If politicians wonder why the electorate think of them as being lower than a snake's belly maybe the history of Aspartame will help them understand...
In 1985 Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet. Monsanto was apparently untroubled by aspartame's clouded past, including a 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry, comprised of three independent scientists, which confirmed that it "might induce brain tumors."
The FDA had actually banned aspartame based on this finding, only to have Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (currently the Secretary of Defense) vow to "call in his markers," to get it approved.
On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener, and Reagan's new FDA commissioner, Arthur Hayes Hull, Jr., appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry's decision.
It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision, but Hull then installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He then personally broke the tie in aspartame's favor. Hull later left the FDA under allegations of impropriety, served briefly as Provost at New York Medical College, and then took a position with Burston-Marsteller, the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle. Since that time he has never spoken publicly about aspartame.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Pro-LIfe? What type of life? For what purpose?
Has it occurred to you that the same president who believes destroying embryos to obtain stem cells, in an attempt to improve the lives of citizens of the United States, is immoral, believes it is moral to donate the lives of over 1,800 United States citizens, some against their will and moral beliefs, in the futile attempt to improve the lives of people who hate us. Do you suppose his desire to avenge the attempts on his father's life supercedes his thoughts on morality? Do you suppose his concern for his friends in the oil industry supercedes his thoughts on morality?
When one says one is pro-life and defines the type of life one is pro and what type of life one finds expendable, others will better understand their decisions.
When one says one is pro-life and defines the type of life one is pro and what type of life one finds expendable, others will better understand their decisions.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Original Intent About the Constitution
Largely overlooked is the personal sacrifices of the Founding Fathers. Those 50 Americans who, in July 1776, set their signatures to the Declaration of Independence knew full well they risked death by hanging. As John Adams, one of the signers, noted in a letter to his wife, Abigail, "The Declaration was, in fact, an act of treason, and if it were not made good, those who had signed it stood a good chance to incur the penalty meted out to traitors." In fact, John Adams, like John Hancock, another signer and revolutionary leader, already was under sentence of death if captured by the British.
The War of Independence was already underway when the signers of the Declaration of Independence gathered in Philadelphia. They were a diverse lot, those representatives from the 13 colonies who met to declare independence in a historic document that still inspires millions hungering for freedom around the world. Twenty-five were lawyers or jurists, eleven were merchants; nine were farmers or plantation owners, and there were also doctors and educators.
Although most of the signers paid a heavy price for their resolve, none wavered. Francis Lewis of New York had his home burned by the British, and his wife was seized and imprisoned for two years, dying soon after her release. Philip Livingston of New York saw his 150,000-acre estate confiscated by the British, but he continued to contribute his dwindling fortune to the war effort. The strain of the revolutionary struggle depleted his health and he died less than two years after signing. Lewis Morris' New York estate was ransacked by the British. His home was destroyed, his livestock butchered and his family forced to flee.
John Hart's New Jersey home was looted and burned, his grist mills destroyed. He eluded captured by taking refuge in caves and forests. During the ordeal, his ailing wife died and their 13 children were scattered. After signing the Declaration, Richard Stockton rushed home to Princeton, New Jersey, to rescue his family from advancing British troops. He was captured and thrown into prison, where he was repeatedly beaten and kept near starvation. He died an invalid in 1781. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania spent his entire fortune -- more than a million dollars -- to finance the war effort. Never reimbursed by his country, he served three years in debtor's prison and, in failing health, died soon after his release.
Carter Braxton of Virginia had virtually every merchant ship he owned either sunk or captured by the British. Although he lost his wealth and was forced to sell his remaining property, he continued to serve the cause of the revolution in the Virginia legislature. thomas Heyward, Jr., of South Carolina, served in the Revolutionary Army and was taken prisoner. The British raided his plantation and burned his buildings. His grief-stricken wife became ill and died before Heyward was freed at the war's end.
These were brave men who pledged their "lives their fortunes and sacred honor" in order to gain liberty for themselves and posterity.
The War of Independence was already underway when the signers of the Declaration of Independence gathered in Philadelphia. They were a diverse lot, those representatives from the 13 colonies who met to declare independence in a historic document that still inspires millions hungering for freedom around the world. Twenty-five were lawyers or jurists, eleven were merchants; nine were farmers or plantation owners, and there were also doctors and educators.
Although most of the signers paid a heavy price for their resolve, none wavered. Francis Lewis of New York had his home burned by the British, and his wife was seized and imprisoned for two years, dying soon after her release. Philip Livingston of New York saw his 150,000-acre estate confiscated by the British, but he continued to contribute his dwindling fortune to the war effort. The strain of the revolutionary struggle depleted his health and he died less than two years after signing. Lewis Morris' New York estate was ransacked by the British. His home was destroyed, his livestock butchered and his family forced to flee.
John Hart's New Jersey home was looted and burned, his grist mills destroyed. He eluded captured by taking refuge in caves and forests. During the ordeal, his ailing wife died and their 13 children were scattered. After signing the Declaration, Richard Stockton rushed home to Princeton, New Jersey, to rescue his family from advancing British troops. He was captured and thrown into prison, where he was repeatedly beaten and kept near starvation. He died an invalid in 1781. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania spent his entire fortune -- more than a million dollars -- to finance the war effort. Never reimbursed by his country, he served three years in debtor's prison and, in failing health, died soon after his release.
Carter Braxton of Virginia had virtually every merchant ship he owned either sunk or captured by the British. Although he lost his wealth and was forced to sell his remaining property, he continued to serve the cause of the revolution in the Virginia legislature. thomas Heyward, Jr., of South Carolina, served in the Revolutionary Army and was taken prisoner. The British raided his plantation and burned his buildings. His grief-stricken wife became ill and died before Heyward was freed at the war's end.
These were brave men who pledged their "lives their fortunes and sacred honor" in order to gain liberty for themselves and posterity.
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