Today I’m going to feature some superb feedback from a fellow Spy Briefing luminary, Charles. Here he is:
“I regularly receive the Spy Briefing Letter and am aware of your opposition to H.R. 1599. My wife had a massive stroke nearly two years ago and was in the hospital 74 days (we nearly lost her). As the primary caregiver, I am responsible for everything that goes into our mouths, and as a result, I have become acutely aware of GMOs and their dangers. I have been raising Cain with the two senators and my representative from Georgia about their votes on matters involving GMOs (RE: the fair trade legislation — fast track — and H.R. 1599). This past Friday (Aug. 28), I met with Devin Krecl, who is in the Atlanta office of Rep. (Dr.) Tom Price, regarding H.R. 1599. Tom Price voted yes on this bill. Devin told me all about the so-called ‘good’ things about H.R. 1599 and why Tom Price voted for it. I was leery about all that he told me.
“I have pulled up H.R. 1599 on my computer and read the whole thing. I don’t see anything good in there. Monday, I called Devin Krecl about this, and he sent me the email shown below, which was supposed to calm me down and, I guess, make me see their side of the issue. I don’t!!!”
Nate’s note: I’m not including the paint-by-numbers politician response to which our reader is referring. You’re not missing out on much. Just imagine a bunch of lies in bullet-point form.
Anyway, please continue, Charles…
“To me, the following information supplied by Devin Krecl is mostly hot air and contains many untruths, especially the video. The House (thanks to Tom Price and others) has already passed H.R. 1599, but I would like to see it go down in flames when the Senate votes.”
Here is the two-minute YouTube video. Make sure to watch it. Otherwise, my ranting below won’t make as much sense (and I understand it’s sometimes tough to follow my deranged ranting even under normal circumstances).
Anyway, ranting commencing in 3… 2… 1…
It must be a record. Fifteen…FIFTEEN seconds into that video and they’re already bludgeoning us with psychological billy clubs.
I almost admire them. They bust right out of the gate with heavy-handed social proof, immediately putting us on the defensive. The only thing more overt would have been shouting, “Hey! All these big, smart organizations support GMOs, so if you don’t, you’re stupid!”
Well… I guess the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food has SOME standards.
OK, hang on. Let me get more than 15 seconds in. Maybe it gets better…
… no, it’s just the usual puke-worthy propaganda. Props to the geniuses who choose the soundtrack, though. I love how it switches from the ponderous, slightly eerie tone when referring to those evil states wanting GMO labeling to the happy, optimistic elevator music when the Safe Crappy Food Act is introduced. Ah, a centralized solution by the feds. That always works!
Back to Charles’ letter:
“The first article (including the video) was put out by the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, (most likely written by their lobbyists). Members of the coalition total about 400 organizations throughout the U.S. that include various corn grower groups, beet sugar grower groups, soybean grower groups, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, etc. All of these groups have a vested interest in making sure that there is no national requirement for GMO labeling. They know that the majority of the U.S. populace wants to know what is in the food they are eating, and that (in general) they don’t want GMOs. Essentially every statement made in this article is false and cannot be substantiated by what is in the bill. In case you haven’t seen the entire bill, you can go to Google (or whatever) and type in ‘CONGRESS.GOV.’ Once you pull that up, type in ‘H.R. 1599’ and you can read the whole thing.
“The second article was written by Daren Bakst with The Heritage Foundation. I am really surprised at this article, as I didn’t think that this organization would do something like this. Daren Bakst is against any requirement for GMO labeling, and he makes no bones about it. It is my opinion that most of what he says in his article is unfounded. I talked to him for about a half hour yesterday, and it was like talking to a tree. He has his mind made up, and there is no wavering.”
Nate’s note: Here is the article by Daren Bakst.
“What has happened is that H.R. 1599 is very difficult to read (being loaded with all kinds of gobbledygook and being extremely boring), and the two previously discussed articles are well-written (although not factual). As you know, H.R. 1599 was passed by the House. I’m quite sure that all the members of the House received these two articles, drank the Kool-Aid, and voted to pass the bill without actually understanding what is in it.
“For me, there is little doubt that all members of the Senate have also received these two articles, and unless they can somehow be enlightened as to the true content of H.R. 1599, they will also vote to pass it. Brad, I saw your petition info, but my two senators do not pay any attention to what I say. I send them emails all the time, and they pay no attention to me. They do whatever Big Business wants them to do. Do you think there is any way that the information I have supplied herein (re: the two articles by the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food and the one by Daren Bakst with The Heritage Foundation) could be supplied to all the members of the Senate so that they don’t do the same thing that the members of the House did?
“Cheers,
“Charles R. L.”
Something tells me we’ve got more than a couple readers fired up about this issue and are more than willing to try to talk some sense into their rep.
Personally, I’d rather swap spit with a camel.
In fact, if someone wants to write a pithy, hard-hitting letter arguing against H.R. 1599, we’ll publish it. (Send your letter to livingwelldaily@lfb.org… and it has to be good!)
In the meantime, let’s keep this puppy rolling: Sign our petition, and if the numbers get big enough, maybe these clowns will realize, “Hey, wait a minute, if I help pass bills that citizens hate, that might make it more difficult for me to continue my career as a leech on society.”
Regards,
Nate Rifkin
Underground Health Researcher
