How a Bill Becomes a Law
When performing legislative research, it is important to understand the legislative process. The numerous steps that result in a bill becoming a law are described in this 24th edition of “How Our Laws Are Made.”
the original
Tag Archives: United States
Barbecue – History of Barbecue
To barbecue means to slow-cook meat at a low temperature.
Zwoyer’s Design Patent #D27483 – charcoal briquette.
To barbecue means to slow-cook meat at a low temperature for a long time over wood or charcoal. In America, barbecue (or BBQ) originated in the late 1800’s during Western cattle drives. The cowboys were fed the less than perfect cuts of meat, often brisket, a tough and stringy piece of meat that required five to seven hours of cooking to tenderize. Other barbecue meats used were pork butt, pork ribs, beef ribs, venison and goat.
However, barbecue was not invented in America and no one knows who invented the barbecue. The word ‘Barbecue’ might come from the Taino Indian word ‘barbacoa’ meaning meat-smoking apparatus. ‘Barbecue’ could have also originated from the French word “Barbe a queue” which means “whiskers-to-tail.”
No one is sure of the correct origins of the word.
Who Invented the Charcoal Briquette?
Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania patented a design for charcoal briquettes in 1897. (See the image to the right) After World War One, the Zwoyer Fuel Company built charcoal briquette manufacturing plants in the United States with plants in Buffalo, NY and Fall River, MA.
There are stories circulating that Henry Ford invented the very first briquette in 1920 with the help of Thomas Edison. However, the 1897 patent obviously predates this and Ford and Edison both knew Zwoyer.
Ford is the man who popularized the gas-powered car in America and invented the assembly line for automobile manufacturing. Ford created a briquette from the wood scraps and sawdust from his car factory.
E.G. Kingsford bought Ford’s briquette and placed it into commercial production.
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Film on Mandela’s life to premiere in S.Africa
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom‘ teaser poster
A long-awaited movie on Nelson Mandela’s life, which will premiere in South Africa on Sunday, has been described as a “very emotional” and accurate portrayal by one of his daughters.
The movie “Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom”, largely based on his autobiography of the same name, traces the life of the anti-apartheid icon from his childhood in the rural Eastern Cape to his election as the country’s first black president in 1994.
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Science.Howstuffworks.com – reminder 2010
A repost – it’s interesting and informative
10 Sustainable Buildings
Green building is no longer a thing of the future. Find out how architects and builders use solar panels, plastic bottles and straw bale insulation for ten environmentally friendly structures.
10 Things You Can Do to Help Save the Earth
It’s a lot easier than you think to “go green” — many of these suggestions require little effort, yet can make a big difference for the environmental. Watch a video and read more about saving the earth.
5 Amazing Green Cities
Sure, the Emerald City looked green, but you won’t need green-tinted glasses to see how environmentally friendly the cities on this list are. What makes a city amazingly green?
5 Green Cities of the Future
Sustainable urbanism is no longer a futuristic dream. Welcome to five cities around the world that will be turning a radical shade of green in the coming decades.
5 Myths About Renewable Energy
We’re currently suspended between two ages: a time dependent on fossil fuels and a future dominated by renewable energy sources. Yet not everyone is sold on this vision, so a number of myths about renewable energy persist.
5 Wacky Forms of Alternative Energy
For those who reduce, reuse and recycle to the beat of their own drum, here are some of the wackier ways to help better the environment and lessen your carbon footprint.
5 Walkable Cities
What makes a city walkable? It’s not just sidewalks. You have to be able to access jobs, stores and places of entertainment while feeling comfortable and safe. What are five cities in the United States that have risen to the challenge?
Are climate skeptics right?
It’s evident the debate over climate change is a heated one. Are skeptics clouding the public judgment for money? Are climate-change believers merely alarmists who risk the present for the future?
Are my bath habits destroying marine ecology?
After sloughing off your dead skin, what happens to those plastic microbeads that wash down the drain? Some make it all the way to the ocean and linger until they become a very unhealthy supper.
Are personal watercraft destroying the planet?
They may seem like a fun water sport or a noisy nuisance, but whatever your stance on personal watercraft, there’s no denying they pollute. So how bad are they?
Can air pollution affect heart health?
Everyone knows air pollution isn’t good for your lungs, but it turns out that it’s not doing your heart any favors either. Why do the particulates in the air we breathe interfere with our heart’s basic job: to keep things ticking?
Can baking soda save the environment?
One company’s SkyMine technology aims to capture industrial carbon dioxide emissions and turn them into an endlessly useful product: Baking soda. But how do pollutants become a household staple?
Can house music solve the energy crisis?
Electrifying dance moves might impress your friends, but they usually don’t help power the club you’re dancing in. What’s piezoelectricity, and how could it help twist the future of energy generation?
Can humans start an earthquake?
Earthquakes are “natural” disasters, right? Yes, but that doesn’t mean the shifting plates that cause them can’t be aggravated by human industry.
Can I travel without expanding my carbon footprint?
You’ve booked a safari with the environment in mind. There’s just one problem: Trans-Atlantic flights aren’t very green. Can green tags make your gas-guzzling trip carbon neutral?
Can my body generate power after I die?
Haunted by ideas of your body polluting the Earth after you’re gone? Microbial fuel cell technology could allow you to harness the energy of your own decomposition to power batteries.
Can we bury our CO2 problem in the ocean?
Carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels is a prime suspect in global warming. Could we mitigate the problem by burying the CO2 deep within the ocean?
Can we harness energy from outer space?
As alternative energy sources sputter to take off on Earth, scientists are turning an eye toward space. What are the most promising celestial options, and when could they be in use?
Can we plug the hole in the ozone layer?
The ozone layer prevents much of the sun’s ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth. But there’s a problem: a gaping hole the size of Antarctica. What can we do about it?
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do they look illegal … dreamers
a repost from 11/2014 … when will Republicans learn?
In response to a post from Reform Immigration for America … relief for Dreamers
HIM: Meanwhile some immigrant is stuck in his homeland because the “dreamer” and his parents violated our most basic rules. That law-abiding immigrant may never make it here because the “dreamer” cut in line. Why reward line cutters? I do not have the slightest sympathy for kids who get hurt because of the actions of their parents. It was the parents who knew the risk and hurt their kids, not me. Half of our prison system is full of legal citizens who are parents. You do not think their kids are suffering. Should we just refuse to apply our laws to citizens who have kids? Crazy…
ME:I appreciate most if not all responses, you actually took the time to visit my blog and read a post. The post you are referring to was taken from the organization the Reform Immigration for America site and was not only interesting it was meant to open up a dialogue; more questions and hopefully more understanding of what Dreamers have to go through in order to become an American. Therefore, I did not write the post. I do post things I may not completely agree with but in this case, I will tell you that since the word immigrant has existed so have adult folks bringing or having children while being undocumented and no, I do not believe it is the fault of the children. The fact is immigrants of all races have experienced this since that complicit yet unspoken deal made between the undocumented and companies needing workers not only reached out. They exploited people who had nowhere else to go because the fact is, there was no economic net or program way back before the numbers grew to 11 or 12 million undocumented. Those who do cheat the system, do so with malice or who have committed illegal acts while hiding is unacceptable but being a “child of” is a person of circumstance.
I also believe that there are parts of our economy that would not be or would be lacking in consumer services and or food even if the eco-footprint is huge. We all have to admit these workers are quite often undocumented and while there are “Americans” who do stoop work, the numbers are small and then there are the cleaning, landscape and construction industries with some in control choosing to hire the cheaper no insurance card carrying undocumented. I think the process needs an incredible amount of reforming and though I know some about the “line cutters”, I am not sure what the actual numbers are lest we talk about the number of people who are deported wrongfully as well. It is a messy process that no one wants to deal with honestly, because the sin and the sinner are far too close at hand.
As for those in our prisons, that is a whole other bag of nasty and I cannot begin to tell you how upsetting it is to know that our prisons are in my opinion, legally controlled housing for folks of colour. I am not going to say that people of colour do not commit crimes but clearly, there are plenty of cases with the same crime committed by whites but the punishment levied to defendants is not even close. These are two issues that definitely need reforming yet I cannot interchange them because the only crime every dreamer has committed, is being brought or born in America as a young child. whereas at least some prison inmates have actually done so … thus, my hesitation to use the analogy. I would say that being a dreamer is not as easy as you seem to think because the application, the hoops seem as rigorous as trying to become a citizen and it should be. Again, I appreciate your right to the first amendment and opinion … mine is just different. I also think it’s time for folks to come out of the shadows; such as the kids brought or born here =Dreamers …are, in my opinion, Americans; most have or want more educational/employment opportunities, know nothing different and consider themselves American, possibly have no connection to respective family homelands. I will say that it is time for employers to be held accountable and pledge to help reform the policies that offer a path to citizenship or a way that allows folks to cross over work and go home in a more human way
I hope you are not suggesting we round folks up and send them somewhere.
If you read this … What say you?
Be a Seed for Change 
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