Does that look like a healthy school lunch to you?

Do you think pizza sauce counts as a vegetable? Well, according to Congress, pizza sauce still counts as a vegetable.  It seems that Congress wants to keep pizza and french fries on school lunches across the country. Now I’m not against kids having pizza and french fries on occasion, but should pizza sauce really count as a vegetable? Recently, the Obama administration proposed healthier school lunches, so clearly Congress disagrees with the president.

If you don’t think school lunches should be healthier, go eat one. If you can’t, you can also look at the stats which from the CDC where estimates show that about 17 percent,or 12.5 million,of children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese. The USDA wanted to change the guidelines that would have changed the pizza sauce vegetable standards and also would have limited starchy veggies like french fries. The USDA clearly lost out to the special interest groups representing the frozen food industry that want to continue serving unhealthy foods to our children.

This country has an obesity crisis, and children are being hit the hardest. Their impressionable minds are being manipulated every single day. Their favorite TV shows and stations are filled with commercials aimed at them advertising unhealthy foods and drinks. Our “Fast Food Nation” entices children at an early age by offering toys and games to accompany unhealthy food.

We can’t really make the choices for children at home like their parents can, but we can help them eat healthier and live healthier at our nation’s schools. We eliminate recess, we cut back on physical education, and we still continue to serve them junk. How exactly is this teaching our kid’s about healthy living? We need to take a stand for the children, the future of this country. An obesity epidemic is unacceptable in a country with the knowledge of health and science that we have. Our children should live longer and healthier, not the other way around!

What do you think: should pizza sauce count as a vegetable?

Cancer has been around forever and has not shown any signs of leaving any time soon. It has killed so many. How much more will it take? How much more can we take?

Personally, I would rather be doing other things right now than to have to watch my grandmother on the frontlines battling cancer… again, from 2,000 miles away. In fact, I just got a call two days ago from my siblings telling me grandma was rushed to the hospital again for some issues due to her diagnosis. Cancer is a beast!

After the jump, the homie Chuck Creekmur from AllHipHop allows his mother Syliva, a survivor of 20 years, to give us all some rather inspiring advice on how to identify and defeat cancer…

(1) If you are a believer, ask God for what you desire, knowing that He will answer. If the answer is not the one you wanted, know that everything will still work out for your good.

(2) Be positive. Don’t dwell on the negative. Read encouraging articles about those who have survived. Read the scriptures or anything that will encourage your spirit.

(3) Never question God with “why me?” Rather say, “why not me?” If you are a believer, you have the armor you need to conquer this challenge. If you are not a believer, you have probably lived long enough to know that life is filled with adversity and everyone will experience it at some point in time. Who are you to be exempt?

(4) When I wanted to continue revisiting what had happened to me, my surgeon said, “ Stop ruminating. If you have to ruminate, do it for about five minutes and then focus on living.” That was profound advice for me. It made me realize that I was wasting energy concentrating on the past. Don’t live in the past. Live in the present. Embrace life.

(5) Surround yourself with positive people. There are people who will immediately start to inform you about how sick you will be from the therapy (chemo, radiation, etc.). Everyone’s experience is not the same. I never missed a day from work because of chemotherapy . Even if you experience some discomfort, it will not last forever.

My husband was my greatest encourager. He was telling people from the very outset that it was an early diagnosis, and I was going to be fine. The doctor had not given us that prognosis, but my husband wanted me to internalize that I would be healed. After recovering, his coworkers at school shared with me that he was “worried sick” about losing me. Yet, he knew that conveying his fear was not going to contribute to my survival. He used his coworkers to vent.

Once you survive, use your experience to help someone else. Be an encourager. Share any literature, words of wisdom, medical information or other resources that might help another individual.

(6) Adjust your lifestyle to reflect habits that may contribute to a healthy body. Diet and exercise have proven to be invaluable for “good” health.

(7) Get regular checkups to know how you are progressing. Even if you survive and feel well, you want a competent physical to monitor your vital signs.

(8) Be informed. Read, read, read. Ask questions. Don’t leave everything up to your doctor.

(9) Do something everyday, regardless of how small it is, that makes you happy. Don’t allow the routine of your day to contribute to a stressful existence.

(10) Love and PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens). Use the time you have and share it with those you love. Life will throw us some curve balls, but it is our response to those curves balls that will make the difference. When faced with life’s challenges, continue to PUSH.

You can check the full article from on AllHipHop HERE.

This is a real record over an Ice Cube track which was recorded on a good day. But obviously, you can hear the pain in the lyrics, referencing his mother, who just recently passed away under some harsh circumstances.

“Wiz turned the kids into some grass hypes, the only thing higher is the gas price”….”Once again, you see how high gas is, I done seen it all, thats why they call me Glasses”

#GasIsTooDamnHigh

You’d be pissed too if you took photos with an agency and signed a release giving them permission for them to be used for stock family purposes only but one of the pics ended up on a enormous offensive billboard in Manhattan. Check out the story here and let us know what you think on Facebook!

Fat Ho Burger has arrived and the lines are spilling outside into the parking lot. This past week, the establishment, which just opened its doors to the public, has been getting a lot of media attention, obviously, because of it’s name. If you don’t have to be a Fat Ho to eat here and you won’t become a Fat Ho after you’ve finished your meal, why is everyone trippin??? #LetWhatYouEatStopUpYaMouth is what my grandma would say!

But I don’t think grandma knows about Fat Ho Burger in Texas…

By simply observing the habits of people, one can generally gain a better understanding of who they are. It can be the observation of anything really, whether it’s someone’s driving habits, the way they dress, or even the things they do to entertain themselves. Once a person understands how to observe people from an objectively observational stance, he or she will have learned to see through the persona that everyone intentionally creates in order to more effectively maneuver through the Peril maze that we call life. Fortunately, it is not hard to spot these cues, and the key ingredient is an honest assessment of one’s own self.

Have you ever noticed that people who have a limited diet seem to have a similarly limited worldview? Show me a person who only eats chicken wings and cheeseburgers, and I will show you someone who has a, “only go with what I know,” mentality. You might find someone like this on a date at a nice restaurant, by the fireside, having a candle light dinner featuring chicken tenders and French fries. Now, don’t get me wrong. Chicken tenders and French fries are great, but that is exactly my point. Once it has been established that something is great, why not search for something else that may be just as great or even better?

Okay, so it may be too much of a risk to go to a really fancy restaurant and try something new. That is perfectly understandable, since most people can’t afford to pay a boatload of money for something they may not enjoy.  But what if you come over to old Kwesi Low’s crib, and I am making some curried tofu with shitake mushrooms, eggplant, and sun dried tomatoes. Who would try some? I bet the same people who would try at least one bite would probably be equally open to new experiences in their everyday life that could potentially open doors to new possibilities that they never imagined. I have seen with my own eyes people who have completely changed their eating habits, and in doing so changed their lives in general as well.

What does it really say about someone if they are afraid to taste a new food? What about someone who tries new dishes as a way of life? People who try new things understand that trying them could lead to the discovery of a new favorite. On the other hand, for the people who won’t, that possibility could be greatly outweighed by the fear of being left with a bad taste in their mouth. More times than not, those people who lock themselves into eating a limited selection of foods are choosing from a variety that is anything but what the body requires. One might hear them referring to what they just ate as, ‘good.’ However, what they meant to say was that it tasted “good” (remember word play).”

Hip Hop isn’t dead but it’s sick as hell.

DJ Pioneer, Kool Herc is hospitalized without any health insurance to cover the medical costs. Why does he have to seek for the public to assist him, while people like Diddy are buying their kids Maybach limousines? Have we all arrived and left the luggage in the trunk? Nobody can say that they would’ve been rich &relevant within Hip Hop without the Hercs because without them, we’d be hip-’hopin’ instead of hip-hoppin!

I pray a speedy recovery for our own Greek God, Kool Hercules, is granted by the most high! We really have to start taking ownership of Hip Hop and its pioneers.

DONATIONS CAN BE MADE HERE (below)

Kool Herc Production
PO Box 20472
Huntington Station, NY 11746

OK, so “fast food + mass marketing + little kids = childhood obesity?” Monet Parham thinks so.

Monet Parham is the Sacramento mother of two that grew upset and claimed that McDonalds is enticing her children to eat their unhealthy food. “My children really want the toys that are in those meals,” she contends, adding the meals often get cold while her kids — ages 6 and 2 — play with the toys instead of eating.” While her claim, to me, seems a little limited and lacking for a law suit — the Center for Science and Public Interest does not.

Executive Director of the Center for Science and Public Interest, Michael F. Jacobson, makes a larger claim — his stance is that the companies make the toys sexy so the kids want to go to the establishments. Jacobson contends, “Dangling a toy in front of a child is like putting a scantily clad woman in front of men,” he said, adding that children don’t have the cognitive ability to realize the marketing ploy.” In fact, the CSPI pointed to data compiled in 2006 that shows fast-food companies spent more than $520 million that year on advertising and toys to market children’s meals. The argument then becomes that the unhappy meals (because of the caloric content that is linked to childhood obesity), should only reward children with toys if a healthy happy meal is selected.

Dang! So, you mean every time I whined about getting another “pretty little princess” or “my little pony” toy was being seduced by the big yellow “arch”? Damn, pimped by a red head clown and a huge yellow cursive letter “M”. I have to admit, I think I got “got”.

I must further admit that, it really saddens me to think about what it must be like for kids today. Fast food options have never been more plentiful, the toys today are way better (some even talk), and children today spend more time with television ads and 24 hour cartoon characters than I ever did.

I know, I know what you are thinking… you are thinking: “lazy parents who give their kids McDonalds and don’t cook or make healthier choices for their kids need to do a better job parenting”….you might even start to sound like your parents and refer to, “your days” and “how things worked when you were growing up” — I agree.

Yes, parents have to play a more conscious role in what their children are consuming (and it wouldn’t hurt to run around the yard either). But, it is also my contention that we are in a time that we have NEVER seen before!

Buffets of Taco Bells, KFC’s on every corner and Pizza with crust that as another pizza stuffed in the crust being market to our kids during Sponge Bob reruns should be just as unacceptable. The fact is, Childhood Obesity is killing our kids and if the numbers on the pediatric scales “don’t lie”, then the calories in each happy meal “ain’t lying”, the amount of money targeted at kids to get the meals “cant lie” and isolating the problem to individual households mean we are all “living a lie”.

99Problems and “fast food + mass marketing + little kids = childhood obesity?” and that “ain’t” trigonometry.

I can remember growing up in a McDonalds world and thinking that if I did good on my report card, got all smiley faces on my conduct chart and refrained from getting on my grandmas nerves while grocery shopping that I would get a Happy Meal! Yes, a HAPPY MEAL! There was nothing like being a kindergartner and getting a Happy Meal. My favorite toy had to be the “Pretty Princess Barbie Doll”. It was a solid plastic doll, stood about five inches tall with a thin strip of synthetic blond hair, painted on facial makeup and a seemingly perfect painted smile. That was the life! I don’t remember much about the food — just that I preferred the plain burger with fries as long as it had a toy (even if it was the same toy, which was most often the case). I also remember that if my grandmother bought it I was going to eat it; “waste not, want not”, she would often times tell me.

My memory does not serve me as to how many other places had these types of kid targeted meals — but Mickey D’s (the street name sometimes used to refer to McDonald’s), was my childhood treat of choice. Heck, everybody my age was happy to eat at the place with the “golden arch”.

New research, news stories and an ominous amount of cases of childhood obesity in now being linked to places like McDonalds with a focus on their marketing practices – leaving many thinking that our children’s meals may not be so, “happy”.

CBS News carried a story, “Fast Food Linked to Childhood Obesity”, from the Associated Press that discussed a study that found, “Every day, nearly one-third of U.S. children aged 4 to 19 eat fast food, which likely packs on about six extra pounds per child per year and increases the risk of obesity.”  The New England Journal of Medicine, in a 2005 report, reported that the prevalence and severity of obesity is so great, especially in children, that the associated diseases and complications – Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, cancer – are likely to strike people at younger and younger ages.

If fast food is to be a culprit, McDonalds is not the single culprit, but definitely an actor. I mean, think about it — there are literally buffets of fast food joints everywhere! When we were growing up we just had the one or two McDonalds and maybe a Burger King.  Now, nothing like we see the fast food market and its community presence today.

Dr. David Ludwig, lead author of the study reported by CBS and director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, said that “the numbers, though alarming, are not surprising since billions of dollars are spent each year on fast-food advertising directed at kids.” He went on to say that, “The findings suggest that fast-food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970.” Fivefold!?!! Geez…

You’re damn right it can!

Imagine being outside around this time of year in the cold with nowhere else to lay your head but on a bench or on the cold concrete in below freezing weather. Using a cardboard box for a pillow and old worn sweaters for covers. Relying on the warm breath from your mouth to keep you warm through the night. No family to call on when you’re in need. Feeling like nobody cares if you eat, or if you’ve eaten throughout the day. The only way you’re able to bathe is when you submit yourself to a homeless shelter. Depending on shelters to feed you twice a day. Being without for so long that your self-esteem is at its all-time lowest, and that’s mainly why you don’t have confidence to find a job. Having to go to sleep with nowhere to go and worse than that having to wake up with that issue on your mind.

Now wouldn’t this drive you crazy?

Becoming homeless has happened to the happiest, richest, and strongest people in the world. Becoming homeless can break the world’s strongest man into shreds of cheese. I honestly believe that each homeless person should be getting a mental health check because homelessness causes depression, and depression is a sickness that will stress you out and drive you crazy. And going crazy is mental health right? Okay then.

Let’s not be so quick to judge a person when you see them out on the streets with nowhere to go, because you never know their situation. How can I say “It’s their fault they’re on the streets anyway, or, they can go to work just like I do”?  Everyone has a different story to tell. You never know the next man’s situation so don’t be so quick to judge him. Now don’t get me wrongthere are some people out there who have made the choice of being homeless and just don’t give a damn about themselves or nobody else. But on the other side there are people out there who didn’t have a choice or a chance and need support from people like me who give a damn and will find ways to help them if they can.

The funny thing about this blog is that I was at a meeting at a homeless shelter earlier today and we discussed  how we can decrease the homeless rate in Georgia next year, and everybody who was in that meeting or works at the shelter is all volunteers. So if you have a helping hand, please lend it to the ones in need because you never know who you will end up needing in the time of need. Because being homeless in this cold, corrupt world will drive you nuts!

Often times the world takes on a cynical view about others when they don’t believe or are not merely interested in the same habits, hobbies or interest as them. We all deal with pressure or anxiety in different ways. Some Americans pig out & stuff their bodies with food till they can’t eat anymore when they are depressed. And then there are others that turn to a few cold glasses of the “grown folks” beverage to calm their nerves after a long day. While there are other Americans that participate in intense physical exercises to relieve tension so they won’t explode on the next innocent person walking by. We all find peace or comfort in various ways and the truth of the matter is: it may not always be the best way but it sure beats a heart attack!

Much attention was given last week to President Obama allegedly succumbing to the pressure and smoking after several months of a winning battle to live healthier. How did this make me feel after knowing he publicly vowed to quit? Honestly……I think it’s that man’s business and we all fall short! I wonder why he is under public scrutiny for this when we have more valid issues to be focused on. I’m quite sure the other 43 Presidents had some vices that didn’t make the cover of the news in the midst of a crisis! We are in the time of war; a failing economy with a rising deficit; and a continuously dropping high school completion rate. Could someone please explain to me why President Obama hitting a cigarette is a trending topic?

This country can be very hypocritical. I’m waiting for anyone to reach down and cast the first stone.  I’m willing to bet that if we would redirect some of our malicious gossip ways to compromising grassroots strategies then we would become progressive.  Perhaps President Obama wouldn’t have needed the ‘peace he found in the puff’ if we would continue to trust and support him. Just a thought….

originally posted at thewellversed.com

Today marks the 22^nd Annual World AIDS Day. With urban communities and young people among the most vulnerable to contract the disease, it is important to know the statistics, know your own status, and understand how your individual actions can protect you and others from being infected.

Here is a look at the disease:

1. 33.4 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS

2. More than 1 million people are estimated to be living with HIV in the United States

3. 56,300 Americans become infected with HIV each year

4. African Americans, who represent 12 percent of the U.S. population, made up 52 percent of all diagnoses of HIV in 2008. African Americans encompass 46 percent of people living with HIV in the United States.

5. African Americans experienced the largest increase in rates of HIV diagnoses by ethnicity or race from 2005 to 2008—with the rate increasing from 68 per 100,000 to 74 per 100,000.

6. AIDS is the number one killer of black women between the ages of 25 and 34.

7. At least 3% of residents in DC have HIV/AIDS, which is higher than the percentage of those in West Africa, and on par with Uganda & parts of Kenya.

8. The HIV/AIDS rate in Washington D.C. is up 22% from 2006

9. Almost 7% of black men in Washington D.C. are infected with HIV/AIDS.

10. Washington, D.C. is the first city in the nation to provide free HIV testing at the Department of Motor Vehicles, with an added bonus of participants receiving $15 to defray some of their DMV cost just for getting tested.

For more information on World AIDS Day visit http://www.cdc.gov/features/worldaidsday/

To find a testing site near you visit http://www.hivtest.org/

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a policy statement that basically endorses female genital mutilation;  suggesting the law should “enable pediatricians to reach out to families by offering a ritual nick” such as “pricking or incising the clitoral skin to satisfy cultural requirements.”

I could rant about this, but I think my friend Rebecca’s photographic response when she was sent the link via chat sums up my feelings quite nicely:

St. Vincent’s hospital in Greenwich Village was one of the few hospitals in NYC that was willing to support midwives who do home births. But now it’s closing, and that means about half of the midwives in New York will either have to stop practicing, or practice illegally.

This is happening because of a stupid law that says midwives need to have a “Written Practice Agreement” from a doctor in order to perform a delivery at home. Then if there’s a problem with the birth, that’s the hospital they go to. This law is totally unnecessary, because midwives obviously have a backup hospital in mind when they deliver a baby at home. Just like you know what hospital you might need to go to before you go skydiving. But for some reason, the law insists on treating childbirth like it’s an illness, not a natural part of human life that most often doesn’t require any time in a hospital.

Why was St. Vincent’s one of the only hospitals with doctors who are willing to sign such an agreement? There’s a huge stigma in the medical community against supporting midwives. Why’s there stigma? No reason except misogyny and greed. The medical profession is in the pocket of the pharmaceutical companies, who are rather keen on making sure pregnant women are pumped as full of drugs as possible during childbirth, even when those drugs are dangerous and unnecessary.

We talk a lot about giving women control of their own bodies when it comes to abortion, but what about when they’re actually having a child?  It’s incredibly important to take action now so home birth in NYC doesn’t essentially become a crime. Take action here and protect women’s choice in childbirth!

All the talk about 420 today has me thinking about the “education” I had about drug use as a child. I’m sure we all went through DARE or something similar; in my opinion, those programs do way more damage than good, and sometimes even inspire dangerous drug use in kids.

Here’s how. My DARE program told us that any and all drugs were incredibly dangerous; one toke of a joint or sip of beer and your life would pretty much be over. It wasn’t long before a lot of us would read an article about how occasional marijuana use doesn’t have any negative long-term health effects, or find that we had family members who smoked and weren’t total sociopaths, and realize that something was wrong with the education we were getting.

For some kids, that realization meant they’d go on to educate themselves about what was and wasn’t truly dangerous, and make good decisions based on the actual facts about drugs. But a vast majority of disillusioned DARE grads I knew took what they learned about moderate alcohol and pot use being OK to mean that everything they were told about drugs ever was a lie; that all drugs are safe, and there’s no reason not to do any of them.

So parents and educators, please: Tell your kids the truth. Tell them that having a few beers at a party won’t kill them, but driving a car afterwards will. That it’s probably not too dangerous to smoke a joint and watch South Park, but mixing Ecstasy with Cocaine before going out to a crowded club with no access to water is the worst decision they could ever make.

Most kids are smart enough to make their own decisions, and they’ll listen to what you say if they know you won’t tell them lies. Tell them the truth about drugs and let them think for themselves.

I stopped buying Boca Burgers awhile ago because I realized they were owned by Philip Morris, and I didn’t want to send my money to a big evil cigarette company. Turns out that was a good decision, as most Boca Burgers might also be about the health equivalent of gnawing on a pack of cigarettes with ketchup.

A recent study has come out reporting that most major brands of veggie burger are made with the chemical hexane, a neurotoxin and air pollutant. Check out the Mother Jones article for a list of which veggie burgers are delicious barbecue entrees. . .and which will probably kill you slowly.

As much as I love the taste of fake meat as a vegetarian, this doesn’t come totally unexpected for me. New rule of thumb, which I feel applies far outside the realm of food: If it appears to be a chicken but definitely isn’t, you might not want to trust it.

By now we know that President Obama’s health care reform bill means that people already struggling to pay their bills and those not able to afford to buy insurance will have coverage in the long run. We know that kids with pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain insurance within six months, and adults in 2014. But what does it mean for young people of color and how will it affect our communities in the short term and the long run? After all, the issue of racial and ethnic health disparities has oppressed America’s health care system for years. So, will young people of color be affected by this change?

The answer is yes! In fact, we will benefit the most from this legislation.

Historically, minorities living in America have lower rates of insurance coverage and less access to medical care than White Americans, particularly Hispanics and African Americans being most at risk. Under the health care reform bill, after 2014 most minorities who are currently uninsured will either obtain coverage through Medicaid’s expansion or through government subsidies. For people of color, the health care reform bill is a great triumph.

You might be thinking, “So I have to wait four years to benefit from the health care reform bill?” The answer is no!

One of the changes that will take effect right away that is important for young people of color is the extension of dependent coverage for young adults until they are 26-years-old. This is very important for young minorities who are unemployed and unable to obtain health insurance. The 42% of African American youth that are currently unemployed, college students included, will now be able to secure coverage as a dependent on their parents insurance plan this year.

Another immediate change that will take place in 2010 that will benefit entire communities of color is a provision that will provide billions of dollars to not only expand existing community health centers, but also build new facilities in underserved areas. This will not only allow more access to facilities where ethnic minorities can receive medical treatment, but also create jobs for more health care specialists of color who are bilingual, eliminating communication barriers between the patient and medical staff which has been an obstacle for Hispanic and Asian residents.

As a young person of color in America, the best thing you can do right now is your homework! Start researching how the health care reform bill will directly help you and your families, and start taking advantage of some of the benefits now.

“A rich man is one with knowledge, happiness and his health.” – Common

You know Ronald McDonald. Adorable character, right? Until you consider that he was designed specifically to entice young children into adopting a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits.

That’s why our friends at Corporate Accountability International have started a campaign to send Ronald into retirement. They argue that it’s time for Ronald to join his similarly endearing (if oddly phallic) friend Joe Camel and leave the world of advertising.

You can sign the petition for Ronald to retire at www.retireronald.org. I mean, the guy has to be bound for a heart attack pretty soon anyways, he should enjoy his old age while he can.

When I went to high school in Colorado my school had a 7-11 on campus as well as a choice of Chic-Fil-A and Dominoes pizza depending on the day of the week. We had vending machines that were filled with soda and candy, and a dessert selection of sugar and chocolate chip cookies.

Fast forward some years later and now schools across the country are competing to win organic choices over unhealthy lunch options for their school. I’m jealous!

The Organic Trade Association is hosting a national contest to award a lucky school with an organically grown garden or the option to have an organic vending machine on campus. The initiative “Organic. It’s Worth It In Schools” aims help schools access more organic food.

According to a survey by the OTA, more than half of the individuals polled feel that the best way to encourage children to make healthy food choices is by improving education about health and nutrition. A good way to start is by offering it!

So, if you want to enter your school to win a really cool organically grown garden or an organic vending machine, act now!

Visit www.OrganicItsWorthIt.org through May 1 and enter your school’s name and address when you sign up for an electronic newsletter to win. Similar to a petition, your school must receive at least 1,000 newsletter sign ups to win.

Just hopped off a video announcement from Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and definitely a top pick on the short list of D.C. insiders who are really taking their title/mission to heart.

On what is coincidentally (purely surely) the first day of the international COP15 summit, the EPA announces that their thorough (musta been really thorough) analysis of all the available facts leads to one simple conclusion: greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of the American people.”

There’s more:

“These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history as the year when the United States Government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Great talking point from Mrs. Jackson and my instinct thinks she’s legit. When asked on the call about the timing of the EPA’s announcement, when House reps have indicated no movement on environmnetal legislation until early Spring (months from now), Lisa Jackson said the EPA did not want to wait to get the ball rolling and hoped that Congress would “follow the ball.”

Translation: watch out, world. Apparently it’s not a pre-requisite of American political power to actually lose total touch with the land and your people!

Keep it up, Mrs. Jackson.