40 Hard Questions That The American People Should Be Asking Right Now

If you spend much time watching the mainstream news, then you know how incredibly vapid it can be.  It is amazing how they can spend so much time saying next to nothing.  There seems to be a huge reluctance to tackle the tough issues and the hard questions.  Perhaps I should be thankful for this, because if the mainstream media was doing their job properly, there would not be a need for the alternative media.  Once upon a time, the mainstream media had a virtual monopoly on the dissemination of news in the United States, but that has changed.  Thankfully, the Internet in the United States is free and open (at least for now) and people that are hungry for the truth can go searching for it.  Today, an increasing number of Americans want to understand why our economy is dying and why our national debt is skyrocketing.  An increasing number of Americans are deeply frustrated with what is going on in Washington D.C. and they are alarmed that we seem to get closer to becoming a totalitarian police state with each passing year.  People want real answers about our foreign policy, about our corrupt politicians, about our corrupt financial system, about our shocking moral decline and about the increasing instability that we are seeing all over the world, and they are not getting those answers from the mainstream media.
If the mainstream media will not do it, then those of us in the alternative media will be glad to tackle the tough issues.  The following are 40 hard questions that the American people should be asking right now....
#1 If Iran tries to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, what will that do to the price of oil and what will that do to the global economy?
#2 If Iran tries to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, will the United States respond by launching a military strike on Iran?
#3 Why is the Federal Reserve bailing out Europe?  And why are so few members of Congress objecting to this?
#4 The U.S. dollar has lost well over 95 percent of its value since the Federal Reserve was created,  the U.S. national debt is more than 5000 times larger than it was when the Federal Reserve was created and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has a track record of incompetence that is absolutely mind blowing.  So what possible justification is there for allowing the Federal Reserve to continue to issue our currency and run our economy?
#5 Why does the euro keep dropping like a rock?  Is this a sign that Europe is heading for a major recession?
#6 Why are European banks parking record-setting amounts of cash at the European Central Bank?  Is this evidence that banks don't want to lend to one another and that we are on the verge of a massive credit crunch?
#7 If the European financial system is going to be just fine, then why is the UK government preparing feverishly for the collapse of the euro?
#8 What did the head of the IMF mean when she recently said that we could soon see conditions "reminiscent of the 1930s depression"?
#9 How in the world can Mitt Romney say with a straight face that the individual health insurance mandate that he signed into law as governor of Massachusetts was based on "conservative principles"?  Wouldn't that make the individual mandate in Obamacare "conservative" as well?
#10 If the one thing that almost everyone in the Republican Party seems to agree on is that Obamacare is bad, then why is the candidate that created the plan that much of Obamacare was based upon leading in so many of the polls?
#11 What did Mitt Romney mean when he stated that he wants “to eliminate some of the differences, repeal the bad, and keep the good” in Obamacare?
#12 If no Republican candidate is able to accumulate at least 50 percent of the delegates by the time the Republican convention rolls around, will that mean that the Republicans will have a brokered convention that will enable the Republican establishment to pick whoever they want as the nominee?
#13 Why are middle class families being taxed into oblivion while the big oil companies receive about $4.4 billion in specialized tax breaks a year from the federal government?
#14 Why have we allowed the "too big to fail" banks to become even larger?
#15 Why has the United States had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976?
#16 Back in 1970, 25 percent of all jobs in the United States were manufacturing jobs. Today, only 9 percent of all jobs in the United States are manufacturing jobs.  How in the world could we allow that to happen?
#17 If the United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, then why don't our politicians do something about it?
#18 If you can believe it, more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have permanently closed down since 2001.  So exactly what does that say about our economy?
#19 Why was the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall made in China?  Wasn't there anyone in America that could make it?
#20 If low income jobs now account for 41 percent of all jobs in the United States, then how are we going to continue to have a vibrant middle class?
#21 Why do the poor just keep getting poorer in the United States today?
#22 How can the Obama administration be talking about an "economic recovery" when 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be "low income" or are living in poverty?
#23 Why has the number of new cars sold in the U.S. declined by about 50 percent since 1985?
#24 How can we say that we have a successful national energy policy when the average American household will spend a whopping $4,155 on gasoline by the end of this year?
#25 Why does it take gigantic mountains of money to get a college education in America today?  According to the Student Loan Debt Clock, total student loan debt in the United States will surpass the 1 trillion dollar mark in early 2012.  Isn't there something very wrong about that?
#26 Why do about a third of all U.S. states allow borrowers who don’t pay their bills to be put in jail?
#27 If it costs tens of billions of dollars to take care of all of the illegal immigrants that are already in this country, why did the Obama administration go around Congress and grant "backdoor amnesty" to the vast majority of them?  Won't that just encourage millions more to come in illegally?
#28 Why are gun sales setting new all-time records in America right now?
#29 Why are very elderly women being strip-searched by TSA agents at U.S. airports?  Does that really keep us any safer?
#30 The last words of Steve Jobs were "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow."  What did he mean by that?
#31 How in the world did scientists in Europe decide that it was a good idea for them to create a new "killer bird flu" that is very easy to pass from human to human?
#32 If our founding fathers intended to set up a limited central government, then why does the federal government just continue to get bigger and bigger?
#33 Are we on the verge of an absolutely devastating retirement crisis?  On January 1st, 2011 the very first of the Baby Boomers started to reach the age of 65.  Now more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will be turning 65 every single day for the next two decades.  So where in the world are we going to get all the money we need to pay them the retirement benefits that we have promised them?
#34 If the federal government stopped all borrowing today and began right at this moment to repay the U.S. national debt at a rate of one dollar per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the U.S. national debt.  So does anyone out there actually still believe that the U.S. national debt will be paid off someday?
#35 If the U.S. economy is getting better, then why are an all-time record 46 million Americans now on food stamps?
#36 How can we say that we have the greatest economy on earth when we have a child poverty rate that is more than twice as high as France and one out of every four American children is on food stamps?
#37 Since 1964, the reelection rate for members of the U.S. House of Representatives has never fallen below 85 percent.  So are the American people really that stupid that they would keep sending the exact same Congress critters back to Washington D.C. over and over and over?
#38 What does it say about our society that nearly one-third of all Americans are arrested by the time they reach the age of 23?
#39 Why do so many of our politicians think that it is a good idea to allow the U.S. military to arrest American citizens on American soil and indefinitely detain them without a trial?
#40 A new bill being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives would give the U.S. government power to shut down any website that is determined to "engage in, enable or facilitate" copyright infringement.  Many believe that the language of the new law is so vague that it would allow the government to permanently shut down any website that even links very briefly to "infringing material".  Prominent websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube would be constantly in danger of being given a "death penalty".  The American people need to ask their members of Congress this question: Do you plan to vote for SOPA (The Stop Online Piracy Act)?  If the answer is yes, that is a clear indication that you should never cast a single vote for that member of Congress ever again.
So do you have answers to some of the questions posted above?

Edible Plants and Their Preparation

TEMPERATE ZONE FOOD PLANTSTemperate Zone 

• Amaranth (Amaranthus retroflexus and other species)
• Arrowroot (Sagittaria species)
• Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)
• Beechnut (Fagus species)
• Blackberries (Rubus species)
• Blueberries (Vaccinium species)
• Burdock (Arctium lappa)
• Cattail (Typha species)
• Chestnut (Castanea species)
• Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
• Chufa (Cyperus esculentus)
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
• Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)
• Nettle (Urtica species)
• Oaks (Quercus species)
• Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
• Plantain (Plantago species)
• Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)
• Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia species)
• Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
• Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
• Sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)
• Strawberries (Fragaria species)
• Thistle (Cirsium species)
• Water lily and lotus (Nuphar, Nelumbo, and other species)
• Wild onion and garlic (Allium species)
• Wild rose (Rosa species)
• Wood sorrel (Oxalis species)

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TROPICAL ZONE FOOD PLANTS

• Bamboo (Bambusa and other species)
• Bananas (Musa species)
• Breadfruit (Artocarpus incisa)
• Cashew nut (Anacardium occidental)
• Coconut (Cocos nucifera)
• Mango (Mangifera indica)
• Palms (various species)
• Papaya (Carica species)
• Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum)
• Taro (Colocasia species)

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DESERT ZONE FOOD PLANTS

• Acacia (Acacia farnesiana)
• Agave (Agave species)
• Cactus (various species)
• Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)
• Desert amaranth (Amaranths palmeri)

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Seaweeds

One plant you should never overlook is seaweed. It is a form of marine algae found on or near ocean shores. There are also some edible freshwater varieties. Seaweed is a valuable source of iodine, other minerals, and vitamin C. Large quantities of seaweed in an unaccustomed stomach can produce a severe laxative effect.
When gathering seaweeds for food, find living plants attached to rocks or floating free. Seaweed washed onshore any length of time may be spoiled or decayed. You can dry freshly harvested seaweeds for later use.
Its preparation for eating depends on the type of seaweed. You can dry thin and tender varieties in the sun or over a fire until crisp. Crush and add these to soups or broths. Boil thick, leathery seaweeds for a short time to soften them. Eat them as a vegetable or with other foods. You can eat some varieties raw after testing for edibility.

SEAWEEDS

• Dulse (Rhodymenia palmata)
• Green seaweed (Ulva lactuca)
• Irish moss (Chondrus crispus)
• Kelp (Alaria esculenta)
• Laver (Porphyra species)
• Mojaban (Sargassum fulvellum)
• Sugar wrack (Laminaria saccharina)

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Preparation of Plant Food

Although some plants or plant parts are edible raw, you must cook others to be edible or palatable. Edible means that a plant or food will provide you with necessary nutrients, while palatable means that it actually is pleasing to eat. Many wild plants are edible but barely palatable. It is a good idea to learn to identify, prepare, and eat wild foods.


Methods used to improve the taste of plant food include soaking, boiling, cooking, or leaching. Leaching is done by crushing the food (for example, acorns), placing it in a strainer, and pouring boiling water through it or immersing it in running water.

Boil leaves, stems, and buds until tender, changing the water, if necessary, to remove any bitterness.

Boil, bake, or roast tubers and roots. Drying helps to remove caustic oxalates from some roots like those in the Arum family.Leach acorns in water, if necessary, to remove the bitterness. Some nuts, such as chestnuts, are good raw, but taste better roasted.

You can eat many grains and seeds raw until they mature. When hard or dry, you may have to boil or grind them into meal or flour.

The sap from many trees, such as maples, birches, walnuts, and sycamores, contains sugar. You may boil these saps down to a syrup for sweetening. It takes about 35 liters of maple sap to make one liter of maple syrup!

Edible Plant Tests

Universal Edibility Test

There are many plants throughout the world. Tasting or swallowing even a small portion of some can cause severe discomfort, extreme internal disorders, and even death. Therefore, if you have the slightest doubt about a plant's edibility, apply the Universal Edibility Test below before eating any portion of it.

Before testing a plant for edibility, make sure there are enough plants to make the testing worth your time and effort. Each part of a plant (roots, leaves, flowers, and so on) requires more than 24 hours to test. Do not waste time testing a plant that is not relatively abundant in the area.
Remember, eating large portions of plant food on an empty stomach may cause diarrhea, nausea, or cramps. Two good examples of this are such familiar foods as green apples and wild onions. Even after testing plant food and finding it safe, eat it in moderation.
You can see from the steps and time involved in testing for edibility just how important it is to be able to identify edible plants.
To avoid potentially poisonous plants, stay away from any wild or unknown plants that have--

• Milky or discolored sap.
• Beans, bulbs, or seeds inside pods.
• Bitter or soapy taste.
• Spines, fine hairs, or thorns.
• Dill, carrot, parsnip, or parsleylike foliage.
• "Almond" scent in woody parts and leaves.
• Grain heads with pink, purplish, or black spurs.
• Three-leaved growth pattern.

Using the above criteria as eliminators when choosing plants for the Universal Edibility Test will cause you to avoid some edible plants. More important, these criteria will often help you avoid plants that are potentially toxic to eat or touch.

Making Yogurt

Making Yogurt By Patrice Lewis

When you get to the point where you're milking your own cow, you'll need to figure out what to do with the excess milk. One of the easiest and tastiest options is to make homemade yogurt.
Yogurt is nothing more than the bacterial fermentation of milk using specific cultures. As far as I know, any milk can be used (cow, goat, yak, water buffalo, whatever). Yogurt in one form or another has been around for literally thousands of years. Curdled milk, after all, is nothing new. Because the fermentation process changes lactose into lactic acid, people who are moderately lactose-intolerant are often able to eat yogurt without a problem.

Heat milk on the lowest setting to no more than 180° F. Stirring in half a cup of nonfat dry milk gives the finished yogurt a creamier texture. Let the milk cool to 105°- 110° F. Don't stir. Scrape off & discard the skin that forms on top. When you are sure the milk has cooled to at least 110° F, add the yogurt culture. The hot cultured milk must incubate for a minimum of 5-6 hours.

Making yogurt requires two main ingredients: culture and heat. Both must be controlled in order to produce a successful batch of yogurt.
Theoretically, any commercial yogurt (bought at a grocery store) that contains live cultures can be used to culture your milk. However, I've had little success following this option and prefer to purchase a yogurt culture in powder form from a supply company.
While there are a number of yogurt cultures available from suppliers, I wanted something I could re-culture myself so I wouldn't have to keep purchasing new culture. After a bit of research, I found a Bulgarian Yogurt culture through the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company (www.cheesemaking.com). It can be re-cultured indefinitely without the need for fresh culture powder.
So...ready to make some yogurt? Let's start from the beginning. I'll pause for a while so you can go milk your cow...
...Now that you're back, strain and chill the milk and let's get started.
Start with about two quarts of milk. You can use skim or whole, fresh or store-bought. I prefer fresh skim. Put it in a pot on the lowest heat setting on the stove. You don't want to heat it too quickly or it will have a burned taste. Keep a thermometer in the milk to watch the temperature. Do not use a microwave.
I like to add half a cup of nonfat dry milk when I get started. This gives the yogurt a creamier texture. Stir the dry milk into the fresh milk until dissolved.
Heat the milk to no more than 180° F. Don't go any higher than this or the milk will taste burned. This temperature is high enough to kill off any undesirable bacteria and to denature the milk protein so it won't form curds (as with cheesemaking).
When the milk reaches 180° F, turn off the heat and let the milk cool to between 105° and 110° F. Don't stir the milk while it is cooling. It will form a thick nasty layer of skin on top. After the milk has cooled, scoop off and discard the skin (don't try to mix the skin back into the milk; it will only result in strings of skin in the yogurt). Don't let the milk cool to less than 105°F or it will be too cool to culture the milk. Re-warm if necessary.
Add the yogurt culture. Do not add the culture before the milk has cooled to at least 110° F. Trust me on this; you will kill your culture if you add it to the milk when it's too warm. Stir the culture in thoroughly.
Now the milk has to be incubated for a minimum of 5 to 6 hours. The longer it incubates, the tarter the yogurt. (I usually incubate mine about 12 hours because I like a tarter yogurt.) Anything can be used as long as the milk stays warm. Several years ago I bit the bullet and bought a Yogotherm Yogurt Maker because it's non-electric and simple to clean (it's literally just a plastic bucket that nests inside a Styrofoam sleeve and cover). You could probably put the milk behind the woodstove in order to stay warm, or inside a gas oven with a pilot light, or wrapped in towels and tucked inside a small ice chest. Use your creativity to come up with some way to keep the milk warm. But low-grade heat is necessary for the milk to culture and thicken properly.
After the yogurt has incubated for several hours, chill the yogurt for about 12 hours.
Before flavoring the yogurt, scoop out a few ounces and put it in a small container. Cover and keep this in the fridge. This is your starter for the next batch. The starter is best used within a couple of weeks — the older it is, the less effective it is. If you don't make yogurt very often, you may have to purchase some more starter culture for your next batch. However, the starter can be frozen and then thawed at room-temperature (not in the microwave!) to store it for longer periods of time.
The yogurt can be sweetened and flavored to your preference. You can use honey, sugar, Splenda, or eat it unsweetened. You can add vanilla flavoring or puréed fruit. My favorite combination is one cup Splenda plus two cups peach purée.
Fresh yogurt will store in the refrigerator far longer than fresh milk. I've eaten yogurt that is two or three weeks old and the only problem is it needs a little stirring and has a tarter flavor than fresh-made yogurt.
Making yogurt is such an easy task that it will become a routine way to use up some of the excess milk from your dairy animals.

Types of Candle Wicks

By Dawn R. Levesque, eHow Contributor

1. • A wick's function is to draw the wax up to the flame.

     A wick influences a candle's burning performance. According to the National Candle Association over 100 types of wicks currently exist on the market, making it essential to select the right one. A candle that has a consistent flame size, a wax pool with no dripping and an afterglow makes a well-designed candle. Factors that impact wick choice include the wax type, candle's size, shape, color and fragrance.

   Flat

   • Composed of three braided strands, flat wicks have many plies per strand, cites Betty Oppenheimer, the author of "Making Hand-Dipped Candles." The number of plies in a flat braided wick determines its size. Sizes range from 15 ply (extra small) to 60 ply (extra large.) When lit, these wicks burn slightly off center, imparting a curl in the flame. Flat braided wicks break off as they burn called self-trimming. Select flat braided wicks for pillar and taper candles.

   Square

   • Originally designed for beeswax candles, plaited square wicks have rounded corners making them more robust than flat ones. Manufactures have devised a numbering system (differs between manufactures) to determine a square wick's size. Square wicks give a curl when burned to minimize carbon buildup or mushrooming. According to "The Candlemaker's Companion," square braided wicks maintain a centered flame in the candle. Find squared wicks in pillar, block and novelty candles.

   Cored

   • Braided with round cross sections, cored wicks stay upright while burning, according to the International Guild of Candle Artisans. Materials used for the interior core include cotton, paper, hemp, and zinc as the most popular. Zinc-cored wicks burns the coolest while paper core wicks do not burn as hot making them effective in paraffin-based wax candles. Cotton-cored wicks burn the hottest, making them more effectual for natural waxes. Find cored wicks in jar candles, pillars, votives and devotional lights.

   Precut

   • Cut to the candle maker's specifications, a precut, or tabbed, wick improves the beginner candle maker's craft by leaving out the guesswork. They also cut down the process time when producing in quantity. Make use of precut or tabbed wicks for votive, tea light and novelty candle-making.

   Special

   • CD series wicks have interwoven paper filament that offer increased rigidity, improving the burn of the wax. Generally used with paraffin and natural waxes, HTP series wicks have a rigidity often found in core wicks. As a self-trimming wick, it produces less mushrooming than other types.