This as AMERICAN CITIZENS FOOD STAMPS are being CUT!!
And it looked so good, too:
"Food companies work to make it look natural; Homemade appearance is more appealing" by Candice Choi | Associated Press, June 18, 2013
NEW YORK — Americans still love their fast food and packaged snacks, but they’re increasingly turning their noses up at foods that look overly processed.
Yes, the hungry American people are stuck up because they don't want to eat shit food.
Honestly, I'm full up on elitist insults from agenda-pushing s***-shovelers, sorry.
Home-cooked meals — or ones that at least look like they were homemade — are seen as more wholesome and authentic....
Oh, yeah, another thing: I'm SICK of the IMAGERY and ILLUSION being such an integral part of the AmeriKan $y$tem, too!!
There’s no way to measure exactly how much food makers are investing to make their products look more natural or fresh. But adaptation is seen as necessary for fueling steady growth....
Appearances have always been a part of food production, but at Kraft Foods Group, executives took the quest for a turkey slice that looks home-cooked even further....
--more--"
To drink I'd like a cup of coffee and a refill, please.
And now for the entree:
"Farm bill fails as trade-offs of yore vanish; Parties divided in House on subsidies, food stamps" by Matt Viser | Globe Staff, June 21, 2013
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday defeated the farm bill, 234 to 195, leaving the fate of nearly $1 trillion in farm subsidies and food-stamp programs in limbo.
Sixty-two Republicans defected on the vote, a reflection of House Speaker John Boehner’s struggles to rein in his restive GOP caucus. By the end of the day, Republicans were blaming Democrats, Democrats were blaming Republicans, and members of the Senate — which has already passed its own version of a farm bill — were criticizing the House....
By the time it went down in defeat, the farm bill had been mired in controversy, attacked by advocates who said it protected farming interests at the expense of the poor, with the food-stamp program serving as a political football between warring political interests.
And guess who is getting kicked around, hungry Americans?
Farmers who grow peanuts or nurture catfish would be protected under the House legislation, for example. Those who supply the nation with the sticky Japonica rice used for sushi would also get a boost. But Democrats objected to $21 billion in House GOP food-stamp cuts that would eliminate benefits for up to 1.8 million families nationwide, as well as the loss of free school meals for up to 210,000 kids.
That's okay; the kids can just go begging to corporations for breakfast.
Even under Senate legislation, which has the support of Democrats, families in certain states that calculate food stamps in a way that would be curbed would see their average monthly $508 benefit slashed by up to $90. Nationwide, about 500,000 households would be affected by that Senate cut, including tens of thousands in Massachusetts.
About 450,000 Bay State households — nearly 900,000 residents — rely on food stamps. They got $1.4 billion last year, an average monthly benefit of $132.51 per person.
That is about $30 a week for groceries, and NO ONE CAN LIVE OF THAT!
The struggle over the farm bill illustrates the level of paralysis that has gripped Congress. It also reveals in especially stark detail the disparate fortunes of powerful business interests, with their high-priced lobbyists, and the economically needy....
Except when it comes to more spying power, anything Israel wants, and money for wars and Wall Street.
The bill historically has contained enough goodies to satisfy everyone. Soybean and corn subsidies for Midwestern congressional districts? Check. Subsidies for dairy, peanuts, and chickpeas (large and small)? Check, check, and check. Food stamps, which earn strong support from congressmen in poor, largely urban areas? Check.
Yeah, the age of pork-barrel politics is so missed. That's why we are in this situation, of course, but don't let that get in the way of this pathetic and sickening piece of agenda-pushing crap.
In an era when fiscal conservatives have thrust austerity to the top of the agenda, however, opposition has grown to the price tag of $1 trillion over 10 years. Some Republicans are calling for further cuts in food stamps, a program they view as a government handout.
Have they? It's all their fault? Really? Seems like a bipartisan effort to me.
“When we see the expansion of the dependency class in America . . . it’s a barrier to people that might go out and succeed,” said Representative Steve King, an Iowa Republican. “We don’t want to hand these out to people that are gaming the system so to speak.”
Yeah, but if it is BANKS that need TRILLIONS in BAILOUT MONEY, that's fine!
Readers, I've LOST MY APPETITE!
Representative James McGovern, Democrat of Worcester, recently spent a week living on a food budget that was equivalent to food stamps, spending $4.50 a day....
Sorry, but you can't live on that. That guarantees a perpetual state of hunger, and maybe that is what the masters want.
Of course, their lavish buffets won't be affected.
“The price of a farm bill should not mean making more people hungry in America; we are a better country than this,” McGovern said. “If we do not stand for people who are hungry, who are poor, than what the hell do we stand for?”
Jim, we are so far from what conventional myth, illusion, and imagery say it's disgusting.
Those who benefit the most from farm subsidies are farmers who grow corn in Iowa, soybeans in Minnesota, wheat in Kansas, and cotton in Texas....
In other words, BIG AGRA BENEFITS!
As the House vote loomed, Republicans added amendments that drew ire from across the aisle. One would permit states to administer drug tests before approving a food-stamp application.
Did the TEST the WALL STREET BANKERS because those guys are wired on cocaine a lot of the time!
Again, what you are seeing here, dear American, is a government that DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU and is DAMN PUNITIVE about it!
Another would allow states to require recipients to either work 20 hours a week or sign up for job training.
Job training for what?
Ultimately, only 24 Democrats supported the bill. That stood in stark contrast to the last time the House approved a farm bill, in 2008. At that time, the bill passed with 216 Democrats and 100 Republicans voting in favor.
The Senate version of the farm bill passed June 10 with overwhelming support from Democrats. It would cut food stamps by $4 billion over the next 10 years, instead of the House’s $21 billion. The savings would come from several changes, including denying eligibility for lottery winners.
And those are the "good guys" looking out for us all -- as opposed to those icky Repuglicans.
Related: Senate moves forward on $100 billion farm bill
Also see: Congress Cuts Food Stamps
You call this forward?
It would prevent states from exploiting federal rules in ways that increase access to food stamps.
That's great. State government working to put people on the rolls, federal government looks to get 'em off. But this government loves you so much it must spy on all your communications for your own protection!!
Can you hear the growl of my stomach, assholes?
Currently 15 states, including Massachusetts, deploy those strategies and would be affected. Eliminating those practices would reduce benefits for about 850,000 households by an average of $90 per month.
As they are telling American citizens to eat shit (that's the 21st-century equivalent of cake).
It is unclear what will happen next. The House also failed to pass a farm bill last year, so the 2008 legislation was extended until Sept. 30, 2013. House leaders could choose to bring up the bill again, making changes to either satisfy Republicans who want more cuts to food stamps or Democrats who want fewer. They could also try to pass another extension....
That's what will happen.
--more--"
And about those spending bills:
"Spending measure proceeds in Senate; Democrats’ bills ignore cutbacks" by Andrew Taylor | Associated Press, June 21, 2013
WASHINGTON — At issue is the congressional appropriations process in which 12 individual bills set the day-to-day operating budgets of 15 Cabinet departments and other federal agencies. The bills make up a little more than one-third of the budget, with expensive benefit programs like Medicare and Social Security making up most of the rest.
Find the money someplace else.
The 12 bills represent Congress’ most basic job, but the appropriations process has broken down over the years and is showing signs of grinding to a complete halt this year.
Unless it is for wars, Wall Street, Israel, corporations, more tyranny, and the funding of lavish political lifestyles at taxpayer expense. Then it's all bipartisan.
Congress is likely to resort yet again to a stopgap spending measure in September that keeps the government running, but....
There was more bipartisan agreement when the panel turned to spending bills funding the Veterans Affairs Department and a measure funding agriculture programs and Pentagon construction projects.
Oh, BIPARTISANSHIP when it comes to MILITARY-RELATED ITEMS, 'eh?
The $20.9 billion agriculture measure restores House GOP cuts to the popular overseas Food for Peace aid program and a program that delivers food aid to pregnant women and their babies.
It's not that I'm for people in the world starving; however, Food for Peace is a propaganda program run by the Defense Department and CIA, and MAYBE all the WARS and CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION haven't helped!
Think of that before being whacked by the woman and children being waved around at you by the agenda-pushing, war-promoting press!
"The White House also announced Monday an additional $300 million in humanitarian aid for Syria and neighboring countries absorbing refugees escaping the violence. The new money brings the total US humanitarian assistance to $800 million, according to the White House..... The new funding could be used for such things as buying radios and establishing an interim police forces; rebuilding schools; or hiring teachers and buying books."
That's almost a BILLION dollars for a conflict we created in an attempt at regime change -- while you stare at austerity and cuts in those same things, American people.
Also see:
Congressmen to White House: Food for Peace ‘Critical’
Food aid fattens up lobbyists
How could you be against FOOD for CORPORATE PROFITS even as you starve, American people?
--more--"
But they are going to patch up and boost the Pentagon budget (look, more bipartisanship) while cutting food stamps.
Where to go with those stamps:
"Discounters pushing into supermarket turf" by Leon Stafford | Atlanta Journal-Constitution" June 18, 2013
ATLANTA — Retailers see groceries as a way to add convenience for hurried and time-strapped Americans who like the idea of getting tires for their car and steaks for a weekend barbecue all in one place, say the chains’ operators and food industry analysts....
The steak is as tough as a tire, too!
That’s not to say there aren’t drawbacks. The grocery business is notoriously volatile because of price swings and supply pressures. Profit margins are generally about 1 percent.
But then, everyone has to eat. Unlike shopping for a pair of shoes or a Blu-ray, consumers purchase food at least two to three times a week, if not more.
“It’s a low-margin business, but with a high volume,’’ Richard Galanti, a spokesman for warehouse retailer Costco.
It won’t be easy to unseat supermarkets, however. They have larger, more diverse selections of food and employ staff, such as butchers or pastry chefs, who can answer questions for customers, provide specific cuts of meat, or fill customized cake orders.
And consumers trust supermarkets more when it comes to fresh products such as meat, vegetables, and fruits, the analysts said.
Walmart said last week that it planned to get produce to its store faster and with better quality. The company said it would purchase fruits and vegetables directly from growers and do independent weekly checks at stores.
--more--"
Maybe we should order out instead:
"Smithfield investor suggests breakup" by Michael Felberbaum | Associated Press, June 18, 2013
RICHMOND — One of Smithfield Foods Inc.’s largest shareholders says a $4.72 billion takeover bid from China’s largest meat producer falls short of what the company would be worth if sold off piece by piece....
Under the deal struck last month with Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd., Smithfield would sell itself for $34 per share. The deal, which remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, would be the largest takeover of a US company by a Chinese firm, valued at about $7.1 billion, including debt....
Starboard managing member Jeffrey C. Smith wrote that its letter was not necessarily in opposition to the proposed sale, but added that it ‘‘would be remiss, however, to let an opportunity slip by to determine whether the company could realize even greater value for shareholders.’’
--more--"
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Pork Fried Rice
Are you sure it isn't rat fried rice?
