Monthly Archive for October, 2009

Issue 2 Update

October 29, 2009 2 Comments Tags: issue 2, local, Ohio, political.

With less than a week to go before the November 3rd election, here’s a quick update on Issue 2.

Some noteworthy news articles:

NO on Issue 2 – Toledo Blade, 10/28/09

“Regardless of how anyone feels about the treatment of farm animals, Issue 2 is poor public policy, and it should be defeated.

The Ohio Constitution should never be used to promote the interests of specific individuals, businesses, or industries. The reasonable approach to balancing the needs of Ohio’s farming industry and the concerns of animal-rights groups would have been to follow Michigan’s example and work out a compromise in state law that would protect both farmers and farm animals.”
Livestock care is key in Issue 2 debate – Columbus Dispatch, 10/25/09

In case there’s any doubt about this being big business, consider Ohio’s 2008 agriculture numbers:

• 4 million pigs were raised on 4,000 farms. Another 170,000 sows were used for breeding.
• 27 million hens laid 7.1 billion eggs. There were 57.5 million chickens and 6 million turkeys raised for meat.
• 1.2 million beef cattle came from 15,000 farms. Another 700,000 calves were marketed for veal.
Controversial proposal is battle over who regulates agriculture industry – Dayton Daily News, 10/25/09

While the Ohio Constitution authorizes a state board of education, boards typically aren’t prescribed in that document, said Charles Hallinan, a University of Dayton law professor and constitutional scholar.

“It’s an oddity,” Hallinan said of Issue 2. “It is unusual enough that it would give me pause to include it in the constitution.”
Issue 2 Spending – Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/09

Backers of state Issue 2, the proposed constitutional amendment to create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, gave more than $4 million to that cause.

“Contributions to Issue 2 are about much more than just supporting a ballot measure,” said Jack Fisher, executive vice president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and treasurer of Ohioans for Livestock Care Political Action Committee.

“They are really an investment in educating all Ohioans on farmers’ commitment to excellent animal care and to providing safe, affordable, locally grown food for our consumers.”

Issue 2 supporters said about $3 million of the total came from Ohio family farmers and groups representing farm organizations.

Records show about $1.2 million came via more than 100 donations from out-of-state organizations, ranging from the Delaware Farm Bureau to the Arizona Pork Council to the Texas Turkey Federation to the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council. Eli Lily Co. of Indianapolis added $25,000.

The drive to pass state Issue 2 was led by a dozen six-figure donations. The Ohio Farm Bureau chipped in about $535,000 overall, although the largest single contribution, $200,000, came from United Egg Producers in Alpharetta, Ga.
Justice calls State Issue 2 misuse of constitution – Columbus Dispatch, 10/20/09

O’Connor said the state constitution is a “much bigger document” that should not be amended to include policy decisions, such as livestock care, that are best left to lawmakers.

O’Connor, who plans to run for chief justice next year, said backers of Issue 2 understand that once something is added to the constitution, it will take “an arm and a leg” to overturn it, the paper reported.

The most recent list of groups who officially oppose Issue 2 (I’m sure I’m missing some):

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Capital Area Humane Society
Center for Food Safety
Cleveland Animal Protective League
Clintonville Community Market
Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions
Columbus Top Dogs
Cornucopia Institute
Family Farm Defenders
Farm Sanctuary
Food & Water Watch
Geauga Humane Society
Grand Lake St. Mary’s Improvement Association
Humane Society of the United States
League of Humane Voters of Ohio
League of Women Voters of Ohio
Libertarian Party of Ohio
Local Matters
Mercy for Animals
Ohio Conference on Fair Trade
Ohio Connections to Whole Food and Nutritional Healing
Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association
The Ohio Environmental Stewardship Alliance
Ohio Environmental Council
Ohio Farmers Union
Ohio Freedom Alliance
Ohio Sierra Club
Organic Consumers Association
Progress Ohio
The Wellness Forum
Toledo Area Humane Society
Western Lake Erie Water Keepers Association
Weston A. Price Foundation
Williams County Alliance
Wood County Citizens Opposed to Factory Farms
Working Families Win – Ohio Chapter

Continue reading ‘Issue 2 Update’

Hate to say this, but…

October 14, 2009 3 Comments Tags: health.

I have that feeling in my throat, the one that says “you’re gonna wake up tomorrow and be SICK, this is your only hint, do something about it NOW.”

I work in an office with enough people that there’s at least one person sick at any given time. Not to mention a few have kids or friends who have contracted H1N1. It’s that time of year, the flu is definitely spreading through Ohio, so it’s entirely possible I’ve been exposed. That’s life, not much you can do about it besides take care of yourself as best as possible.

(graphic from latest Rhiza Labs FluTracker data)

I don’t need a doctor to tell me it’s one of four things:

cold
flu
H1N1
nothing.

For the sake of transparency, since I’m such an advocate of natural health (NO vaccines!), I’m going to document the process of practicing what I preach.

I’ll admit, I’m not always kind to my immune system, I can’t claim sainthood. I have occasional insomnia which means only 4 hours of sleep a couple nights a week, and I don’t exercise as much as I should. Aside from that that I take pretty good care of myself — I don’t eat fast food (duh, none of it’s vegan), I eat healthy organic meals, and I take high quality vitamins every day (omega 3, b-complex, and D2.) I feel very confident in my immune system’s ability to fight off sickness, especially with my special plan of attack. (The only kind of attacking I condone. :-)

Day 1, symptoms so far:

dry throat, feels swollen when I swallow
slight nausea
minor headache
physically worn down

[Natural] plan of attack:

liquid chlorophyll (2 tablespoons a day at least)
colloidal silver (spray from Whole Foods)
neti pot / sinus wash (twice a day)
double dose of vitamin D2
herbal tea (horehound, mullein, nettles, echinacea, etc.)
Thieves oil (couple drops on the bottom of my feet)
lots of water!

If it gets really bad, I have natural anti-virals ready (Virattack Compound and Lomatium Root), but right now I’m far from needing them.

To be continued…

*** Next Day Update:

Woke up feeling good as ever! All symptoms gone. Meanwhile, half of my department is out sick, some of whom got a flu shot.

Behold the power of a healthy immune system.

Afghanistan Occupation Turns Eight Today

October 7, 2009 2 Comments Tags: f--- the war!.

That makes it the longest U.S. “war” to date. I can’t call it a war because Congress hasn’t actually declared war since WWII, this is merely one of the latest unconstitutional “military engagements” of the U.S. military.

War — what is it good for? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

(Can’t see the video? Click here.)

General Smedley Butler was absolutely right, “War is a Racket.”

“A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small “inside” group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.”

Written by a retired U.S. Marine General in the 1930s about WWI, this book is still 100% applicable to what’s happening today. It’s never been about “defending our freedoms” or “spreading democracy” it’s ALWAYS been about making money.

I could rant for hours about why we have no business bombing the hell out of Afghanistan, how our Founding Fathers and Mothers advocated in a non-interventionist foreign policy with no entangling alliances, but this book says it all. Please read it.

I’m ashamed of what this government is doing in the name of the United States of America. To the people of Afghanistan, I’m sorry.

“TO HELL WITH WAR!”
- General Smedley Butler

Ohio’s Issue 2: Why I’m Voting NO

October 3, 2009 4 Comments Tags: issue 2, local, Ohio, political.

10/29/09 UPDATE: Please read my Issue 2 update here.

10/17/09 UPDATE: Welcome everyone who is researching the 2009 Ohio ballot issues! An educated voter is a wonderful thing.

Here is the most recent list of groups who OPPOSE Issue 2 (please note, PETA is NOT listed or involved in this issue, that’s a myth designed to scare voters):

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Capital Area Humane Society
Center for Food Safety
Cleveland Animal Protective League
Clintonville Community Market
Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions
Columbus Top Dogs
Cornucopia Institute
Family Farm Defenders
Farm Sanctuary
Food & Water Watch
Geauga Humane Society
Grand Lake St. Mary’s Improvement Association
Humane Society of the United States
League of Humane Voters of Ohio
League of Women Voters of Ohio
Libertarian Party of Ohio
Local Matters
Mercy for Animals
Ohio Conference on Fair Trade
Ohio Connections to Whole Food and Nutritional Healing
Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association
The Ohio Environmental Stewardship Alliance
Ohio Farmers Union
Ohio Freedom Alliance
Ohio Sierra Club
Organic Consumers Association
Progress Ohio
The Wellness Forum
Toledo Area Humane Society
Western Lake Erie Water Keepers Association
Weston A. Price Foundation
Williams County Alliance
Wood County Citizens Opposed to Factory Farms
Working Families Win – Ohio Chapter

Also, be sure to read the final text of Issue 2, exactly as it will appear on your ballot November 3rd.

I’ve been meaning to write about Issue 2, a sneaky little campaign (backed by factory farms and Big Ag) that would create the “Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.” Since this op-ed letter I just wrote to Outlook News pretty much summarizes where I stand, I’ll go ahead and copy it here.

For more information on this issue, please check out OhioACT.org (Ohioans Against Constitutional Takeover) and the Facebook group I’ve created: Ohioans Against Issue 2. On both sites you can download flyers, view recent news articles about the issue, and more.

To: hayes@outlookmedia.com, mdaniels@outlookmedia.com
Subject: Issue 2 endorsement

Dear Mr. Daniels,

I was highly disappointed to find an endorsement of Issue 2 in the latest issue of Outlook. Disappointed for many reasons.

The first reason is the obvious lack of research on the issue. Did you take your summary of the issue straight off the Farm Bureau’s website? Did you read ANY opposing arguments? Did you look at the list of groups who oppose it? This list includes the Capital Area Humane Society, Ohio League of Women Voters, Organic Consumers Association, Ohio Sierra Club, Ohio Farmers Union, Food & Water Watch… the list goes on.

Do you know how quickly the ballot measure was pushed through the Ohio legislature, passing through the House and Senate in just 6 days? Talk about suspicious. Issue 2 came about as a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of dealing with the Humane Society’s potential focus on expanding animal welfare laws in the state of Ohio. Rather than leave the decision up to voters who may decide farm animals deserve better treatment (as was recently the case in Michigan and California), the Farm Bureau decided to take matters into their own hands and shrug off the democratic process completely, saying they will regulate themselves. The fox wants to guard the henhouse, literally.

Issue 2 would amend the Ohio Constitution, an action that should NEVER be taken lightly. Creating a Livestock Care Standards Board takes away power from the voters, as all future animal-welfare decisions would be decided upon and handed down by this unelected 13-member group. Did Outlook investigate the would-be members of this board? To put it simply: they’re not looking out for animals or food safety, they’re pawns for Big Agribusiness. Not to mention the cost of creating this new board. Can Ohio really afford this right now? Expanding government always means expanding the budget.

Also worth mentioning is the effect it will have on Ohio’s small farmers, who would have even more regulation to deal with if Issue 2 passes. That does not mean safer food, historically this has resulted in increased costs for small farmers who end up going out of business, then factory farms and Big Ag gladly take over. Factory farms certainly do not provide safer food, and absolutely do not provide better care for animals.

This is not “Ohioans taking care of Ohioans” — this is Big Agribusiness taking care of themselves. I can’t believe Outlook News fell victim to the Farm Bureau’s campaign. You’ve done a disservice to your readers by taking the lazy road to arrive at your endorsement decision, and it will be Ohio’s small farms and animals that suffer.

It’s convenient that Outlook is now a monthly publication, since even if this letter made it to print, it would be too late for anyone to see. Nevertheless, I feel obligated to speak out against this ignorant endorsement.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mohandas Gandhi

Carrot, Egg, or Coffee Bean?

October 2, 2009 2 Comments Tags: personal.

coffee bean
I have this story hanging up by my desk at work, and realized today I really should share it more often. It’s especially appropriate for anyone involved in any type of political or social cause — or anyone who pays even the slightest bit of attention to what’s really going in the world.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as if as soon as one problem was solved a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen.

The mother filled three pots with water.

In the first, she placed carrots.
In the second she placed eggs.
And the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil without saying a word. About twenty minutes later, she turned off the burners.

She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she said, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did, and noted that they felt soft.

She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg inside.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, “So, what’s the point, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity — boiling water — but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid center. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its insides had become hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

It’s so easy to become numb when you’re surrounded by bad news all the time. Or spiritually broken down by the moral weight on your shoulders and the inevitable disappointment that comes with never seeing your ideal become reality.