Using the term "Nazi" to characterize the U.S. government is an appalling insult to every person in the U.S.A. People use the term "Nazi" far too freely. Were this government truly run by "Nazis" many of us would be in prison camps or worse yet, in ovens. We should thank our lucky stars that there is no "Nazi" government here. Who do you think the government is? If you're here in the U.S. it's all of us, like it or not. Those of us who vote, have sent the representatives that are in Congress, elected the President, etc. I wish people would refrain from characterizing others as "Nazis" because the users obviously have no clue of how horrific Nazism really is. Additionally, (and I'll just speak to Americans on this...) we are our government whether we choose to admit it or not. We can point fingers at "them" all we want but we put "them"there and "they" pretty much stay at "our" pleasure. I do understand the frustration that is rampant amongst people in the U.S. I get frustrated with the government for sure but...it is not run by Nazis and to characterize the government that way is just plain wrong. Additionally, if someone has a beef with the government, tell the government don't tell me. Do something about it. Nothing changes when all one does is run one's mouth with invective at the problem. It solves nothing and one becomes part of the problem.

Well, since we are at it, you want a clear cogent message. When I speak to reporters, I write down my messages and keep them in front of me and make sure I say my important messages at least twice. This is an advantage for me as if the reporter sees it, I don't appear like a professional, but I am organized and my words are cogent so it works. Now. So for this topic, the message is maybe something like: The intent of the bill is a noble one: to protect our food supply. But the text of the bill, as worded, is unnecessarily burdensome to family farmers. Especially in these economic times. So the important points above: intent is noble protect food supply text needs revision Family farmers will be burdened So much so we don't want to risk any more jobs These 5 bullets show that you get it and are concerned about the consequences, but support the intent. Family Farmers is a powerful metaphor. You want action in this case. Education is for another time. Lawmakers get it. Tell them you want some revisions so Family Farmers are protected. Note also how the OCA text I linked to above is written. And how I differed the style of my sentences in this comment and above. Short sentences for the message. But, you can also use commas for when you explain a topic, so that the tone changes. Commas change voice tone. Short sentences convey a message, something you want to keep in mind, just in case you get an audience. Dan

In response to a number of serious food contamination incidents (such as the recent salmonella outbreak linked to peanuts) that have raised concerns about the safety of the U.S. food supply, in February 2009 Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut introduced to Congress HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. The main purpose of the bill is to establish a Food Safety Administration (FSA) within the Department of Health and Human Services "to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination." "This salmonella outbreak represents the full-scale breakdown of a patchwork food safety system. And it should act as the final wake up call," said DeLauro. "That is why, today, I am introducing the Food Safety Modernization Act to separate food safety regulation from drug and device approvals and to restore the balance that has long been missing at Health and Human Service. Under the proposal, FDA would be split into an agency responsible for food safety (the Food Safety Administration) and another responsible for regulation of drugs and devices. This move creates an agency solely focused on protecting the public through better regulation of the food supply. The Food Safety Modernization Act would establish a farm-to-fork system for protecting foods that are currently regulated by FDA, which has jurisdiction over 80 percent of the food supply. The announcement of HR 875 spawned a number of Internet-circulated pieces warning about the dire results citizens would face should be the bill pass, most of them repeating exaggerated claims unwarranted by anything stated within the text of the bill itself. One oft-repeated claim is that Rep. DeLauro's husband, Stanley Greenberg, works for the agricultural giant Monsanto corporation, and therefore Rep. DeLauro has a substantial financial interest in the passage of HR 875, a substantial conflict of interest. This information is false. Stanley Greenberg is not a Monsanto employee; he's the chairman and CEO of Greenberg-Quinlan Research Inc., a public issues research and polling firm which, as the Las Vegas Review-Journal noted in a clarification, hasn't had any business dealings with Monsanto for over a decade: An editorial in the Las Vegas Review-Journal stated Stanley Greenberg, husband of Connecticut Democratic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who has proposed legislation imposing new mandates on food producers, "is a leading Democratic political strategist and consultant with clients including pesticide and fertilizer giant Monsanto." Both DeLauro's office and a spokesman for Greenberg's firm said that Monsanto has not been a client of Greenberg's for more than 10 years. As for some of the other claims about HR 875 stated in the pieces quoted above: Effects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it. The bill defines the term "food production facility" to be "any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation." It's something of a stretch to interpret that definition as applying to persons who maintain home-based vegetable gardens or otherwise grow small amounts of food for personal consumption. Requires organic farms to use specific fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated by the newly formed agency to 'make sure there is no danger to the public food supply.' No language in HR 875 mandates that farms (organic or otherwise) use of any particular fertilizer or pesticide, or requires the use of either of those products in general. The bill merely calls upon the FSA to establish regulations regarding "minimum standards related to fertilizer use." The power it would give to Monsanto, the criminalization of seed banking, the 24 hours GPS tracking of their animals No language in HR 875 addresses seed banking or requires GPS tracking of animals. Many of these same points are addressed in Rep. DeLauro's Myths and Facts sheet for HR 875: MYTH: H.R. 875 "makes it illegal to grow your own garden" and would result in the"criminalization of the backyard gardener." FACT: There is no language in the bill that would regulate, penalize, or shut down backyard gardens. The focus of the bill is to ensure the safety of food in interstate commerce. MYTH: H.R. 875 would mean a "goodbye to farmers markets" because it would regulateand penalize "each farmer who wishes to sell locally." FACT: There is no language in the bill that would result in farmers markets beingregulated, penalized by any fines, or shut down. Farmers markets would be able to continue to flourish under the bill. In fact, the bill would insist that imported foods meet strict safety standards to ensure that unsafe imported foods are not competing with locally-grown foods. MYTH: H.R. 875 would result in the "death of organic farming" or "mandate the use ofchemicals or certain types of seeds on organic farms." FACT: There is no language in the bill that would stop or interfere with organic farming.The National Organic Program (NOP) is under the jurisdiction of the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture (USDA). The Food Safety Modernization Act only addresses food safety issues under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). MYTH: H.R. 875 would implement a national animal ID system (NAIS). FACT: There is no language in the bill that would implement NAIS, which is under the jurisdiction of the USDA. H.R. 875 addresses issues under the jurisdiction of the FDA. Certainly the provisions of HR 875 are subject to legitimate debate over how effective the bill would be at improving and ensuring the safety of America's food supply and whether they would place undue financial and regulatory burdens on smaller farms and businesses that primarily engage in the local production and sale of food items, but those concerns aren't being effectively addressed through the circulation of unwarranted claims similar to those cited above. Sources such as the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund are better starting points for grasping some of the issues regarding how HR 875 might affect small farmers.

Dale, It is organic and I believe they do grow heirlooms. They use low tunnels to keep greens and other cold-hardy crops going through the winter. I suspect much of what we see from the garden is staged for the media, but still think that Michelle Obama is doing the nation a great service by focusing on the idea of planting a 'home garden' with your kids so the family can have healthy, fresh produce. Some elementary school kids from a school near the White House help plant and maintain the garden so they get lots of fun photo ops and stuff. Last year, they made a big 'to do' of harvesting fresh produce from the White House for some cooking show, but later the truth came out that they didn't really use the White House produce you saw them pick for the cooking segment of the show....instead they used purchased, local produce because they were filming at a NY studio. The scandal of it all! Gardengate! I'll find and link a story about the White House garden. It seemed heavy on greens to me last year, and I don't know how they kept them producing so deeply into the summer, but am sure there's probably a whole staff of White House gardeners who did most of the actual work! Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Layout Included In this story