The Future of Food

From the 1980s we have see changes in how our food is produced. Nerve gas was modified to make insecticide. Monsanto produced Round Up. We have now genetic engineering. We can now patent plants. The patents spread to animals and now to human beings. Corporations can control every species on earth through patents. Genetic engineering has become rampant. Whoever controls the seeds, will control the food. Monsanto controls the seeds. The best seeds are developed by farmers and not by research.

Farmers should be able to use their seeds. Farmers are now controlled by Monsanto. Patent law controls the farmer. Monsanto controls all of the world’s food through patent law.

Humans are becoming sicker through GM foods. Within the last thirty years we have seen Monsanto control the food production. Genetically engineered foods do not yield more food. These modified foods are sensitive to climate changes.

The safety of technology has not given the consumer enough research to determine the serious problems of these modified foods. E-coli bacteria invade the food DNA. This invasion of the DNA is unpredictable regarding human safety. Are we creating foods that will spread a plague around the world? Genetic engineering does affect human health. Some affects to human health is more serious than other GM foods. The US government does not test many of our GM foods.

European countries require labeling of the foods. Labels can help to focus on those foods that are more serious to human health. Monsanto defies testing of their patented products. Monsanto Round Up insecticide has created more health problems. Under the first Bush no testing was required of genetically engineered products. Justice Clarence Thomas was a lawyer for Monsanto. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of corporations. Americans are used as Guinea pigs with Monsanto products. If Americans are not seriously sick, then some European countries will accept Monsanto’s products to enter their country.

The American government subsidizes corn and corn seeds. These subsidies can help the American farmer sell corn cheaper than the Mexican grown corn. In fact Monsanto’s GM corn has contaminated the Mexican corn.

Should food products be patented for any reason? Why should any food product receive a patent that will affect American farmers and many of these farmers will go out of business? A few larger corporations will profit but the farmers do not receive the profits. Farmers lose money on producing corn. Our government subsidizes our corn. In 2002 Bush II signed the largest GMO rebate in history. Farming has changed in America. The small farmer has lost a sense of community with the other farmers.

Monsanto refuse to be interviewed. America is big on GMO products. Monsanto has infected our food industries. We are losing diversity in doing research because universities will be sued. Universities and people are staying away from fields that require research. Any research findings will be blocked for publication in offering information on the safety of our food.

GM foods will not end hunger. The major problem is not food; it is the accessibility of food. Monsanto seeks to control the world patent on foods. Monsanto will require every nation to pay them a fee to use their patents.

The US government has terminator genes that will kill the seed for next years planting. The US is in the market of killing off food products of other countries. The killing off of certain food products will increase the price on food and the people who cannot buy the food will be starved to death.

Solar energy is important for future foods and its growth. Americans must take the time or make the effort to work for the common good of all the people around the world. Organic farming and foods are healthier for human beings. The consumer must have accurate information. Foods must be properly labeled. The American public must stand up for themselves against corporations and the US government.

Why is it that Americans do not know what they are eating? Americans must refuse to eat the garbage that Monsanto has given us.

Thom Hartmann
Houseboat
Portland, Oregon
March 10, 2010

Dear Mr. Hartmann:

I have a chance to listen to your show from 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM with the Southeastern Michigan audience. Each three hour show has twelve segments. Each hour has four segments – 9, 7, 11, and 7 minutes. I would hope that you might want to present a three hour show on your optimism for America’s future. Maybe every six months or so you could give an up or down assessment regarding your optimism on America’s future.

Thom, you are brilliant, intelligent, informative, knowledgeable and creative. Your creativity has a tendency to blend serious concerns with humor. Humor is important. I do not claim to know as much as you. You have studied and pursued research for your articles and books. I have learned much from your show.

Here are some of my thoughts. Your optimism on America’s future is misplaced and wrong. I am a realist. I am not going to present a dissertation on original research of why you are wrong on your optimism of America’s future. I have commented on my beliefs and readings on America.

I have seen our country for years goose-stepping up the hill and now we are over the top of the hill and we are goose-stepping down the hill on our way to the abyss of hell. While we were goose-stepping up the hill, I said we were the United States of Evil. Since we are now goose-stepping down the hill, I say that we are the United States of Hell.

I see no future for America. We will never lose a war because we have the weaponry to defeat any nation on this planet. The rich and the corporations worship nuclear weapons and pre-emptive wars; they want to use ninety percent of Americans as cannon fodder to fight in our endless wars; and they want to enslave the same ninety percent of Americans to accept crumbs and scraps that the rich and the corporations will hand out to them.

I do not believe America or the United States of Hell has a real future.

Sincerely,

Gerald Socha

Meanwhile, the clownish Eric Massa was on Larry King the other day, and he certainly had the Republican talking points down cold; Massa won election in a district that is solidly Republican, so we can surmise what it takes for a Democrat to win there. I fault King for allowing that conservaDem blowhard to shout over the issue that canned him—the sexual harassment allegations made by a male staffer against him. Frankly, good riddance to him, since we don’t need another de facto Republican, and who by calling himself a Democrat demonstrates his cynical opportunism. The Democratic Party deserves better than to tolerate destructive boll weevils like him. He decried the “culture” of Washington; the problem is, politicians like him are a large part of that problem. Republicans didn’t care what people thought about their use of reconciliation; why do the Democrats have to be hamstrung by the Republican’s and blue dog’s sudden cynical “conversion?” Massa, who found his perfect sobmate in Glenn Beck, ought to find a place on Fox News or a right-wing talk radio show, easy.

Tancredo is frighteningly unaware of his environment. I suggest that anybody who thinks we need to test people because they were all fooled into voting for a "socialist" president knows nothing about education or politics. Barriers to education and politics used to guide civics curriculum; so we got rid of civics classes.

the conservative cry is 2-part: "Cut My Taxes" and "Deport Aliens!"

"Deer Kill 130,000" -headline from leftwingwacko.com

Required reading "Collapse - how societies choose to fail or succeed," by Jared Diamond.

@Gerald Socha re; "Your optimism on America’s future is misplaced and wrong. "

Well, yeah. however, I used to be a radio host, and my attitude of "I feel better since I lost hope" can make people want to stay away from you. what do you have left if you have no hope? Just cynicism, like the old beatnicks and today's goths. Which is better? hope or truth?

"what do you have left if you have no hope?"

Cynicism is quitting. And you can't win by quitting.

A frank recognition that we have real problems is one thing, but throwing your hands up in the air and saying "Give Up!" is another. Despair is the only unforgivable sin, say the theologians, not because God will not forgive, but because the one in despair will not accept forgiveness. I'm sure there's a political equivalent.

Frankly, I LIKE a challenge. Anyone can win an easy contest; the glory is in winning a tough contest.

Here's a test question for Tancredo:

You have enough money to either pay for rent or for your monthly food budget, which do you spend the money on?

Oh wait, that's not a test question, that's just a question an ever increasing American lower class has to answer on a usual basis.

I made the mistake of watching the first 15 minutes of Glenn Beck yesterday. He was railing about Obama issuing an executive order that was going to take away our right to fish. He then spun this into they're taking away our freedoms. This drifted to him eating a pie that has been banned in New York. His datribe was oozing distrust and fear of the government generally and Obama specifically.

As any good Progressive would do, I did a quick search for this ban. What I found was an opinion piece on espn.com about a commission Obama created last year to look a consolidating local, state and federal environmental regulations. The author was stirring up panic that the commission will ban fishing. The panel has not released any recommendation other than Obama passing their future recommendations via executive order.

I expected to see "The governement can have my fishing pole when they pry it from my cold dead hands!" but only found one occurrence. I was pleasantly surprised that the comments to the piece were very articulate discussions. But the tone did change shortly after Beck's ranting.

Charles I had a similar experience with FOX news yesterday. I was watch MSNBC when my two year old climbed up on the couch and across the TV remote. Everything went haywire on the TV. I pushed a couple of buttons and the TV came back on, Bill O'Reilly was spouting off about Tom Hanks, I continued watching figuring that MSNBC (Rachel Maddow I think was what I had been watching at the time) was making a point of how crazy Bill O was being... slowly I realized that the clip was running a bit long, then it dawned on me that it was Fox News and Bill was must be doing his usual craziness. My wife and I laughed about it, remarking that it must be easy to pick any random moment on FOX and assume its a clip showing how nutty they are.

Harry Reid needs to pull Chris Dodd to the side and tell him to stop negotiating with Corker. Why does Dodd think negotiating with a person that has no intention of negotiating in good faith? Negotiations should be before the entire committee so the Dem majority can vote down Corkers proposals.

Appears the filibuster's new name is going to take.

Tarantino - because it kills bills.

Thom - about the Progressive Media Summit --- don't we think liberals should be smart enough to come up with a better name than PMS?

The filibuster doesn't need to change. Harry Reid needs to change how he caves to the threat of a filibuster.

Your theory on the Filibuster is interesting Thom, but why would the Republicans worry about tricking the Democrats into blowing it up. By their calculations they'll be in charge soon enough, and I doubt they'll mind one bit about killing the Filibuster themselves.

@Zero G.: Totally Tubular!

" I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Chairman of the Board of IBM

One meme we should challenge is that if this health care bill goes down we won't have another chance for another 15 years.

We will have another chance when we force the issue. The present status quo is unsustainable.

Why is it that when GOPhers negotiate they ask for two hogs and end up with a whole hog, when Democrats negotiate they ask for half a hog and end up with fatback.

Thom, you are giving the republicans way too much credit. They are not smart enough to "trick" the democrats into killing the filibuster for future republican benefit.
If they do regain power, they will just kill the filibuster by themselves.
They are shameless, and have no problem doing whatever they want, no matter how slimy.
Just like with health reform. They have declared that if they can defeat Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo and it will break his presidency. The said it and they are doing it right out in the open, and they know not enough people care enough to stop them.
They are willing to thow the American people under the bus, as long as it makes Obama look bad and gives them the power.

re: cost of wars: according to Cost of War web-site, its a river of money, to the tune of about $3000 per second, as I calculate it.

@glenn n: If the republicans aren't smart enough, their handlers are.

"It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas." -george w. bush

Thom,

You've got the filibuster issue correct. The republicans WANT us to blow it up. It is our last bastion. We don't need to change it, we just need to elect more democrats. Everywhere, elect more democrats.

Republicans are mean spirited and I am referring to their base. They think they are better than other people and that they have a right to run things. They are self centered and they are WRONG. Their leadership has HISTORICALLY done rotten things under cover of night. It is a historical fact that when they're quiet? They're cooking up some dirty doings. I can't call it mischief when it takes our nation down. Can you?

They have been awfully quiet this year. They're in the dugout working on dirty moves. They will NEVER give up. They have to be destroyed, like all other fascist movements in history.

The republican party is NOT what it's followers THINK it is. A conservative movement that is. THAT is their LABEL. They are NOT conservatives or they would NOT have blown up the economy. They are the ENEMY WITHIN that their constituents are always looking for... and they search our side of the aisle for years looking for commies while fascists are sitting in their own party.

LOOK AT IT FELLOW AMERICANS. I beg of you true Americans who have been sucked into the republican party. This is not about party. It's about America, and keeping it free, keeping it a nation OF the people, instead of a nation that RULES the people.

Please!

The problem with shareholders voting for campaign spending:

1) A large number of small individual shareholders sign over their vote to a proxy that will generally vote with the board.
2) Increasing number of shares are bundled in 401k and other investment tools that are controlled by program managers that would either have to contact all investors or vote on their behalf.

Published on Thursday, March 11, 2010 by The Telegraph/UK http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/11-6
Greek Rioters Clash With Police as 10,000 Protesters Take to the Streets
Protesters clashed with riot police as more than 10,000 people marched through central Athens during a nationwide general strike against the government's harsh new austerity measures.
The strike grounded all flights and brought public transport to a halt. State hospitals were left with emergency staff only and all news broadcasts were suspended as workers walked off the job for 24 hours to protest spending cuts and tax hikes designed to tackle the country's debt crisis.

Protesters march during a 24-hour labour strike in Athens March 11, 2010. Greek public and private sector workers went on strike on Thursday, grounding flights, shutting schools and halting public transport in the second nationwide walkout in a fortnight in protest against austerity plans. Riot police fired tear gas to disperse rock-throwing protesters at one point of the demonstration as more than 10,000 strikers and protesters marched through central Athens, banging drums and chanting slogans such as "no sacrifice for plutocracy," and "real jobs, higher pay." People draped banners from apartment buildings reading: "No more sacrifices, war against war."

******************************************

Americans weren't wusses when I was growing up. I'll be in the streets on 3/20, will you?

Currently religious and non-profit entities receive tax-exempt status on the condition they NOT engage in political campaign activities. This is NOT considered a restraint on their First Amendment free speech laws. If these groups violate this agreement, they lose that perk.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=161131,00.html

Corporations receive numerous benefits such as limited liability protections and tax benefits such as the ability to write off expenses all designed to facilitate commerce.

Why can’t the tax code be changed to make these tax benefits conditional on corporations NOT engaging in political campaign activities?

Technically this would NOT be a restraint on corporate free speech any more than it is with those religious and non-profit organizations.

Corporations, likewise, would remain free to engage in political activities. Only they, too, would be faced with the choice that such involvement would end all of those special benefits in the tax code. Changing IRS code could possibly be done in time to prevent a massive avalanche of corporate money from affecting this year’s election.

More here:

http://reinventing-america.blogspot.com/2010/02/tax-code-and-citizens-un...