Cars: American as Apple Pie

The above is my lead-in to this Roland Hansen Commentary entry.

Cars are as American as apple pie. Or are they?

It seems to me that any statement about American cars being as American as Apple Pie is just as controversial as is the debate over the meaning of Apple Pie.

There was a time when speaking of automobiles that a statement using the words "car" and "American" synonymously in the same sentence was right on target. Now, all that can be said is:
American cars have their place in history.
I emphasize "in history" because American cars are no more!

Here, take a look at:
The Cars.com American-Made Index
By Kelsey Mays, Cars.com
What Are the Top American-Made Cars?

Thank you to Adam Hansen for bring up the topic in your blog entry:
All American?

Yes, indeed! Cars? American cars? Apple pie? American pie?
Using those statements in the same sentence are as controversial as some people seem to think of some sexual practices.
As American as Apple Pie -- now, that is hard to swallow!

SNAP! Take the Food Stamp Challenge.

I am just relaying the information. Here, read this copy and paste job from Jewish News of Greater Phoenix:

Local rabbi takes food stamp challenge
LEISAH WOLDOFF
Managing Editor

Rabbis and cantors across the country are committing to live for one week on a food budget of $31.50, as part of the 2012 Jewish Community Food Stamp Challenge. Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman of Congregation Kehillah in Scottsdale has taken the challenge.

The $31.50 - or $1.50 per meal - represents the average allotment for individuals on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly known as food stamps.

The program is "meant to supplement a family's food budget, but to some it's their entire food budget," Sharfman said.

The national challenge - organized by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in partnership with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and several other national Jewish organizations across the religious spectrum - is an effort to spread awareness of the national crisis of hunger and poverty.

"Hunger and food insecurity touch every one of our communities, but it is rarely talked about and frequently misunderstood," said Rabbi Leonard Gordon, co-chair of the Jewish Community Food Stamp Challenge, in a release. The challenge "is a way for rabbis and cantors to make the invisible daily struggles of congregants and neighbors real, while demonstrating the Jewish community's deep commitment to help those in need."

Sharfman took her challenge Aug. 31-Sept. 7; and in addition to the financial restriction, her personal requirements included keeping kosher and eating healthy, which meant no fast food and avoiding "carb overload," she said.

As she prepared for the challenge, she was struck by how much planning it takes to live on such a strict budget. She also learned that "there are no shortcuts. You can't go out to eat, you can't just go out and grab something if you're trying to be healthy."

Here's a sample of her menu for the week:

For breakfast, she bought oatmeal in bulk - not instant. "We were allowed to use seasonings that were in our cabinet so I put a little honey in it - it was filling, but it wasn't particularly tasty."

She also ate eggs with a little cheese in them and half a banana or apple. Berries weren't on sale that week, so they were out of her price range. She chose to not purchase yogurt because it wasn't filling enough.

For lunch, she had macaroni and cheese or a peanut butter and honey sandwich and half an apple.

During the week, she avoided breakfast or lunch meetings because eating out wasn't an option. "It was very not social," she said. On that budget, "you can't have any meals out. Maybe if I ate fast food, but I don't."

For dinner, she cooked two kosher chicken legs and thighs in soup, adding pasta and any vegetables she could afford: carrots, celery, turnips, onions. "That lasted for a couple of meals." Then, she recooked the chicken "and that became my Shabbat meal."

She also bought a big bag of lettuce from Costco and shaved some carrots into it - "cucumber put me over my budget" - and made her own salad dressing.

Sharfman said she gained an appreciation for being able to purchase food with a higher convenience level, and although living within the budget may be doable, "I realized how complicated it makes an already complicated life."

The Food Stamp Challenge isn't new. The first one was organized by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in 2006 and gained national attention in 2007 when four members of Congress took the challenge and blogged about their experiences. According to the FRAC website, frac.org, hundreds, if not thousands, have taken the challenge.

As Congress' Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction works on producing a plan by Nov. 23 to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion, anti-hunger advocates are concerned that SNAP will be a target for funding cuts or structural changes that "could result in enrollment being capped and many struggling with hunger being kicked off the program," according to JCPA. The organization encourages individuals to contact their members of Congress about opposing any proposals that would hurt SNAP.

Locally, the Association of Arizona Food Banks, which received a $27,000 grant from MAZON in June for advocacy and education, provides information on its website (azfoodbanks.org) about advocacy and public policy news regarding hunger, as well as sample letters one could write to their members of Congress.

In 2011, more than 1 million people in Arizona - in 465,375 households - participated in SNAP, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

In June of this year, the most recent data available on the USDA site, there were 1.1 million Arizonans in 481,901 households participating.

On a national level, 44.7 million people - in 21 million households - received SNAP benefits in 2011, according to USDA.

In addition to taking the challenge, clergy are invited to host pages to raise funds to support JCPA's anti-hunger effort. As of Sept. 18, Sharfman had raised 77 percent of her $1,000 goal (visit tinyurl.com/Sharfmanchallenge).

Participating in the challenge made Sharfman see things differently. For instance, when she saw a couple going grocery shopping with their two young children who, as children tend to do, asked for certain foods that they wanted their parents to purchase, she wondered, "What does it feel like to not have that leeway, to always have to tell the children, 'no'?" It also made her think back to when she taught young children and asked them to bring in food for class projects, "not even thinking about what it meant to the family who might not have been able to afford it."

The point of taking the challenge is to "express gratitude toward the blessings in my life and to share those blessings," she said. Also, Judaism mandates social justice. If there are "people right down the street from me who are in pain and are suffering, then it's my suffering, too."

The experience gave her a different level of empathy, she said, and great appreciation for never having been in that position.

"I can't tell you that I know what it's like because I don't," she said. "I knew going into this that I had seven days and I'm done. I was very well aware that my pantry is full. If I couldn't handle something from this experiment, I could go grab something from my pantry. I didn't, but psychologically, I knew it was there.

"What does it mean when the cupboard really is bare?"

Anyone is welcome to take the Food Stamp Challenge. For more information, visit foodstampchallenge.com.

ref: JewishAZ.com/Local rabbi takes food stamp challenge

Rick Santorum on the 2012 United States Presidential Election: "we might as well stay with what we have"

A few months ago, former United States Senator Rick Santorum (R, Pennsylvania) made a series of statements from which one could logically conclude that Santorum would rather see President Barack Obama win a second term than have Mitt Romney succeed in his quest for the Presidency of the United States of America.Read these quotations of conservative Republican Rich Santorum:

"You win by giving people the choice. You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who is just going to be a little different than the person in there."

"If we are going to be a little different, we may as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk in what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate for the future."

"This election isn't gonna be won by a Republican candidate who's gonna outspend Barack Obama ten to one to win a race. That's how Romney wins. He overwhelmingly outspends whoever's in his way. That's not gonna work in the general election."

“If Governor Romney thinks that he is the CEO of America and can run and manage the economy, he doesn’t understand what conservatives believe in.”

“We don’t want someone in Washington, D.C. to manage the economy. We want someone who can get Washington out of our lives.”

“Running a business is not the same as being president of the United States.”

REFERENCES:
Santorum: Might As Well Have Obama Over Romney
Santorum doesn't let up on Etch A Sketch attack
Santorum: America doesn't need Romney as CEO

What Has Obama Done?

The answer to that question may be found here (Click on, and open in a new browser, the embedded link, silly!).

Thank you to Judy for pointing me in the right direction (or should that be the left direction) in locating such a complete answer to such a serious question. Oh, attribution to Judy may be found on her Judy Hansen Commentary entry, "What has Obama Done…"

Pause for thought:
Right vs. Left : Which Side Are You On?

Hollywood Casino Toledo Is Irresponsible!

I took a look at and explored the web pages of Hollywood Casino Toledo. Having done so, I am disturbed and angered about a promotion on the Hollywood Casino Toledo "PROMOTIONS" page.

Not only is Hollywood Casino Toledo promoting itself, but Hollywood Casino Toledo is advocating that people lie to their employers by calling in sick when not sick, encouraging people to defraud employers in the cases where there is PTO (paid time off) for sick employees, and advocating that the work ethic be replaced with gambling!!!!

Here, read for yourself. I am placing below a copy and paste job of the (offending, in my opinion) Hollywood Casino Toledo promotion.

WINNING BEATS WORKING Friday, August 31st ★ 9am - 5pm Take a sick day because winning sure beats working! Just play with your Marquee Rewards card at your favorite slot machine and you could be our winner. If you are selected as one of our winners we’ll locate you at your seat and upload $100 FREE SLOT PLAY directly to your account.

It is totally and completely irresponsible for Hollywood Casino Toledo to do this. Shame on them. They promote themselves, discourge honest work, and lower community standards in all one fell swoop.

90 Reasons To Give President Obama 4 More Years!

I read the following on the ABOUT 90 DAYS, 90 REASONS web page:

90 Days, 90 Reasons is an independent initiative unaffiliated with Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. 90 Days, 90 Reasons was conceived by two guys originally from Chicago, Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland. In late July, they looked around and saw that many of Obama’s voters and donors from 2008 needed to be reminded of all he has accomplished, and all he will do if given another term. They asked a wide range of cultural figures to explain why they’re voting for Obama in 2012, in the hopes that this might re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place. Every day, a new reason will be posted —

AND, I learned about it in the very well worded Chili Dog Blog entry 90 Reasons In 90 Days, the title of which I suggest you click upon in order to read the entry for yourself. I could not agree more with what is written in that entry to which I commented with a simple "I concur."

Kudos to Chili Dog!

Tea Party - Party On! American History Ignorance.

Weighing In On Romney vs Obama. Hot Dog!

President Obama gave a speech in Roanoke, Virginia.

Mitt Romney and Company, many Republicans but not all, and other Anti-Obama folks who I generally reference as Obama Bashers have used these words of President Obama to attack the President claiming he is unAmerican, a socialist, and out of touch:

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  .....  If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen."

Well, as it stands, those are words that really did come out of the mouth of President Barack Obama when speaking about being successful in America. However, those words are only a small part of what our President said AND he said some other words just before, in between, and just after those specific remarks that give those comments an entirely different slant and meaning than that which Obama Bashers would have you believe.
If you are a person who formulates an opinion based on factual information, rather than a knee-jerk, emotional reaction to half-truths, you may wish to read a transcript of the President's entire speech word for word and in context. If so, use your computer mouse or keypad or whatever electronic gizmo you use to click open the following embedded link to read:
Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, Virginia

Now, then, a truly intelligent person will use facts to formulate a well-informed opinion. Obama Bashers do not use that axiom.
So, what of those remarks of the President? Some people have used President Obama's remarks out of context to bash him. Other people have examined what the President has said about being successful in America and at what GOP presumptive Republican President nominee Mitt Romney has said about being successful in America in order to weigh in on the Romney versus Obama race for the Presidency of the United States of America.
To that I say:
Hot Dog, Chili Dog!



Read that to which I refer by going over and reading All It Takes Is Hard Work? from Chili Dog Blog.
Postscript for additional reference: What Did Obama Actually Say?

Let's Check Facts Before Bashing Our President, Barack Obama

I hear many people who clamor, "Let's Blame Obama!" To them and others I say click over and go read Obama, Falling Gas Prices and Radio Silence from Jill Miller Zimon on Writes Like She Talks.

The attack television political ads by Romney and Company (i..e. Republicans) are just plain misleading and deceiving. Obamacare isn't the biggest tax increase in history. My friend Ron Prochaska put it this way on his Facebook wall: "Hey non-reseachers, check this simple chart. Even you can understand Obamacare is far from the largest tax increase in history. Facts are difficult to debate, but, hating Obama the way you do, you'll find a way." He then posted a chart similar to the one you will see if you click on over to read Republicans Falsely Claim Obamacare Is The ‘Largest Tax Increase In History’ by Pat Garofalo and Travis Waldron.

Earlier today, July 12, 2012, I wrote the following on my Facebook wall:
Fact or Fiction! People should get the facts before formulating an opinion. Far too many people neglect to fact check first. Then, they get all entrenched in their own ill-informed opinion and bash those who happen to disagree with them. SAD! Thank you goes out to Jerry Rosen for letting me share this. 
Health care law "largest tax increase in history on the middle class," says TV ad.

Hey, do remember reading Dumb Obama Bashers Need To Wake Up And Support President Barack Obama or have you not read it?

I say, "Let's check facts before bashing our President, Barack Obama."

Conservative Patriots of America: Kish mir en toches!

I recently saw that a person I know had placed something on that person's own Facebook wall that read as follows:

(Name redacted) shared Conservative Patriots of America's photo. If YOU AGREE, give this a "Like" & hit that "Share"!! Take a spin at the checklist pictured. This is the MOST heated conversation we have had on this page thus far. Obviously, this photo strikes-a-cord with MANY Americans, on BOTH sides of our politics, R & D -- CLICK INTO THE PHOTO TO JUMP-IN ON THE THREAD & TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!! IT'S YOUR COUNTRY!! GET ON THAT MODERN-DAY "FRONTLINE"!!
Connect with even MORE Patriots!! Join us here on fb at Conservative Patriots of America" 

blah, blah blah and then had a photo with the following written on it:

ELECTION 2012 IS COMING
HERE IS ALL I WANT
Obama: Gone!
Borders: Closed!
Language: English!
Culture: Constitution, and the Bill of Rights!
Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!
No Freebies to: Non-Citizens!
ALSO ----
BALANCED BUDGET!
TAX REFORM!
AND
TERM LIMITS FOR CONGRESS & SENATORS!
Only 86% will send this on, Should be a 100%.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to write a book of a response. Instead I quickly and simply wrote this:

I believe in the freedoms and the opportunities that the United States of America has offered to people throughout the world for over two centuries. I believe our country need to continue to do so with the same open arms it afforded our ancestors. I respect the President of the United States. I truly enjoy cultural diversity and the variety languages and traditions. I oppose mandatory drug testing by the government as I believe it violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. Congress consists of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate; The Senate is not a separate entity as implied in the above proclamation. We already have term limits; it is called the ballot box and we exercise that right every two years on members of the House and every six years on members of the Senate. I believe Conservatives in the United States today to be a group of elitists, not very different from the National Socialism that was the ideology of the Nazi Party and Nazi Germany which was a variety of fascism that incorporated biological racism and antisemitism.

I left it at that; but, there really is so much more that could be said in response to the bullshit drivel of the Conservative Patriots of America. Now, mind you, with very rare exceptions, I do not normally use foul language or make personal attacks or name call in my written form of communications, but the crap those idiots and other asswipes that sympathize with them put out, such as the above, make it to my exception list.

I say to the Conservative Patriots of America: Kish mir en toches!