Slow Money & Supporting Local

One of our contributors (Tamrah Jo Ortiz)  wrote an excerpt on how we can make Slow Money happen.  Sometimes it takes little steps – it is hard to make drastic changes when you are going through a little thing called “life”.  Tamrah gives the readers several excellent tips on how to make this happen.

Read the complete article – The Slow Money Campaign – HERE.

The Liberty Bus is Coming to Colorado

We are very excited to announce that the Liberty Bus, part of Liberty in America, is coming to the state of Colorado.  The Good American Post is helping to coordinate their stops, and we are looking for sponsors and venues!

The goal of Liberty in American & The Liberty Bus are to enhance the understanding of:

• WHY government spending must be significantly reduced
• WHY private enterprise is a more effective alternative for services
• WHY individual choice, risk and reward are imperative for liberty to survive in America
• HOW YOU can change the direction away from government dependency and toward liberty

Do you have a business or organization that is interested in promoting and supporting liberty?  Let us know!

goodamericanpost (at) gmail.com

Colorado District 3 Congressional Candidate Gregory Gilman pledges to support the DownsizeDC agenda

Pueblo, Colorado – [July 9, 2010] – Gregory Gilman, Congressional Candidate for Colorado’s Third District pledges to introduce or co-sponsor bills written and presented by DownsizeDC.org.

Congressional Candidate Gregory Gilman has pledged to introduce or co-sponsor legislation written and presented by DownsizeDC.org. The legislation to be supported consists of bills intended to hold elected officials accountable and streamline the legislative process of the Federal Government.  “These bills will increase the transparency and integrity of Congress,” said Mr. Gilman. “It is appalling that many of our elected officials in Washington don’t read the bills they vote on. One of our biggest problems is the way Congress does business. This agenda will begin the process of regaining control over our legislative body. I’m proud to be associated with the DownsizeDC team.”

More information on these bills can be found at www.downsizedc.org.

About Gregory Gilman: Gregory Gilman is native of Colorado and an Electrical Engineering graduate of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. A Stanford University Fellow with more than 20 years of engineering and management experience. Mr. Gilman currently resides in Custer County, Colorado and is proud to be a member of the Libertarian Party. More information is available at www.gilman2010.com.

Contact Information:

Gregory Gilman

140 W. 29^th Street

Suite 319

Pueblo, Co 81008

Phone: 719-778-8198

Web: www.gilman2010.com

Email: gilman4congress@gmail.com

Colorado District 3 Congressional candidate Gregory Gilman to attend and speak at the Pre-Independence Day Tea Party Rally in La Junta, Colorado

Congressional Candidate Gregory Gilman is traveling across the State meeting with voters of Colorado’s Third Congressional District. In discussing the current political environment, Mr. Gilman said, “The people of this State are frustrated and angry at Congress. There is a sense of hopelessness. Our elected officials have not lived up to the expectations of the electorate.” Offering solutions instead of rhetoric Mr. Gilman replied, “We must come together to form a powerful coalition to take control of our Federal Government, I see the Libertarian Party as the vehicle to form that coalition. It is only when we have a majority will we be able to return this government to the People.”

Gregory Gilman will speak at the rally in La Junta, Colorado on Saturday July 3, 2010. He supports the philosophy of smaller government, personal responsibility and economic freedom. In discussing the Libertarian Party he stated, “The two party system is the greatest threat to our Liberty. As more people become disenchanted we will see the rise of alternative ideas and solutions. Look at the track record and the current state of affairs. We cannot continue on the current path.”

About Gregory Gilman: Gregory Gilman is native of Colorado and an Electrical Engineering graduate of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. A Stanford University Fellow with more than 20 years of engineering and management experience. Mr. Gilman currently resides in Custer County, Colorado and is proud to be a member of the Libertarian Party. More information is available at www.gilman2010.com.

Contact Information:

Gregory Gilman

140 W. 29^th Street

Suite 319

Pueblo, Co 81008

Phone: (719) 778-8198

Web: www.gilman2010.com

Email: gilman4congress@gmail.com

USDA Rural Development Announces New Program – Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP)

USDA Rural Development is accepting applications to support the development and ongoing success of rural microentrepreneurs and microenterprises.  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the funding for the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) at the Rural Summit held in Missouri last week.

The program is authorized through the 2008 Farm Bill and will help small, start up businesses build a sustainable rural community.  The program will provide access to capital, business-based training and technical assistance to the smallest of small businesses.  Funding for this program may include loans and grants to Rural Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs).

MDOs may utilize the funds for microloans to rural microenterprises and microentrepreneurs (business generally with 10 employees or less and in need of financing of $50,000 or less); business based training and technical assistance to rural microborrowers and potential borrowers.

For Fiscal Year 2010, $45.1 million is available nationwide.  Eligible MDOs are required to provide a match of not less than 15% of the total amount of the grant.  Awards will be made on a competitive basis each quarter.  Applications are due no later than July 16, 2010 to be eligible for funding this fiscal year.  Applications received after July 16, 2010 will be reviewed and evaluated for funding beginning October 1, 2010.

For more information in Colorado contact April Dahlager, Business & Cooperative Programs Director, (720) 544-2931, april.dahlager@co.usda.gov.

The Good American Post – Free Markets. New Media.

If it is a question of whether or not we believe in the future of our Country, then today I must ask and answer that question.  We are Good Americans.  I am tired of the fear.

Perceptions rule the real song and dance every day, however our perceptions are formed by three major entities:  the people that we believe we love,  the people we believe that we hate, and the mediums in which those two operate.

We are Good Americans.  There are good people, there are bad people, there are profitable events taking place and there are unprofitable events taking place.

What do we do?  What can we do?  We are not sure quite yet, but no matter what, there are a core of us who believe this,

That we are Good Americans.

Colorado District 3 Congressional candidate Gregory Gilman to speak in opposition of the Pinon Canyon Expansion

Pueblo, Colorado – [June 17, 2010] – Gregory Gilman of Custer County, Colorado will speak in opposition of the Pinon Canyon Expansion on June 19, 2010 in Kim, Colorado. While discussing the expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Mr. Gilman said, “This is another example of the ongoing expansion of the Federal Government. At risk here is the livelihood of current and future generations of ranchers and farmers in Southeastern Colorado. There will be a devastating effect on the local economies of the area.”

Gregory Gilman will speak at the opposition rally in Kim, Colorado on Saturday June 19th. Mr. Gilman opposes the expansion and vows to fight for the local property owners and support their efforts to avoid a Federal Government takeover of the land. Mr. Gilman said, “It is not clear that the current site cannot meet the needs of the Army. If PCMS is not suitable then there are other sites across the country that would be more appropriate. Property rights are under attack and protecting the property rights of Americans is a priority of this campaign.”

About Gregory Gilman: Gregory Gilman is native of Colorado and an Electrical Engineering graduate of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. A Stanford University Fellow with more than 20 years of engineering and management experience. Mr. Gilman currently resides in Custer County, Colorado and is proud to be a member of the Libertarian Party. More information is available at www.gilman2010.com.

Contact Information:

Gregory Gilman 140 W. 29th Street Suite 319 Pueblo, Co 81008

Phone: (719) 778-8198 Web: www.gilman2010.com Email: gilman4congress@gmail.com

NAIS, Codex Alimentarius, Bill S510 and Other Bedtime Stories to Guarantee Nightmares

By Tamrah Jo Ortiz

Thanks to my good friends on Facebook, I was alerted that the ugly head of the government is once again poking its’ large and obnoxious nose into places it doesn’t belong.   Yes, I realize this is a inflammatory statement, hence, my writing here, instead of posting this as a comment at the www.opencongress.org website.  (which, if you’d like, you can visit and look at the hoopla going on over various bills.)

So, let’s take a look at each of these and try to make sense of them.

NAIS – The National Animal Identification System.   In brief, this idea is supposedly born of the desire to quickly identify and destroy animals that pose a threat to both food supply and our existence. (mad cow disease, avian bird flu, anyone?)

What is not so clear is how anyone thinks any of this will really work.   Number 1, the folks that want to implement this currently employ thousands to audit tax returns and apparently have not been successful in creating a database or secure electronic means of verifying taxes or conducting a paperless census (which, by the way, we filled out, returned and apparently was ‘lost’ as a census person showed up at my house saying they didn’t get ours.   On the flip side, my mom got 2 censuses to fill out and a friend never received any….)

Now, if these folks have not centralized, streamlined and made efficient the operations they have been in charge of for decades, how in the world are we to believe they can implement this kind of system and let us know about diseased food within 20 years of our consumption of it?

Number 2 – current figures show that given the ‘requirements’ of the system, most of the costs will fall on the small farmers and ranchers – courtesy of Wikipedia is the following:

“The costs of becoming NAIS compliant for a U.S. beef producer were found to be a minimum of $2.08 a head for large producers and as much as $17.56 a head for smaller operations, with an estimated average cost to cow/calf producers of $6.26 per animal, according to research by Christopher Raphael Crosby of Kansan State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics published in 2008.”

Does anyone hear “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”?

Number 3 – Historically, outbreaks of disease occur in close population, improperly nourished animals.   Farmer John who has 15 head of cattle and 160 acres of pasture does not face the same challenges as Mr. Beef, who has crammed 5,000 cows into a feedlot the size of a Wal-mart parking lot, where calves play on hills of cow patties and drink milk produced from the ingestion of soybean and corn meal (when cows have evolved to do just fine, thank you very much, on grass.)

Plus, Farmer John really depends on his herd for his food, to feed his family and perhaps a neighbor or two and to bring in some extra cash to pay the ever-increasing cost of living expenses.  So he has a HUGE investment in making sure his herd is healthy and well-nourished.  The loss of even one cow can make or break him.

Mr. Beef can depend on tax breaks, an adjustment of market prices, government bailouts, etc, if he somehow manages to lose his herd to disease.   So who do you think takes better care of their herd?

On to the next – Codex Alimentarius – Proponents will tell you it’s an international effort to ensure the safety of food for all – as well as to keep me from accidently killing myself from taking too much Vitamin C.

Again, these efforts are brought to you by folks who can’t even balance their own budgets and settle disputes among themselves in a peaceful manner.  Do you really think they know how much Vitamin C I can handle and furthermore, if I were receiving nutritious food, would I even need a supplement?   If they are so invested in “Nutritious, Safe Food to further the health and well-being of the populace” then why did they ignore the published findings of biochemist Dr. Mary Enig in the 70’s, who warned of the dangers of trans-fats and hydrogenated fats to the human body?  Um, no, took about 40 years before they figured that one out (if they even have yet……………)

I also find it interesting that many countries within the World Effort of this measure are ARDENTLY opposed to GMO foods and have been very insistent on pushing for foods containing those types of ingredients to be Labeled.   Those who have a vested interest in controlling both seed and food supplies, by getting ‘patents’ on their genetically modified seeds and plants have kept up the pressure and keep taking a run at getting that ‘pesky little nuisance’ of required labeling for GMO foods buried under the rug.

All in all, I cannot see the reasoning for extending all this effort on the Codex other than for countries who take their food and health seriously to put up a ‘fence’ to keep those exports out from countries that do not.  (meaning, US)

So with the history of these two long-running dramas, I now come to the most recent – Senate Bill S510.

Innocuously titled, “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act”, it lists high-sounding ideals and includes some of the following:

food facility re-inspection (um…I worked as a waitress for 12 years, I can tell you, restaurants get inspected every year……)
food recalls (aren’t they already allowed to do that?)
a voluntary qualified importer program (have these people never heard of eating locally?)
So those violently opposed to this bill read it and see how easily seed and food control could be placed in the hands of those who have no business telling us what we can grow or eat, share with our neighbors or sell at the local farmer’s market.   And I agree with them to a point; while the bill does not specifically state any of these intents, the large generalized points of it are open to all kinds of interpretations.

History tells me the interpreters will translate it for the benefit of themselves, their agency budget and their large campaign contributors (corporations) before they will for my health and well being.

Again, if you look to history, deaths and illness related to the consumption of contaminated, diseased foods, has been linked to large corporate mono-culture farms, not the small local producers.  Why?  Well, because the small local producer not only feeds you, but their own family.  They don’t have the time or the energy (or the insanity) to grow one garden with ‘good stuff’ for their family and another with ‘questionable stuff’ to sell at the local market.

In addition, if I get ‘bad food’ at the local farmer’s market, I know exactly who to go to with my accusations.   When large farms put out questionable produce, it has also traveled through one or more broker warehouses, a packaging plant or two, the transportation gamut….on and on and its’ so easy to pass the buck on who exactly is to blame.

I’m also curious as to why Homeland Security is one of the committees listed on the bill’s information page.  What, are they afraid terrorists are going to send us toxic bananas?   Newsflash, if everyone ate organic and locally, this fear would be laughable.  And I can tell you, any terrorist shows up at our local farmers market with evil intent on his mind, I can guarantee there are enough ‘rednecks’ around here that are just waiting for an opportunity to show the world what real Homeland Security looks like.

I also wonder just where they are going to get the money to implement all this when they are already crying about ‘deficits’ and ‘budget cuts’.   To my mind, this has less to do with feeding the nation safely and more to do with feeding the oversized monster we call our government, as well as nudging out any competition to the large centralized food companies.

Implementation, testing and compliance enforcement take money – and that money will come from those who want to ‘buy into the market’ (meaning smaller operations won’t be able to afford to be in the market) –  but most of the money will come from you and me, the consumer.   What?  You don’t think so?  Just who do you think is paying for the Tobacco Company Settlements?   It isn’t the companies or the government, its’ the consumers.  But I’ll leave that debate for another time.

The legislation listed above can only make sense in a climate of fear.   They can only pass when we blindly believe the government is really trying to protect us.  When we believe that death is more heinous than liberty. (Oh where is Patrick Henry when you need him?)

Quit looking to the government to save you from harm.   Know those who grow your food.   Have a relationship.  Trust me, they are much more invested in your health and well being than the FDA is.  Because without you, they don’t have a livelihood.  The FDA and government don’t either, but they have forgotten.

Remind them.

Dissent is Not Terrorism

The United States of America is a system of representation and individual liberty that is open to criticism and dissent.

This is an inherent part of freedom and our liberties, not to mention our right to free speech, the First Amendment and our Bill of Rights.

Tea Party activists have gotten a very negative wrap from some representatives in the current administration and public at-large, and it appears that this is moving towards a whole new level.

A very good resource, The Patriot Post (PatriotPost.US), had a story on training activities taking place with our own American soldiers to “deal with” terrorist threats including the “Local Militia Groups / Anti-Government Protesters / TEA Party” (Alexander, 2010).

Political dissent, when expressed without any type of violence towards others, is a legal activity that is an important part of being an individual in the United States of America.  The fact that these people – the TEA Partiers – could be targeted by our own military, is scary and preposterous.

Please take the time to read the whole essay here.

- Joseph Poder

References:

Alexander, M. (2010). The Patriot Post (PatriotPost.US). Retrieved on May 6, 2010 from http://patriotpost.us/alexander/2010/04/29/army-preps-for-tea-party-terrorists/

P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S

We hope you have been paying attention to what bills and issues are looked at in the House and Senate, because there is a positive correlation with when politicians are up for election – if there are contentious issues that may cost them seats, these bills are sent to the back-burner.  If there is an issue that will win them votes, then it is time for a marketing campaign!

Unfortunately, we have a whole lot of politicking and very little representation.  We like to remain optimistic, but it is easy to see that bad things happen when there are not checks and balances (hence our constitution and the separation of powers which are so important to protect).

Have you heard anything about the “Boss Tweed Era”?  It is a classic example of politicking and bullying – something that we must be cognizant of at all levels of politics.  We need representatives that protect liberty and protect our constitution – period.

There are many great events and organizations rising to the occasion, and we commend them!  Be sure to check out these people and groups that are making strides to protect our liberties, and be wary of the politics in play (find many of them in our blogroll).

Let’s find people who represent WE THE PEOPLE versus worry about covering their own tails.  See Get Out Of Our House (GOOOH) for more information.