I was surprised that SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), the food stamps program is not like WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) in that there is no requirement that foods be healthy. SNAP prohibits certain items like hot food, alcohol, and tobacco – but not specifically prohibit processed, unhealthy foods. There is no list of SNAP legal foods outside of those broad prohibitions.
Is there really much of a difference between consuming tobacco and alcohol, and eating a candy bar or drinking soda? Or eating hot pockets? While snacking on candy bars won’t get you into an immediate auto wreck this afternoon, it will lead to diabetes, heart disease, obesity and a shorter lifespan. I really don’t think the government should be using taxpayer resources to subsidize death and disease.
The USDA has been pushing back against Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s push on the use of food stamps to buy soda and other junk food. They say it’s difficult to technically implement but I would argue that’s not true if they can do it already for WIC. Why should processed foods be part of SNAP? They already ban hot foods, so I don’t see why they couldn’t ban most other processed foods and have a much more limited list of healthy, nutritious foods that support a healthy body.
Restricting food stamps to healthy foods only makes sense and would save the government money. It could also be used to increase food stamp allotments to individual recipients – if some people choose not to fully utilize their benefit – they could plow that into a higher overall allotment for all recipients, ensuring that people have more healthy food.
Up, up and away the prices go as the government raises the taxes on everything as the delusional Trumpster does his thingafter his liberate our money day. I bet the stock market will not react kindly to the maniac in White House today, though I figure getting a discount on future stock purchases while I’m still young is a good thing.
But I’m still reeling at the cost of groceries. Doesn’t seem like individual prices have gone up but at the end of bill at the check out lane, it’s gets harder and harder to shop for under $100 a week, and it’s often more then that. Granted it was worth it for that big bag of grapes I’ve been enjoying all week and despite the $200 left in my checking account after the bills last week and that $1,200 I owe the IRS on the real liberation day, that is April 15th. But in the meantime, New York State owes me a $1,100 refund as apparently I got carried away with the extra withholding for the state. It’s just tough with auto insurance being higher than me singing along with the Dire Wolf in the wilderness. At least olive oil and egg prices are down.
Increased my extra federal withholding to $200 a paycheck beyond the zero deductions. I am sure the Payroll Office gets annoyed how I keep changing my withholding, but I want to avoid having to send the treasury quarterly tax payments, so I figure it’s best to just have the money taken out of the paycheck so I can forget it. I’m hoping next year not to owe the IRS a shit ton of money and certainly not a fine. No fine this year but I did pay New York a seven dollar fine last year.
What can I say, inflation sucks. And there ain’t a whole lot one can do about but spend and invest carefully. I can’t control what the Trumpster does but I know like any era it will come to an end. The focus has to be on the future , owning my own land and having the resources necessary for a good life. You know, the way I look at it now is the money I spend dividend taxes out of my paycheck is an investment in my future, as I let my investments grow unmolested. And that’s money I can use in the future to buy land, equipment, hog feed or anything else I need once I own my own land.
Rainy morning but I decided my rain coat was annoying yesterday so I didn’t wear it thismorning. Truth is that I had decided by yesterday’s forecast that it wasn’t going to rain much today but I was wrong about such things. And my rain coat is worn out and doesn’t fit well since I’ve gotten healthier. I’m actually glad that my stupidity means my bike is down today as I most certainly would have gotten soaked riding to work. Going to make the trout streams run high but it will help reduce the fire danger. I’m just looking forward to things greening up. Won’t be long in the city.
You know one of the best ways to trigger a mental health professional is to start talking about TDS, the Trump Derangement Syndrome or it’s related condition the Woke Mind Virus. Because at least as far as the scientific litature and research is concerned, they don’t really exist – they are just considered to be reasonable viewpoints to have based on one’s own values.
In my experience, mental health professionals really recoil when you say a person is mentally ill because of a political belief or ideology. They generally want to see actual demostratable harm to a person’s own life or how they are negatively impacting others. If anything, they will argue if a belief has a beneficial impact on a person’s life or his or her community, it’s adaptive and useful even if it’s bizzare. That said, I’ve always thought the mental health profession is one of most dangerous industries, as labels are powerful tools for justifying bigotry and punishment of the other. Mental health professionals have enormous power granted by the state and others, which since the era of Goldwater-rule prohibiting diagnosing people not under immediate care.
It’s not to say that Trump Derangement System does not exist or is not harmful for those afflicted by it. The paranoid, as Richard Hoffsteader once wrote, as not only afflicted by all problems we all face in world, but also their own delusions. They are, as he writes, a double sufferer. Trump in many ways is a problematic character, but it would be good to be fully grounded on real impact he has on people’s ordinary lives, beyond what the news is reporting. Delusions are problematic but having real concerns about the direction of society is important – as is speaking up for those who can’t – but not to necessarily die for what is right.
I often think of myself as mentally ill, because I’m unwilling to subscribe to Amazon, choose to live in city, take my bike or bus to work, and do not have home internet. And I’m saving towards buying land and building that off-grid cabin. I mean who her right mind does such things these days? Why don’t you want that suburban home, with the weekly garbage pickup? Are you some kind of terribly sick individual hoarding cash? But alas, it’s a matter of choice – I am not a fan of consumer culture, the full dumpsters and money wasted. But a mental health professional would argue that’s my choice – if you don’t want to participate in consumer culture and save and invest your money, then that’s good for you.
Still, I am concerned that mental health can be abused to stimigitize and punish minorities and those without conventional views. Those who take a look at the evidence and come to different conclusions based their values. I often find myself carefully studying articles about depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia with a careful eye to see how such so-called disorders can be used as a tool as social oppression. While I have my ups and downs, I realize I am far from any of those descriptions, which are much more suited for the man who yells at your about CIA monitoring his thoughts, as you do your evening walk in Empire Plaza. Still, I do see the danger of such definations being used casually and without rigger to oppress those who have unconventional views and are agents of change whether in their own life or in society in general.
A robust tool for downloading, migrating, and managing the NHTSA's Vehicle Product Information Catalog (vPIC) database across different database platforms (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and SQLite).
I always find it amusing that the Trumpster is adopting all the language of the New Left and the Black Panthers. And I give him credit for trying new things and rejecting conventional wisdom, though I would hope he would be constantly evaluating his proposals and be more upfront and less whimsical about serious public policies.
Busing it in this morning as the bike chain made a loud bang crossing Elsmere Avenue last night. Hump Day. It should be an interesting day to keep an eye on the Twitter and see what is happening in the world of the Trumpster and the state budget even if I’m so far removed from the craziness of the Capitol. Trump is planning to announce his tariffs at 4 pm after the market closes for the day though who knows their will be probably leaks about the immediately activated tariffs. Doesn’t change anything for me, I practice dollar cost averaging. But it’s entertaining and I figure lower stock prices are better for me now as it means more growth in the future.
Totally my fault that the bike chain broke. When I got in the office yesterday I noticed that one of the links was loose. I probably should have bused home and gotten pliers and the chain breaker tool to fix it but it wasn’t that loose and it was riding find until I punched it hard to get across that intersection. Lost the link, and while I could probably steel one from one of old chains, the old chain was stretched and I couldn’t break the old chain with all the rust and damage I previous dun with my previous misuse of the chain breaker. It’s fine, I had my mom order me an official 8-speed OEM chain and I’ll put the cassette I ordered a few weeks back on the bike when it arrives, and while I’m at it probably do the rear brakes and lubricate up that front shift cable which as been binding up. No riding in today, but maybe I’ll be back on the road tomorrow or certainly Friday. Or I could work on it over the weekend which looks quite wet.
Still rain for the weekend it seems. Maybe next week looks better for camping , taking a long weekend starting Thurday or Friday to the Adirondacks but only time will tell. Really would like a night in the wilderness by a fire, maybe laughing and singing along with the Dire Wolf but maybe not in the rain. In two weeks is Mom’s anniversary so no getting away for that, although maybe I could do a Thursday-Friday night and come back early on Saturday as anniversary party is at 1 PM. Well it will be good to be back for Easter. And I need to hit a trout stream up at some point.
A very cold but sunny Good Friday camping up on the East Branch Sacanadaga River. Got stuck briefly driving up the driveway, but once I got camp underway things were great. Some thoughts about my future among other things.
Doesn’t seem like individual prices have gone up but at the end of bill at the check out lane, it’s gets harder and harder to shop for under $100 a week, and it’s often more then that. 
Granted it was worth it for that big bag of grapes 
I’ve been enjoying all week and despite the $200 left in my checking account after the bills last week and that $1,200 I owe the IRS on the real liberation day, that is April 15th. But in the meantime, New York State owes me a $1,100 refund as apparently I got carried away with the extra withholding for the state. It’s just tough with auto insurance 
being higher than me singing along with the Dire Wolf 
in the wilderness. At least olive oil 
and egg 
prices are down.
I am sure the Payroll Office gets annoyed how I keep changing my withholding, but I want to avoid having to send the treasury quarterly tax payments, so I figure it’s best to just have the money taken out of the paycheck so I can forget it. I’m hoping next year not to owe the IRS a shit ton of money and certainly not a fine. No fine this year but I did pay New York a seven 
dollar 
fine last year.
And there ain’t a whole lot one can do about but spend and invest carefully. I can’t control what the Trumpster does but I know like any era it will come to an end. The focus has to be on the future 
, owning my own land 
and having the resources necessary for a good life. You know, the way I look at it now is the money I spend dividend taxes out of my paycheck is an investment in my future, as I let my investments grow unmolested. 
And that’s money I can use in the future to buy land, equipment, hog feed or anything else I need once I own my own land.
Truth is that I had decided by yesterday’s forecast that it wasn’t going to rain much today but I was wrong about such things. And my rain coat 
is worn out and doesn’t fit well since I’ve gotten healthier. I’m actually glad that my stupidity means my bike 
is down today as I most certainly would have gotten soaked riding to work. 
Going to make the trout streams run high 
but it will help reduce the fire danger. I’m just looking forward to things greening up. 
Won’t be long in the city.
as the bike chain 
made a loud bang crossing Elsmere Avenue last night. Hump Day. 
It should be an interesting day to keep an eye 
on the Twitter and see what is happening in the world 
of the Trumpster and the state budget even if I’m so far removed from the craziness of the Capitol. 
Trump is planning to announce his tariffs at 4 pm after the market closes for the day though who knows their will be probably leaks about the immediately activated tariffs. Doesn’t change anything for me, I practice dollar cost averaging. 
But it’s entertaining and I figure lower stock prices are better for me now as it means more growth in the future.
When I got in the office 
yesterday I noticed that one of the links was loose. I probably should have bused home and gotten pliers and the chain breaker tool to fix it but it wasn’t that loose and it was riding find until I punched it hard to get across that intersection. Lost the link, and while I could probably steel one from one of old chains, the old chain was stretched and I couldn’t break the old chain with all the rust and damage I previous dun with my previous misuse of the chain breaker. It’s fine, I had my mom order me an official 8-speed OEM chain and I’ll put the cassette I ordered a few weeks back on the bike when it arrives, and while I’m at it probably do the rear brakes and lubricate up that front shift cable which as been binding up. 
No riding in today, but maybe I’ll be back on the road tomorrow or certainly Friday. Or I could work on it over the weekend which looks quite wet.
Maybe next week looks better for camping 
, taking a long weekend starting Thurday or Friday to the Adirondacks but only time will tell. Really would like a night in the wilderness by a fire, 
And I need to hit a trout stream up at some point.