I was in the US Navy during the Vietnam Era, when Monsanto
was a favorite of the US military. Their Agent Orange defoliated millions of
acres of lush vegetation to expose the enemy. Agent Orange killed millions of
Vietnamese, the majority of them non -combatants, and left survivors with
generations of deformities and birth defects. Over the decades since, Agent
Orange killed thousands of Americans, too, and caused birth defects in the children of thousands more.
So-called Trade Agreements Threaten Our Nation’s Sovereignty
The Chief of Naval Operations when I was in the US Navy was
Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. He was a a terrific innovator. He put his men, all of
them, first. He introduced changes that made his sailors proud. I was pleased
as punch when he took over that command. As you might imagine, in my role as a
3rd class Petty Officer, we never came in contact. We traveled in different
circles.
Before his appointment to CNO, the Admiral was in charge of
the ‘Brown Navy’, the Swift boats patrolling the rivers and streams of Vietnam.
He was the man who authorized the use of Agent Orange to defoliate the heavy growth on the rivers.
Admiral Zumwalt
was very proud to have his son, Elmo Zumwalt III, follow in his footsteps as an officer
in the US Navy. The young Lieutenant Junior Grade was assigned at his own request to be an officer in charge of a swift boat crew.
I can only imagine the pain Admiral Zumwalt felt every day years later, as
he walked with his son through over three years of treatments for the cancer
brought on by exposure to Agent Orange. The father and son published an article
titled Agent Orange and the Anguish of an American Family (http://academics.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/Vietnam/Readings/zumwalt.htm) I offer for
your consideration this excerpt:
““Admiral: “ I thought one way to save American lives was to
destroy much of the foliage along the river banks. This would force the enemy
back and make it much more difficult for its forces to ambush our patrol boats.
We checked with the Army and Air Force about the possible injurious effects on
humans of Agent Orange, which had been used in other defoliation efforts. We
were told there were none.
“You trust those things, and I ordered the spraying of Agent
Organge. Our patrol boat casualties dropped significantly as more and more of
the chemical was used.””
Elmo Zumwalt III passed away at age 42. The New York times
published a notice on August 14, 1988. Here is a portion of that notice:
“Elmo R. Zumwalt 3d, 42, Is Dead; Father Ordered Agent Orange
Use
“Elmo R. Zumwalt 3d, son of the admiral who ordered the
spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam, and who was exposed to the defoliant
himself, died of cancer today at his home. He was 42 years old.
“The younger Mr. Zumwalt, a lawyer, said he never blamed his
father for his disease. The two co-wrote a book titled ''My Father, My Son,''
published by Macmillan Publishing Company in 1986. It was made into a
television movie with the same title.
“Cancers and Child's Dysfunction
“The younger Mr. Zumwalt was diagnosed in January 1983 as
having lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. In February 1985, during his
ninth biopsy, physicians discovered he also had Hodgkin's disease, another form
of lymphoma marked by the inflammation of lymphoid tissues, especially the
spleen.
“Agent Orange contains highly toxic dioxin. Vietnam veterans
contend that exposure to the defoliant causes cancer and other illnesses. They
said it caused miscarriages by wives of servicemen and birth defects in their
children.
“The younger Mr. Zumwalt's son, Elmo Russell Zumwalt 4th, who
is 11 years old, suffers from a congenital dysfunction that confuses his
physical senses.
“Love and Admiration for Dad
““In an article published in The New York Times Magazine on
Aug. 24, 1986, the younger Mr. Zumwalt said: ''I am a lawyer and I don't
think I could prove in court, by the weight of the existing scientific
evidence, that Agent Orange is the cause of all the medical problems - nervous
disorders, cancer and skin problems - reported by Vietnam veterans, or of their
children's severe birth defects. But I am convinced that it is.””
Most of us from the Vietnam era know our own soldiers and
sailors were exposed to and poisoned by Monsanto’a Agent Orange.
I didn’t know until recently that they have been poisoning us
since 1907, when they introduced coal tar into our diets. They called it
saccharin and sold it as an artificial sweetener in Coca Cola and canned foods.
In the 1970s, saccharin was required by the FDA to carry a warning label. Over time
Monsanto was able to get the label removed.
Today, Monsanto kills pesky weeds with Roundup, then genetically modify
crops' DNA to kill bugs. Unfortunately, that same poison ends
up in our food supplies.
Monsanto has created and perpetuated any number of myths
about itself to gain favor with consumers. They say, " You're thinking of the 'old Monsanto. We're different now. We're the good guys. Their denials resonate like General Motor's claims that they're the New GM, that since the bankruptcy they are not liable for the faulty vehicles that killed trusting consumers and innocents for over thirty years. Their 'New CEO', the first female leader has a thirty year history with the company, new or old. Fortunately, we’re not as naive as
we once were.
As a citizen, as a consumer, as an parent and grandparent,
and as a citizen, I am angry and I am prepared to act. I’m angry because Monsanto is threatening our GLOBAL food supply.
I am angry to discover that they have been doing this in one fashion or another
for over 100 years. Their efforts are exposed in the documentary GMO OMG (http://gmofilm.com/).
.
I’m angry because Monsanto is
buying politicians to legitimize what
they’re doing and to outlaw what we do as farmers or just private citizens to
feed our families.
I’m angry because Monsanto is a member of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council (http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed), which is notorious for crafting the bills that our politicians introduce to benefit corporations at our
expense.
Not the Only One
We are Marching Against Monsanto,
but Monsanto is not the only enemy. Monsanto is the visible tip of the
iceberg. It’s the enemy you have
identified, the one you can rail against. There are so many more, and just as
insidious. Monsanto is one of the
"Big 6" Biotech Corporations, along with BASF, Bayer, Dow Chemical
Company, Dupont, and Syngenta (so called because they dominate the agricultural
input market -- that is, they own the world’s seed, pesticide and biotechnology
industries).
I ask. “What is the Monsanto Protection Act and why was it
signed into law?
James Brumley, a reporter for Investor Place, explained just
how dangerous that protection rider is, now that biotech companies are allowed
to bypass judicial scrutiny.
Up until it was signed, he writes, “the USDA [US Department
of Agriculture] oversaw and approved (or denied) the testing of genetically
modified seeds, while the federal courts retained the authority to halt the
testing or sale of these plants if it felt that public health was being
jeopardized. With HR 933 now a law, however, the court system no longer has the
right to step in and protect the consumer.”
I ask why, but I have yet to hear a response. That pisses me
off. How about you?
My fear is that Monsanto is just one of many global leaders
whose missions coincide, so they collaborate and collude.
When I consider Monsanto ($11.8B, I cannot do it without
connecting them to Cargill ($136B), and the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association,
and the 400+ food producers who have discovered the power of ownership – of the
US Congress, the Koch Brothers among them.
I cannot think of Monsanto to the exclusion of the major
manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, or the military-industrial complex, or the
countless number of global corporations that threaten the well being of all the
world’s people, not just us.
I cannot think of Monsanto to the exclusion of the
politicians that serve their interests at the expense of the majority of their
constituents, the American people;
I cannot think of Monsanto, global corporations and
bought-and-paid for politicians without considering the following:
That Tennessee Senators Alexander and Corker, and Third District Congressman Chuck
Fleischmann voted against an amendment to label food that is genetically
modified, altered or pesticide laden: (HR 933). All three voted to make the
bill a law without that needed amendment. I ask why, but I have yet to hear a
response. That pisses me off. How about you?
They were not alone. Seventy-one rejected states rights to
label GMOs. I offer for your consideration the following:
“When 71 Senators ignore 90 percent of
their constituents, we are losing out. When 71 Senators ignore the science that
says, at the least, GE food should be adequately tested and labeled and at the
most, it should be banned, we are losing out. When 71 Senators are willing to
trample on the Constitution that guarantees states’ rights to protect the
health and safety of their citizens, we are losing out.
“It’s time for the 71 Senators who voted
against the Sanders Amendment to start voting with the citizens who pay their
salaries, not the lobbyists who fill their campaign coffers. If they don’t?
It’s time for us to demand that they leave. And vote, or throw, them out if
they refuse.”
So-called Trade Agreements Threaten Our Nation’s Sovereignty
Finally, I cannot think of Monsanto, global corporations and
bought and paid for politicians without considering the following. That the
trade agreements that global corporations want passed are agreements that will
undermine the sovereignty of this nation and the other 38 nations who will be
subject to those them.
I am speaking of TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership), TAFTA
(Trans Atlantic Free trade Agreement,, TTIP (Transatlantic Trade &
Investment Partnership) and any number of later iterations. I call your
attention to a special section of those agreements, the ISTD, the Investor
State Trade Dispute provision.
I ask you to look at all the ways these agreements, if fast
tracked, will destroy our national sovereignty. If theses agreements are
accepted, no local state or federal official will be able to change them. If
they are passed, the nation falls in lock step with the other 38 nations, all
of us controlled by global corporations. Is that what you want?
I ask
you:
To open your eyes to the facts around you and share what you see
with everyone you can think of.
To open your minds to the damage large multinational
corporations are doing to our nation and the world and commit to prevent them
from doing it
To open your mouths to call out our politicians. Here are two young men who are doing just that. Daniel Bissonet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGhRuO0JMzY
Birke Baehr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHceOKZctfM&list=UUajjuX7HzzKObxrTqnZJrdA
Birke Baehr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHceOKZctfM&list=UUajjuX7HzzKObxrTqnZJrdA
To open your hearts to humanity, not because you’re
bleeding-heart liberals. But, be because you could be next. As the nation’s
middle class hollows out, one cannot assume that all our futures all headed
upward. As our children leave college with more college debt and fewer job
prospects, we have to look seriously at life’s realities through their eyes.
To open your mouths to call out the politicians who are working against your best
interests and the interests of the nation. Remind them who they are working
for, They think they are working for the big corporate donors who fill their
coffers, and who hire them after they’ve been turned out of office. Let them
know, ‘We’re awake now, and we’re watching and waiting. I know there’s
little we can do to remove Bob Corker. He has just over four more years. But we
can make sure he doesn’t return,and we can make sure he doesn’t become the
state’s next governor.
We can do something about Senator Alexander and Rep.
Fleischmann. I urge you to join with me to support Fleischmann’s Democratic
opposition, Dr. Mary Headrick. She
is to TN what Bernie Sanders is to VT and Elizabeth Warren is to MA.
I ask you to open your mouths and call your fellow citizens to
town squares everywhere.
To open your arms to welcome others into the fold. This is not
just essential, it is critical! We cannot do it alone. We cannot do it here,
today, or once and for all. Even after a win, they keep coming back. We must
remain ever vigilant. And, we cannot do this alone. So, there are tasks we must
accept to do.
I am
here to ask you to Be More active: Speak wherever you can: Rotary Club, other
service organizations. Write letters to the editor. Create your own blog. Do
social media.
Join in
national organizations like www.nolabels.org, that are working diligently to put
the nation ahead of global corporate interests. From what I’ve seen, no labels
is taking the right approach by first seeking agreement on what people see as
the most important issues first, then taking them to legislators and
establishing a dialogue to see if there is common agreement on what needs
doing. From there, it is easier to look for solutions.
Do I care about the American people or about my party?
Do I care about solutions or my party’s agendas?
Do I care about America or the ideology of my party?
I wish us all well in the future. If there’s any way I can help
you advance the well-being of our country, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Post Script
Do you care about Medicare, or do you want to privatize
it? Medicare has 3% administrative
costs. Private insurance providers are over 15%. I pay $105/month for insurance that covers 80% of the bills.
I pay $159/month for the private insurance to pay the other 20%. What does that tell you?
Do you care about our nation’s infrastructure or do you want
to privatize it? Are you willing to sell our nation's roads, bridges, water systems and utilities to private, often foreign, investors, for a fraction of their value, so they can charge us whatever they want to use what we already have?
We don’t have to increase taxes to put things right. We just have to spend on the right things, and an eleventh
aircraft carrier when our closest competitor has two, or another 2500 fighter
planes, or rebuilding thousands of tanks that sit idle in the desert are not
among them.
Do you care about states rights, or do you want to privatize
them?
The
Monsanto Protection Act codifies their rights at the expense of
our rights.
Privatization codifies corporate rights at the expense
of our rights.
Are you all right with that? Do you want Investor State Trade Disputes (ISTDs) to supersede
local, state and federal laws?
The TPP and TAFTA codify corporate rights at the expense
of our nation’s right, states' rights, and community rights, from county to city
to village. Is that what you want?
I am here to ask you:
To open your eyes to the facts around you
To open your minds to the damage large multinational
corporations are doing to our nation and the world
To open your mouths to call the politicians out
To open your hearts to humanity. Don’t do this because you’re
bleeding-heart liberals. Do it because you could be next. As the
nation’s middle class hollows out, one cannot assume that all our futures all
headed upward.
To open your mouths to call out the politicians who are
working against your best interests and the interests of the nation. Remind
them who they are working for, They think they are working for the big
corporate donors who fill their coffers, and who hire them after they’ve been
turned out of office. Let them know, ‘We’re awake now, and we’re watching and
waiting.
To open your mouths and call your fellow citizens to town
squares everywhere.
To open your arms to welcome others into the fold. This is
not just essential, it is critical! We cannot do it alone. We cannot do it
here, today, or once and for all. Even after a win, they keep coming back. We
must remain ever vigilant. And, we cannot do this alone. So, there are tasks we
must accept to do.
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