‘Incarceration Creations’ teaches readers how to make meals using ‘ingredients’ found in vending machines
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah – Dan & Lynn Dohner’s “Incarceration Creations: Recipes From the Big House” (published by Lulu) takes a lighthearted look at the creative culinary skills and ingenuity of prison inmates. It is a collection of various anonymous prisoner-created recipes made without access to culinary supplies or a traditional kitchen.
Outside of curiosity, the book offers some practical use: Readers can learn how to create tasty treats, midnight snacks or a meal using ingredients commonly found in minute markets, vending machines or the workplace food stash. “It is in essence, a guide to recipes made from junk food,” explain the authors.
The book features a play on a variety of cuisines, including “Something’s Fishy,” and pair each section with a humorous illustration.
The introduction from “Incarceration Creations”:
Chances are pretty good that you know or are related to someone that is or has been incarcerated. The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its population than any other country in the world.
If all of the U.S. prisoners lived in one city, the population would be a little larger than the population of Houston, Texas and a little smaller than the population of Chicago, Illinois.
From a state population perspective, the population of the U.S. prison system exceeds that of Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming combined.
More than 2.2 million people live in U.S. prisons. Wow! That’s a lot of people.
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The long-awaited trial for Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, and six other militants who led the 40-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge begins on Wednesday in Portland, Oregon. The trial will bring some closure to the central Oregon town of Burns where the armed occupiers disrupted daily life and terrorized residents.
During the trial, we expect that the Bundy family and their outlandish opinions on American democracy will be on full display. What shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle is that Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, and their father Cliven (who will stand trial in February 2017 for leading a separate armed standoff with government employees) have become primary players in a floundering political effort to seize public lands owned by all Americans.
As the trial unfolds over the coming weeks, here are four facts to keep in mind:
The Bundy family and followers are motivated by a fundamental misunderstanding of the Constitution and American public lands
The Bundy militants are supported by elected officials who share their goals of seizing public lands from the American people
Anti–public lands activists have endangered public employees through direct threats and dangerous rhetoric
The Bundy family and their followers do not speak for the large majority of Westerners
Read on to learn what the Bundy trial means for America’s public lands.
The Bundys do not think public lands or the American government exist. As Cliven Bundy explained in 2014: “I don’t recognize the United States government as even existing.” His son, Ammon, told a reporter during the early days of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation that "we're out here because the people have been abused long enough, really. Their lands and their resources have been taken from them.”
Of course, the U.S. government does exist and there is a long, well-documented history of public lands in the United States, and a strong legal foundation for their existence. In fact, the Supreme Court ruled in 1840 that the U.S. government’s authority over public lands was “without limitation.” Upon entering the Union, nearly every Western state agreed to “Enabling Acts,” which clearly state that the right and title to U.S. public lands would remain with all Americans. For example, the Nevada enabling act reads:
“That the people inhabiting said territory do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States…”
There has been a political effort in recent years—led by Utah State Representative Ken Ivory—to force the U.S. government to dispose of public lands, including wildlife refuges, national forests, and national monuments into state and private hands. Rep. Ivory also founded the American Lands Council, which advocates on behalf of Ivory’s political agenda. In explaining the effort, Ken Ivory has said:
“...We are in the Second Great Revolution, and it’s a revolution of ideologies. But the battle is not being fought with bombs and with bullets. It’s being fought with delta smelt. It’s being fought with sage grouse… It’s being fought with trees.”
The Bundys are the most prominent foot soldiers in Ivory’s “revolution.” The Utah state representative has worked to build inroads with anti-government and extremist groups. Ivory appears with influencers in the right-wing echo chamber, such as on Glenn Beck’s “The Blaze,” David Barton’s “Wall Builders,” and Alex Jones’ conspiracy theory talk radio show. Rep. Ivory has also met with groups like Montana’s Sanders Natural Resources Council, an organization which has been directly linked to the Militia of Montana.
Ammon Bundy and his attorneys are certainly listening. They evoked Rep. Ivory and the state of Utah in a motion to dismiss the case against Bundy, arguing that the courts must resolve whether public lands are constitutional before prosecuting him.
Rep. Ivory has also gained traction with conservative Republicans. The 2016 Republican Party Platform calls for disposing of U.S. public lands. And some members of Congress have introduced legislation to fulfil the goals of the Bundy family and Rep. Ivory. For example, in July U.S. Representatives Paul Gosar (AZ), Scott Tipton (CO), Mark Amodei (NV), and others introduce the HEARD Act, with the aim of privatizing hundreds of thousands of acres of American public lands.
The occupations at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the Bundy Ranch are just two of multiple incidents across the West where armed extremists targeted public lands and public employees. In April 2015 militants occupied the Sugar Pine Mine in southern Oregon and in August 2015 militia groups occupied Montana’s White Hope Mine. In both incidents, militants armed with assault rifles threatened land managers who were doing their jobs as public employees.
More recently, a Utah man made news for trying to detonate a pipe bomb in a remote BLM cabin. William Keebler, who was arrested by undercover FBI agents, was the leader of a citizen militia group and associated with at least one member of the occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, LaVoy Finicum, who lost his life trying to pull a weapon on arresting officers.
A coalition of retired land managers laid out the troubling, albeit all too common problem in a letter to Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva in advance of a congressional forum on anti-government extremism and public lands. The former public servants wrote:
“Unfortunately, there has been a long history of violence against federal employees over the past few decades… Some employees may not even feel safe sitting at their desks in federal office buildings due to actions of anti-government extremists.”
Poll after poll shows that most people who live in the West do not want to see public lands disposed of. According to public opinion research conducted earlier this year by bipartisan pollsters, a strong majority of Westerners (60 percent) are against selling public lands to reduce the budget deficit; only 26 percent of Westerners are in favor of land sales. Similarly, 58 percent of Western voters are opposed to giving states control over U.S. public lands like national forests and wildlife refuges.
The Bundy family’s tactics were always destined to fail, both in the legal arena and the arena of public opinion, but the more mainstream political efforts are also floundering. Utah Representative Ken Ivory has lost clout in recent months as a series of stories raised ethical concerns about the lawmaker, who has continued to blur the lines between elected official and advocate while financially benefiting from the issue.
At the same time, legislative attempts to seize public lands are failing to gain traction. In fact, only one out of 16 public land seizure bills passed in Western legislatures outside Utah during 2016. These policy ideas have been effectively restricted to the state of Utah, which remains the only Western state actively working to takeover American-owned lands.
This is all good news. The sooner we move beyond misguided policy proposals on public lands, the sooner we can get to work developing solutions that energize rural economies, ensure public access to public lands, and make sure public lands policy protects land, water, and resources, while providing an economic engine to the West.
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USDA Announces Availability of Additional Farm Loan Funding
Reminds Lenders and Potential Borrowers of Small Business Administration Option
WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini today announced that additional funding will be made available to assist more than 1,900 approved applicants who are awaiting farm operating loans. The funds, which were reprogrammed by FSA with the approval of Congress, will leverage up to $185 million in additional lending for direct and guaranteed farm operation loans and will allow the agency to address up to 30 percent of its projected shortfall of funds until the next federal fiscal year resumes on Oct. 1.
“Some of our farming and ranching customers are experiencing challenges due to market conditions and have been on a wait list for up to 60 days, so this will help those applicants whose paperwork has been pending the longest period of time to obtain credit or restructure loans as needed,” said Dolcini. “While the backlog in loan applications will grow between now and the end of the fiscal year, it is important for borrowers to continue to apply since we will process loans on a first-come-first-served basis based on the application date, once funding is replenished in fiscal year 2017.”
FSA loan funds have been in higher demand than in past years. As a result, funding for FSA’s farm operating loans has been unable to meet the demand for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, 2016. In fiscal year 2016, FSA has guaranteed loans to more than 6,400 customers for farm ownership and operating purposes.
USDA also reminded lenders and potential borrowers of the loan guarantee programs available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) that can be used for similar purposes as FSA guaranteed loans. Some lenders work with both FSA and SBA on loan guarantees and can switch between the programs. This ability to switch between programs means the SBA programs can provide a financing alternative for agricultural producers when their lender is unable to close an FSA guaranteed loan, such as when funds have expended for the fiscal year.
“SBA fully supports our small business owners in the agriculture industry. For this fiscal year, as of July, more than $629 million in SBA loans have been provided to this community. We encourage agricultural small business owners and their lenders to look at all SBA has to offer,” said SBA Associate Administrator for Capital Access, Ann Marie Mehlum.
“Although SBA has different rates, terms, fees, limits and percentages than FSA loans, they can provide an alternative for banks and other lenders that are working to provide farmers and ranchers with guaranteed loans,” said Dolcini. The following chart provides more details:
Farm Service Agency
Small Business Administration
General Small Business Loan Program - 7(a)
Maximum Loan Amount
$1,399,000
$5,000,000
Percent Guarantee
90%
85% for loans of $150,000 or less
75% for loans greater than $150,000
Guarantee Fee (charged on guaranteed portion only)
1.5%
No fee on loans of $150,000 or less – (maturity greater than 1 year)
3% for loans of $150,001 to $700,000
3.5% for loans over $700,000
3.75% for loans over $1,000,000
Ongoing fee of 0.473%
Maximum Terms
Operating Loans – 7 years
Real Estate Loans – 40 years
Operating Loans – 10 years
Real Estate Loans – 25 years
Lenders may still submit guaranteed loan applications to FSA at any time for review and approval subject to the availability of funding. Approved requests will be funded on a first-come-first-served basis when additional funds become available.
More information about SBA loan programs can be found at www.sba.gov/loans. To learn more about USDA farm loans, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/farmloansor contact a local USDA office. To find the nearest USDA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
Since 2009, USDA has worked to strengthen and support American agriculture, an industry that supports one in 11 American jobs, provides American consumers with more than 80 percent of the food we consume, ensures that Americans spend less of their paychecks at the grocery store than most people in other countries and supports markets for homegrown renewable energy and materials. USDA has also provided $5.6 billion in disaster relief to farmers and ranchers, expanded risk management tools with products like Whole Farm Revenue Protection and helped farm businesses grow with $36 billion in farm credit. The Department has engaged its resources to support a strong next generation of farmers and ranchers by improving access to land and capital, building new markets and market opportunities and extending new conservation opportunities. USDA has developed new markets for rural-made products, including more than 2,500 biobased products through USDA's BioPreferred program, and invested $64 billion in infrastructure and community facilities to help improve the quality of life in rural America. For more information, visitwww.usda.gov/results.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay),
(866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
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Clark Planetarium to Temporarily Close for Construction Project
Temporary closure begins the home stretch of yearlong renovation project
Salt Lake City, UT – Clark Planetarium is in the midst of a major, scientific “face lift” that will provide the public with access to expanded, modernized, and interactive exhibits. As a part of this, the Planetarium will undergo major interior construction in September. For two weeks, from September 6th to September 16th, Clark Planetarium will temporarily close to the public while structural and electrical components for the new exhibits are installed.
The two-week closure begins the home stretch of the year-long exhibits renovation project, set to unveil to the public during the Planetarium’s “Ready Set Re-Launch” party on Saturday, October 22nd, 2016. Once completed, the new exhibits program will feature dozens of new astronomy and space science exhibits on all three levels of the Planetarium’s public spaces. The exhibits will emphasize interactive, inquiry-based learning experiences.
Planetarium staff are working hard to ensure that the public still receives excellent customer service and educational programming during the closure. Seth Jarvis, Director of Clark Planetarium, said, “Although our building will be closed for two weeks, we will provide appearances at community events and we will be play testing some of our new exhibits that you haven't seen before at multiple branches of the Salt Lake City Public Library.”
Clark Planetarium will be completely closed to the public from Tuesday, September 6th through Friday, September 16th, 2016. The Planetarium plans to reopen for normal business hours at 10:30am on Saturday, September 17th, 2016. After the closure, many of the exhibit halls will remain closed off to the public as the final components of new exhibits are added to ready the Planetarium for its official re-launch on October 22nd.
About Clark Planetarium
Clark Planetarium’s mission is to create and present stimulating educational programs that effectively share astronomy and space exploration information with Salt Lake County residents, Utah students, educators and families, and visitors from around the country and the world. For more information visit www.clarkplanetarium.org or follow Clark Planetarium on Twitter or Facebook.
