Letters

All correspondence should be sent to editor@monitor.net. We reserve the right to edit letters as needed.

Interview With Carl Jensen That was a very nice article. It's very frighting that the media does not present newsworthy articles. Where can the public go for non-censored news? Thanks you for your efforts. I'm adding you to one of our bookmarks. Mary Jackson

Stop The USDA From Redefining "Organic Food" THE USDA HAS LOST ITS MIND! Just what in heavens is Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman thinking? If the USDA has its way, foods labeled 'organic' may soon include foods that are IRRADIATED, GENETICALLY ENGINEERED AND FERTILIZED WITH SEWAGE SLUDGE (which may include pesticides, heavy metals, dioxins and other chemicals toxic to plants and soil organisms). A lot of us here on the "left coast" know Washington folks seem to have lost their minds, and the USDA's new proposals for how organic foods should be labeled is certainty another example of this mindlessness. Until the end of April, the USDA is accepting public comment before making their final decisions. Please write a letter to: Eileen S. Stommers Deputy Administrator USDA AMS Room 4007-S, AgStop 0275 POB 96456 Washington DC 20090 fax 202-690-4632 (Refer to National Organic Standards, Docket# TMD-94-00-2) The Clinton Administration and Newt Gingrich's Congress should quit stumbling over each other trying to pay back their agribusiness contributors (who no doubt want to take over the exploding organic industry), and give us instead the kind of real, straight-forward, honest labeling originally recommended by the National Organic Standards Board. Michael Lind (Oak View, CA)

Medical Marijuana Politics In the Sacramento Bee ("Lungren: Medical pot spurs teen drug use," Feb. 3, 1998), Attorney General Lungren was reported as blaming a recent rise in teen drug use on Prop. 215, claiming that Arizona and California were the only two states in the nation to report an increase in teen drug use. In fact, there exist no data on drug use in California since passage of Prop. 215. According to Lungren's press office, the basis for his claim was the latest National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which dates from 1996 -- before Prop. 215 was in effect! Neither is there any basis for Lungren's claim that Arizona and California, the two states that passed medical marijuana measures, are the only two states to have shown increased drug use. Except for California, which showed a statistically insignificant increase in 1996, the Household Survey did not record breakdowns of data for other states: any trends in Arizona or the other 48 states are therefore entirely speculative. According to SAMHSA researchers, there is no evidence for Lungren's claim that medical marijuana initiatives have spurred teenage pot use. However, there does exist ample evidence that teenagers and voters should disbelieve Attorney General Lungren's mendacious claims about drugs. Jim Rosenfield

Millions at Risk From Burned Hospital Waste An interesting problem is surfacing from the undertakers over this subject. Mortuaries and crematoriums are becoming the "dumping" ground for hospitals across America. This is a problem for staff, when bodies arrive from hospitals that are loaded with tubing, bags, and needles. This risks the safty of employees when exposed to blood- borne pathogens, and worse, exposes all of us when burned in crematoriums. Crematoriums recently lobbyed and won exceptions from following OSHA's inceneration of waste hazard laws. The death industry often even contracts for hospital wastes, so that the hospital has a loophole. Karen Leonard

Please Send Letters of Support We have updated the EVN web page, with the story about the Casa Nova -- please take a look at these shocking pics and text. The Casa Nova is a Gay business in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, under attack from the religious right and the KKK. They (Casa Nova ) need our support. After reading this page we are asking that you pass this story on to your friends on the internet and that you drop a line of support for Pat Crammer and the men and women of the Casa Nova. Floyd Cochran, Education & Vigilance Network Cochran was the "Director of Propaganda" for the neo-nazi group Aryan Nation before renouncing racism in 1992, and since has been working to counter hate groups. The EVN web site contains some of the best material on these groups found anywhere on the Internet. -- Editor

Thanks Thanks for the Monitor. I love it. You are compiling the best articles and most important news events in the world and locally. More news about Timber issues would be welcome, also examining the politics and corporations involved. Keep up the good work. The year 2000 will mark the sailing of the Laura Virginia from San Francisco to Qualawaloo (now known as Humboldt Bay) carrying the first white people prior to their contact with the Wiyot people. Quite an anniversary! It would be cool if you covered the event. Jess O'Brien (Humboldt) The author's web site contains valuable articles and maps about the Chimariko people and their life in what is now Humboldt County. -- Editor

The Albion Monitor is great -- but I found you by accident; why don't you let people know you're around? Also, please consider space dedicated to exposing the the misinformation spread by the "analysists" in the major newspapers. They are often unintentionally hilarious. George Will (The Scarlet Pimpernel of the 90's) is evidently now basing his view of the world on info from the movies. Wonder if he's ever heard that thing about Plato and shadows on the wall? Gayle Ernst) I just found your website while searching for stories about global warming. I must say that it's refreshing to see such upstanding journalism in the morass of the Internet. I was wondering if you can tell me more about the Monitor and if you have a mission statement. "Andy" (New York City) A mission statement (of sorts) can be found in the editorial printed in the first August, 1995 issue. -- Editor

Fashion is Most Important I would just like to say I think you page is wrong. I mean, all the other companies are not as top quality. Nike is awesome and no other company can even come close to Nike's cool looks and fashions. Your boycott is a disgrace to the WWW, for anyone who reads it becomes stupider than they were before. I think you should take your boycott and shove it. NIKE RULES. "basket" Hello, I'm Nuts Can we really blame Bill Clinton for fooling with young lovlies in the White House? Rumor has it that Hillary flies female movie stars in from Hollywood for her sexual trysts. What's Bill to do? Become a monk? The stuff the President and First Lady are into these days is so sleazy you can't even let your kids watch the news anymore. "PBFORCE101"