We are taught in this culture that exercise must always be in the form of competitive sports, or else some mindnumbingly boring repetitive stuff that we must carefully measure and track.
What about just getting out there and moving your body for the enjoyment of it?
This group would be for exchanging recommendations for products that are made in the USA.
So much production has been offshored now, even some of the most "American" of brands, that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find stuff that is made in the USA anymore. The mall stores and the big boxes carry mostly stuff from China, and the mom&pop stores (the few that are left) aren't much better.
A "Made in USA" group would help DU'ers find good American-made stuff.
Movement is natural. Small children instinctively understand this, they are almost constantly in motion unless they are sleeping.
Laziness is taught.
We are taught, particularly in school, that «good behavior» equals sitting perfectly still while faking rapt attention to whatever the grownup is saying.
We need to indulge our natural need to move! Then the "fat" thing will take care of itself.
Dancing is the best way I know to do this.
(Remember that we only started having an "obesity epidemic" when they started shutting down raves. Let the people dance!)
Lawns are a social obligation. Most people really wouldn't miss them, especially if the garden that replaces it produces yummy vegetables. Kids need space to play, but that can be edible landscaping instead of grass.
Roof gardens will likely become more popular as well. These are an option even in the densest urban settings, and they can significantly increase the cultivatable space in the suburbs. All that dirt on the roof would provide quite a bit of insulation, and capture waste heat from the house, possibly extending the growing season.
Which states have fallen to total Teabagger control?
By this I mean the governor and both houses of the state legislature, allowing them to pass whatever they want with no Democratic votes.
They have a program for complete takeover of all levels of government in those states, which they have begun to roll out.
We already stand to lose many seats due to gerrymandering, but taking over local governments will give them complete control of the elections in those states, and impose systematic voter suppression to ensure future Republican victories.
Do we have any way to fight this?:
I am aware of:
Wisconsin Ohio Pennsylvania Michigan Wyoming North Dakota South Dakota Utah Tennessee Georgia South Carolina Texas Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Florida Alaska
Are there any I missed? Are there any on my list where the Democrats still have some say?
Eben Moglen is calling for a radically decentralized network structure for social networking — one that cannot be spied upon or disrupted by the government or anyone else.
This was the keynote speech for a conference of open source software developers.
From the conference program:
Why Political Liberty Depends on Software Freedom More Than Ever
We have come a very long way since the beginning of free software. GNU, Android, Linux, Open Solaris, X, Apache, Perl & other free software have changed & are changing the world.
But events happening now, like the Wikileaks investigation, and technologies of spying and control, like Facebook and iPad, are reminding us just how politically and socially unfree computers can make us if we're not careful. In this talk, I consider where we are now, and where we need to go next.
Unions must truly become the international organizations that they claim to be.
Free trade and trade agreements must be made to work for us, not against us. Labor must be at the table when these agreements are being hammered out.
Imagine a trade agreement that guaranteed the right of workers in all the signing nations to unionize (overturning all those pesky "right-to-work" laws in the process), and brought workers rights and protection to the highest standard, rather than the least common denominator.
The author of this article wants to employ the same "behavioral economics", but he wants to replace all the carrots with sticks. Note that he wants to raise the price of all the cheap foods, but says nothing about lowering the prices of healthy food.
Raise the price of gas so people can't afford to drive. Raise the price of food so people can't afford to eat.
Screw that!
LET THE PEOPLE DANCE!
We didn't have an "obesity epidemic" when the rave scene was flowering. It started after the cops came and shut most of it down.
Places that still have a flourishing dance scene tend to have less obesity. Places where dancing is regarded as EEEEVIL have the highest obesity rates.
Any other industry would be happy to have the government subsidize their product. Guaranteed income and profits should look pretty good in times like these.
Their worries about regulation are foolish. The US has never regulated any industry in a way that seriously reduced its profitability, usually quite the opposite.
They forget about the profits to be made from providing health care to those who currently cannot afford it, but would receive it under government subsidy.
Our current system is closing down hospitals all over the country. No health care is being provided by a closed-down hospital, nor are any doctors or nurses being employed there. The hospitals are not being closed down because we have all suddenly become so healthy that the hospitals are no longer needed. It seems that our system "rations" health care too.
To properly preserve the separation of church and state, the civil component of marriage shall be defined as "civil union", all civil rights currently connected with "marriage" shall accrue to such civil unions. All current marriages registered with the state or counties shall be redefined as civil unions, and the "marriage license" will also be replaced with a "civil union".
The rite of marriage will thus be unambiguously outside the domain of the state.
