It was a good day in Montpelier yesterday, and not just because the sun was shining bright and warm. On May 8th, Governor Shumlin signed Vermont’s GMO labeling bill into law making Vermont the first state that will require labels on genetically engineered foods! The law will require labels on genetically engineered foods (also called genetically modified organisms, or GMOs) sold at retail outlets in Vermont, and will go in to effect on July 1st 2016. The law would also prohibit labeling products produced with genetic engineering as “natural”, “100% natural” or “all natural”.

The bill signing took place on a beautiful afternoon on the State House steps, was well attended, and was followed by a celebration accompanied by several musical performances and Ben and Jerry’s scooping free ice cream for all in attendance.

“This is not only a victory for the people of Vermont, it’s a victory for the millions of Americans who are demanding the right to know what’s in their food,” said VPIRG Consumer Protection Advocate Falko Schilling. “Today affirms that when the people stand up and speak with one voice meaningful change can happen.”

Full story here... (vtrighttoknowgmos.org)

The more research is released, the more legalization makes sense.

Back in the 1930s, the arguments to criminalize cannabis were bizarre and openly racist. The anti-pot crusader Harry Anslinger made all sorts of over-the-top claims, such as, “Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters.”

Nowadays more than 100 million Americans say they’ve smoke pot, millions use cannabis regularly to treat illnesses and it is as legal as alcohol in two U.S. states. However, it remains illegal under federal law largely due to scare tactics ingrained in our society, which date back even prior to Anslinger.

Today, pot legalization opponents try a little harder to sound reasonable, but their claims don’t do much better than Anslinger’s under scrutiny. Recent studies have picked apart the justifications for criminalizing marijuana. Here are five of the most popular arguments against cannabis legalization that are easily undermined by objective data.

Read the full article... (wakingtimes.com)

The idea of God is an attempt by mind and ego to avoid connecting with the authentic self and the true nature of existence.

The mind and imagination have created all manner of fictitious imagery in an attempt to satisfy the loneliness of the mind and ego as they attempt to fulfill themselves.

The reason why spirituality does not fulfill is because a belief does not reach into the core of existence to reveal the essence of our true nature. Beliefs are like toys in a child’s sandbox. They imitate the real, but are not real.

It is a fruitless quest to seek God, until we have found the true nature of God within us.

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http://knowingwhispers.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-obstacle.html

Let me start by saying that nobody knows the facts about Jesus, because we were not alive, so absolutely everything we believe is based strictly off what we are taught by our parents or churches. To blindly believe everything we hear is like playing the game telephone and defensively and forcefully saying it's impossible the message had changed by the end, even though it's impossible to know what the original message was. That being said, here is what I think about Jesus.

Jesus was a human being. He did not walk on water, change water into wine, miraculously heal people, etc. He was a great person. He was kind, generous, loving, compassionate, and people during that time spoke highly of him for that. The church made up the fact that Jesus did all these things for one reason: control. The catholic church is a sick, disgusting, power-hungry, corrupt organization, and to blindly follow everything said by an organization who money launders millions of dollars, rapes little boys, etc. is a pretty ignorant thing to do. The church from what I see says this: "Be like Jesus, even though it's impossible because he walked on water, etc." But what if Jesus was just a humanitarian? Someone who put others before himself, someone who did not want followers but co-creators. Then we actually could be like Jesus, which scares people from what I have seen. But instead people get defensive and try to force their beliefs on others, but guess what? I doubt that is what Jesus would do. Jesus would let you believe whatever you want, be whoever you want, and love you for it. He did not force his beliefs upon others, he treated everyone with kindness regardless of race, social status, amount of money, etc.

Internet libertarians calling for the equal treatment of all Internet data have camped out in front of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, D.C., saying they won’t quit their Occupy-style protest until the regulator stands up for Net neutrality.

About 15 people stood outside the FCC’s headquarters on Wednesday afternoon in a protest organized by the two groups, Fight for the Future and Popular Resistance. Five of the demonstrators said they were determined to set up camp overnight and stick around until May 15, when the commission is set to unveil proposed new Net neutrality rules — or perhaps longer, if the new rules don’t meet their expectations.

Margaret Flowers of Popular Resistance says members of the protest — officially called “Camp Out to Save Net Neutrality” or “People’s Firewall FCC Camp” and unofficially as “Occupy FCC” — are in it for the long haul, bringing sleeping bags and signs and engaging in chants, such as “Hey, hey, FCC, the Internet must be free” and “FCC, drop the barrier, make the Internet a common carrier.”

Read more: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/7/fcc-occupy-neutrality.html

Often what we see as out of place or unwanted, God sees as beautiful and good! Who or what is the weed in your life?

The weeds in my life are often people that press my ego’s buttons! They annoy me, insult me, or hurt me! I feel like they are ruining the beauty of my life’s lawn… I want to pluck them right out and toss them in a bag to the curb!

Yet… these weeds are often people God has placed in my path for a reason. He wants me to learn tolerance, forgiveness, humbleness and… to learn to see the lovability of others as He sees what’s lovable in me!

Often it’s just a matter of perspective… stepping back and looking at the beauty in the big picture. It’s a matter of understanding that sometimes our biggest blessings are flowers that look like weeds. We can finally see their beauty if we let go of our earthly perspective and take a look through the eyes of God.

❤️Ann ‘Not Just A Blonde’

http://notjustablonde.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/god-see-flowers-when-we-see-weeds/

(NaturalSociety) Millions will be encouraged to dump Monsanto stock this coming Friday, May 9^th, to give a clear message to the biotech industry that we don’t support them at all. With rallies planned across the country, as well as picketing to bring attention to companies like Fidelity that owsn huge amount of Monsanto stock, activists everywhere will bring the poisoning, monopolizing Monsanto, and its supporters to their knees.

Monsanto completely dominates the world seed market – for now. More than 282 million acres are currently planted with Monsanto’s vile GMO soy and corn. Over 40% of US croplands are planted with this atrocious non-food, garbage. It’s simply time to cut off Monsanto’s allowance.