Hey, Kay, I think maybe burning at the stake would suit the case on the lobbyists. They are our incarnation of witches--magically converting public good into private gain. And, heck, they don't even need anything more exotic than plain old money. No eye of newt, or dragon's blood.
I had a moment of mental whiplash last night during a news cast. The story started out with the statement that Americans, as a whole, waste 40% of the food produced or processed. I wanted to hear how and where it is wasted but instead the story went into an account of rising levels of hunger in the country. With rising unemployment and underemployment many who were solidly middle class are having difficulty finding affordable food consistently. If we, as a group, waste that much food why is anyone going hungry? Who is wasting it? Where in the journey from farm to table is it being wasted? That is much more interesting to me than that pair of idiots who crashed the White House state dinner hoping to catapult notoriety into a reality show gig.
This article from the Discovery Channel online answers some of that question. Much of the waste the researchers found came in the field as some farmers responded to drops in commodity prices by plowing under their crops. A second big loss occurred with large supermarkets and fast food chains. Families, according to the study, waste about 14% of what they buy or $600/year.
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Re: your projects -- you are so gifted and I envy you that. I also like it that you have so much knowledge to save yourself from disaster. Me -- I'd just gove up.
Glad you like my idea of burning the damn lobbyists at the stake. It's that or we have them drawn and quartered which I've decided I like better for these bozos. The scene from "Braveheart" where Mel as William Wallace endures this tortuous death gives me chills and I can't help but that it would be appropriate punishment for them as it's the same thing they are doing to us metaphorically.
Wasting food? Yeah, I plead guilty. I buy stuff I mean to make and it winds up sitting there because a) I forget it's there; b) It expires because it got shoved to the back of the cupboard. I am pretty frugal by necessity though and usually don't buy stuff that I won't eat and donate what I haven't used to the church in my neighborhood that is a Hunger Task Force site and hosts a spaghetti dinner for the poor each month. We in the neighborhood association attend when we can and donate cash for our meals to support their fine ministry. And I also donate things like soap, paper towels, cleaning supplies, etc. or other things they can't buy with food stamps if I have extra.
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