It is about Islam!

It is all about Islam! Deny as you may, but the truth will not go away.
At the extreme end of Islam, we have ISIS who kidnaps, tortures, decapitates, and kills any who do not believe their view of the Koran. Followers even go to the ultimate in suicide attacks on “infidels”. No one in the Western world believes this religion as proclaimed by ISIS is anything but crude, barbaric, Medieval, and a throw back to the worst of humanity. ISIS wants to conquer the world to establish the Caliphate they claim is God’s will.
At the more “moderate” end of Islam dominated countries, we see societies where women are treated as chattel or worse. We see societies where sex slavery is common. We see societies where stoning to death for alleged religious offenses is carried out. We see societies where chopping off of hands is considered suitable punishment for some offenses. We see societies where women are to be totally covered and are not allowed out of the house without accompaniment by a male. We see societies were women are not allowed to drive a car or exercise independence in a variety of ways.  We see societies where Sharia law is the law of the land. And this, supposedly, is Islam at its most modern.
My conclusion is that most of Islam is not compatible with the United States Constitution even in its most moderate incarnation let alone that of the ISIS barbarians. Take a look at communities where Islam is practiced by the majority of residents; even in the United States.
We are at the point in the United States where radical Islamic terrorists want to kill as many innocent but “infidel” people as they can as often as they can. They will sneak in the front door, back door, side door and recruit home grown terrorists whenever possible. This is where the attention of national security institutions are focused. They will never be able to stop it all. More terrorism and death will happen. It cannot be completely stopped.
What is not recognized is culture creep. As the population of Islam believing people increases in the United States, so does the influence of the belief system they practice become entrenched. There are already many Muslims who prefer Sharia law in the United States over the Constitution. They openly say so. We see women treated as second class citizens in Muslim dominated communities in spite of US laws. What we don’t see is public outrage in the American Muslim community about the atrocities in the Middle East nor open, strong, and clear support of the United States Constitution.
For now, there should be a moratorium on immigration of any from Islam dominated countries until we have a national debate on what is happening and what direction we want the United States to take. If we let influence of fundamental Islam into our way of life, the road is backwards and dangerous. If you want to see this in action, just take a look at what has happened in Europe. They are in deep trouble. And do you wonder why about every picture we see of “refuges” is overwhelmingly dominated by military age males. Women and children are a small minority. And do you ever wonder why every picture of the inside of a mosque shows only men present. Where are women and children or is it only men who count.
We are in a religious war, like it or not. And we have a President who is a closet Muslim or at least a sympathizer. After all, he was brought up in earlier years as a Muslim, then spent years listening to the teachings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a twisted “Christian” minister who has little or no use for the United States or its Constitution.
We must wake up if the Unites States of America is to survive. We are a country of laws, the first and ultimate being the Constitution. Most of Islam is diametrically opposed to all the Constitution stands for.

Van wreck and poverty

There was a column in the September 30th Kokomo Tribune written by Jon Webb of the Evansville Courier & Press. It was the story of 22 immigrants in a 1994 Dodge 16-passenger van who were traveling from Washington, IN, to a temporary employment center some miles away. The van was in very poor state of repair including bald tires. A tire blew. The van crashed killing two and injuring all others aboard. Jon’s column is the story of poverty and what it does to people who are desperate. I wrote to Jon……..
“Jon… thank you for your column about the 22 people in the van. Personally, I believe there to be no excuse for any in the United States to go hungry or not have a proper place to lay their head at night….. or for that matter not to be able to find a job that pays a living wage. That might sound strange from a life long Republican given the crop of do-nothing “Republicans” in Congress now; particularly the extreme religious right wing variety.
We send billions to other countries when not taking care of our own. We send millions of jobs overseas that once were the economic engine for our country. We poke our nose militarily into places or conflicts that pose no threat to the USA. And we are on the way to economic catastrophe with spending out of control.
Then there is immigration. You mention that the 22 in the van mostly were Haitian immigrants. The thought that immediately flashed into mind was whether they were in the USA legally or illegally…. not that that would make any difference as to the tragedy that befell them. Then thoughts wandered to what is happening in Europe with the mass migration of people from the Middle East and Africa and what, clearly, is the case with our own southern border. It all ties together.
I think unless we have the will to take bold action, this country will be in deep trouble…. already is. Our political class has sold us down the river for their own personal gain. I find that I have become a fan of one who once was a politician, Pat Buchanan. He was a proponent of “fortress America”….  America first. First with a healthy America; then reaching out into the world. We are not healthy. Again, I find it appalling that any in the USA are hungry or without shelter. Shame on us. “

GMO labeling — again!

In a Tribune “Sound Off” letter on September 24, the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Growers Association came out as strong advocates of HR 1599 (now in the Senate), the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act”. It is anything but that. These groups repeated almost word for word the message by the Indiana Farm Bureau in the Tribune on August 14. The message could well have been crafted by the same public relations department of any of several large chemical/seed companies, processed food producers or corporate agriculture. The message is misleading at best and lies at worst
They claim the World Health Organization, American Medical Association, the National Academy of Sciences and over 2,000 peer-reviewed studies, have concluded that “genetically modified foods are safe for human consumption”. They have done no such thing. There have been no long term human health studies conducted by independent researchers. Studies with research animals, mostly in other countries, have shown results for concern.
The Soybean Alliance and the Corn Growers go on to talk about the altering of crops and livestock over thousands of years in an attempt to lull us into the belief genetic engineering is no different than improvement by selection of the best plants or by hybridization. I assure you genetic engineering is nothing like either of these. Neither selection nor hybridization violates biological barriers that have existed since the origin of life. There is risk in doing that.
Then, pesticides. I challenge you to look at the use of the primary pesticide used on genetically engineered crops: glyphosate (commonly, Roundup). They claim pesticide use is down when it has skyrocketed. The World Health Organization has declared glyphosate to be a carcinogen (causes cancer). We spray that chemical all over the place on corn, soy beans, and more. In the near future, we are to be blessed with crops that can withstand 2,4,D and dicamba; even more toxic chemicals that follow the crop to the dinner table. A primary component of Agent Orange was 2,4,D. We know what that did to thousands of veterans.
The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act would void all action taken by any state to require labeling. It puts all authority into the hands of the Federal Drug Administration that has failed us already. To our detriment, decisions about genetically engineered crops and foods have been made by political appointees rather than FDA scientists. No food currently on the market would be required to be labeled. Labeling is required in 64 other countries, so it can be done. And there does not have to be a patchwork of food labeling laws. What is needed is for the federal government to require labeling of GMOs uniformly across the United States. It is the right of people to know what is in food and how it is produced. Secrecy is not the answer.
It is not the anti-GMO groups that are waging a misinformation campaign. It is big chemical/seed, corporate agriculture, and large food processors. Those that till the land will someday come to realize that.

Pathetic SAT Scores

Last week, the Tribune reported only 38.3 percent of Indiana’s Class of 2015 met college and career readiness benchmarks set by SAT. Further, they reported local educators say there are other factors besides SAT test scores that predict students’ post-secondary (that’s after high school) success. Nice try, but no prize.
There is only one word to describe Indiana student performance on the SAT and that is, “PATHETIC”. The responsibility for this horrible performance must rest at the feet of the teachers and administrators of our Indiana education system. Personally, I believe they have lost focus. The result is students are not ready for college or technical schools. Remedial classes, sometimes for no credit and always at some cost to the student, are required to get students ready for even introductory college level studies.
Why aren’t students prepared with math, language, and science skills? Maybe there has been too much time, money, and energy spent on things other than academics. Things like building new buildings and establishing “International Schools”. Things like huge, elaborate athletic complexes and untold hours practicing band and sports skills.
And, maybe, there are not enough hours in the classroom learning. I see students being dropped off of buses at 2:30 in the afternoon. Seems awfully early to me. I observe many school vacations during the year and months off in the summer. It appears that there are some students that spend way too many hours riding a bus rather than in class.
The result of the lack of success of students on SAT testing is that the can is kicked down the road. Universities and Trade Schools have to pick up the slack. Our high schools can say, “Oh, well. We tried”. This is unacceptable. This incredible near collapse of education is what has fueled the fires for Charter schools, other private schools, and home schooling. Those are not the answer. The answer is to take steps to cut away the chaff and bring focus back to the old “reading, writing, and arithmetic” of days gone by, then throw in science to top it off.
It is no wonder that many industries want to promote additional immigration of highly educated, highly skilled people. Our early education system is failing to produce enough graduates that go on to excel at the university level. Local educators can dance around all over the place, but the game of musical chairs stops with them still standing.

The DARK Act coming

[What is written below is a response to a column in the Kokomo Tribune written by Isabella Chism, second vice president of the Indiana Farm Bureau. Her column was also published as a reader letter in the Kokomo Perspective.]
Isabella Chism’s column in the August 14th Kokomo Tribune about GMOs and advocating passage by the United States Senate (Act already passed the House of Representatives) of HR 1599 concerning GMOs was certainly interesting. The only problem is that it was chocked full of false or misleading information.
The Act she references is titled, “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act”. It is anything but that. The only parties benefiting from this legislation are the giant food processing corporations and the giant chemical/seed corporations; the very ones I do not trust to have the public’s interest and health at heart. Bottom line profit dollars drive them.
Let me explain. This Act silences any legislation passed by states regarding the labeling of foods containing ingredients from genetically engineered crops, largely corn and soy beans at present. It puts all authority for labeling into the hands of the federal agency that has already failed the public, the FDA. It was not the scientists in the FDA who failed us; it was the political appointees who overrode the scientists concerns. Under this Act, no food currently on the market would be required to be labeled.
Some 64 countries worldwide require foods containing genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled as containing such. This includes China and Russia and all of the European Union countries and more. The citizens in those countries wanted to know what was in the foods they purchase and feed their families so they can make personal choices. In the United States, the move is to secrecy. Sixty-four other countries cannot be wrong. The USA is one country that is…. at the behest of food, big agriculture, and chemical/seed companies. As a past newspaper publisher, I vehemently object. I hold the strong belief people have the right to know what is in food and how it is produced; no secrets.
Ms. Chism states “we can grow more crops on less land using fewer pesticides and less water and fuel”. This is blatantly false. For example, use of the primary pesticide, glyphosate (typically Roundup) has skyrocketed in recent years. The reason for genetically engineered corn and soy beans in the first place was to enable those crops to withstand massive doses of glyphosate and live while the weeds around them die. That is it. There is no benefit to the consumer who shops at the local grocery store.
The World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer has recently declared glyphosate to be a “probable human carcinogen”. In short, it causes cancer. Residues of this pesticide follow the crops from field to the dinner table. Glyphosate is sprayed everywhere. Wouldn’t you like to know what poison is on your plate?
Glyphosate is becoming less and less effective with the emergence of resistant weeds. What we have to look forward to next are genetically engineered crops able to withstand massive doses of 2,4,D (an Agent Orange component) and dicamba, two even more toxic poisons that will follow food to the dinner table.
Ms. Chism states the FDA, USDA, AMA, National Academy of Sciences, World Health Organization, and dozens of other scientific organizations have confirmed that GMOs are as safe for human consumption as non-GMO products. They have done no such thing. There have been no long term human safety studies conducted by independent scientists. Animal studies, mostly in other countries, have shown cause for significant concern. I already stated the WHO Cancer Agency just recently determined the primary pesticide used on GMOs (genetically engineered crops) causes cancer. The AMA sits the fence. The FDA has been politically manipulated. I could go on.
Ms. Chism writes about grapes, tangelos, broccoli and many other “modified foods” and how she has fed her family with these. She also states farmers have changed the genetic makeup of all crops grown since domestic agriculture began including organic and heirloom seeds. She wants us to believe that today’s genetic engineering of plants and animals is the same as has been going on in agriculture for centuries. Again, blatantly wrong. The technology required to transfer a gene from one organism to another is nothing like that used to select plants with desirable traits, then grow them. It is nothing like what is required to develop plant hybrids. What genetic engineering of plants does is violate biological barriers that have existed for eons in ways that are unpredictable, risky, and reckless. Her grapes, tangelos, and broccoli are not genetically engineered as the term is defined in science or molecular biology today. As one with advanced university degrees from Purdue in both toxicology and genetics, I tell you straight out that this technology is far from precise or outcomes predictable. What is predictable is that there is risk of new allergens, toxins, and disease causing rogue proteins. I think you have a right to know that.
Another reason I find Ms. Chism’s article interesting is that she is the second vice president of the Indiana Farm Bureau. This already is cause for rising of eyebrows. Her article could have been written by the public relations department of any of the giant chemical/seed companies. It is the party line. The problem is that much of that line is false. I recommend to any interested a book written a few years ago called, “Uncertain Peril”, by Claire Hope Cummings. She details the coming of genetic engineering in agriculture, how it happened and what risks are presented in much more detail than I can write here.
Finally, contrary to Ms. Chism’s urgings, I urge Senators Coats and Donnelly vote “NO” on the Senate version of HR 1599. I urge them to support labeling of genetically engineered foods. I urge them to support the public right to know what is in food and how it is produced. No secrets. No lies. If this bill passes Congress, I urge President Obama to veto it.

Into the DARK

The House of Representatives passed the DARK bill (HR 1599) on July 24th, 2015. The legislation passed 275 to 150. All Indiana Representatives voted for the bill but one, Andre Carson. The legislation is now on to the Senate for consideration.gmolaws-small
This legislation in effect blocks all action by any state to require labeling of genetically engineered foods. Further, it negates any actions already taken; Vermont being the prime target. Some 64 countries including China and Russia require labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients. The United States does not.
If you want the full story, I suggest you read the books, “Altered Genes, Twisted Truth” and “Uncertain Peril”. You will be shocked at the manipulation done by the large chemical/seed companies and other biotechnology enterprises including many in the scientific community who protect their paychecks.
This technology is a train wreck waiting to happen. It is not precise as claimed. Consequences are not predictable. No long term safety testing has been done for human health or for environmental health. Once released into the environement, the “gene-ie” is out of the bottle, never to be retrieved.
In agriculture, all that has been done has been in the name of greed and control. We, the people, are the losers.

McCain VS Trump

It is crystal clear there is no love lost between Senator John McCain and Donald Trump. That boiled over this past week.
I think Trump did go over the top with his attack on McCain. McCain is a Viet Nam war “hero” as are all who served in Viet Nam in a war the United States had no business being in. (Where have we heard that lately?) There are thousands who did not come home, hundreds who were prisoners in North Viet Nam, thousands who suffer the consequences of Agent Orange even today, and thousands who continue to battle PTSD. All are heros. They served the United States under political leadership that was worse than flawed. They, as did John McCain, paid the price.
I think the big bone between Trump and McCain is the Presidential campaign of 2008. Trump claims to have donated over one million dollars to the McCain effort. As it turned out, McCain was not up to the task. He was a weak candidate who further weakened his position with the pandering selection of  Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as the GOP Vice Presidential candidate. That did it for me. Palin turned out to be about as close to a dunce as one could imagine. Is it any wonder that Senator Barack Hussein Obama won the election by a landslide after first beating Hillary Clinton out for the candidacy?
So, you may not like Trump’s frankness and barbs, but he does speak his mind in ways there can be no misunderstanding. And, guess what, he leads the polls. That should be telling the establishment GOP types something. The public is fed up with Washington insiders and east coast talking heads. Who knows at this point if Trump will be the candidate of choice, but you can be sure he already has made an impact.

Smoking Something: Highways, Immigrants, and Students

Honest to goodness! There are times when I think our politicians are smoking something.
Two articles on the Opinion page of the July 17th issue of the Tribune caught my attention. The first was one in which Senator Toomey (R) from Pennsylvania and Senator Dan Coats (R) from Indiana proposed linking an encouragement of more immigration of “highly skilled” people to the United States with the need to find money to fund highway maintenance. What? They claim attracting foreign students and others “highly skilled” to remain in or come to the United States would produce more job creation and economic growth thereby providing more tax dollars for highway maintenance. They don’t, however, suggest a mechanism of how that would be tracked. Do they propose an eye in the sky to watch these immigrants or tag them somehow, maybe a tattoo or electronic chip, so that all the taxes they pay or taxes from jobs they create get directly into highway funds? So, no doubt, another government agency would be required to keep track of it all. Ridiculous! This proposal is a total flight of fantasy.
The cost of highway maintenance should be paid by the users of the highways. The current mechanism for funding is mostly gasoline and diesel tax on a per gallon basis. And, yes, users are choosing to purchase more fuel efficient vehicles and, thereby, use fewer gallons of fuel. This does not mean, however, they drive fewer miles on roads. The answer, simply, is to increase the tax per gallon up to the point needed to fund highway maintenance. Sure, there will be a lot of gnashing of teeth, but the problem needs to be addressed head on; not through some cockamamie scheme involving immigrants.
Now to the other article which, ironically, seems to tie right in. It was the editorial by the Tribune Board about education and graduation rates. The article pointed out the pathetic preparation of high school graduates for college level studies. The key sentence in the article said, “…. thousands of its (Indiana) high school students are graduating without the basic math, reading and writing skills needed to succeed in college”. This is no surprise and a problem existing for decades. The finger needs to be pointed at the high schools and nowhere else. Students wanting to prepare for college should not graduate from high school unless they demonstrate preparedness. The can should not be kicked down the road for universities to deal with as it now is. The current system is a recipe for the failure it is. And, guess what, if students were prepared, maybe graduation rates would go up and students would succeed in getting into the “highly skilled” category. No need for “highly skilled” immigrants. We would grow our own.

European Union and Immigration

Europe has its problems. There is a flood of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa. The pressure will continue.
The southeastern border of the European Union is generally marked by Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. Hungary is one nation removed from that border except for a rather short border with Ukraine and another with Serbia. Hungary has announced it will build a fence along its border with Serbia to block illegal entry of migrants. There are already fences on the Franco-Italian border manned now by legions of French police. Greece has tightened its Turkish border and Bulgaria built a fence on its Turkish border. All of this to prevent or slow illegal immigration from the Middle East and Africa.
The countries of the European Union are already heavily burdened by illegal immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. More come daily. They come from war torn areas and because of social, environmental, or economic conditions to seek a better life for themselves and their families…. and from areas with very high birth rates. If the tsunami of people is allowed to continue unabated, Europe will rapidly decline socially and economically. New homes for all would be wonderful, but that is not realistic.
In the United States, we are fortunate to have the natural barrier of thousands of miles of ocean to the east and to the west that do not prevent but do slow the flow of illegal immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere. Still many get through. Our primary problem is the border with Mexico where thousands continue to enter the United States illegally daily. Most illegal aliens that cross our southern border are from Central and South America, but others have made their way from the Eastern Hemisphere to Mexico to gain entry to the United States.
Nobody wants to talk about population numbers. The United States must adopt policies that stabilize human numbers within this country. Absent immigration, the United States and virtually all developed countries, including those in the European Union, would have stable populations. Not so the countries with continuing high birth rates. They have reached max capacity economically, socially, and with available natural resources…. yet continue to grow population numbers. There is no place to go but out. As said, the pressure on developed countries will continue and grow. It remains to be seen whether they will say NO MORE or participate in the race to the bottom.
 

And We Wonder — DDT and Monsanto

[In part from “The Week” of July 3, 1015]
DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, but new research suggests this once ubiquitous insecticide is still causing cancer. Women born in the 1960s to mothers exposed to high levels of DDT while pregnant are nearly four times more likely to develop breast cancer, reports National Geographic. Scientists measured levels of DDT in blood samples taken from mothers of 118 women diagnosed with breast cancer by age 52, and compared them with samples taken from 354 women whose daughters did not get breast cancer. Women exposed to higher DDT levels in the womb were not only more likely to get breast cancer but they were also more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive and deadly forms of the disease……. Shanna Swan, an environmental health scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital said the finding were very troubling. “DDT could be responsible for raising the risk of breast cancer for a whole generation of women”.
And we still wonder if we should trust Monsanto, one of the primary producers of DDT from decades ago. This is the same company that has given us Dioxin, PCBs, 2/4/D, Agent Orange and more. It is the same company that has given us Roundup (glyphosate) that now has been declared a “probable human carcinogen” by the World Health Organization. It is the same company that has given us genetically engineered crops that can live through massive application of pesticide; pesticide whose residues follow the crop to the dinner table.
It does not take a genius to conclude that biocides — chemicals that cause death to organisms — are dangerous and harmful. We are poisoning ourselves and the planet. And who knows the ultimate damage to be done by genetically engineered crops and animals. We play with fire.