Was Thomas Jefferson Related to Nostrodamus?

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." - Thomas Jefferson

Monsanto Chemical: Buys Government, Scares Press, and Sells Out Public!

Where is the hue and cry from all the government agencies that "protect" us, or from the so-called independent press, that supposedly is "looking out" for us.  Monsanto (previously Monsanto Chemical) - the folks that brought us the unforgettable Agent Orange, among others - like the relatively innocuous Roundup weed killer.  However, what happens when you start manipulating the market to eliminate the competition?  How do they do that?

First you start by genetically modifying produce - like corn, soybeans, or wheat - to make them resistant to Roundup and similar products.  Next you back-engineer one of your other products - like fertilizer - to include Roundup in it.  Something like Monsanto's "Asgrow Roundup Ready" or "Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans."  From the Monsanto website: "This is a new proprietary seed treatment from Monsanto which will be commercialized in conjunction with the launch of Asgrow Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans."  Monsanto offers "Simple, flexible and dependable weed control you expect from the Roundup Ready system.", and "Powerful genetic trait combinations created through our advanced breeding process deliver higher yield potential than other brands."  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, what we're talking about is Frankenfood!  And it's not just soybeans ... Monsanto has genetically modified corn, wheat, and God only knows what else to resist Roundup.  Can you see where this is going?  Modify the seeds to resist a weed poison, then include the poison in either the pod or the fertilizer, to kill those pesky weeds.  So far, so good!

But, there's an unanswered question here too - How does the Roundup not get absorbed into the produce it's protecting from weeds?  It doesn't!  We are unknowingly and trustingly ingesting toxic materials with almost every item we are being sold as food!  Have you eaten a nice steak, or enjoyed a good hamburger recently?  If so, then you should familiarize yourself with the acronym BGH - Bovine Growth Hormone.  Have you wondered why your 10 year old daughter is sprouting breasts already?  There's your answer - BGH!  Monsanto's Bovine somatotropin (abbreviated bST and BST) is also called bovine growth hormone, or BGH.  BST can be produced synthetically, using recombinant DNA technology. The resulting product is called recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), or artificial growth hormone. It is administered to the cow by injection and used to increase milk production. Currently Monsanto is the only company that markets recombinant bovine somatotropin, under the trade name Posilac.  According to Monsanto, approximately one-third of dairy cattle in the U.S. are treated with Posilac; approximately 8,000 dairy producers use the product. It is now the top-selling dairy cattle pharmaceutical product in the U.S.  Use of the recombinant supplement has been controversial. While it is used in the United States (though not without reaction), it is banned in Canada, parts of the European Union, Australia and New Zealand.  Is there a reason for this ban?  Are they perhaps more concerned with the welfare of their citizens, than our government is for OUR personal well-being?

Monsanto's lawyers scared Fox television affiliate, WTVT/Fox-13 in Tampa, Florida so badly, the station manager fired two staff members who had done an investigative reporting piece after they refused to modify the story to appease Monsanto.

Monsanto is running roughshod over our citizenry in their (thus-far successful) attempt to bribe, intimidate, threaten and otherwise leverage those who would question the negative human health factors of Monsanto-produced  Frankenfoods.  Our complacency as a nation will be our undoing.  I could be wrong ... but, I'm NOT!

FreddieMac and FannieMae, Doodah, Doodah ...

Why is it, that corporate CEO's who (mis)manage the corporation for which they are ultimately responsible into bankruptcy or government bailout, always get a multi-million dollar departure gift? This is especially true when the product being managed is MONEY!

Let me see if I can figure this process out ...

1. I have been appointed as the CEO of XYZ Financial Management Group. The "job" pays me $22M simoleans per year.
2. In return for that outrageous sum of money, I am responsible for insuring that the corporate assets are invested in such a fashion that the corporation receives a statistically reasonable return on said investments.
3. I achieve the above by managing the human resources immediately below me in the Corporate Senior Management hierarchy - the Chief Financial Officer; the Chief Operating Officer; the Chief Administrative Officer, etc. - and I am responsible directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors (or I may, in fact, BE him ... in which case I am responsible to the stockholders).
4. I play golf Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, drop by the office about 11:30am, then have a "business lunch" with my corporate cronies at "The Club" from around 1:00pm until ... oh, 2:30-ish. After such a sumptuous meal, a good massage is always in order, and I get back to the office around 4pm and waste the next 15 minutes waiting for my chauffeur to arrive so he can drive me home.
5. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the only change to my routine is that I play racquet ball in the mornings.

As you can plainly see, my job is one of responsibility, as opposed to effort. I get paid for accepting responsibility for those beneath me, who have a more realistic level of responsibility. Their jobs require that their respective divisions actually accomplish something! Using a stagecoach analogy; they are the horses that pull the coach ... I am the coachman who chooses the direction in which they travel. I do proportionately little, but then, I don't work for hay. However, if the stagecoach doesn't reach the appropriate destination, can I blame the horses?

How many of us have held jobs where we were rewarded for our failures? Let's have a show of hands ... just one hand! (Okay Barack, you can put your hand down now.) These "Golden Parachutes" are ridiculous. (Basically, a A golden parachute is a contractual agreement between a company and an employee (usually an upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. Sometimes, certain conditions, typically a change in company ownership, must be met, but often the cause of termination is unspecified. These benefits may include severance pay, cash bonuses, stock options, or other benefits. They are designed to reduce negative incentives should the company change hands, not to protect some corporate Phoenix who burns his company nest! There should be federal regulations allowing corporations or receivers to negate a Golden Parachute clause when the company fails due to the action/inaction of any, several, or all executive officers. If XYZ Financial Management Group can't file criminal charges against me, and/or my subordinates, they should at least be able to refuse any further compensation. I have destroyed their company through my own mismanagement/non- management of available resources!

But, that's just the way I see things ... am I wrong?