The 1971 lesson from Saul Alinsky in "Rules for Radicals" Rule #5 is to ridicule opponents in line with Communist Party tactics of derision of the opposition to cause audiences to laugh, rather than give weight to their opponents' arguments. "Change" was Alinsky's code word for creating a Socialist revolution through the community organizer's mobilization of discontent into political power. Jerry Kellman, acolyte of Saul Alinsky the Marxist, radical socialist author of "Rules for Radicals", hired Barack Obama in 1985 to come to Chicago and work as a community organizer with money from The Woods Fund, the same board Obama later served on with Bill Ayers, radical mad-bomber... Obama was a director of the Woods Fund board from 1999 to December 11, 2002, according to the Fund's website, and was introduced to the Chicago movers and shakers of the Daley political machine in the Hyde Park living room of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn: unrepentant, anti-American criminals both.
The Obama Tax plan - A shell game which is disingenuous at best, dishonest at worst. Obama says he's going to raise taxes for the rich and the corporations, while cutting taxes for 95% of the population to pay for his free universal health care and other government giveaway programs. It can be done, of course, but the result has to necessarily be that he raises total taxes more than he cuts. In doing so the people and entities which will be paying the higher taxes will simply be forced to raise prices of goods and services to pay the bill, and those who have had their taxes cut will get to pay the money back in higher retail prices for medicines, food and the necessities of daily life. There truly is no such thing as a free lunch, such as is espoused by the radical left.
The reduction of taxes for 95% of Americans will be a neat trick, of course, since about 35% currently pay no income taxes at all. I'm wondering if that 95% figure also includes the 4% of our population who are illegal aliens. Do the non-taxed individuals get a check from Uncle Sam? Along with a check for the illegals?
Obama plays the victim card - "The Republicans are going to tell you: He has a funny name; he doesn't look like the other presidents on the dollar bills; and have you noticed he's black?" Obama says it over and over in his stump speeches and voila, the race card has been played, but never by anyone other than Barack Obama himself. Clever guy. He posits that others will say it, but only he does so...
The Community Reinvestment Act, as promoted by Representative Barney Frank, is used by ACORN (Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now) to force banks to make risky sub-prime mortgage loans to people who can't afford the repayment terms. The same ACORN group of partisan leftists using government grants and earmarked funds to register illegals, criminals and the homeless to vote, then casting their absentee ballots for Obama. Non-partisan actions in no sense of the term, for which ACORN has been prosecuted in dozens of states for voter fraud and has had many of their activists jailed for fraud and malfeasance. Your tax money is being spent by a criminal enterprise to stuff ballot boxes for their favored candidate, Barack Obama. The presidential candidate who not only worked with ACORN and trained their field operatives, but represented them for years in litigation. The candidate Obama is using our money to reinvest in his community to act in his own best interests, and against those of the people who supplied the money - the American taxpayer. Just the guy we need running our country.
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt September 7, 2008 Subject: Thoughts on...
Barack Obama discusses "My Muslim Faith" in YouTube Video
Joe Biden - Syracuse Law School -
almost expelled for plagarism... Record expunged... Now a lawyer in good standing...
Reminiscent of Teddy Kennedy and his own expulsion from Harvard for cheating...
Mitt Romney - Presidential candidate from Central Casting -
Give him a new script and he delivers the lines as if he actually believes them...
John McCain and Sarah Palin - The non-lawyer ticket - reason enough...
The two Republicans' records actually demonstrate a desire for reform and honesty in government...
Barack Obama and Joe Biden -
Platitudes, Pomposity and Plagarism - O'Biden NoBama
Two guys with long-standing ethics issues... Pretty well covered-up by an adoring press... Political hacks in the Richard Daly Chicagoland mold and the lobbyist-rich halls of the US Senate... Joe Biden's son, the lobbyist Hunter Biden, has been embroiled in litigation defending his attempts to take over a major hedge fund in partnership with Joe Biden's brother James, using capital fronted by the Chicago law firm CooperSimmons LLC. Even though the son ostensibly doesn't lobby his old man, Joe Biden's fellow Senators whom Hunter lobbies certainly understand, without being told, which side their bread's buttered on...
The Obama income in 2007 was in excess of $4 Million, yet he poses as a man of the people, even though he and Michelle just recently paid off their decades-old student loans, courtesy of the tax paying public...
Time to throw the rascals out...
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: September 27, 2008 To: Penny
Subject: RE: Obama, Voter Fraud & Mortgage Meltdown
Penny: I sent this to a friend yesterday, but you may be interested... Bob
Not many people are aware that this week Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and the other Democrats in Congress had earmarked the $700 Billion bailout legislation with about $100 Million going to Barack Obama's favorite marxist/socialist organization, ACORN. The whole Community Organizer agenda, as propounded by the `60s radical Saul Alinsky with the goal of income redistribution from the haves to the have-nots is the driving force of Obama's playbook in his campaign for Change.
No wonder he wanted to stay far away from DC during the crafting and voting on the Democrats' version of Paulson's poorly conceived bailout plan. Fortunately for the American taxpayer, John McCain rallied the Republicans and got the right-minded members of Congress back on track to consideration of a fiscally responsible bill to deal with the crisis without giving away the candy store.
Bob Wirt
Obama, Voter Fraud & Mortgage Meltdown Sep 22, 2008 By: James H. Walsh
From: Bob Wirt Date: August 21, 2008 To: Sean Hannity & Bill O'Reilly
Subject: Clinton's primary campaign suspended, not abandoned
Just a reminder... Hillary Clinton suspended her primary campaign in June, but did not withdraw from the race. She still controls almost half of the committed delegates. With some 800 Super Delegates in the mix who have no official requirement to vote for any particular candidate, each of the 800 could vote either way. When Bill and Hill surreptitiously dump the contents of their little bag of tricks just before the Democrat Convention next week, creating even more doubt among the delegates about Obama's viability, she will be in a position to snag the nomination for herself - thereby saving her party from its lemming-like rush over the cliff of change and onto the rocks of hope. Never let it be said that the Clintons ever left the field of a political battle having given up the fight. Might be some interesting fireworks in Denver, Hillary's protestations of innocence aside.
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: August 2, 2008 To: Herald Editor Cc: Beth Reinhard
Subject: McCain TV ad juxtapositions Britney Spears and Paris Hilton
The Editor:
In an otherwise well-reasoned column, Beth Reinhard bemoans the fact that a recent McCain TV ad juxtapositions Britney Spears and Paris Hilton with the candidate Barack Obama. She complains that Obama is being compared to a dumb blonde. The derisive term is inserted into the mix by Reinhard, not by McCain, and which "dumb blonde" is she referring to? Actually, the "dumb blondes" earn more money than the vast majority of the rest of us laboring in the trenches. They earn fortunes by dint of their Celebrity, a status to which Obama aspires.
You can tell that an ad has hit home when media types squeal so loudly in protest. Dancing suggestively in a schoolgirl outfit? Not Obama, but he did dance on the Ellen DeGeneres TV show.
The point of the McCain ad, and one which was well taken, is that Obama seems by his own soaring rhetoric and choices of forum to be seeking not the Presidency so much as Celebrity for Celebrity's sake. The meat of the ad came after the hook (which got everyone watching) of the two blondes, without whom the rest of the message might have been lost.
You don't lower the retail costs of energy and gas by following Obama's plan of refusing to drill in our own backyard while at the same time taxing the energy producers. The basics of business dictate that all expense associated with bringing any product to market, including taxes, is added into the cost of goods, with a concomitant rise in the retail price paid by the consumer: The American Public. This tactic should remind us all of the Saudis and Hugo Chavez who seek ever higher prices for their crude oil while we dither around for thirty years refusing to pump our own. It's time for us to reject full-service at the gas pump and elect self-service: certainly cheaper in the long run.
The American public will be the ones paying the freight for Obama's ill-conceived taxation of the very industries we are looking to assist in breaking the yoke of our dependence on foreign oil. For those who despise Big Oil, have you checked the portfolio content of your 401K lately? McCain is right: we need to stop sending billions of US dollars overseas to people who hate Americans and seek to destroy us at any opportunity.
The plan needs to be to pump here at home with Americans hired to do the work and benefiting from the lower prices which would necessarily result from pumping billions of barrels of American oil into the supply pool to meet demand at lower costs to the American consumer. Let the Saudis and Venezuelans peddle their overpriced goods elsewhere.
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: July 30, 2008 To: John McCain Campaign Subject: Cut the payroll tax from 15% to 10% while raising the cap from $100,000 to $1,000,000
John McCain:
Cut the payroll tax from 15% to 10% while raising the cap from $100,000 to $1,000,000. Fully 90% of taxpayers will have their payroll tax contribution cut by 33% while an additional 7% of taxpayers will see some increase in payroll contributions, but at a rate 1/3 less than in years past. This is a tax cut which should increase revenues to the bankrupt Social Security System by something in the neighborhood of 300% while saving about 90% of taxpayers up to $5,000 per year in payroll deduction contributions and putting that immediate cash back into the economy every payday.
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: July 28, 2008 To: Bill O'Reilly
Subject: Bands Ramp Up Obama's Reception In Berlin
An old Army buddy of mine reported to me on Saturday that his son was in Germany on business and attended the Thursday rally where Barack Obama spoke to a crowd estimated by the media as approximately 200,000 people. What the fawning US media have not been reporting is that there were two bands performing in the square before the speech, and that the excitement was mostly generated by the music and not by Obama's inspiring, but empty rhetoric. Reggae artist Patrice and rock band Reamonn may not be much here in the USA, but apparently they're a draw in Berlin.
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: July 30, 2008 To: James
Subject: Re: The Child - The Messiah - The ObaMessiah
James:
Way too dour... You need to grow a sense of humor... The video and narration by the author was falling-down funny in its portrayal of a fawningly liberal US media. I thought you'd like this one as it was a column written by a Brit and performed by him in a typical British style. Fox didn't produce it but did find it funny enough to run on their network. Kind of like Monty Python's "The Life of Brian" (also falling-down funny)...
RE: the speech in Berlin: What the fawning US media have not been reporting is that there were two bands performing in the square before the speech, and that the excitement was mostly generated by the music and not by Obama's inspiring, but empty rhetoric. Reggae artist Patrice and rock band Reamonn may not be much here in the USA, but apparently they're a draw in Berlin. He wouldn't have drawn them on his own since most of them didn't understand a word he said anyway.
I'm not much of one for the socialistic tendencies of Europeans so find Obama's brand of Socialism off-putting. The only material you ever seem to "review" is that which agrees with your own preconceived notions. You really need to broaden your horizons... See you at the beach.
Bob
From: Bob Wirt Date: July 28, 2008
Subject: Barack Obama: The Child - The Messiah - The ObaMessiah
You've gotta see this video... Obama: The Child - The Messiah - The ObaMessiah
Bob
and also: The One
It shall be known that in 2008 the world will be blessed, they will call him the one. "A nation healed, the world repaired. We are the ones we've been waiting for" And he has annointed himself... "I have become a symbol of America returning to our best traditions." Can you see the light? "A light will shine down from somewhere, it will light upon you, you will experience an epiphany, and you will say to yourself, I have to vote for Barack" The world shall receive his blessings. "This is the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." Behold his mighty hand...
Pretty Funny
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: July 17, 2008 9:17:02 PM EDT To: Bill O'Reilly
Subject: "That Nigger's Crazy"
Bill:
When are Jessie Jackson, the Reverend Al Sharpton and all the other hypocrites out on the political "racial gotcha" stage going to call for a boycott of purchases of Richard Pryor's 1974 Grammy Award winning comedy album, "That Nigger's Crazy"? Give us all a break from this overblown hyperbole. Sanctimony in regard to the language choices of others is unbecoming, elitist and niggling. No one overuses the word more than those it was originally coined to denigrate. One guy from Niger calling another guy from Niger a Niger is getting old. Take a deep breath, people...
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: June 1, 2008 To: Miami Herald
Subject: Folic acid facts incorrect
Editor:
You published a letter on Sunday from Paul C Hunt of the Florida March of Dimes which states that the recommended daily intake of folic acid for women of child-bearing age is 1,000 times the actual Daily Value (USRDA) of 400 micrograms. This is likely a typo from your pressroom, but there should be a fact-checker at the Herald to fix obvious misstatements before publication as there is a vast difference between milligrams (mg) and micrograms (mcg). The tolerable upper intake level (UL) of folic acid for women over 18 years of age is 1mg - 400mg would be considered excessive. The impression left by this incorrect information, purportedly supplied by an organization of respect and authority, could lead to confusion, misunderstanding or overdosage with adverse reactions. I'm certain you'll be hearing from Mr Hunt as well as Sheah Rarback regarding this matter.
Bob Wirt
(PS - Got no response or correction from the Herald on this one...)
From: Bob Wirt Date: April 30, 2008 Subject: Sheehan Pontiac
You may recall I had a problem with getting a $400 overpayment back from Sheehan Pontiac about ten years ago when I turned in my 1996 Pontiac Formula lease car and went around and around with them and with World Omni Financial who handled the payments. They both insisted I had not made an extra payment and refused to refund my money.
We found our refund from them deposited with the State of Florida Unclaimed Funds Department, but they had apparently sent us $200 instead of the $400 they owed. Turns out they had actually cut us a check in 1998 but mailed it to the street address of our Oakland Park warehouse (where there was no mail delivery) and used the zip code for our post office box - so it was returned to them as undeliverable. Funny how they always managed to mail the monthly bills to the correct address...
Apparently, after holding onto the funds for some time they eventually turned it over to the state instead of just correcting the mailing address and sending it along to us. All this during the same time we were trying to recover the overpayment.
Oh well, at least we're going to get back half of what we were owed. Alex Sink says it takes up to ninety days to process the payout on such funds. Guess we'll see...
Best regards, Bob
From: Bob Wirt Date: March 17, 2008 To: michele Subject: Green Beret Wannabe?
On Mar 17, 2008, at 8:39 AM, michele wrote:
Hi Daddy and Bettye, Hope all is going well!!! I have a quick question about the green berets... This guy I met here tells me that he is a GB and then he mentioned that he was stationed in Arizona, in a place called Fort Huachina or something like that. Can you tell me if there are green berets in the US in places other than fayetteville? He did not sit well with me.
Thanks Shell
Shell:
So far as I know the only thing Fort Huachuca has to do with the Army Special Forces (Green Berets) is that the 3rd Group sends A-Teams and some intelligence detachments there for desert training from time to time. Lots of guys in the Army (and out) are wannabes who will tell you they were SF to bolster their own ego or your impression of them. You get used to it. Army Special Forces has several Groups (the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th) which are stationed around the world, each with its own mission. I was in the 8th Group in Panama CZ, but they were disbanded in 1972 and folded into the 7th. The A-Teams split out on missions in various countries in support of the overall counter-insurgency mission of the command.
Ask him which Group he was assigned to and which M.O.S.'s (job qualifications) he holds. If he didn't go through the John F Kennedy Center for Special Warfare at Fort Bragg and get three-qualified, he's kidding you...
I've been out of the service for forty years now, and things do change over time. I'll check with a couple of friends with long years service in SF (30-40) who might know, and get back to you.
What's his name, anyway? I'll pop it into the SF Locator and see whether he's registered. Doesn't have to be of course, but if he actually served as a three-qualified Green Beret he probably will be there.
Love, Daddy
From: Bob Wirt Date: March 17, 2008 To: michele Subject: Green Beret Wannabe?
Michele:
Heard back from my old top sergeant. He advises that the Fort Huachuca US Army Intelligence Center deals mostly in electronic surveillance and probably trains the ops/intel guys who sometimes attach themselves to our A-Teams. No Special Forces (Green Beret types) stationed there at any time although they may take some intel training at Huachuca. CSM says the actual desert training is done at Yuma. Camp Pilot Knob is at the southern end of the California-Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA) just north of Yuma, Arizona, and dates from WWII training for the North Africa campaign of Gen George Patton.
The attached intel operatives normally would come to SF from either military intelligence units like DIA or from CIA, and would work along with our A-Teams on counter-insurgency missions. When we sent the twelve man A-Team to Bolivia in 1967 to help Rene Barrientos' army track and capture Che Guevara, it was what was known as a complemented A-Team, in that three CIA guys went along on the mission. Each A-Team has an operations sergeant and an intel sergeant already, so the fifteen man team ends up with five, rather than two ops/intel specialists - a total of twelve Army Special Forces guys and three spooks. After each mission the intel guys would rotate back to their regular units and our guys returned to Group.
I know a Naval intel guy here in Fort Lauderdale who has worked closely with Navy SEAL teams and has taken their BUD training, but he is always careful to disclaim that he was not a SEAL - A good sign that he can be trusted. Best not to claim to have been in Special Forces when you weren't.
Daddy
From: Bob Wirt Date: February 5, 2008 To: Big John Subject: We're back...
Arrived home last night late and all is well and back on track. Bettye had her bronchoscopy yesterday and the doctor didn't see any obvious obstructions or growths. He did swab inside for microscopic exams to be performed on the cells obtained and will let her know later this week what they've found.
She is pleased that there were no biopsies and was no serious damage done to her lungs during the procedure. She's a little sore and has lingering aftereffects from the anesthesia and soreness from the bronchoscope itself being down her trachea so long, but should heal readily. There was some blood in her cough yesterday afternoon and evening but the doctor says it will heal without complications.
Apparently they want to run some further tests on her trachea and thyroid, but we're going to let her rest up and heal before committing to more invasive procedures. She'd rather keep her lungs in one piece than risk further damage at this point, and I'd have to say I agree with her on that one.
She's resting now, but we hope to be back at the beach soon. She's got a cardiology appointment locally on Wednesday with my heart doc. I've got my own appointment to have a couple more pieces chopped off at the dermatologist (basal cell carcinoma I think - can't remember each of the little devils anymore) so it's hard to say when we'll soon you, but as soon as we can manage.
Take care, stay well...
Bob and Bettye
From: Bob Wirt Date: January 27, 2008 To: Sean Hannity Subject: Get Right...
Hannity:
It's truly astounding how an intelligent man, such as yourself, who can be so right about the myth of global warming and the hidden agenda of the Gore-istas can be so wrong about the conservative credentials of John McCain and the validity of a fence along our border with Mexico.
John McCain's objection to the legislation enacting President Bush's tax cuts had to do with the fact that there were no spending limits associated with the cuts. His was, and remains, the true fiscal conservative view. Over the past decade and a half the Republicans have become as profligate with our money as the Democrats have always been. John McCain stood up to the wasteful habits of both political camps and has been demonized as a result by those who claim the mantel of fiscal conservatism that he himself wears so well.
You certainly know it takes a talented pragmatist to shepherd legislation through a bi-cameral, politically polarized Congress, and John McCain has proven his ability to get most of what he wants by giving a little to the other side, thereby actually getting something done instead of promoting gridlock through ideological intransigence. A talent the new President is certain to need in guiding us through our war on worldwide Islamic terrorism.
Using eminent domain to steal American land from the rightful owners along the Mexican border to, in effect, turn over the river and a hundred foot strip of the USA to Mexico makes no sense at all. I had thought we settled that matter at the Alamo. This ineffective fence will, in fact, turn into just another wasteful boondoggle to line the pockets of politically connected contractors. You do remember that Halliburton was the favored recipient of our largesse, from LBJ to W, and over the intervening forty-five years we've received pennies in value for our hard earned tax dollars.
The true solution to sealing the border and legitimizing those passing into this country has to do with beefing up the Border Patrol and giving them back the authority to detain and return illegals to their homeland. The technology available to us through the casting of a virtual fence, rather than the overpriced and ineffective (think ladders) physical barrier being constructed, would allow for total control of the border without giving up the Rio Grande and a 1,500 mile strip of valuable American territory to the Mexican nation while at the same time employing constant surveillance and pinpoint strikes to intercept and deport illegals before the water drips from their pantalones.
Here's an idea for you, to be considered along with a virtual rather than physical fence - Have the major American retail and manufacturing concerns set up interview facilities along the border at guarded entry points to take applications for work visas, interview prospective employees, and then sponsor those they wish to hire from those lined up to take their turn for a job and legitimate residence in the USA. Along with this would go the responsibility for the individual employers sponsoring each immigrant to ensure their wages are properly reported and taxes withheld as is done for any American citizen who toils in that same corporate workforce. This takes the job away from the incompetent Federal Immigration bureaucrats whose livelihood and tenure in office depends on slowing the process and keeping people on line and waiting, and hands it to the corporations who wish to speed the workers to their jobs and get the needed work accomplished. A fence is just a thumb in the eye of the honest people willing to come legally to this country to perform honest work for an honest dollar.
Mitt Romney is simply a phony who changes his beliefs like others of us change our socks. He pretended to be a moderate liberal to get himself elected Governor of Massachusetts (once) and now is pandering to the far right by pretending to be a righteous conservative with his election year conversion on virtually every major issue dear to each of us as Reagan Republicans.
His claim to economic expertise is a joke. He made his multi-millions by buying into struggling corporations, firing the majority of the workforce, stripping out the assets and setting a smaller but leaner firm back out into the marketplace. His enormous profits raked in from such corporate raiding come from nowhere else than the pockets of the people formerly employed and the stockholders of the companies he raped and repackaged. Not my idea of the way to build a successful economy based on full employment and steady, Reaganesque growth and profitability. He is buying his way into the White House by spending the windfall profits obtained from these short-term cosmetic fixes and the floating of misleading paper regarding the health of the unfortunate subjects of his venture capital tactics. Not right...
Get right on the facts, Sean, and stop buying into the party-line handed out by the radical-right wingnuts. They're just as dangerous as the commie-pinko-bedwetters on the left.
Get right and get with John McCain. And get off the fence - It'll likely be built, but it's destined to fail...
With best regards, Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: January 25, 2008 Subject: Your trip to Moffitt...
Got back home about 6PM this evening and Bettye seems comfortable with the air quality from the new AC unit. Although, she is on the Medrol dose pak so we'll have to give it a week or so to see whether she's over her crisis.
The pulmonologist from Moffitt called about 7:30 and wanted to know when we could come in for her bronchoscopy. Guess he just got the test results back from the other day... She's going to set something up with the scheduling nurse on Monday, so the timing of our return to Tampa depends on their availability in the bronchoscopy suite...
I hope we expressed our gratitude sufficiently for your hospitality this week. Above and beyond. Thank you again...
As team medic, I'm advising you have that cough cultured for problematic nasties before your head falls off...
We'll keep you posted on Bettye's health and well being.
Stay safe,
Bob
From: Bob Wirt Date: January 24, 2008 Subject: Bettye's diagnostics...
Hi Guys :
Bettye had diagnostic bloodwork done last night at Moffitt - a TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyrotropin) blood test which screens for and diagnoses thyroid disorders...
She's going back to Moffitt this AM at 7:00 for another diagnostic procedure, a Spirometry, pre- and post- Bronchodilator. The bronchoscopy procedures are all run on Mondays, so if they decide to do one based on the Spirometry, we'll be in Tampa a few more days.
The doctor suspects hypothyroidism and is considering an echocardiogram to detect mitral valve stenosis or possible mitral annular calcification or aortic stenosis.
Needless to say, she's a little worried about these new complications on top of her lung cancer.
Prayers and good thoughts will be of great comfort to her.
We'll be in touch and keep you posted...
Gotta go -
Bob and Bettye
From: Bob Wirt Date: January 24, 2008 To: Senator Bill Nelson
Subject: Musharraf and US pussyfooting on his murderous greed
The time has come for the United States to explain to Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf that, given his failure to extricate Al Qaeda from Waziristan and his refusal to allow us to do it for him, no more US funds are forthcoming.
How long are we going to allow this usurper of political power and pretender to legitimate elective office to take our anti-terrorism money while refusing to abide by his agreements with us and at the same time murdering his political opponents.
We talked Benazir Bhutto into returning to Pakistan without providing her protection from her known enemies in the government under the pretense of seeking democracy in the face of elections overseen by the dictator Musharraf and his hand-picked judicial toadies. This is not what America is all about. It's time for us to do the right thing and root out the Al Qaeda murderers, with or without Musharraf's assistance.
Justice delayed is justice denied, and we've waited all too long to extract it from Bin Laden and his ilk...
Bob Wirt
From: Senator Bill Nelson Date: January 24, 2008 To: Bob Wirt
Subject: RE: Your response from Senator Bill Nelson
Dear Mr. Wirt:
Thank you for contacting me regarding United States policy toward Pakistan...
Bill:
Thanks for the non-responsive form letter. I'll bet Musharraf was frightened by the strongly worded letter we sent him along with his check.
Bob Wirt
From: Bob Wirt Date: January 3, 2008 To: Editor Sun-Sentinel
Subject: It's not your grandma's cooking anymore
Your publication of the column "Sedentary lifestyle quicker cause of death" by the industry supported, deceptively named "Center for Consumer Freedom" should have been printed with the disclaimer that it is propaganda from the same fine folks who have been poisoning our food supply for the past several decades.
While our supermarket shelves and restaurant selections are laden with PHO's and other toxic chemicals designed to lessen corporate inventory overhead by extending the shelf-life of their products and thereby fatten their corporate bottom-lines, consumers' own lives are being shortened by those same chemicals and additives. With the FDA and other federal and state regulatory agencies firmly ensconced in the pockets of the food and chemical purveyors, personal choice is lost in a meaningless morass of labeling obfuscation about what is actually in the chemically altered foods being supplied to us. Why else are they allowed to label foods "Trans Fat Free" which actually contain Trans Fats, aka PHO's?
Grandma served up the apparently same foods over past generations with no obvious deleterious effect on her family and friends, but her foods were relatively fresh and not laden with preservatives and chemicals as has been the case only over the past forty years or so. What we're fed today isn't Mom's apple pie from Farmer Brown's orchard. It's simply a chemical stew served up by greedy marketing executives and CEO's out for money, without a detectable ounce of ethics or responsibility among the lot of them.
Bob Wirt
FYI :
The Center for Consumer Freedom is supported by restaurants, food companies and more than 1,000 concerned individuals. From farm to fork, our friends and supporters include businesses, employees and consumers. The Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. We file regular statements with the Internal Revenue Service, which are open to public inspection. Many of the companies and individuals who support the Center financially have indicated that they want anonymity as contributors. They are reasonably apprehensive about privacy and safety in light of the violence some activist groups have adopted as a "game plan" to impose their views.
Citizens For Ethics "Organizations like CCF give charities a black eye. Since when does Philip Morris deserve a tax deduction for hiring a lobbyist to create strategies to ensure that restaurants can allow smoking? Where is the charitable purpose in that?"
Citizens For Ethics columnist Nancy Goldstein reports on the CCF's finances:
Its top expenditure in 2003 was the $1.5 million in consulting fees and employee benefits it paid to Rick Berman's firm, which it describes as its "management company." You heard right. Rick Berman has set up a PR machine on behalf of the restaurant, tobacco and alcohol industry that presents itself as a consumer protection group, tries to discredit any kind of investigation or legislation that might cut into industry profits ... enjoys tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization, and pays its largest yearly fees into Rick Berman's pockets."
Sitting in a tree...
