Lynda

Playing connect the dots in politics.

Lynda
----- Original Message -----

> Many of you wrote to me requesting a list of PAC donations made by
> Monsanto.
> An interesting event has occurred. Nearly one-billion dollars were
> spent on
> the elections, and Monsanto is aware that they are under the
> microscope. Do
> they stop giving, or do they give in different forms that are not
> easily
> observed? During the 2000 election cycle, Monsanto gave a total of
> only
> $63,350 to Congress...on the record. Nobody will ever know what
> amounts were
> invested in the form of soft money, cash money, party favors, and
> gifts. The
> $63,350 paid to 435 members of Congress and 100 members of the Senate
> averages out to $118 per member. Sure. I believe that.
>
> The man receiving the second highest total dollars from Monsanto was
> Larry
> Combest (R-TX). He got $2000. Combest is the powerful chairman of the
> House
> Agriculture Committee.
>
> Who got the most from Monsanto? The winner of the Monsanto
> sweepstakes with
> $10,000 was John Ashcroft, (R-MO). Ever hear of the man? You will in
> the
> coming weeks during the Senate's confirmation hearings.
>
> Now...for those of you who are not regular readers of the notmilk
> column,
> let's review the Bush/Monsanto connection.
>
> FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT
>
> Monsanto's lawyer was appointed to the Supreme Court by George Bush,
> Sr. The
> deciding swing voter gave the election to George, Jr. That justice:
> Clarence
> Thomas, Esq.
>
> SECOND
>
> Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, was president of Searle
> Pharmaceuticals, purchased by Monsanto.
>
> THIRD
>
> Ann Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture, was on the board of directors
> of
> Calgene Pharmaceuticals, purchased by Monsanto.
>
> FOURTH
>
> Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health, was a supporter of Monsanto in
> Wisconsin. He received $50,000 from biotech firms is his election
> run, and
> used state funds to set up a a $317 million biotech zone in
> Wisconsin.
>
> FIFTH
>
> Mitch Daniels, Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
> Daniels was
> the vice president of corporate strategy at Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical
> Company.
> Eli Lilly and Monsanto developed the genetically engineered bovine
> growth
> hormone. Lilly "owns" the European "franchise." Daniels' presence
> insures
> that the bovine growth hormone will one day be approved for use in
> Europe.
>
> SIXTH
>
> The House of Representatives Committee Agriculture Chairman, Larry
> Combest
> (R-TX), has named Richard Pombo to head Agriculture's dairy,
> livestock, and
> poultry sub-committee. Pombo will have enormous power in chairing
> this
> committee. I remember Pombo as being a long-time member of Dairy,
> Livestock,
> and Poultry. In 1994, the approval process for Monsanto's genetically
> engineered bovine growth hormone became the greatest controversy in
> FDA
> history. At that time, the Dairy Committee considered a bill that
> would label
> milk and milk products containing the genetically engineered hormone.
> After
> all, Americans had a right to know what they are eating...right?
>
> The Dairy Committee stalled the proposed bill until the 1994
> elections. When
> the 1994 session of Congress expired, the bill died. It was never
> even voted
> upon. I began to investigate milk, milk hormones, and milk politics
> at about
> that time. I researched PAC donations, and learned that Pombo had
> accepted a
> total of $252,600 in PAC money that year. Remarkably, $84,385 waw
> given to
> him from private companies and groups doing business in Agriculture.
> Talk
> about buying votes! Even more remarkable was Pombo's relationship
> with
> Monsanto. I learned that this man had the audacity to accept money
> directly
> from Monsanto while voting on a bill that impacted Monsanto's future,
> and the
> future of biotechnology.
>
> I've called that PAC donation a bribe, and I continue to do so.
>
> BRIBERY
>
> Bribery is defined as the act or practice of giving or accepting
> money or
> some other payment with the object of influencing the action or
> judgment at a
> parliamentary hearing or other election.
>
> During the 2000 election cycle, Pombo accepted over $450,000. The
> dairy
> industry contributed $17,100, and groups with agriculture
> interests "donated"
> more than double the 1994 amounts. Now, Pombo runs the Dairy
> Committee.
>
> SEVENTH
>
> Last, but not least. John Ashcroft, Attorney General. The one man out
> of 535
> members of the House of Representatives and the Senate receiving the
> greatest
> amount of financial support from Monsanto. He received five times the
> amount
> of money as the congressman finishing second.
>
> Where do Americans finish in this stranger than fiction real-life
> drama?
> Last.

> Robert Cohen author of: MILK - The Deadly Poison
> (201-871-5871)
> Executive Director (notmilkman@n...)
> Dairy Education Board
> http://www.notmilk.com