Farmer Equity Act recognizes racial discrimination

enables state to identify barriers & provide much-needed support to farmers

the money quote for me-

The new law will also ensure farmers of color in our urban centers are not overlooked—another growing demographic of farmers crucial in providing food in places where fresh fruits and vegetables can be difficult to find.

“Let the passing of the Farmer Equity Act be beginning of a much overdue action toward justice for those passed over by the present food system. Fresh produce is not easy to come by in many neighborhoods across California. Urban farming has a real chance to ‘transform the hood for good’,” said Chanowk Yisrael, founder of Yisrael Family Farms in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood.

The Farmer Equity Act also directly responds to California’s climate-smart investments in agriculture. Farmers in underserved areas of the state suffer some of the worst impacts of climate change and local environmental pollution. This legislation will increase access to “climate smart” technical assistance among small and mid-size farms.

“We believe that socioeconomically disadvantaged growers who operate diversified farms are some of the most valuable players in adapting to a changing climate,” said Janaki Jagannath, a California Farmer Justice Collaborative leader. “A goal of this legislation is that climate-smart agricultural policy incorporate the voices of farmers of color in state policy-making and expand their opportunity to access climate adaptation programs, services, and markets.”

i loves me some mike quigley, just now on the beat, but

every time i see him i cant help thinking that he looks like a lego man.

well i met a sister today.

unfortunately, she is a sister in the sorority of mom's of mentally ill children. her untreated bipolar daughter is now cohabitating w my quite unstable son. i recently kicked him out of the house, and he pressed her to let him move in w her, even tho they only met recently.

it was an hour long, mostly very depressing phone call. as it happens she has a degree in psychology, which she got sort of in self defense to try to understand her daughter.
she finds my son quite frightening. i could not argue.
there is a 2 year old child involved, and that is not going well.
he is quite out of touch w reality. my efforts to get him help, as often happens, have been in vain.

most disturbing thing- he was apparently arrested recently. driving at 3 am, likely speeding. had weed in the car, and decided to try to evade the cops. considering everything that all of us know about out of control cops, and how paranoid he is about "the system", i have to wonder if he wasnt attempting suicide by cop.

it was comforting to know that there is someone who is there to try to limit the damage that he can do. i hope she succeeds in protecting her daughter and grandson. i will do whatever i can to help her.
clearly this kid has to hit bottom before he gets any help. he is getting damn close to the bottom.

shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.

re not allowing the widow to see the body- mamie till.

i have posted this in a few replies, but thought it deserved its own thread.

when the body of emmitt till was returned to chicago, it was contained in both a sealed coffin and a locked box.
mamie till demanded that it be opened, and that she see w her own eyes that it was, in fact, her son.
after considerable argument, she took a hammer to the lock and a pry bar to the sealed casket.
her son's face was unrecognizable. see? they said. no! she said. if it is my son, i will know.
she went over his whole body, inch by inch, until she was satisfied that it was actually her son.
this was an act of courage i can scarcely imagine.
the funeral director refused to allow her an open casket funeral. but she persisted. and made history.

had that been my husband in that casket, there is no way in hell i would have accepted that i couldnt see it. none.
i would have demanded an independent autopsy to boot.

it boggles my mind that they would even try to tell her that, let alone succeed. how the hell does the u.s. army bully a gold star widow this way?
wtf is wrong w my country?

anybody have a trick for milkweed seeds?

even getting the fluff to not stick to my fingers would be good, but is there a trick to getting the seeds disconnected from their "wings"?

this will make you smile, and maybe even give you a little

hope.

https://www.facebook.com/obamafoundation/videos/708190712714953/

how do you sort out

what feelings are your own, how you feel about people, who they are, from what your broken brain is telling you?

i look back at my long marriage, and all the times i thought my ex was a total jerk, and i wonder where my bouts of depression overlap who he really was, and how i really felt about him.

and my kids, jesus. especially when it gets encrusted w all the left over freudian bullshit about your experiences, blah blah blah, that they got in their time on the couch. it's sort of a wonder to me that anybody w mental illness loves their mother. or do they?

woohoo. i love dem officials here. i just got an email from il treasurer

about unclaimed property. so, what the heck, i went and looked.
i have 5 claims. most small, but one over $300. total of $500!!!

we had a republican treasurer for years. i actually liked her. she was kinda wacky in an endearing way. and part of it is just technology. but i never got invited to go check this stuff.
i have looked in the past, and didnt find anything. didnt expect to find anything this time.

so, how should i spend it?

seems to me the cabinet could insist cheato have a physical to prove his is fit.

including a full psyche eval, and mri of his head.

doesnt that serve both sides? the dark side should want to shove it in our faces IF he passes. not that that is at all likely.

drag his ass over to walter reed, now.

a little factoid. the crosses in lv

that is a dude from my hometown who decided that he would make those crosses for all these mass shootings. i dont know how many of these he has done, but i think he started w sandy hook.

he is staying w my niece out there.

eta- link to a news story w a little history.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/illinois-man-installs-58-crosses-to-honor-las-vegas-victims/ar-AAsY2NV?ocid=sf

i have asked my niece if she knows about the guys religious orientation.