It's the little things in life -- like food and cars

On a completely different subject, I just realized my 7 year old cat's been working me since his pal and my 20 year old cat friend died. He's been meowing loudly for attention, food, outside, ever since and I just realized I have to ignore him, quit pampering him, and then he'll probably stop. Indifference is working already...ahhh

Organic food. This is something I would have heard and hoped wasn't true: George Bush's USDA is actually proposing that the USDA broaden the "organic" designation for foods to INCLUDE foods that have:

untested pesticides
Hormone injections
Antibiotic injections
animals that eat fish meal (which may contain mercury, PCBs, or both)

Thereby making the term "organic food" meaningless and making dollars for irreponsible farmers while duping the American public. Basically, "organic" stamped on foods would now have the same respect as "light". The Bushies are UNBELIEVABLE!

Thank G_d we have an organic food industry that actually cares about what we consume--that isn't on the side of duplicitous profits!

The USDA had to rescind its proposal after the Organic Standards Board and passionate citizens balked at the USDA proposals (thank G_d!). Rebecca Goldburg, a scientist and board member said, "All of the [USDA] directives relaxed the [existing] standards, allowing things that would never be considered organic," noting that cow's milk treated with antibiotics would now be considered organic. Just what we need, more unsubscribed antibiotics...if you don't understand why this is a bad thing for the survival of humankind--please find out. It is certainly the kind of thing that people who believe that Armageddon is around the corner just don't care about.

But Bush's USDA is relentless, they are still pushing their poisonous "organic" directives while glossing over there dirty work:

"I believe we have it right," says Barbara Robinson (deputy adminstrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service and AUTHOR of the directives--yes, Bush and his people have helped stocked the USDA staff with a marketing expert--good choice). Yeah, her directives are "right" for non-organic agricultural marketing.

Brown, Corie, "Battle over organic standards continues," L.A. Times, 6/2/2004, F1,F6.

Noise pollution. I live in a small apartment next to a parking lot near a main road. People often gather in the parking lot and yell at each other, usually at 3AM. Cars spurt and crank and pop off.

I also take the bus through L.A. so I spend time on busy streets(more should do this, it's great!).

Everything around me is LOUD.

Buses are very loud--which is great when you're waiting for them and want to read without looking up to catch it every ten seconds. Trucks are loud, but they are providing us with goods and food. Cars, which spend most of their time in residential areas and parking lots, should not be loud.

I just read an article in the L.A. Times that says that cars with owners that want loud mufflers (which probably comprise much less than 5% of car owners) are now allowed to reach 95 decibles. That's as loud as a big rig truck. They belong on interstates--I used to live near one of those. Big rigs would be miles away and I'd clearly hear them. That's NOISE POLLUTION. I think we should be working to minimize loudness among trucks and buses, not use that as an excuse to increase loudness for cars!

There's a group called SEMA which must have lots of cash because it's buying state congressional favors all over the U.S. Laws that allowed police to ticket loud car drivers are now challenged and overturned. Let's stop them. There is a group called Noise Free America that is working on it.

Vartabedian, Ralph, "Refusing to go quietly," L.A. Times, 6/2/2004, G1, G2