Money/Time
Blockhead
Posts: 1,538
During my lunch break, I drove by a nice comercial gym with hundreds of people flowing in and out.
Now that I am beging to turn my views around I though to myself, what good does this selfish act of taking care of ones self/body do for society?
With many people barley able to feed/cloth/care for their own children I think our time should be best served not focusing on our self but on others that are not as fortunate enough to have the "time" some people have. As we know many unfortunate/disadvantaged are working many jobs and don't have the "time" to take care of themselves let alone their family. So I propose a "time" tax if you will.
I think we should have the Gov. mandate the ammount of free time we have and "force" us to use our time to benefit society insead of our own selves/families.
What do my socialist friends think about this?
Why should we stop at Money, if our money that we work for can be taxed, why not our free-time, that we also create for ourselves?
Who's with me? If not, why?
Now that I am beging to turn my views around I though to myself, what good does this selfish act of taking care of ones self/body do for society?
With many people barley able to feed/cloth/care for their own children I think our time should be best served not focusing on our self but on others that are not as fortunate enough to have the "time" some people have. As we know many unfortunate/disadvantaged are working many jobs and don't have the "time" to take care of themselves let alone their family. So I propose a "time" tax if you will.
I think we should have the Gov. mandate the ammount of free time we have and "force" us to use our time to benefit society insead of our own selves/families.
What do my socialist friends think about this?
Why should we stop at Money, if our money that we work for can be taxed, why not our free-time, that we also create for ourselves?
Who's with me? If not, why?
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
again - similar to all the other threads you start with this logic ... i ask ... if you are stranded on a deserted island with 10 other people ... do you want to try and survive on your own or work together with your fellow stranded people?
edit: unless you are a hippie that lives in Oregon ... which is rather ironic.
Godfather.
Medicinal Power In a Pinch:
Saffron Spice-Cardiovascular, Cancer Benefit
JoAnn Guest
Sep 09, 2004 19:31 PDT
For January 7, 2002
http://www.cancerdecisions.com/010702.html
Power In a Pinch
" Your arms are vines, covered with delicious fruits And all sorts of
spices, henna, nard, saffron and all the finest spices. "
--Song of Solomon 4.14
Spices are pungent, aromatic plant substances that add zest and
flavor
to food. As the Biblical quotation indicates, they have been highly
prized since antiquity. Hundreds of years ago, there was even an
Iberian
" Spice Race " similar to the " Space Race " of the late 20th century.
Columbus was looking for a quick route to Eastern spices, and bloody
wars were fought over these alluring substances. Did you know that
the
Dutch traded Manhattan for a tiny island in the Moluccas that
produced
nutmeg? They were sure they got the better of the deal.
Today, herbs and spices are easy to come by. But one spice remains
quite expensive and that is saffron. Ounce for ounce, it is still
worth its
weight in precious metals. Saffron usually sells for about $5 per
gram,
or $140 per ounce
Crocus sativa L. (above)
The price remains high because gathering saffron is a labor
intensive
business. Saffron is the orange stigma (part of the pistil) of the
blue-violet, or white, lily-shaped flower, Crocus sativa L. It takes
70,000 such flowers to yield the 200,000 dried stigmas that make up
just
one pound of saffron. Most saffron packages read " Made in Spain. "
However, most " Spanish saffron " now comes from Iran, the world's
leading
exporter. (We are talking here about true saffron, not " American
saffron, " a kind of safflower, that is sometimes used to adulterate
the
real thing.) --See illustration, right.
Luckily, saffron is so powerful that you need only a pinch to pack a
wallop. Even after boiling, it retains much of its alluring aroma.
You
can crush a small amount in your fingers or in a mortar, add some
hot
water, and then add that to your dish. In most recipes saffron is
added
in the latter part of preparation, moments before removing the dish
from
the oven or stove top, in order to conserve its flavor and color.
It is common to use about four strands of saffron per person. I am
wildly profligate in my use of saffron. I can afford to be, since
last
year I purchased an ounce of it for just $20 in New York's famous
Indian
neighborhood, Jackson Heights, Queens. That lasts a long time. When
buying, look for an intense red-orange color and avoid brands that
contain the yellow stamens (which have color but no flavor).
In folk medicine, saffron has many uses.
It is said to improve digestion and to regulate a woman's period. In
large doses it can affect the color of urine, sweat, and other body
secretions, turning them bright yellow.
In great amounts it can produce a state of drunkenness, dizziness,
vertigo, and headaches. I have seen
recommendations of 2 to 4 grams (about a seventh of an ounce) to a
quart
of water for an infusion (tea), and around 1 grams (one twenty-
eighth of
an ounce) daily to help bowel activity.
Saffron's Health Effects
What does saffron contain? The essential oil of saffron is a complex
mixture of at least 30 components, mainly terpenes.
Not surprisingly, it has lots of riboflavin, the intensely yellow
vitamin B2.
It also contains antioxidants such as crocin, a flavonoid that is a
major source
of the characteristic yellowish-red pigment. Picrocrocin is a
colorless
bitter glycoside that gives saffron its characteristic taste.
Saffron has all sorts of interesting and potentially important
health
effects.
It increases oxidation and therefore could be useful in various
heart conditions.
In animals, saffron has been shown to lower cholesterol by 50
percent.
There is speculation that the low incidence of cardiovascular
disease in parts of Spain may be related to their
liberal, almost daily, consumption of saffron.
What is particularly intriguing is saffron's potential role in
cancer
prevention.
This was first brought to public attention in the 1990s by
S.C. Nair of the Amala Cancer Research Centre and Hospital, Kerala,
India.
In several papers, Nair showed that saffron and its components
had surprisingly strong anticancer activity.
Some components in saffron act as " topo II " inhibitors, similar to
the chemotherapeutic drug Adriamcyin. Yet, unlike Adriamycin,
saffron is non-toxic.
Nair noted a dose-dependent cancer effect on carcinoma, sarcoma and
leukemia cells in the test tube.
Saffron increased the life span of treated mice compared
to untreated controls by 45 to 120 percent.
In addition, it delayed the onset of papillomas.
Just this November, Indian scientists showed that saffron decreased
the
damage to the DNA and the liver caused by various forms of
chemotherapy.
Long-term treatment with crocin of female rats with colon cancer
enhanced their survival without major toxic effects.
" The effects of crocin might be related to its strong cytotoxic
effect on cultured tumor cells, " Spanish scientists concluded.
Scientists have also shown that extracts of saffron inhibit cell
growth
of human tumor cells.
Cancer cells treated with crocin had empty areas,
reduced cytoplasm, and a destruction of their DNAÉ all potentially
good
things for patients.
Crocin, they said, is a " promising saffron compound
to be assayed as a cancer therapeutic agent. "
A provocative study from Greece showed that saffron was comparable
to
all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in terms of its anticancer activity.
ATRA
is a form of vitamin A that is conventionally used to treat some
head-and-neck cancers.
Although saffron extracts are slightly less active than ATRA, they
are not precursors of vitamin A and " could therefore be less toxic
than retinoids, even at high doses. "
A Saffron Laboratory?
Now that's a lot of power in a pinch! But can saffron really prevent
cancer in humans?
We don't know and won't know until clinical tests are
done. Despite repeated calls for trials, none has taken place and
none
is listed in the standard databases.
If I were director of the National Cancer Institute, I would set up
a
Saffron Laboratory (similar to the Brassica Laboratory at Johns
Hopkins): it would do nothing but test saffron and other Indian
spices
for anticancer activity.
I would recruit outstanding scientists who are already working on
these indigenous herbal products.
And I wouldn't be satisfied until these were submitted to rigorous
human clinical trials
for anti-cancer activity.
In the meantime, you can use and enjoy saffron right away. It is
available in most groceries, co-ops and health food stores. You can
buy
it online or, do as I did: go to an Indian neighborhood, seek out a
busy
market, and buy your saffron there. With the money you save you can
treat your family to quite a few saffron-flavored Indian meals.
Till next week....best wishes for your safety, good health and peace
of mind!
Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
No, really. Why don't we do that?
The continual force of taking ones money to give to other people is taking away options of the original family.
Instead of being able to get the best/healthiest foods for ones family, some families like mine are not able to get these foods that provide the best nutrients to strengthen our immune system, so now I am more susceptible to disease, passing along viruses and will need additional medical service.
So now by taking my money and giving it to someone else, you are now taking my health (best possibilities), which you just alluded to is a great contributor to our society.
So you support one and not the other?
Also, taking my money and giving it to someone else, turns my money management to focus on needs, and lets face it a gym membership is a privliage is not a need. With all this money being taken away, I now do not have the funds to get a gym membership for the family. So now again you are taking away options to maintain my health. It looks like that by taking my money you have now turned me into a burden to taxpayers right?
I would probably hold on to your views to if I viewed society as 10 people with no resources...
man the 90's must have been really, really rough on you and your family.
are you against all taxes? i kind of like roads, police, and public schools.
how do you create "free-time"...? and are you saying we "create" money...? It reads like you're saying that...
I'll tell you this... I host about 20 fund raisers per year and take part in many more.
I recently threw a fund raiser for a gay homeless youth shelter here in Los Angeles and after the final tally, I donated one of my cars to the shelter as well.
Every year I donate a lot of gifts to their "Teen Toy Drive." People always buy dolls and teddy bears for toy drives and forget the 16-18 year-olds in homeless shelters might like something cool, too. this year I bought 4 skateboards and a bunch of stickers (including a bunch of Pearl Jam ones) and two electric Keyboards for it.
I donate a lot of my money and a lot of my time to charity causes. Even when I was dirt poor, I volunteered for a gay and lesbian youth hotline from the time I was 18 and was a facilitator for the LGBYT. I volunteered for the Campaign for Equal Families and I still try to deliver meals on wheels when I can.
But I do this because helping people makes me feel good. Helping people helps me.
There's nothing more annoying than the people who got arrested for drunk driving and have to do "community service" who whine and bitch the whole time, complaining about how they hate helping the poor. They often ask me what I did to "have" to help out. And I sometimes say "I got rich and didn't forget where I came from."
That shuts their pie holes.
MGM Grand - Jul 6, 2006
Cox Arena - Jul 7, 2006
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival - May 1, 2010
Alpine Valley Music Theater - Sep 3-4 2011
Made In America, Philly - Sep 2, 2012
EV, Houston - Nov 12-13, 2012
Dallas-November 2013
OKC-November 2013
ACL 2-October 2014
Fenway Night 1, August 2016
Wrigley, Night 1 August 2018
Fort Worth, Night 1 September 2023
Fort Worth, Night 2 September 2023
Austin, Night 1 September 2023
Austin, Night 2 September 2023
I do my trainer-less days at the gym at the studio I work at.
So yeah... I'm a total Douche.
You're trying to catch us libs in a dilemma/bind, but this really isn't working. Keep trying, though.
which means less time in front of the "death panels."
Here's your problem. First of all, I don't think it's "many people", but if it is why are they having children?
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
first of all - people who go to gyms are taxed ... they are taxed in their membership fees and in the stuff they buy to participate (workout clothes) ... secondly, the US is one of the lowest taxed countries in the world ... yet your economy sucks, the social infrastructure is weak, the prosperity gap is that of a third world dictatorship ... how much less do you want to be taxed? ... and how do you propose schools get built? police get paid, roads repaired, etc?? ... why do you continue to focus on welfare and not the military?
I'm sure helping one family costs a whole lot less than bombing one too.
what people who are for lower taxes also forget is it is the TAXPAYERS who pay to prosecute criminals. casey anthony? paid for by the people of florida. OJ? california...if revenue gets too low, how do people propose we pay for prosecuting criminal cases?
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
For your own health, you may just want to start telling yourself it was never your money to begin with. All the gyms and all the working out in the world might not save you from the coronary you're giving yourself over your money being stolen!
Because poor people don't have sufficient access to contraception in this country.
or the billions that are sent to countries/people that hate us.
or the billions spent on a military that cruises the world looking for trouble
or the billions spent on propping up companies "too big to fail"
or the billions lost in government fraud
or the billions spent on in intrest to pay for yesterday's expense
and now to take a shot at citizens
the billions that are lost to fraud such as medicare fake billings
1) Because we insist on teaching "abstinence only" sex education. Which is about as effective as telling kids "eat your vegetables" and then serving nothing but junk food in the school cafeteria.
2) Because we refuse to teach teenagers how to prevent pregnancy, refuse them access to contraception and and don't teach them things like "birth control." All while dressing 5 year-old girls in bikinis and teaching them that "sex is power" from the time they're 8.
3) Because we force pregnant women to wait a few days to end pregnancies and force them to look at ultrasounds of their rapists fetuses, force them to go through Christianazi anti-abortion misinformation lessons and stigmatize them as "girls who wanted to have fun and now have to pay the price."
OH... but once that baby we force them to have is born... fuck her, we're not going to like.. help. I mean, that's not very American, is it?
The way I see it, if we help a guy down the street, he might put money back into the economy, and buy goods and service.
If we bomb someone on the other side of the world, his brother could become a terrorist.
What's the better outcome?