You'll also be very pleasantly surprised by how much better the meat is. If you don't live near a farm, all of the little farm stores around here that sell local produce also sell local meat. I know one local farm that sells meat mail order. Their meat is pasture raised and very excellent - pork, beef, chicken and turkey. They also do pickup sites in Virginia. https://www.jlgreenfarm.com/store
I hope it's the one I grew up in, which I'm appalled to see listed as blue nowadays. It certainly was conservative when I grew up there. Of course in those days, a Dem would be equivalent to fairly far right GOP now. We have a couple of Democrat towns here in the northern valley and it must grind the butts of what's left of the original old Harry Byrd's machine up in Winchester.
In the 2001 election, I saw Jay Katzen ahead in the lt. governor's race all night long until traditionally GOP Fairfax County's after midnight tally came in. Then, all of a sudden, Tim Kaine won. Yes, that lovely US senator who I hope Hung Cao will unseat in November. So I'd say the cheating goes back at least that far and probably earlier.
Virginia has been red since the 1970s-1980s when the traditional old moderate Virginia Dems started going leftist. Right after that, the cheating started and made Virginia fake blue. I can remember being in the House of Delegates (as an observer) in the late '80s when the regular Dems joked about their fellow Dem from Arlington being "the gentleman from the people's republic of Arlington." Those are all gone now and have been for a couple of decades.
I'm in CD6 too - Shenandoah County. Voted the other day - Trump, Cao and Cline. Sent a friend info on how to register to vote today, which is the last day to register in Virginia and get a regular, not provisional, ballot. I posted that info here today too.
When I was a kid and we'd come here to the Shenandoah Valley where I live now, you saw lots of old houses with cisterns. I see a lot of people here now with those large, square plastic water containers and they're catching and holding rain water off of roofs. Just like the old days. I had a rain barrel for years. These are much bigger.
We bought one years ago and they're amazing. I would also recommend getting some water purification tablets and purification devices. You can find the tablets most any place that sells camping supplies, including Walmart. My daughter and grandkids were hit by Helene, luckily they lost power, phones, internet and water but weren't flooded. People in Asheville are using creek water but it's not potable at all. In rural areas like mine where lots of people have wells that depend on electricity, everyone rushes to the store to buy water, not milk and bread, even just for snowstorms. They know how bad it gets and how fast when you don't have clean water.
Add a little rocket stove to your prep list - either buy one or make one. You can cook with nothing but twigs in it. And make sure you have a pot and or frying pan that can be used on it. A cheap camping pot or a cast iron or stainless steel pot will work. Easy to bug out with too. Here's one made out of large tin cans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8nkF0bYYLE
https://x.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1843768277778215092 https://x.com/TonySeruga/status/1843647985898471582
These two say it was a Connecticut National Guard chopper
The other incident was a North Carolina National Guard chinook
I don't know what the people in Hawaii are like, but Appalachian mountain folks are tough, smart, resilient and take no bs from anybody. That's the 80 year old grandmas. The younger ones aim to be tougher, smarter, etc.
The thing that impressed me with this video, and it's not the first time I've seen him do it, is that even with only a fraction of his brain left, without even understanding the question, he smoothly rolls out a sound bite answer. The lies are completely automatic reflexes.
They got his name wrong. It was Phil Sokolof. I've read several books recently that pushing for low fat diets has probably contributed most to our current obesity epidemic. Looks like he did more harm than just tinkering with McDonalds' fries. From wikipedia: "Sokolof's efforts regarding the McDonald's menu ended the practice of cooking their French fries in beef tallow.[1] He also waged campaigns against the use of so-called "tropical" oils, such as coconut and palm oils, which were used to manufacture many cookies and crackers. According to the Los Angeles Times, Sokolof's campaign forced several manufacturers, including Ralston Purina, Borden, Pillsbury, Quaker Oats, Sunshine Biscuits, Pepperidge Farm, and Keebler to end their use of tropical oils in their products.
After those achievements, Sokolof's public profile was reduced, but he continued his struggle, primarily against fat in the diet. In 1995, Bryant Gumbel introduced him to debate the Today show as "America's No. 1 Cholesterol Fighter".[4] Sokolof took out ads decrying the popularity of 2% milk, arguing that it is not low-fat, and encouraged parents to only buy skim milk. In 1997, he urged Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods not to endorse McDonald's.[5] In 2002, Sokolof briefly returned to his full-page ad purchasing practice to discourage fellow Omaha native Warren Buffett from purchasing Burger King. [6][7]
Sokolof died on April 15, 2004, of heart failure[8] at the age of 82." No wonder, after eating nothing but vegetable oils.
From a Brave search because I knew it was because of the anti-saturated fats protests but didn't know all this.
"McDonald’s stopped using beef tallow for frying their French fries in 1990. The change was largely attributed to the efforts of a wealthy heart attack survivor, John Sokolof, who spent $3 million on full-page newspaper ads criticizing McDonald’s for serving unhealthy food. Sokolof’s campaign targeted McDonald’s use of beef tallow, which he claimed was high in saturated fat and contributed to heart disease.
As a result of Sokolof’s campaign, McDonald’s faced public pressure and lawsuits from vegetarian and religious groups, who claimed that the company’s use of beef tallow misled consumers into believing their fries were suitable for vegetarian diets. In 1990, McDonald’s announced that it would replace beef tallow with 100% vegetable oil, citing concerns about customer perceptions and the potential for negative publicity.
Additionally, the company may have been influenced by changing attitudes towards saturated fats and cholesterol in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as growing awareness of the importance of heart health. The shift to vegetable oil was likely seen as a way to improve the perceived healthiness of McDonald’s menu items and reduce the risk of negative publicity."
It's the wheat and not just modern genetically modified wheat. They started tinkering with what many decades ago.
Unless Dems continue to control everything, abortion is now a state issue and will stay that way. Don't forget it was our (Virginia's) former Dem governor who talked about essentially expanding state abortion laws to include murdering a baby after birth. That's the only relevant thing about abortion in Virginia.
Dems like to scare the pink haired crazies by saying Republicans want to ban abortion. Actually, it's the Dems who are the whacko extremists on this issue.
I'm making jerk rabbit for dinner tonight. We have rabbits, chickens but just for eggs. We might get some meat hens next spring. I'd like to get some goats, especially for milk.