Rachel Maddow on ACORN

You may have read it here first but Rachel Maddow has put together the same argument I did several days ago but with a lot more details.  I am glad to know I am not a lone nut.  Take a look.

Okra!

I really love okra but I have never quite had success with it. I know it can be grown here, especially if you provide a hoop house or something to keep it warm earlier in the season. This year my okra plants were kind of stunted, as they have been in previous years, but this year they also got attacked by chickens and then colonized by aphid farming ants. At a certain point, one row of plants took off and outpaced the aphids.  I helped them along by blasting the aphids with water. They also got a boost from the late September summer temperatures in the 90's. They are finally three feet tall and putting out flowers.  Okra is related to hibiscus, hence the lovely flowers.  I have gotten a few good pods from these plants and I hope to have more soon.  Next year, they are getting a hoop house to get an early start.  I think I will get the hang of it one of these years.

Chicken Theater Episode 3 Bed Time

Chickens go to bed when it starts getting dark.


Guess what?
Chickenbut!

Nuts Are For The Birds

OK, this is  about nuts.  This neighborhood used to be a walnut orchard.  There is a walnut tree on each parcel.  Recently, I have been finding walnuts and shells of walnuts in places where there are no trees, like the sidewalk or my front lawn.  At first I thought it must be those damned kids (get off of my lawn!) but then I heard a knocking sound.  I looked up and saw this crow repeatedly dropping a walnut onto the street.  I grabbed my camera, but did not get a good shot of the action, so you will have to take my word for it.

Chicken Theater Episode 2

Even chickens need to take a break on the park bench.

ACORN

This post is not about nuts in the literal sense. It is not about food or homesteading at all. I am deeply troubled by the controversy surrounding the organization known as ACORN.

I find it very hard to believe that anyone would be "fooled" by this James O'Keefe character.

According to ACORN's chief executive Bertha Lewis, these people were kicked out of numerous ACORN locations and the people in these tapes have been fired.  The right wing likes to crow about other ACORN employees being arrested and prosecuted for so-called voter fraud. In all of those cases, these people were turned in by ACORN to the authorities because the employees had fraudulently filled out voter registration forms. In many states it is illegal to discard the forms once they are filled out, so ACORN flagged the forms and turned them in. Blaming ACORN for "voter fraud" is like blaming Safeway when an employee is prosecuted for shoplifting. 

The videos of the ACORN employees giving advice about prostitution and taxes seem kind of damning but I just don't buy this story.  Something does not smell right.  I would like to see the un-edited tapes.  I would like to see real investigations. 







The House and Senate just voted to strip ACORN of all Federal funding.  Given the nature of these tapes and the organized right wing effort to smear ACORN and anyone who supports them, I can see why these resolutions passed so quickly and overwhelmingly.

Gee, I wonder if we can get a resolution to defund DynCorp whose employees were allegedly having sex with children in Bosnia.  Employees who came forward were fired.  What about Blackwater, now known as Xe?  They have been accused of murder and other serious crimes.  How about ArmorGroup, who recently had a video scandal of their own and required employees to engage in sexually deviant behavior, according to a whistleblower? Or Kellogg Brown and Root, which has employees who engaged in gang rape that the Defense Department refused to investigate?!?!?!? Or And I am sure the list goes on and on.  Given the number of times these companies have overcharged the government for services, maybe we could pay for health care with the windfall we would reap.

So, in short, I understand how terrible it was, what ACORN employees seem to have done, but I did not realize how quickly Congress could act when they want to.  And they didn't even wait for an investigation.  How unusual.

How much money do you suppose ACORN gets from the government vs. DynCorp, Blackwater, KBR, etc.?  How many people are killed or raped by ACORN?  For ACORN's part, they need to get their employees on message and on the alert, but by this time it could be too late.  The right wing is vicious.

I understand that various law enforcement agencies are investigating these allegations.  I hope they uncover the entirety of these tapes and that they  can shed more light on this controversy.

Chicken Theater

Welcome to Chicken Theater.  Please do not expect high drama, exceptional moments of cuteness or comedy.  Chicken Theater is a meditation, a chance to relaxo and pretend you are at the rancho.  Come and get away from it all with Flo, Shortcake, Cupcake, Butterball, Halley and Simon.