Today would have been Senator Ted Stevens’ 87th birthday. Still miss the man (read what I wrote here) and will always appreciated what he did for his beloved state.
Please recall what a relatively young state Alaska was when Stevens went to DC – and he was able to work both side of the aisle to bring home the things Alaska needed to keep up with the other states. Say what you want, but thanks to the effort of Senators Stevens & Inouye (D Hawaii) we have roads, infrastructure, etc. that is here because of their efforts.
I don’t know if you have been receiving this gem or not, but I certainly have & frankly I’m tired of the nonsense it speaks to:
One Light Bulb at a Time
A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn’t slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American.
Good idea…One light bulb at a time…
Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA. Start looking.
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else – even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track. Let’s get behind her!
My grandson likes Hershey’s candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more.
My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico. Now I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.
This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, “Everyday Value.” I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats – they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in – get ready for this – the USA in a company in Cleveland, Ohio.
So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here.
So on to another aisle – Bounce Dryer Sheets. Yep, you guessed it, bounce cost more money and is made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA – the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!
We should have awakened a decade ago.
Let’s get with the program help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A.
Firstly….
Many of the products listed in the note are made it the USA! Hershey’s candy are named after Hershey, PA which is still making the chocolate now (I looked at one at the store & it shows made in the USA).
I also went & looked at GE & Sylvania (just to mark differences) light bulbs. Both brands listed three locations for manufacturing on the boxes: US, Canada & Mexico! Since we don’t have Kroger I can’t verify the “Everyday Value” statements.
Also here is the Colgate roster:
Colgate Total: Made in U.S.A.
Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste, Kids line: Made in Canada
Colgate Baking Soda & Peroxide Whitening with Oxygen Bubbles
Fluoride Toothpaste: Made in Mexico
Colgate Cavity Protection Fluoride Toothpaste: Made in Mexico
Colgate 2 in 1 Toothpaste & Mouthwash: Made in the UK
Colgate Sparkling White Fluoride Toothpaste: Mexico
Colgate Maximum Strength Sensitive: Made in U.S.A.
Colgate Max Fresh: Made in Made in U.S.A.
From what the specific boxed items are it is probably easier (though not always cheaper) to manufacture these items outside the US we have very stringent laws on it use/distribution (http://fluoridealert.org/mandatory.html).
So much of this sings of the infamous urban legends that float & bloat the internet (e.g. why were they at Lowes for “some reason”? The only time I would be at a Lowes is to BUY HARDWARE). I also like how the Kroger “Everyday Value” is the best thing to buy (maybe they’re trying to recover from the urban legend where Kroger bans gay music).
I appreciate the “warm & fuzzy” that this creates, but it masks AGAIN the real problem & it’s culprits.
Now this would have been great if it started in the 40s, but to do this now would create more problems than it solves. In todays global economy (sorry sports fans, but we’ve been a global economy since WWII) we are simply unable to produce our own goods…so much so that we rely on those other countries for our most basic goods! To build new or restart manufacturing plants for even the simplest items (please remember to include the governmental, eco bullshit requirements/studies/hearings to just get the ability to see if manufacturing someplace in America is doable) is pretty much cost prohibitive in the United States.
The United States is no longer a manufacturing economy, it is a services economy. Fifteen years ago, the assets of the six largest banks in this country totaled 17 percent of GDP … The assets of the six largest banks in the United States today total 63 percent of GDP!!! GDP by the way is our Gross Domestic Product – the goods & services we produce as a nation!
Plus, what if all the people in Mexico, Canada, China, France, England, Germany, Spain, Russia, India, etc. decided to no longer buy American products? As little as we have, it would cripple our economy…again.
The simple answer is the problem is the “too large to fail corporations.” The American people need to steer all this angst at them. Contrary to popular belief they have not gone away, but gotten larger: http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/snapshot_20090909/ and none of the regulations we’ve adopted have slowed them down (it’s actually sped them up in some instances).
If you receive this e-mail PLEASE DELETE RATHER THAN FORWARD!!!!
As Socrates so well said it: “It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”
Wings ‘n Things, on the corner of I & 5th Avenue (529 I St.), has been an institution since 1983, serving their “Anchorage wings,” submarine sandwiches and burgers. It was the wings in their five flavors, including the notorious nuclear version touted on the menu as “an explosive experience,” that gave the place its fame.
As of Wednesday, August 15th, the restaurant seems to have closed it doors – seemingly forever!
If you call the restaurant there is no discussion of a new location, of if indeed this is the end of one of Anchorage’s favorite “Mom & Pop” restaurants: “We thank God for the opportunity to serve this community for the previous 24 years,” the message said. “We thank you, Anchorage … all Alaskans for all the support you have entrusted to us.”
The message on the also said it would be updated to give customers with gift certificates and other business an address to complete transactions. So hopefully we will get more of why this happened.
My worry is twofold: one being another local favorite is destroyed by competition from a large national franchise or worse - our failing economy has killed another small business.
Here’s my favorite example. How well do you know about our mounting problem with China?
China’s mounting hoard of US dollars represents the most dangerous imbalance in today’s economy. The United States is both importing heavily from China and borrowing heavily from the country to finance those purchases, pushing the dollar down and putting the two economic superpowers on a collision course.
Barring an unforeseen shock to the global trading system, China’s reserve of US currency will continue to rise by roughly $17 billion a month!
I was having a conversation with a nice young lady yesterday evening. Smart,
charming…but enough about me <LOL>.
She stated that she had friends in college that were vehemently against these
immigration demonstrations. She was confused as to why they were upset since
they were both immigrants themselves. I laid it out for her and decided I should
lay it out for you also.
My parents and I are immigrants, I remember sitting in the BOAC (now British
Airways) aircraft and leaving my home of 6+ years to meet my father in New York
City. The trip was a whirlwind which ended up with me taking my first step onto
(at that time) foreign soil before my 7th birthday.
My father had spent two years working in the U.S. to get us here. We had not
seen him till that day at JFK Airport. We left our home, a nice 3 bedroom house
with a roof garden for my Mother for a one bedroom apartment.
My dad metered out a miniscule living for us. To make ends meet my Mother, an
uneducated woman from a small third world nation, took maid service jobs and
eventually worked her way up to being a Nurse’s Aid for the elderly.
Not the American Dream? The times I’ve been back to Jamaica has reminded me that
it is so.
My father was the only one who became a citizen, as he needed to become one to
sponsor his wife and son to the U.S.
I joined the U.S. Army when I turned 17 (yes, you can join the military at 17
and not be a U.S. Citizen), and a few years later, for my required
security clearance I had to be a U.S. citizen.
It isn’t as easy as it seems. I had to study American history, politics, and
government as I would be taking a written and oral test.
Written and oral to be sure I understood and am able
to speak the language of the country I was applying to be a citizen of.
The test was fairly extensive and the oral part was also tedious…I had to know
how many congressman are from my district (assuming I actually KNEW my
congressional district) and their names. I had to know at least one of my Senator’s
name. One of the lines from the Declaration of Independence (thank you School
House Rock!) and one amendment to the constitution and what it was for.
Needless to say, when I passed I had a great sense of pride and when I was asked
to lead the Pledge of Allegiance (since I was in my dress greens) I was glad to
do it. It fostered my desire to continue to defend this wonderful land and has
shaped me in my continuing desire to help the American people realize how good
they actually have it here.
That being said I know how the friends of this young lady feel when we are
pushing legislation that takes illegal (sorry…but undocumented still boils
down to the fact that they are here illegally) immigrants and by
being here long enough they simply become citizens is an insult to all of us who
worked to be here under the system.
The people who praise this as a "civil rights" moment are just plain stupid and
are disgracing those who fought so valiantly for civil rights.
If the drug dealers held a protest rally with "Today we march, tomorrow we’ll
vote." banners, most people would call it stupid because it’s a CRIME to sell
drugs.
Well sports fans, it’s a CRIME to enter the U.S. illegally.
Besides, one simple question…exactly HOW are we going to document
"undocumented" immigrants?!? Call out "come out, come out wherever you are"?
I understand the plight of people wanting to make a better life for themselves, MY FATHER AND MOTHER DID IT.
If we are going to allow this, lets just take drug dealers who have been selling
more than 10 years and if they turn themselves and their stashes in they’re
absolved of their crime! Think of it…less people in prison! More people back
in the legitimate economy (whatever that is) being productive.
Posting from Twitter...Correct date for Karl's Celebration of Life is June 23, not July. All times previously posted are correct. http://twitter.com/hogbiker2011/06/21
Karl was not actually around a corner from anyone at time of death, according to an eyewitness. http://twitter.com/hogbiker2011/06/20
Karl was on foot in Haines, went around the side of a building for some privacy and never came back. He was found on the ground. http://twitter.com/hogbiker2011/06/16
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