As Bubba and I took our morning stroll, the wind was wafting through the trees and the sun was peeking over the horizon. It was a beautiful morning, the type of day where all your senses feel alive. People, who use to be strangers, stopped and said good morning. Passing cars beeped and the drivers waved hello.

As Bubba is not one for conversation, I had plenty of time to contemplate various things. As some passing cars let off gas emissions, and the smell overpowered the scent of flowers, I began to think of global warming, and automobiles in general.

We all accepted the idea of planned obsolescence with car parts because the parts were American made and meant jobs for us. Now we still have planned obsolescence but all parts are made in China. Check the box the next time you have to replace a car part, knowing that part was deliberately given a specific shelf life so it would have to be replaced. Our government bailed out the automobile industry because - again - it meant jobs for Americans. The big three have taken many of those manufacturing plants to other countries.

The automobile corporations can make vehicles that do not use gasoline. They have had the patents for years. The automobile corporations invested their profits into stocks of the oil and gas companies. By making cars that use gasoline, they are also making a profit on the stocks they own. I guess global warming and the fact their grandchildren might not have an atmosphere to breathe does not matter as long as money is made now.

Corporations are considered entities for tax purposes. The government looks at these corporations and sees there might be one million common stocks owned. The government then figures this corporation represents one million people. This is not quite true. There are common stocks and there are preferred stocks. The preferred stocks might only be owned by one hundred people. In the case of Walmart I believe the preferred stocks are only owned by family members and a few other individuals. Therefore what is good for Walmart is not good for the common stock holders but greatly benefits the preferred stock holders, the family members of Sam Walton.

AT & T and Baby Bell, as it was known, were forced to separate because of the Taft Hartley Anti Trust Laws. They have re-merged, with Cingular thrown in for good measure. I guess the anti-trust laws no longer apply.

When the hurricanes struck Florida, I called the emergency telephone number for the State. I was very surprised, although I should not have been, to have had a person in India answer the call. In my naivety I had expected to speak with an American operator during an emergency.

General Electric - the company that brings good things to life - is one of the largest munition companies in the world. There is more profit in making things that kill people than in making 'good things'.

Technically, when someone owns a piece of property - that property extends from the middle of the earth to the sky. The government decided this might be true, but the government owned the airwave's above all land. The government gave free use of these airwaves to radio, cable and television stations. We now pay for the use of our own airwaves. Anti-trust - again - said companies, or corporations could only own - I believe - 5% of any media. This too is no longer true.

Our 'news' is censored. We hear what the large corporations want us to. The government allows these corporations to feed us all the propaganda the government wants us to hear. A good example of this is the Sunday morning 'talking heads' on almost every major television station. Anyone that would like to find out what is really happening in this country should go on line and read what the BBC or other foreign companies are reporting regarding America.

Virginia Tech tragedy was horrendous. Instead of giving dignity to the victims and their families, the media descended on Virginia Tech like vultures - if it bleeds it leads.

Big corporations do not like the internet because they cannot hide their secrets. A little research on the net will show what they own and what they do. It also gives the public the ability to see their recalls, their safety warnings and how they treat their employees. In addition, once someone does any research, they find most factories owned by these corporations are no longer in America. When people think they are buying American made goods in reality they are not - only a front office will still be located here. When purchasing anything - read the label or the box to see where that item was actually manufactured.

This brings up the subject of tariffs. For anyone who does not know the meaning, or is unfamiliar with the word, a tariff is a fee charged by a government for any item imported from a foreign country. Tariffs were put into place to protect American manufacturers. If it cost, lets' say, $5.00 to manufacture an item, and the same item was manufactured somewhere else and only cost $2.00, a tariff was charged on the $2.00 item so American companies would be able to compete with foreign imports. If an American company has items made in a foreign country and then brought to the United States for sale, no tariff is charged. That is why there are basically very few manufacturing companies left in the States. Most opened factories in foreign countries because labor is much cheaper there and profits are higher.

I recently heard a report which claimed manufacturing in the States is rising. If you factor out McDonalds - which I do not consider a manufacturing company, the numbers drop dramatically.

A few months ago, my spirit guide warned me not to buy any product that contained wheat gluten. This held true for pet food as well as people food. I was especially warned regarding store bought bread. As we are all aware, there was a massive recall recently regarding pet food that contained wheat gluten. A few days later we were finally told the contaminated wheat gluten was also earmarked for human consumption.

I am not exactly sure what wheat gluten is, but I do know we grow vast quantities of wheat in this country. I would assume, albeit incorrectly, that we are capable of manufacturing our own wheat gluten. Why it has to be imported from China still baffles me.

A few months ago, there was a massive recall regarding spinach because people were getting sick and dying from it. It has recently been reported the FDA knew about this tainted spinach but did not inform the public. I guess I was under the mistaken impression the FDA was a watchdog agency whose main purpose was to safeguard the public.

I want to make it clear I am not against corporations. I may just be an idealist, but I feel that people and safety should come before profit.

athena_louise