Tag Archives: Shopping bag

Birthright birthers citizenship economy and austerity …


WordpressPicturesOutsidemywindowa repost

just another continued rant on citizenship …  2013 …

I thought Republicans had finally decided to bury and or sweep the birther issue under a rug somewhere safe.  That seems to have lasted for only about two Romney flip-flops or more since he’s back in congress. It is apparent that quite a few Republican members of Congress and some Governors continue to tell Americans that they matter more and, that Birtherism, is real but the War on Women and their Rights to… (You fill it in), are without a doubt much less important than conservative ideology.  I would be happy to see Republicans in Congress, actually do the people’s business, as the current group works less and has passed a few bills for #WeThePeople. They are spending money on useless hearings, acting in revenge mode, and constituents mean nothing to them.

Some reminders for any elections coming your way.

Think about this, Trump was in office for 2yrs and the Treasury dept already found its financial self in trouble? What the what? Bad enough that trump deemed Monica Crowley as his choice for Treasury Sec. Who was a fox contributor, lobbyist, or foreign agent of Ukraine who committed plagiarism and probably has no experience in finance?

Yet, despite everything the Republicans have done, our economy is on the mend. Come on you have to know it’s Thanks to President Obama; though slow, our economic recovery is happening without austerity measures though all the filibustering Mitch McConnell and his comrades continue to engage in against progress; austerity was and still is the word, and mission of the new Republican nationalists. Meanwhile, some Americans, seemingly, had the wool pulled over their eyes continually. The ugly truth began to leak out at town hall meetings and finally a smidgen of buyer’s remorse set in as actual plans received a 2nd look and were rejected, but now what with the 115th congress this path to their economic prosperity still deserves a lot of scrutiny from ALL voters because once implemented it looks like only the 1-3% will be happy. And being ignorant can’t be blissful by any stretch of the imagination.

In between all the confusing economic noise, the Republican Party continues to reach new lows in desperate behavior. While Birtherism, on its face, is kind of laughable because who really takes this stuff seriously…right.  Nevertheless, the topic, subject … stupid things conjured up through ideology continue to be added to the conservative conversation and list of ‘Religious Conscience’ though some call it religious instinct.

We should all wonder if religion, consciousness, and or instinct should be allowed in the same sentence – conscious thought, considering what Policies the current group of white nationalists seem to be throwing at Americans calls for a response, so prepare repair and put on your marching shoes. The War on women, immigration, workers, minorities, students, voter rights, and religious freedom are Republican issues. The slap of reality, or the rude awakening is … with so many states trying or passing strict negative conservative legislation against the middle and lower class cloaked in big bright new ideas on that path to prosperity that representatives and speaker Paul Ryan pushed became a trifecta reality.  The Ryan agenda lasted only about a minute after several bumps, and while he did help push through a tax gift, things fell apart right before Ryan’s eyes. It was apparent trump took an extreme right turn, had a few tantrums, pushed them aside, and now chaos, hate and some actually felt his abuse and misuse of power. This guy is still the face of the republican party … and racism and birtherism continue to be political footballs for fearmongering.

The political Party of NO, the Republican Party of the 21st Century, is no longer our parent’s conservative party foe. It’s when the extreme right switched places with the Dixiecrat’s, and this ideology continues to weave its way into their 21st-century, Southern Strategy today.

We all have to know; that the path conservatives want us all on, could destroy our democracy.

I will admit, I usually consider any conservative pledge laughable -until that ”Purity Pledge” from a group named N.O.M. popped up. Common sense, if any is available, tells you that a pledge to hurt others or exclude them is beyond offensive right, yet, it got signed by all the socially conservative candidates for President.  It says to, among other things, commit to practicing exclusion and lest we pay attention to their choice of words “purity.”  This thing, written long before trump took office, is not only archaic but this extremely conservative organization wants, “Signers to pledge: never to engage in pre-marital sex or extramarital affairs, end all viewing of pornography and gambling, never to marry a person of the same gender, and never to “favor any government action that would allow for civil unions of people of the same sex”. I don’t know if all Republicans agree with this purity pledge, we all know that a lot of them have been reported, charged, or resigned from congress… They are failing, Mr. Norquist’s pledge.  And that,  “family values platform,” which also covers birther issues, no less, suffice it to say that conservatives behaving badly and that cliché, “do as I say not as I do; comes to mind as most if all are not that pure if you get my drift. If you believe in social conservatism you will be voting against your own best interest in any election and likely controlled by extreme right policies and that is sad. Thankfully, he is gone.

The commonality between birthers, and birthrights citizenship certainly has to be the economy, and austerity or the lack of it or any of the combinations out there …believe this … the latest comments coming from social conservatives are code for: we are against “the other”.  It should make us all stop and reassess not only the beliefs of these conservatives voted into positions of power and Public Service, but we must all challenge them, their beliefs V the oath they take, and the public servants they profess to be. We all know this group has managed to get away with attacking women, gays, the undocumented, and minorities with legislation that will and has disenfranchised them in some way. We must remember the past like when voters crossed into Blunt territory – pun intended and luckily, blunt was tossed out. I wonder if anyone else wonders or imagines how often these fools must meet, to plan and cover each other on the local state, and federal levels. Republicans used to decry they want a smaller Government, yet their current legislation policies include controlling half the population while enjoying enormous tax breaks… again, remember the house of Bush, and what happened when he gave friends tax breaks? It bares reminding that anything done to one part of our system affects another…our system is interlocked, thus anything done adversely affecting our economies has a great chance of forcing us into austerity

In the fight for election 2016, it was not clear what trump stood for, but as the weeks months and a year or two passed; it was obvious that you only needed to wait until 3am …because it could change. I don’t know about you, but I have a different understanding about how a POTUS should behave or be, and it wasn’t that guy that gave doom, gloom, and nasty speeches, or vile racist comments that got media coverage of him smacking his lips, slurring his words and spewing a lot of inaccurate statements to his audience about Real Americans.  He didn’t do much, but flip-flop toward the 1% since Jan.20.

Thankfully, trump didn’t get two terms, but given all his babbling: his comments on Race, Gender, the poor or low-income, and Immigrants, should not be ignored or forgotten at the Voting Booth. If not for the sake of our nation but for the next generation of what will definitely be … a more diverse group

The sole mission of this Republican Party of No – is to turn back the clock … It is beyond offensive and will affect all our family’s past, present, and future.

Nativegrl77

Has your state implemented a ban or reduction plan for Plastic Bags? 2014


   It’s now 2019 and bag bans and or plastic bans are being implemented again or changed to reflect upon current issues at hand but still, there’s a big problem knowing exactly how to recycle … straws, tetra paks making sure the stuff you put in the bin are actually clean and dry 

More shopping means more plastic … unless your State is going green

So, if you live in LA remember to BYO .. reusable bag! because plastic is banned and paper bags will cost you. ..  10cents. After seeing the latest move made by Governor Brown who would like to implement the ban quickly, it’s apparent the people of Cali need some recycle classes, better information and some enlightenment.  As ugly, as the reusable bags are to you and the notion that Plastic bags are more convenient is possibly true, but to say that they double as garbage bags is disturbing. The environment needs help which in turn keep us healthy, a lifestyle that younger folks need to take up and a battle that will be ongoing while cities need to provide containers that help consumers sort out their garbage with little or no confusion and keeps the smell to a minimum … thanks

   Poly-bags are made from petroleum, are non-biodegradable and manufacturing paper bags requires large quantities of wood. The problem and question is whether the attempt to clean up our act state by state has a great department where folks are determined to regulate the use of these environmental killers properly so that our next generation has a chance.

Do you know how many states are banning plastic bags ?

The ban or reduction of plastic bags was implemented on July 1 of 2012 in Seattle, WA.

 It’s now 2017 and as spring& summer weather begins, folks start shopping.  I get it, it is not lucrative to ask for reusable bags or to inform the public about the .5 to .10 cent charge for each bag, but given the idea that we all should be concerned about the environment; I do expect a little more effort to push reusable bags.  Some states have implemented their Ban or Reduction plans, but not much information is available about who will or is enforcing the new rules or how they are measuring the reduction rate, if at all.

The struggle to clean up our environment should not be this complicated or hard and hopefully our city councils will keep at it with great zeal as the plastic’s industry has big $$ incentives to stall or stop it …

a repost from 4/2013 and will continue to

~ Nativegrl77

More States and Countries are choosing to Ban and or Reduce access to Plastic Bags


beaseedforchangestickersGREEN a repost … and more posts to follow on what is As the years go by Washington state is slowing banning plastic bags ..

happening now 2017 …  Tacoma, WA plastic ordinance starts 7/12/2017  and 2012 seems like eons ago

I have to include an 2015 update to what seemingly was a ban in 2012, was in reality. a choice to pay .5 – .10cents for plastic bags if you want them? The good news is that the transition to an actual ban on plastic as a choice is happening in some parts of Washington state! YAY I have been shaking my head for the last 2yrs when more often than not the checker goes into auto-reaction mode and grabs the plastic if the consumer didn’t bring their own. I am not sure what I expected, but having forgotten my own bags on several occasions the response or offer for a reusable bag was seldom or none and makes me wonder just how much of an impact is being made since the statistics are probably tainted with how many plastic bags are given out each day versus paper or offering a reusable bag. Now, in this year of 2015, no plastic bags are available at more grocery stores and if you don’t have your reusable some of the clerks actually say paper or you can buy one of ours …. finally.

In March of 2012, I heard that Alameda County California voted to implement their “ban” on single use bags not regulate them sometime around January 2013. It just so happens that at or around the same time things were being finalized in different parts of our beautiful state of Washington. Though it has been a long struggle for Washington State to move towards an ordinance that would “ban” bags at retail outlets due to big MONEY in the plastics industry. However, in late December, word was that the City Councils Zero Waste Initiative to “ban” plastic bags in limited and in graduated way realized after four years. In 2008, the Council banned Styrofoam and though they tried to regulate plastic bags they got serious push back from the industry, which spent about $1.4 million, collected signatures with rumors of leaving out some info … then had the ordinance repealed. It was nice to read about Council Bill 117345, a bill to protect Puget Sound, our marine wildlife and our Environment in general joining about twelve states and up to twenty nations. The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to implement the ban on plastic carry out bags.

After years of pulling out my small recycled bags for the checker to shove my groceries into, Washington State is joining the global movement to protect marine wildlife; the ordinance will take effect on July 1, 2012. It may be a cliché, but this ordinance is a change we can all believe in. I have to say, at first; in my experiences; checkers seemed a little annoyed at having to fight with the reusable bags. The word from most Checkers back in the day was, that plastic is just easier. Yes, the first reusable bags were too small, the dye ran the material was unforgiving, but as folks found better ways to make them; the cost came down and more people bought them including me.

Now, the bags not only cost a little bit more, they are bigger more stylish, last forever are definitely more flexible, and a highly recommended investment. The move to switch from plastic to” bring your own bag” will be difficult for some at first; I intend to carry a few extra to give away or sell; on my website because documented studies show that birds, sea turtles and other wildlife eat plastic bags and some are made with toxic chemicals that could be harmful. The time for a behavior change is now. We all know change is tough, but here we are in the 21st Century and that floating garbage circle, called the ” Great Pacific Garbage Patch discovered in the 90′s by Charles Moore, is only getting bigger. There will always be push back from the plastics industry, their supporters as well as environmental activists who all feel the government does not go far enough and they may be right, but we have to start somewhere.

It baffles me at how complicated people have made the effort to clean up our environment; we all know the need to reduce TRASH as a whole and it starts at home, although Seattle is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the nation, only 13 percent of plastic bags are recycled or re-used.

We owe it to our next generation…

Grocery stores, as well as food service outlets owe it to consumers and the environment.

It took quite sometime and we’ve come a long way from fighting the plastic industry to now finding that Indeed some Grocers feel the same way by eliminating plastic bags period ~ 2015

stay tuned in … who are the enforcers?

repost from 2013