"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not traitor, he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared." - Cicero, 42 B.C.
Hat tip to Brian Thomas Fitzgerald
Checking into the considerable power and influence of Monsanto, I have uncovered the following list of representatives and senators who have been colluding with Monsanto and, thus, endangering our food supply – exactly the opposite of what these members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are supposed to be doing:
House Agriculture Committee members:
Brad Ellsworth, Indiana, who has accepted $2,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Jim Costa, California, who has accepted $500 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Leonard Boswell, Iowa, who has accepted $4,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Collin C. Peterson, Minnesota, the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, who has accepted $3,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Sam Graves, Missouri, who has accepted $5,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Steve King, Iowa, who has accepted $4,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Blaine Luetkemeyer, Missouri, who has accepted $1,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Adrian Smith, Nebraska, who has accepted $1,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Senate Agriculture committee members:
Tom Harkin, Iowa, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, who has accepted $6,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Saxby Chambliss, Georgia, who has accepted $14,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Patrick Leahy, Vermont, who has accepted $1,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Max Baucus, Montana, who has accepted $5,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky, who has accepted $5,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas, who has accepted $3,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Pat Roberts, Kansas, who has accepted $3,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Mike Johanns, Nebraska, who has accepted $2,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Ben Nelson, Nebraska, who has accepted $1,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Bob Casey, Pennsylvania, who has accepted $500 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, who has accepted $1,000 in campaign contributions from Monsanto.
For the relatively small sum of $186,250 Monsanto has bought and paid for nineteen representatives and senators who are supposed to be serving their constituents, not the interests of Monsanto.
For decades, now, we have been allowing criminals to exist in our Congress – men and women who have, beyond accepting bribes on a routine basis, also come and gone through the revolving door that connects big business to government, holding board member positions in large multinational corporations like Monsanto, as well as many others. We have allowed them to come and go from business and industry and government as they please, completely oblivious to the fact that this is illegal and unethical, to say the least.
Among these “revolving door” politicos have been Mike Taylor, former Deputy Commissioner for Policy at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 1991-1994, who happens to have been an attorney working for Monsanto's law firm for seven years prior to his FDA post – a post that was created for him, allegedly to steer the rapid approvals of drugs and food products, such as those made from Monsanto's bio-engineered grain products.
Former Governor of Iowa TTom Vilsack, who was selected as Secretary of Agriculture in December 2008, is a supporter of genetically modified crops, including those designed to produce pharmaceuticals.
California state Senator Dean Florez is the author of California SB1056, which prevents local governments from legislating against genetically modified crops. This bill has been dubbed “The Monsanto Bill.”
Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense under the Bush administration, was previously the CEO of Searle, a subsidiary of Monsanto.
Former U.S. Trade Ambassador Mickey Kantor was on the board of directors of Monsanto.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was a Monsanto attorney prior to his appointment to the court by George H.W. Bush.
Linda Fischer, who held a key post at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was head of Monsanto's lobbying office in Washington, D.C.
Michael Friedman, former Acting Commissioner of the FDA, was later Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs at G. D. Searle, subsidiary of Monsanto.
Marcia Hale, former Assistant to the President of the United States under Bill Clinton was later Director of International Government Affairs for Monsanto.
Josh King, former Director of Production for White House events, later served as Monsanto's Director of Global Communications in Washington, D.C.
Margaret Miller, former Chemical Laboratory Supervisor at Monsanto, later became Deputy Director of Human Food Safety and Consultive Services of the New Animal Drug Evaluation Office, Center for Veterinary Medicine at the USDA.
William Ruckelshaus, former Chief Administrator of the EPA later served as a board member at Monsanto.
The interlocking web of money and deceit that ties our government to Monsanto and its interests is quite widespread, to the detriment of independent farmers and the American public.
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