ not yours. and if you don't like that, then go away...

~k

it's not a snuggie!

i'm sure you've seen the commercials, or at the very least bill maher's ongoing satirical poke, for snuggies. i just want to state for the record that i do not, will not, and cannot, own one. so, would all of you people stop walking in my door and assuming that's a snuggie you see on my couch?

cuz it's not.

the end.

~k

oh, and that...

there's this little healthcare debate (tho the word debate doesn't seem to accurately reflect the insanity pies being smashed in my face every time i turn on the television, try to have a conversation, or see the 'conversations' others are having on this issue) going on in america right now.

but i'm staying out of this fray. to my fellow organizers, i'm real sorry. i commend you all for continuing to march. and i'm sorry that the far right and far left are equally as nuts and angry, with you stuck in the middle, trying to find a way to talk down the death counseling, and talk up why a public option isn't a pre-requisite for reform. i mean, hello, look it up in the dictionary. 'reform, the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc.' i'm going to break that down into one word for ya. improvement.

and honestly, until we have a single payer system, these are all just baby steps in the right direction. but man, people are freaking out. like, psychotically. i'm sorry big-government-haters, i get why you believe as you do (inefficient bureaucracy (a word i never spell right on the first try) and all that), but we gave the free market its chance. and the free market bent america in half and ripped out its gut. and then the insurance company declined to cover pharmaceutical phil's $60 billion remedy. free market failed because it's a big, greedy, white asshole. and now big government's gotta come clean up its shit.

despite the alluring repartee of the healthcare debate, this little politico is staying home, sharpening her knives for the next round of the climate change debate.

~k

oh glorious morn

i went to the dmv this morning, because my rockstar parking card expired two weeks ago, and oops.

the dmv is kinda like disneyland, in that it's packed full of people waiting in a line that i don't have to bother with.

and it's kinda like a perfect case in point exemplifying why california is nearly bankrupt.

i have three things issued by the dmv: (i) my driver's license, (ii) my vehicle registration, and (iii) my rockstar parking card. in order to change my address or my name, i have to fill out three different forms, sent to three different addresses, and entered into a series of archaic databases by three different (dare i say) morons.

my name is current on only my driver's license, and apparently my address is current on my driver's license and my vehicle registration. even though my name and address is correct on my driver's license (a change that can only occur by first visiting the social security office and then by showing up, in person, at the dmv with a birth certificate, social security card, and the paperwork showing a change in circumstance leading to a name change), the dmv cannot update my name on those other two items without me making another appointment, showing up with all of the above documentation, and filling out the proper paperwork with the proper moron.

the word inefficient does spring to mind. i mean, imagine how many fewer people would have to be employed by the dmv if i could show up one time, fill out one form, check boxes on that single form for all items i need to have my name or address changed, and entered into a single database that makes the update with one little click of the mouse.

is this the way the rest of california government operates? no wonder we're on the brink of economic collapse.

~k

guess who

"a prince who is not wise himself cannot be wisely counseled... an unwise prince, having to consider the advice of several counselors, would never receive concordant opinions, and he would not be able to reconcile them on his own. his counselors would pursue their own interests and he would know neither how to rule them nor how to understand them."

does this remind you of anyone? comments are encouraged.

~k