Free Republic

Don't get me wrong, Harry Reid is behind everything in Nevada, but I haven't seen evidence that the solar deal with ENN is even still being considered.  After The Blaze reported that ENN dumped the project, I still see links to this Reid/Chinese deal that isn't happening. "A Chinese-backed company is pulling the plug on a multibillion-dollar solar project near Laughlin after it was unable to find customers for the power that would have been generated there, a Clark County spokesman said Friday.In a letter dated Friday, an executive from ENN Mojave Energy LLC informed the county that the company...

This cat of me has owned yus for many years. She screams to be free, but when you let her out, she screams to come back inside. Now I like this cat. But the only two other things she will eat (besides dry catfood) are refried beans and popcorn....

About the 2014 Preppers Festival The Prepper's Festival will be held on Downtown Main Street in New Castle, VA on April 19th, 2014. This event will include a wide array of preparedness, homesteading and survivalist-related vendors, local artisans, skill-building workshops and even a Top Chef style Prepper's Cook-Off! Additionally, live music will be provided throughout the day and a large raffle will be held. This event is sure to be fun and very informative for all who attend!

According to a stunning new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly a third of all food produced in the United States gets wasted. We are probably the most wasteful society in the history of the planet, and we are also one of the most gluttonous. More than 35 percent of all Americans are considered to be officially "obese" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, this era of gluttony and taking food for granted will soon be coming to an end. Thanks to crippling drought in key growing areas and other extremely bizarre weather patterns, a...

According to a stunning new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly a third of all food produced in the United States gets wasted. We are probably the most wasteful society in the history of the planet, and we are also one of the most gluttonous. More than 35 percent of all Americans are considered to be officially "obese" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, this era of gluttony and taking food for granted will soon be coming to an end. Thanks to crippling drought in key growing areas and other extremely bizarre weather patterns, a...

March 1, 2014 National Pig Day – 2014 PORKOPOLIS On an internet known for plenty of spam and pale ink, Porkopolis.org remains a noble mainstay and faithful guardian of the appreciation of this Republic’s, and indeed the world’s, pandemonius plethora of pigs. Porkopolis.org stands as part of a brother and sisterhood of swineherds and scholars; pig pundits and porktologists; bourgeois pigs, breeders and bacon laureates; pigmatists and pigamists who all refute the sentiment “of any pork in a storm.” Instead, we hail the great intelligence, amenable disposition, self-reliance and down right savoriness of the pig. Swinedom is to be admired...

DENVER (AP) – A southern Colorado county with two recreational marijuana stores has become the first in the state to announce tax totals from the new industry. Pueblo County finance authorities announced Monday that its two shops had about $1 million in total sales in January, producing about $56,000 in local sales taxes. ... snip ...

President Obama came to Michigan recently to sign the $1 trillion farm bill and in a press release touting the bill, Sen. Debbie Stabenow called agriculture the state's "second-largest industry after manufacturing." That is false. A quick look at the data shows there is no possible way to justify calling agriculture Michigan's second-largest industry. Yet the claim has been repeated for years. This is especially distressing because Sen. Stabenow, D-Lansing, is the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and should know the size and scale of the industry. The myth also is repeated by the Michigan Farm Bureau and the...

Hey guys. The wife and I just created a new website for those of you who are new parents. Making baby recipes for your little one protects them from harmful additives such as nitrates, artificial coloring, and preservatives including BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. In addition to protecting your baby from the unnatural additives, you save a great deal of money making your own homemade baby food. For example, buying store bought organic food costs on average $1.40 for a 4 ounce jar. Making the same amount at home costs about $.30. Store bought non-organic food costs about $1.05 per 4...

Hey guys. The wife and I just created a new website for those of you who are new parents. Making baby recipes for your little one protects them from harmful additives such as nitrates, artificial coloring, and preservatives including BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. In addition to protecting your baby from the unnatural additives, you save a great deal of money making your own homemade baby food. For example, buying store bought organic food costs on average $1.40 for a 4 ounce jar. Making the same amount at home costs about $.30. Store bought non-organic food costs about $1.05 per 4...

If the Environmental Protection Agency moves to restrict neonicotinoid pesticides, often called neonics, because of fears that they are causing bee deaths, it will happen in spite of the mounting empirical evidence rather than because of it. Last December, in response to fevered political pressure, the European Commission banned the use of neonics for two years. The moratorium, guided by the precautionary politics that now dominate science-based regulation in Europe, took effect just as a number of new studies shed increasing doubt on the belief that neonics play a key role in bee health. (snip) The “crisis” prompting this handwringing...

When, if ever, will we eat lab-grown meat? It's still early enough in 2014 for predictions of the year to come, and late 2013 saw the unveiling of the world's first hamburger made of laboratory-cultured animal protein, leading to a frenzy of journalistic coverage and even one short article that collected past predictions for when "cultured meat" might reach supermarket shelves. ("Cultured meat" is the term of preference among the substance's promoters, over "schmeat," "lab meat," and of course "frankenmeat.") Those skeptical about the viability of meat grown in laboratories can look back with satisfaction at a long history of...

I’ll be honest: for years, I never considered the survivalist/prepper crowds as target audiences. I mean, we’re on totally different ideological wavelengths, right? I’m not into shooting things, and they likely think I’m a touchy-feely hippie who wouldn’t survive a week after SHTF. What could we possibly have in common? Quite a bit, it turns out – apparently, ideology ain’t everything. As we’ve started doing more DIY/upcycling/self-sufficiency content, we’ve seen a steady rise in readership from sites like The Homestead Survival and Knowledge Weighs Nothing. And, as you might expect, I’ve spent more time checking out these sites and those...

My family is in urgent need of prayers. Our landlord unexpectly sold the farm we had been renting with an eye toward rent-to-own. New owner will not even speak to us. Wants us out of his new weekend retreat before January 3. No compromise. He is completely within his legal rights to do this, btw. I am talking about 7 people, including 2 preschoolers, becoming homeless on a Kentucky Appalachian mountaintop in January. We have a cow ready to calve any day now, 3 horses, and farming hand tools we have been gathering for several years. If we and our...

BOSTON (CBS) — As soon as next summer, nuggets and other popular chicken products could be made with chicken processed in China, all because of a recent change in regulations. “Oh, it makes me a little nervous,” says mother of two, Katrina Lee. China has a long history of serving up unsafe food, including the industrial chemical melamine that was deliberately put in pet food and infant formula. There were also cases of tainted rat meat passed off as lamb. “To me it’s a big leap of faith for us to now have to accept that foods coming from china...

Obama Steals Food From The Poor To Pay For Michele’s ‘Let’s Move’ Program Posted 6 hours ago by Dave Jolly Filed under Entitlements, Ethics, Government Spending, Liberalism, Politics Millions of food stamp recipients are finding their government supplement smaller this month. The federal government made sizeable cuts to the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) otherwise known as food stamps. This cut will affect 47.6 million Americans or about 1 out of every 6 people. Under the new guidelines, a family of 4 will see their food stamps drop from $668 a month to $632 a month. While $36 dollars doesn’t...

Due to the buying spree in rural land, how much farmland has India lost? According to the ministry of agriculture, almost none. It says India lost 16,000 sq km, or 0.8% of her gross cropped area, in the 10-year period to 2010-11. The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), in fact, says land under cultivation stayed constant in the last 10 years. Another number comes from the Census Department, which says area under urban use jumped by 24,000 sq km during the same period. Much of this would have been at the expense of rural land. "As cities grow, agricultural area...

AKITA – A new company aiming to mediate between rice producers, mass merchants and consumers was established Monday, led by agricultural corporations in Akita Prefecture and the city of Sendai. The move is part of efforts to prepare for rapid changes in the competitive environment for agriculture, including Japan’s participation in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks and the planned abolition of rice production adjustments in five years. The new firm is based in the village of Ogata, Akita Prefecture. It was chiefly founded by Ogatamura Akitakomachi Seisansha Kyokai, an Ogata firm selling rice online to individual customers nationwide, and Butai...

The government plans to draw up guidelines to tackle dishonest menus and food labels that have been used by many hotels, restaurants and department stores across Japan. At a meeting Monday of officials from relevant agencies, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga asked for effective measures to ensure suitable representations of dishes and food products at such locations. The government will work out guidelines under the law against unjustified premiums and misleading representations, Suga said, urging the agencies to make sure inappropriate representations are corrected as soon as they are discovered. The dishonest labeling issue “could fundamentally undermine consumer trust in...

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund called on Thailand to scrap its pricy scheme to support rice farmers and scale back some other fiscal stimulus measures in order to balance the budget and contain rising public debt. In its annual review of Thailand's economy, the IMF also said the government should do a better job of supervising public banks and non-bank financial institutions, which pose growing financial risks. As Thailand continues to face risks from volatile capital flows and an uncertain global environment, the government should ensure it has enough money to respond to shocks, the IMF said, according to...