Thanks, I'd Rather Make My Own

As consumers, we have choices.

And on the hot days ahead, many of us will dream of a tall ice-cold parch-quenching fruity drink. Some are content to pop the top on a diabolical concoction of fructose, citric acid, maltodextrin, yellow #5, calcium fumarate and other mystery additives that some concoctor somewhere dehydrates, rehydrolizes, evaporates and then reconstitutes. They tell us this koolade is "5% Real Juice" or some such thing and, of course, that makes it good for us. And there are those who are content to believe these concoctors.

Then there are those of us whom prefer to hit the local green market to methodically select a dozen or so plump Meyer lemons, tenderly pressing each to find the perfect blend of fullness and give that hints at the sunny bounty within, a juice with subtle sweetness that requires little more sugar and has just enough pucker to tickle the driest tongue. We prefer to squeeze that juice ourselves, pour it over ice in a tall glass pitcher, perhaps adding a bit of bubbly seltzer or a sprig of mint to tease the throat on the way down. We listen to the ice cubes tink and tankle in the pitcher as we stir and pour the lemonade, real lemonade, our lemonade, into a chilled tall tumbler. True and pure satisfaction, because we know it's real and from the source.

As consumers of information, we also have choices.

Some of us simply rely on others to locate, analyze, interpret and filter the news and information we choose to digest. There are those willing to forego analysis and thought for the convenience of having someone else do the heavy lifting for them. “Don’t tell me what it actually says, tell me what you think it says, that way I don’t have to waste my time figuring out what I think it says.” They then make assumptions, express opinions, form committees and even seek retribution, all based upon the dehydrated, rehydrolized, evaporated and reconstituted informational koolade prepared and passed on to them by someone else. “Hell, it must be real, Cupcake! It says so right here on the label!” Or on the front page. Or in a letter to the editor. Or on a clipboard in a recall petition.

But for those of you interested enough to actually read and analyze source information and then decide for yourself what that information means to you – if you want to choose your own Meyer lemons and make your own lemonade – this blog will continue to try its best to provide access to that information. We cannot and will not force you to think. But we can try to give you the tools to do so.


Making real lemonade takes time and methodical effort. And so does arriving at the truth.

In the column above and to the right is a list of links to various source documents available to date. We will update the list as information is received.

Have at it.

Bill Yanger