Lately I’ve noticed more and more posts from people on Facebook about how to do a, b, or c yourself or to make your own x, y, or z.  It could be that my personal social network overlaps more with the “crunchy” demographic which shops at the local food co-op and Whole Foods, but it could be a larger social trend.  I think it is a little of both, but I’m curious to see if other GayPatriot readers have noticed the same thing.

In the past three years or so, I’ve started learning to make many more kinds of things for myself than I had in the past.  Most of the stuff I make for myself has been foods that I used to buy at the store, and the transition originally occurred because I wanted to have a healthier diet.    I was a tolerable cook before, but I depended on lots of store-bought staples.  But the more I’ve learned to do for myself, the more I’ve wanted to learn how to do, as well.  I’d say that while I was originally motivated by a concern for health, as time has gone on, I’ve also been motivated by the increased sense of independence in learning how to make things I used to buy, by the ability to control my own ingredients, and by the opportunity to be able to make better quality foods than I would have bought in the past and still have a cost savings.

Although I started with food, I’ve also made some of my own household cleaning products, and I’ve considered making my own personal care items, as well.   I have a friend who makes and sells her own deodorant and is thinking of making other products, as well. But there’s no need to stop there.  When television stations switched from analog to digital broadcasting, I built my own digital TV antenna using coat hangers and a 1×4 using plans I had found online.

One of my favorite websites to browse in the last few years has been Ana-White.com which contains hundreds of build-your-own plans for furniture.  The site, which is maintained by a self-described “homemaker” in Alaska, was originally called “Knock Off Wood” because it started with home-built knock-offs of items found at stores and in catalogs.  I’ve not attempted building any furniture yet, but I would like to try doing so at some point in time.

I haven’t taken the time to research this topic yet in depth, but it’s my belief that part of what we’re seeing with this trend is a reaction to the Obama economy.  As people worry more about their finances, frugality and independence become more important–at least for a certain segment of the population.  During the Great Depression, these kinds of household arts were quite common, partly out of necessity and frugality, but also partly because the population wasn’t quite as urbanized.   Store-bought items were  both a rarity and a luxury.  I don’t see it as a coincidence that make-your-own and do-it-yourself projects are proliferating these days, much as they did during the Depression years.

What do other people think?  Have you noticed this trend, as well?  Have you made such changes personally?  Are there items that you used to buy at the store that you’ve started making for yourself?

Over the past few weeks, I have awakened to hear snippets of stories such as this one on NPR about “the obesity epidemic.”  The stories are all part of a series reporting on a recent poll undertaken by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health.  The poll looked at the attitudes and the self-reported actions of parents towards the ways their children ate and about their children’s activity levels.

Among the key findings of the survey highlighted in the NPR reports have been these two points:

• “Recent public opinion polls show that most American adults think obesity is a serious problem for society, but most parents in the poll here are not concerned their own children will become overweight as adults.”
• “In most cases, parents don’t seem to believe that the way their child ate on a given day is likely to make them gain unhealthy weight.”

The NPR story linked above blames a psychological factor known as “optimism bias,” and says that parents may think they are doing the right things, but really they are just poorly informed and/or deluding themselves.

Since this is an ongoing series on NPR, one can expect it to culminate with an interview with Michelle Obama or someone behind her “Let’s Move” campaign, or with a series of suggestions for more government action, or calls for more spending on government nutrition programs, or possibly with all of the above.

What hasn’t occurred to the geniuses at NPR, though, is that perhaps the parents really have been listening to the advice coming from the government and the media for the past twenty five years and they really do think they are doing the right things, but the advice is flawed.

Ronald Reagan famously remarked that “the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”   In recent years, Gary Taubes has become the best-known of those who have challenged the nutritional and dietary orthodoxy which has been promoting a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet.  Writing in Newsweek last spring, he explained that:  ”The problem is, the solutions this multi-level campaign promotes are the same ones that have been used to fight obesity for a century—and they just haven’t worked.”

(more…)

From major newspapers across the country today.

-Bruce (@GayPatriot)

Coming up at 4:30PM EDT on BlogTalkRadio, I’ll be airing my 10/18 speech to the Charleston Tea Party rally.

Please tune in, or download from iTunes, and let me know what you think!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Nearly five years ago, I noticed that shortly before catching a cold, I had broken from my usual habit of eating an apple a day.  I wondered if that “old adage” was right.

Well, now we’ve got scientific proof to confirm my experience:

Studies have revealed that pectin, a special kind of fiber found in apples, may help boost levels of immune-supportive proteins. So crunching one a day could very well help keep the doctor away this cold season.

Gonna make sure to have an apple with my lunch today.

I don’t normally agree with Matthew Yglesias, but his experience with weight loss seems to parallel my own:

The biggest gym-related thing I’ve done to lose weight is that I did some sessions with a personal trainer who warned me up front that you can’t really lose weight in the gym—you need to eat less food.

As one who has worked hard to stay in shape, exercising regularly, I have not (until recently) watched what I ate.  Then, when I realized that was putting on weight, despite regular exercise, I needed to act.

So, I started keeping track of what I ate, cut out certain things and found that jeans that once fit snugly quickly became more comfortable.  And people started taking notice.

Now, perhaps, I might not have needed to cut my calorie intake as much as I did, given how much I’ve been sitting at my desk blogging and working on my dissertation.  Yglesias points out that:

It is worth pointing out, though, that for all the apparent gluttony of the contemporary American lifestyle, Americans actually don’t consume a particularly large number of calories in historical terms. Estimates I’ve seen of medieval calorie consumption often go up to 4,000 a day or more. But it’s not that medieval peasants were fat, or that they were really rigorous about doing 40 minutes on the elliptical machine every day. . . .

The bulk of human history was spent with our bodies operating at a generally higher metabolic level than happens nowadays.

Indeed.

So, it seems speaking your mind is good for your mental health — at least it makes your feel better:

In a series of studies, researchers surveyed over 1,000 adults to find out if they considered themselves to be activists for any particular issue, from supporting antiwar politics to championing human rights [What about standing up for freedom?  Ed.]. And the researchers found that the stronger a person’s activism, the better that person felt — as long as his or her activities weren’t extreme. Specifically, the highly engaged activists reported experiencing more positive emotions, feeling more satisfied with their lives, and feeling more connected to others.

Guess that means Tea Party patriots are a happy lot.

Does this apply to blogging as well?  I mean by speaking out, you know, writing about certain issues, do we in a sense become activists for them?  Thus the more we blog, the better we feel.  Gotta remember that on days I’m feeling down.  It has been my past practice to avoid blogging when I’ve been in a foul mood (for what I thought were obvious reasons).  Maybe I should change that.

Michelle Obama’s obesity report: Tax pop and candy, subsidize fruits and veggies.

Now, I certainly salute the First Lady for her commitment to combating child obesity, but why can’t she manage to come up with a solution that doesn’t involving taxing one product and subsidizing another?

It seems that those on the left identify problems in order to come up with government solutions.

UPDATE:  Weird!  Nick and I were channeling each other today…. I wrote this post first thing in the AM, then the ‘puter crashed.  But I think it is a nice compliment to Nick’s post on the same subject.

============

Since we have a President who has a chronic habit of over-promising and under-delivering, I’m surprised this sentiment has taken so long to bubble up!

Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.

Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors’ offices, human resources departments and business groups.

“They’re saying, ‘Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?’ ” said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states.

As part of the paying-takes-most-of-my-time job, I have to read up on the new healthcare law.  There are some things I am still discovering and one provision in particular (yep, a new payroll TAX that the MSM and White House haven’t mentioned) that I’ll be writing about shortly.

Remember, this is what Obama voters asked for:  Free mortgages, free healthcare, free child care.  There are many one-on-one stories told to me personally of Obama voters who expected just that.   The other majority Obama voters — you know — the fawning yoot and the $250,000< earners — are the ones PAYING for the free stuff expectation.  Talk about self-loathing!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I guess Obama, Pelosi and Reid will rule the United States like a banana republic from this week on.  We are no longer a “nation of laws.”

On Monday night, I had a late dinner, preparing it while talking with a friend on the phone.  I’m pretty sure I put too much Lawry’s Seasoning Salt into my turkey burger before I slapped it onto the George Foreman Grill.  The following day (yesterday), my tummy was feeling a little off (and so was I).

Well, toward the end of the day, during which I had had little appetite, I decided to eat a yogurt with some honey.  Not only did I gobble it down, but felt better with each tasty spoonful.  When I returned to my desk, I was better able to focus and get things done.  So, this morning, I’m logging on to check my e-mail and follow this link on Yahoo! to The 5 foods you should eat every day. Here’s #5:

Making yogurt part of your daily eating routine can improve your digestion — if you’re buying the right stuff. Check that the label lists “active cultures” to make sure you’re getting healthy probiotics, and pick a yogurt rich in vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis.

Wondering now if I had had that earlier if I would have felt more centered during the day.

UPDATE:  I’m not the first to call lit a miracle food:

How fitting I should discover this tip in the RealAge Tips of the Week on the same day that I finish writing the section on Poseidon in my dissertation (and his rivalry with the goddess Athene):

It quenches your thirst, it’s practically free, and it gives you energy to boot. What’s this magical energy drink? It’s water.

I first discovered the energy-boosting properties of water when I worked in D.C.  Finding myself slowing down in the afternoon, I would grab a cup of coffee, but that wouldn’t work. Not sure when I discovered that drinking a glass of water served as the necessary pickup.

I stopped drinking coffee in the afternoon and reached instead for a glass of water.  A new study confirms what I observed, showing “that slight dehydration can send your energy into a nosedive.”

Even today, when I’m feeling lethargic, I find a few gulps of water often do the trick.  Indeed, whenever I’m driving long distances and find myself thinking of nodding off, I stop and get some water (which often creates other problems down the road, but it does increase my alertness).

Guess Poseidon really does represent our instinctual energies–as I wrote in my dissertation.

Ruh-roh, Comrades Obama & Pelosi. The independent, freedom & liberty loving Americans are showing their muscles again….

More Americans now say it is not the federal government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage (50%) than say it is (47%). This is a first since Gallup began tracking this question, and a significant shift from as recently as three years ago, when two-thirds said ensuring healthcare coverage was the government’s responsibility.

The more America hears about Pelosi/Obamacare, the less they like it.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

UPDATE (from Dan):  No wonder Gallup shows Republicans edging ahead of Democrats in 2010 Vote, with independents swinging decisively away from the Democrats.  So Miss Nancy may have scored a big victory n Congress last weekend, but polls show her party are her policies are losing favor with the American people.

Sent to me by GayPatriot reader Dan from New York:

Let me get this straight.

We’re going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose head says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it but exempts themselves from it, signed by a president that also hasn’t read it, and who smokes, with funding administered by a Treasury chief who didn’t  pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s nearly broke.

What possibly could go wrong?

Indeed.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Two cheers today for the Obama Administration which announces that federal drug agents will cease harassment of medical marijuana users in states where it’s legal. That’s good news for liberty advocates in states such as my Colorado where dispensaries are beginning to pop up after medical MJ was legalized by referendum back in 1996.

No doubt hard-core folks on the right will criticize this, but “small l” libertarians like me cheer the loosening of any laws against victimless crimes. Laxing medical marijuana laws, I’ll say without caution, is a great first step in eliminating these senseless and liberty-draining measures across the board. And I’m all for it.

It’s a shame President Obama’s zest for individual liberty when it comes to medical choices cannot be extended further into his health care agenda. While I salute his decision here, I must wonder if he’s actually embracing liberty or simply playing to the usual libertine desires of his core, the pot-smoking Lefties who probably misheard him last year and thought he was calling for “Dope and Mange”.

Nevertheless, he deserves credit for this, and now Eric Holder can concentrate on more important things… Like pursuing charges against those who are trying to defend us against foreign terrorists.

-Nick (ColoradoPatriot, from HQ)

(H/t: Drudge) I don’t know how to imbed video from Politico.com, so I’ll just provide the creepy link here of a dozen gradeschool kids singing an ode to Chairman (and I mean that) Obama. No, it’s not the creepy New Jersey one that made the rounds last week.

This one is much more creepy because it’s being performed not in an obscure gradeschool. This, as James Earl Jones would say, is CNN!

-Nick (ColoradoPatriot, from HQ)

UPDATE: Duh. Thanks, to American Elephant (who hopefully didn’t have as mind-numbing of a day as I did). He suggested I just imbed the YouTube video. Here you go:

Drudge linked earlier today to a YouTube video of a protester at an Obama campaign stop town hall meeting yelling a-la Joe Wilson “You Lie!” and being drowned out by hoots and yells. Eventually he’s led out of the arena by security, all the while suffering the slings and arrows of the sheep there to hear Big Brother pronounce. The spectacle is uncomfortable. The lone man speaking truth to power, the seemingly glazed-over adorers of The One mercilessly thrashing him (and even stealing his hat at one point) on his way out. Kinda pathetic. Here it is, but before you view it, take a second and carefully listen to what the president is saying:

Notice anything curious? Well, as in any campaign stop health care discussion, it’s a boilerplate speech that’s delivered over and over to audiences regardless of the venue. And yes, you heard the same lame story about the masectomy lady from Texas last week during the president’s stump speech address to the Joint Session of Congress. Here’s what’s actually curious about it: He’s still using it even though it’s a lie.

Check this out:

The woman’s testimony at the June 16 hearing confirms that her surgery was delayed several months. It also suggests that the dermatologist’s chart may have described her skin condition as precancerous, that the insurer also took issue with an apparent failure to disclose an earlier problem with an irregular heartbeat, and that she knowingly underreported her weight on the application.

Keep on-a lyin’, Mr. President. The old-school media sure as hell ain’t going to call you on it. Sheesh.

-Nick (ColoradoPatriot, from HQ)

(P.S., I’m leaving out this doozy: “We are the only nation on earth that leaves millions of people without health insurance.” I’ll give it that he either misread the teleprompter misspoke or was just being a drama queen.)

Citizens in the 29th District of New York should pay attention to this video (hat tip Washington Times):

On the heels of the president of the United States saying he doesn’t want to hear from those who oppose his Stalinist plans, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives calling those “well-dressed” people who stand up against the statist take-over of the health care industry Nazis, comes now a Representative who intends and brags that he’s going to vote against what his constituency wants.

To give the hapless Congressman a break, I think his reiteration, that he “will vote against their opinion” is probably what he meant to say when he at first said he “will vote adamantly against the interests” of his district. But isn’t that bad enough?

I guess it’s for the “right wing” people of Canandaigua and Hornell to decide. One-term Congressman? Looks like it to me!

-Nick (ColoradoPatriot, from HQ)

HUGE hat-tip to reader Ignatius who commented on my post yesterday about the death of private insurance for the following link:

In the video, a (very cute!) CU-Boulder Poli-Sci and Marketing major named Zach Lane asks the president a very simple question:

We all know the best way to reduce prices in this economy is to increase competition. How in the world can a private corporation providing insurance compete with an entitiy that does not have to worry about paying a profit, does not have to pay local property taxes, they’re not subject to local regulations? How can a company compete with that?

And I don’t want generalities, I don’t want philisophical arguments.

The president then goes on to give generalities and philisophical arguments and completely bypasses answering Zach’s question. Are the people who still support this liberty-killing plan even listening to the lack of defense?

Here’s a follow-up question for Zach to ask:

“Mr. President, it sounds as if you’re not intending for the ‘public option’ to operate any differently whatsoever from the example you gave of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which is also a non-profit entity. What then, would the point be, considering the hundreds of health insurance companies available in the United States, of having one more that is ostensibly no different?”

And another follow-up:

“Mr. President, are you willing to insist that your ‘public option’ abide by exactly the same regulations that every other insurance company in America currently does, derive NO benefit from being attached to the federal governemnt, and allow it to sink or swim on those merits?”

I’ll wait over here for those questions to be answered. Given how reticent he is to answer Zach’s very simple question, however, I’m not going to hold my breath.

-Nick (ColoradoPatriot, from HQ)