HELLO SANTA! HEY THANKS!

DON'T FORGET TO SAY THANKS!

SKIP THE FAKE TREE AND BUY A SMALL PLANTABLE LIVE TREE INSTEAD

What to do about a Christmas tree when you want to BUY AMERICAN?  Buy a LIVING PALATABLE TREE!

Really, all the fake plastic trees are a landfill nightmare and a biodegradability nightmare and a rarely made in the USA.  A live cut tree that was grown to be harvested is next best.  That tree should not go to a bonfire.  It should go to a city or other pick up that grinds the tree up and turns it into mulch.

WE NEED TO BE CONCERNED FOR THE EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT!

Here is the HOW TO PLANT from Better Homes and Gardens!

CHRISTMAS TREE PLANTING - BHG

"The key to success is timing. Purchase the tree as close to Christmas as possible, and keep in indoors for as brief a time as you can. It is also important to prepare a planting spot outdoors before the ground freezes so hard you can't dig."

Now, we grew up with the tradition of buying and planting live and didn't have a problem at all.  We actually didn't dig a hole or worry about how long the tree was on the back porch.  The tree roots should have dirt around them and be bound in burlap.  Then it was left outside on the cold porch in a cardboard box, not where the snow drifts could get it.  Soon as the ground unfroze we planted.
And every tree we planted took root and grew much bigger!

A better fate than old Charlie Brown' tree wouldn't you say?

CORNACOPIA

NATION MAKERS FROM COLLIERS MAGAZINE - 1906

OBAMA CARE - IN THE WORKS - DON'T PANIC YET!

We've started researching our choices for the new Obama Care Medical Plan.  We got through a toll free number and were referred elsewhere and there are glitches on the computer systems, so we got off to a false start. 

We know that people are feeling really challenged with this.

Some say only the uninsured are happy about Obamacare. 

A friend of ours who is familiar with the Canadian system, what he calls socialism in medicine, and he said, if it turns out to be that bad people will regret it.  He sites long waits for surgeries in particular.

We can't panic yet.

Panic only leads to iffy decisions.

You don't have to sign up for another four or five months...

TRICK OR TREAT?

TRADER JOES CLOTH CARRY BAGS MADE IN THE USA

Lowell Massachusetts has historically been the scene of the textile industry in the United States.  For less than $5.00 we bought a cloth Trader Joes bag, well designed in beiges and power blues and browns, with a proud MADE IN THE USA label, noting Lowell.  WE WERE SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS.

In the past we have bought at least a dozen bags for about a dollar a piece to carry our groceries out of stores.  Almost all of them were made in China.  Of all the bags we bough that were not cloth, the Trader Joe's bags are the ones that lasted.

We don't see the end of plastic bags, just the end of free plastic bags.  We still need them for picking up doggie do do, and many other things.

We do our best to recycle and reuse things, to pick up our garbage and take it home with us when we go to the beach or visit the mountains, because we don't want to contribute to the Sea of Plastic, or allow our streets to be filled with litter.

THE NEW $100 BILL BEGINS CIRCULATION TODAY : INSPECT THE NEW FEATURES HERE!

NEW MONEY GOV - THE NEW $100 BILL   Bell in the Inkwell.  New 3d thread...  Here's the new Benjamin ... It is the policy of the United States that no matter when currency was manufactured it remains legal currency.

Little story...  A man walking his dog down our street several months ago thought he was rich when he found a roll of $20 bills laying on the ground.  He showed the money to another dog walker, someone with a business, who quickly ID'd the  money as counterfeit.  It was handed over to the local police.  Our government is always trying to be one step ahead of those who circulate fake bills.  Purchases made with fake bills equals theft, stolen merchandise, though it's sure not funny when you're the dupe a fake bill was passed to and the one who gets caught trying to use it!

HOMELESS MAN WHO RETURNED $40,000 REWARDED : GOAL $250,000, HOUSING, JOB TRAINING

CS MONITOR : HONESTLY EARNS HOMELESS MAN $104,000 AND COUNTING

EXCERPT: Glen James said it was the right thing to do and now that selfless act is paying dividends. Big dividends. 

 

He's being rewarded because another man, a 27-year-old marketing firm employee from Virginia, Ethan Whittington, heard about him and set up a website for the homeless man at an online fund-raising site called GoFundMe. Whittington enjoys helping and said James is "inspiring."

AN APPLE FOR TEACHER

THE MINIMUM WAGE AND COST OF LIVING - LIVABLE WAGES STIMULATE THE ECONOMY

We are all for a LIVABLE MINIMUM WAGE.  We know that fast food workers are striking.  We know that in Southern California, it takes about $18.00 an hour to rent a one bedroom or single apartment, drive, gas up, and insure a used car, and so on.

If we do not pay people a livable wage, then they cannot participate in life.  They cannot stimulate the economy by spending on things that those with livable wages can.

People who don't make a livable wage often have to by USED rather than new products.  We're all for recycling and reusing.  We do it. However, buying a new product, if it's made in the USA, will provide more business stay in business and more employees stay employed.

If you are not for a livable wage, we ask you to see if you can live on about $10 a month.  You'll have money in the bank that a minimum wage worker doesn't, but you may start to understand the limitations.

You probably won't be about to eat out much, maybe only the $1. menu at the fast food restaurant.

RED WHITE BLUE : 2 ? MILLION BIKERS RIDE TO WASHINGTON DC TO REMEMBER 9/11

We don't know what the title of the song is that goes with this video... Does anyone know?  Maybe "I Am American?

"NBC - BIKERS ROAR COVERAGE link

EXCERPT:

"Although they didn't reach a goal of two million riders, thousands of bikers rolled through the Washington, D.C. area to mark the 12th anniversary of 9/11 on Wednesday.

The bikers -- riding with the group "Two Million Bikers to D.C." -- snarled traffic on the Beltway with a ride honoring the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the members of the military called to serve after the attacks. 

Many participating riders were veterans who said they rode to protect Americans' freedom in the midst of tumultuous times."

LABOR DAY : WE SUPPORT AMERICAN LABOR

On this Labor Day, we encourage you to browse through our archives - previous posts - where you will find links to the U.S. Department of Labor, and so much else. WE SUPPORT AMERICAN LABOR. We're all for MADE IN THE USA! We are consumer advocates. We believe that American Made products are among the BEST IN THE WORLD. We want everyone who is able bodied working. We even want disabled people to be able to support themselves as much as they are able!

BUYING LOCAL GROWN PRODUCE IS RIGHT FOR OUR ECONOMY and HELPS SOLVE HUNGER

We've been reading around the subject of buying locally grown produce.

As you may know, eating lots of veggies, especially fresh veggies, washing them, and lightly steaming them, is very good for your diet - your health and your weight.

WHEN WE LEARNED THAT about ONE THIRD of all produce is wasted before it even makes it to the market, we realized that there is also a good reason to buy local and fresh! LOCALLY GROWN AND PURCHASED FOOD is more economical. It doesn't require the high cost of shipping it! More of the food is actually eaten. Less is wasted. If we all try to do this, by say, shopping at the local farmer's market, growing some of our own veggies and fruits and trading with neighbors, we can actually make more food available to more people for less money!


STILL THINK THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU?

Consider that millions of Americans who never were before are now using FOOD STAMPS - EBT - CALFRESH - to SUPPLIMENT their food budget except that they HAVE NO FOOD BUDGET AT ALL. These people are using EBT and going to FOOD BANKS too!

CELL PHONES and OTHER METHODS OF SPYING ON INDIVIDUALS - SHOULD YOU DUMP YOUR CELL PHONE? WORRY?

We've been reading around Edward Snowden, and the results of the information he has given us as U.S. Citizens, that our every cell phone call - in and out - and our every Internet search can be traced.

We've read hundreds of articles by now over the last 6 weeks since his name became a household word here in the United States of America, and all over the world.


These days your politics is word dependent on the adjective you use before Snowden's name ; spy or whistle-blower?

We have to wonder, were we really *INFORMED* before we made those calls and searches? Let's just say that we sure didn't "read the fine print" or that as smart and knowledgeable as some of us can be, we can't be smart and knowledgeable about everything.


We're not paranoid about it. Should we be?


A few years back - true story - I was sitting talking to people I didn't know so well - and one of them, a man whose mother owned a small specialty store in our area, told me that he had his car in for service at a mechanics a few miles away and asked me if he could use my cell phone to call the mechanic. (You're saying "You mean he didn't have his own cell phone? I had just recently gotten a very primitive one myself, so no, I didn't find his request bothersome or strange.) So I handed my phone over and he went with it about 20 feet away, kept the call brief, and returned the phone to me and sat back down. He said the mechanic said to call back in a couple more hours. I thought nothing of it at all until someone from that number kept calling me and I kept telling this person not to call me anymore. They must have called a dozen times before they quit. I was not happy about it.


Well, it turns out that this man had called a heroin dealer on my cell phone, but I didn't know that for some time after he got busted and went to jail.


THERE SHOULD BE LIMITS WE SET TO PROTECT OUR OWN PRIVACY. I'm told that privacy is an Old School Notion = I am hopelessly out of it.

These days when I'm asked, usually by a young person, if they can use my cell phone I start out by asking who they are calling and why and then say "tell me the number and I'll dial." The effect is that they usually tell me to "forget it."

MEANWHILE TELEPHONE BOOTHS HAVE BECOME HARD TO FIND IN OUR AREA, the presumption being that everyone carries a hand-held tracking device that alerts anyone who may have interest in them as a suspect - even if falsely accused - of their movements and whereabouts, in relationship to a cell phone tower.

IT SCARES ME THAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING THAT YOUNG PEOPLE CHECK THEIR CELL PHONE ON THE AVERAGE OF EVERY 6 1/2 minutes! I think of that as desperate, as in "has not one real friend."

TOOLS - which cell phones are - are intended to MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER. Dependency and addiction? Life without one?

I remember when cell phones came out and were considered an expensive indulgence. Then some of our friends said that their husbands wanted them to have one to take with them when they drove so they could call for help if there was an emergency. So, the cell phone was thought to be only for emergency use!

Now, you can't walk around a grocery store and not hear snippets of conversations that should be private; someone firing their maid, discussing the salary review for an employee, talking about the sex they had the night before or their medical diagnosis and you know what, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT!

The OVERALL LEVEL OF NOISE KEEPS GOING UP and with it THE NOISE OF OTHER PEOPLE'S CONVERSATIONS.

There is also the question - a serious one - of HOW MUCH ATTENTION DRIVERS ARE PUTTING INTO SAFELY DRIVING - while on cell phones.

So much to think about!

I DARE YOU TO NOT USE YOUR PHONE FOR A WEEK!

C 2013 Patriotic Purchase blogspot.com All Rights Reserved.

AFTER DINNER SPECIAL AD

DUCK DUCK GO an ALTERNATIVE MORE PRIVATE SEARCH ENGINE

We haven't made up our minds about Edward Snowden, who is, depending on your viewpoint, a whistleblower or a spy, but we certainly have been reading around the subject of Snowden, the NSA, and Internet privacy. 

As Google Bloggers we have trusted that our relationship with Google is between us and that company.  We understand that Google is a Business, and that to have free use of Blogger, Google might want to make some money on us, but we've never been tempted by AdSense since reading around it, we wouldn't have control over what businesses pop up as advertising on this blog.  We're here to inspire you to buy American for many good reasons, here to do a little research for you, and hope that you'll do a little extra research yourself when you want to buy a product.

It upset us to hear the successful American Capitalist Donald Trump condemning Edward Snowden to death. Who made him King of our Country?

We believe that in the United States of America people who are accused of crimes deserve the right to a fair trial and legal process and hope that if Edward Snowden makes it back to us, that he has that experience as a citizen.  Will he make it back to us?

We also don't believe that Snowden thought through his plans well enough or he would not be stuck in the airport no-mans-land in Moscow.  We don't really think Snowden wants to live his life in Russia, Venezuela, Ecuador, or Bolivia, or even Iceland.

We also feel for his father, who has reached out to him with the help of a lawyer, and who lives in a part of the country so full of early American history, a very patriotic part of the country, Pennsylvania.

As we read around the subject we learned about a search engine called DUCK DUCK GO, which doesn't track a person's searches.  It does have advertising but not especially "intelligent" advertising.  We've tried it and it seems to work just fine.

If you would like to express yourself here, please use comments.

USING YELP TO CALL OUT GOOD AND BAD BUSINESSES

When we started this blog we were very concerned about the loss of American jobs, particularly in Manufacturing, due to cheap badly made imports taking the place of American Made Products.  We still are.

We are also concerned with the way PATRIOTIC PURCHASERS are treated in the stores they walk into.

We've personally had a problem with clothing stores that have NO DRESSING ROOMS and TAKE NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES - not even for store credit.  These stores are often owned by Russian or Chinese immigrants.

We have no problem with people from other countries coming to the United States to have businesses, but for some reason the stores where we were treated as SUSPECTS instead of CUSTOMERS seemed to be owned by these immigrants.

So recently we decided to use YELP as a means to posting our experiences with them.

YES, we are YELPING!

When you sign up for YELP you'll get a LOT of marketing in your e-mail.  We realize that their purpose is to send traffic /customers through the doors of businesses through GOOD REVIEWS!

Still, if you are a frustrated consumer, you can certainly join YELP and get out what the STORE OWNERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, and others don't want to hear!

TRY IT!

A STAY AT HOME FOURTH OF JULY

We stayed home this year for the Fourth of July.  We just weren't in the mood to picnic or see the fireworks.  To our surprise, our neighborhood came alive with fireworks, all illegal. With mixed feelings we watched these displays, while news that several Fourth of July parades and professional fire works displays went haywire, in particular the event in Simi Valley, California, where some of the fireworks shot into the crowds instead of the air.

There's something to be said for staying HOME SWEET HOME!  Something to be said for leaving all the "to do" lists on the desk and just sitting around doing nothing much real well!

E-BAY AUCTIONS IS NOW EBAY "BUY IT NOW"?

We haven't E-Bay'ed in years and so much has changed on the site.  Reading around the subject we learned that more sellers are going for the BUY IT NOW option rather than the risk of an AUCTION.  We've also learned that many  Citizens of the United States of America are claiming E-Bay to be their first or second income on their taxes.  E-Bay is the number one HOME BASED BUSINESS!

People who have garage sales or post items for sale on the Pennysaver or Craig's List are dealing with more E-BAY auctioners who are buying stuff to sell on the site.

We hear kids laughing about selling gifts they've been given and "turning around" things that their friends sold them cheap on the site.

Maybe it's a response to the economy, that need to have to buy things more cheaply, to have things delivered to the door rather than spend money on gas to go out hunting for it.

Just for the fun of it, we decided to see if our VHS movie collection was at all valuable on E-Bay.  A few of our films were potentially selling for $10 to $50, but most were selling for $1.  If "selling" is the right word to use.   Looked like dozens of people were all trying to sell the same movie and there were NO BIDS!  Why waste that time listing and watching auctions.  Some people were selling dozens of movies for one price!

So if you want to cash out or turn around things you've been gifted or own, we think you should research the E-Bay site and see if items the same or  like yours are selling at all!

ecommercebytes.com on EBAY POLICY CHANGE AND BUY IT NOW

SWEET CORN

Dover Free Use Sample Images

TWINKIES DUE BACK IN STORES IN JULY : AMERICANA

We never bought a whole lot of TWINKIES but once they disappeared off the shelf we wanted some.   We wanted those simple cakes with just the right amount of cream filling.  You see Twinkies are such an American Tradition that they've become AMERICANA!

Twinkies will be back to the stores July 15 2013, along with the new owners emphasis on NEW PRODUCTS, such as whole grain.

NPR BLOG ON HOSTESS CAKES RETURNING JULY 15 link!

EXCERPT" Hostess is owned by Apollo Global Management LLC (APO) and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co., whose combined offer of as much as $410 million for company's snack-cake enterprise was the only one submitted during the bankruptcy process in March. The spongy yellow cakes went out of production, prompting bidding wars for boxes on auction sites like EBay."

AMERICAN SUMMER READING : SHORT STORIES BY AMERICAN AUTHORS

Probably the whole best seller list here in the USA is American authors but we were thinking about reading some classic SHORT STORIES by American authors.  Who to read?

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Katherine Ann Porter, F. Scott Fitzgerald...

BRIDAL SEASON

Dover Free Use Sample Images

ALL TOGETHER NOW

CORNING GORILLA GLASS - EVEN TOUGHER THAN TRADITIONAL CORNING GLASS

CORNING GORILLA GLASS link!

The other day I was spring cleaning the kitchen cupboards and all my original Corning Ware was still intact after years of use, and years of broken glass ware and dishware from other companies.  Just broke something from Ikea this morning!  Read up on the Corning company's latest invention.

OF COURSE I CAN

AMERICAN SPIRIT MAGAZINE IS AVAILABLE FROM DAR ONCE AGAIN!

DAR AMERICAN SPIRIT MAGAZINE  link to learn more or subscribe.

The award-winning American Spirit magazine is a handsomely illustrated, bimonthly publication focusing on issues that are important to us all. Articles cover such subjects as American history, historic preservation, patriotism, genealogy and education. Whatever your interests, you will find informative, entertaining and engaging articles in each issue of American Spirit magazine.

USA BUFFALO MAZE

MARIAN ANDERSON SINGS MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE

MADE IN THE USA FOUNDATION : HALL OF FAME

We've been SPRING CLEANING and in the process of having a garage sale with our neighbors, we've been doing it ourself on home improvements and repairs.

We haven't forgotten you ECONOMIC WARRIORS who want to return the United States ECONOMY to us Americans by buying MADE IN THE USA products and services.

So today we were cheered to find this site: MADE IN THE USA HALL OF FAME!

2012 Winners Include : SOLAR WORLD,  HERMAN MILLER, CHANNEL ISLAND SURFBOARDS and many others.  Check this out!

SWINGING INTO SPRING WITH DOGGIE

DYING EASTER EGGS NATURALLY!

Growing up we didn't put a Christmas Tree up until it was nearly Christmas, sometimes Christmas Eve and we didn't dye eggs until it was almost time to fill our baskets.  Want to dye the eggs without buying commercial dye?  A memory of a grandma who knew how to long ago, using onion skins, tea, and veggies.  The colors are very mellow.  You won't get a hot pink for instance.  You can save the fluid from a can of picked beets though!

First you can dye the eggs after they have been boiled or boil them in the water that will dye them.  Seems to us it depends on how many eggs you want to dye.  It also depends on if you want to skip the hot dye and deal only with cold dye on eggs that have cooled!

Hopefully you have saved some egg cartons so you can prop them up to dry!

We're linking to an ABOUT.COM site that explains the chemistry a bit better than we can:

CHEMISTRY : ABOUT.COM :DYING EASTER EGGS link here!

Most of all have fun while you dye the eggs.

It is very Old Fashioned to trade eggs with friends as little gifts.  And if you get too many eggs?  Time to make POTATO SALAD! 

KENTUCKY FRIED CHINESE CHICKEN? YUM FOODS ALSO OWNS PIZZA HUT AND TACO BELL

WORLD TIMES : KFC LAUNCHES CHINA CAMPAIGN link to full article

Excerpt: " The complaint against KFC was less serious than other product scandals in China over the past decade in which infants, hospital patients and others have been killed by phony or adulterated milk powder, drugs and other goods. But KFC’s high profile attracted attention, and its status as a foreign company with less political influence meant Chinese media could publicize its troubles more freely.

Yum, based in Louisville, Kentucky, said it expects sales in China to tumble by up to 25 percent in the current quarter. The company also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

SIMON AND GARFUNKLE : AMERICA

)

MADE IN THE USA CANDY THAT IS ALSO AS HEALTHY AS CANDY CAN GET :

NATURAL CANDY STORE official site

They have an Allergy-Friendly Dark Chocolate Easter Bunny with a hot purple bow. What about watermelon gummy bunnies?

All candy is labeled!  Terrific!

- Made in the USA


- Organic

- Vegan

- Gluten-Free

- Kosher

- Feingold Stage 1

- Feingold Stage 2

- Allergen Free

ETHAN ALLEN FURNITURE SELLING IN CHINA

WALL STREET JOURNAL : ETHAN ALLEN TURNS THE TABLES IN CHINA by James R. Hagerty  link to full article

EXCERPT : Furniture from China has gobbled an increasing share of the U.S. market in recent years, leading to the closure of hundreds of American factories. Now, turning the tables on their Asian rivals, two big U.S. producers are trying to sell more furniture in China.


The companies, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. and Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., are pursuing different approaches. Most furniture Ethan Allen sells in China is made in its seven plants in the U.S. and Mexico. Ashley relies on furniture made at its own plant near Shanghai and elsewhere in Asia, though it ships small amounts from its eight plants in the U.S..."

WAHL HAIR CUTTERS FLYING THE FLAG OF THE USA

OK.  We recently purchased the following product:  WHAL COLOR PRO HAIR CUTTING KIT

WHAL STORE  link.

We want to save some money on home hair cuts for our DOG! 

We shopped around a bit.  We went to Petco and they had three electric clippers and lots of scissors for sale. 

We found this one at Walgreens.  It's for people but it worked just fine on our fluffy haired dog, who happens to be the non-shedding sort.  We have nothing against professional hair cuts  for dogs, except the price.  When we explained to various groomers that our dog has poodle hair on her legs, terrier hair on her back and maltese hair on her face we were told the start price was about $40 to $50!  We noticed the American Flag flying and it honestly said that the clipper was made in the USA with some imported parts.  We think the imported parts are the plastic guides.

We checked the Wahl product line on the Internet and some of their clippers are made in the USA and some are made in CHINA.  Check which before you purchase!

HAVE A PATRIOTIC VALENTINES DAY!

Like Christmas and so many other American holidays, you may feel obligated to purchase gifts for loved ones. 

At Patriotic Purchase, we suggest that you skip buying anything not made in the USA. 

We suggest that you make hand-made gifts.  (How about a heart shaped home made cherry cake for Valentines?  Original love poems?)

 Keep checking the boxes on products you see in stores for their origin.  Are they flying the Made in USA flag proudly and truthfully!  Many don't think you'll read the fine print.

We suggest that you buy at garage sales and second hand stores if it means continuing to support the economy and American jobs. 

This is the small thing you can do that can make all the difference!

Remember that a vibrant economy relies on the exchange of labor for money and money sopent to support labor!

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS : PRESIDENT OBAMA 2013

100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRS - INCOME TAX TODAY!

The Income Tax is a very controversial subject.  So many laws have applied to it and changed it since the original law was passed.  Today the Income Tax has also resulted in specialized professions in accounting, business, and lawyering.  Some protest paying it.  Some are honored to be paying it.

One thing for sure.  No job means no income or Income Tax!

Which would you prefer?

PYREX IS STILL MADE IN THE USA!

We were so glad to see our local Raphs offering Pyrex at Christmas time.

Here's the link to PYREX! ONE OF THE TOP BRANDS STILL MADE IN THE USA

WALLMART TO HIRE VETS - BRING IN MORE AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS?

Heard on the radio this morning, and wanted to research a bit.  We rarely buy in Wallmart, though it is the nations largest retailer.  Last purchase, some yarn that had the Made in the USA flag on it.

WALLMART : PUBLICITY STUNT? Article from TIME BUSINESS AND MONEY

LOOKING FORWARD TO A PATRIOTIC 2013

We'll see if we go over a Fiscal Cliff or not... Our faith in our nation as a whole, which means the people more than politicians, remains strong.  If we do go over, we will need to economize as well as buy American made products and services more than ever.  It's not easy for average folks to think about numbers in the billions and trillions being discussed, but we can understand cutting coupons, cooking at home, repurposing things we already own, going to thrift stores (which often support charities) to buy used as a first option, and finding interesting and fun things to do without spending the travel dollars we used to, but still supporting our local economy!