The top ten things children love most about their mothers

Most people would probably assume that, if asked what they wanted most from their parents, children would respond with things like toys and being able to do whatever they want. However when students from around the world were asked about what they remembered and loved most about their mothers while growing up, their answers were far different.

Most parents nowadays think that preoccupying their kids with sports, video games, television, and other things is a suitable replacement for proper parenting. Some think they are doing their kids a favor by not disciplining them, letting them do whatever they want, and trying to be their friend rather than their parent.

Here are the top ten responses about what children considered to be their favorite activities with their mothers:

1. Come into my bedroom at night, tuck me in and sing me a song. Also tell me stories about when you were little.
2. Give me hugs and kisses and sit and talk with me privately.
3. Spend quality time just with me, not with my brothers and sisters.
4. Give me nutritious food so I can grow up healthy.
5. At dinner talk about what we could do together on the weekend.
6. At night talk to me about anything: love, school, family, etc.
7. Let me play outside a lot.
8. Cuddle under a blanket and watch our favorite TV show together.
9. Discipline me. It makes me feel like you care.
10. Leave special messages in my desk or lunch bag.

(Source: Dr. Mercola)

Obama signs martial law executive order

On January 11, Obama signed an Executive Order called the "Establishment of the Council of Governors". In it, a Council of 10 state governors, to be selected by Obama himself, will be established in order to strengthen the "partnership" between the federal government and state governments.

The council members will serve two-year terms and will work to discuss matters relating to the National Guard and its role in homeland defense, civil support, and other cooperative domestic "military activities". The council will not be paid for its services; it will be required that those who are selected participate as instructed.

Though not specific in what sort of military activities it plans to coordinate, the order establishes even further control by the federal government over state activities pertaining to "homeland security" and other domestic security operations aimed at controlling the people.

On its surface, the order seems to establish yet another modus operandi for coordinating an installment of martial law within the United States should it be deemed necessary. In the event of a national emergency, such an order will facilitate the rapid coordination of domestic military operations that will likely be used against the people.

The White House has posted the executive order for public viewing here.

The Danger of the Microwave

Microwaves have become a kitchen staple, useful for making a quick dinner or reheating some leftovers. It's a great way to have a hot meal in an instant, right?

While microwaves may seem relatively harmless, they are actually quite harmful to food. Similar to food irradiation, a microwave sends radioactive waves through food causing a breakdown in composition and a destruction of vital nutrients. Any living enzymes are destroyed, rendering the food "dead".

Microwaves also damage the structure of food and in many cases make healthy food unhealthy. Just like radioactive particles are damaging to the body and its organs, microwaves are damaging to food. Little has been officially studied in regards to the long-term effects of microwaved foods on the body.

The preferred alternative is to use a small toaster or convection oven to gently heat and reheat foods. It takes a little longer but it will preserve the nature and nutritional profile of food, ensuring that you get the maximum nourishment from the foods you eat.

A helpful source:
Microwave Ovens - The Proven Danger

[borrowed from citizen.org]

A new bill, euphemistically entitled the “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act” (S. 510), would cost Americans $825 billion in 2010, yet does not address the root causes of food safety problems in the U.S.

The House of Representatives version of this bill, H.R. 2749, originally failed by a vote in the House yet was brought back and passed (the same week) under different rules.

If this Senate version passes, it would:

--Undermine DSHEA and move the U.S. one step closer to harmonizing its standards under the Codex Alimentarius with those of restrictive regimes like the European Union. (DSHEA, or the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, says that supplements are food and are safe for consumption unless proven otherwise – ensuring that millions of Americans are able to enjoy access to safe, effective and affordable dietary supplements).

--Give the FDA inappropriate, and unprecedented, control over farms and direct-to-consumer distributors. If passed, the law would charge facilities an annual $500 registration fee, require redundant record keeping, and expand the FDA´s authority to quarantine geographic areas for alleged food safety problems – all without significantly improving food safety.

--Harm U.S. organic farmers by imposing overlapping regulations.

--Hurt food supplements and health food stores and waste taxpayer dollars by imposing standards that are already covered by the AER (Adverse Event Reporting) Law, cGMPs (current Good Manufacturing Practices) and food facility registration.

--Cripple local food co-ops, farm stands, independent ranchers and artisanal food producers by imposing unnecessary standards and prohibitively expensive bureaucratic burdens.

Clearly, S. 510, while claiming to increase food safety, would actually leave consumers more vulnerable to food-borne diseases since the FDA would be required to use a mathematical, algorithm-centered, risk-based food safety system called HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) rather than doing old-fashioned and effective physical, on-site inspections in plants, factory farms and slaughterhouses, where the actual food safety concerns are.

Furthermore, the U.S. has abrogated its duty to inspect and enforce food safety standards, both here and abroad, by allowing processing plants to regulate themselves under the failed HACCP system. It has embraced policies that have driven independent U.S. farmers and ranchers out of business and replaced them with corporate-owned, industrialized food production units that are known to cut food safety corners to maximize corporate profits.

Please visit citizens.org to write a letter to your Senators expressing opposition to the bill!

Tips for healthy eating in a fast-paced world

Modern American life presents a great many obstacles to eating healthy, nutritious food. Constant motion and fast-paced lifestyles leave little room for preparing fresh feasts. And unless you are fortunate enough to live in an area that is nutritionally-aware with many available health food options, it can be extremely difficult -- and often fairly expensive -- to find the salubrious gems you need in a sea of processed junk.

I would like to share some viable options to making the task of eating well on a regular basis not only possible but fruitful and rewarding as well. Here are some ideas that I incorporate into my daily regimen:

> Homemade granola or trail mix.

If you purchase dried fruit, nuts, and granola in bulk, you can quickly combine handfuls of each in a reusable bag for taking with you in the car, on trips, to work, or wherever you go. I like to throw in some almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, dried cherries, dried raisins, dried cranberries, cacao, and other such morsels. It makes for a fulfilling snack anywhere I am and I can even keep reserves in the truck or in my backpack for a quick snack that is both nutritious and energizing.

> Homemade food bars.

Most stores these days have shelves full of various protein bars, food bars, energy bars, etc. Since most of these bars contain heavy amounts of soy products, which disrupts the endocrine system particularly in men, I try to avoid these. Among the few that don't contain soy, the prices can be upwards of $2 or $3 a bar, a cost I am unable to dish out on a daily basis. So I prefer to make my own food bars out of nut butters, honey or agave, fruit, nuts, protein powders, chia seeds, cacao, and pretty much anything else I dream up that sounds like it would be good in a bar. Because the nut butters often get soft or melt at room temperature, I usually keep cut trays of my bars in the freezer for quick access when I am running out the door and know I will have limited access to food later in the day. They make a great snack or meal when I don't have access to much else or am in a hurry.

> Preparing extra large meals with plenty of leftovers.

This is one of my favorite options. As a young, single guy, I usually have leftovers anyway when I cook a meal. It's hard not to cook for two or three and it makes more sense to do so in order to have a couple extra meals already prepared for later in the week. This works especially well with soups and stews that can be made in a large pot and stored in the fridge or freezer for later use. Homemade chicken soup is an awesome choice as it is not only inexpensive for the amount it yields, but it stores extremely well in the fridge for a couple weeks, and the freezer indefinitely. Preparing large meals and storing them long term is also great for getting a good quality meal at the end of a busy work day later on when you don't feel like cooking a meal. Just be sure to gently reheat on the stovetop rather than in the microwave. Don't kill your food!

> Health food store lunch counters.

I do not frequent these often as I am a fan of preparing my own food whenever possible, but when all else fails and you need a quick meal that is good for you, stores such as Whole Foods Market and Mother's Market have buffet-style food counters with all sorts of meal items available for purchase by the pound. These can be relatively pricey, but when compared to most fast food these days, they are not that much more expensive and the quality of the food is much higher. One can prepare an entire lunch or dinner from these counters in a pinch and get a good portion of healthy food.

Planning ahead and preparing for the future is always a wise choice. Whether it's preparing trail mix or cooking extra portions to store for future meals, living healthy and ensuring you get optimal nutrients levels takes foresight but it is well worth it. In the long run, you will actually save quite a bit of money while getting much better quality meals than you otherwise would.

Unnecessary and Immoral - The Federal Income Tax

Here is a great article by Jake Towne who is running for Congress in eastern Pennsylvania's 15th district in 2010.

Unnecessary and Immoral - The Federal Income Tax

For those who are unaware of the illegitimate nature of the federal income tax, please take the time to read this.

The Hatchet Job on Zicam

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning, which was then immediately passed on to all the media minions, that warned of the dangers of Zicam nasal gels and swabs. Zicam products utilize the power of zinc, among other homeopathic ingredients, in preventing, alleviating, and shortening the duration of a cold or flu. These products have an extensive scientific backing and are truly some of the safest and most natural remedies around.

But sadly, in our wonderful "free" society, money, politics, and corruption prevail in the very entity that is supposed to protect us, not Big Pharma profits. One might compare our nation to Disney's "Fantasyland", where fantasy becomes reality. Where lies become the truth. You see, the global homeopathic market represents a mere $200 million annually. The products are safe and effective for most people, including Zicam's products, and are never implicated in any severe injuries or deaths. Pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, represent more than $820 BILLION annually in the global market. Pharmaceutical drugs are responsible for hundreds of thousands of injuries and deaths just in America alone. And these numbers come straight from FDA reports.

Big Pharma can get away with injuring and killing thousands of young girls with Gardasil, thousands of people with Vioxx, and many thousands every year from over-the-counter pain pills like aspirin and ibuprofen, with not even a peep from the FDA. Sure, it will be buried in a report somewhere, but every news puppet on the planet will not be receiving an urgent warning from the FDA about the immediate dangers of aspirin or Gardasil as happens when a non-pharmaceutical product is implicated.

But when 130 people claim to have lost their sense of smell from Zicam products, regardless of whether or not the loss was permanent, the product was used correctly, or if the loss was truly caused by the products in the first place, the FDA issues an urgent warning to discard the product and/or return it for an immediate refund, tarnishing both the company involved and its otherwise safe products. All the media whores immediately picked up on the scam by promulgating urgent warnings, scaring the public into ridding their cabinets of this "threat" to public health, or rather this threat to pharmaceutical dominance in illness treatment. Because that's what this is really about.

See, natural, homeopathic, or what is often termed "alternative" treatments are always safer and more efficacious than any pharmaceutical drug, yet money and politics always speak louder than the truth in our greed-driven society. Big Pharma cannot tolerate any competition to its dangerous drugs, even though they do not work and ultimately destroy the human body. So, they strong-arm the FDA into ignoring the fact that pharmaceutical drugs kill people and instead redirect them to target and destroy any and all competition to its patented concoctions that earn the industry nearly a trillion dollars a year.

Without belaboring the point, anyone who cannot see the blatant lies and propaganda being disseminated by the FDA in conjunction with Big Pharma and the media whores is living in "Fantasyland", or rather the United States of America. And when all our freedom of choice in healthcare is completely eliminated by the sickness industry mafia, the masses will come crying to their evil masters for mercy and it will be too late. Until then, the sheep overwhelmingly follow FDA decrees as if they were words directly from God, in utter ignorance of the truth. What a sick country we live in (no pun intended).