All Things Supercinski

• ShowArticle – Institute for Responsible Technology – Surov's hamsters are just the latest animals to suffer from reproductive disorders after consuming GMOs. In 2005, Irina Ermakova, also with the Russian National Academy of Sciences, reported that more than half the babies from mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. This was also five times higher than the 10% death rate of the non-GMO soy group. The babies in the GM group were also smaller (see photo) and could not reproduce.
• Is Christianity Biased Toward Book Lovers? :: Desiring God –
• Warning, Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous To Your Health: Gear + Gadgets: GQ –
• If It Were Done When ‘Tis Done, Then ‘Twere Well It Were Done Quickly – Mark Steyn – The Corner on National Review Online – It doesn’t matter what form of governmentalized health care gets passed as long as it passes. Once it’s in place, it will be “reformed”, endlessly, but it will never be undone.

  Right now, they can trade anything — abortion, death panels, whatever. The trick is to plant the seed and let the ratchet effect of Big Government take care of the rest.

• Agriculture critic’s appearance angers university alumni — latimes.com – At the University of Wisconsin, where his book was part of a campus-wide reading project, a state farm bureau official called him "narrow and elitist," saying that he "sees an evil empire behind every item in your refrigerator." At Washington State University, an alumnus dug into his own pocket to pay for Pollan's appearance after a similar reading was canceled.

  "It's part of what appears to be a more aggressive industry push-back against critics of industrial agriculture," Pollan said.

• The Farm Blog: Thoughts from Joel – Anyone who thinks the heritage based, nutrient dense, pasture-based, low-energy, life-honoring model is winning has not kept up with the new attacks from corporate food. As long as our side stays below 1 percent of the food supply, we're just an annoying gnat. But as people drop
  out of industrial food, the food lord elitists ensconced in their corporate castles unleash their campaign to marginalize, demonize, and criminalize us.
• U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time –
• Greg Mankiw’s Blog: Medicare and Freedom –

• Food Renegade » Blog Archive » Eating Real Food On A Budget –
• The Farm Blog: Joel responds – The poor people question is the second most frequently asked question
  after "can we feed the world?" So let's
  address it.
• Greg Mankiw’s Blog: Where’s the beef? – Translation: "I promise to fix the problem. And if I do not fix the problem now, I will fix it later, or some future president will, after I am long gone. I promise he will. Absolutely, positively, I am committed to that future president fixing the problem. You can count on it. Would I lie to you?"
• Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis: Obama Wins Health Care Debate – In his Speech Obama was critical of the amount Bush spent on the war. Wait a second. Isn't Obama the peace president? If so where are the troops? Obama stated this will not add a penny to the deficit. If so, why do we have a $trillion deficit. The answer is we count only what we want to count. This is a criticism of both parties, not just Democrats.

  Obama reiterated his idea that everyone must participate in a "Government Knows Best" mandate. He did not say what that will mean in terms of costs to generation Y, the Millennials.

  What's clear is generation Y and the wealthy will be subsidizing everyone else in socialized medical scheme. Some will agree with the idea, others not, but Obama pretends the issue isn't there. Obama also pretends this is not socialized medicine.

• One Man’s Trash … – NYTimes.com – Indeed, city officials worked closely with Mr. Phillips in 2004 to set up a recycled building materials warehouse where builders, demolition crews and building product manufacturers can drop off items rather than throwing them in a landfill. There’s no dumping fee and donations are tax deductible because the materials are used exclusively by charitable groups or for low-income housing.
• Do Jews Have a Divine Right in the Promised Land? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library – But neither of these Biblical facts leads necessarily to the endorsement of present-day Israel as the rightful possessor of all the disputed land. Israel may have such a right. And she may not. But that decision is not based on divine privilege. Why?
• ‘Reading Rainbow’ Reaches Its Final Chapter : NPR –

The response to the Composting class coming up this Saturday has been great. So good, in fact, that the class is now closed. If you are interested in learning more about compost and composting and didn’t make this class, contact me and I’ll set up another class sometime this fall.

At various times the last couple of years having a 6 foot step ladder would have been handy, but I’ve managed to borrow one, improvise, or just do with out. On my Wednesday morning run last week, I came across a wooden 6 foot step ladder on the curb for trash pickup. I didn’t inspect it closely, but went back on my way to work and picked it up. It had one broken back leg that was missing about 5 inches. Otherwise, the ladder was in excellent condition and didn’t appear used much at all. Clearly, this would be an easy fix. I had to contain my excitement.

So, what do you get out of a discarded 6 foot step ladder? After about 45 fun minutes working with your son, lots of instructional measuring and a few cuts, a perfectly useful, roughly 5 foot ladder.

Our favorite place to eat these days has become Shiraz Shish Kabob. If you only eat the flat bread and hummus your trip will have been worth it. I’m sure there is better bread, hummus, and lamb kabobs somewhere, but this is here and good.

There is good hummus in Dearborn, MI, as you’ll see below. Also, I wonder if Matt could do any research to find out if Thomas Jefferson was a hummus fan.

If you liked that one, check out Tabbouleh Song.

For those of you who are interested in starting or just getting better at gardening, Producer’s Coop in Bryan holds classes on Saturdays throughout the year on a variety of topics, both for the ag producer and the homeowner. The fall schedule is available here.

Next Saturday, September 5th, Producer’s will hold a Fall Gardening Class.

Gardening is booming in popularity everywhere in the country. This is especially true here in the Brazos Valley. This past spring, it was tough to find many popular sets and seeds. Many garden vegetables can only be (or are best) grown as cool season fall crops. This class will cover how to best prepare your soil, what crops fit our area, and how to deal with disease, insect and weed pests, as well as the top ten mistakes people make in vegetable gardening. We will also offer a break out session for young folks and we plan to let them get their hands dirty actually planting some things to take home with them. This class will be taught by Dr. Doug Welsh, Professor and Associate Department Head of Horticultural Sciences at TAMU as well as Texas Agrilife Extension Horticulture Specialist . Dr. Welsh hosts the popular radio show Garden Success! on KAMU-FM. Copies of Dr. Welsh’s book Texas Gardening Almanac will be available for purchase and he will be available for autographs for his book purchases.

The class is from 11-12. I plan to be in attendance to pick up a few tips and to get my copy of Doug’s book autographed.

**UPDATE** Tuesday, September 15

This class is full. If you are still interested in attending a class, please contact me and we can set up another class this fall.

I will be holding an introductory class to composting Saturday, September 19th at 2:30pm. The class will include a short ‘lecture’ and some hands-on activities as well. Children are welcome and the event will last about an hour and a half (you are welcome to stay as long as you like). The location will be determined when I get an idea of how many sign up. If there is an overwhelming response, there may be a class size imposed. Things to bring along: something to drink, something to sit on if you like, and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.

Leave a comment or email me if you have questions.

You can sign up here.

• Joel Salatin Testimony – April 17, 2008 – House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform –
• John Mackey: The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare – WSJ.com – Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.
• Greg Mankiw’s Blog: CBO and I agree –
• Op-Ed Columnist – Something for Nothing – NYTimes.com – We’ve built an entire health care system (maybe an entire government) on the illusion of something for nothing. Instead of tackling that basic logic, we’ve got a reform process that is trying to evade it.

  This would be bad enough in normal times. But the country is already careening toward fiscal ruin. We’ve already passed a nearly $800 billion stimulus package. The public debt is already projected to double over the next 10 years.

  Health care reform is important, but it is not worth bankrupting the country over. If this process goes as it has been going — with grand rhetoric and superficial cost containment — then we will be far better off killing this effort and starting over in a few years. Maybe then there will be leaders willing to look at the options staring them in the face.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” – Jesus as recorded in Matthew 5:13

“Your danger and mine is not that we become criminals, but rather that we become respectable, decent, commonplace, mediocre Christians. The twentieth-century temptations that really sap our spiritual power are the television, banana cream pie, the easy chair and the credit card. The Christian wins or loses in those seemingly innocent little moments of decision.” Ray Ortlund H/T