GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - OUR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Let's take a moment at the end of 2009 to THANK OUR SERVICE MEN and WOMEN who are IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES taking care of business while we celebrate our holidays, fairly sure that we will not be attacked by another nation on our soil. I know - 9/11 - terrorists. Terrorism is a reality. Many Americans feel we have lost much of our Privacy and our Rights are in danger because we are suspicious of the Patriot Act. We are not used to High Security. We don't want to get used to going through metal detectors and having to show ID's...

Still, no matter how pacifist you may be personally, that pacifism can end in martyrdom if we have a weak military. Whatever the Truth of 9/11, Service Men and Women make a sacrifice and take a great personal risk to defend us and keep that aspect of our nation strong.


THE NEWS IS NOT PROPERLY COVERING MILITARY or GOVERNMENTAL ISSUES.

THIS IS OUR OWN FAULT. We have decided that the soft news of entertainment, sports and celebrity media, is more important than following local and national politics.

You know what you can do proud and patriotic Americans!

You can call your local stations and tell them we want to know more about what's going on in the world. You can buy magazines and newspapers that have reportage of important issues and continue to spend your money in ways that show your beliefs are upheld. You can VOTE having EDUCATED YOURSELF for candidates that represent you!

REMEMBER THE OLD SCHOOL STOCKINGS ?

Remember when you put your own socks out for Santa to fill?

NOT THOSE BIG -BIGGER - BIGGEST shaped-vaguely-like-a-foot things made of red fur but your own socks that you wore to school? Socks that had lost their elastic playing kickball on the school yard. Socks that were getting holes.

Ah! But you had to get to bed early to awake early! Right after the 6 oclock news. While you were laying in your bed - trying so to sleep - you heard strange sounds in the living room!

And inside your sock, the next morning, you would be excited to find an orange, a few walnuts, maybe a Santa made of chocolate, or some special peppermint candies, a few quarters or a roll of pennies, a small toy, like a metal model of a car, or perhaps a doll or a coloring book and crayons.

Maybe there were a few cookies that Santa's reindeer left for you because he had eaten way too many cookies in the neighborhood already!

WHATEVER IT WAS YOU FOUND IN YOUR STOCKING - it was enough!

IT PROVED YOU HAD BEEN REMEMBERED! and were LOVED!

WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL PEACEFUL HOLIDAY SEASON WHATEVER YOUR RELIGION, WHEREVER YOU ARE AS YOU READ THIS BLOG!

LIBERTY ANGEL

DOES THE UNITED STATES have a GUARDIAN ANGEL of it's own?

NURSES ARE NEEDED - ALWAYS

Then and now nurses are needed. Nurses and those in the medical profession find work plentiful. There are more than enough jobs or we would not be allowing the immigration we do, based on medical expertise.

Of course our health care system is in crisis.

As Americans can we really expect that no matter how we might take care of our health we should have free or low cost health care for just about any illness? Can we absorb the costs of say, a liver transplant, for people who broke our laws and abused drugs? Or what about babies born with AIDS, through no fault of their own?

We don't know the answer to this. We don't want to face the fact that we have a class system here and that those who have lost their health insurance and then their credit have a difficult time saving all that they have worked for and a difficult time getting hired.

THE ANSWERIS ONE OF THOSE THAT IS SIMPLE and at the same time WILL REQUIRE COMPROMISE.

WE NEED TO KEEP JOBS IN AMERICA for AMERICANS and the first thing you can do is BUY AMERICAN - or buy used - or go without !

We know it takes some time and energy.

BUT MAKE A PLEDGE TODAY that you will spend a little extra time and look for that FLYING AMERICAN FLAG on your purchases !

INDEPENDENCE HALL

YOUR HOME or BUSINESS NEEDS AN AMERICAN FLAG

We're linking to the USA FLAG ETIQUETTE site so you'll know how to officially raise, lower, and display the AMERICAN FLAG with honor...

EVERY HOUSEHOLD and BUSINESS SHOULD HAVE ONE...

REPORT IN using COMMENTS below though if you find flags made in the United States. We fear most are made in China.

Now there's an ethical question!

AMERICAN MADE CHOCOLATE is a MUST FOR THE HOLIDAYS

We do understand that the ingredient cocoa is probably imported.

THINK ABOUT THESE GREAT AMERICAN NAMES IN CHOCOLATE MAKING!


HERSHEYS Made in Hershey, Pennsylvania

http://www.hersheys.com/discover/chocolate.asp


GHIRARDELLI Made in San Leandro, California

http://www.ghirardelli.com/




Add Photos

PETER PAUL and MARY A SOALIN

GROCERY GIFT CERTIFICATES - YES APPLES and CHEESE BALLS

PATRIOTIC GIFT idea #3 GROCERY STORE GIFT CERTIFICATES or YES those APPLES, CHEESE BALL, and other FOOD CATALOGUES that say words like WISCONSIN and OREGAN !

THE UNITED STATES STILL LEADS THE WORLD IN FOOD PRODUCTION. And a lot of people are having hard times financially and food is a necessity... why not the GOURMET FOOD ?

UNITED STATES MINT - COIN COLLECTING

PATRIOTIC GIFT IDEA #2 COINS and COLLECTABLES from THE UNITED STATES MINT!

Granny used to polish up Kennedy Half Dollars in her apron as a Gift when we visited. The United States Mint is a great place to buy collectable coins... in Mint Condition!

GENE AUTRY UP ON THE HOUSETOP

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE on STAMP COLLECTING

PATRIOTIC GIFT IDEA #1 STAMP COLLECTING!

Maybe you can't afford to actually send those home-made cookies this year, but why not gift a child with the hobby of stamp collecting... very light weight... and if the child doesn't take to it, they can always use the stamps to send THANK YOU NOTES!

Link to the official United States Postal Service here!

FREEDOM FROM WANT NORMAN ROCKWELL

Posting at 5 AM today... time to start preparing the turkey.

WISHING ALL OUR READERS PROSPERITY!

BLACK FRIDAY Coming Up... PATRIOTIC GIFT IDEAS

CHRISTMAS IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE WHEN YOU WANT TO SHOP MADE IN THE U.S.A. by AMERICAN CITIZENS and of AMERICAN GROWN or MANUFACTURED MATERIALS!

A CHALLENGE YOU CAN TAKE.

BLACK FRIDAY (the day after Thanksgiving, the busiest retail shopping day of the year) is coming and the Interent will have deals, and so will most of the stores that are taking adds out for ELECTRONICS ! Electronics are a problem spot for us. Their manufacturing has long ago been exported with Japanese products sometimes superior to American.

THINK AMERICAN JOBS... LET US KNOW WHAT YOU FIND!

COMING UP ! SOME (HUMBLE) GIFT SUGGESTIONS !

THANKSGIVING IS NEXT WEEK!

It started out as a holiday that was celebrated eating a duck or goose, and then the turkey - native to the Americas was introduced to the meal of plenty.
Be sure to invite someone who has no family to go to this year.
THINK OF THE HOMELESS, the people you know who have lost their homes, and invite them into yours...

LET EMPLOYEES NOT MACHINES DO YOUR CHECK OUT

Some stores have installed do-it-yourself check outs. You drag the products you want to purchase through, sometimes prompted by an automated voice, and you drag your debit or credit card through too.

USUALLY THE SAME STORES HAVE NOT ENOUGH LIVE CASHIERS SCHEDULED SO THAT THE LESS PATIENT WILL USE THESE DO-IT-YOURSELF MACHINES. THE MACHINES ARE REPLACING EMPLOYEES.

JUST REFUSE TO USE THESE MACHINES! The stores want the profits. They want you to buy. They WILL HIRE MORE CLERKS or GIVE THE ONES THEY HAVE MORE HOURS if no one uses these machines!

THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE GET AND KEEP JOBS!

CHICAGO POSTER

A wonderful art deco poster of Chicago. From Dover.

AMERICAN SAFETY RAZOR COMPANY - SINCE 1875 - VERONA VIRGINIA Proudly Flying The American Flag for TWIN BLADE RAZORS

Want to buy disposable razors MADE IN THE UNITED STATES ?

The American Safety Razor company has been in business for over 100 years.

Their PERSONNA COMFORT COATED WIN BLADE RAZOR with Lubricating Strips work well
and will remind you as you shave that you are preserving a job for Americans!

Link now to list of CALIFORNIA TAX PAYERS THE IRS OWES MONEY TO!

THE IRS MAY BE LOOKING FOR YOU TO PAY YOU BACK!

SPONGES SPONGES SPONGES Made by SUPPLY PLUS - NEWARK NEW JERSEY Proudly Flying The American Flag

Think all Sponges are made in a foreign country?

SUPPLY PLUS Inc of Newark New Jersey has a line of sponges called SCRUB-IT that included Pot Scourers, Cellulose, Tile grout, White Scrub, Utility, Auto, and Kitchen Sponges !

They have a Satisfaction Guarantee!

SPOT THE DIFFERENCES CAPITOL BUILDINGS

From Dover Publishing... This one's fun for the children!

NAVY LAUNCHES USS NEW YORK made out of WORLD TRADE CENTER STEEL!

Deepti Hajela for AP Press reports on this! This is a great story and ought to have you standing and saluting our flag. The US Navy has launched a ship appropriately called USS NEW YORK, a ship made out of recycled World Trade Center Steel.

Get to the story by clicking on the title link above!

NATUREPLEX - MEMPHIS TENNESSEE - Proudly Flying the American Flag on their SKIN CREMES

OK, this is a shocker. A Chinese owned "dollar store" with an American product!

I found a MADE IN AMERICA product and it's good!

"Pharmaceuticals affordable for everyone - because money shouldn't stand between you and your health. "Made in the USA," a slogan we used to take for granted. As more and more manufacturing jobs quietly disappear overseas, Natureplex's employees gladly stand behind the "Made in the USA" slogan.Our products proudly fly the American flag."

Proudly flying the American Flag, is NATUREPLEX Cocoa Butter Creme.

(There are other cremes in their line and even BED BUG KILLER.)

It's not greasy, it has a light pretty smell, and it soaked right into my very dry skin.

The ingredient list is first Cetyl Alchohol and second Cocoa Butter. Just about every other skin creme on the shelf that said Cocoa Butter had it as an ingredient near the end of the list.


THE LINK TO THIS COMPANY IS UNDER THE TITLE - click!

PATRIOTIC Holiday Travel In the Great United States

Aren't we lucky! Both HAWAII and ALASKA qualify as All American Travel Destinations!

Gas is expensive and the whole TRAVEL INDUSTRY is hurting! Car manufactures are going bankrupt. This is our own fault. We keep thinking we have to go far or we have to go foreign country to get our money's worth or have fun!

WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF YOUR OWN HOME TOWN or the COUNTY you live in?

Have you been to the historical sites, the lakes, the museums, the festivals?

WHY NOT TAKE THE WEEK TO BE A TOURIST IN YOUR OWN HOME TOWN and GO SOMEWHERE NEW EVERY DAY!

Go to the zoo!

See a play!

HAVE AN OLD SCHOOL HALLOWEEN

THINKING OF OLD SCHOOL HALLOWEEN !

We remember the days when Trick or Treating was around our own neighborhood and when special neighbors made home made treats like candy coated apples for special neighbors, when there was no fear of razor blades or poison in candy, and most of the costumes weren't scary.

When parents taught their children NOT TO BE GREEDY!

When costumes were sometimes home-made or hand-me-down!

JOAN OF ARC SAVED FRANCE

This World War II War Bond poster, courtesy of Dover Publishers, is a great example of the way patriotic Americans were encouraged to put their money into the country and their beliefs.

So many wealthy business people who employ Americans are giving away millions of dollars to other countries such as Israel, or other points of ethnic origin and the hell with Americans and America.

THAT STINKS!

WORTHLESS NAIL POLISH REMOVER "NATURAL NAILS POLISH REMOVER" FIRST INGREDIENT ? WATER

I ran into one of those Dollar Stores on the way to the gym because my toe nail polish looked like it needed to be removed. Not thinking I grabbed "NATURAL NAILS NAIL POLISH REMOVER" Which said SALON FORMULA on it. I didn't check the ingredients but it turns out WATER is the first one.

WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY and TIME. I swear that a half hour into it, I quit leaving 7 toes with polish on. Later I tried again. This crappy nail polish remover is Distributed by BLUE CROSS LABORATORIES in Santa Clarita California and is MADE IN CHINA!

Ah WHAT SALON uses this stuff?

HOME MADE GIFTS ARE THE BEST !

Home made gifts are the best. The effort you put into the gift is what's best remembered. It's time to start thinking about the holiday gifts you may give this year.

ONCE AGAIN WE WANT TO KEEP THE MONEY and the ENERGY CIRCULATING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! We are learning a harsh lesson at this time. We the people need to start taking care of our own first.

It makes sense.

You take care of your family first before you give to charities, for an example.

So take an inventory of your talents and skills and start planning your presents now!

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY How To Find It.

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY may be a forgotten bank account or an inheritance, Securities, Deposites, or Refunds. There are several web sites that provide links to finding this property.

If you're out of work and bored, why not see if there's more money than you found down in the sofa waiting for you at a state or federal treasury!

One site, Look4Cash.com is under the title.

FEDERAL SHIELD

BANKS and CHECKS verus CHECK CASHING and MONEY ORDERS

BANKING is overwrought right now. Has been for some time. So many banks expect you to have a fairly high minimum in your account in order not to pay fees while they use your money. Credit Unions are often a better deal, if you can join one. Credit Unions function on less profit. But they are not non-profits.

Articles in the newspapers say that the government really wants you to use banks and NOT check cashing and money order resources. WHY NOT? For the fees charged by banks you may just be able to afford paying between 25 cents and about 99 cents for each money order you use. (The U.S. post office charges even more.)

We believe that TRACKING YOUR EVERY MOVE IS ONE OF THE GOALS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. (We say that knowing it may also be the goal of other governments. Terrorism is the reason or the excuse for knowing the every move of American Citizens as we see it!) We believe that through electronic debits, credit cards, and banking accounts every citizen's address is on record and should you ever be accused of a crime, you will not be difficult to locate.

THE CASH ECONOMY is almost over... OR HAS GONE UNDERGROUND.

USING ECOBAGS ? YOU MAY BE SUSPECTED OF BEING A SHOPLIFTER!

MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST LET THOSE ECO-BAGS THAT ARE SO HANDY ROT ON THE SHELVES and go back to PAPER OR PLASTIC ! USING THEM CAN GET YOU SUSPECTED OF THEFT!

This morning I packed one of those inexpensive but very lightweight ecobags that are being pushed to sub in for paper and plastic by almost all the grocery stores in Southern California - maybe around the country. I packed it with three library books, a bottle of water, a wallet, some fruit and a can of tuna I had bought for lunch. Also a folding umbrella, and a couple work files. It's lighter than any purse or backpack I have.

I went into my local grocery store - a RALPHS - to see what they had for sale for Halloween; cakes, cookies, candies, candles, pumpkins, all those things in various departments. So I was roaming all around the store. I don't think I was in the store too long. And no employee approached me to ask me if they could help me locate anything. As I was heading out, there was a woman with a full shopping cart ahead of me. She was older and slow. The alarms went off. I hesitated behind her. Then we both went out, though I was still behind her.

Suddenly an Operations Manager, three employees (likely baggers) and a Coke-A-Cola representative were accosting me on the sidewalk, because supposidly I set off the alarm. I told the Operations Manager that it was not I who had set off the alarm, but the woman ahead of me. I threw my ecobag to the pavement. Let her pick it up and search through it, I thought. I suggested she check her CAMERAS TO SEE WHO SET OFF THE ALARM. She said that "People don't walk around the store with ALREADY FULL ECOBAGS!"

By now customers were coming out of the store and taking looks my way. I said I was embarrassed and humiliated to be thought of as a thief. I pointed at one customer and then the guy who turned out to be the Coke- A-Cola guy. I told her that lots of people use the bags for other things.

"SO WHY DO YOU SELL THEM THEN?" I said.

In the end she was not going to put her hands into my possessions. And in the end I will not be shopping at Ralphs until I get an apology from corporate.

AREN'T WE SICK OF SHOPPING IN STORES THAT TREAT CUSTOMERS AS CRIMINALS?!

CHILD LABOR IN THE UNITED STATES

We did away with this for our own people. So why are we willing to buy products from countries that have children working like this? IS IT A BLATANT CASE OF "OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND?" This is one of many reasons why you don't need to declare a boycott. You just have to stop buying foreign products that use sweat shops, child labor, etc... And you have to substitute MADE IN THE USA with UNITED STATES RESOURCES!

You GOTTA HAVE A CAR ! STUCK ON A BUS TO NOWHERE!

YOU GOTTA HAVE A CAR...

We say this knowing that Obama's junker car program brought a lot of old vehicles in off the roads but that this has not necessarily stimulated new car purchases or manufacturing.

Having taking the buses for some time now in an effort to not only save money but be ecologically correct, I have found that it takes so much time to get around that what used to take one Saturday off running around to stores, nail parlor, hairdresser, shoe repair, library - all those errands, now takes days. Any business that is not on a bus line or more than a block walk has lost my business.

And finding and keeping a job using public transportation is well, LIMITING...

It's a limit I cannot afford.

HOW ABOUT YOU? ARE YOU STUCK ON THE BUS TO NOWHERE ?

WHY MICHAEL MOORE HATES CAPITALISM - TIME MAGAZINE

BILL SAPORITO of TIME MAGAZINE reports on the controversial film maker Michael Moore and his "hatred" of Capitalism. But is that a fair to say?

We're PATRIOTIC HERE and we think that we have the RIGHT to judge our own government.

MONEYBAGS

SOCIAL SECURITY ON LINE SERVICES

Want to find out what your beneifts will be... change your direct deposite- request a statement? Here is the on-line link.

STEALING LINCOLN'S BODY HISTORY CHANNEL DVD

Here's a DVD about what happened after Lincoln was murdered... A band of Chicago money counterfeiters decided to steal the dead President's body and hold it for ransom. But their plot didn't work out. And for years this favorite President, his wife, and children, did not have a final resting place. One to check out!

"Mexican" CATHOLIC SAINTLY VOTIVE CANDLES MADE IN THE USA

Surprise!

BRIGHT GLOW CANDLE COMPANY sells MADE IN THE USA glass votive candles flying the American Flag. Here in California we see these sold at FOOD FOR LESS, which is a Kroger Company store quite reasonably priced. The candles are about an inch and a half diameter, and each features a saint picture, and a devotional prayer, in Spanish and in English. Need San Miguel (the Demon Slayer) or the Sacred Heart of Jesus ?

1-800-587-4002 gets you to the company...

AMERICAN RECOVERY and REINVESTMENT ACT CAN PUT YOU BACK IN SCHOOL

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 by President Obama is explained at this Department of Education link... Can you qualify for $1000 towards tuition and a couple thousand in tax deductions?

BIG SUR

MARGARET MEAD ON CITIZENRY

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

-Margaret Mead

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

CALIFORNIA DRAGS OUT DEPRESSION AS NATION STALLS IN RECOVERY-

Reading the news lately, it seems that California is remaining in a Depression, with an official unemployment rate of 12.9 % BUT HONESTLY most people I talked to seem to think that it's more like 20% or more.



UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES ARE BASED ON THOSE WHO ARE ACTUALLY (STILL) COLLECTING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. Those who ran out of benefits are not counted, though they may be more terminally out of work than most! All over there are apartments for (too high) rent, and foreclosures on homes are in the thousands every month, meaning that families are loosing homes and having to go live in apartments.


The rest of the nation is stalled out, meaning that the economic conditions are not much better and not much worse. There hasn't been signs of a growing economy that would make impact to our overall plight in a while, but even small improvements in the statistics mean a lot to a lot of people.

JOSEPH FARMS CALIFORNIA CHEEZE by the GALLO's

Today we enjoyed the Pepperjack Cheese ... and we noticed the package.

JOSEPH FARMS
CALIFORNIA NATURAL CHEESE
Joseph E. Gallo
NO ARTIFICIAL HORMONES GOLD MEDAL CHEESE GRADE A MILK

OUR GUARANTEE
OUR COWS ARE NOT TREATED WITH ANY ARTIFICIAL HORMONES
We raise the cows, grow the feed, milk our heard, and make the cheese !

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

JOSEPH GALLO FARMS
PO BOX 775 Atwater, California 95301

We like the bio of Joseph Gallo and the Environmental Responsibility Statement. We do notice that the company is expanding in North America and Mexico so we aren't 100% sure if we should flag this one or not. But the cheese is great!

FDIC BROKE CONTROVERSY

Link here to one of many articles on the net and in newspapers and the media which suggest that the FDIC, which insures bank deposites is broke. Of course, if the FDIC is broke this means our country is at it's weakest. BANKING IS GETTING TOO EXPENSIVE AS IS, but we are pretty much stuck with it. That is, unless you can barter and make and use cash, and want to defend your safe with your own rifle! Because of the pressure to automatic deposite and do on-line banking, as well as purchase on line, and the whole CREDIT REPORT threat, and IDENTITY THEFT FRAUD problem - well CONSPIRACY THEORIES EXIST !

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Think about this. What if you start using CHECK CASHING PLACES instead of BANKS? Will your fees for cashing your paycheck and getting money orders really be a lot more than you are paying your bank, and will it make your transactions more PRIVATE?

What if you use PREPAID CHARGE CARD services to stash your cash instead of BANKS?

ANY IDEAS?

CATCH A BREAK WITH THE IRS - GREEN YOUR HOME

THE AMERICAN RECOVERY and REINVESTMENT ACT may give you at TAX CREDIT for using energy efficient home improvements and ELECTRIC VEHICLES. Let's at least look into reducing our consumption of foreign oil. You can get up to 30% tax break up to $15,00 to add insulation, eterior windows, doors or skylights, or heating and cooling systems or solar water heaters and geothermal heat pumps and small wind turbines may be covered... SO MAKE A FRIENDLY VISIT TO THE IRS LINK UNDER THE TITLE!

YOSEMITE

See our link to the National Park Service and spend your vacation dollars here in the United States!

PICTSWEET DELUX STEAMABLES - VEGGIES GROWN IN THE UNITED STATES !

We tried this product this weekend at a pool party...

PICTSWEET DELUX STEAMABLES are a frozen pasta and veggie combo.
AND THE UNITED STATES FLAG IS ON THE PACKAGE, so we know that these veggies are grown here in the states.

We had a variety with a little garlic sauce in the flavor, along with roasted chicken, and fruit for a tasty low calorie and nutritional meal. Excellent flavor and do you know....

WHEN THERE IS NEAR NO FLAVOR IN A FROZEN VEGGIE THERE IS NEAR NO NUTRITION !

Think we're wrong? You try it. Buy a bag of frozen veggies, thaw at room temperature, and then try eating them out of the bag...

NEIL DIAMOND AMERICA

GROWING YOUR OWN TOBACCO IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

Associated Press Writer Steve Szkotak, report on backyard tobacco growers who are through with buying expensive highly taxed cigarettes in this Yahoo News article. Click on the title!

PATRIOT ?

"No man can be a patriot on an empty stomach."
-William C. Brann in "The Iconoclast:Old Glory"

YELLOWSTONE

ABRAHAM LINCOLN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY and MUSEUM

$125 million to build, in Springfield, Illinois, there's a 40,000 Sq ft museum space that includes Holovision shows and special effects.... 800 -610-2094... Click on the title here to learn more about a GREAT ALL AMERICAN VACATION DESTINATION!

OBAMA BORN IN THE USA

Click the title to get to FactCheck.org which has jpeg files you can look at to see for yourself if you think Obama's birth certificate is the real thing, making him the legal citizen required to run for and hold the Presidency of the United States of America.

Remember ... IF THERE IS NO TRY ONS and NO RETURNS

NO BUY !

BEN FRANKLIN

Inventor, experimentor, newspaper operator - First Postmaster General of the United States, Ben was as popular as a rock star in his day.

From THE WAL-MART EFFECT by CHARLES FISHMAN

THE WAL-MART EFFECT by CHARLES FISHMAN
How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works - and How It's Transforming the American Economy
Penguin Press Published 2006

Page 189 "It uses its vast market power to insist on low unit prices that are possible only if workers are squeezed to such an extreme degree that they can barely survive the long hours and low wages they are forced to endure."

Has Wal-Mart elbowed American families into poverty, all the while saving them enough money on mechanise to buy several weeks worth of groceries. This book is three years old but it's worth reading if you want to educate yourself.

Just how many products does Wal-Mart carry that are Made in the United States?

NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES LINK HERE !

Here's the link to a terrific site, funded by your taxes of course! THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES site is the place to do a little genealogy research or SEND FOR MILITARY RECORDS !

OLD TUBS - SEARS CATALOGUE

And old page from the Sears and Roebuck's catalogue 1898, one of the best and oldest mail order catalogues in the nation.

Today ordering through the mail or the Internet has changed shopping and pricing. Why spend the day gassing up the car and driving from store to store when you can browse on the net and have the purchase delivered to the door?

MAIL ORDER CATALOGUES OUGHT TO BE showing AMERICAN FLAGS on the products they sell that are actually made in the United States of America. Do you have a favorite made in the USA product?

PAPER or PLASTIC ? ECONOMY or ECOLOGY

ECONOMY or ECOLOGY ?

Today many stores are offering a recycled bag alternative for your purchases, as an alternative to going out the door with paper or plastic grocery and other bags.

Which should you use?

First of all, PAPER BAGS are far more biodegradable than PLASTIC BAGS. However, the recycled bag alternative may actually not be made of recycled materials itself and is probably not made in the United States. The ones of a fiberous looking material, I find, do not hold up for long and I wonder just how many plastic bags I didn't use because I load groceries in plastic bags into these.

Canvas or other heavy cloth bags that are well sewn to hold weight are a good alternative for carrying things since cotton cloth is also more biodegradable than plastic and washable.

FIND A HEAVY CANVAS BAG THAT IS ALSO MADE IN THE UNITED STATES and you've done the best you can for our economy and our ecology...

Patriotic Purchase

CYBER ATTACK ON WHITE HOUSE and U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Click now on the title to get to this breaking news from YAHOO !

TOM WAITS BUDDY CAN YOU SPARE A DIME ?

STATUE OF LIBERTY's CROWN REOPENED - BEST VIEW!

Link now to the breaking news from U.S.A. Today. The Statue of Liberty's crown is rehabed and the view of New York is great!

SAIL SHIP FLYING THE AMERICAN FLAG

JEFFERSON's CODE CRACKED !

President Jefferson had a code...?! Click to the Wall Street Journal article!

"For more than 200 years, buried deep within Thomas Jefferson's correspondence and papers, there lay a mysterious cipher -- a coded message that appears to have remained unsolved. Until now.

"The cryptic message was sent to President Jefferson in December 1801 by his friend and frequent correspondent, Robert Patterson, a mathematics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. President Jefferson and Mr. Patterson were both officials at the American Philosophical Society -- a group that promoted scholarly research in the sciences and humanities -- and were enthusiasts of ciphers and other codes, regularly exchanging letters about them..."

By Rachel Emma Silverman

ARTIST DAN DUNN's PATRIOTIC PERFORMANCE

VANITY FAIR MAGAZINE ON TEDDY ROOSEVELT

"President Theodore Roosevelt would set aside more than 230 million acres for posterity between 1901-1909 - including Arizona's Grand Canyon, Wyoming's Devils Tower, and Crater Lake, in Southern Oregon - equivalent to one-tenth of the American landmass, plus Alaska and Hawaii." - Douglas Brinkley

Read the article on line by clicking on the title link above!

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

Eleanor Roosevelt became one of the most public First Ladies. She went out and met the people and her empathy and understanding of people very different from herself - her heritage - increased dramatically.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

We recently watched the documentary on video about the illegal Mexicans that live in DEER CANYON, in San Diego, who work for cheap and cash at even some of the world's most exclusive resorts. They are living homeless and in a canyon where the developers are making them move camp and in one of the groves there a Catholic church outreach has created a kind of outdoor chapel where they can hear Mass and get a little medical help. Watching this film, one can't help but be grateful for having it so much better as an American citizen.

On the other hand the illegal immigration going on today is different than the immigrations in the past history of the United States. Let's face it - our Presidents - both Democratic and Republican have allowed this immigration, one recently claiming that they do jobs Americans won't do.

Anyone who has ever performed a minimum wage job here in the United States - when qualified to do and be so much more - just spits hearing that. Policies that have made areas of the country of Mexico into vast factory zones where Mexicans who stay in Mexico work for much less pay, manufacturing for companies in the United States, have meant factory shut downs here. Owners just do not want to spoil their own personal profit.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO ONE THING : JOBS FOR AMERICANS going (either HERE or THERE) to NON-AMERICAN CITIZENS!

This is one of the reasons it is so important for you to BUY AMERICAN PRODUCTS !
THE CONSUMER CAN HAVE GREAT IMPACT !

AMERICAN ARTIST : EDWARD HOPPER

DON'T YOU JUST HATE STORES THAT SELL CLOTHING and HAVE NO DRESSING ROOMS ?

Don't know about you but in my neighborhood stores have opened that sell clothing inexpensively. And if you're broke or you don't make much money yourself, the only options for clothing are stores like these, and thrift shops and garage sales.

This inexpensive clothing is usually sold by first generation immigrants - Chinese - Russian - Armenian - who buy clothes in the garment district (where there are reportedly still illegal immigrants - even slaves - sewing the clothes). THEY HAVE NOWHERE TO TRY ON CLOTHING and a NO RETURN POLICY. It stinks.

But maybe worse are the thrift stores that also have no try ons and no returns.

You can't really save money if you buy clothes that turn out not to fit.

PATRIOTIC TRIBUTE

AMERICAN FLAG

The American Flag was designed by George Washington... Though many reasons have been given for the choice of red and white stripes, some say the first flag was a bit about his Washington family coat of arms or that there were Masonic symbolisms incorporated. George Washington was a Mason.

BID TOMORROW FOR RARE BOOK SOLD BY SOLDIER IN NEED OF MONEY

Click now and hear about this auction... a seven dollar copy of THE FEDERALIST PAPERS now many be worth $100,000 !

"The divorced father of three was 16 when he bought the 227-page book in 1990 after his mother spotted it among book stacks as they browsed at a South Bend, Ind., flea market.

"Harlan's high school history class happened to be discussing "The Federalist" — also known as "The Federalist Papers" — that same week, so he knew the book was special.

"The two-volume set was published months after the Constitution was drafted in September 1787 in Philadelphia. Its collected essays helped rally support for ratifying the document that provided the federal government's framework, said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at The Library of Congress." -Rich Callahan

CENSUS OF UNITED STATES - RESOURCES AT www.census.gov

Want to know how the 2010 census information will be used or what materials can be provided for school teachers and children? How about International Trade statistics? Go to this link now!

Having a BRIDAL SHOWER ?

I dare you to throw an AMERICAN MADE bridal shower for your AMERICAN MAID bride to be! That's right! Wedding season is coming up and the bridal showers are a perfect place to have an all American theme. Tell your guests they must all bring presents that are clearly marked MADE IN THE USA! Decorate with an All American theme. Now, of course, we mean red, white, and blue, but many other THEMES for SHOWERS that are possible... For instance, you can decorate with a theme from our history or the history of your town! You can have a colonial or wild wild west theme, for instance!

20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF CHINESE TIANANMEN SQUARE ABUSE

Remind yourself of what happened twenty years ago in China with this Yahoo Canada News article... and remember that the Chinese have been and are primarily COMMUNISTS, that we fought wars all over the globe to prevent the spread of Communism, and that buying Chinese is helping the Chinese wage war on the United States (and yes, some of those politicians and "leaders" who have lead this country right into another Great Depression - Republicans and Demo crates for face value only, are either stupid or traitors to our nation...

Think this is too heavy?

Well, do you have a livable wage job?
Do you know people who have lost their jobs?
Why did they loose their jobs?

D DAY MEMORIAL BROKE

Click to the news about the D Day Memorial that's going broke. So many WW2 Soldiers have now died a natural death that contributions are down....

WHAT STATES ARE THE MOST FREE

The study, conducted by William P. Ruger and Jason ReSorens and released earlier this year, explores what the authors claim is the "first-ever comprehensive ranking of American states on their public policies affecting individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres." Greg Bobrinskoy''

Click on the title above to get to the Yahoo News article

SUPER SIZE ME THE MOVIE and SUBWAY FRESH FIT MEAL

I just recently got to watch SUPER SIZE ME, the movie about Mr. Spurlock who documents what happens to his health when he eats McDonalds fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for a month. Besides gaining something like 27 pounds. He's right. There IS an EPIDEMIC of OBESITY and DIABETES! We Americans cannot allow ourselves to go to fat!

In our busy lives, cooking seems to take up too much time. We trade fat, salt, sugar (even added to the salads!) to buy ourselves a few hours off in the kitchen. A recent trip to SUBWAY sandwich shop was revealing. They had napkins that printed out the caloric content of some of their sandwiches versus Burger King and McDonalds. So it looks like luncheon meats are a better alternative to burgers laced with additives. The napkin is printed with the words SUBWAY FRESH FIT MEAL TM. Their Veggie Delight is 265 calories, 3 g of fat. BIG MAC R VALUE MEAL is 940 calories and 50 g fat. WHOPPER R VALUE MEAL is 1030 calories and 59 g fat. NO DOUBT THE FRIES and COKE add significantly the calories and fat of a VALUE MEAL.

The information on the napkin suggests it is C DOCTOR'S ASSOCIATES INC.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AMERICAN MEMORY PROJECT

Click on the title above to get to the LIBRARY of CONGRESS American Memory Project!

CONESTOGA BRAND WESTERN VEGETABLES

Don't you just love the old days when the produce you bought was from a farmer who grew near you? Now it's time for VICTORY gardens again!

INDIANA MINT RELEASES NEW LINCOLN PENNY!

Hot news for you coin collectors and the rest of us who simply USE AMERICAN MONEY! Click on the link title above to get to the Indystar.com news!
excerpt:

"Some waited for hours to get rolls of the newly minted coins that depict on their reverse "tails" side a teenage Lincoln reading a book while taking a break from rail splitting.
Lincoln lived from age 7 to 21 in Spencer County in an area about 30 miles northeast of Evansville that was then little more than a densely wooded frontier town.

"The 14 years Lincoln spent here in Indiana gave him the skills and character, compassion and fortitude, to lead the nation through one of the darkest periods in our history," Mint Director Edmond C. Moy told the crowd.

MSNBC ARTICLE ON AMERICAN CAR BUYING

Buying a car in America used to mean preserving jobs in the steel industry and in manufacturing in places like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Detroit, Michigan ! Link to the article by clicking on the title above!

AMERICAN FLAG ON THE MOON

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Click here to find your next VACATION !

Plan your next vacation to visit a great American National Park... Yosemite anyone?

NATIONAL ANTHEM PROJECT MUSIC EDUCATION WEEK IN

Coming up in Washington DC, National Music Education Week. Click on the title above to get to the information on the NATIONAL ANTHEM PROJECT !

CROSS BORDER PURCHASING and VACATION TRAVEL

By Patriotic Purchase C 2009

CROSS BORDER PURCHASING and VACATION TRAVEL

This term most often refers to traveling into Canada or Mexico to purchase products or services. This can include medical treatments, prescriptions, and dental work or just about anything that is cheaper because of the retail price, wholesale availability, or ability to bargain or trade. However, a lot of cross border trading is actually done by mail order or over the Internet, with purchases shipped into the United States rather than the consumer traveling physically across a border. This expands the reach into other countries besides Mexico or Canada.

Prescription drugs, as you may know, are the hottest items to be purchased elsewhere. Since people feel or know that their prescriptions keep them alive and the costs to purchase these through pharmacies in the United States are often extremely more expensive, it's difficult to argue with the consumer who is in a tough spot. The greed of prescription drug manufacturers in alliance with doctors and the FDA probably need to be examined and eradicated. For government by the people FOR THE PEOPLE and FREEDOM FROM FEAR would not indicate that any citizen should have to suffer for want of food, shelter, clothing, education, or medical care.

However, if you are going to Mexico, for instance, because it's "cheap" I want you to consider the ramifications of this travel. I advise that you see the United States first. If you've already been to our great national parks, our battlefields and historical sights, consider traveling to those countries that have a history of being our allies, and where democracy reigns.

Once again, keep the tourism jobs IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Learn more and enjoy more of your own country!

PROFESSOR FINDS PAPERS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN IN LONDON

Click on the title above to get to the Washington Post version of an article that hit all the newspapers including the LA Times today. A Professor in California went to London and found previously unknown papers attributed to Benjamin Franklin regarding the diplomatic deed of getting horses and wagons for the British, in order to defeat the French and Indians at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!

WANT AN AMERICAN MADE MOTOCYCLE ???

This AMERICANS AT WORK web site tells you what motorcycles are MADE IN AMERICA... so if you want to travel and keep the money in this country... and cut your dependence on imported gasoline here is an option!

DOMINOES PIZZA AMERICAN LEGENDS ALL AMERICAN

Just tried the Phili Steak Pizza, one of six American themed pizza's being made by DOMINOES PIZZA...

"We use 6 legendary cheeses brought to you by AMERICA'S DAIRY FARMERS. Then we give you 40% ** more.

PLUS THE REAL CALIFORNIA CHEESE - 100% REAL CHEESE SYMBOL.
Mine was tasty - on a thin crust. And all in a red, white, and blue box.

ANTI TAX PROTESTS are new TEA PARTIES and WHISKY REBELLIONS ?!

Click on the title above NOW for this breaking news!

Samuel 'Joe the Plumber' Wurzelbacher, who made news during the presidential campaign when he asked Barack Obama about taxes, speaks during a tax day 'tea party' protest Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Michigan!

DAILY NEWS LOS ANGELES MILLIONS IN TAX REFUNDS AWAIT OWNERS!

TRUMBELL's DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

John Trumbull -- The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776. 1787.

CAROLINE TEACHES US TO SALUTE THE FLAG

This one is adorable and fun!

HOODY'S JUMBO PEANUTS are GOOOD and MADE IN VIRGINIA

Ever want to eat peanuts, big flavorful peanuts, right from the shell... And y0u go to the store and see the peanuts that are imported from Thailand or some other place. Well at FOOD FOR LESS, I just bought a huge bag of HOODY's U.S. GRADE SUPER JUMBO PEANUTS, roasted in the shell with salt - no preservatives. These are VIRGINIA grown and they TASTE GREAT....

And there is a BIG AMERICAN FLAG BLAZING on the back of the package!

Here's the company information.
Harvest Manor Famrs, LLC
8710 Earheart Lane S.W.
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
1-877-984-6639

ARETHA FRANKLIN sings MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE

NEED A DOSE OF PATRIOTISM ?

LEVI's JEANS, ETCH A SKETCH, and other products NOT MADE IN THE USA

Click on the title above to get to the story.... YOUR ALL AMERICAN TRADITIONAL LEVI's BLUE JEANS ARE NOT MADE IN THE USA anymore... and neither is your favorite art toy, ETCH A SKETCH!

WHAT TO DO?

BUY VINTAGE !

BUY THRIFT STORE OR GARAGE SALE !

TRADE CLOTHES WITH YOUR FRIENDS !

DON'T BUY ANY NEW CLOTHES THAT ARE NOT MADE IN THE USA !

PHILANTHRO-CAPITALISM

reading...
Philanthro-Capitalism by Matthew Bishop and Michael Green, C 2008 by the authors.
HOW THE RICH CAN SAVE THE WORLD
Bloomsbury Press

This book is about the youthful millionaires and billionaire entrepreneurs who suffer guilt for these unexpected riches and have "sudden wealth syndrome" They have to discover what the purpose of their life is, and they decide to use their excessive wealth to make impact on the world. From Bill Gates to Bono, these people are taking the advice of robber-baron Andrew Carnegie, and giving much of what they own away, often much much more than they give their own families.

My serious question, as I read about the outreach to poor people in other nations is WHAT ABOUT AMERICANS FIRST ?

Read this book and let us know what you think! You can leave a message for us by clicking on the comment at the bottom of a blog post.

ICELAND IS BANKRUPT... CAN WE BUY A WHOLE COUNTRY

Reading the up and coming VANITY FAIR magazine with an article on the bankruptcy of ICELAND! 350,000 people is the population, the main industry is fishing, with the Alcoa plant as a more recent employer. Debt per person $30,000. Largest international investor? Great Britain - At least 3 billion...

Extremely interesting article and frightening... they are hording food over there and "insiders" turned their money into Yen...

WILL THERE BE AN BANKRUPTCY SALE OF ICELAND itself ? ANY BIDDERS ?

GREAT AMERICAN ART - DEPRESSION PHOTOGRAPHY DOROTHEA LANGE

This classic American photo was taken at a tent city during the Great Depression by Dorthea Lange. Today, thanks to Roosevelt's initial programs, we have some stop gap measures in place like Social Security, Welfare and General Relief, and the FDIC bank account insurance. But where will our economic spiral down end in 2009? 2010? 2012?

KNITTING and CROCHETING CRAZE means IMPORTED FIBERS ?

Just went to MICHEAL's to load up on yarn and crochet hooks. I BOUGHT RED HEART. The yarn says MADE IN THE USA with "imported" fibers. Doesn't say where from.... Could be China?

I bought SUSAN BATES aluminum crochet hooks. Says MADE IN MEXICO, distributed by COATS and CLARK. COATS and CLARK lists three addresses on these hooks. One in Greenville, South Carolina. Another in Canada, the third in Mexico.

Let's stay posted on AMERICAN MADE YARNS and CROCHET and KNITTING supplies.

SEEN IN LOS ANGELES ALONG THE CAR SHOPPING DISTRICT IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

BIG RED WHITE AND BLUE BANNERS, LOOKING A LOT LIKE AMERICAN FLAGS, ON THE ***AMERICAN CARS*** LOTS....

Have you suffered GUILT for buying a car that isn't made in the U.S.?

FLAG BEING RAISED OVER IWO JIMA

Friends, one of the great things about this All American image is that it illustrates TEAMWORK!

We have to pull together as Americans to set this economy right!

STEVE MILLER BAND - LIVING IN THE U.S.A ! Yea!

Living in the U.S.A... Gotta Be Free!

I DARE YOU TO BUY AN AMERICAN MADE PRODUCT TODAY

Going shopping today? Maybe on the way home from work? And you need something - what ?
Maybe something new for the kitchen or bath? I DARE YOU TO CHECK LABELS AND BUY AN AMERICAN MADE PRODUCT. IF YOU CAN'T FIND IT, DON'T BUY IT.

Here are some ideas for you, if you get into that "If I don't buy an import, I can't afford it," mode.

BUY AT A GARAGE SALE... buy anything USED rather buy a new product that is not made here!

CHECK THOSE GARMENT LABELS ! ELEANOR ROOSEVELT DID ! WILL MICHELLE OBAMA WEAR AMERICAN DESIGNERS ? !

Click on the title above to get to the ELEANOR ROOSEVELT NATIONAL HISTORICAL SITE article on the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and the importance of checking those labels before you buy clothing.

Now readers, if you want to feel bad about yourself, go to your closet right now and see just how many garments you own were proudly made in the United States of America!

And here's a tip for Michelle Obama, First Lady of our Nation! Ms. Obama, you had better be wearing AMERICAN DESIGNERS, AMERICAN FABRICS, AMERICAN ZIPPERS AND BUTTONS! That's A FASHION STATEMENT !

WARREN BUFFET SAYS NOW'S THE TIME TO BE GREEDY and MAKE A PATRIOTIC PURCHASE

Click on the title above to get to the Fox Internet news video that covers this news headline!
Warren Buffet says now's the time to make a Patriotic Purchase!

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR JOB BECAUSE IT'S BEEN EXPORTED ?

If so... we would like to post your story.

Leave your story on a comment or contact information !

THANKS!

SHOPPING FOR PLASTIC KITCHEN FOOD SAVERS ? TRY STERILITE or RUBBERMADE

This morning we entered a typical "99 cents" type budget or discount store where almost all the inventory is clearly marked MADE IN CHINA. We needed some new plastic kitchen food savers. I FOUND TWO PRODUCTS MARKED MADE IN AMERICA.

STERILITE and RUBBERMADE.

Of course we don't know if these are old inventory.

KEEP CHECKING LABLES and BUY AMERICAN !

"HONEST ABE" LINCOLN

Good old Abraham Lincoln... "Honest Abe" who walked miles to return a few cents change due a customer...

Will President Obama really be another Abraham Lincoln?

President Obama has already told us that economic recovery won't be easy or take place quickly. Meanwhile, every day more layoffs are announced that effect thousands... Best Buy, Starbucks...

SO HOW MANY ELECTRONICS PRODUCTS ARE STILL PROUDLY MADE IN THE UNITED STATES?

AND WHERE IN THE UNITED STATES IS COFFEE GROWN?