CongAgra foods makes Banquet PotPies. We always had some in the freezer when I grew up. Well they were tainted with salmonella not so long ago making many people sick. CongAgra tried and tried to figure out just what ingredient it was that was at risk of killing their customers but dagnabit, they just couldn’t find the culprit. That isn’t surprising considering the fact that they don’t even know who supplies most of their ingredients or if those suppliers actually check the foods for contaminants! ConAgra’s solution? To put your health into your own hands (where it ought to be) and tell you to check several spots in your potpie with a food thermometer and check the internal temperature for a reading of 165 degrees.
I have a better idea. Literally take your health into your own hands and tell ConAgra where they can put their potpies.
I would like to give a product shoutout to Amy’s Kitchen - the maker of wonderful foods including MANY frozen entrees and pizzas which are healthy, organic, sometimes vegan (but not always), and tasty. I haven’t had any Amy’s product that I wished I hadn’t bought and I am in love with their Roasted Vegetable Pizza. The products are sold at most major retailers – no need to go to an expensive health food chain and they appeared on the Food Network at one point with a look into their factories – clean, beautiful, safe, and sanitary in appearance.
While I can’t deny that owning a food thermometer is not a bad idea and I won’t suggest that no Amy’s product could ever be contaminated by some food borne pathogen, I will suggest that it is probably safer (and will make you feel good) to purchase products from a company that really seems to care and at the very least knows who supplies their ingredients!
Oh, bonus: I see that Amy’s now features diet plans on their website – a regular plan, gluten-free plan, vegan plan, and others for those of you with illness or allergies. You could most certainly lose weight eating their products which are very filling, nutritious, and not full of empty calories. I think I might just give that a go!
Last night Brian and I went to see Religulous. I doubt I need to tell anyone that if they are devout, they need not attend this movie. If they are on the fence . . . well . . . this movie is still hard core. You need an open mind or at least need to be able to laugh at beliefs from all religions that are obviously odd. We both like Bill Maher and we enjoyed the movie.
About a third of the way into the movie, Bill visits the Creation Museum – the place Brian and I plan to go to next Friday. Maybe it seems a bit odd for the two of us to go to such a place. I know a number of devout Christians who don’t believe in the “science” of the Bible and outside of Christians, I know NO ONE who believes in the information this museum inculcates. Nonetheless, the reason I want to go is precisely because there is an entire museum dedicated to such ideas and not just a hut off a back road – we are talking about a huge, multi-million dollar establishment supported by some incredibly influential figures.
One down side to the movie; I have more things I want to read now! I don’t have time to get interested in a new subject but I would love to learn more about ancient Greek and Egyptian religions. In the movie, Bill talks about an ancient Egyptian God, Horus. I’ve done some cursory searching on the internet and it turns out his story is damn near identical to the story of Jesus. The names have been changed, but barely and in most cases they were simply translated. Let me put this into some legal terms; if the nonfiction book of Horus appeared in Barnes and Noble and a year later the nonfiction book of Jesus showed up next to it, the author of the Jesus book would be in deep shit.
Wednesday Brian, myself, and a friend from school headed to an Obama rally at the state fair grounds. I have lots of pictures and videos so brace yourself. First of all, recall that I had already voted on Monday. Brian spotted this picture on the local newspaper’s website later that same day! Can you spot me!?!
Wednesday morning, Brian picked me up, we picked up my friend and we arrived at the fair grounds around 8:30am. There was already a pretty decent line heading toward the grandstand. The weather was drizzly and dreary and gray but we were kept fairly entertained by two adorable Obama supporters in front of us in line (two little girls) and the constant flow of people selling buttons and t-shirts.
Around 10am, people began to stream into the grandstand. We had the option of standing in the mud but I was in heels, Brian had a t-shirt on (not great rain gear) and my friend is like, 4′9. We opted to sit in the stands.
People came in after us in a never ending drove. An estimated 21,000 people showed up. During the set-up for the event we spotted snipers on top of a U-haul, prepared to haul U away. hehe.
Andre Carson and Jill Long Thompson spoke fairly early and then things quieted down as we waited for the big arrival. The crowd would spontaneously burst into cheers and then get super quiet as people tried to figure out where he would arrive from. Eventually someone spotted the motorcade and all hell broke loose.
As Obama arrived, Senator Evan Bayh gave a short introductory speech and then madness ensued as Barack Obama took stage.
I couldn’t help but be excited by the fact that everyone else was excited. He isn’t a singer or a movie star, he wasn’t here to entertain us, he was here to give us incentive to choose him to be the next President of the United States. I’m so glad so many people thought it was important enough to show up to a political rally.
Senator Obama gave about an hour long speech. The majority of it focused on health care which made me very happy. While I know that health care will have to take a back seat to the economy for a while, I am glad he hasn’t stopped talking about such a huge issue.
There were a few rabble rousers but nothing that wasn’t quickly and quietly handled and Senator Obama made it clear he was here for those who wanted to listen. He does have an interesting and exciting aura about him and it made it feel like he really cared about every one of us who attended.
was what I wanted to see and feel and I got it.
Sarah Palin arrives in the state on Friday. I would go but it seems that Brian and I will be headed off to the Creation Museum in Kentucky that day and then over to visit our friends in Evansville who just had their first baby, a lovely little girl, arrive last week. We plan to have a great weekend!
And because WordPress is being a &U*)(FHIOY&UE$, the videos will appear in later separate posts – all separate posts. &%$R*)(*U)(%$U)(
Thank you.
I voted yesterday. I was at work and received a city-wide e-mail saying that you could vote early this whole week without any reason or excuse. On my lunch break I headed on over to the city building and 15 minutes later I was done. Quick and easy, even with having to fill out an absentee ballot. Why would I vote early? Well, voting on a Monday (when I have no classes) is a whole lot easier than trying to vote on a Tuesday when I need to be in school all day and can only go to the polls at the same time as everyone else. Plus my polling station is in a very busy school area – when I arrived to vote during the primary I was met with tons of traffic and no where to park – although the actual voting process was rather quick. Now that our state has been moved into the toss-up category, I would rather get this out of the way earlier than later.
Interestingly enough, tomorrow I will likely be going to an Obama rally. I’m probably not the kind of voter the candidates want to talk to anymore but I’ll go nonetheless. It is a rare day that you get to see a Presidential candidate. One of my classmates sent me an e-mail saying she wanted to go and I’m glad she told me about it. Brian has been a pretty hard core Obama supporter since the get go so he took the day off of work tomorrow to go with us. It should be a lot of fun and even if we can’t get in (first come, first served), it should be an energetic place to be either way.
I have a handful of items I have wanted to blog about so I figure I will just make a quick post to get them out of the way.
First item – cartoons and how they have changed through history. I found a Popeye cartoon the other day and was pretty amused to see this:
That would be Popeye with the usual pipe in mouth, being punched out by Bluto who is ashing his cigar. As health conscious as the spinach popping Popeye appeared to be, I am guessing this wouldn’t fly today.
And next up, just something funny I saw on MSNBC.com the other day:
This does nothing to help the media’s liberal image but then again, maybe there just wasn’t anything to say about McCain that day. If you can’t say anything nice . . .
Ever go to your local video store and check out the documentary section?
If they have such a section, it is probably disapointing. Especially if you are looking for a documentary on a subject that is unpopular in your particular geographic region.
This website offers a great number of documentaries for download, for free. Quick, easy, don’t sign up for anything – in terms of how easy and accessible it is, it is just like YouTube.
The way it ought to be – the free exchange of information and ideas.
(The following links are to the official webpages of the individual documentaries. For the free downloadable versions you have to hit www.freedocumentaries.org.)
I recommend Jesus Camp, Earthlings, Bowling for Columbine, . . . well, I can’t name them all. There are also specials that have aired on PBS, CBC, BBC, etc.
What I love about the website is the fact I can watch these all for free and I don’t have to pay for a cause I may not believe in.
Funny enough there are still documentaries available on the site that I would really prefer to own. I own Supersize Me and I just don’t get tired of it. Jesus Camp and Bowling for Columbine are also movies I would like to own. Bowling for Columbine is exciting to me because of the numerous references to Michigan and the fact that I personally know James and Terry Nichols and their families. I’ve discussed Jesus Camp in the past. It has a great soundtrack and is an amazing look into the lives of a whole other culture within the United States that even the devoutly religious might not be aware of.
Anyhow, I say this is worthwhile to bookmark and check out whenever you have a free moment. I’m thrilled about it.
Filed under: current events
This woman, Rozita Swinton, has been arrested and charged for false reporting numerous times in the past – this woman clearly has an illness and is looking for attention. All past reports have included false names, a convincing young voice, and the allegations have gotten increasingly more sophisticated as time has gone on. Assuming her goal is attention, I am guessing she has been frustrated with how little of it she has gotten. Reports of abuse and crimes typically don’t lead to raids of homes. They lead to an investigation if you are lucky. The police say they have found items in her home that seem to suggest she has knowledge of the FLDS church – I am guessing books but they wouldn’t say. It wouldn’t be hard to get enough information about the church to make a claim and personally, I think they were just waiting for any excuse to get into that sect.
So what does it mean if her reports are indeed what set off the investigation? Well, based on the fact that they knew the calls were coming from Colorado Springs when the arrest warrant was obtained, claims of “good faith” should fall on deaf ears. (At least once a real court gets a hold of this case).
Here is my prediction – no criminal charges will be filed and even if they are, they will be tossed out. Everything will end up in civil court with the focus on protecting the children from the abuse that the police and prosecutors claim has been so prevalent in the sect. If a Texas court refuses to throw out the cases that arise from this, it is unlikely the fight will stop – enough attorneys are disgusted with what is happening down there that they would be more than willing to defend sect members free of charge. What a mess.
I figured I would just let you all know that if you are getting bored with your plain coke, it comes flavored now too!
Yeehaw.
So what else is new? Well I have been rather productive the last few days. Got some homework done EARLY actually! That is a rare occurrence. Tonight I am working on reading a couple books for a book report — 3rd graders beware — it NEVER ENDS!
What else? hmm… well, Saturday Brian and I and another friend are going to see the roller girls again! I can’t wait! I had a lot of fun before. Oh and I am taking two internship credits this summer and a class as well – the 5 credits I will glean from this should provide me with enough financial aid to survive the summer without having to hold down two major jobs and should free up at least my spring semester substantially. Maybe I could even have a job that semester! Woop
My sister is coming to visit next Tuesday – I am pretty excited about that. I hope her and I can spend a nice relaxing day together just chilling out. It will just be nice to have some company again.
Brian and I hauled Oliver over to meet Brian’s sister and her fiance and their dog last night. Oliver will be staying with them while Brian and I are in Florida. They own a Chihuahua who is very sweet, very energetic, and who Oliver seemed to not even notice existed. I am not sure if he just refused to acknowledge the presence of a canine being or if he was just trying to ignore him so that he wouldn’t lash out. Oliver isn’t much of a “lasher-outer” so it is hard to say. After hanging out with them for a week either he will be VERY lonely when he returns here OR he will forever loathe other animals.
And so I leave you with a thought:
Well, maybe not. I’m thought-out.
Part of the defense:
“His whole life he’s been a big guy… When you’re his size, you do your best to fit in,” [Klaudt's attorney] said. “He really hasn’t been able to develop normally when we’re talking about sexual relationships or sexual desires.”
Oh lord…
I could easily become a criminal defense attorney, but when it comes to sex crimes against children, I would have to be a prosecutor. Certainly if I was a prosecutor of such crimes I would not ”over prosecute” (ie, blindly go after cases lacking enough evidence or those where there is a real concern about the validity of the charge) but when I did find someone like this Klaudt guy, I would want to make sure they never got out of prison.
I would like to think that maybe one day I could work to change the laws and sentencing guidelines, either state or federal, regarding sexual predators. I just am not convinced that persons with this illness can be cured; and yes, I really do think it is an illness in some form or another. At the very least, do we want to take the chance to find out if they are cured by letting them re-integrate into society?
My criminal law/procedure professor told us a story in class the other day. He is more than an expert in criminal law and focuses a great deal of attention on crimes against children. He and some colleagues traveled to a rural area of another state (Arkansas I believe but don’t hold me to that) to do some work on some incest cases. There was a glitch in the system however – incest wasn’t being prosecuted there. When they sat down to talk to the county sheriff (who wields most of the control in such areas), he told them that incest is a family problem and that is where the problem belongs. They do not investigate such claims and sure as shit wouldn’t seek charges against someone accused of such a crime. The prosecutor would never even get a crack at handling those kinds of cases.
Perhaps it is our own squeamishness about these topics that has caused the laws/sentences to be lenient on sexual predators. It is only now that the family unit isn’t as tight as it used to be and predators are forced to abuse other people’s children that the laws are slowly…. very very slowly changing.
Sad that it had to come to that.
A few posts back I made my opinion known regarding Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy news. Personally however, I think this is the bigger story.
In a People magazine online article, readers shared their opinions regarding Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy. PEOPLE reader Haley P., from Melrose, Mass.said: “My 11-year-old daughter looks up to girls like Jamie Lynn and Miley Cyrus. Thank goodness she still has Miley.”
This comment made me nauseous. Your daughter has Miley until Miley does something ridiculous, stupid, not thought-through, etc. Why? Because she is 15 and 15 year olds F*CK UP! Children are not ideal role models for other children and, if you haven’t noticed, celebrities in general are not good role models for anyone!
Can your daughter not look up to you? Parents make mistakes and whether you share that information with your child or not, they will figure it out one day. However, the way you choose to recover from those mistakes are opportunities to be a role model for your children.
Kids, especially teens, likely will not admit that their parents have a bigger influence in their lives than anyone else, but it is true. I still (at 25 years old) look to my parents for advice when I make most of my decisions. And often their advice is being given even when I don’t ask – I take cues based on what I have seen them do and say in the past AND I look to their mistakes as well and may decide to act in a different way!
The general public will never know what has happened behind the closed doors of the Spears’ home. The assumptions we make based on vague interviews and un-flattering paparazzi shots isn’t comparable to the insider view your children get of you everyday. Step up and stand up for your kids by yourself while you have the chance.
I told you all about Alison Sweeney getting a piece of confetti stuck in her mouth at the end of the Biggest Loser finale, and I told you all it would be up here as soon as it was YouTubed. Well, here it is:
Update on the Spears front – apparently along with most recent Spears family news, Lynne Spears (or her publisher) has decided to delay her book, “Pop Culture Mom” from being released…
I don’t know why – afterall, she clearly knows a thing or two about raising young women who are capable of causing media frenzy. That is what pop culture is all about isn’t it?
Maybe this is the best decision a Spears family member has made all year long!
The news is in: Jamie Lynn Spears, Brittney’s 16 year old sister, is pregnant.
*photo snagged from MSNBC.com*
If you head over to her official website, it is set up like a big book. I wonder what the book will say now; ‘Dear Diary, I got knocked up.’
I know I don’t usually talk about celebs, but come on… this whole family just looks like total white trash. I can feel for her – this is a scary situation and would be for anyone, but that is why there are ways to prevent such a thing from happening.
After watching Brittney Spears’ interview with Matt Lauer, I recall thinking it was terribly sad what had happened to her. She was sitting there in a top that was too low cut, peroxide blonde hair with pitch black roots, and she smacked gum like a llama through the whole thing. I kept thinking maybe that was who she really was inside and maybe having to live up to her pop queen image all those years was too difficult. Maybe she snapped because she just wanted to go back to living like a hillbilly.
Now, with the development about baby sis, well, it is hard to think any differently.
The part that upsets me the most – that little girls look up to these two. Thank God I don’t have kids…
Filed under: current events
So this morning I heard a short news blip. I don’t know which station it was on; either Fox News or CNN around 6:30am EST.
Anyhow, the story is that the US Post Office is now requiring all volunteers who read letters to Santa to undergo background checks in order to try and weed out potential sex offenders.
The story stated that since this new protective element has been implemented, the number of volunteers has dropped by 70%!!!
I haven’t been able to find anything online regarding this story or the given statistic but if that is true, that is incredibly unsettling. I really doubt that volunteers are dropping like flies in order to avoid an unnecessary hassle of a background check – they only require some basic information, nothing more than what you would have to provide to hold a paying position in most places of business.
I think a nice reaction to this information would be to volunteer some time at the post office to read children’s letters to Santa (if you aren’t a convicted felon of course). Since last Christmas I have been kicking myself for not volunteering at the homeless shelter downtown on Christmas day. I was alone and bored all day long until Brian got off of work – I could have made that day worth my while and spent it making Christmas a little brighter for someone else.
Filed under: current events
Never will the words “fresh from the oven” have the same meaning again for a young man from Illinois who was tortured with freshly baked cookies… literally
