Monsanto lobbyist, Michael Taylor to advise FDA

[GeezerMan]

Originally posted by: Babbles
Just to play a bit of devil's advocate here, there are not tons and tons of experts in these somewhat esoteric fields. As such you can not help but avoid having people who float from academia, to private industry, to government, and back to a previous job.

Originally posted by: GeezerMan

Playing God is a dangerous thing. I love the part where scientists derived pesticides from nerve gas. Golly gee wiz, could it be that's a bad thing for humans too? ( no news there I guess) . I wonder where all this cancer is coming from. Hmmmmm.

Honestly this is ignorance on your part in understanding the chemistry. Most commonly used organo-phosphate pesticides are what are called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which are a neurotoxins. Due to that entire evolution thing, just about all animals use the same neurotransmitter as such of course that pesticide is going to interact with the chemical pathway in just about the same manner regardless of the species.

Then you get into the entire concept of dose levels. Humans are going to have a different dosage requirement than a grasshopper.

Your ignorance of sarcasm is amazing. As far as dosage, just because a small amount of pesticide is deemed "safe" for humans , I try to avoid all I can since it builds up in the liver. It may take a cup to kill you, but a teaspoon is not good either.

While I can appreciate some of the argument of needing experts from industry to fill govt postions, this has run amok. Obama used the excuse of needing experts in govt to go back on his promise of no lobbyists in his govt. As far as Taylor, his role in bovine growth hormone while with Monsanto should preclude him from advising the FDA on food safety. What a farce.

 

[SP33Demon]

Hooray, more chemicals in our GMO foods that Japan and the EU refuse to import. Hey, maybe Roundup-Ready corn will soon be "certified Organic" by the FDA now? More news on the United States Food Experiment at 11.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Wow. Who in the hell is driving this bus...I wanna get off!

 

[shiner]

Watch your cornhole!

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I still don't understand how lobbying is legal. I ask it every time in these threads and it seems nobody really knows, just that's how it is.

Every person that writes a letter to their representative is lobbying. Some lobbyists just have more money than others.

Perhaps a system that eliminates PAC $ entirely, and limits campaign costs to $10k out-of-pocket for anything but a national Presidential election (perhaps $1m total, with no more than $5 per person/company donated?) .. maybe that would do us the justice of both breaking the two-party stranglehold, as well as getting some politicians to respond more to their constituency.

To go further, they can only make as salary the average family income for that state. Make them responsible for all of their personal expenses (food, etc).

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I still don't understand how lobbying is legal. I ask it every time in these threads and it seems nobody really knows, just that's how it is.

Every person that writes a letter to their representative is lobbying. Some lobbyists just have more money than others.

Perhaps a system that eliminates PAC $ entirely, and limits campaign costs to $10k out-of-pocket for anything but a national Presidential election (perhaps $1m total, with no more than $5 per person/company donated?) .. maybe that would do us the justice of both breaking the two-party stranglehold, as well as getting some politicians to respond more to their constituency.

To go further, they can only make as salary the average family income for that state. Make them responsible for all of their personal expenses (food, etc).

I don't mind the idea, but this goes too far. $1m for a presidential campaign will buy you a few national tv ads and that's it. No buttons, signs, rallies, nothing.

By capping the salary like that you'll do a few things: 1. The doctors/lawyers/anyone more than average in success/etc will never run due to the large pay cut. 2. The dirty guys won't care because they'll just skim more off the top anyways.

Making them responsible for all personal expenses is too much as well, depending on what you mean. They'll have to travel a lot for their job, and that means food/hotel/airfare/cars. I doubt someone on an average salary could afford all that travel.

 

[Genx87]

And in the year 2009 Brawndo simply bought the FCC and FDA. Oh wait...............

 

[Colt45]

Monsanto needs to be nuked from orbit one of these days.