ÙNov 22 Commentary Im neither doctor nor scientist, so I cant verify the info in this article, nor who did the research, but a listener sent it in and it seems interesting enuff to pass on. Call it another of chamba’s wacky conspiracy theories. Its called Pass the butter ~. Margarine was  originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the  turkeys, the  people who had put all the money into the research wanted a  payback, so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal, so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it?  They have come out with some clever new flavorings. DO YOU  KNOW...the difference between margarine and butter? Both have the same amount of  calories.  Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams  compared to 5 grams for margarine. according to a recent Harvard Medical Study, eating margarine can increase  heart disease in women by 53% over eating the  same amount of butter,  . Eating butter increases the absorption of many  other nutrients in other foods.  Butter has many nutritional  benefits where margarine has a few only  because they are added!   Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can  enhance the flavors  of other foods.  Butter has been around for centuries where margarine  has been around for less than 100 years. And now, for  Margarine.. Very high in trans fatty acids. Triple risk of  coronary heart disease. Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the  bad cholesterol) and lowers  HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol). Increases  the risk of cancers up to  five fold. Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response. And here's the most disturbing fact.... Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from  being PLASTIC.  This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance). You can try this yourself:  Purchase a tub  of margarine and leave it in your  garage or shaded area.  Within a  couple of days you will note a couple of  things: no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should  tell you something) it does not rot or smell differently, because it has no nutritional value;  nothing will grow on it, even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would  you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast? Next item: mon gv union has article stating that nev co board of sups is so concerned about skyrocketing costs to update local wastewater treatment plants, that they are asking for state and federal money to put a band aid on the problem. Please note that there is not any indication of logical remedies like producing less waste water by using composting toilets. Don’t consider changing your lifestyle, just expand wastewater treatment plants and if you cant afford it, beg money from others. Exactly similar to the nations problem with obtaining foreign oil, we will do anything to maintain our present lifestyle, except to consider altering our lifestyle. You got a problem? Throw money at it, other peoples money. A companion story that should be written but was not concerns the many large development projects being proposed for the grass valley area. Great for developers but how soon after they are built will our sups discover that we need more money for the obvious wastewater treatment plant upgrades? And then, have you noticed that traffic congestion in our urban areas is getting worse by the month? Traffic jams at intersections and traffic lites are growing longer. Rush hour traffic has become a real phenomena in grass valley and nev city. I wonder if real estate salesmen are mentioning this to prospective clients? Oh by the way, our peaceful rural lifestyle aint exactly as you imagine it to be. Forgive a brief moment of logic, but when these contemplated terrific new developments are completed, and the developers have sold the homes and banked their profits, the new homeowners just might leave home and drive around on our already narrow over crowded streets, and try to find parking in our already filled parking lots. Do the board of sups and their appointed planning commissioners pay more than lip service to this aspect of growth when they approve these massive developments? Well since writing this, todays union partially answered my question: City planners are continuing to discuss how vehicles will get in and out of two housing developments that together would put nearly 100 new houses on Ridge Road in Grass Valley. Engineers are proposing to add a center lane on Ridge Road west of Hughes Road. The lane would let motorists safely turn into and out of Ryan's Lane and Slate Creek Road, the access roads to the proposed Ridge Meadows and Ridge Village projects. Engineers also are proposing to widen Ridge Road, improve access for driveways opening onto the road and make other improvements between Hughes and Slate Creek roads. Well now, isn’t that just terrific? The massive power of our local govts are planning how to get the increased traffic from 100 plus new houses efficiently onto our already overcrowded streets. And once on those streets the planning ends. Well done guys. Next item: wow. A local furniture store announces its closing and gv union has 4 front page stories. Sort of makes you wonder why when major social services are cut it warrents maybe one story and usually not even on the front page. If the new shelter for the homeless had to close would that get 4 stories on the front page? If the union cared to interview me id be delited to tell them how grieved I am by the closing of a furniture store and how it has affected my life and the nourishment of my very soul. Reality, alas we hardly knew you. All I can think is that mon must have been a really slow news day. Next item: as you’ve probably guessed by now, to keep you informed or at least titillated, I subscribe to a whole host of subject specific publications and mailings. One of them focuses on the origins of our species, specifically the authenticity of an ancient skull called the starchild skull. The lead researcher has been interviewed for a national geo special. I found his caution interesting: “If you do watch it, keep in mind that shows like this are in business to set us up and knock us down. The deal we all make is that they provide us with national coverage of our subjects (whether ghosts or vampires or bigfoot or the Starchild skull), while we give them something "weird" to hold up to ridicule to one degree or another. Whatever they say to dismiss the skull as irrelevant and of no concern, we will post our answer to it within a day or two at most. At this point we have no idea what they will say to be dismissive, but we do know it won't have any real merit. This is just the way the game is played. They know it and we know it. Let the best team win! Next item: just in case you thought the neo cons were finished after the nov elections, witness the demise of the la times, one of the last semi progressive newspapers left. The times was bought out by a giant newspaper chain, and its editor and publisher fired. . You can bet that the new slant of the new la times will not favor liberal or progressive ideas. The dems may have quote won the elections, but the consolidation of the media continues, and the neo cons continue to consolidate power. Next item: for those of you who believe that more govt is better, try this one on. It’s a quote from will rogers. In the early days, there were no such things as birth certificates. You being there was certificate enough. Next item: politics as a sporting event: in the 2004 election, the state of ohio seemed determined to wrest the title of most corrupt elections from the state of florida. But don’t count florida out. In the recent election one fla cong district had a hotly contested and widely advertised election for congressman. The declared winner won by a margin of only 300 votes. Only one small problem. The electronic voting machines recorded 18 thousand ballots upon which voters did not mark a preference for that hotly contested cong seat. That’s right. The fla election officials with their neat little electronic voting machines want us to believe that 18,000 voters bothered to go to the polls, and then voted for every item on their ballot except for the most hotly contested race on the ballot. Guess which party won by those 300 odd votes? Anyone guess republican? Wow, how’d you guess that? Finally, Lets have a rousing cheer for the fla election officials. They never give up. Take that, ohio. Next item: this sent in by a listener: From an MD. resident to his senator Dear Senator Sarbanes,  As a native marylander and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you. My primary reason for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stems from the bill which was recently passed by the senate and for which you voted.  If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, all I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the     process started before everyone figures it out.   Simply put, those of us who have been here legally  have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way  that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005. Additionally, as an illegal alien I could begin using the local emergency room as my primary health care provider. Once I have stopped paying premiums  for medical insurance, my accountant figures I could save almost $10,000 a year. Another benefit in              gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her              law school applications, as well as "in-state"tuition rates for many colleges throughout the  United States for my son.  Lastly, I understand that illegal status would relieve me of the burden of renewing my driver's license and making those burdensome car insurance  premiums. This is very important to me given that I still have college age children driving my car. If you would provide me with an outline of the  process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would  be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.     Your Loyal Constituent,              Pete somebody