More "Obama Stash" crap or did the news people stop a rip off.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/investigators&id=8623276
It sounds like the usual advance refund "scam", just with the advance provided on a prepaid debit card instead of cash or check.
I think rip off averted as well. What was galling was how dumbassed the outside workers were. Nothing screams "credibility" like a dooshbag answering a reporter's question using a megaphone.
I am a Photoshop dumbass. Is this legit looking?
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/579524_211118089006908_100003261552449_328183_808350617_n.jpg)
They saved 8 bucks...Whats the problem.... ;D
Looks like somebody got the entrepreneurial spirit within them. Those look like pretty good prices on lobster tail, for Wisconsin. ;)
Personally, I don't give a rat's ..err..exit what someone on food stamps buys. We give them a certain amount of money for them to spend on non-prepared foods and non-alcoholic beverages. It isn't like they get more if they run out, so why worry about it? If they want to eat steak and lobster on the 8th and rice and beans until the 28th, more power to 'em.
I can see why people would be outraged, but good protein is good protein.
The fact they can by something with zero nutritional value like Diet Moutain Dew on food stamps pisses me off far more than someone being a dumbass and blowing the whole wad on lobster tails and porterhouses at the first of the month. Believe it or not, Red Bull is considered "nutritious" and also can be bought on SNAP.
I'd hate to think people on food stamps would be limited to crap like ramen noodles, Mac N Cheese, or TV dinners full of carcinogenic preservatives.
Oh, FWIW, Reasors, Food Pyramid, and Homeland all have lobster tail specials from time to time. Usually 7.99 to 8.99 per 5 oz tail. I grab ten when they have the sales as it's always good to have around for surf-n-turf or a little lobster benedict.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 07, 2012, 03:53:26 PM
Oh, FWIW, Reasors, Food Pyramid, and Homeland all have lobster tail specials from time to time. Usually 7.99 to 8.99 per 5 oz tail. I grab ten when they have the sales as it's always good to have around for surf-n-turf or a little lobster benedict.
That's because they get their crap from the same wholesalers....
Quote from: Teatownclown on May 07, 2012, 04:25:38 PM
That's because they get their crap from the same wholesalers....
I ask for the ones of the Fuckushima coast, they are already half-baked.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 07, 2012, 04:27:55 PM
I ask for the ones of the Fuckushima coast, they are already half-baked.
Aaahhhhh, it's funny because of the nuclear thingy.
Quote from: Conan71 on May 07, 2012, 04:27:55 PM
I ask for the ones of the Fuckushima coast, they are already half-baked.
And they'll last forever!
You joke, but I haven't ate fish since the tsunami and may never again unless it's stream trout. Even that's getting fracked up. ;)
Quote from: Teatownclown on May 07, 2012, 04:42:32 PM
You joke, but I haven't ate fish since the tsunami and may never again unless it's stream trout. Even that's getting fracked up. ;)
Your loss.
Quote from: Breadburner on May 07, 2012, 03:38:10 PM
They saved 8 bucks...Whats the problem.... ;D
That's what I thought was photoshopped. They only saved $8.00! :D After all, people who are working their exit's off and cannot afford to buy surf and turf, while there are those that get those items on the taxpayers dime, are shitoutta luck. Yeah for the "entrepreneurial spirit"...
Quote from: guido911 on May 07, 2012, 05:40:46 PM
That's what I thought was photoshopped. They only saved $8.00! :D After all, people who are working their exit's off and cannot afford to buy surf and turf, while there are those that get those items on the taxpayers dime, are shitoutta luck. Yeah for the "entrepreneurial spirit"...
as has already been said, if people want to eat like a king for a day and then survive on practically nothing for the next month, they can do that even if they are doing on their own budget. However, if this is a real receipt, and I don't see anything that says it's not, it would more than likely be a situation where the person receiving the food stamps sold some of them for half-price so they could have cash, and the buying person bought the tails.
Interestingly enough, I recently found out that you can purchase garden plants on food stamps, as long as they are fruit/vegetable/herb plants.
Quote from: custosnox on May 07, 2012, 06:35:22 PM
as has already been said, if people want to eat like a king for a day and then survive on practically nothing for the next month, they can do that even if they are doing on their own budget.
I got no problem with that if it's their own dime. However, if its food stamp fraud (which it would be imo if they are being sold to persons not entitled) or living large on the backs of working Americans, then I have an issue. Now, I am not saying that if you are on govt aid then act like it. My wiring tells me that folks should be grateful for the assistance and not take advantage of good will.
Quote from: custosnox on May 07, 2012, 06:35:22 PM
Interestingly enough, I recently found out that you can purchase garden plants on food stamps, as long as they are fruit/vegetable/herb plants.
Given that food stamps are there more to support crop prices than anything else, that is pleasantly surprising.
And since the free market is paramount in everything else we do, I really don't get where the moral opprobrium comes from unless the person receiving assistance isn't actually eligible. I wouldn't recommend folks eat (much) lobster and steak because it may well prevent them from eating well enough the rest of the month, but it's their call to make.
From not-quite-personal experience, there isn't anybody "living large" on food stamps. A single person whose income is low enough to not have an effect on benefits used to get around $150 a month, but that was back when the states were getting more than they actually needed and were operating under expanded eligibility rules. I don't know anyone presently on food stamps (or at least I don't
know they are), but I've read that both the dollar amounts and eligibility requirements have been tightened up due to the high level of unemployment.
In general terms, your monthly net household income must be below $903 in a household of one person, $1215 with two, $1526 with three, $1838 with four, $2150 with five, $2461 with six, $2773 with seven and $3085 for eight. In addition, your current bank balance and other resources must total less than $2000 ($3000 if a person disabled or 60 or over is living with you).
When applying, you'll need to make sure you have the following for all household members: social security numbers, earned and unearned income, resource information such as bank accounts and vehicles, bill amounts such as utility and mortgage/rent and any medical and/or child support expenses.
Benefit amounts are called "allotments." Allotments are figured by multiplying a household's net monthly income by .3 because the program expects households to spend 30% of resources on food. That result is then subtracted from the maximum allotment amount ($668 per month in Fiscal Year 2010 for a household of four people).
http://okc.about.com/od/health/a/okfoodstamps.htm
Quote from: guido911 on May 07, 2012, 02:58:17 PM
I am a Photoshop dumbass. Is this legit looking?
(http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/579524_211118089006908_100003261552449_328183_808350617_n.jpg)
$6.79 for a 24 pack?? Seems a little high.
Quote from: guido911 on May 07, 2012, 07:04:36 PM
I got no problem with that if it's their own dime. However, if its food stamp fraud (which it would be imo if they are being sold to persons not entitled) or living large on the backs of working Americans, then I have an issue. Now, I am not saying that if you are on govt aid then act like it. My wiring tells me that folks should be grateful for the assistance and not take advantage of good will.
I completely agree. I think selling food stamps is taking advantage of a system. If you can go without the food, then you don't need the stamps. As far as what they buy with them, it's their own stupidity if they use them all up on something like that and go without for the rest of the month. But, I really don't think that is what is happening here, and if it is, they most likely have enough unreported income to cover the rest of the month, so yeah, it seems that nothing is really kosher about it.
That would be almost two weeks of entres for me. But I would also want some potatoes with it.
And keep the mountain dew...
Quote from: custosnox on May 07, 2012, 09:09:29 PM
if it is, they most likely have enough unreported income to cover the rest of the month
To be fair, it would be perfectly possible to turn that into two weeks worth of meals with a few staples.
Quote from: nathanm on May 07, 2012, 09:30:33 PM
To be fair, it would be perfectly possible to turn that into two weeks worth of meals with a few staples.
And there is the other two weeks, and, as you said, staples. Besides, I really don't see someone spending that much money on lobster just to spread it out over a couple of weeks.
Quote from: custosnox on May 07, 2012, 09:33:53 PM
And there is the other two weeks, and, as you said, staples. Besides, I really don't see someone spending that much money on lobster just to spread it out over a couple of weeks.
$10 worth of rice, beans, or whatever will last for months. My point wasn't really to say that that's certainly what the (possible) person did, but more to illustrate that it's impossible for any of us to know. Absent further evidence, being outraged at a receipt is pretty ridiculous.
...
and upon using the Googles and its image search:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/receipt.asp
Short answer: Is true, fellow got arrested for trafficking in food stamps, as they were for resale.
Yay rice! Even better than the potatoes with seafood!
Yay Toast!!
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on May 07, 2012, 09:18:19 PM
That would be almost two weeks of entres for me. But I would also want some potatoes with it.
And keep the mountain dew...
Ditto on that. I have really cut down on dining out and have been living rather cheaply lately. No reason, but I do feel healthier.
Quote from: guido911 on May 07, 2012, 10:28:10 PM
Ditto on that. I have really cut down on dining out and have been living rather cheaply lately. No reason, but I do feel healthier.
Also have cut back on eating out. Some. Pesky salespeople keep wanting to feed me from time to time. Baked potato and water is amazingly satisfying recently. Still waiting to lose some weight...
Quote from: guido911 on May 07, 2012, 10:28:10 PM
Ditto on that. I have really cut down on dining out and have been living rather cheaply lately. No reason, but I do feel healthier.
Most restaurant food has way too much salt for me. We have been cooking without added salt for many years now. Fortunately for my wallet, I don't really enjoy going out to eat that much. Maybe it's partly because of my squeaky wallet.
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on May 07, 2012, 10:34:03 PM
Baked potato and water is amazingly satisfying recently.
Since you don't have any of my special pepper blend, try putting some cayenne powder or chipotle powder on your potato. The amount depends on your tolerance for hot peppers.
Quote from: nathanm on May 07, 2012, 09:51:57 PM
$10 worth of rice, beans, or whatever will last for months.
I like this rice with my Gumbo.
http://grocery.walmart.com/usd-estore/catalog/sectionpagecontainer.jsp?aisleid=1255027788937&departmentid=1255027787111&kw=asdajump
I don't think $10. worth would last very long.
Quote from: nathanm on May 07, 2012, 09:51:57 PM
$10 worth of rice, beans, or whatever will last for months. My point wasn't really to say that that's certainly what the (possible) person did, but more to illustrate that it's impossible for any of us to know. Absent further evidence, being outraged at a receipt is pretty ridiculous.
...
and upon using the Googles and its image search:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/receipt.asp
Short answer: Is true, fellow got arrested for trafficking in food stamps, as they were for resale.
never said it's what it was for sure, but from what I have seen in the past it seemed likely
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on May 07, 2012, 10:34:03 PM
Also have cut back on eating out. Some. Pesky salespeople keep wanting to feed me from time to time. Baked potato and water is amazingly satisfying recently. Still waiting to lose some weight...
Need to balance all those carbs with some exercise. Either that or change over to something with whole grains that won't spike your blood sugar and turn to fat quicker.
Figures. The day I talk about not eating out I have 2 pieces of Papa Johns pizza. Good thing I took the Conman approach earlier and nearly killed myself running 6+ tonight. I need a doctor!
Quote from: Conan71 on May 08, 2012, 12:04:44 AM
Need to balance all those carbs with some exercise. Either that or change over to something with whole grains that won't spike your blood sugar and turn to fat quicker.
Yeah...walking a couple miles a day just isn't cutting it for me - I am still getting more in than should. I have to do more (seriously).
I have been the bane of my family since the early '70s. Except for the occasional hamburger bun, I have not intentionally bought a loaf of white bread in 40 years - all whole wheat and whole everything every chance I get. If you could get whole grain ribeye, I would do that. Breakfast is grape nuts, cheerios, or some flavor of Kashi - unless of course, it is an egg McMuffin and a large Coke... I think my token efforts toward a healthy lifestyle are what have kept me from sliding right off the cliff. Everything systemically (blood pressure, sugar, etc) is just about the same as when I was 45 - except for all this grey hair! I have read that can be due to a copper deficiency, but vitamins don't seem to correct it. I think it is due to kids!
Quote from: Conan71 on May 08, 2012, 12:04:44 AM
Need to balance all those carbs with some exercise. Either that or change over to something with whole grains that won't spike your blood sugar and turn to fat quicker.
Yes, but do you agree with taking this farther if the government must spend a dime to change where we're headed? Or raising taxes through a sin tax might get your approval?
Quote
Obesity fight must shift from personal blame-U.S. panel
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-usa-health-obesity-idUSBRE8470LC20120508
(Reuters) - America's obesity epidemic is so deeply rooted that it will take dramatic and systemic measures - from overhauling farm policies and zoning laws to, possibly, introducing a soda tax - to fix it, the influential Institute of Medicine said on Tuesday.
In an ambitious 478-page report, the IOM refutes the idea that obesity is largely the result of a lack of willpower on the part of individuals. Instead, it embraces policy proposals that have met with stiff resistance from the food industry and lawmakers, arguing that multiple strategies will be needed to make the U.S. environment less "obesogenic."
The IOM, part of the Washington-based National Academies, offers advice to the government and others on health issues. Its report was released at the Weight of the Nation conference, a three-day meeting hosted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cable channel HBO will air a documentary of the same name next week.
"People have heard the advice to eat less and move more for years, and during that time a large number of Americans have become obese," IOM committee member Shiriki Kumanyika of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine told Reuters. "That advice will never be out of date. But when you see the increase in obesity you ask, what changed? And the answer is, the environment. The average person cannot maintain a healthy weight in this obesity-promoting environment."
Shortly after the report was released, the Center for Consumer Freedom, which is funded by restaurant, food and other industries, condemned the IOM as joining forces with the nation's "food nannies." The Center said the IOM recommendations would "actively reduce the number of choices Americans have when they sit down to eat" and emphasized that "personal responsibility" alone was to blame for the obesity epidemic.
A study funded by the CDC and released on Monday projected that by 2030, 42 percent of American adults will be obese, compared to 34 percent now, and 11 percent will be severely obese, compared to the current 6 percent.
Another one-third of American adults are overweight, and one-third of children aged 2 to 19 are overweight or obese. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index - a measure of height to weight - of 30 or greater. Overweight means a BMI of 25 to 29.9.
Officials at the IOM and CDC are trying to address the societal factors that led the percentage of obese adults to more than double since 1980, when 15 percent were in that category. Among children, it has soared to 17 percent from 5 percent in the past 30 years. One reason: in 1977, children 2 to 18 consumed an average of 1,842 calories per day. By 2006, that had climbed to 2,022.
Obesity is responsible for an additional $190 billion a year in healthcare costs, or one-fifth of all healthcare spending, Reuters reported last month, plus billions more in higher health insurance premiums, lost productivity and absenteeism.
NO MAGIC BULLET
The IOM panel included members from academia, government, and the private sector. It scrutinized some 800 programs and interventions to identify those that can significantly reduce the incidence of obesity within 10 years.
"There has been a tendency to look for a single solution, like putting a big tax on soda or banning marketing (of unhealthy food) to children," panel chairman Dan Glickman, a senior fellow of the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former secretary of the Department of Agriculture, told Reuters. "What this report says is this is not a one-solution problem."
The panel identifies taxing sugar-sweetened beverages as a "potential action," noting that "their link to obesity is stronger than that observed for any other food or beverage."
A 2011 study estimated that a penny-per-ounce tax could reduce per capita consumption by 24 percent. As a Reuters report described last month, vigorous lobbying by the soda industry crushed recent efforts to impose such a tax in several states, including New York.
"I do not think in any way, shape or form that such punitive measures will change behaviors," said Rhona Applebaum, Coca-Cola Co.'s chief scientific and regulatory officer, in advance of the report. Anyone deterred by the tax from buying sweetened soda, she said, will replace those calories with something else.
The IOM committee also grappled with one of the third rails of American politics: farm policy. Price-support programs for wheat, cotton and other commodity crops prohibit participating farmers from planting fruits and vegetables on land enrolled in those programs. Partly as a result, U.S. farms do not produce enough fresh produce for all Americans to eat the recommended amounts, and the IOM panel calls for removing that ban.
The committee did not endorse the call by food activist Michael Pollan and others to eliminate farm subsidies that make high-fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and other obesity-promoting foods very cheap. "There is no evidence subsidies contribute to obesity," said Glickman.
THE TRUE LACK OF CHOICE
The traditional view that blames obesity on a failure of personal responsibility and individual willpower "has been used as the basis for resisting government efforts - legislative and regulatory - to address the problem," says the report. But the IOM panel argues that people cannot truly exercise "personal choice" because their options are severely limited, and "biased toward the unhealthy end of the continuum."
For instance, a lack of sidewalks makes it impossible to safely walk to work, school or even neighbors' homes in many communities. So while 20 percent of trips between school and home among kids 5 to 15 were on foot in 1977, that figure had dropped to 12.5 percent by 2001.
The panel recommended tax incentives for developers to build sidewalks and trails in new housing developments, zoning changes to require pedestrian access and policies to promote bicycle commuting. Flexible financing, and streamlined permitting or tax credits could be used as encouragement.
The IOM report also calls for making schools the focus of anti-obesity efforts, since preventing obesity at a young age is easier than reversing it. According to the most recent data, only 4 percent of elementary schools, 8 percent of middle schools and 2 percent of high schools provided daily physical education for all students.
The IOM report recommends requiring primary and secondary schools to have at least 60 minutes of physical education and activity each day. It calls for banning sugar-sweetened drinks in schools and making drinking water freely available.
The report also urges that healthy food and drinks be easily available everywhere Americans eat, from shopping centers to sports facilities and chain restaurants. The idea is that more people will eat healthier if little active choice is needed.
"We've taken fat and sugar, put it in everything everywhere, and made it socially acceptable to eat all the time," David Kessler, former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told Reuters. He was not part of the IOM panel.
"We're living in a food carnival, constantly bombarded by food cues, almost all of them unhealthy," Kessler said.
Experience has shown that when businesses offer consumers a full range of choices - and especially when the healthy option is the default - many customers will opt for salads over deep-fried everything.
Walt Disney Co., for instance, found more than 50 percent of customers accepted a healthier choice of foods introduced at its theme parks. And last summer, fast-food giant McDonald's Corp said it would include apples, fewer fries, and 20 percent fewer calories in the most popular Happy Meals for kids.
The IOM report urges employers and insurers to do more to combat obesity. UnitedHealth Group offers a health insurance plan in which a $5,000 yearly deductible can be reduced to $1,000 if a person is not obese and does not smoke. Some employers provide discounts on premiums for completing weight-loss programs.
Such inducements are far from universal, however. The government-run Medicaid healthcare program for the poor and disabled does not cover weight-loss programs in many states. And as of 2008, only 28 percent of full-time workers in the private sector and 54 percent in government had access to wellness programs.
(Editing by Michele Gershberg, Christopher Wilson and Paul Simao)
STOP school bake sales! They're a gateway drug!
You're all owned by America's food companies....addicts. :D
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on May 08, 2012, 08:31:40 AM
Except for the occasional hamburger bun, I have not intentionally bought a loaf of white bread in 40 years - all whole wheat and whole everything every chance I get.
But where around town is this place where you started buying your bread?
(https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSen5xnct2YONBhxGI5Ffs-VTYrgeQxuO_oem1khOGzlpzLezJc)
Quote from: guido911 on May 08, 2012, 07:06:46 PM
But where around town is this place where you started buying your bread?
Actually, I bought large burlap sacks of wheat at the Country Store on 11th when Gene was still alive. Ground my own flour and baked the bread. Seriously.
There was a little bakery in The Farm - last time I went by they were closed - and it was always like 'stepping back' to go in there. The smells are fantastic. I would love to have the mill!!!
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on May 08, 2012, 08:32:45 PM
Actually, I bought large burlap sacks of wheat at the Country Store on 11th when Gene was still alive. Ground my own flour and baked the bread. Seriously.
There was a little bakery in The Farm - last time I went by they were closed - and it was always like 'stepping back' to go in there. The smells are fantastic. I would love to have the mill!!!
This place may have something you would like. I've bought a few things at their bakery and liked them. I'm not a large consumer of bread though.
When it was available in WalMart and Reasors, I bought Ciabatta loafs. A slice about 3/4" thick with Oregano and olive oil then heated in the microwave was yummy. The only Ciabatta I can find lately is take and bake that looks like it has been sitting on the shelf for a few years looking the way it did when it got there due to preservatives. No, I haven't bought any.
http://www.farrellbread.com/products.php
Quote from: Red Arrow on May 08, 2012, 09:05:37 PM
This place may have something you would like. I've bought a few things at their bakery and liked them. I'm not a large consumer of bread though.
When it was available in WalMart and Reasors, I bought Ciabatta loafs. A slice about 3/4" thick with Oregano and olive oil then heated in the microwave was yummy. The only Ciabatta I can find lately is take and bake that looks like it has been sitting on the shelf for a few years looking the way it did when it got there due to preservatives. No, I haven't bought any.
http://www.farrellbread.com/products.php
Thanks! Will check it out.
WoW Scam City. Who knows what will happen to all those ss numbers.