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newstfionline · 4 years

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Sunday, November 8, 2020

Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided US (AP) Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, positioning himself to lead a nation gripped by a historic pandemic and a confluence of economic and social turmoil. His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Biden crossed 270 Electoral College votes with a win in Pennsylvania. Trump refused to concede, threatening further legal action on ballot counting. Biden, 77, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanizing a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy. Biden, in a statement, said he was humbled by the victory and it was time for the battered nation to set aside its differences. “It’s time for America to unite. And to heal,” he said. Kamala Harris also made history as the first Black woman to become vice president, an achievement that comes as the U.S. faces a reckoning on racial justice. The California senator, who is also the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency, will become the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in government. Trump is the first incumbent president to lose reelection since Republican George H. W. Bush in 1992. Americans showed deep interest in the presidential race. A record 103 million voted early this year, opting to avoid waiting in long lines at polling locations during a pandemic. With counting continuing in some states, Biden had already received more than 74 million votes, more than any presidential candidate before him.

Elation and Anger: Catharsis in the streets as election ends (AP) As soon as the news buzzed on their phones, Americans gathered spontaneously on street corners and front lawns—honking their horns, banging pots and pans, starting impromptu dance parties—as an agonizingly vitriolic election and exhausting four-day wait for results came to an end Saturday morning. And for all that joy, there was equal parts sorrow, anger and mistrust on the other side. Across the United States, the dramatic conclusion of the 2020 election was cathartic. Just after The Associated Press and other news organizations declared that former Vice President Joe Biden beat President Donald Trump, fireworks erupted in Atlanta. In Maine, a band playing at a farmers’ market broke into the Battle Hymn of the Republic. In Manhattan, they danced in the streets, banged cowbells and honked their car horns. In Louisville, Kentucky, Biden supporters gathered on their lawns to toast with champagne. But Trump’s supporters, far from jubilant, were angry, defiant and mistrustful of the news. But for many Saturday, it was a relief to Biden’s supporters to celebrate victory, put bitter partisanship aside and dance in the streets, if only for one afternoon.

Trump supporters refuse to accept defeat (AP) Chanting “This isn’t over!" and “Stop the steal,” supporters of President Donald Trump protested at state capitols across the country Saturday, refusing to accept defeat and echoing Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations that the Democrats won by fraud. From Atlanta and Tallahassee to Austin, Bismarck, Boise and Phoenix, crowds ranging in size from a few dozen to a few thousand—some of them openly carrying guns—decried the news of Joe Biden's victory after more than three suspense-filled days of vote-counting put the Democrat over the top. Skirmishes broke out in some cities. In Atlanta, outside the state Capitol in the longtime Republican stronghold of Georgia, chants of “Lock him up!” rang out among an estimated 1,000 Trump supporters. Others chanted, “This isn’t over! This isn’t over!” and “Fake news!” Contrary to the claims of Trump supporters, there has been no evidence of any serious vote fraud. The utter rejection of Biden as the legitimate president by Trump and his supporters appears to represent something new in American political history, said Barbara Perry, presidential studies director at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. “We typically haven’t had a leader who loses the presidency who then tells his followers, ‘This is false. This has been stolen from us,'” Perry said. "Incumbent presidents have been mad, so mad they didn’t go to the inauguration, but not like this, where they are leading those people to say this is fraudulent.”

Nations long targeted by US chide Trump’s claims of fraud (AP) Demands to stop the vote count. Baseless accusations of fraud. Claims that the opposition is trying to “steal” the election. Across the world, many were scratching their heads Friday—especially in countries that have long been advised by Washington on how to run elections—wondering if those assertions could truly be coming from the president of the United States, the nation considered one of the world’s most emblematic democracies. “Who’s the banana republic now?” Colombian daily newspaper Publimetro chided on the front page with a photo of a man in a U.S. flag print mask. The irony of seeing U.S. Donald Trump cut off by major media networks Thursday as he launched unsubstantiated claims lambasting the U.S. electoral system was not lost on many. The U.S. has long been a vocal critic of strongman tactics around the world. Now, some of those same targets are turning around the finger. Along with the mockery comes dismay. Many people in Africa see the U.S. as a bellwether for democracy and, after troubled votes in Tanzania and Ivory Coast in recent days, they looked to what Washington might say. “We are asking ourselves, why is the U.S. democratic process appearing so fragile when it is meant to be held up to us in the rest of the world as a beacon of perfect democracy?” said Samir Kiango, a Tanzanian out in his country’s commercial capital Friday.

Second Mexican state to enter highest coronavirus alert level (Reuters) A second Mexican state will from next week enter the highest level of coronavirus alert as authorities bid to contain a recent jump in infections in the north of the country, the health ministry said on Friday. The northern state of Durango will as of Monday join Chihuahua, a neighboring region on the U.S. border, in the red alert phase following an increase in hospitalizations. Most of Mexico’s 32 regional governments are currently at the lower orange or yellow alert levels.

Guatemalan mudslides push storm Eta’s death toll near 150 (Reuters) The death toll from torrential downpours unleashed by storm Eta leapt on Friday as Guatemalan soldiers reached a mountain village where around 100 people were killed by a landslide, adding to dozens of other dead in Central America and Mexico. Many of those who lost their lives in the village of Queja in the central Guatemalan region of Alta Verapaz were buried in their homes after mudslides swallowed around 150 houses, army spokesman Ruben Tellez said. The devastating weather front brought destruction from Panama to Honduras and Mexico, which between them have registered more than 50 flood-related deaths.

Evo Morales to return from exile to Bolivia in 800-vehicle convoy (Guardian) Bolivia’s exiled former president, Evo Morales, is set to make a triumphant homecoming next week, leading an 800-vehicle convoy to the jungle-clad coca-growing region where he began his political career. The Bolivian newspaper Página Siete reported that Morales would cross from Argentina into the southern border town of Villazón on Monday morning before heading 600 miles north to the province of Chapare. Bolivia’s first indigenous president, who was driven into exile last November in what supporters called a US-backed coup, plans to arrive in the town of Chimoré on Tuesday, exactly a year after fleeing the same location on a Mexican airforce jet. The return of Bolivia’s first indigenous president comes after his Movement for Socialism (Mas) reclaimed the presidency last month when Morales’ former finance minister, Luis Arce, won a landslide election victory.

Trump berated and baffled European allies. They aren’t sad to see him go. (Washington Post) President Donald Trump called Europe a “foe.” He said the continent’s cities were migrant-ridden, dangerous “no-go zones.” He threw leaders into a panic with threats to withdraw from NATO. And as Europeans watched the United States elect Joe Biden as its next president, many embraced his promises to respect long-standing alliances and regain the world’s trust in his country. Few Europeans expect Inauguration Day to repair all the damage—the close election suggests Trumpism will endure in some capacity, and the divergence of U.S. and European interests is part of a long-term trend. But policymakers here say they will be glad for summits without Trump there to dominate the agenda. Trump spent four years dismantling U.S. policies that many Europeans consider key to their security interests. Sometimes, policymakers here felt, he made decisions specifically because he knew it would infuriate them. They were shattered when he pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accords. They have spent years holding together the Iran nuclear deal, which has been faltering ever since he denounced it and slapped new sanctions on Tehran. They have been exasperated by his admiration for authoritarian leaders and his distaste for them. Trump is not universally disliked in Europe. His 2016 election gave a jolt of energy to the continent’s populists. The right-wing leaders of Poland and Hungary—who have been sanctioned by the European Union for dismantling courts and undermining their opponents—get along well with him. But most leaders here will be glad to see Trump’s back and eager to trade him in for a more conventional counterpart.

Europe’s Hospital Crunch Grows More Dire, Surpassing Spring Peak (NYT) More Europeans are seriously ill with the coronavirus than ever before, new hospital data for 21 countries shows, surpassing the worst days in the spring and threatening to overwhelm stretched hospitals and exhausted medical workers. New lockdowns have not yet stemmed the current influx of patients, which has only accelerated since it began growing in September, according to official counts of current patients collected by The New York Times. More than twice as many people in Europe are hospitalized with Covid-19 as in the United States, adjusted for population. In the Czech Republic, the worst-hit nation in recent weeks, one in 1,300 people is currently hospitalized with Covid-19. And in Belgium, France, Italy and other countries in Western Europe, a new swell of patients has packed hospitals to levels last seen in March and April. Countries across Europe are scrambling to find solutions. Swiss authorities approved deploying up to 2,500 military personnel to help hospitals handle rising infections in the country, while others like France have postponed non-emergency surgeries. And in Belgium, staff shortages have led some hospitals to ask doctors and nurses who have tested positive for the virus but who don’t have symptoms to keep working.

Books? Hairdressers? Europeans split on lockdown essentials (AP) In times when a pandemic unleashes death and poverty, the concept of what is essential to keep society functioning in a lockdown is gripping Europe. Beyond the obvious—food stores and pharmacies—some answers in the patchwork of nations and cultures that make up Europe can approach the surreal. What is allowed on one side of a border can be banned just a brief stroll down the road, on the other. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that while it might seem fairest to just shut everything down, “it’s perhaps not the most practical” solution. That’s why Germany is keeping car dealerships open this time, after their closure in the first, spring lockdown hurt the country’s huge automobile industry. In Belgium, of course, chocolate shops are staying open. “Chocolate is very much an essential food around here,” said chocolatier Marleen Van Volsem at the Praleen chocolaterie south of Brussels. “It has to be. Because chocolate makes you happy.” In Italy, the country that coined the term “bella figura”—the art of cutting a fine figure—hairdressers are deemed essential. “Italians really care about their image and about wellness,”″ said Charity Cheah, the Milan-based co-founder of TONI&GUY Italy. “Perhaps psychologically, the government may feel that going to a salon is a moment of release from stress and tension, a moment of self-care, that citizens need.”

Nagorno-Karabakh says its two largest cities under fierce attack (Reuters) Three residents of Nagorno-Karabakh’s largest city were killed during overnight shelling by Azeri forces, the enclave’s ethnic Armenian-controlled Emergency and Rescue Service said on Friday, as the battle for control of its major settlements intensified. Two independent observers said fighting appeared to be moving deeper into the enclave, with Azeri troops stepping up attacks on its biggest two cities. At least 1,000 people—and possibly many more—have died in nearly six weeks of fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said allegations that it had shelled civilian areas were “misinformation”. It has previously accused Armenian-controlled forces of shelling cities under its control, including Terter and Barda, as well as Ganja, the second-largest city in Azerbaijan. Dozens were killed in those attacks.

Ethiopian air strikes in Tigray will continue, says PM, as civil war risk grows (Reuters) Ethiopian jets bombed the Tigray region on Friday and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledged more air strikes in the escalating conflict amid reports that Tigrayan forces had seized control of federal military sites and weapons. Civilians in the northern region should avoid “collateral damage” by not gathering outside as strikes would continue, Abiy said in a televised speech on Friday evening, defying international pleas for both sides to show restraint. The developments illustrate how quickly the days-old conflict is escalating, raising the threat of a civil war that experts and diplomats warn would destabilise the country of 110 million people and hurt the broader Horn of Africa.

Unemployed man finds new job by posting huge resume on truck (Fox News) It’s a full-time job to look for a job, but one man refused to let opportunity drive by, and found work after posting his resume on the back of a truck. James Pemblington of Nottinghamshire, England, was out of work in March when the theme park where he worked was forced to cut employees due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Annesley man applied for about 100 jobs and went on two interviews, but the opportunities ultimately, unfortunately, fell through. The determined dad kept striving, sending companies “edible” versions of his resume—i.e. packages of brownies featuring a QR code that linked to his website. No employers ate up the gimmick, but Pemblington’s luck changed when he won a contest to have his resume displayed on the back of an 18-ton truck. Two days after his CV hit the road, he was offered a new position by an employer who reportedly spotted his credentials while sitting in traffic.

#headlines #news

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berniesrevolution · 5 years

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DISSENT MAGAZINE

Over the course of the presidential primary campaign, we’ve seen a similar scene play out over and over: candidates giving regionally specific performances meant to convey their relatability and authenticity. This May, for example, at a Wisconsin town hall event televised on Fox News, presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota attempted to woo her overwhelmingly white audience by underscoring her sensible Midwestern roots. Dubbing herself “Heartland Amy” (the subtitle of her campaign book is A Memoir from the Heartland), she peddled what she termed “heartland economics”—policies that supposedly reflect the concerns of regular voters, as well as their innate conservatism. Klobuchar has not only embraced the prairie put-on the media has come to expect from certain candidates; she’s also foregrounded her (white) Midwestern identity. Because she hails from the nation’s geographic middle, Klobuchar claims, she and her campaign possess unique insight into the needs and desires of “average” American voters. “I am from the middle of the country,” Klobuchar proudly declared in her closing remarks during last week’s Democratic debate. “And I believe, if we’re going to get things done, that we have to have someone leading the ticket with grit, someone who’s going to not just change the policies, but change the tone in the country, and someone who believes in America and believes it from their heart because of where they came from.” Fellow Democratic contenders Pete Buttigieg of Indiana and Tim Ryan of Ohio have echoed some version of Klobuchar’s appeal to Middle-American decency.

Former Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who was hired as an analyst for MSNBC after losing to Republican Josh Hawley in 2018, employs a similar style to admonish her party’s insurgent left flank. After the July debates, McCaskill claimed that “free stuff”—Medicare for All, free college, a Green New Deal—“does not play well in the Midwest.” (McCaskill, it’s worth noting, lost her election even as Missourians voted for ballot initiatives that rejected the state’s so-called right-to-work laws, legalized medical marijuana, and raised the minimum wage.)

Although you wouldn’t know it from Democrats who conflate the geographic and political center, the Midwest has a left-populist tradition that stretches back to the mid-nineteenth century, when small farmers embraced a politics critical of corporate capitalism. Even today, the region is not somehow uniquely opposed to mass redistribution. Programs like Medicare and Social Security are as popular in Ohio and Iowa as they are anywhere. And, of course, the corporations and big agriculture that make up so much of the Midwest’s commercial fabric consume a disproportionate share of government subsidies.

The imaginary Midwest of media stereotype—a place of bucolic cornfields and good-sense politics—also obscures its nonwhite past and present. From its legal origins in the Northwest Ordinance, the region has always been multiracial: American Indian, African, and European. It became even more racially and ethnically diverse in the age of railroads, urbanization, and machine-based manufacturing. With the movement of global capital and its rapacious demand for cheaper labor, populations from Latin America, Africa, and South and East Asia have remade—and continue to remake—the demography of not only the region’s major cities but also its restrictive suburbs and former sundown towns. Descriptions of an authentic white Middle America, by contrast, launder the processes of ethnic cleansing, xenophobia, racial segregation, and violence that created and sustained the heartland. Midwestern states that are overwhelmingly non-Hispanic white, like Iowa (at 85 percent), didn’t end up that way by historical accident. Neither is it an accident that black Iowans are incarcerated at eleven times the rate of white Iowans, or that an explicitly white-supremacist congressman, Steve King, has found consistent electoral success in the state.

But the fact that the Midwest is not a political or racial monolith is beside the point. McCaskill’s “free stuff” is not meant to draw empirical scrutiny; it is meant to summon fears of poor and working-class people of color. Likewise, Klobuchar’s “heartland” is not intended to foster a critical debate about geographic inequality; rather, it seeks to evoke whiteness. As historian Toby Higbie puts it, “what people usually mean by the heartland is the Midwest without Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and the kinds of people who live in those big cities, without Native American reservations, and without rural poverty.” This is the same exclusionary Midwest that New York Times reporter Jonathan Weisman conjured when he tweeted: “Saying Rashida Tlaib (D–Detroit) and Ilhan Omar (D–Minneapolis) are from the Midwest is like saying Lloyd Doggett (D–Austin) is from Texas or John Lewis (D–Atlanta) is from the Deep South.”

The trope of an ostensibly racially neutral and politically reasonable “Middle American heartland” is a historical fiction, juxtaposed with a purportedly backward (and multiracial) South. The notion of an American “center” was popularized in the nineteenth century by editors and politicos and adopted by Ohioans, Hoosiers, Illinoisans, and Iowans who, through the restriction and banishment of black people, wished to navigate a “middle way” between slavery and racial liberalization. Its modern iteration reflects conservative political strategies and elite discourses of the 1960s. Whitewashing the region’s radical history since the abolitionist movement, liberal journalists made sense of white hostility toward civil rights and the counterculture by flattening much of the U.S. interior and branding it as hopelessly reactionary. At the same time, right-wing politicians exploited the grievance politics of the white petite bourgeoisie, beginning with Alabama segregationist George Wallace’s 1964 presidential campaign (which performed well in Wisconsin and Indiana). This connection of white middle-class victimhood with regional imagery culminated in the resounding electoral success of Richard Nixon’s more implicit “Silent Majority” coalition.

In the wake of these developments came the rise of the “Reagan Democrat” in the Rust Belt. Ronald Reagan couched his anti-statist message and vows to dismantle the New Deal state in racist terms, lauding the industrious white worker (who had benefited from the racially exclusionary New Deal) while denigrating the fictive “welfare queen” and her accomplices. That political formation continued into the twenty-first century, as political scientist Katherine Cramer showed in her book The Politics of Resentment, which examines how former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker deployed a racist, anti-intellectual, and anti-statist ideology to remake his home state according to the designs of the Koch Brothers and American Legislative Exchange Council.

By contrast, Donald Trump has promised to protect (white) Midwesterners and guarantee their livelihoods with decisive federal action—whether through protectionist trade policies, job creation, generous healthcare benefits, or otherwise. However empty those promises were, they resonated with Michigan and Wisconsin voters—many of whom had cast their ballots (twice) for Obama—and helped topple the Democrats’ “firewall” in the Upper Midwest. Trump won the heartland in part by promising “free stuff.” (His actual economic policies, of course, have followed recent Republican Party tradition.)

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#politics #the left #dissent magazine #economic populism #progressive

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atlantarealtorbiassou · 2 years

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COBB GA WEEKEND EVENTS APR 29 – MAY 1, 2022. THE (R) EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. VOICES OF THE WIND. FALL INTO SPRING CONCERT. MAY-RETTA DAZE. RACE FOR EMPOWERMENT. FARMERS MARKETS. FREE FUN THINGS TO DO IN S. GA

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#Fall Into Spring Concert #Farmers Markets #Revolution of Steve Jobs #Voices of the Wind

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Who Were The Republicans In The Civil War

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-were-the-republicans-in-the-civil-war/

Who Were The Republicans In The Civil War

Gop Overthrown During Great Depression

What if Civil War broke out between Republicans and Democrats?

The pro-business policies of the decade seemed to produce an unprecedented prosperityuntil the Wall Street Crash of 1929 heralded the Great Depression. Although the party did very well in large cities and among ethnic Catholics in presidential elections of 19201924, it was unable to hold those gains in 1928. By 1932, the citiesfor the first time everhad become Democratic strongholds.

Hoover was by nature an activist and attempted to do what he could to alleviate the widespread suffering caused by the Depression, but his strict adherence to what he believed were Republican principles precluded him from establishing relief directly from the federal government. The Depression cost Hoover the presidency with the 1932 landslide election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition controlled American politics for most of the next three decades, excepting the presidency of Republican Dwight Eisenhower 19531961. The Democrats made major gains in the 1930 midterm elections, giving them congressional parity for the first time since Wilson’s presidency.

Election Of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born into relative poverty in Kentucky in 1809. His father worked a small farm. In his youth, Lincoln held down a variety of jobs before moving to Illinois and becoming a lawyer.

Lincoln sarted to get involved in local politics. Lincolns political views came to the fore after the Kansas Nebraska Act where he spoke out against the spread of slavery.

1860 was the presidential election year. In the spring the two main parties, the Democrats and the Republicans chose their candidates.

Abraham Lincoln . The Republicans held their convention in Chicago. Lincoln was chosen with overwhelming support.

Stephen Douglas . The Democratic Party was split. Northern Democrats wished for further compromise over slavery. Douglas was chosen as their candidate.

John Breckinridge . The Southern Democrats wanted no compromise on slavery. They wished to see slavery guaranteed and were trying to take over the party. They left the Democrat Convention in Baltimore and selected their own candidate John Breckinridge.

John Bell . The Constitutional Union Party was trying to prevent the country dividing over the issue of slavery.

The election campaign of 1860 was unusual. Lincoln only campaigned in the North and Breckinridge in the South. Stephen Douglas exhausted himself by campaigning in all the states.

The result was that Lincoln became President. He won all 17 states in the North but none in the South. The country was now more divided than ever.

Opinionheres What Getting Rid Of Mississippis Confederate Flag Means And Doesnt

In the summer of 1864, for example, the war was going poorly, and Republicans feared that a public sick of defeat would toss Lincoln out of office. Then Gen. William T. Sherman won a resounding victory at Atlanta in September. Lincolnâs landslide re-election in 1864 seemed to many at the time and since then to be the result of that military success.

But by analyzing House elections in 1864, Kalmoe uncovered a different story. In the 1860s, congressional contests were held over the course of the entire year, rather than on the same day as the presidential contest. If Republicans were in trouble before September, House GOP candidates should have been crushed by Democratic challengers. But instead, Kalmoe found, Republican vote share changed little over time. Lincoln was on his way to win before Atlanta. Republican partisans supported the president even though the war was going poorly, as they did when the war was going well.

In the Civil War era, partisanship had a strong effect on how people interpreted good or bad news.

Republican refusal to abandon Trump seems ominous. Trumpâs disastrous response to a national health crisis has led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths. If his voters arenât moved by that, how can we hold government accountable to the people at all? Partisanship seems to be a recipe for denial, dysfunction and death.

Read Also: Did Republicans Cut Funding For Benghazi

Read Also: Dems For Trump

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ellingtonboots · 7 years

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Organics, Specialty Crops, and Local Food on Display in Senate Hearing

Haile Johnston listens to a fellow panelist on the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.

A large organic specialty crop producer, a conventional potato farmer, an organic grain company business executive, a food hub operator, and an animal agriculture advocate enter a room… No, this is not the set-up to a cheesy joke, but the incredible diversity of American agriculture that was on display this week as the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing to discuss opportunities and challenges facing the organic, specialty crop, and local and regional food markets as Congress prepares to reauthorize the farm bill.

The hearing, entitled Opportunities in Global and Local Markets, Specialty Crops and Organics: Perspectives for the 2018 Farm Bill, is part of a larger process undertaken by both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees with the goal of analyzing and understanding US Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs before they begin drafting the next federal farm bill.

As the title of the hearing further reinforces, the perspectives asserted by those testifying were diverse and varied. The importance of maintaining market access and developing new marketing opportunities for all producers – whether domestic or foreign markets – was a key unifying theme.

Hearing Spotlight: Impacts of Local Food

Among the witnesses testifying at this week’s hearing was Haile Johnston, Co-Founder and Director of The Common Market – a nonprofit regional food distributor with a mission to connect communities with good food from sustainable family farms. The Common Market is a member of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), and NSAC helped recruit Haile to provide an important perspective on the impact of, and need for, USDA programs that support local and regional market development and promotion.

Haile and his wife, Co-Director and Co-Founder Tatiana Garcia Granados, founded The Common Market in 2008 out of a shared interest in ensuring the economic well-being of all Americans through the power of good food. The Common Market currently has locations in Pennsylvania and Georgia, and one of their core goals is to build up local infrastructure in order to create stronger regional food systems that facilitate wholesale market access for small and mid-sized farms and also increase the accessibility of local food for all people.

Since The Common Market’s first sale in the summer of 2008, they have delivered over $16 million of local fruits, vegetables, yogurt, eggs, meat, and grocery items to customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Atlanta-metro areas. The Common Market currently provides food from over 150 small and mid-sized sustainable farms to nearly 500 public, charter, and independent schools, hospitals, eldercare communities, colleges and universities, grocery stores, community organizations, and restaurants. This has translated into nearly $30 million in direct regional investment by The Common Market in the last nine years.

Haile and The Common Market credit some of their success to the support they’ve received through USDA programs, like the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program, Community Food Project grants, the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (known also as Section 2501), and the Farm to School Grant program.

“USDA investment has yielded staggering results… it’s safe to say that The Common Market would not be where we are today had it not been for those investments,” said Haile in his testimony to the Committee. “It is critically important that the next farm bill continue support for these and other local food programs to build on our efforts and support new local and regional food systems across the country.”

In addition to USDA programs that support efforts to develop and promote new markets for locally and regionally produced food and farm products, Haile discussed in his testimony the work they are doing to build a culture of food safety with the producers they work with. He stressed to the Committee that the next farm bill needs to invest more resources into outreach, training, technical assistance and capacity building as it pertains to food safety and producers. In his written testimony, Haile stated,

“Understanding the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is critical, not only to the kind of producers we work with at The Common Market, but for all American producers. However, there is a serious lack of resources being invested in providing robust and scale-appropriate outreach, education, and training to producers right now. Providing funding for the Food Safety Outreach Program through the next farm bill would go a long way in helping to address this challenge.”

NSAC has advocated for expanding funding for the Food Safety Outreach Program, which helps organizations work with producers to understand if and how FSMA affects their operation and train them on FSMA compliance rules and regulations.

Organics and Trade

Local and regional markets were only one of the topics discussed during the Senate hearing. The remainder of the hearing focused on organic production and supply and export markets for American specialty crops and livestock.

Witnesses discussed the growing domestic market for organic products and the reality that demand is vastly outstripping domestic supply, and explained that these two factors combined have created an opening for organic imports to fill void. Ken Dallmier, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Clarkson Grain Company, an Illinois-based grain, oilseed, and ingredient supplier specializing in certified organic and Non-GMO products for the food manufacturing and animal feed industries, testified about the need for the next farm bill and the USDA to better support transitional organic production.

Transitioning to organic is a risky investment that requires producers to farm in accordance with the certified organic rules and regulations for 3 years before they can become certified. During these 3 transitioning years, they aren’t able to receive any premiums or added value that comes along with the certified organic label. The panel explained that this is part of the reason domestic supply of organic commodities has trailed behind consumer demand. Dallmier testified that American producers are missing a profitable market opportunity as a result and encouraged members of the Committee to support increased access to the organic market for domestic producers by supporting efforts to create new transitional organic markets that would serve as on-ramps to the certified organic market.

In addition to organic production issues, trade and export for American specialty crops and livestock products was a well-covered topic during hearing. Several of the witnesses discussed the importance of programs like the USDA Market Access Program that helps build export markets for U.S. agriculture products through public-private partnerships. And while, much of the testimony and discussion was on farm bill programs that have been important to expanding trade and increasing access to foreign markets, there was some noticeable but subdued concern about the future of agriculture trade with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation on the horizon and the impacts of the freshly inked European Union and Japanese trade deals on producers’ minds.

Hearing Season to Continue

Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees will continue to hold field and DC hearings throughout the summer as the 2018 Farm Bill debate heats up. Stay tuned for more coverage from NSAC in the coming weeks.

A recording of the hearing and written witness testimonies are available from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry.

from National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition http://ift.tt/2uhtGja

from Grow your own http://ift.tt/2vkHOW7 from Get Your Oganic Groove On http://ift.tt/2sYPigs

#Get Your Oganic Groove On

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mauricesmall · 5 years

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Atlanta urban agriculture y’all.

#organic #atlanta urban ag #food security #food access #art #soil #urban ag #soil creation #communities #urban sprouts farm #Nuri Icgoren #atlanta #atlanta farmers coalition #gratitude botanical farm #chris lemons #Aglanta Grown

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instantdeerlover · 4 years

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A Tribute to Feisty, Foul-Mouthed Diana Kennedy added to Google Docs

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Diana Kennedy in her kitchen in Mexico | Zachary Martin (Greenwich)

From the Editor: Everything you missed in food news last week

This post originally appeared on May 23, 2020 in Amanda Kludt’s newsletter “From the Editor,” a roundup of the most vital news and stories in the food world each week. Read the archives and subscribe now.

We had a long-in-the-works piece this week from writer Navneet Arang about the “global pantry” and how famous, white cooking stars are able to use all manner of ingredients and recipes without context or explanation. I won’t ruin it by trying to explan it, but I recommend you give it a read.

Somewhat relatedly, I also recommend you check out the new documentary on Mexican cooking authority Diana Kennedy. She is a 97-year-old white, British woman who rose to prominence as one of the preeminent authorities on Mexican cooking. She obviously had access, resources, and connections that many chefs born in Mexico did not (including the famous food editor friend Craig Claiborne). And it’s easy to view her fame with a cynical eye.

But she truly dedicated her life to documenting and preserving Mexican cuisine, giving context and credit to the women and men who shared their traditions with her. She traveled to all corners of the country to interview home cooks, eat in the markets, understand the ingredients.

The movie is more a character study than a larger piece on Mexican cuisine or even her body of work, but it’s a great introduction for those who don’t know her and positively catnip for longtime admirers of her work and spirit.

On Eater

— Reopening: To keep track of all states, here’s a handy guide, with notable reopenings of bars in Texas (though many won’t), restaurants in Napa (though many won’t), live music in Nashville; parts of New England, and casinos and dining rooms in San Diego. New Orleans and California will now allow restaurants to seat guests in their parking lots.

— Permanent closures: The Stork Club in Oakland, Dakota in Dallas, and Takashi in New York.

— Like Danny Meyer, the owners of Han Oak in PDX won’t reopen until there is a vaccine.

— SF restaurants are losing millions as tech conferences are postponed.

— Bars in LA can now sell cocktails to-go as long as they partner with a food operator (like a food truck or catering company); to-go cocktails might soon be legal in Michigan, and bars in Atlanta are warily eyeing their June 1 reopening.

— The Independent Restaurant Coalition has been lobbying for a new $120 billion relief package for awhile now, and they succeeded in getting it to the bill stage. Still a long way to go before it’s real but it’s something!

James Park A variety of instant noodles from different countries

An instant noodle assortment | James Park

— In the world of delivery: Los Angeles passed a cap on commission fees from third-party apps, Chicago considered them in a hearing, and Uber laid off thousands of more people and pledged to focus more on the Eats division.

— I do not doubt a lot of restaurants will find a way back after this, but will chefs’ counters be a thing in a year?

— Mannequins, stuffed animals, shower curtains, and all the other, uh, creative ways restaurateurs are enforcing social distancing. Meanwhile, I like this design firm’s advice for how restaurant spaces should look after this.

— Watch: How the pandemic transformed drinking culture.

— The ultimate guide to instant noodles.

— All the great food movies you can stream on the Criterion Channel.

This week on the podcast

Daniel and I talk to Nick Kokonas, owner of both Alinea restaurant group and the Tock platform, about how both of his businesses found ways to thrive in this new world. Then we discuss our thoughts on swallowing our pride and morals for the greater good.

Off Eater

A beautiful, beautiful piece from the singular art critic Jerry Saltz on the strange journey of his life. [NYMag]

Inside New York’s underground pandemic party scene. [Air Mail]

If it weren’t so depressing I would love the tale of a pizza owner pranking DoorDash. [Margins]

Dan Barber on the potential catastrophic future facing small farmers.[The Counter]

Maybe it’ll be just like the Roaring Twenties after this. [The Atlantic]

Blow up the restaurant industry. [The New Republic]

Blow up the restaurant industry. [The New Yorker]

Take care, step away from the news for a moment this weekend, and if you like this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. — Amanda

via Eater - All https://www.eater.com/2020/5/27/21272038/editor-newsletter-diana-kennedy

Created May 28, 2020 at 12:26AM /huong sen View Google Doc Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xa6sRugRZk4MDSyctcqusGYBv1lXYkrF

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csrgood · 4 years

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A Decade of Care: Hanes Launches 10th National Sock Drive to Help the Homeless; Tops 3 Million Donated Pairs

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., November 22, 2019 /3BL Media/ – Small gifts often have the most meaning.

For the millions of people living homeless, a clean pair of socks is often described as “the gift of humanity.” Hanes, America’s No. 1 basic apparel, underwear and sock brand, is partnering with organizations fighting homelessness nationwide to deliver comfort to those who need it most through the Hanes National Sock Drive. The brand is marking 10 years of helping provide care and compassion during this year’s drive by:

Donating more than 250,000 pairs of socks directly to organizations fighting homelessness in all 50 states, along with Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Since the program’s inception in 2009, Hanes has provided more than 3 million pairs of socks – one of the most requested items by relief agencies – to help the homeless.

Giving an additional pair of socks for every order of any apparel placed in December on Hanes.com. Socks will be provided to local homeless shelters.

Partnering with Rainier Fruit Company for its second “Pears for Pairs” campaign, which is currently running in United Supermarkets, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Lunds & Byerlys stores. From late September through January, Rainier is donating a portion of the proceeds from bulk and bagged pear sales to the Hanes National Sock Drive. In 2018, the Pears for Pairs campaign resulted in 20,000 pairs of socks being donated to five nonprofits.

Offering consumers the opportunity to participate directly in the program by visiting www.hanes.com/donate to gift socks ($1), women’s underwear ($1), men’s underwear ($1.50) and bras ($6) that will be distributed in needed styles and sizes.

Continuing its 10-year collaboration with Invisible People and its founder, Mark Horvath, to help raise awareness about homelessness. Invisible People uses innovative storytelling, educational resources and advocacy to help change how the public views homelessness and those living homeless in the United States and abroad.

“Most of us take basic apparel for granted, but we know a new, clean pair of socks can mean a lot to those experiencing homelessness,” said Sidney Falken, chief branding officer, HanesBrands. “We are committed to bringing a little comfort to those who need it most – and it is incredibly gratifying to have others, including many individuals across the country, join us in this effort.”

More than 100 agencies, including The Salvation Army Bell Shelter (Bell, California), Homeward Bound (Asheville, North Carolina) and Compassion Outreach Ministries (Columbus, Ohio), have received sock donations from Hanes.

“Small things really do make a big difference to our clients,” said Steve Lytle, director of The Salvation Army Bell Shelter. “The smile on a client’s face when she received a clean pair of socks for the first time in months was priceless. There was joy in her eyes and it was clear that the socks were the most precious gift she could have received in that moment. Another client said his gift of clean socks was a sign that there are people who care and that his life did matter.”

Homeward Bound distributes more than 2,000 pairs of socks a month to those living homeless.

“Homelessness is a community problem and it will take everyone’s support to help end the epidemic,” said Ashley Campbell, the agency’s outreach specialist. “Right now, some of your neighbors are living outside, in tents and under bridges, vulnerable to inclement weather and violence, stripped of dignity and our collective respect.

“There are so many ways to help,” Campbell continued. “Educate yourself about homelessness in your community, volunteer at your local agency fighting this issue or simply make a donation that would help a nonprofit save its limited resources.”

Jeffrey Tabor, director of TWO Men’s Ministry House for Compassion Outreach Ministries of Ohio, added that there is no donation too small to be used for good to fulfill a basic human need.

“Imagine the importance of just one pair of socks when you are focused on keeping your feet dry and warm during the cold winter months,” Tabor said. “That’s why we are so thankful for our partnership with Hanes, which has fulfilled an immediate, basic human need for so many people.”

Lytle underscores, however, that sometimes it all boils down to human contact. “Acknowledge people who are experiencing homelessness with a smile or hello,” he said. “By engaging with a person who is experiencing homelessness we are saying ‘I see you and you matter.’”

The Hanes National Sock Drive is part of Hanes for Good, the corporate responsibility program of Hanes’ parent company, HanesBrands (NYSE:HBI).

Organizations distributing Hanes socks include:

State

City

Organization

Alabama

Mobile

Family Promise of Coastal Alabama

Alaska

Anchorage

Brother Francis Shelter

Arizona

Phoenix

Phoenix Rescue Mission

Arkansas

Fayetteville

7Hills Center

California

Bell

The Salvation Army Bell Shelter

Hollywood

Covenant House California

Los Angeles

East Los Angeles Women's Center - Hope & H.E.A.R.T Emergency Shelter

Ktown for All

Los Angeles Mission

Street Symphony

San Diego

Father Joe's Village

Santa Clara

Bill Wilson Center

Watsonville

The Salvation Army

Whittier

Whittier Area Interfaith Council

Colorado

Denver

Colorado Coalition for the Homeless

Connecticut

Ansonia

Master's Table Community Meals

Waterbury

St. Vincent DePaul

Delaware

Dover

The Salvation Army

District of Columbia

Washington, D.C.

Covenant House Washington

Miriam's Kitchen

Florida

DeLand

God's Bathhouse

Fort Lauderdale

Covenant House Florida

Jacksonville Beach

Mission House

Lakeland

Talbot House Ministries

Pensacola

Alfred-Washburn Center

Waterfront Rescue Mission

Tampa

The Salvation Army

Georgia

Atlanta

Covenant House Georgia

Crossroads Community Ministries

Nicholas House

Zaban Paradies Center

Savannah

Divine Rest Inc.

Hawaii

Hilo

Hope Services Hawaii Inc.

Idaho

Boise

Interfaith Sanctuary Shelter

Illinois

Chicago

Covenant House Illinois

Lawndale Christian Health Center

The Night Ministry

The Salvation Army

Indiana

Indianapolis

Horizon House

Wheeler Mission

Iowa

Council Bluffs

MICHA House

Iowa City

Shelter House

Kansas

Topeka

Topeka Rescue Mission

Kentucky

Louisville

The Salvation Army

Louisiana

New Orleans

UNITY of Greater New Orleans

Maine

Bangor

Bangor Area Homeless Shelter

Maryland

Baltimore

Agape House Inc.

Baltimore Station

Massachusetts

Boston

Pine Street Inn

Michigan

Detroit

Covenant House Michigan

Mount Clemens

Turning Point

Minnesota

Minneapolis

St. Stephen's Street Outreach

Mississippi

Vicksburg

Warren County Children's Shelter

Missouri

St. Louis

Students-in-Transition (St. Louis School Board)

Montana

Billings

Montana Rescue Mission

Nebraska

Omaha

Siena/Francis House

Nevada

Las Vegas

Caridad Charity

New Hampshire

Concord

Concord Coalition to End Homelessness

Plymouth

Bridge House Inc.

New Jersey

Freehold

Destiny's Bridge

Lawrenceville

HomeFront

Newark

Covenant House New Jersey

New Mexico

Albuquerque

Joy Junction

New York

Covenant House New York

Midnight Run

Syracuse

Rescue Mission Alliance

North Carolina

Asheville

Homeward Bound

Charlotte

Men's Shelter of Charlotte/Urban Ministry Center

Thomasville

Cooperative Community Ministry

Winston-Salem

Bethesda Center

Samaritan Ministries

The Salvation Army

Winston-Salem Rescue Mission

North Dakota

Bismarck

Ministry on the Margins

Minot

YWCA Minot

Ohio

Akron

Community Support Services

Cincinnati

Shelterhouse

Cleveland

The City Mission Men's Crisis Center

Columbus

Compassion Outreach Ministries

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

City Rescue Mission

Oregon

Lebanon

Family Assistance and Resource Center

Portland

Central City Concern

Pennsylvania

Natrona

The Building Block of Natrona

Philadelphia

Bethesda Project

Covenant House Pennsylvania

Project HOME

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Mercy's Operation Safety Net

Pottsville

Schuylkill Women in Crisis

Wilkes-Barre

The Salvation Army

Puerto Rico

San Juan

The Salvation Army

Rhode Island

Providence

Crossroads Rhode Island

South Carolina

Columbia

Transitions Homeless Center

Sioux Falls

Bishop Dudley Hospitality House

Tennessee

Kingsport

Hunger First

Memphis

Urban Bike Food Ministry

Nashville

Open Table

Texas

Austin

Mobile Loaves and Fishes

Copperas Cove

Operation Stand Down Central Texas

Dallas

The Stewpot Dallas

Farmers Branch

Just Because Inc.

Houston

Covenant House Texas

Lord of the Streets

Utah

Salt Lake City

The Road Home

Vermont

Burlington

Committee On Temporary Shelter

Virginia

Charlottesville

The Haven

Richmond

The Salvation Army

Washington

Seattle

Seattle Homeless Outreach

The Salvation Army

West Virginia

Charleston

Union Mission

Parkersburg

The Salvation Army

Wisconsin

Milwaukee

The Guest House of Milwaukee

Waukesha

Hope Center

Wyoming

Casper

Wyoming Rescue Mission

Hanes Hanes, America's No. 1 apparel brand, is a leading brand of intimate apparel, underwear, sleepwear, socks and casual apparel. Hanes products can be found at leading retailers nationwide and online direct to consumers at www.Hanes.com.

HanesBrands

HanesBrands is a socially responsible leading marketer of everyday basic innerwear and activewear apparel in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia-Pacific. The company markets T-shirts, bras, panties, shapewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and activewear under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Bonds, Maidenform, DIM, Bali, Playtex, Bras N Things, Nur Die/Nur Der, Alternative, L’eggs, JMS/Just My Size, Lovable, Wonderbra, Berlei, and Gear for Sports. More information about the company and its award-winning corporate social responsibility initiatives may be found at www.Hanes.com/corporate. Visit our newsroom at https://newsroom.hanesbrands.com/. Connect with the company via social media: Twitter (@hanesbrands), Facebook (www.facebook.com/hanesbrandsinc), Instagram (@hanesbrands), and LinkedIn (@Hanesbrandsinc).

# # #

Contact:

Carole Crosslin, HanesBrands

336-671-3704 (mobile)

[email protected]

Jamie Wallis, Hanes

336-519-4758

[email protected]

source: https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/43169-A-Decade-of-Care-Hanes-Launches-10th-National-Sock-Drive-to-Help-the-Homeless-Tops-3-Million-Donated-Pairs?tracking_source=rss

#CSR #corporate social responsibility #social good #philanthropy #employee engagement #workplace givi

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dazaantonio · 5 years

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Let’s hear their voices... our voices... my voice! - #DazaDance #Daza #Iloveballroomdancing #Changingtheworld #Makingmydreamscometrue #Ibelieveinmiracles #dream #Community #Atlanta #Unitingtheworldthroughdance #Promotingchange #livingandloving #nofear #nofearatall #nofearhere #moreempathy #worlddanceexperience #goodmorning #Thanks #ThankYou #Forevergrateful #wordsoftruth #dazadancecompany #dazadanceballroomacademy #beballroom #antoniodaza - Posted @withrepost • @ajplus "Today for us was a day of horror for Brazil and for all indigenous people of Brazil and of the world because [President Jair] Bolsonaro gave a speech of intolerance and so much aggression," said Sonia Guajajara of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil Coalition, who is fighting back against Brazil’s far-right president.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ She is part of a group of Brazilian indigenous leaders criticizing President Jair Bolsonaro, calling him a "liar" and a threat to the Amazon and the planet after he used his podium at the UN to blame the media for hyping the Amazon fires.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ More than 800,000 indigenous people live in Brazil, some whose lives are threatened by deforestation. Conservationists say farmers and loggers are to blame. ⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ Marcio Astrini, Greenpeace Brazil’s public policy coordinator, said Bolsonaro’s rhetoric was to blame for the increased activity, saying: “Increased deforestation and burning are the result of his anti-environmental policy.”⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ Guajajara, who was speaking in New York on September 24 with a coalition representing 305 Indigenous member states in Brazil, went on to say: "Even as our lands are being taken, the Amazon burned, and our blood drips over our land, we bring here with us the scream of the peoples of the Northeast. On top of fear, there's courage."⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ The Amazon rainforest has seen a high number of fires in 2019, according to Brazilian space agency data.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ The official figures show more than 87,000 forest fires were recorded in Brazil in the first eight months of the year.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ #Amazon #Fires #Environment #Indigenous #amazonfires (at Daza Dance) https://www.instagram.com/p/B24bjV9H3Qs/?igshid=16y6qgjfv1k8z

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tebbyclinic11 · 6 years

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For Digby Stridiron, All Roads Lead Back to the Vi...

New Post has been published on https://kitchengadgetsreviews.com/for-digby-stridiron-all-roads-lead-back-to-the-vi/

For Digby Stridiron, All Roads Lead Back to the Vi...

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It’s a warm June night at the James Beard House in New York City and chef Digby Stridiron is playing soca music in the compact subterranean kitchen as cooks move around him putting final touches on a caviar dish with ackee, saltfish, and roti. This is a sold-out dinner celebrating the West Indian Chefs Alliance, showcasing some of the best chefs of the Caribbean.

Stridiron is saying hello to guests, giving hugs to people he remembers from last year’s dinner. Someone says “nice outfit” as she passes him on her way to the courtyard. While the other chefs in the kitchen are wearing white chef coats, starched, pressed, and embroidered with their names, Stridiron is wearing a dark blue mechanic’s shirt with a U.S. Virgin Islands flag patch—a golden eagle with outstretched wings—on the left breast pocket.

On the surface Stridiron looks the same as he did last year around this time, when he hosted the first W.I.C.A. dinner, save for the patch and a few more tattoos. But the past year has brought challenges and clarity that changed him and the way that he thinks about himself as a chef and a man; he’s more committed than ever to honoring Caribbean cuisine.

“Thanks,” he says to her over the crowd, cracking a smile. “I’m over that traditional way of doing things.”

The day before the dinner, Stridiron surveyed the shelves at Essex Street Market in Manhattan, in camo shorts and a T-shirt, bleary-eyed from making a 12-hour drive from Charleston, South Carolina, where he picked up a heritage-breed pig from Holy City Hogs, a small heritage pork producer based in South Carolina. This last-minute shopping trip is for citrus and herbs to make the rum cocktails served at the dinner. “We’re serving rum drinks with each course,” he says excitedly. “The Japanese are proud of their sake and serve it with their food, so why not serve rum?”

Digby Stridiron, 35, is from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States. He ran the kitchen at Balter, a fine-dining restaurant, on the island until 2017 and was the U.S. Virgin Islands’ culinary ambassador, traveling the world promoting the islands and their cuisine.

Last year he started work as the opening chef at Parcel 32, a Charleston restaurant that would serve Caribbean-inspired dishes with local Southern ingredients. He had high hopes for the project: “I was constantly trying to refine my food,” he says. That meant taking sorrel—a tart drink made from Caribbean hibiscus—reducing it and adding sugar to make it more “familiar” and modern for diners. He made mofongo, the humble dish of crushed fried plantains, as smooth and creamy as possible instead of the rough mash typically found on the island. Stridiron had looked to places like Noma as a culinary weathervane of how his cooking should be, as if he had to “‘French’ things up” or mimic a European standard of dining and cuisine in order to be taken seriously.

Just as hype for the restaurant was building in September 2017, Hurricane Maria ripped through the region, destroying homes, downing power lines, and killing dozens of people. Stridiron, who was born and raised on the island and still has family there, felt helpless. “Me being up here when that storm was happening, I couldn’t focus, I wasn’t able to do anything. It killed me. I went gray over this.” Less than two months later his grandmother passed away and he started to rethink his career priorities. “Losing my grandmother was one of the moments that showed me that you have to make decisions that are right, and if it’s not right for you then it’s not meant for you.” A few months later, in March of 2018, Stridiron was fired from the Charleston project without warning before it opened. “It was embarrassing,” he says.

He went back to the Caribbean, traveling to Jamaica to try authentic jerk, to Trinidad to try doubles, to Barbados to try cou-cou and flying fish. “The most diverse culture in the world is my West Indian culture. Hands down,” he says. He no longer cared about awards or “refining” his dishes. “I took off my chef jacket, and you don’t have to call me a chef if you don’t want to,” he says. “Besides Jose [Enrique of Puerto Rico], there’s not much award recognition in the Caribbean, and it makes Caribbean chefs feel like they have to make our food something different, something more European, and it’s like, no, what we’re doing is already beautiful.”

“It hasn’t been the easiest year for Digby,” says Asha Gomez, chef-owner of Third Space, a culinary event studio in Atlanta. She and Stridiron met four years ago in Italy and have stayed close friends ever since. “I call Digby a crazy diamond,” she says with a smile when talking about Stridiron’s move from St. Croix to Charleston and his travels around the Caribbean. “The last year has probably been the most important of his life because it’s defined and shaped what he wants to do.”

Photo by Eric Vitale

Stridiron cooking at the James Beard House in June.

In May, a call took Digby back to St. Croix. Sommer Sibilly-Brown, founder of the Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, asked him to cook for a dinner raising funds for four Crucian middle and high school children to travel to Barbados to learn about the food systems there as part of the Farm to School Initiative. Since he didn’t have to work at a restaurant at the time, he said yes. “I was scared.” Stridiron hadn’t seen the island since the storms. “When we flew in, there were a lot of blue roofs,” he remembers. Seeing the damaged homes still covered in tarps made him realize what he wanted to do next and where he needed to be. “When I think about the greatest moments of my career, they’re all when I’m back in St. Croix. I realized that everything I had been doing for the past year was about me, it wasn’t about my community. I was being selfish.”

“It was challenging to do that dinner,” Sibilly-Brown remembers. “After the hurricane it was really hard to source local ingredients but Digby always said, ‘don’t worry about it.’” A day before the event, the venue lost water and Sibilly-Brown had no choice but to reschedule the event for a later date causing 50% of the reservations to cancel. “Everything that could have broken his spirit, he took it in stride,” she remembers. “He kept saying to me, ‘little by little’ and that’s how we make change.”

Stridiron recently signed the lease on a space in St. Croix and aims to open his new restaurant, Braata, at the end of 2018. Braata will be the rum bar of his dreams, serving dishes rooted in traditional Caribbean ingredients and highlighting the influence of both African slaves who were brought to the island and the Taino people, or indigenous native Caribbeans. He is designing the space himself and creating a menu that will be 100% Caribbean. “If I want to make something with cassareep (a thick syrup made with cassava), I want you to taste the cassareep.” Indigenous tropical fruits like sugar apples and traditional pepper pots will also be a part of Braata’s menu. “This is our food. We don’t need to replicate someone else’s food. Our food is already great.” And he’s not interested in awards. “If me being in Virgin Islands means there’s not enough people to eat my food to nominate me for an award, then guess what? I’m still fucking golden.”

Now the chef is traveling between St. Croix, other Caribbean islands, and cities in the U.S., collaborating on pop-up events and making plans for his restaurant. “Digby finding his way back to the island is really full circle,” Gomez says. “He lives and breathes that place, and he’s so proud of the food and the culture.”

“Personally, I’m happy that I’m going to have a warrior next to me, someone who loves this island as much as I do,” says Sibilly-Brown, who hosts events in the U.S. Virgin Islands to promote local foodways and farmers. “It helps young Virgin Islanders see that they can do it too.”

“I accepted myself,” Stridiron says. “I’m not looking for anyone to say ‘Digby, you’re good’ or ‘Digby, your food is beautiful’ or ‘we see you’, I want my people to see me everyday.” It took a year of travelling but it feels good to be home, he says. “Before I’m a chef, I’m a Virgin Islander.”

Korsha Wilson is a writer and the host of the podcast A Hungry Society. She lives in New Jersey.

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ellingtonboots · 7 years

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Senate Agriculture Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing for USDA Secretary

Photo Credit: Atlanta Georgia News

Since January, the Senate has been holding confirmation hearings for President Trump’s cabinet nominees. On Thursday, March 23, the Senate Agriculture Committee held its confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Sonny Perdue, the last of Trump’s cabinet nominees to be vetted by the Senate.

The Committee will soon schedule a vote on Perdue’s nomination. Assuming the Committee votes in support of Perdue, as expected, his nomination would then go to the full Senate for consideration.

Today’s hearing was congenial, with Senators on both sides of the aisle enjoying positive exchanges with Perdue. At no point did the nominee contradict or argue with something that was said by a member of the Committee, or vice versa.

The topics covered included the safety net for dairy farmers, summer nutrition programs for school aged children, immigration, conservation, and the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request, which the Administration released last week.

On the Administration’s FY 2018 budget request, numerous Senators on both sides of the aisle secured Perdue’s commitment to push back on the President’s proposed cuts to USDA programs, including rural development, credit, and research programs. Deep concerns over the budget proposal were raised by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts (R-KS), Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Hoeven (R-ND), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and by Mr. Perdue himself.

A number of senators raised the issue of immigration, primarily in the context of dairy farmers’ need for farm workers. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) voiced concern with President Trump’s recent immigration actions, and urged Perdue to advocate for an Administration policy that supports a consistent flow of labor, particularly for dairy farms.

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) believes that agricultural immigration policy will not be sustainable unless workers are treated as members of families and social networks rather than as indentured servants and production inputs. As the Administration engages on immigration policy, we will look for opportunities to promote a free labor market that provides all farm workers with full labor rights and a path to legal status.

Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Van Hollen both talked about the importance of farm bill conservation programs. These programs, including the Conservation Stewardship Program, Conservation Reserve Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program, provide the tools and resources necessary for farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to conserve and enhance soil, water, and other resources on and around their land.

Mr. Perdue committed to supporting and improving programs administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Senator Van Hollen explained the importance of USDA’s conservation programs to the Chesapeake Bay clean up effort, to which Perdue responded that the programs have helped farmers in the region limit the nitrogen and phosphorous that they are emitting into the Bay.

Senator Van Hollen also raised the issue of crop insurance not working particularly well for smaller specialty crop producers. NSAC has long worked on crop insurance reform to increase access to the program for small and mid-sized farms, diversified operations, organic farms, specialty crops, and beginning farmers. In the last farm bill, we worked with Congress to create Whole Farm Revenue Protection insurance, which was a major step in the right direction; however, more work is needed to ensure that historically underserved sectors of agriculture, including beginning, small, diversified, and organic operations are able to access insurance products. Mr. Perdue noted that progress was made in the 2014 Farm Bill, but that we can take it further and improve options for these producers.

from National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition http://ift.tt/2njYmMp

from Grow your own http://ift.tt/2nYyqEx from Get Your Oganic Groove On http://ift.tt/2ocOTo6

#Get Your Oganic Groove On

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mauricesmall · 5 years

Text

‪Help yourself.

Help the earth.

Help your community.

•Seeds saved

•‪Beds mulched

•‪Worm tea applied

‪•Seedlings planted

‪•Compost picked up

•Vermicomposting bins fed

#Help the earth #seed saving #compost #vermicomposting #soil biology #soil creation #healthy soil #mulch #worm tea #biodiversity #biodynamic #community composting systems #atlanta urban ag #atlanta farmers coalition #urban ag #simple food small farmz #soil #Aglanta Grown

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melindarowens · 6 years

Text

McSally internal poll shows tie with Ward

With Kevin Robillard, Scott Bland and Daniel Strauss

The following newsletter is an abridged version of Campaign Pro’s Morning Score. For an earlier morning read on exponentially more races — and for a more comprehensive aggregation of the day’s most important campaign news — sign up for Campaign Pro today. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)

Story Continued Below

EARLY POLLING DATA — FIRST IN SCORE — McSally internal poll shows tie with Ward: An internal polling memo from Arizona Rep. Martha McSally‘s campaign, obtained by Morning Score, has the congresswoman essentially tied with former State Sen. Kelli Ward in the state’s GOP Senate primary. The survey has McSally earning 38 percent of the vote to Ward’s 36 percent, with 26 percent undecided. Public polling in the race, mostly IVR surveys, has shown Ward with a significant lead over McSally, who has yet to officially launch her campaign. “Contrary to what some public polls suggest, Kelli Ward does not hold a strong position in the Primary race for United States Senate in Arizona. The limitations of these poorly-conducted surveys have created a misleading dialogue about the state of the nomination contest,” WPA Intelligence pollsters Chris Wilson and Alex Muir write. Read the full memo here.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT FALLOUT — “Conyers allegations put Pelosi in tight spot,” by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Heather Caygle: “Rep. John Conyers said Sunday he was stepping down from his post as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee amid accusations of sexual harassment that have put his party’s leaders in a bind. The decision by the Michigan lawmaker — who has held his seat since 1965 and who denies the harassment allegations — followed several days of internal deliberation and pressure from Democratic colleagues, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who wanted Conyers to leave the high-profile post but didn’t want to be seen as forcing him out. Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) and assistant Democratic leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) reached out to some CBC members over the Thanksgiving recess to take the temperature of the caucus, according to multiple sources. The group is arguably the most powerful bloc within the House Democratic Caucus and is fiercely protective of its members, particularly Conyers, who was a founding member.”

— “In an interview Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Pelosi seemed to underscore the cautious approach by taking pains to praise Conyers’ record and call for ‘due process,’ even as she said she believed ‘he will do the right thing.’ She also referred to Conyers as an ‘icon’ for his lengthy service and work ‘to protect women.’ … After criticism on social media of her use of the word ‘icon,’ Pelosi quickly endorsed Conyers’ decision to step aside from the committee post. ‘No matter how great an individual’s legacy, it is not a license for harassment,’ she said in a statement.” Full story.

— Primary politics note: Conyers has faced contested primaries in each of the last three elections, getting less than 61 percent of the Democratic vote twice. If Conyers does decide to run for reelection, don’t sleep on the prospect of him losing this time around despite his “safe” district.

AIR WARS — FIRST IN SCORE — Not One Penny targets Murkowski, Capito in new ads: Not One Penny, a coalition of Democratic groups fighting the GOP plan for tax reform, is out with new television ads pressuring Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to vote against the plan. The ad aimed at Capito notes the plan “cuts access to affordable health care, including coverage for opioid addiction treatment,” while the ad encouraging voters to call Murkowski says the “congressional Republican tax plan delivers tax breaks to billionaires, millionaires and wealthy corporations.” The ads are part of a seven-figure national ad buy, which also includes spots aimed at Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Nevada Sen. Dean Heller. Watch the ads here and here. Full story here.

—American Chemistry Council backs Heitkamp, Barrasso with TV ads: The American Chemistry Council, which began airing ads backing Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and the GOP’s Heller last week, also plans to air ads supporting North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, according to FEC disclosures. Heitkamp faces a tough fight for reelection, while Barrasso may face a GOP primary challenge. The group is spending $571,000 on ads supporting Stabenow, $590,000 on ads supporting Heller, $153,000 on ads supporting Heitkamp and $133,000 on ads backing Barrasso. The 30-second spot ad boosting Heitkamp says “she fights to provide a strong safety net for our agriculture industry while working to lessen regulations for our farmers and small businesses.” Watch the ad here.

CASH CRISIS — NRSC raises $2.1M, spends $2.7M in October: The NRSC spent $2.7 million and raised just $2.1 million in October, according to FEC records, the fourth month in a row the group spent more than it brought in. The committee has about $14.3 million on hand, but still has $10.3 million in debt. Its counterpart, the DSCC, raised $4.1 million, spent $2.4 million and has $17.5 million on hand. The DSCC has about $8 million in debt, which includes the mortgage on its Capitol Hill offices. Full report here.

Days until the 2018 election: 344.

Thanks for joining us! You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected].

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

WOMEN RULE WEEK! POLITICO is partnering with women-led businesses in the DC-metro area to offer a full week of exclusive perks in conjunction with the 5th annual Women Rule Summit! Join the fun at participating businesses during Women Rule Week (Nov. 27 – Dec. 1) for exclusive deals and tweet 5x using #WomenRule for a chance to win two free tickets to the Summit on Dec. 5!

UH OH — “The time to hack-proof the 2018 election is expiring — and Congress is way behind,” by POLITICO’s Martin Matishak: “Lawmakers are scrambling to push something — anything — through Congress that would help secure the nation’s voting systems ahead of the 2018 elections. But it might already be too late for some critical targets. By this point during the 2016 election cycle, Russian hackers had already been in the Democratic National Committee’s networks for at least three months. … Voters in Texas and Illinois will take to the polls in the country’s first primaries in just over three months — a narrow timeline for implementing software patches, let alone finding the funds to overhaul creaky IT systems, swap out aging voting machines or implement state-of-the-art digital audits.” Full story here.

ICYMI — “Moore communications director resigns”: “Embattled Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore has lost his campaign communications director with only three weeks to go before the Dec. 12 special election, Moore’s campaign announced. … The statement did not include a reason for Rogers’ departure.” Full story here.

— “Pro-Jones super PAC touts Democrat’s Christian values and support for gun rights,” by POLITICO’s Daniel Strauss: “A new ad by the pro-Doug Jones super PAC Highway 31 argues that the Democratic Senate nominee in Alabama would be led by his Christian convictions and is a strong defender of gun rights. ‘He’s the tough prosecutor who brought the [1996 Atlanta] Olympics bomber, Eric Rudolph, to justice,’ the narrator in the ad says.” Full story here.

— Trump weighed in on Jones over the weekend: “The last thing we need in Alabama and the U.S. Senate is a Schumer/Pelosi puppet who is WEAK on Crime, WEAK on the Border, Bad for our Military and our great Vets, Bad for our 2nd Amendment, AND WANTS TO RAISES TAXES TO THE SKY. Jones would be a disaster!” Trump wrote on Twitter. More from POLITICO’s Matthew Nussbaum here.

FLIPPING 24 SEATS — March On’s Fight Back PAC announced a new fundraising campaign for 2018 called $24 for 24. Per a press release, “the campaign is centered around impeachment and the concern that the Republican Congress would not initiate impeachment proceedings no matter what Special Counsel Robert Mueller reports. The only way we can be sure any potential allegations against Donald Trump and his cronies are handled correctly is to flip the 24 Congressional seats needed to take back the majority in Congress. … Andi Pringle, Executive Director of March On’s Fight Back PAC, said, ‘Flipping Congress is no easy task. Whether you’re a committed activist or not, $24 for 24 is a way everyone can participate in the vitally important work of reclaiming our country from the extreme Right. That is the only way we’ll be able to turn the tide on issues of importance to our community, whether that’s women’s reproductive health, climate change protections or impeachment.’”

FLORIDA MAN — “John Morgan: I’m leaving Democratic party, Nelson should run for governor,” BY POLITICO Florida’s Matt Dixon: “John Morgan tossed a bomb Friday into the 2018 political landscape, saying in a post-Thanksgiving message he is leaving the Democratic Party, and that Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson should not run for re-election, but rather seek the governor’s mansion so he can leave a ‘legacy.’ … Morgan did not close the door on the idea of running for governor himself — a notion supported by many in his party — but said in his message, if he did, he would do so as an independent.” Full story here. Read Morgan’s Facebook post here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m not aware of a single senator of either party who was elected for supporting leadership, and I know there hasn’t been a candidate elected by opposing Mitch McConnell,” said GOP strategist Josh Holmes, a former McConnell chief of staff, downplaying the notion that candidates stand to gain by avoiding McConnell this year in POLITICO.

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source https://capitalisthq.com/mcsally-internal-poll-shows-tie-with-ward/ from CapitalistHQ http://capitalisthq.blogspot.com/2017/11/mcsally-internal-poll-shows-tie-with.html

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everettwilkinson · 6 years

Text

McSally internal poll shows tie with Ward

With Kevin Robillard, Scott Bland and Daniel Strauss

Story Continued Below

Days until the 2018 election: 344.

Thanks for joining us! You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected].

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

Source link

from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/mcsally-internal-poll-shows-tie-with-ward/

#TrumpNews #CapitalistHQ.com

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