The truth is non-partisan

Thank you Ken Jennings for expressing your feelings about media and
others attacks against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. I agree with much of what you say, except that I hope Mitt
Romney goes all the way with his campaign for the White House.
Although the Romney campaign invites negative publicity, it also gets
people interested in finding out more about his beliefs.
As much as I dislike the untruths I read about the Church (brought on
by the Romney campaign), I do believe that ultimately honest people
will discard the spurious and seek for the truth. A good place to
start, if you want to know more about what Mormons really believe, is
to ask the Mormons.
The Church has set up a web page that provides many answers to
questions. Go to http://www.mormons.org.

If you still want more
information, you can request it on the web page (or email me).
(Jennings won a record $2.52 million on "Jeopardy!" He is author of
the book "Brainiac." His editorial can be found at:
http://tinyurl.com/22xavg)

Look at the photos I took this week during an ice storm that hit
Northwest Missouri.

http://www.fisherhouse.com/winter/wonderland/

Monday night our area was hit by freezing rain - something I don't
think I have ever really experienced. The rain was falling and
freezing as it hit the ground. It was 27 Fahrenheit, but still
raining. The rain froze to the trees and to the power lines. Trees
started cracking and by morning there was about 20% loss. Half of the
town, including us woke up Tuesday to no electricity.

University classes had been canceled Monday for Tuesday in
anticipation of the storm. Final exams were rescheduled for Wednesday
and Thursday evenings. Fortunately, my wife's brother had given us
instructions on how to override the electronic controls on the gas
fireplace so we had some heat, but no lights, no hot water, no
furnace. It dropped to about 10 Fahrenheit and so most people if they
could were moving in with friends who still had power. One of my
colleagues spent the week in his office. The Community Center and a
church were opened for people who had no place to go. The National
Guard started going house to house to be sure everyone had what they
needed.

Tuesday night we had potluck with two young families in our church,
both with five little children. While we were at their home the one
family lost their power. (They only got it back on Sunday afternoon.)
Wednesday night we had potluck and movies at the university with these
families and several others. Then Thursday night our power came back
on and we invited the one family with five young children to spend the
night at our home. Friday was commencement at the university and
Saturday was the Division II championship game in Alabama which
Northwest lost. Sunday we met in the Primary room because the chapel
had no heat.

All in all it's been an interesting week. We contacted everyone in
the church to be sure everyone's needs were taken care of. Mostly
people took care of each other without having to be assigned. We
discovered there were things we didn't anticipate in preparing for an
emergency. We had inadequate lighting. Coal oil lamps would have been
a help. We also discovered that we need a wood stove - not a
fireplace. We were concerned about our refrigerator and freezers. We
emptied the refrigerator into boxes in the garage and put the contents
of the freezer in containers outside. However, we were worried that
if the power was off to long that we would have to empty our two chest
freezers. On Thursday, the temperature rose to over 40 degrees in the
sunshine on the south side of the house. We really needed a compressor
and fuel. We didn't have a portable radio, just the car radios. We
bought distilled water Monday night at Wal-Mart. If it turned really
cold, the water in the house pipes might have frozen. Most people let
the water drip and that kept the pipes from freezing.

People in surrounding areas are still without power. Things could
have been worse, but the community pulled together to help each other.
It amazes me how good people can work together to deal with some
pretty hard times.

See a local story:
http://www.maryvilledailyforum.com/articles/2007/12/16/news/news1.txt

The media are marginalizing Ron Paul's campaign to be president by either totaling ignoring him or ridiculing his ideas.

Yesterday, NPR's Tom Bowman focused on only the front runners in a commentary about GOP candidate use of words to describe the war on terror. He quotes Anthony Cordesman, who asks: "Is any candidate saying anything relevant about the war on terrorism, about the war in Iraq? And the answer is no."

In fact, what Ron Paul says is relevant. This is what Congressman Paul has said about the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism.

"The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. This war has cost more than 3,000 American lives, thousands of seriously wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars. We must have new leadership in the White House to ensure this never happens again.

"Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft of our young men and women.

"We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing America and bring the troops home. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution.

"Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations.

"Too often we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised. Too often we have supported those who turn on us, like the Kosovars who aid Islamic terrorists, or the Afghan jihadists themselves, and their friend Osama bin Laden. We armed and trained them, and now we’re paying the price.

"At the same time, we must not isolate ourselves. The generosity of the American people has been felt around the globe. Many have thanked God for it, in many languages. Let us have a strong America, conducting open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations." http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/war-and-foreign-policy/

David wrote: Check out the link below. This is interesting info. Maybe things aren't as doom and gloom as many of the websites out there would have us believe? http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dscodex.html#us

Here is my response:

Thanks for sharing this. However, in my view the FDA's position is either naive or conspiratorial. I'll tell you why I believe that.

U.S. patriots are fighting an all out battle to prevent U.N. and WTO control of U.S. trade and government. They are also fighting against what Glenn Beck calls MexAmeriCanada.

An open movement exists to have the U.S. join Canada and Mexico in a European Union style of government. (Economists in Europe have achieved in 30 years what Hitler failed to do in one of the most devastating wars of history.) This is not a conspiracy. This is a reality. It is being fought daily in Congress on one hand by those who want the free movement of illegal migrant workers so as to enrich U.S. business and on the other hand by those who want to protect the U.S. borders and jobs.

As signatories of Codex, countries become subject to its regulations. If they fail to follow the guidelines, other signatories can sue them in the world court for unfair trade practices. The result would be fines or embargoes. This happened recently under NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). Canada went to NAFTA claiming the U.S. overcharged billions of dollars in tariffs on soft lumber imports - and won. A NAFTA ruling is making the U.S. pay Canada back billions of dollars. In this case NAFTA superceded U.S. law. The same holds true when the U.S. signs any international law or treaty. The country loses its sovereignty. Look here for a Canadian take on the situation: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/softwood_lumber/

Let me give you a couple of other examples. A battle now is being fought in the U.S. Congress over the U.N. LOST Treaty (Law of the Sea Treaty), which would put 70% of the world's oceans under U.N. control. This would mean U.N. regulation and taxing of off shore drilling, for example. See http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55671

I think I can say that most people (including me) agree that torture of prisoners is bad. As a matter of fact most countries have signed the Geneva conventions which outlaw its use against prisoners of war. Now the U.S. government is claiming terrorists are not soldiers, so they can be tortured. Here is an older article about how most Americans think torturing terrorists is all right. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10345320/

In sum, when the U.S. agrees to Codex rules, its regulation of foods (including supplements and vitamins) becomes subject to the control of extra-territorial bodies like the WHO and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Practice shows the Codex will supercede Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). In addition, members of Congress are constantly trying to whittle away at the strength of the DSHEA. Either some in the FDA (like some in Congress) support worldwide regulation of food and drugs or else they are just too naive to realize what happens when a country signs onto international agreements. With each agreement that country gives up just a little bit more of its sovereignty.

For more information about Codex go to http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/index.php

See Ron Paul's position on Health Freedom http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/health-freedom/