Musings: Revolutionary Rhetoric

Earthjustice has a great little scam going.

First, it joins forces with advocacy groups and ideologues to frighten people about pesticides — but only pesticides used by agriculture. Then it encourages the fearful and misinformed to file countless complaints with the state Department of Agriculture.

Now it's asking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to take over pesticide enforcement because the state supposedly isn't doing a good enough job in handling those complaints. Like the EPA, which operates out of California, will somehow do better?

EJ then sends its EPA request, which dredges up the Waimea Canyon School stinkweed incident and characterizes the Kekaha Ditch as an “open sewer,” over to Civil Beat. 

EJ attorney Paul Achitoff knows his embedded reporter, Anita Hofschneider, will happily help him smear DOA by printing his bald-faced lie: "The public is at risk and the Department of Agriculture is asleep at the wheel."

No, the public is not at risk, and the DOA is wide awake. In fact, the DOA is doing everything that EJ demands. It's hired more inspectors, and is bringing on still more. It's greatly reduced its backlog of complaints.

But EJ isn't actually looking for results. It just wants to stir up shit and make DOA look bad after it and other anti-GMO groups have fricking buried DOA's small staff with their unrelenting demands and complaints.

Yet even as EJ asks the feds to come in and take over, it and its cohorts are crying for home rule. You just can't have it both ways, except in the world of smarmy rhetoric where Achitoff and his attorneys reside.

Sadly, this nonsense is costing taxpayers serious money, while EJ, etc. use these false complaints to solicit donations and file lawsuits that allow them to further fleece taxpayers by collecting legal fees, even if they don't prevail.

Like I said, it's quite a scam. Especially when the decidedly black-hatted — and hearted — Achitoff portrays himself as the good-guy champion for Earth and the underdog. We're on to ya, Paul. Or at least, some of us are.

We're also on to the DNC finger flipper and Bernie backer, Chelsea Kent, who has taken to the Star-Advertiser and Civil Beat to claim her childish gesture was not only justified, but noble, effective — revolutionary, even.

Uh, Chelsea, ya might wanna listen to Gil Scott Heron's anthem: “The revolution will not be televised.” And it sure as hell ain't gonna break out on the floor of the DNC in the Wells Fargo Center, no less.

In skimming Kent's little whine-a-thon — “We were told our candidate would have a fair chance, if we worked hard and followed the rules. We worked hard. We followed the rules. We were lied to. We were dismissed. We are not wanted.” Waaah! — I was reminded of the remark made by one of her fellow travelers during the hearings over the pesticide-GMO regulatory bill 2491: “We marched, and they still never passed the law.”

Wake up. Politics is an ugly, dirty business, which many of the Hawaii Berners should know, since they've been manipulating the political system to attack agriculture. But what they either forget, never knew, or refuse to believe is that political change is a long, slow process.  

Those who have power are loathe to yield it — especially to loudmouthed newbies who think they somehow gained standing because they bought into the fantasy that their 20-year career politician candidate was a “political outsider” who was going to launch a revolution. Until a dastardly conspiracy cheated him of the victory that was rightfully his.

The DNC was never going to concede anything to a candidate who joined the party simply to run for office, and promptly resign once he lost. But his supporters, like Chelsea, couldn't wait to play the victim card and whimper about how it hurts to have their illusions dashed.

Welcome to the cold, hard world. Grow up.

If Chelsea and her pals are really serious about revolution they'd best be prepared for sacrifices that go well beyond “begging for financial help” and “spending a precious week away from my three young children.” Until then, giving the finger just proves how powerless she/they really are.

Speaking of power, the almighty Facebook totally caved to the anti-GMO crowd and shut down the popular “‘We Love GMOs and Vaccines” page. It was created by a middle-school science teacher Stephan Neidenbach, who suffered the usual vicious attacks of anyone who dares to counter the anti-GMO message. But he persevered. So his foes ganged up to make countless complaints against the page until Facebook pulled it.

As Neidenbach wrote:

A Facebook representative on the phone explained that when enough people report a page or a post in a short period of time, Facebook automatically removes it. This technique isn’t just being used by the anti-science movement, but also by oppressive regimes around the world to stifle dissent. The Verge reported on how these tactics are employed by the Vietnamese government to silence journalists and activists.

It is utter insanity that Facebook allows these gangs of thugs to act as judge, jury and “executioner.” I understand that Facebook wants to keep a reputation for a “safe” environment, but allowing  keyboard renegades free reign stifles freedom of expression, which is what has made the Internet so great.

The anti-vaccers and anti-GMOers and other groups who not only defy science but attack those who promote independent thinking are not satisfied with just trying to block on the pages of science communicators, they are intent on preventing everyone else–you–from seeing independent information as well. In history class I teach of great wars fought against tyrants who do just that.

Funny, how so many of the same folks talking revolution are keen to adopt the tactics of the world's most repressive regimes. Kinda makes you wonder just what sort of revolution they have in mind.