"Death Becomes Us" or "Repurposing the War Machine"

Today's subject is a bit outside of my normal periphery but I've been thinking about it off and on for a while now. After catching part of a news bit on NPR about drug cartels in Mexico and the violence associated with them I decided to finally post something.
To begin, I believe that people should be permitted to own a firearm, however, they should also be required to pass a safety seminar (more than a ten minute instruction on how to point & shoot), and I believe that they should be limited to a firearm within reason. For instance, I own a shotgun which is used for hunting, it is simple and basic and serves the purpose very well and if so needed, it could serve to protect my family & home. There is no need for the ridiculous amount of semi-auto and automatic firearms of various calibers that exist in the hands of so many people today. I understand that many of them do use caution and common sense, but I fear, and the news makes it obvious, that many do not. The entire idea of "Army Surplus" is ludicrous, why did we generate so many weapons that we have a massive surplus? Furthermore, who is the genius that decided they should be made available to untrained civilians with little or no need for such devices? Really, who needs a fifty caliber sniper rifle?
If we find ourselves sitting on a mountain of weapons, wouldn't it make more sense to disassemble them and recycle them into new military equipment when it's needed rather than disperse them to whomever has the cash? If you really want a picture of why we need gun control visit the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot held every spring & fall in Knob Creek Kentucky, talk about your proud American moments! (Dear God, please get the sarcasm there!)
Aside from our own domestic gun problems, we also need to answer for the problems of the countries that are utilizing our surplus, such as the drug cartels in Mexico (see, I finally brought it back to the NPR segment).
I know what some may say about this- "If guns are too controlled then only the criminals will have guns." Yes, you're right, and that's primarily because a severe lack of common sense and control by the responsible party (U.S. government and military) has allowed criminals to purchase them. It's that simple, if military grade weapons are being sold to civilians it's because the military is selling them. I guess that as long as most crimes involving firearms remain primarily in the lower income areas, there's no reason to try and remedy the situation since the people living there are of little intrinsic value, much like the countries we don't bother to assist like Mexico and Africa. We're better off focusing our efforts on places with perceived value such as the middle east.

"A Dime a Dozen" -- Just Not with Organics

As you may well know by reading past postings, I am an advocate of organic foods, for a number of reasons, primarily their lack of mystery ingredients, genetic manipulation and chemicals used in their production and processing. I believe that if grown properly with care, they are higher in flavor and nutritional content than what we now call "conventional" foods, this applies to fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products. I am also a strong advocate of real food, that is, food that contains what you expect it too without the addition of a gauntlet of miscellaneous preservatives. I'm sure that someone did a study of these added chemicals and determined that they are "generally recognized as safe", however these studies also typically result with "in moderation". Now how can we practice moderation if (as with high fructose corn syrup) the vast majority of food on the store shelf is littered with the same few preservatives? But I'm sure that they won't cause any health problems over extended and repeated exposure (sarcasm).
Before I get too far off track (I know, it's a theme with me), here's my problem- why must it be so damn expensive for people to buy real food that is nutritious and safe?
I would like to speak for those people who, have little or no education in regards to organic foods and little or no access to them. We have perhaps the most abundant food system in the world, you can go to almost any grocery store and choose from a plethora of attractive, fresh foods. I say almost any grocery store because 1) lower income areas may not even have a grocery store within reasonable distance, while most suburban sprawl areas typically have numerous stores to choose from and occasionally not even from competing companies. 2) Lower income areas also tend to maintain a much lower quality of food availability. That is to say that the foods in their stores is not as attractive and fresh, if there is even any "fresh" food available, many times there are only processed and canned or dry items available. And please don't get me started on the quality of restaurants available in lower income areas, if you can't cook for yourself then you are destined to a life of preservative-chemical ridden foods and fast food that has the quality nutrition of a bowl of sugar dipped in liquid fat.
Back to the subject at hand- Organics are supposed to be a means to help save the world from itself, -reducing the impact on the environment by using less fuel and petroleum based fertilizers. Reducing the impact on our health by not using chemical preservatives, chemical fertilizers which have residuals in the food itself, and boosting the nutritional quality. Along the way we are allowing a large number of our countrymen to remain in a food-ghetto because they cannot afford the luxury of healthier food, they have no decision to make because there is only one choice in front of them, they must continue to consume the same low quality products because they don't have the extra cash to commute to a store that offers a real selection and even if they did, wouldn't be likely to have the extra funds required to buy organic.

Land of MILK and Honey

I have noticed over the past ten years or so the rising popularity of "Gluten Free". It seems like everywhere you go you can find gluten free this or that, and if you work in a kitchen- oh the dread when a customer comes in and can't have gluten! Trust me, you don't want to know the things that come out of cooks mouths about beloved customers.
I understand that people with gluten allergies a.k.a. celiacs, risk serious problems if they consume wheat gluten, and yes, I understand that wheat is in all kinds of things that most wouldn't expect, like soy sauce for instance. What I don't understand is this,- Why is it that these folks get all the glory? Why is everyone catering to the gluten-free needs? It's rather irritating for someone like myself who has been unable to consume milk products for pretty much his entire life without experiencing some really adverse effects (for myself as well as anyone near by). Yes I know-"they have pills for that.", or "try soy milk or rice milk or almond milk." First of all, those pills are expensive especially when you need to down 4-6 for an ice cream cone or a single glass of milk, and sometimes they still aren't that effective. As for the milk "substitutes", 1. They definitely should NOT have MILK appear anywhere in their names, considering that they do not taste, feel or behave (in cooking) anything like milk. I mean come on, do you really think that veggie burgers remotely resemble hamburger?(vegetarians need not answer that) It's the same concept.
I would simply like to see at least a small act of consideration from the public on behalf of myself and my brother and sister "Lac-tards"(I coined that term myself, I'm soo p.c.). I'd like to go out to eat with my wife (ironically allergic to milk- completely different) and be able to order nearly anything off a menu or even better, have at least one damn option on a dessert menu to choose.
I mean c'mon! We have two freakin culinary schools in this town and waaay too many restaurants and no one can come up with an original dessert idea that doesn't include a pound of butter and a quart of milk or cream?! I understand that the culinary originality is scarce in this city and all the restaurants a selling their version of the same ten items but please, can we at least get a little effort? I know that I can always go to the health food places or vegetarian/vegan restaurants and bakeries, but I have yet to experience something truly comparable from those places. I know, nothing is the same as butter or milk, and god knows that I love heavy cream, but there are tons of options for the sweet tooth out there, hell, most grow on trees and require far less labor than milk, but I'm rambling off the subject a bit.
Simply put, it would be nice to go out to eat or even go to the grocery and not have to seriously examine every damn thing I buy for dairy products, especially in places it shouldn't be (smoked sausage for example). It would be nice to have more choices for dessert at restaurants, you want me to spend more money at your place, then offer something I can actually eat. Until that happens, I guess I'll stick with corn.
-g