Having just found Garden Smart and Great Lakes Gardening on my PBS channels, I feel like I am doing GOOD!! We have had Victory Garden consistantly on Saturdays, except for their pledge breaks. I do enjoy seeing the many different things presented. Both the new shows also show different gardens and cover topics of interest. Today I learned about Ginko trees, more than I had ever considered one tree doing! Learned how weeds help or hinder gardeners, ways to control them better, with a speaker right from the MSU garden dept. Also saw and learned how to trim, freehand, to get spirals on bushes for planting interest. Garden Smart showed us an Herb garden with a VERY knowledgable person explaining their methods of reproduction, trimming and growth to keep the garden producing well for the resturaunt that uses the food and herb products. The chef gave recipes for 3 herbs infused and uses of the herbs in syrup. Covered a lot of herb ground in many areas. QUITE worthwhile I think. Last week they covered green roofs in downtown Chicago, part of the City planning by the Mayor. Integrated a lot of areas in city, like retraining workers in landscape work, using the gardens for parks, cost saving on buildings owned by the city. Reducing roof heat in those buildings and city overall. REALLY great stuff. I know there was some writeup about Ford Company using a green roof in Detroit area on buildings. Hope some more cities take up the ideas. Everyone watching programs seems to have such different ideas of what is interesting. I have read this topic several times here. There are only so many ways to plant seeds or new plants. New tools don't come along that often. Getting really specific on bed layouts, plants to use, may not be helpful on other growing locations. Can't please everyone. Visiting other big gardens with paid help can be discouraging to others. I watch whatever I can catch, usually pick up some kind of tip or idea. These 3 are all done pretty nicely, very enjoyable to me. You don't have to love the host, just take in the free information they give away! Run with the ideas to use in your own gardens. Something is better than nothing. We don't get cable, so none of that is available to me. I LIKE my PBS stations!

nanny. The loon can probably defend her egg pretty well from a muskrat. I have read/heard somewhere that they will jab you and can cause a pretty nasty injury from that pointed beak and you should never approach one, especially one that may be defending a nest. I found a sick loon on shore of a lake a few years ago. Its body is about the size of a Canadian goose so it's probably pretty strong. I just wish they would stay closer to the nest to keep those nasty muskrats away, they probably would eat the egg. As soon as she finishes laying the batch of eggs they will not hardly leave the nest.

Someone on Hot Topics has posted a video of Sasha Baron Cohen accepting an award from the Anti-Defamation League. It's worth looking up. Cohen makes the point that lies and hatred are being spread far and wide by Facebook and Google -- unchecked -- as some sort of 'entertainment'. I agree with him that these for profit companies should be held to the same regulations as newspapers, broadcasters, magazines, movies, etc. NOT to disseminate fake news and foment hate. "Free Speech" has bounds. Journalism slid into this when it began presuming that *everything* has 'two sides'. No, not everything is 'debatable'. Facts do not have 'alternative meanings'. A pound IS 16 ounces, not some alternative number. Regarding this thread, President Trump DID withhold aid to Ukraine while demanding that Ukraine announce an investigation that he could use to smear his political rival. It is not "OK" to so abuse the office of the President, nor to use taxpayer money for personal profit.

I really did not realize the scope of this happening. Not that I am surprised. Another issue that seems to be a bit obscure, but on a different subject, is the issue of predatory patents. I had no idea! This is just as predatory, and maybe even more predatory than what was portrayed in this movie. It is a deep and muddy bucket, but what happens is that a patent if applied for and granted for something that we all assume is just common. Then, these shell companies are established to exploit and file suits against individuals and business out of the clear blue for not paying a fee for something that was considered to be common. One example is that someone applied for a patent on how to use a telephone. That patent was granted and made it possible to exploit money from unsuspecting people. I know it sounds impossible, but it is not. That is an extreme example, but I have determined that I have seen enough evidence to conclude that it happened. Not only are people applying for patents for everyday things, but there all shell companies set up to sue and never be held accountable. For some reason, the hot bed of this had been in east Texas. It is said that it was the result of local judges being paid off. That is much like the story in the movie. There are several greedy hands in the cookie jars. I saw a documentary about this, on Netflix, I think. It was a couple of years ago. I read this morning that, as those on the lower economic scale are struggling to stay afloat in this troubled year, those at the top are sucking in the profits. I am not surprised at this, are you? It is the old adage about the richer getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Now, there is a bit of universal wisdom, and let us hope that no one can take a patent on it.