tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81760024565026719572024-02-21T23:39:21.578-08:00The Girl's Gone RawAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-68959475343950220922012-12-22T21:26:00.002-08:002012-12-23T11:10:02.260-08:00The Doctor of Oz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh843p-Bkf7jI1w-T9MAmx1QrEr8mEK1jzTLPwVSO5fHQ8RETF0AH62f7oHvkScf8zAxlzuKDPk6rTMeCgiWxKOLgUJlOaeTnsFnO1WHEpx6xJhbYCizh0lSU_JgeR81KhWOr8knp2viX8d/s1600/photo+(18).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh843p-Bkf7jI1w-T9MAmx1QrEr8mEK1jzTLPwVSO5fHQ8RETF0AH62f7oHvkScf8zAxlzuKDPk6rTMeCgiWxKOLgUJlOaeTnsFnO1WHEpx6xJhbYCizh0lSU_JgeR81KhWOr8knp2viX8d/s320/photo+(18).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>Pay no attention to that money behind the man! The Great and Powerful Oz has spoken...<br />
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In what I consider to be a monstrous betrayal of consumers, his fans, his own profession and the general truth of matters, Dr. Mehmet Oz recently authored his career's own obituary in the form of an article published in the December 3rd issue of <i>Time </i>magazine. The endearing title of the piece? "What to Eat Now: The Anti-Food-Snob Diet".<br />
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Charming, isn't it? And buried somewhere among full page ads for pharmaceutical drugs, mercury-laden contact lens solution and big gas-guzzling vehicles, as well as impressively dull photos of frozen vegetables and canned beans alongside detailed info-graphics glorifying all manner of cheap, low-quality, brand-name ultra-refined and sugar-laden processed foods, is just enough copy written by the good doctor to thoroughly destroy both the health of numberless millions who follow his advice, as well as any credibility he might have hoped to retain among a health-aware food movement whose members know better than to swallow baloney in any form... Yeck!<br />
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In the article, Oz calls health conscious eaters elitist and anti-American. "Organic food is great, it's just not very democratic...", he wrote, and "You don't need to eat like the 1% to eat healthily... Save the cash; the 99% diet can be good for you."<br />
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Really? Because farming and choosing fresh foods is so much less American than negligently consenting to be the unwitting, under-nourished, over-medicated biological experiment of big food and big pharma corporations who repeatedly demonstrate about as much interest in our health as they do in educating us about the lack of nutritional content in processed and genetically modified foods? Please...<br />
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Since when is making intelligent, informed choices against the spirit of the Republic? I'll tell you... Since it ceased to be a Republic and became instead a dangerously unchecked corporate lobby whose political leaders are more for decoration than they are delegates. Since those power-drunk, money-grubbing bedfellows began wielding gargantuan profits to peddle their own baloney as though it were a prime cut of filet mignon. And guess who's biting -- those who perhaps need the most help, the people who spend more money on medications, operations and health insurance than they do on food. And, no doubt, many of them trust Dr. Oz implicitly, possibly even to the point of feeling relieved for their pocketbooks now that he's given the go-ahead to consume any amount of cheaper conventional foods (containing harmful pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified organisms) -- foods he now claims are substantially equivalent to those that are organic.<br />
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"Nutritionally, there is not much difference between, say, grass-fed beef and the feedlot variety," the mighty Oz spaketh.<br />
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Wow. What did he get his doctorate in again? <br />
<a name='more'></a>And, more curiously, did he not actually watch the documentary film (<i><a href="http://geneticroulettemovie.com/">Genetic Roulette</a></i>), that his own wife narrated, on the dangers of genetically modified foods -- the very same kind that are fed far and wide to feedlot animals, leading to all manner of diseases, infertility and death? Maybe I could mail him a copy.<br />
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Or could it be that this documentary and Dr. Oz's own earlier contributions to raising awareness on just how harmful the typical American diet is (with its genetically modified, pesticide-laden foods, etc.), is actually the reason the good doctor has now changed his tune? Was his message becoming too popular for his own good? One might argue that this article is just his attempt to offer folks more affordable ideas for healthy meals, but in reality, it's encouraging them to ingest more poisons, eventually making them sicker and causing them to die sooner, all while paying big corporations tons of money along the way. And so, if not from their pocketbook, the cost of consuming such a poor diet eventually comes at the expense of their health.<br />
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"There's even goodness to be found in some of the supermarket's seemingly most down-market fish and meats: those sold in cans..." he said. "Canned salmon in particular is as nourishing as if you caught a fresh salmon that afternoon... Let's also take a moment to celebrate the tuna-salad sandwich, which is to lunch what the '57 Chevy is to cars -- basic and brilliant."<br />
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Ehem... Here, Oz makes no mention whatsoever of the dangers of chemical preservatives, the likelihood of lead poisoning from the canned storage or even toxic mercury now so prevalent in most fish today. Plus, you needn't powers of observation more astute than a layperson's intuition to tell you that the nutritional content of fresh-caught salmon is far superior to that of canned salmon. (Duh.) And what of genetically modified salmon that's to be sold any day now to consumers who are none-the-wiser? What of the ecological and environmental dangers inherent when those Frankenfish escape into the wild, winning all the mating opportunities because they're larger, but thereby eventually killing off the species because they're supposedly sterile? (See <i><a href="http://www.scientistsunderattack.com/">Scientists Under Attack</a></i> documentary.) Surely Dr. Oz is aware of all this... I just can't imagine he doesn't have access to this information just as I do. Or was this article some kind of ploy by Dr. Oz's puppet-masters, to establish an early demand for salmon just in time for the GM salmon to come to market? It all seems pretty fishy to me.<br />
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"Throughout the developed world," Oz persisted, "we are at a point in our evolution at which famine, which essentially governed the rise and fall of civilizations throughout history, is no longer an acute threat."<br />
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Oh? Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of farmers (in less developed countries) who've committed suicide in the last decade because their genetically modified crops (presumably intended largely to feed Americans) failed to perform year after year after year, but who, thanks to Monsanto's seed patents, were forced to purchase new seed each year anyway. GM monocrops and the pesticides/herbicides sprayed heavily onto them ravage the ecosystem, endanger diversity, spawn superbugs and superweeds and threaten the delicate balance necessary for the survival of all living things. The moment we take that balance for granted is the moment we have effectively written off our own species and the world at large. Yes, I'm making it sound dramatic... because it IS dramatic.<br />
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Adding insult to injury, Oz continued, "And we know more about the connection between food and health than ever before -- down to the molecular level, actually. This has provided us the curious luxury of being fussy, even snooty, about what we eat, considering some food, well, below our station. That's silly. Food isn't about cachet. It's about nourishment, pleasure and the profound well-being that comes from the way meals draw us together."<br />
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Is that what Type 1 diabetes is to Dr. Oz -- a "curious luxury"? I must say that, for my part, I've never considered myself <i>fortunate</i> to have developed this health condition that's now responsible for my being on the healing path that I am. I'm glad to be healing and I'm grateful for all I've learned, but does my journey make me some kind of an elitist for seeking out information on how to better maintain my health? If so, that's a pretty twisted definition of elitism, especially considering that diabetes is an affliction more common among the poor than it is the wealthy, who generally have better access to healthy foods than do lower income families.<br />
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And it's no exaggeration that the diet Dr. Oz recommends is similar to the diet which, I believe, directly contributed to my own diabetic condition. Clearly, while on it, I wasn't nourished well enough for my body to perform any meaningful healing so as to prevent the manifestation of my diabetes. So, if I and others like me claim proper nourishment as our goal but Dr. Oz's diet fails to accomplish it, what then would he have we chronically ill elitists do exactly -- not ask additional questions of our doctors and dietitians? Not do our own research and then happily share that knowledge with others? Just bend over and grab our ankles while big food and pharma companies have their way? If so, then the good doctor and the shadow powers-that-be lurking behind him have revealed themselves for what they really are: liars and truth-haters.<br />
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I want to know how this man sleeps at night. How does he justify selling such outright lies to so many who are likely to take him seriously and end up seriously sick? Does he not feel the weight of at least some responsibility to the truth, particularly when he's got the power to influence the habits of so many? And so what was it that caused him to pull this sudden 180-degree turn? Was his life threatened? Was his family threatened? His show? Or perhaps I'm naive for thinking him so noble. Was he bribed? Could it be that simple? It just seems like too dramatic a departure from his previous position to have come from him alone. I mean, we're not talking about just one or two carelessly worded comments amidst an otherwise informative article; no, this is a targeted, strategic and thorough attack on health-minded communities and individuals who might consider becoming more health-conscious. It appears to be a PR/marketing stunt on behalf of corporate gangsters (the like of those capable of building an Oz empire, perhaps), as though whoever held a gun to the good doctor's head added in a low voice: "And you better make me believe you mean it."<br />
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And sadly, we do... We really do.<br />
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Like Dorothy to the Wizard, "I don't think there's anything in that black bag for me."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-38256548371303126672012-11-07T15:08:00.000-08:002012-11-07T17:39:36.535-08:00Propaganda 37: A Lying ShameIt seems the <a href="http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/vote-for-the-dinner-party/">Dinner Party</a> will have to reschedule its reservation at the political round table... for now. Unfortunately, the reservation fee is now forfeit (meaning I've got a little "bad-cop" drilling steam to let off...) Bon appetit elsewhere.<br />
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Dear California,<br />
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Money doesn't just talk; it votes... And congratulations! You have elected to continue learning the hard way. Rather than opting for harmless little labels to inform you ahead of time whether food might contain dangerous genetically modified organisms, it seems by voting against Proposition 37, that you prefer to wait until you've developed cancer, diabetes, food allergies, autoimmune disorders, infertility issues and gastrointestinal conditions (or worse, until your children do). And that's okay. It's certainly your right. Lord knows it took my being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes to get me to wake up and give a shit.<br />
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And though I doubt your children will, the multi-billion dollar biotech industry thanks you. And so do pharmaceutical companies, health insurers and the conventional medical industry. Because your vote has helped to sustain our flourishing disease economy. You see, they did their homework on you. The professional advertising and marketing firms they hired got to know you better than you know yourself. What they discovered is that money - at least the way you understand it - is more important to you than either truth or health. And so they ran with the bullshit "costly and deceptive scheme" theme, and in my sincere and heartfelt disappointment, I can only laugh at how easily you swallowed it.<br />
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Your gullibility is probably pretty funny to biotech leaders too. It only took them $45 million dollars in campaign spending - 93% of which came from *outside* California, by the way - to convince you that Prop 37 was too expensive. But did you once stop to ask how the biotech giants explain spending <b>FORTY-FIVE TIMES</b> the Prop's $1 million worst-case-scenario cost estimate, in order to defeat a ballot measure they say would be too "costly"? Did you never wonder why they might be so keen to dump that kind of money into a measure designed simply to supply you with information that would help you make better, healthier choices for your family? Hmmm.<br />
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Or perhaps making better, more informed choices for your family really is not something you value? For the life of me, I'm struggling here to understand exactly how labeling something could be perceived as a sincerely bad idea - and by 53.1% of the voting population. Aren't you otherwise all too willing to slap labels on things - good, bad, democrat, republican, racist, sexist, elitist, criminal? I know these deeply programmed dualistic ideas occur quite easily for me, and we're all part of the same flawed human condition.<br />
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The difference of course, in this case, is that the label wouldn't have been destructive or superficial; it would simply be calling something what it is - calling a cow a cow, for example. "This product may contain Genetically Modified ingredients." That's all. No name-calling. No mud-slinging. No "Monsanto and friends are a group of lying buffoons!" (which you'd probably discover for yourself at a later time). Nope, nothing of the kind. Instead, it would have communicated a very simple, very informative, and very transparent truth. But perhaps the truth still is just too much for you... Is that it...? And is my faith in you, therefore, tragically misplaced? Were you duped, or do you just honestly believe that ignorance is good for you? Maybe you're worried that if you have a better idea of what's really in that yummy chocolate cake at Whole Foods, you might have a real reason finally to stop eating it? Addicts are highly suggestible, after all, and it certainly wouldn't be the first case of outright denial in recorded history. It's not called "devil's food" for no reason...<br />
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But that the biotech industry could so successfully and effortlessly persuade you that your own ignorance is far more desirable for you than useful, factual information should serve as an eye-opening demonstration of just how well these companies spread lies and misinformation. Or did you not already hear that their campaign ads were full of lies and misrepresentations to the point that the Federal Bureau of Investigation may soon launch an official <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/037858_No_on_37_criminal_fraud_deception.html">criminal investigation into the "No on 37" campaign</a>? That's right. They lied to you, and you bought it. And even if the FBI does investigate, who's to say they'll get anything more than a little slap on the wrist? What do they care, after all? What's done is done. They've already successfully defeated Prop 37, and you helped them. They lied to you, and you bought it... So then, what's your blood sugar reading? How sleepy do you feel today? Who do you know that's been diagnosed this week? How blissful does that ignorance feel now? Are you ready to wash it off yet?<br />
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I hope so... Because it's OKAY to bite the hand that feeds you <i>poison</i>.<br />
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Suppose you begin to realize that how you spend your money can actually have more power than your vote at a polling place. Suppose you begin to view it as a daily expression of what your values are and where you choose to spend your energy. And where is that now? Do you spend more on healthcare than you do on food? Are you still so disconnected from the truth that your body requires certain minerals and nutrients in order just to survive - much less begin to heal from whatever ails you? Reconnect to that truth, learn about the "food" that's poisoning you, take back responsibility for your health and that of your family, stop being a slave to big food and big pharma industries, and maybe you'll finally begin to see that simply labeling a package doesn't eliminate choice or even cost that much at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. It can help you make better choices, feel better and happier and even save you money on long-term healthcare costs. And when you're ready to wake up to THAT reality, we health-conscious activists will be only too happy to welcome you to the land of the living.<br />
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In the meantime, those of us who care for change must continue to defy social conventions and keep on asking the difficult questions, even at the risk of social ridicule. Though we've lost the battle for Prop 37, what the fight has taught us is that the conversation over GM technology and labeling has only just begun. We must redouble our efforts to educate and communicate. No amount of biotech "hush money" can hold back the truth for long. These Franken-foods are only NOT labeled... until they are! And, even if I must author the next version of a GM-labeling proposition myself, that progress seems inevitable now. As Mike Adams of Natural News has said, "This effort to label GMOs is going to be repeated state after state, year after year, until victory is achieved."<br />
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So let the boycotts begin! Here's an infographic to help you get to know which companies paid money to help keep you in the dark: <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Natural-Brands-Betray-Consumers.html">http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Natural-Brands-Betray-Consumers.html</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-7630966345436906642012-11-04T20:44:00.002-08:002012-11-05T09:32:24.917-08:00GMO & the Rules of Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm going to just go ahead and dare you now - to name a company, any company, that ever innovated a product that everyone wanted, hurried to get it on the market and then didn't advertise it. If you thought of any at all, I'd wager your list is quite small (and likely consists of non-profit companies or open source programmers). Now, name just one such product-driven corporation with a product that everyone wants but which the manufacturer actually pays money to keep its distribution quiet... Coming up dry? Me too.<br />
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But that is what biotech companies like Monsanto would have us believe about them - that their genetically modified products (already being sold on the market and already a staple in the diets of most Americans - albeit largely unbeknownst to the general population - since they were first introduced in 1996) are simply too wonderful to advertise! Too fabulous for a multi-billion dollar industry to want to take credit for them! And so amazing that, beyond not taking credit for them, industry giants would actually <b><i>pay BIG money</i></b> to keep the curious and inquiring public blissfully unaware of which foods contained this impressive new food-stuff!<br />
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Ehem... Really? Does this behavior make ANY sense to anyone?? Aren't advertising and product promotion something like the very first rules of business?</div>
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I've been so busy with life, work, loved ones and activism these days that I wasn't sure whether I'd have time to write my own personal blog about the GMO labeling initiative here in California. But after receiving a flier in my mailbox this week, from well-funded opponents to Proposition 37 (to which a "Yes" vote would mean mandatory labeling of GM products), I figured I had better make the time. </div>
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It was a slick presentation - one large piece of stock paper with a nice matte finish, one fold, full color, attractive graphics, big smiles, impressive credentials and - oh yes, a money salad... Mmmmm. Only it was full of lies - about how expensive the initiative would be, among other things. And give me a break. When every food item is already required to have a nutritional label, how much more expensive could it be simply to add a line stating that GMOs are or may be present? Seriously?? Perhaps food producers will see a decline in revenue on items that are labeled as containing GMOs and therefore necessarily have to adjust to actually providing consumers with the healthier, higher quality foods they really want (god forbid)... I can see that happening, but not the general increase in costs proposed by these lying buffoons. While conducting research recently for a popular online health journal to which I'm now a contributor, I also discovered that more than $40 million dollars had actually been poured into the "No on 37" campaign, by all kinds of heavy weights in big agriculture industry - companies like Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta, who were themselves creating the genetically modified organisms they now (and apparently never have) wanted labeled.</div>
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My first thought was how insane that seemed. Even as biotech companies and the FDA ignore data from their own scientists, the message we hear over and over again is that these products (still largely untested) are completely safe for human consumption, though <a href="http://www.responsibletechnology.org/posts/?p=1412">a recent test performed in Canada raised immediate and startling concerns</a> to the contrary - indicating that the Bt pesticide bacteria used in the rather imprecise process of modifying GM foods actually continues to self-replicate in our bodies for years after we've stopped consuming it. And so, like the GM crop we consumed as food, now we ourselves are living pesticide-producing factories! Like something out of a science fiction novel or horror film, what it means is that we're essentially experimental hosts for alien (foreign, cross-species) lifeforms. And what of the pregnant women in the Canadian study? What of their unborn babies? If these women are growing children whose very cells are only just beginning to form while under the influence of this alien genetic material (before even the establishment of a blood-brain barrier, according to Jeffery Smith of the Institute for Responsible Technology), what might the consequences be? Might this technology not already be compromising the very foundations of the human life process? </div>
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I think it is. And this <b>IMPORTANT</b> documentary film (<a href="http://geneticroulettemovie.com/">http://geneticroulettemovie.com/</a> which is free to watch through election day, November 6th) helps to explain why. Though more tests are required to confirm it, scientists acknowledge that the pesticide used in GM foods is designed to break open the stomachs of insects and kill them, and they speculate that, over time, the effects of its consumption by humans would result in much the same epidemics we are seeing now - dramatic rises in food allergies, autoimmune disorders, gastrointestinal problems, and other digestive illnesses - even some conditions which remain as yet unnamed and/or difficult to diagnose by conventional medical means... Plus, diagnoses of such conditions are happening at younger and younger ages. (Read about the<a href="http://www.realfoodhouston.com/2012/10/15/pottengers-cats-an-early-window-on-epigenetics/"> Pottenger Cat Study at to learn more</a> about why this path, if continued, will eventually lead to the extinction of the species.) </div>
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But let's suppose for a moment that GM foods are NOT harmful to our health. If that were true, then why in the world wouldn't these biotech companies be <b><i>bragging</i></b> about their products, which they continue to tout have the ability to "feed the world"? Ignoring that this technology can't possibly feed the world because it's based on a mono-crop design that encourages the increased used of pesticides, effectively creating new super-bugs and super-weeds, while also draining the natural ecosystem and eliminating the biodiversity on which all of life depends... Again, ignoring all that for a moment, why else might they <b><i>NOT</i></b> want consumers to know which products contained GMOs... unless there were some underlying concern that people would ultimately reject them and their GM foods? </div>
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So what, then, is behind this apparent fear of full transparency? Could it be they fear what a knowledgeable and informed public might eventually demand? Might it be they fear at last being held accountable for the many crimes perpetuated against the world's consumers which have resulted in innumerable hospitalizations, illnesses and deaths? Yes, yes, in fact, it could very well be that. And we may soon have a chance to see what happens when the tables are turned. </div>
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My sincere hope is that Proposition 37 here in California will pass, helping not only to inform people as to what they're <b><i>really</i></b> eating (and as to what they're unwittingly feeding their own children), but also to provide greater incentive for merchants to make a better quality product available to consumers. I may not have earned the highest grade possible in economics courses back in college, but I did take away at least one important understanding: that consumers lead and businesses follow. When we make our demands loudly and strongly enough, supply must inevitably comply. </div>
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In this sense - even in our currently twisted, unsavory, unsteady political state - the perceived rule of business is just an illusion. Ultimately, it is We the People who show the way forward... and, I hope, to progress.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-67899732978937946672012-09-26T10:41:00.001-07:002012-09-26T10:47:39.476-07:00Udder Misconduct: A Petition for the Preservation of Food Rights<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJGajjLt59zLMudRnhbZyGcrs68VY8jdfpsC7q0hyphenhyphenCqkszyTlcNpNfE8KT97uD4Tn3cVTi5SGvCmDBrKdN03zHMysnMfSvm7SK5E4LlgZiM06Lr1BfyS9y2B4qVGiKMISU8v1RKsnqnRq/s1600/mesharonjames.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJGajjLt59zLMudRnhbZyGcrs68VY8jdfpsC7q0hyphenhyphenCqkszyTlcNpNfE8KT97uD4Tn3cVTi5SGvCmDBrKdN03zHMysnMfSvm7SK5E4LlgZiM06Lr1BfyS9y2B4qVGiKMISU8v1RKsnqnRq/s320/mesharonjames.JPG" width="279" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Palmer & Stewart <br />
at Healthy Family Farms, June 2012.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 1.5em;">Our inalienable rights are routinely sacrificed on the altar of a criminal justice system, which in the name of some imaginary almighty government, forgets too often that We the People - including the accused - are, in fact, its employer.</span><br />
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Recently, here in Southern California, the Ventura County District Attorney’s office has succumbed to this particular version of selective amnesia, in a relentless assault on food rights (among others) and its apparently unlawful prosecution of Santa Paula farmer Sharon Palmer of Healthy Family Farms and raw ‘milkman’ James Stewart of Rawesome, a private food club in Los Angeles.</div>
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And so, at this critical hour, it becomes our civic and patriotic duty to remind our government of its responsibility to the People.</div>
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With that in mind - together with small group of very serious supporters - I've authored and compiled a petition for the immediate release of Stewart from custody and the necessary dismissal of all charges against him and Palmer.</div>
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Here is the link to that petition: <a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/free-the-farmer-release-the-milkman-stop-the-wrongful-prosecution-of-sharon-palmer-james-stewart-drop-all-charges-immediately" style="background-color: transparent;">https://www.change.org/petitions/free-the-farmer-release-the-milkman-stop-the-wrongful-prosecution-of-sharon-palmer-james-stewart-drop-all-charges-immediately</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><b>PLEASE REVIEW, SIGN & SHARE IT </b>with everyone you know! Together, we really can make a difference, and stop this tyrannical persecution of farmers and food club managers dead in its tracks.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-44509617242889328832012-08-29T20:34:00.001-07:002012-09-04T22:50:51.801-07:00Food Rights & Responsibilities<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONWo-emJiI3MkXPfgGsbbakYeicBuXiNISVNfAzDipRNmOLp_oHegpQnJFgB3-jgDX-fH6VHbzuFz3NAkKGFscpxbtY2Q0SyCgiJmzh2g8NtD7lVswIOr14-DBChsZOcnQ1f_SrGHuAu5/s1600/facade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONWo-emJiI3MkXPfgGsbbakYeicBuXiNISVNfAzDipRNmOLp_oHegpQnJFgB3-jgDX-fH6VHbzuFz3NAkKGFscpxbtY2Q0SyCgiJmzh2g8NtD7lVswIOr14-DBChsZOcnQ1f_SrGHuAu5/s320/facade.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Former site of Rawesome, August 2012.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You needn't study the face of the currently incarcerated 65-year-old James Stewart in the Ventura County jail, as I did recently, to get an accurate picture of the state of the food rights movement here in southern California. It's written all over the facade of what was once the location of the Rawesome private food club at 665 Rose Avenue in Venice: "No Trespassing" reads a sign presumably posted by one of the more disgruntled property owners.<br />
<br />
For me, both images are equally disheartening, darkened by government agenda, ongoing private disputes, questionable choices, apparent betrayal and a formerly outspoken and bright-eyed community now largely absent.<br />
<br />
It's a marked difference, at least by my observation, from the events of this time last year. Immediately following Rawesome's most recent raid on August 3rd, 2011, several community members and I were echoing rally cries and waving American flags in <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/08/sucker-punch.html">protest outside the downtown LA courthouse</a>, where raw milk man James Stewart, farmer Sharon Palmer and Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader Victoria Bloch Coulter were due to appear in court on charges related to selling raw milk. Our numbers were small, but our message (which was picked up by local newscasts) was mighty: "Government officials who think they can come between us and our food rights better think again!"<br />
<br />
But now I wonder whether those rally cries were loud enough even to reach our own ears, let alone the government regulators who launched this provocative attack on food rights. How <i>could</i> they have been loud enough, when these images are all that remains of Rawesome, formerly one of southern California's meccas of specialty health foods? And how could they possibly be loud enough <i>now</i> to compete with all the cinematic-dramatic <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/036123_Aajonus_Vonderplanitz_Sharon_Palmer_secret_audio.html">revelations surrounding Aajonus Vonderplanitz</a> and his role in this bizarre tale, the many inflammatory online remarks crucifying Sharon Palmer for alleged misdeeds <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/036064_Sharon_Palmer_Healthy_Family_Farms_chicken.html">now proven to have been completely fabricated</a>, and the holier-than-thou judgments against James Stewart for actions that appear to suggest he may be merely mortal, after all? <br />
<br />
Like d'Artagnon of <i>The Three Musketeers</i> film (alas, I never read the novel), who journeyed to France for the sole purpose of whole-heartedly joining the Musketeers only to discover they'd just been disbanded, it seems I arrived on the Raw foods scene ready to thrive within a new community, only to watch it crumble to pieces. One might argue that I was mistaken ever to assume it was well organized. And even if that be the case, how long are we willing to accept it as an excuse for inaction?<br />
<br />
When I first met each of the Rawesome Three (at different times over the last year or so), I was quick to offer my thanks and support, eager to assure them that I was a big fan of their work - meaning that I appreciated the risks they took to provide me with healthier, fresher alternatives to conventional foods. While I certainly meant every word of those offerings, I realize now in hind-sight that perhaps I took it for granted that they already had more meaningful help and support than they knew what to do with. Any service or kindness I could offer, I thought, surely had already been covered ten-fold by friends, neighbors, community members, volunteers and the like... But I couldn't have been farther from the truth.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Honestly, I marvel sometimes at how quickly and easily I joined the regular company of these brave folks. Though it's true in a sense that I was simply in the right place at the right time, what this fact makes clear to me, ultimately, is that too few are stepping up to lend their support. But it's not for lack of good will, I gather.<br />
<br />
Shortly before his most recent arrest, James Stewart had shared with me the details of a dream he'd had not too long ago. In it, he was surrounded by members of the Rawesome community, all standing in solidarity with him at the club during its regular hours. Then came the police and the courts, and it was time for the community members to make good on their declarations of unwavering loyalty. "C'mon, everyone! Let's go!" he said to his team, looking over his shoulder only to discover... Crickets. They had all vanished.<br />
<br />
Though the dream serves mostly just to reveal James Stewart's own internal processing, its theme is consistent with the large number of empty seats at some of <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2012/04/animal-farm.html">Rawesome's most recent court dates</a>. Could it be that the former Rawesome community assumes, as I did, that there are others closer to the situation who might be of more help than they would be? Could it be they fear becoming some kind of target themselves? Could it be that they have been distracted by the same slanderous remarks still threatening to destroy the livelihoods of a raw milk man and a farmer? How many more wrongs must occur before we're finally ready to make them right? And what will it take to get us all involved again?<br />
<br />
Much can happen in a year, I know. The last twelve months have brought a number of changes in my own life - in relationship, living situation, career, academic pursuits, money, family and health too, of course.<br />
<br />
"But where did everyone go?" I asked a friend recently.<br />
"To the Co-op," she answered, somewhat cheekily.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uMASQ3hF8acMacwdUuJv8sPXrGYh2chCvkNborlWW2pzTw7FGTsAxVCgx47HQSRUDWxcMGYovxGp4bee4LUcrR25ezaLVl5cOuYdvlOQouVZQjcGFvvWGFr9Jd4YLMzUcouoGk1bIPcy/s1600/hffdairy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uMASQ3hF8acMacwdUuJv8sPXrGYh2chCvkNborlWW2pzTw7FGTsAxVCgx47HQSRUDWxcMGYovxGp4bee4LUcrR25ezaLVl5cOuYdvlOQouVZQjcGFvvWGFr9Jd4YLMzUcouoGk1bIPcy/s1600/hffdairy.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"> All that remains today of the former raw milk dairy<br />
at Healthy Family Farms in Santa Paula, CA.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And thank god for the Co-op... I agree it is a wonderful establishment, with or without Rawesome. Still, I wonder: How many retreats will we make in this battle before we've no territory left to defend? And what valued resource would disappear next? Looking at photos of the former Rawesome and what remains of the old goat dairy at Healthy Family Farms makes me shudder to think what will happen if we don't work harder to support the farmers, milk men and others who risk so much to make these healthy foods available. What else are we, as a community, willing to give away to the government, while we waste valuable energy and resources continuing to attack each other? How long until California's real-food farms are utterly reduced to wasteland?<br />
<br />
There is no going back to offer our sound advice into how Rawesome should be organized. There is no talking Vonderplanitz out of inviting governmental microscopes into what seems <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/article/2012/august/13/straight-talk-about-outsourcing-and-where-it-fits-food-rights-movement">a matter of private dispute</a>. There is no rewind-delete option for the slander that still threatens to put Palmer out of business. And there is no dragging my friend, Stewart, against his will, to <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/article/2012/july/27/james-stewart-arrested-skipping-bail-rawesome-raw-milk-farm-cases-michael">missed court appearances</a>. That's simply the reality.<br />
<br />
Neither can we change reality by denying, ignoring or running from it -- arguably, a lesson for Stewart as well. But regardless of how we like the politics, the players or the odds, THESE are the cards we're holding, and there is no bluffing our way out of this game. Not now. Like it or not, what happens with the Rawesome cases in Los Angeles and Ventura will impact the food rights movement across the nation. Should we fold at this critical hour, then we risk leaving other farmers and good folks and yes, even ourselves, vulnerable to attack.<br />
<br />
In the same way that <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/p/insulin-free.html">my going off synthetic insulin</a> has allowed me to experience the <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2012/08/cake-consequences.html">true state of my diabetic condition</a>, so has the unfolding drama of Rawesome allowed us all a glimpse into the true, and clearly injured, health of the current food rights movement here in southern California. So, too, is it providing us the opportunity to observe the quality of our own substance and commitments, for better or worse... And it is from this more honest place that we can at last begin to heal. We have only to move <i>forward</i> from here.<br />
<br />
So will we make the still pending fates of Palmer, Stewart and Bloch our final word on the matter, or is there to be more to our story? Whether in standing with them specifically - or by supporting other local farmers and food producers - can we not at last commit, or <i>re</i>commit, to playing a more active role in the dialogue on food freedom? Do we not at least owe it to ourselves, our families and our communities to take on some responsibility for protecting the rights we so readily claim?<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnkIGlwws27frMZlpkk6SY4Pgt_5kvMvfihuUlVmsdwqI8w1MP46HC7ogTBiAv0ZkIiUGncJ93nFHvt_ArnBiNyEC4t9TV8AkgQsg9pWMGUBx-r_tvPbl0JAscbAGrnKV2lSsD7HfDrsC/s1600/mesharonjames.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnkIGlwws27frMZlpkk6SY4Pgt_5kvMvfihuUlVmsdwqI8w1MP46HC7ogTBiAv0ZkIiUGncJ93nFHvt_ArnBiNyEC4t9TV8AkgQsg9pWMGUBx-r_tvPbl0JAscbAGrnKV2lSsD7HfDrsC/s320/mesharonjames.JPG" width="279" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">With Palmer and Stewart at Healthy Family Farms,<br />
June 2012.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I am exceedingly grateful to folks like David Gumpert and Liz Reitzig (who recently guest-blogged on Gumpert's site: <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/article/2012/august/16/salute-real-heroes-food-rights-struggle-and-how-back-them">Part One</a> & <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/article/2012/august/21/how-i-look-past-negativity-and-stay-positive-and-committed-food-rights">Part Two</a><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">)</span></span> who gracefully and ever so gently remind us what is ultimately at stake here. As Reitzig indicates in her articles - and I paraphrase - committing your support doesn't have to mean giving up an arm, a leg or a firstborn child. She offers some wonderful ideas in her articles on how to get involved - from growing your own garden, to visiting and thanking your local farmer, to organizing a demonstration for food rights in your area. We can all do something. <i>For those interested in supporting the Rawesome Three, please see the information I've posted below.</i><br />
<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
After all, at the end of the day, each of those accused ultimately stands alone before either a judge or jury. Why not arm their hearts with all the love, support and encouragement we can muster? They've <i>fed</i> us after all... It's time now to pass the plate.<br />
<br />
========================<br />
<br />
HOW TO SUPPORT THE RAWESOME THREE:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Attend the LA Preliminary Hearing, September 7-14</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Los Angeles Superior Court</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">210 West Temple Street</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Los Angeles, CA</span><br />
<nobr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">(213) 974-5279</nobr><br />
<nobr style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/">www.lasuperiorcourt.org</a></nobr><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>2. Help Raise Funds for Legal Fees: </b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Please check back periodically for details on an upcoming online auction to benefit Sharon Palmer & James Stewart of the Rawesome Three.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<b>3. Send a Postcard to James Stewart: </b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">James Stewart </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">#1279100</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">P.O. Box 6929</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Ventura, CA 93006</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">(NOTE: All postcards must include a return address and adhere to </span><a href="http://www.vcsd.org/sub-visiting-information.php#5" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">these important guidelines</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">! Also, James's location is subject to change depending on various circumstances; I will post updated information here as necessary.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-62939296832724983652012-08-02T21:55:00.000-07:002012-09-06T23:00:32.569-07:00Cake & Consequences<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTz9UHsUHbJZE7kyDaOksF5A8OQ0wWsxZJNqd79DwCxv57oysSlE16ow9L_ilzlLk8xTT8xPDZ88Hz8OgxosiEPCP-DnOlhtgHKGQngmVM31vMFRYnTn0_8DEV4_lMEt3g887gHL2Rwzlw/s1600/cake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTz9UHsUHbJZE7kyDaOksF5A8OQ0wWsxZJNqd79DwCxv57oysSlE16ow9L_ilzlLk8xTT8xPDZ88Hz8OgxosiEPCP-DnOlhtgHKGQngmVM31vMFRYnTn0_8DEV4_lMEt3g887gHL2Rwzlw/s320/cake.JPG" width="268" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Easily one of the greatest offenses perpetrated by the modern medical community (and there are many), particularly where the so-called treatment of diabetes is concerned, is that it plays to the sick person's often desperate desire just "to feel normal again". </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I remember vividly how vulnerable I was, trembling behind tears as I sat in my endocrinologist's office for the first time after diagnosis. Still quite frail <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/01/diagnosis-1600-part-one-fish-out-of.html">after 5 days in the hospital</a>, I endured a seemingly endless onslaught of new information about what was required of me in managing my condition so that I might live well with diabetes. </span><i>But can one really live well, in a state of chronic illness? Isn't illness fundamentally the opposite of wellness?</i><span style="background-color: white;"> "Just make the best of things, and try not to think about the future for now," seemed to be the message I was getting from my doctor. I would always be diabetic from now on, he had said. And if he could be considered mercilessly direct about anything, it was that. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Compassionate, attentive and supportive as they were generally, however, it was never with the help of my endocrinologist or dietitian that I would learn what it really means to live with a chronic health condition. In the end, medicine has only served to prop up my ego, crutch after crutch after crutch, since the moment of diagnosis. It began with synthetic insulin and the suggestion that I substitute diet soda for regular. I was told I could still enjoy burgers and fries, so long as I didn't eat a whole order of fries all by myself. Things didn't really have to be so different, it seemed, and that was exactly what I wanted to hear. </span><i>Please, oh please, tell me more about this diabetes of convenience.</i><span style="background-color: white;"> At one point, I had become curious about nutrition's role in health and was told by my dietitian that there was essentially no difference between organic and conventional foods. And later, when I received test results indicating <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/03/just-say-no.html">elevated protein levels in my urine</a>, I was told there was nothing I could do that would change things and that I should just take the pill that had been prescribed. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">And slowly, the truth began to sink in... Even though much of what I was being told did seem easier than changing my whole lifestyle, none of it made any sense.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">All that justifying I'd done to co-workers who had looked at me sideways as I helped myself to a slice of someone's birthday cake, all the lecturing I'd barked at folks who told me I shouldn't have this or that because I was diabetic... It was all just excuses. I didn't want to give up those comforts. I didn't care if I now required insulin. I would have my cake and eat it too. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Even the so-called "education" I'd offer to people who thought they knew something about my Type 1 diabetes, simply because their great aunt had Type 2 followed by gangrene, was based on total bull. "Type 1 is SO different from Type 2, and here's why..." I'd say. I was both defensive and defiant, and anyone who told me I couldn't have a doughnut would have to eat their words just as soon as I ate that doughnut. It wasn't a problem, I told myself, and readily preached to others; I'd just take my insulin like a good diabetic, and all would be fine.</span><br />
<a href="" name="more"></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">But what rotten luck for those Type 2s, I thought, to be caught up somewhere in the Purgatory of insulin deficiency - not quite with, but not fully without. If only they could be fortunate enough to have access to a super-genius insulin jet-pack like mine (my insulin pump, that is). I mean, how could Type 1 really be more serious according to doctors, when it seemed so much easier to manage?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">The answer, of course, was that my medical experience of diabetes was an inauthentic one. Synthetic insulin was just a crutch, masking the true severity of my condition, and though I didn't realize it at the time, I understand now: It is only by discarding all crutches that we learn the strength to walk again. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">Now, my confidence builds with every new step, because progress is again my own. Still, having said no to insulin and other pharmaceutical drugs doesn't mean I'm suddenly not diabetic anymore. </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">Flattered though I may be at the idea of such hopeful re-branding, I know in my heart - even with mostly normal blood sugars - that I am not yet well. On the contrary, if anything, I'm more truly diabetic since <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/p/insulin-free.html">having come OFF insulin</a> than I ever was while ON it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">It seems virtually impossible these days to remain in denial about my condition. In fact, for the first time since my diagnosis visit to the ER, I am seeing just how sick I really am. In most cases, any arising impassioned carb-cravings or sweets-cravings are met very quickly with the cold, wet blanket of having to decide whether they're worth reconnecting to my insulin pump. The answer remains: No. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">And in fact, a moment of weakness several weeks ago has resulted in my redefining the term "cake walk". To me, it now means less "something that's easy", and more "the 1-2 hours I must spend walking at a moderate pace, in order to maintain a safe blood sugar should I indulge in even just one small bite of chocolate cake or anything floury or sweet". (Perhaps this story helps to explain the Jane Austen-esque dramatics of my chosen title for this blog post. And for those willing to see, my sick body's reaction to certain foods can offer insight into how much work a *healthy* body must regularly do to compensate for such foods. In this light, an eventual burnout via diabetes isn't really so surprising... And that's not even taking environmental factors like stress and genetics into account!) Much as my smarter choices do outnumber my poorer ones, discoveries such as these are still quite emotional. In fact, in facing this new reality, I have in recent weeks found myself drifting into very dark places. Once, I even asked myself - in all seriousness - whether a life without chocolate was really worth living... </span><span style="background-color: white;">True story. Fortunately, I was able to laugh at myself almost as quickly as the thought arose. </span><br />
<br />
But forget the cake for a minute. The harsher reality is that some vegetables will also cause my blood sugar to spike. Of course, I avoid sweet potatoes (which I love), but even too much rutabaga, corn or carrots can send me chasing my blood sugar for a moment. And so I must be extra careful not to force myself into a "corn walk" situation as well... because, believe me, when I'm already cutting out so many foods I enjoy in order to keep off the insulin, these little blood sugar temper tantrums resulting from effing *vegetables* are enough to set off my water works. But this is the reality of diabetes, and the truth of my condition is a bitter one to swallow.<br />
<br />
On other days, food isn't even the greatest challenge... It's lack of energy. I get impatient with myself and expect to be bouncing off the walls after what seems like plenty of sleep, but in fact, my body seems to be perfectly happy just getting MORE rest. It can be frustrating at times; so I just try to keep in mind that a place of restfulness is a place of healing.<br />
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What these apparent limitations give back to me, however, in finally being able to see my body's true state, is the opportunity to begin to work toward health from a more honest place. Just like reading a map, it's difficult to know how to get to where you're going, if you don't really know where you are.<br />
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The day before I went off synthetic insulin, I was recounting my diagnosis story to a group of new diabetic friends, sharing with them that my internist doctor at the time had tried to blame my dramatic weight loss on anorexia. "And I've never had an eating disorder in my life!" I told them. But as I considered later how I told the story, it occurred to me that perhaps, in fact, I did have an eating disorder. Maybe we all did. Maybe that's what diabetes is... It's clearly a digestive disorder. And digestion is clearly impacted by the foods we eat or don't eat. My problem seemed to be less of an overindulgence (obesity) or avoidance (anorexia, bulimia) issue, however, and more an issue of balance or even indifference. This is not to say that ALL these conditions aren't merely symptoms of deeper physiological and/or psychological imbalances. Honestly, I'm more inclined to consider the whole person when it comes to health, but the idea of re-categorizing my diabetes as "Type 1 Eating Disorder" certainly was a challenge to my previous way of thinking.<br />
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In any case, I'm less inclined these days to want to sugar-coat any health condition, Types 1 and 2 diabetes alike. Having been off the insulin for nearly 11 weeks now has already allowed me a glimpse into the very real possibility of a disease-free, drug-free, addiction-free me - truly a rare perspective in this, our disease economy.<br />
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For me, diabetes is NOT life; neither do I wish to believe that it is FOR life. But how has any <i><b>sane</b></i> person ever hoped to change her reality, without first changing her choices?<br />
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"Let them [who don't mind the consequences] eat cake." ...But none for me, thanks.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-88876439600634905752012-07-04T23:15:00.001-07:002012-07-27T22:53:58.853-07:00Picture of Health<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The truths we seek are not always the ones that find us.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Neither does help or healing always come from sources we expect. My guess is that most of us hold some picture in our minds of what we imagine health or healing to be. Probably we conjure some list of things to deny ourselves (like sugars or carbs), or things we feel should be added to our routines (like more exercise or more water). Some of us may even give our image a name - like "veganism" or "colonics" or "raw foodism". In some cases, our image is actually a living, breathing person whom we consider to be "the picture of health".</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">But on a subject as immediately personal and inevitably emotional as that of health, it's no wonder we come to identify ourselves so strongly with some particular method or ideal. It can become our mission, our purpose, our fight, and even our activism. Such goals may in fact be quite noble and well worth the education they can bring to ourselves and to others, but what I seem to be learning these days - both from what folks share with me, and from my own experience - is that real health and healing don't always conform to the ideas we impress upon them. And if there's one thing that health is NOT, it's cookie-cutter. (Mmmm, cookies... See what I mean?)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I bring this up now, before posting any additional blogs on the</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/p/insulin-free.html">changes I've made that helped me go off synthetic insulin</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">, because I wanted to take a moment to address something about which I had been feeling a bit awkward for a few weeks - the fact that I went from whole-heartedly consuming pretty much ALL raw foods (including veggies, fruits, meats, dairy and other unheated, unprocessed foods) to consuming only <i>some</i> raw foods. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I must have felt convinced at some point that raw foods - and raw foods alone - would be my road to recovery; otherwise, I would not have entitled my blog what I did.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">My perspective has shifted a bit now, however, and while there is much I've learned since embarking on my healing journey, I'm beginning to understand now that raw foods are to be only a part of that journey - a markedly significant part, mind you, but smaller than I had originally thought. While my healing process had mostly plateaued on an all-Raw foods diet (I wasn't ever able to come off that </span><a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/10/doctor-love.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">final 5 units of basal insulin</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> per day), what I learned from the experience brought me hope, among other things. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">All the reading and experimenting I've done in the last year and a half have opened my eyes to possibilities I hadn't considered, and to truths I didn't want to see but cannot now forget. With absolute sincerity, I can state that I've no intention ever of returning to any kind of routine or regular consumption of conventionally farmed, mass-manufactured, processed foods. In fact, where they <i>may</i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> be avoided, I fully intend to avoid them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And even with those seeds of knowledge firmly sown for me, my having veered somewhat from my former course of an all-Raw foods diet felt, at first, like something of a betrayal. But whom or what was I betraying? </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The only goal I had ever really declared was healing. And having come off the synthetic insulin certainly was a big step in that direction... So what loyalty had I, then, to my former course?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The answer, I soon realized, was none. No loyalty at all... Not if I what I really wanted was to get better.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That we imagine some path or some person to be our model of health... does not make it so. And, in truth, we may be the devout servant (or slave, in some cases) to any ideal, even unto our death. I've met a number of folks now who have told me as much - that they were so committed to veganism or fruitarianism or some other -ism which ultimately wasn't working for them, that they followed that conviction right up to the edge of death, before finally choosing to part ways with that set of beliefs and try something else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately for us, our bodies are so clever and adaptive that they survive a great deal of the damage we unwittingly administer. Unfortunately, however, that inherent resilience and compensatory ability can make it more difficult to identify clearly the things we do which ultimately cause our bodies long-term harm. Even an apple may be rotting on the inside but reveal no outward sign of such.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It might not, therefore, be a bad idea to keep this in mind when we see those impressive specimens of the human animal out in the world. Certainly, they may be beautiful to behold, and a<span style="background-color: white;">s a source of inspiration, information or guidance, admiration (and even cautious imitation) of such people and practices may rightly be encouraged, but the truth is that we cannot know what's really happening with their health. We can only work to improve our own. And so comparing ourselves to anyone else is not only pointless; it is a waste of time and energy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Certainly, there is no shortage of beautiful, vibrant folks who eat raw foods. I remember thinking last January that once I made the switch myself I could look forward to nothing but increased energy and radiance. And for the most part, that was what I experienced. Once in a while, though, I'd feel a bit lethargic, and I couldn't understand it. I'd think I must be doing something wrong. I'd even convince myself I had to 'keep up appearances' at times - not because of any pressure others would put on me, but because of what I expected of myself... and of my new raw foods lifestyle. But with or without raw foods, I now understand that when we become sluggish or sick, it is because our body is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing - repairing and recuperating. There is plenty more to say on this issue, of course, but for now it may suffice to offer my considered opinion that we are generally as misinformed about sickness as we are about health.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Even now, as I embark on this new leg of my healing journey, it's been difficult at times for me to accept that my broken body needs rest in order to recover. But that is how healing works. T</span><span style="background-color: white;">he body doesn't suddenly become all shiny and sparkly the very same moment you finally pay it enough attention to treat it well. The process of healing is just that - a process. And once the body ha</span><span style="background-color: white;">s the proper tools necessary for clean-up </span></span>
(i.e. meaningful detoxification and support from minerals and nutrition)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">, it can finally go to work. And make no mistake, friends, that there are dark places to be revealed along the way, deep crevices to be dug out, washed clean, rebuilt and transformed. Only then can the body be as strong, sound, functional and reliable as possible.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So healing may not be pretty. It may not feel (or even smell) good at times. And it may be that we arrive at real healing only after any number of unintended detours. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">That is my hope, at least. For I would rather be wrong about the </span><i style="background-color: white;">way</i><span style="background-color: white;"> in which I arrive at healing and yet still arrive there, than hold defiantly to any path that leads me lost. </span></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-5324991260815742162012-06-19T23:22:00.003-07:002012-07-30T11:12:15.296-07:00Insulin-Free Me: A Video Blog Introduction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
While I'm hard at work simultaneously on about five different, new blog posts (I've got some serious catching up to do for all of you), I thought you might enjoy this little live action greeting I made especially with you in mind: </div>
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To read more detailed information about my journey, please click the <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/p/insulin-free.html">"INSULIN-FREE" tab</a> above. For more information regarding the Hair Mineral test I mention in the video, please <a href="http://www.inspiringhealth.net/services/nutrition/hair-mineral-testing">click here</a> to visit the web page for Inspiring Health. <span style="background-color: white;">Please check back under my </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1548178995"><span style="background-color: white;">Video</span>s</a><span style="background-color: white;"> tab to view this and any other future videos I may post.</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-41200541794310075952012-05-31T19:20:00.000-07:002012-06-22T23:27:07.673-07:00No Basal, No Bolus, No BullMark this month!!! Because my insulin pump's been missing me...<br />
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I could tell by the sad little serenades emerging from the cupboard where I left it and didn't look back. For days, I slept peacefully untethered, showered freely, played in the sun and wrote away, happy as all heck to go on ignoring those tones of fear and abandonment... until at last I grew weary of its cries and finally just removed the battery.<br />
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On May 20th, the day of the new moon solar eclipse, I detached from my pump to sauna and shower, as had been my routine for weeks by then. But by the time I was ready to reattach it, the idea just didn't make sense anymore. My blood sugar was normal at 87. When it did go a little high, I had been erring on the side of under-correction. And even the insulin I took from time to time hadn't seemed to be doing much good lately.<br />
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In the preceding weeks, I had made a number of changes, to both my diet (to include more <u>cooked</u> vegetables) and my daily routine (i.e. food-based mineral supplementation, near-infrared sauna therapy, lots more water, coffee enemas and increased rest/relaxation as needed). At one point, seemingly out of nowhere, my numbers began to fluctuate like they hadn't done since <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/01/diagnosis-1600-part-one-fish-out-of.html">my diagnosis</a> four years ago. Suddenly I was experiencing serious blood sugar spikes from foods that normally didn't affect me at all. I'd have a fresh, light raw dessert I loved (sweetened with fruit or raw honey) and then get a blood glucose number an hour later as though I'd been drinking soda or eating pizza. I'd have a couple bites of raw almond butter with some raw milk and be punished as though I'd just made a meal of conventional ice cream.<br />
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And so I'd try chasing it with insulin. It had worked plenty of times before, but now the number wouldn't budge. Not for several hours, anyway. I'd suspect my pump was malfunctioning and switch both the reservoir and infusion set to correct the problem, only to have the exact same situation arise the very next day. It was like my body was rebelling against my routine diabetic way of doing things, and so it didn't matter how much synthetic insulin I threw at it. None of it helped. My body was not cooperating with my pharmaceutical protocol.<br />
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Looking back, I realize I should have been overjoyed. Instead, I was concerned... and a little pissed.<br />
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"I respect the logic behind what we're doing here, and I'm trying to keep an open mind," I told my boyfriend, a naturopathic healer who'd been advising me the whole time. "It's just that having to take MORE insulin for the SAME foods is exactly the OPPOSITE of what I'm trying to accomplish."<br />
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At least when I'd been eating more Raw foods, I had reduced my insulin intake by 80% over the course of one year, from about 25 units/day to about 5 units/day. But I wasn't sure how to tackle that remaining 5 units/day. It seemed I might plateau there indefinitely, and so I was open to answers. But surely, higher blood glucose numbers requiring <i>more</i> insulin couldn't mark the way to taking <i>zero</i> insulin... Could they?<br />
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My boyfriend encouraged me not to worry. He had some experience, after all, since having made similar changes himself several months earlier, following his 12 years on a 100% Raw foods diet. All that raw animal protein and fat may have helped him to reverse his cancer at one time, but there were some remaining digestive issues (likely the result of toxins lingering after the antibiotics buffet of his younger years) that these new changes were helping his body to address. And his impressive results had convinced me there was, indeed, something to it.<br />
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He said this was exactly where I wanted to be. My pancreas was beginning to heal. He had been learning and assimilating lots of new information recently and was sharing his discoveries with me along the way. He had also advised me not to over-correct with insulin during this time. Diabetes, he explained, was most likely the result of an infection in the pancreas - just one of probably many that I've been living with for some time. Most of us these days live with several chronic infections, things we call sinus trouble or frequent headaches. They don't necessarily kill us, but generally, our bodies aren't well enough to fully expel or eliminate them. And so we just carry them around and tolerate their idiosyncrasies. In the case of my much more serious infection, now that I had begun giving my body the support it required to address it, my pancreas was working to correct itself... And in light of all the changes I'd made recently, my fluctuating and unresponsive blood sugar numbers, he said, indicated as much.<br />
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So I'd allow them to run a little high. If my body really was ready to heal, then I would let it.<br />
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And I would stick to what I'd been doing. I had watched my boyfriend's progress and now trusted that I was moving in the same positive direction. I was beginning to understand that my body would go through these "healing reactions" from time to time, as it moved from one area to the next, increasingly more empowered to work on and clear out old infections, layer by layer. I was even beginning to wrap my brain around the concept of meaningful supplementation. I understood now that it didn't matter how raw or organic or enzyme-rich my foods were, if the soil in which they're grown is depleted of the very minerals necessary for cell permeability. Without those minerals, my body couldn't use the nutrients properly. And though vegetables were our best food source (albeit still not enough to eradicate the need for supplementation), cooking them helped make those minerals more bio-available to the body, while also helping to steady oxidation rates.<br />
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Now, because we're all different of course, the food-based supplements I had begun taking were recommended uniquely for me, based on the results of a <a href="http://www.inspiringhealth.net/services/nutrition/hair-mineral-testing">Hair Mineral test</a> I had received a few weeks earlier. It revealed what was happening in my overall health, at the cellular level - including my own particular brand of toxic heavy metal distribution. And trust me, when I saw what I'd spent 30 years of my life leeching from our toxic world, I was all too grateful for the changes I had already made - not only in diet, but in bath and hygiene products as well. (I'll have no more aluminum in my deodorant, and no more mercury in my contact lens solution, thank you very much!)<br />
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This multi-front attack on diabetes, it seemed, had finally begun to move some serious road blocks.<br />
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For nearly two weeks now, I've had mostly normal blood sugar readings. In that time, I've tested my blood glucose levels 106 times, with an average BG of 112, with 79 being the lowest and 167 being the highest. (The 167 came after a meal to which I added a sauce that unknowingly contained a small amount of raw honey. Once I learned that it did, I stopped using it and have gone no higher than 155 since.)<br />
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I take tremendous comfort, too, in knowing that the poison of synthetic insulin is no longer interfering with my body's healing process. And I've been absolutely astounded by and delighted to watch my blood sugar's coming down and leveling out at a normal range, totally on its own...<br />
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I mean, if you're tired of waiting for the cure, you can always just give up drinking the poison!<br />
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Of course, I realize that it may take evidence of more than just a diet of veggies and meats, with no carbs and no sweets, to convince the conventional medical community that I'm reversing my diabetes, and I'm okay with that. Proving anything to anyone is NOT my priority. My own health, vitality and longevity are. To that end, having surrendered my insulin pump is a HUGE mile marker - one sure to blow my conventional doctor's socks off, no doubt... But while I've no intention of ever returning to modern-day America's high-sugar, carb-heavy and highly processed diet, I would agree more testing is necessary to measure my actual progress. For now, though, I'm just giddy knowing that, regardless of what amount my pancreas is producing at the moment, the insulin at work in my body is all natural and all mine.<br />
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I know I've still a long way to go, but I figure healing the pancreas is probably a little like training a new employee: Give him small tasks to start, and then as he learns, gradually introduce slightly more challenging assignments. It is my goal eventually to work up to enjoying a menu that, from time to time, includes a little fruit or raw honey... with no blood sugar complications.<br />
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But one step at a time. This is Day 12... and I've still got 6 months left to find out whether that 3-year warranty on my insulin pump is good for returns.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-31774702665059110322012-04-13T16:34:00.002-07:002012-05-29T10:00:39.988-07:00Animal Farm<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6226391075178981"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>THE CHICKEN & EGG PROBLEM</u></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's not even a riddle in my mind. First came the eggs, and then the chickens who lied about them. And in the Ventura County case against raw dairy advocates Sharon Palmer and James Stewart, first came the verdict, and now finally... a public trial.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Innocent until proven guilty is just a myth in this land. And in its courts, “burden of proof” has become a crisis of faith. But don't look to the Ventura County District Attorney's office to explain why. After 18 months of fruitless investigation, god-knows how much in wasted taxpayer dollars, and three full days of useless time and testimony in court by six separate witnesses, the prosecution has proven very little in the March preliminary hearing on conspiracy charges against raw milk-man James Stewart and farmer Sharon Palmer. With 38 felony counts from which to choose, each related to allegations of defrauding farm investors, all that’s proven so far is this: A) Ventura County officials have no case; B) They apparently don’t care that they have no case; and C) They must therefore be pursuing some agenda outside that of the reasonable, albeit abstract, People.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’ve not yet read the full complaint, but would like to do so, you may <a href="http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/wp-content/uploads/Felony-Complaint.pdf">by clicking here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And now that you are somewhat familiar with the game and all its players, here is a fourth-grade level summary of the undisputed facts: Sharon Palmer is a farmer. In 2008, she needed help building up a farm. She and James Stewart and Larry Otting were all members of the same small health food community. By way of that community, various would-be investors learned of the opportunity to help Palmer build up the farm. With the aid of financial support from those investors, the farm (known as Healthy Family Farms LLC) was built and is currently operational, worked by Palmer and other dedicated volunteers. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still waiting for the nefarious, sordid plot to thicken? Me too...</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What follows is a more comprehensive, albeit still very common sense, series of observations by this former Rawesome member on how the aforementioned chicken-and-egg game has played out so far in Ventura County court. </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On offense, we have Chris Harman of the Ventura County District Attorney's office and related investigators, and on defense, Sharon Palmer of Healthy Family Farms and James Stewart of Rawesome Foods.</span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6226391075178981"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(All photos were taken in March 2012 at Healthy Family Farms and are posted by permission.)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrmyE-Mw9MU-DQbD421seV-JeV6TxsWnXHlIVpT9drlWZ0XTn82_4vfeaF8YbArkk9XGMs_r-6Sz_Qcu8ZckcpjvDHC49AiJLNCca_IMGINPcpXG6R3GJ9a1083jtigTol6z1Oeqz9-bx/s1600/photo+(14).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrmyE-Mw9MU-DQbD421seV-JeV6TxsWnXHlIVpT9drlWZ0XTn82_4vfeaF8YbArkk9XGMs_r-6Sz_Qcu8ZckcpjvDHC49AiJLNCca_IMGINPcpXG6R3GJ9a1083jtigTol6z1Oeqz9-bx/s320/photo+(14).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">EGGSHIBIT A: THE FARM EXISTS.<br />
Behold, in my hand, an actual chicken egg, from an actual chicken, <br />
actually present at Healthy Family Farms in Santa Paula, CA.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>FIRST, DO NO FARM</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps you are rightly wondering already, as I am after weeks of scratching my head... If the farm exists (which it does) and still generates revenue (which it does), how could the investors possibly have been defrauded? One answer might be that they haven't. See, Palmer still is (and never hasn’t been) working to repay them. In fact, she might have had them repaid already, if it weren't for all the unwarranted attacks on her business over the years, including ruthless and unyielding slander campaigns by other community members, as well as repeated government raids on the farm which have resulted in extensive property destruction and/or seizures - all of which she has steadfastly endured.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the hands of both Ventura and Los Angeles Counties together, Palmer has endured either a raid on the farm or a personal arrest, every year for the last five years, beginning on December 18, 2008 - just a few short weeks after the farm was finally up and running. Ventura County, she’s said, effectively put her out of the cheese business (which had been a significant chunk of her revenue) by calling every farmer’s market telling them she was not licensed. It wasn’t until two years later, she said, that they finally acknowledged that she actually </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">had been</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> licensed and dropped the felony charges against her to a third level misdemeanor. “They have spent millions raiding and arresting me for the last five years,” even after the (essentially coerced) ultimate dismantling of the farm’s dairy, Palmer said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">While difficulties like these would certainly lead to financial setbacks for any business owner, if hypothetically unsympathetic investors were unhappy with an extended repayment timeline, even now, plenty of options still remain for them to collect what's owed. Testimony revealed that Palmer has always been up front with investors, letting them know that she was (and still is) due to receive proceeds soon from a recent legal settlement which would more than cover what she owes them. If nothing else, I'd say this speaks directly to her intent NOT to defraud anyone. After all, how can it be her fault if the distribution of those monies is delayed by the legal system?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to evidence presented in court, her negotiations with investors also included other remedies, such as interest penalties and even ownership options on the farm itself. And wouldn't any of those options - or even civil litigation - make more sense for everyone involved than going straight to felony charges in criminal court? It’s worth noting, by the way, that not a single investor has ever resorted even to civil litigation in efforts to reclaim their funds. That would seem to indicate many of them are not bothered by the extended repayment timeline. Some have indicated they are actually baffled themselves by the charges, while a few have reportedly even gone so far as to contribute to funds raised for Palmer's bail bond in Ventura County.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In truth, all criminal charges can accomplish </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">investors in this case is to further impair Palmer's ability to repay, and thereby perhaps even put Healthy Family Farms out of business. But maybe that is exactly what Ventura County has in mind... and wouldn't that then make the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">government</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> liable to investors? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps investors would do better to consider taking up suit against Ventura County, for interfering with their ability to recollect their invested funds... In the same way, former Rawesome members might do well to bring a lawsuit against Los Angeles County, et al. for the illegal destruction of their private property, i.e. raw dairy and other foods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>FLYING WITH PIGS</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what sort of predatory, malicious actions by a farmer and a milk man could possibly warrant 38 felony counts against them? The prosecution's lame conspiracy claims seem to hinge on the idea that Palmer ought to have disclosed to investors that co-defendant-turned-witness-for-the-prosecution Larry Otting, would hold title to the land on which the farm was to be built, despite the fact that they presented zero evidence to demonstrate that Palmer had ever led anyone to believe that she herself would hold title.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It appears to be an important point </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">only</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for prosecutors, however, because according to investors (via both direct and hearsay testimony), they never thought to ask who would own the property. And that's not really surprising, is it? Why would they? It seems clear they understood their funds were going to help build a farm, and build a farm they did. What difference does it make who owns the land on which the farm operates? Would it matter to you who owns the building where your favorite boutique has been doing business now for many years? Does it matter to you who owns the equipment your contractor leases to assist him in his work? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"[The investors] all made inquiries about the nature of the business, but not about the nature of ownership in the land, because they didn't care," argued Palmer's attorney, Matt Bromund. "They didn't ask, because it didn't matter."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the Ventura County DA would have you believe that Palmer misused funds collected by those investors in other ways too. Under oath, DA Investigator Catherine Mano referenced bank transactions and small purchases made from vendors like Circle K and Gamestop, implying that items purchased there had nothing to do with farming. It doesn't take an attorney to point out, however, that vendors like these might just as probably sell bottled water (which could be used on a farm in any number of ways) as soon as anything else. In one of the more entertaining moments of the hearing, Bromund deftly cornered Mano's otherwise seemingly flighty reasoning in the following exchange:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: You mentioned that on 15 September 2008 that in your review of the bank records for Healthy Family Farms, that you noticed purchases made from the account for Circle K, Gamestop... Is that your recollection?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: Were there any other purchases made from that account during that time frame, that week?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: Purchases for animal feed?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: I remember seeing that, thinking back, there was an egg carton purchase. I can't say for sure there wasn't feed purchased at that time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: Your investigation revealed that the production of eggs is one of the business operations of Healthy Family Farms, LLC?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Not specifically, but I know that Ms. Palmer is operating a farm on the property.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: You know that that farm involves chickens?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: And you know that those chickens lay eggs?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: (pauses awkwardly amidst spectator giggles) Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: So when you saw the egg carton purchase on the account for Healthy Family Farms, what did you think of that purchase?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: That is was being used somehow to handle the eggs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: For the business?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: I don't know what goes on at the farm, but that is what I thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: On direct testimony, though, you mentioned the purchases at Circle K and Gamestop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Yeah.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: But those weren't the only purchases made during that time period, were they?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: No.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: So why'd you pick those two to tell today here at prelim and not the other?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Because that $25,000 was supposed to be used to purchase the property and go into escrow, but it was not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: That's a good point... Now, the $25,000 investment at issue here was from who?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Mr. [Michael] Kirrene.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">>> (( ...omission of extraneous detail regarding Mr. Kirrene... )) <<</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: Now you were here for his direct testimony, weren't you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: And you recall him saying that he invested to help the farm, right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: I don't recall that specifically.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: If he'd said that would you have any reason to doubt his veracity in stating what he made his investment for?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: No.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MB: Your investigations revealed no reason why Mr. Kirrene would attempt to mislead you as to why he made his investment, right?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: That's correct.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fact, Mr. Kirrene was quite clear in his testimony, stating that his investment was intended for the express purpose of helping the farm get started. And when asked by Bromund as to what may have caused him to believe his funds might be intended for a down payment on the land, his response was plain: “I made an assumption,” he said. Therefore I, quite frankly, do not believe Mano when she says she doesn’t recall what was said; that is, unless what she means by the remark is that she wasn’t paying attention to his testimony. In my opinion, after all, most of the demonstrated contents of the prosecution’s investigation in this case appears to be the direct result of very organized efforts in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">failing</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to pay attention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>SPOILING THE BUNCH</u></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So how does one manage to convert a happy, patient investor into an upset, victimized elder in this particular scenario, in which unhappy investors appear to be in short supply? Perhaps Ventura County investigators asked themselves the same question and then took it upon themselves to do the proselytizing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As evidence of this, I offer testimony by Ventura County DA Investigator Frank Huber, of the real estate fraud unit, who plainly contradicted himself during cross examination. When asked by Palmer's attorney Matt Bromund whether he himself ever told investors during his interviews with them that they were never going to be repaid, Huber's response was, "I would never say never. I tell people that it's my experiences a lot of times full restitution is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">never</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">made in a lot of our investigations."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hmm. I wonder how any of us would respond if a government investigator approached us and informed us we had been the unwitting victims of fraud and, sorry dupes that we are, we were likely </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">never</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to be repaid. My first guess is that most of us would believe the government official, simply because we perceive them to have authority over us. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So now any story told by the government is accepted as truth simply because its source is the government? What a shame. What a sad moment for all our civil liberties. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My next guess is that we might seek moral restitution in place of that supposedly unattainable financial restitution (i.e. ensuring the party who deceived us was unable to deceive anyone again), and we might, therefore, feel some earnest personal responsibility, beyond legal obligation, to help prosecutors in their criminal investigation, believing the whole time, of course, that what the government told us about never being repaid was really true. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But what if the government’s claims about Palmer later turn out to be wrong? Unfortunately, though we may not actually have </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">been</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> scammed by a farmer, instead we would now have been successfully scammed by the government... And if the scenario involves an investor who’s, say, older than 65, then it’s the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">government</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> who becomes the clear perpetrator of crimes against the elderly. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And who is holding </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">them</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> accountable for such offenses? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Bromund stated in his closing argument, "[Palmer] never said, 'I'm not going to repay you.' She never said, 'You're not going to get your money.' No, it took investigator Huber to say that. And he said it was fraud from the outset. And his position was so absolutely closed off and deterministic, that this court ought to question whether he followed leads to a reasonable conclusion to present this court with true evidence.... [The investors] have available civil remedies, and none of them - none of them - were so concerned about the state of their investment that they initiated a single civil lawsuit. None. That has to be proof to this court that these people were acting reasonably and were reasonably content that they weren't the victims of grand theft until Investigator Huber implanted that seed in their minds."</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>A SUPPOSEDLY SEEDY FARMER</u></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another seed the prosecution is trying to plant in all our minds, it seems, is their twisted interpretation of Palmer's actual criminal history. To make their assassination of her good character complete, they would have us all believe that one of her secret hobbies is stealing money from old people. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately, past convictions do make the truly good-hearted Palmer an easy target for prosecutors in this case, but it is unfair to take them so entirely out of context.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Further investigation into Palmer's previous convictions, however, reveal that it was Palmer's husband - and not Palmer herself - who was the principal in those crimes. To get back home to her kids, a probably very intimidated Sharon Palmer likely did what any single mom and full-time farmer would have done in her shoes, even if it meant admitting guilt where she had none. A simple conversation with Palmer herself would uncover as much. But the prosecutor and investigators don't seem to care about what really happened - not enough, apparently, to investigate anything that might contradict what they allege to be true. And </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, in my mind, is the definition of criminal negligence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rather than admit what a poor job they’ve done of investigating, however, the Ventura County DA has said that Palmer should have told her investors about her past convictions, because it might have influenced their decision to invest. They say she misrepresented the facts. Palmer’s attorney argues, though, that her prior convictions are unrelated to her abilities as a farmer, which is what really mattered to investors, as indicated by their visits to the farm prior to investing. Bromund cited Exxon and Sears as examples, stating that they’re not accused of defrauding anyone when they run commercials that fail to indicate their past financial crimes convictions. “It doesn’t come out because it’s not material,” said Bromund. If Palmer never misstated the fact of her convictions when asked by investors (and she didn’t), he said, then it’s not a misrepresentation of fact. Bromund contends the prosecution’s standard of material misrepresentation of fact is an impossible one. It would be nice, he said, in our current society of lifelong records, if people were able to anticipate what any given person </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">may</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> want to know about any given subject at any given time, but it’s just not realistic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This criminal case should be dismissed, Bromund said. Yes, Palmer is still working to make good on unfulfilled promises to compensate her investors, he admitted, but at best, she should be held accountable to them in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">civil</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> court. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I expect James Stewart will forgive me for comparing him to this rather large wild animal made famous by the circus, because the reference may help us all to see what we’re really dealing with here - the modern day circus act of court room theater. I draw the comparison because, if you’ve forgotten about Stewart of Rawesome Foods in all this nonsense, you’re not alone. Even the prosecution seemed to have forgotten about him. I could probably count on one hand the total number of times they even mentioned his name. In all honesty, much like that aforementioned elephant, his mostly unacknowledged presence in the courtroom was pretty awkward to those of us observing the proceedings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fact, the limited “evidence” offered by prosecutors pertaining to Stewart’s involvement in an alleged conspiracy, really only helped to demonstrate that Stewart had nothing at all to do with the farm’s business operations or financial interests. Co-defendant Larry Otting testified that Stewart introduced him to Sharon Palmer, but all three were members of a small, tightly knit health foods community. So, big woop. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s like my boyfriend finally getting to meet my best friend because we both attend her birthday party... So then what if we bring her a gift too? Will we be hung for concealing it from her with festive packaging? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Michael Kirrene, an investor whose wife had learned of the opportunity to help the farm through the community (many of whose members, like her, also shopped at Rawesome) had testified that, when he approached Stewart for insight into documents related to his negotiations with Palmer, Stewart told him exactly what he’s been telling everyone for years now - that he didn’t know anything about it and wasn’t involved in any way with the farm’s business dealings. Nonetheless, DA Investigator Frank Huber said under oath that Stewart's actions equate to what he calls the “sales pitch” in real estate fraud. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so, take note that it is now apparently a crime to network within your own community... Your best friend is just going to have to spend her birthday party utterly alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was just one other piece of slightly more controversial “evidence” offered by the prosecution - a flyer on helping the farm, which contained the names of both Palmer and Stewart as contact persons. But because the source of the flyer was never identified (Stewart will tell you he knows nothing about it), presiding Judge Mark E. Borrell accepted it into evidence on the condition it apply only to the state of mind of the investors when they were allegedly duped out of investment monies by conspirators. During closing arguments, however, the judge revisited discussion on that flyer, indicating that it could be considered sufficient evidence of probable cause against Stewart. Interestingly, however, this discussion came </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">after</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the prosecution admitted it had not proven 10 of the 40 overt acts alleged in Counts 1 & 2, which were related to these “solicitations”, and the court had them stricken. (For those of you paying close attention, those stricken overt acts were 2, 3 ,8, 9, 13 and 29-33.) So for my part, I don’t quite follow how the judge legally gets from admitting evidence on a limited “state of mind” condition, to striking it from the record, to referring to it later as sufficient evidence for probable cause... Can he </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">do</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the spirit of that inquiry, perhaps this is an ideal time to address another perplexing topic - what appears to be the blatantly and disturbingly biased and unjust treatment against Stewart by Ventura County DA investigators and prosecutors. Based on the evidence (if we can even still call it that) of the flyers, which both the DA and the judge seem to agree are sufficient to establish probable cause against him, I’d like to remind everyone that Stewart’s and Palmer’s names weren’t the only names appearing on such flyers. In fact, there was another... that of Mr. Thomas Elliot, whom DA Investigator Catherine Mano testified played an active role in helping to raise money for Healthy Family Farms. Mano stated that during her investigation, farm investors Susan Hagemeister and husband Mark Martin told her they spoke, not with Stewart, but with Elliot, to get more information on helping the farm. Mano testified that Hagemeister had received a flyer in relation to a Wise Traditions conference she had attended in November 2008, where, according to Mano, "a man who she did not know made an announcement to the people that were there, saying that there was a small farm in California that needed investment monies". (No evidence was ever presented, by the way, on who that mystery man was.) The exchange between Mano and DA prosecutor Chris Harman continued...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CH: Did they try and contact anybody to talk about this?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: They told me that there were two numbers on the bottom of the flyer, listed as contact numbers to call if you wanted to invest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CH: Okay, so did Mrs. Hagemeister tell you who she called?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: She and Mr. Martin told me that they had both contacted Mr. Thomas Elliot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CH Did Mrs. Hagemeister tell you that she spoke with Mr. Elliot about this transaction?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CH: And did they come to an agreement with Mr. Elliot about this transaction?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: They did not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CH: Well, what was the next step after they talked with Mr. Elliot?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CM: They told me that they spoke to Mr. Elliot and he explained to them that there was a farm that needed assistance and that he had done business with Sharon Palmer, and that they contacted Sharon from the number on the flyer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, before I say anything more, please don’t mistake me; I believe this entire case to be a ridiculous farce and a merciless attack by a corrupt and power-drunk government on folks who are just trying to grow and produce healthy high-quality foods for themselves and their community. I do not believe there is a conspiracy to be uncovered here at all. And how can there be, when prosecutors have not proven any crime ever took place? But if we are to hold the prosecution to its own evidentiary standards, then by all accounts, should not Thomas Elliot also be named as a defendant? Instead, he is named by the prosecution as a “victim” in this case - presumably because he also contributed monies to help the farm, but for that matter, according to facts presented in court, so did </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">defendant</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Larry Otting. So if the prosecution has found no grounds for charging Elliot in this case, then neither should they be charging James Stewart.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the prosecution’s own admission near the end of the hearing, they were unable to prove 10 of the 40 overt acts alleged in Counts 1 & 2 and, as stated above, had them stricken from the record. It’s a shame they couldn’t bring themselves to admit to not proving all the 38 counts in their entirety. What they did do, however, is the kind favor of demonstrating for those of us in attendance just how thorough a job they </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">didn’t</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> do, and how compelling a case they </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">don’t</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Palmer’s attorney, Matt Bromund, even called them on their sloppy work during his closing remarks: "We know that Mr. Otting was the only person who stands to benefit from this [alleged] scheme of fraud, excluding, I suppose, the hypothetical benefit that flows to Ms. Palmer for being able to continue operating a small family farm in Santa Paula. Because that has to be a financial benefit that the People can allege, that somehow this life of caring for chickens and pigs and goats and turkeys is so luxurious as to warrant this conspiracy. On the other hand, Mr. Otting stands to gain quite a lot. He has title to this property, and if Ms. Palmer defaults on her lease, he can file an unlawful retainer action and recover possession. He has title to this property where more than 50% of the property has already been paid in cash...”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He continued, “Ms. Palmer doesn't have a single ounce of equity interest in this property. This [alleged] conspiracy to defraud Mr. Kirrene and everyone else out of their money produces a legal situation in which Palmer owns nothing. And this DA's office has told this court that Larry Otting who stands to gain $2 million worth of real estate in Ventura out of this deal - that they're comfortable letting him walk with one count of grand theft in exchange for his testimony. That's it. But they would ask you to hold her to answer for being part of a conspiracy that results in her gaining nothing.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And who in their right mind wouldn’t take the deal offered to Larry Otting? Arguably, someone with a clear conscience might not... But what if the government had you scared, and you saw no opportunity for fair play? What if you believed, even in your presumed innocence, that the government had already won, and you had best either sink or swim? If offered the chance, wouldn’t you choose to swim? And mightn’t the same logic be argued for someone in Sharon Palmer’s position at the time of her previous convictions? Isn’t it only fair to extend the same logic and reasonable doubt across the board? Because, believe me, if there’s one thing saturating this case, it’s reasonable doubt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In direct testimony, Case Investigator Mano revealed that she first learned of the "existence of possible fraud" when Otting and his attorney Warren Nemiroff, along with Aajonus Vonderplanitz, visited her office on November 11, 2010. At that moment, did it not become the DA’s responsibility to pursue any and all leads relevant to the case? So why would they, as demonstrated in these court proceedings, pursue some leads and not others? Why, in some cases, would they stop half-way? Testimony from all six witnesses revealed a disturbing lack of due diligence on the part of DA investigators to explore all leads, especially those that might indicate there never even was a conspiracy. In this way, the Ventura County DA has made itself into, not an enforcer of the law, but an enforcer of the will of whomever the accuser may be, or worse - an enforcer of the will of a flawed and corrupt government hell-bent on policing us out of our natural civil liberties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I must say that after three days prosecutors had me fully convinced... that working at the Ventura County District Attorney’s office must be one of the highest-paying, least-demanding jobs around. And if even our judges refuse to hold them to their lawful “burden of proof”, then what real work is demanded of these attorneys for the (abstract) People? Last time I checked, it doesn’t take a law degree to prove you can make poor choices on how to spend your (or other people’s) money. Just ask my still recovering credit report.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">(This may not be a horse, but at least you can see <i>plainly</i> that it's an ass.)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>PILING THE MANURE</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to their poor performance in court, I was disturbed by other activities I observed on the part of prosecutors during the days of the hearing. Notice that in the first excerpt of testimony (from the “Flying with Pigs” section), DA Investigator Catherine Mano confirmed she was present during previous witness testimony... In fact, as I observed, she was present and seated beside DA prosecutor Chris Harman throughout the entire hearing. Now, I haven't spent much time in courtrooms to understand fully why certain witnesses might be treated differently than others, but it certainly seemed strange to me that of the six witnesses called by the DA, only Mano was present for the testimony of other witnesses. Furthermore, by my observations, only she and her immediately preceding witness, DA Investigator Frank Huber, were not isolated from counsel during breaks in court sessions. Quite the contrary, in fact. I and others watched as they appeared to be receiving coaching from the prosecution during these intervals. Whatever their discussion those few feet down the hall, post-break-time testimony from both investigators seemed much more vague upon their respective returns to cross-examination. Suddenly, both appeared even more ignorant than before, as we spectators heard many more statements to the tune of "I don't recall".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something else no one seemed to be able to recall was the source of scandalous rumors that Sharon Palmer supposedly misled Rabobank - the bank eventually procured by Larry Otting to provide a loan to purchase the land on which the farm was built - as to the nature of her relationship with Otting. It's undisputed fact that Palmer had hoped to get a loan herself to purchase the property, but that it was at a time when lending was especially costive. So once it became clear to Palmer she would not be eligible for the loan on her own, that's when community friend Otting stepped in to help purchase the property. Never mind that Palmer, now just a lessee of the property owned by Otting, had little, if anything, to do with the bank dealings after Otting entered the picture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite the gaping inability by witnesses to identify the source of the rumors about their relationship, the prosecution wants you to think that it was Palmer herself who told Rabobank officers that she was Otting's sister - errr, or was it lover? Conflicting testimony indicates both sister and lover. So then do prosecutors expect us to believe that Palmer falsely presented herself as being involved in an incestuous relationship with Otting?? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is it Occam's razor tells us about the simplest explanation being the best one? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given that the source of these confusing rumors was never identified, I'd offer this as an alternate (and more likely) explanation: The rumors could just as easily have originated from inattentive bank employees. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can't imagine anyone having to stretch his or her brain much to wrap it around THAT as likely possibility.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>A MOOVING TARGET</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If government officials want to prosecute a real conspiracy, I’d suggest they turn their gazes inward - to any number of legislative prejudices in favor of corporate greed and against the civil liberties of individuals - in this case, the rights of the People to grow and consume healthy foods (like raw milk) and to privately contract with one another in order to do so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The persistence of these acts of freedom poses a direct threat to the very corporations who fund our government and the campaigns of those whom we believe we elect. It’s no secret pharmaceutical companies, for example, would be opposed to raw milk production, when you consider the ginormous profits to be made continuing to sell antibiotics and hormones to conventional dairies. And it’s no secret they have the capital to wage a well-funded smear campaign against any who would dare challenge them. It’s also no secret that companies like these lobby our governments at every level. Why else would the government spend so much money and effort pursuing such conspiratorial hogwash?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>SLAUGHTERHOUSE FOUR</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have never met them and cannot claim to know what either Aajonus Vonderplanitz or Larry Otting had in mind when they brought their concerns to Ventura County. I must, therefore, assume the best of intentions on both their parts (just as we must all assume the best intentions </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as well as the innocence of</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> James Stewart and Sharon Palmer, unless or until Ventura County can </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">prove</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> otherwise). Still, I can’t help but be mystified as to what the two men were thinking...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However fragmented and disorganized it may now yet be, I've counted myself a member of the raw food community for only a very brief, albeit surprisingly eventful, one year. In that short time, what began as a genuinely exuberant joy at being acquainted with such knowledgeable and inspirational people was met too early by disappointment, as I learned of the same stories of in-fighting that are currently splattered all over the internet - stories of betrayal, stories of slander, stories of jealousy, greed, hidden agendas and perceived justice. Sadly, they are not too difficult to find.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In spite of all that, however, my perhaps naive hope continues to be, in cases in which there is no clear evidence of harm, that any party who has a question about or problem with the product distributed by any other party, would be content (first) to investigate the matter personally and (then) if satisfied as to its truth, simply to stop consuming that product, particularly when the disagreement has arisen amidst members of the same small community. In this way, over time, we eventually vote with our dollars against those products we deem less worthy and in favor of those we consider superior. And especially, in the case of health foods, where our progress toward optimal vitality and increased longevity are goals we all have in common, and where it is painfully clear that big agriculture and big pharmaceutical companies (and, therefore, big government) have set their considerably wealthier wills against ours, my hope remains that we would not assist such powerful rivals to destroy us by dividing and conquering ourselves on their behalf. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though in our journeys we may consider ourselves armed with only the purest and best intentions, when we succumb to attacking members of our own community, we are only speeding our ultimate destruction at the hands of our enemies.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPgRGuQkkKeDin11LlOW6wyBqmw4xaJIxvXQ_VrcaDTcCq0MQNwLj5eLN91nCMEk4cdWKSbMTI0yIpfJCycBUQNiAJXcjuHstcMRT2sJyYcTts9On6qZZwtvyWRAly4ytnEBPN6v-wTky/s1600/photo+(13).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPgRGuQkkKeDin11LlOW6wyBqmw4xaJIxvXQ_VrcaDTcCq0MQNwLj5eLN91nCMEk4cdWKSbMTI0yIpfJCycBUQNiAJXcjuHstcMRT2sJyYcTts9On6qZZwtvyWRAly4ytnEBPN6v-wTky/s320/photo+(13).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An empty structure is all that remains today of <br />
the former raw milk dairy at Healthy Family Farms in Santa Paula, CA.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-64491562005162487892012-03-11T20:46:00.000-07:002012-06-20T01:25:08.799-07:00Milk-Slinging & Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I shared a long emotional embrace with my dear friend, James Stewart, Friday evening immediately following his release from an unlawful and torturous week-long detention at a Ventura County jail. It was the first chance I'd had to see his face <i>not</i> through the dehumanizing grates of a cage, since his ambush into handcuffs during open court in Los Angeles, on the morning of Friday, March 2nd at a routine appearance for <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/08/sucker-punch.html">"conspiracy" charges related to raw milk</a>. (I feel ridiculous even just typing that last phrase.)</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZoPt9kkY4mOEX5l14xJJOaJuHx5Qi4MSvXKSMwYxiqvY4GEs7APbext71fD_VCb6HzYQYVyLAokta2IzR_o4z3w8AdEheA498ctJzRZBTFEf_sYu7H8wS83fhVQ0T5zAijpKGHPNiWjF/s1600/james10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZoPt9kkY4mOEX5l14xJJOaJuHx5Qi4MSvXKSMwYxiqvY4GEs7APbext71fD_VCb6HzYQYVyLAokta2IzR_o4z3w8AdEheA498ctJzRZBTFEf_sYu7H8wS83fhVQ0T5zAijpKGHPNiWjF/s400/james10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><i>[Left] Scanned copy of pharmacy ID-photo, taken 2 days before arrest;<br />[Right] Photo by me, using my iPhone w/flash, taken day of release.</i><br />
<b>Neither image has been edited in any way other than cropping and scaling.</b><br />
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He was visibly thinner, radically dehydrated and obviously malnourished. In fact, the last real food he had eaten was a couple of the raw, superfood cookies I'd been so proud to share with him on our way into court that morning. Knowing now in retrospect that he was about to go so long without proper sleep and nourishment, I wish I had brought more food along. Of course, had the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, who'd reportedly issued the arrest warrant a full four days prior on 2/27, bothered to alert James that they had done so (or issued a simple summons to appear) - and therefore given him the opportunity to be prepared in confronting the charges - all of this drama and nonsense could have been avoided.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-UC9zxsjoMlzm2CK9MBjOiikoALq48q97z4aiyy1s95uZUkULIuECCVh0wPA8i60KINCSm-GcSDyEEXEVEoba15epxSDFEusJ4LhlVbnSeWP-atJRJeVv6XdUkPHI20en91_8YD-m5g-/s1600/supercookie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-UC9zxsjoMlzm2CK9MBjOiikoALq48q97z4aiyy1s95uZUkULIuECCVh0wPA8i60KINCSm-GcSDyEEXEVEoba15epxSDFEusJ4LhlVbnSeWP-atJRJeVv6XdUkPHI20en91_8YD-m5g-/s320/supercookie.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">My raw superfood cookie creation...<br />
James's last taste of real food before his arrest.</td></tr>
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Instead, my friend was, by all appearances, kidnapped by the government and thrust into a tight-leashed tour of hell. Then came the unsettling silence from a man to whom I - and so many others - love to listen. For those who don't already know, Stewart is one of the most knowledgeable, honest and generous men around, especially when it comes to food. You should see him shop the farmer's markets... Everywhere he goes he recognizes faces, makes new friends and seems to attract small crowds of folks who stop what they're doing to hear what he has to say. But for too long after his arrest, we, his friends, were unable to hear his voice or offer him any kind of reassuring word. We couldn't let him know the many angles we were tirelessly working to help get him out of jail. For a while, in fact, we couldn't even find him in the system. We received only a couple calls from him on the day of his arrest, and then nothing for almost three days. It wasn't until his release 8 days later that we were able to hear the full story of what had happened.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bkikT0WKq4YtrxYxfqIufZEEdMxd8gz39DCR9i_BvLMweZrvetYQcgHt0WsL1EvWKwDHXl9kqU8SunI2MW7HE_G5RHpaYb8G03YU4vlq7phMj0BVZBWdlQho_ak6rBdieJIJG3F8nooT/s1600/jsmarket1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bkikT0WKq4YtrxYxfqIufZEEdMxd8gz39DCR9i_BvLMweZrvetYQcgHt0WsL1EvWKwDHXl9kqU8SunI2MW7HE_G5RHpaYb8G03YU4vlq7phMj0BVZBWdlQho_ak6rBdieJIJG3F8nooT/s320/jsmarket1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making new friends of vendors at the Farmer's Market, 3/11/12</td></tr>
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Upon his unnecessarily dramatic arrest during open court, no charges were presented to him. I watched as he was handcuffed without explanation and then whisked away through some back door of the courtroom. From there, he said, he was taken below the building and questioned. Though he had never once used the word, his interrogators quickly labeled him a "sovereign" and handled him as though he were a hazard to the general population of the jail. Soon after, he found himself shackled in chains wound about his waist and bound to a bench so tightly that he could barely move. And there he stayed for several hours, treated not even as just a common criminal, but as a full-on terrorist, which seems to be <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2010/april/sovereigncitizens_041310">how the FBI's defines "sovereign"</a>. (Remember, this is a word the authorities used. James didn't even know what they meant by that word... <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2012/3/10/what-is-the-message-in-a-food-rights-activist-being-labeled.html">So what reason would the government have for wanting to label a happy, friendly milk man a terrorist?</a>) He was isolated, subjected to medical examinations while still handcuffed, abandoned to hypothermia in unreasonably cold temperatures, deprived of food and then left for a day and a half in a cell overflowing with raw sewage. When someone finally did arrive for clean-up, Stewart said he was handed a squeegee and instructed to clean up the mess himself.</div>
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Even if a person were to have been convicted of any crime, this kind of treatment would be intolerable. For Stewart, however, all this was happening a) by accusation ONLY, and b) without his ever having been informed as to the charges... SOMEONE TELL ME, PLEASE, HOW IS THIS LEGAL??!?! For a system supposedly founded on the idea of "innocent, until proven guilty" I must say that everything I've observed in this whole incredible scenario is more than just <u>very disturbing</u>. To me, it seems closer to "guilty, until proven guiltier". How is it our present system can justify the sudden taking away of a loved one (who's never hurt anyone, by the way), without explanation, without a charging or accusatory instrument, treat that person as a criminal or in this case a terrorist, demand excessive funds be coughed up for the person's release, and then force that innocent man to prove his own innocence?? I'm pretty sure the answer is that they can't... and that their actions are NOT legal. Or if these actions are legal, then we MUST change the law. Maybe this happens every day in other parts of the world, and perhaps I should consider it my good fortune to have remained so distanced from it thus far; I see it now though, and regardless of where and who it involves, behavior such as this is atrocious and rotten and dirty and unforgivable... It is CRIMINAL. The system itself is behaving criminally. And whose job is it, then, if not ours, to hold our government accountable?</div>
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The assault continued in court, of course. During Thursday's bail reduction hearing for Stewart (whose bail eventually dropped by 10% to $100,000 from an outrageous $1 Million) and Sharon Palmer, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as I listened to Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Harman present a whole string of factual errors as truth before the judge:</div>
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He claimed Stewart had "declared himself to be a sovereign citizen", which is untrue. He said Stewart was a flight risk due to "extensive travel ties to Thailand and Brazil", but James has never been to Thailand in his life. When pressed as to the charges and excessive bail amount assigned without ever having heard Stewart's story in all this, Harman argued the District Attorney's office had "tried to talk to Mr. Stewart several times, and he never returned our calls." In my experience, Stewart has both caller ID <i>and</i> a good memory, and said he promptly returned the only call he has ever received from Ventura County, and that was months ago. Stewart's counsel also pointed out that his name doesn't even appear on the title of the property and argued that he essentially has nothing to do with the charges in this case, except for being a friend of Sharon Palmer's.</div>
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I watched too as Harman did his best to assassinate the character of Sharon Palmer who, by all accounts of those who know her well (and according to numerous character statements collected and presented to the judge that day), is one of the most trustworthy, good-hearted people on the planet. But Harman called her a "wolf in sheep's clothing who has preyed on her trusting community". By coloring his interpretation of her prior convictions - which appear to have had more to do with Palmer's former husband than with Palmer herself - Harman accused her of routinely targeting old people for investment scams. Palmer's attorney called Harman's claims "factually and chronologically untrue" and argued that her prior convictions were not only more than a decade old, but have been misused in every bail proceeding since. "At some point, Your Honor" he said, "wisdom has to step in." Some welcomed wisdom eventually came in a 75% reduction of her bail, from $2 Million to $500,000.</div>
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"The People" vs. James Stewart & Sharon Palmer? What a crock. I am the People, and I never authorized any such attacks against my own source of nutrient-dense, life-giving foods.</div>
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At a follow-up appearance in court the next day, regarding the source of James's bail funds, I remember the presiding judge, Donald D. Coleman, greeted Mr. Harman with something to the effect of, "You again?" ...I won't say I wasn't amused by that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1o_JzymgElFFwGAfOQOoizsDhthDYJqtbhTZyMTs_KxHygijGC8u-lrxRwMh8ZZr9xM58qnVpkJwKBPiBZqnV8MXI4tFt5NE1I_jkZVsEXXJ_HhMhxfDDDl_SuCsIJkflYWAHneUJ4jo/s1600/jsfarm2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a></div>
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What's not amusing, however, is that Palmer remains in custody, and god-knows how awful her conditions must be. Now that he's out of jail himself, Stewart has said he can't rest until Palmer is also released. He visited her farm yesterday afternoon (the very next day after his own release) to offer moral support and assist her friends, family and loved ones in plans to raise funds for the $500,000 that still stands between her and freedom from jail. And then the work begins to raise funds for upcoming legal expenses. A fund-raising event for that may be held as early as sometime this week. My hope is that Sharon Palmer is released in time to be there. Thanks to the heartless drama-queens and character assassins at Ventura County, Palmer has already missed her daughter's birthday over the weekend. Let's make sure she doesn't miss anything else... Not one more day. Please contact <a href="mailto:FriendsOfHealthyFamilyFarms@gmail.com">FriendsOfHealthyFamilyFarms@gmail</a> to find out how you can contribute.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1o_JzymgElFFwGAfOQOoizsDhthDYJqtbhTZyMTs_KxHygijGC8u-lrxRwMh8ZZr9xM58qnVpkJwKBPiBZqnV8MXI4tFt5NE1I_jkZVsEXXJ_HhMhxfDDDl_SuCsIJkflYWAHneUJ4jo/s1600/jsfarm2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1o_JzymgElFFwGAfOQOoizsDhthDYJqtbhTZyMTs_KxHygijGC8u-lrxRwMh8ZZr9xM58qnVpkJwKBPiBZqnV8MXI4tFt5NE1I_jkZVsEXXJ_HhMhxfDDDl_SuCsIJkflYWAHneUJ4jo/s320/jsfarm2.JPG" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Healthy Family Farms on 3/10/12<br />
in support of Sharon Palmer.<br />
<i>Photo courtesy Friends Of Rawesome.</i></td></tr>
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For my part, I'm just so grateful my friend has managed to find his warm, kind smile again, after all he's experienced. And, be it in the form of more hugs or my continued efforts to help expose the on-going corruption within the ranks of government, it is my intention to support him and Sharon, in any way I can, as they seek to set the record straight regarding the injustices perpetuated against them. No one deserves what they've been through - especially not a farmer and a milk man.</div>
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As James reminded me with a laugh yesterday, plenty more than just goat milk can go "baaaaaaaad".</div>
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==<br />
To read my detailed account of the subsequent three-day preliminary hearing on these charges out of Ventura County, please click below:<br />
<a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2012/04/animal-farm.html">http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2012/04/animal-farm.html</a></div>
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==</div>
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For a more detailed account of the many abuses James Stewart suffered, please visit the following links:</div>
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<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/035208_James_Stewart_torture_county_jail.html">http://www.naturalnews.com/035208_James_Stewart_torture_county_jail.html</a> (w/Audio Interview)</div>
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<a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2012/3/10/what-is-the-message-in-a-food-rights-activist-being-labeled.html">http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2012/3/10/what-is-the-message-in-a-food-rights-activist-being-labeled.html</a></div>
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To help support James & Sharon, please contact the following, respectively:</div>
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<a href="mailto:FriendsOfRawesome@gmail.com">FriendsOfRawesome@gmail.com</a> / Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfRawesome">https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfRawesome</a></div>
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<a href="mailto:FriendsOfHealthyFamilyFarms@gmail.com">FriendsOfHealthyFamilyFarms@gmail.com</a></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-79005188762936281692012-03-07T18:50:00.000-08:002012-03-11T19:38:40.144-07:00Courts of RawSomething here smells sour, and it's NOT my raw milk.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIWe7yKjoEs6worLlcd6hFYJfOB_p6fVzmpTXrM5wUp_xUBCKLfRZGIDn-CT5OmgnSwObiMDWnjbTmPbwBtDzTXonUp3GPehpbty7K-A-XQpLS7lNC4ABsGNrRd-EXHVfTSmGV6oZ-z4Co/s1600/Stewart-Palmer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIWe7yKjoEs6worLlcd6hFYJfOB_p6fVzmpTXrM5wUp_xUBCKLfRZGIDn-CT5OmgnSwObiMDWnjbTmPbwBtDzTXonUp3GPehpbty7K-A-XQpLS7lNC4ABsGNrRd-EXHVfTSmGV6oZ-z4Co/s200/Stewart-Palmer.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Stewart & Sharon Palmer, 2011.<br />
<i>Photo courtesy <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/">David Gumpert</a>.</i></td></tr>
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A new offense is afoot in the old games of legalized persecution against folks still brave enough to exercise their rights to privately contract with one another to obtain healthy foods. In what <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/035136_James_Stewart_arrest_Rawesome_Foods.html">Natural News</a> rightly called an "ambush", James-Cecil: Stewart of Rawesome Foods, and Sharon Palmer of Healthy Family Farms were again suddenly arrested at the close of routine court proceedings last Friday, March 2nd. The two had appeared in court, along with co-defendant Victoria Bloch, to settle on a preliminary hearing date for charges related to <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/08/sucker-punch.html">government raids on Rawesome</a> back in June of 2010 and August of 2011.<br />
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Palmer's bail was set for $2 Million and Stewart's at $1 Million. Apparently, the two - along with Larry Otting - are being asked to answer assorted charges relating to an alleged conspiracy to defraud farm investors. While Otting had reportedly already made bail by yesterday, Palmer and Stewart will stay a sixth night in jail tonight. They are scheduled to appear in court again Thursday (3/8) in hopes of getting their bail reduced, and then being released soon after. (Please read <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2012/3/7/two-rawesome-associates-seeking-bail-reduction-what-do-they.html">David Gumpert's article</a> for more case details.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYBtknnzrXfLfP00YlbfD0Nf-0vixa9eC7fHaQ2oqZTGCXsp7-1Trn3Cs4kOtwxrrNZkEhHBcGjthFElADE3XDkl0ezopfmVXQAjAz1GaCIwtRLoqavJpNYtKqVPDKZjq3exsoAckvU5Z/s1600/freethefarmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYBtknnzrXfLfP00YlbfD0Nf-0vixa9eC7fHaQ2oqZTGCXsp7-1Trn3Cs4kOtwxrrNZkEhHBcGjthFElADE3XDkl0ezopfmVXQAjAz1GaCIwtRLoqavJpNYtKqVPDKZjq3exsoAckvU5Z/s320/freethefarmer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victoria Bloch with Weston A Price Foundation Chapter leaders in pre-arraignment demonstration. <br />
<i>Photo courtesy Friends of Rawesome.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQLB4geuHmAMJHWVYspoEw4S9dj6pUsYU8N584BKOUc7ke7t7yHnnHE5ZG47KS2T_5_64-h0bKvz7B-mmFNOsHTCJYG0OBKns5kdKkzITBGGMgHAytvAPcnIa36K_nSyRIbhUPgUk5TuY/s320/image+(2).jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four demonstrators swarmed by an excess number of deputies.<br />
<i>Photos courtesy Friends of Rawesome.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBm6Ok9X1Pg-uVqJfAZ1xmhbl6hJbBIo5d8KsOflve8fVxsKZHp8Wu65MKxwz-K84RdDLByN6DBjBEjKuoAJsu5C6l089609VZBs38gauW37K2CXnibiE0Fkin6K0Sq4kE8FOPmNSqEJ4e/s1600/ftf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBm6Ok9X1Pg-uVqJfAZ1xmhbl6hJbBIo5d8KsOflve8fVxsKZHp8Wu65MKxwz-K84RdDLByN6DBjBEjKuoAJsu5C6l089609VZBs38gauW37K2CXnibiE0Fkin6K0Sq4kE8FOPmNSqEJ4e/s320/ftf1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">"All this fuss over little old me?"<br />
<i>Photo courtesy Friends of Rawesome.</i></td></tr>
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<br />
At the moment, however, time is of the essence. The clock is ticking down to that bail reduction hearing tomorrow, and I have URGENT pleas to the food rights and small farmer sympathizers among you, my beloved readers:<br />
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<b>FIRST:</b> If you know James or Sharon personally, please compose a brief character statement (or just a letter of support if you don't know them) that the attorneys can present in court tomorrow (Thursday 8/8) on their behalves to help sway the court to lower bail and release them. We want the judge to feel the full weight of the support James and Sharon have from the community. If you can help, please include your name and an address where you can be reached and send your letter either as a PDF or in an email to: <b><a href="mailto:FriendsOfRawesome@gmail.com">FriendsOfRawesome@gmail.com</a></b>. We need to have them as soon as possible before the hearing tomorrow.<br />
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<b>NEXT:</b> Flood the <a href="http://auditor.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/ac">LA County Auditor-Controller's Office</a> with demands that they investigate what appears to be <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2012/02/oafs-of-office.html">serious and on-going corruption</a> within the ranks of so-called authorities who helped to bring the 2011 charges against Rawesome and Healthy Family Farms. (See images below.)<br />
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Please contact this department in whatever way is convenient for you, but remember to keep your communications civil. The Girl's Gone Raw does not condone acts or threats of violence. Also, if you choose to send an email, DO NOT do so from your workplace or office email account... or any address that might compromise your identity, should you prefer to remain anonymous. Just know that your contributions to this effort could make a world of difference in what becomes of the Rawesome case and future food rights.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Email:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;"><a href="mailto:consituent@auditor.lacounty.gov">consituent@auditor.lacounty.gov</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Postal Mail: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;">500 West Temple Street, Room 525</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;">Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;">Los Angeles, California 90012</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Telephone:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;"> (213) 974-8301</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Facsimile:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: 14px;"> (213) 626-5427</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-54074971537610265302012-02-26T21:29:00.003-08:002012-02-27T18:58:56.143-08:00Oafs of Office?If someone arrested your friends and stole food from you and your community - all in <i>your</i> name - you'd probably want to know about it. In fact, you'd probably take action to correct things and see that it doesn't happen again... I know I would.<br />
<br />
And yet this is precisely what seems to have unfolded during the <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/08/sucker-punch.html">August 3rd, 2011 raid on the Rawesome Foods private club in Venice</a> and what appears to be continually happening around the country while We the People remain asleep and ignorant to (or unwilling to face) the corruption run amock in government agencies still claiming to be working for our best interests.<br />
<br />
But what if you could give substance to that sick feeling you've only ever carried quietly inside - the one that tells you something really is wrong with this picture, that something foul or dirty or sinister is at work? What if the people you thought were just 'crazy conspiracy theorists' were actually the truth-tellers? What if you could definitively prove certain members of the government weren't really serving the People? What if you could demonstrate with concrete evidence that certain government agents closest to the investigation and subsequent arrests of your friends were never authorized - not by you, nor anyone - to investigate in the first place? What if those folks claiming to conduct their duties on behalf of the People had goofed and missed an important step somewhere, and you - a concerned citizen - could see their too hastily assumed authority now unraveling?<br />
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And what if you were beginning at last to understand that even you had - in your silent, unquestioning consent - somehow helped those perceived authorities to falsely accuse your friends, harrass and intimidate your entire community and ultimately force your neighbors into giving up their businesses or declaring bankruptcy? What if you decided no longer to wear the cloak of a victim?<br />
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If you could do all that, I expect the whole house of cards might just come crashing down. And I expect it might start a very real revolution in which the now better-informed citizens of this world unite to hold its elected and appointed leaders and government agencies accountable - to their <i>own</i> rules, at the very least. I further expect we'd feel both shocked at the level of non-compliance and yet empowered at our own abilities to affect change.<br />
<br />
It could happen... Here's why:<br />
<br />
Six full months have now passed since the Rawesome raid. (Many thanks, by the way, to folks like Mr. David Gumpert who continue to publish updates: <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2012/1/27/hurry-up-and-wait-rawesome-three-get-used-to-criminal-justic.html">http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2012/1/27/hurry-up-and-wait-rawesome-three-get-used-to-criminal-justic.html</a>.) Still, <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/08/politics-at-dinner-table.html">we former club members</a> are likely no closer to forgetting how much more complicated it is these days to obtain the nourishing food we require. In that time, however, some of us probably have forgotten a few of the details that resulted in our having been separated from it... Details like the name Michelle LeCavalier.<br />
<br />
So let's refresh our memories together... Savvy reporting by Natural News on the day of the raid (<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/033224_Rawesome_Foods_search_warrant.html">http://www.naturalnews.com/033224_Rawesome_Foods_search_warrant.html</a>) kept us abreast of what was happening and revealed that it was LeCavalier's signature that appeared on the search warrant (<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/files/RawWarrant1088-NoSSN.pdf">http://www.naturalnews.com/files/RawWarrant1088-NoSSN.pdf</a>). But little else was known about this mystery woman - so little, in fact, that Natural News had posted the following query for more information within the body of their own article:<br />
<br />
<h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 28px; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 33px; text-align: left;">
<i> "Who is Michelle LeCavalier?</i></h1>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i>I want to know who this state employee is and why she is engaged in authorizing acts of terrorism against innocent citizens of California. Attempts to find out more about LeCavalier have so far failed, although NaturalNews has confirmed that she is a California state employee who worked under the Dept. of Health at one point.</i></span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">If you have any information about Michelle LeCavalier, or a link to an online photo of her, please let us know. This woman needs to be held accountable for her role in authorizing acts of government terrorism against the People."</i><br />
<br />
Even with such limited information available, it has come to my attention that new data has recently surfaced on LeCavalier - most notably that she has <u>NO</u> Oath of Office on record with either the Secretary of State in California or the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office, despite her signature on the search warrant (<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/files/RawWarrant1088-NoSSN.pdf">http://www.naturalnews.com/files/RawWarrant1088-NoSSN.pdf</a>) issued against Rawesome & Healthy Family Farms. See below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJzywQrl57TkKxZmvzc35Cwsgq_kqcxLH5gzaz4dXdk2apg0Ha6iIWn_jgRNxeGZvaSiZf4sAJ3DC2rQEY5iG0ZN-qMY41kvhYcq27I4QR8yy6vnQcXiyJJLDYm_DyNcZnfDnYkwODA7P/s1600/Certificate+of+no+Appointment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJzywQrl57TkKxZmvzc35Cwsgq_kqcxLH5gzaz4dXdk2apg0Ha6iIWn_jgRNxeGZvaSiZf4sAJ3DC2rQEY5iG0ZN-qMY41kvhYcq27I4QR8yy6vnQcXiyJJLDYm_DyNcZnfDnYkwODA7P/s640/Certificate+of+no+Appointment.jpg" width="484" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_wu1u-fNZCBdA7wb9efSGeE_BWZgfJLrjK-7ATOHFEY_Aji3xXbOmxM-b8SH28NbPMmzfQHnpC09am7BLG8y7RaAV4MrZWsOqpe77EEGil-VSoOzhdeJ95BcODE7fhyphenhyphenMAQAtLozNyHLK/s1600/michelle+oath+4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_wu1u-fNZCBdA7wb9efSGeE_BWZgfJLrjK-7ATOHFEY_Aji3xXbOmxM-b8SH28NbPMmzfQHnpC09am7BLG8y7RaAV4MrZWsOqpe77EEGil-VSoOzhdeJ95BcODE7fhyphenhyphenMAQAtLozNyHLK/s640/michelle+oath+4a.jpg" width="484" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*Redacted items NOT directly related to Michelle LeCavalier .</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">You might argue that all this Oath of Office business is simply more <i>non</i>-information on LeCavalier, except that this lack of filing would indicate she appears to be out of compliance with</span> <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=01001-02000&file=1360-1369">CA GOVERNMENT CODES 1360-1367</a>, which state that "before any officer enters on the duties of his office, he shall take and subscribe the oath or affirmation set forth in Section 3 of Article XX of the Constitution of California," and that "no compensation nor reimbursement for expenses incurred shall be paid to any officer by any public agency unless he has taken and subscribed to the oath or affirmation required..."<br />
<br />
But LeCavalier's isn't the only missing Oath of Office. <span style="text-align: left;">Richard Ballou, Senior Investigator for the County of Los Angeles District Attorney's Office Environmental Crimes Unit, the same man listed as "Declarant and Complainant" on the 21-page complaint against the accused: </span><a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/filed-HFF-Complaint.pdf" style="text-align: left;">http://nourishedkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/filed-HFF-Complaint.pdf</a><span style="text-align: left;">) *also* appears to have <u>NO</u> Oath of Office on file. See below.</span><br />
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And so who are these people? And how is it they've assumed the roles of government agents working on behalf of the People, when they've taken no Oath of Office promising to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies,<br />
foreign and domestic", and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California"?<br />
<br />
Without this solemn bond with the People, how have we any guarantee that We the People are protected from their ignorance and/or malice? What recourse do we have against any false witness borne by them against our friends and neighbors? And what's more, shouldn't these revelations call into question the entirety of the so-called "evidence" gathered by their direction in this case?<br />
<br />
This concerned citizen would like very much to know how it is that these departments of the County of Los Angeles and the State of California claim to be in compliance with the above-named CA Government Codes, when folks with no filed Oaths of Office seem to be on the payroll. It's a simple question, really. And if there is an exception somewhere that gets them out of this requirement, then I want to see it... That's all.<br />
<br />
After all, according to <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=54001-55000&file=54950-54963">CA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54950-54963</a> and <a href="http://www.seismic.ca.gov/pdf.files/BagleyKeeneOpenMeetingLaw.pdf">CA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 11120-11132</a>, " The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."<br />
<br />
And anything less simply will not do. Not for me. Not anymore.<br />
<br />
I'll leave it to more legally minded folks to discern how damaging this <b>publicly available information </b>may or may not be to the prosecution's case against James Stewart and the Rawesome Three. Of course, I hope that it is very damaging, and I cannot conceive of how it could be anything else <i>but</i> that. Even notaries, for example, cannot begin notarizing documents until they've taken an Oath of Office. And for those who might suggest that Oaths of Office are strictly ceremonial, I'd ask what would happen if the President of the United States were to neglect taking an Oath of Office. I mean, isn't that entire <i>point</i> of the Inauguration? Given the hostilities still lingering over disputes regarding the current President's birth certificate, I can just imagine the uproar that would ensue from the People, had Obama failed to take an Oath of Office. And in fact, I'd take issue myself with such an omission.<br />
<br />
In the case of Rawesome, however, as a very concerned citizen whose food was [I believe] wrongfully taken and destroyed and whose access to those foods continues to be denied as a result of documents signed by LeCavalier and Ballou, I have a big problem simply continuing blindly to trust in a governmental system whose corruption seems to run always deeper. In short, I am - like many of you, I hope - beginning to wake up. And I am beginning to take action.<br />
<br />
Please do not mistake me. I am not contesting the necessity and usefulness of some structure of government - and ideally, fellow conscientious members of government agencies will support and assist us in weeding out unlawful and unconstitutional behaviors; Rather, I am simply expressing my increasing intolerance of apparent abuses within the governmental system. That is why, I believe, these folks and all others holding government offices <i>MUST</i> be held accountable - not merely by their own agencies, but by the People (that's us) whom they claim to represent.<br />
<br />
Let's not forget who sits at the top of the ladder in this government (both <a href="http://www.cold.ca.gov/Ca_State_Gov_Orgchart.pdf">state</a> and <a href="http://ceo.lacounty.gov/forms/LAC_Org_Chart.pdf">county</a>), who is ultimately responsible for the behavior of any such ill-sorted rabble, and who therefore who has the power and authority to set things right again...<br />
<br />
We the People.<br />
<i>Amen.</i><br />
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(Another article by Natural News with some excellent tips for how to get started: <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/033318_government_agents_Rawesome_Foods.html">http://www.naturalnews.com/033318_government_agents_Rawesome_Foods.html</a>. If you're outside California, why not start with a visit to the State or County Recorder's office to look into the public records of your own local government agents? Who knows what happens when you're not looking? Not you... That's for sure!)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-1771418221298669202012-02-06T22:05:00.000-08:002012-02-06T23:52:22.563-08:00Raw En RouteNever, never travel.<br />
<br />
That was some of the first, not medical, but friendly, advice I received after becoming diabetic, and it haunted me for some time. The diabetic acquaintance advising me at the time was merely communicating the strife he'd encountered after running out of supplies while overseas, but his story certainly made an impression. It may have had the opposite effect on me than he had intended, however (many things do), in that I became determined to travel the very next year, largely just to prove to myself that it wasn't such a big deal. As expected, once in Europe, I indeed had a wonderful time visiting my friend, and I've thought very little of that friendly "don't travel" warning since.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHeFEE_6zLVvZ4AV5CCpbOrvJO3Ku3klcULowcxFBycFcc2pNiJcsM2hzq3bulWXztcVVXmccqCOgwqI3ci-a4foH7x_Q_khp-iL1rFAc8OcVVC8sX77Z_0H4fkP8k1hdark1ByDdk-kK/s1600/farm1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHeFEE_6zLVvZ4AV5CCpbOrvJO3Ku3klcULowcxFBycFcc2pNiJcsM2hzq3bulWXztcVVXmccqCOgwqI3ci-a4foH7x_Q_khp-iL1rFAc8OcVVC8sX77Z_0H4fkP8k1hdark1ByDdk-kK/s320/farm1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Squeak & Velveteen at Providence Farms in Edmond, OK.<br />
<i>Photo used with permission of Providence Farms.</i></td></tr>
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That is, until I started eating Raw foods and heard it again.<br />
<br />
The suggestion was presented in a slightly different context this time and made, particularly, in reference to the convenience and accessibility of the high quality, nourishing foods made available through my membership with the Rawesome private food club in Venice, California. "You'll never want to live anywhere else," my friend told me.<br />
<br />
At the time, he was right. Living (and even visiting for long) anywhere else just didn't seem practical if I wanted to be sure I got the nutrient-dense foods I desired. So for a few months, all was well in my contained little world. No drama and no pending travel would upset my cozy, comfy Raw food routine... And then came the government raid in August last year that forced the Rawesome club to close indefinitely. Suddenly, I wasn't sure where to go or what to do.<br />
<br />
Grateful as I had been (and will be again when Rawesome re-opens) to have so many wonderful, nurturing products available all under one roof, the event ultimately forced Raw devotees like me to be more flexible, creative and pro-active in how we obtain the enzyme-rich foods we need. And I was happy to rediscover my curious, scouting initiative, but there was still a monster crouching in my closet: My trip home for the holidays this year would be my first visit home since making the decided switch to a mostly Raw diet, and I was terrified to go.<br />
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The idea of finding quality foods outside the convenience and comforts of my Raw routine here in California seemed impossible. I had planned to pack a few essentials like Raw honey, almonds, dates - whatever would fit in my suitcase and carry-on - but I wouldn't be drinking the milk in my parents' fridge this year; I knew that much. In fact, I knew there wasn't much at their house that I would enjoy. So what <i>would</i> I eat? And how would my family take it? Would I hurt their feelings somehow by rejecting the food they offered to me in love? The uncertainties were so upsetting for me, in fact, that I suffered many hours of wakeful indigestion the night before my departing flight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji64_E1XwUDw0uEseGa5G6l8tmPNunXfA2F_13ViDRFb6uGiC-3FFVeVu6Ntn-v9NIMXg6mrRftJXKrI83d2KViFouHT-jgb_K77Gp815sBV20o2L9B7szQ0HiU-Etdy5X0br84SHiHs4n/s1600/farm2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji64_E1XwUDw0uEseGa5G6l8tmPNunXfA2F_13ViDRFb6uGiC-3FFVeVu6Ntn-v9NIMXg6mrRftJXKrI83d2KViFouHT-jgb_K77Gp815sBV20o2L9B7szQ0HiU-Etdy5X0br84SHiHs4n/s320/farm2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beauty, Bellour.<br />
<i>Photo used with permission of Providence Farms.</i></td></tr>
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Fortunately, and even in spite of the airline's misplacing my luggage (though the inspection note I found near the Raw honey tells me it was probably just delayed for that reason), I soon remembered I'm pretty darn resourceful when I want to be. My first call after landing was to my parents to let them know I had arrived safely. The next was to a local farm north of the city. (I found it through a simple Google search for "raw milk in oklahoma" which generated a link via <a href="http://www.realmilk.com/where08.html#ok">realmilk.com</a> to a list of farms nationwide, courtesy of the <a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/">Weston A. Price Foundation</a>.) The very next afternoon, after a stop at the city's brand new Whole Foods to pick up some grass fed beef, I was braving my mom's car and Oklahoma's cold winter weather to drive 45 minutes or so out of my way to pick up 2 gallons of delicious, local and fresh, raw cow's milk... and, as luck would have it, some goat's milk soap too (the perfectly synchronistic and healthier alternative to the Irish Spring I was using at my parents' home because I'd forgotten to pack soap).<br />
<br />
I was excited to meet the woman on the other end of the phone, and I had a feeling we might spark the profound connection that we did. During the nearly two hours we spent together, Jennifer was kind enough to give me a tour of her farm, letting me meet her goats, cows and chickens, and say hello to her family. We chatted about world history, food politics and the urgent need to change imbalances in our governmental system. She even spoke of a drought earlier in the year that had caused the prices of winter hay to go sky-high (by as much as 4-5 times the cost) forcing some of her neighboring farmers out of business. These were intensely important subjects, and I think we both could sense the passion and frustration present in one another. Even so, we were able to share our stories and ideas with a compassion and familiarity unique to our Raw foods community, and for a moment that perhaps still lingers, we each felt more supported in our respective journeys.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYVXuyqiEARjkj8SpFEpdCb7C9_JMP8ypWYrPlU5XJeT4mqOnGRzAigxBVrlG3EpANjzJ1cLxMIBdb8zzK2SeJSIiWP6Y1_xahdsw1CcW1qn1lPA35QO9FYqmL5QuOx3X6nZfjQw2QMUv/s1600/soap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYVXuyqiEARjkj8SpFEpdCb7C9_JMP8ypWYrPlU5XJeT4mqOnGRzAigxBVrlG3EpANjzJ1cLxMIBdb8zzK2SeJSIiWP6Y1_xahdsw1CcW1qn1lPA35QO9FYqmL5QuOx3X6nZfjQw2QMUv/s320/soap.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jennifer's lovely, lathering, goat milk soap.<br />
<i>Photo used with permission of Providence Farms.</i></td></tr>
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And perhaps we both garner additional encouragement from the fact that the Raw community seems to be growing. At some point while I wasn't looking, a Raw (vegan) restaurant called <a href="http://www.matthewkenneycuisine.com/restaurants/">Matthew Kenney</a>, named for its founding head chef, made Oklahoma City its home. By some miracle, I even managed to talk my parents and brother into an experimental visit to investigate this oddity in the land of 'meat and potatoes'... And we ALL loved it! In fact, I'd even venture to say that it seemed to me both tastier and fresher (with less emphasis on dehydration) than some of the Raw restaurants I've frequented here in Southern California.<br />
<br />
Looking back now on how fearful I had been before travelling, I cannot say what might have possessed me to be so eager to limit myself in what I thought was possible with my new lifestyle. In doing so, I was only forming new little prisons for my mind, when the whole point in living and eating the way I do is to have <i>more</i> life and freedom, not less. In any case, new information and new experiences are essential for growth. And oh, what we discover when we choose to be open instead of closed! I am truly amazed at how powerful, capable and fearless we become, when we finally let go our self-imposed chains. I've since met a number of people who manage to maintain a Raw lifestyle all over the globe, simply by taking a little time to educate themselves on what is available locally, and then going to get it. It's really not so difficult!<br />
<br />
In fact, I must take a moment here myself to acknowledge that I am deeply inspired by and eternally grateful for people like Jennifer, who risk so much to provide us with healthier, easy-to-find, local food choices. (By the way, when we insist on maintaining our Raw lifestyle while on the road, and thus reach out to small farmers like her, we actually have a wonderful opportunity to support local dairy communities in other parts of the country - or world, for that matter.) I am equally humbled by folks like my family, who are willing to consider different ideas and abandon their own belief systems - if only for a moment - to try something new. These folks challenge me every day to break any habits of fear and laziness I may have developed, and to continue questioning whatever it is I think I already know.<br />
<br />
Brave people like these help me feel more at home than I've felt in a while, wherever I am. For they are <i>all </i>my family. And wheresoever my path shall lead, I will carry in my heart the strength and support of that sacred home.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-26208444094560142712012-01-22T20:52:00.000-08:002012-01-23T09:17:50.155-08:00Diagnosis 1600.2: Spoonfuls of Splenda<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Four years have now passed since my diagnosis as a Type 1 diabetic (with a 1600 blood sugar) back in January of 2008. And what a journey it's been. I've spent two of those four years on an insulin pump which is under warranty for just three years. It is my goal to be off the insulin pump before that warranty expires... Here goes nothing!! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the meantime, I thought I might entertain you with another trip down memory lane. Here is the long-awaited second half of my diagnosis story. [<a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/01/diagnosis-1600-part-one-fish-out-of.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Part One</a>.] Please remember that my below description of events is from an online letter originally composed on Monday, February 18, 2008 and no longer reflects my current thinking where dietary knowledge and practice are concerned.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">It's a lot to choke down, really.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7rH1QSy2iOhncY7vlj6ErEvpWeQnmFlzQ1gYlkxpKv5TNMwfBv6Wja5dRbnBeAZO9AKj5bxITXQTQ09SG2yitiBQWzvANacTJrSdHCtpeLjYoLsEBBgp2zpC5ZUaV6i0NWp72ZpfLtf8/s1600/splenda2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7rH1QSy2iOhncY7vlj6ErEvpWeQnmFlzQ1gYlkxpKv5TNMwfBv6Wja5dRbnBeAZO9AKj5bxITXQTQ09SG2yitiBQWzvANacTJrSdHCtpeLjYoLsEBBgp2zpC5ZUaV6i0NWp72ZpfLtf8/s320/splenda2.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I remember feeling it when I was leaving the hospital, just after my conversation with the burly, soft-spoken, young Latino guy steering my wheelchair. I asked him about his job in transportation and learned he spends his entire day moving things. If something needed to get from one part of the hospital to another, he transported it - heavy boxes, medication, food, sick people... even bodies. And it hit me: I could have been one of those bodies.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Suddenly, I was very grateful to be in that wheelchair. But now, here I was, being separated from the institution that had kept me alive with insulin and food (which wasn't bad, actually, once the taste of the ice chips subsided), and I had little clue anymore how to keep myself alive. Until now, I'd never had to *think* about it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">My mom and I were headed immediately to see my endocrinologist, and it was coming on lunch time. A few hours had passed already since the hospital had served me breakfast, and my energy was low. I hadn't showered in 5 days, and my attempts to sleep in the hospital had been thwarted at almost every turn by the limited mobility afforded me in my hospital bed, a few IV-tethered restroom trips (thanks to a number of cool fluids still being pumped vigorously into me), and multiple incessant and obnoxious alarms signaling the nurse that it was time for a new bag of... whatever.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Now in the car, I felt claustrophobic. I rolled down the window in search of fresh air. Our traffic stops were mostly rough and uncomfortable because my mom wasn't used to driving the rental car; so by the time we arrived at the doctor's office, my head was heavy and throbbing. I was continually overcome by the sense of my own helplessness. I felt more dependent on others at that moment than ever in my Life - more dependent even than when I was being carried, unconscious, into the ER. At least, on that day, I was too far gone for *feeling* much of anything.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">This day, however, I was acutely aware of my need.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I felt vulnerable - like a child somehow swept up in a Life-and-death game of Tag. And now, between hospitals, I was caught between "bases" while running from a relentless pursuer I couldn't see coming. Timing was critical. I just didn't know why. And in my ignorance, I felt afraid for my Life... and, though my Mom was right there with me, very, utterly, trapped and alone.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Once inside the doctor's office, we were seated in a small room with a big view. The dietician introduced herself as the doctor's right hand assistant, and then the doctor appeared. It was easy to see they were both very knowledgeable people, who understood my new state of dependence and desperation. They threw around the phrase "new diabetic" quite a bit. From that, and the tidbits I'd picked up from the hospital staff, I gathered I was embarking on a major lifestyle change.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">It was easy to see, too, that they'd been talking Diabetes all day long, every day for several years. They fired so many new terms and concepts at me, I couldn't help but feel more and more overwhelmed by every word.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">My head was killing me. My stomach was growling. I was much too thin. Tears began to form. Could I die just sitting there in the office? "I've already survived the worst of it," I kept saying to myself.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I took notes, and tried feverishly to wrap my brain around all the doctor and dietician were saying. But I couldn't keep my eyes dry. They seemed to rise and float more freely in their sockets with every minute, as the weight and gravity of my situation finally began to sink in.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">"You looked like death that day," the dietician later told me.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">"You had a look of sheer terror," my Mom remembered. And she was right.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Before she had arrived in town, I didn't know just how much I was going to need her. In fact, at one point in my altered-sugar state (probably high still on those crystal-kaleidescope visions I had every time I closed my eyes), I told her I was fine and that flying all the way from Oklahoma to California to come see me in the aftermath was a silly idea.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">But I'm VERY glad she rejected my advice. She was a tremendous help and comfort, from the moment I saw her. She listened avidly, with me, to the many explanations and mathematical formulas the doctor and dietician threw at us. She helped me remember things I didn't write down, and she asked questions I wouldn't have thought to ask myself. I was very weak and nearly useless physically, but she folded and hung my laundry, washed my dishes and carried my groceries. She endured my frustration and tears (and other general moodiness), especially when trying to get the blood sugar meter to work for the first time. I wanted to smash it against the wall, kick and cry and scream, but she helped hold me together.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Perhaps most importantly, she was simply... here. She slept beside me for a week, at a time when I was frightened - at my core - to sleep, eat, walk or breathe (laboriously, at best) alone. This was too much for one person to manage.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">But managing it, I am. What I wake up to each morning, since that unforgettable trip to the ER (the bits between unconsciousness that I can remember anyway) exactly one month ago, is a series of mathematical equations, and, in my case, guesswork at scrutinous meal-planning, for which I - a journalism graduate - never bargained.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I start with a protein, choose a couple servings of vegetables, then count carbs into carb servings. As it happens, I may have all the protein and vegetables I can healthily stomach, but the number of insulin units I inject before eating depends on how many carb servings I plan to eat.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Also, I have two kinds of insulin; one is long-acting, and the other is short-acting. I take the long-acting insulin before bed every night, and it stays in my system for 24 hours. I take the short-acting before each meal, and it wears off after about 3-4 hours. So I'm doing lots of math and lots of preparation and [as well as I can] prediction. I'm determined, though, to fit some spontaneity into my schedule somewhere.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I test my blood sugar a minimum of 7 times a day - when I wake up, before and after every meal, anytime I feel weird, and then before I go to bed. Actually, I've been testing it even more frequently than that, simply because my body's still searching for some consistency, and until it finds it, I want to know how certain foods and activities affect me.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I’m beginning to feel like a veritable pin cushion and am fast forming callouses on my fingers - I’m sorry to say - *not* because of guitar playing, but because of the constant trade from alcohol to needle and back again.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">It's good that I test so often, though, as my numbers still jump around quite a bit. It's difficult to explain the feeling of a blood-sugar high or low to someone who's never experienced it. It’s more than just feeling light-headed, dizzy, sleepy or shaky. All I can liken it to is a feeling I first had when I was in grade school, which as far as I know, was not diabetes-related whatsoever.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Our class had taken its annual field trip to the Omniplex at the Kirkpatrick Center in Oklahoma City, where my friends and I started chasing each other through the mirror maze. I don't know exactly what was happening chemically, but I remember a profound warm and floating feeling, as though I were outside or over my own body. It was surreal then, and still is now, when I try to make myself believe, "This is actually happening... to me."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">People keep telling me they're proud of me, how strong I must be, that they're impressed with how positive I've been about the whole thing and amazed I can make jokes about it, that I seem to have more energy than I've had in months. The doctors are very happy with my progress and how well I've followed instruction and suggestion. They tell me I'm their star patient, that I'm the kind of patient that makes them feel they're doing something right and good for people.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">They also say they fully expect me to experiment some; they say the smarter a person is, the more experimental she'll be... We shall see.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Others ask me how it's changed my Life. Make no mistake, my friends, that this last month has been difficult. It's true I do feel more energetic than I have in months, but certain other things still daunt me. My fingers are beginning to hurt from all the pricking, and the injections are sometimes painful. I think more about food than I ever have, and I still feel strange sometimes without warning. Despite the deliberate downsizing and simplifying I've done in my Life over the past couple years, I suddenly take up more space again - with packed lunches, medical supplies, etc. Hell, I'm even taking up more space in blogs lately.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">When will I feel normal again? Is it even possible? Do I really want to feel normal? Was normal really better? Somewhere, amidst all the questions and confusion and emotion, I began to take comfort in some of the smaller pleasures I'm discovering along this new path. One of those is breakfast. It's a bit silly, I know (and I can only speculate as to why), but breakfast has quickly become my favorite meal of the day. Perhaps it's because it's easy to make, or because it changes little from day to day, or because it rarely leaves me wanting more - not even chocolate (though I have been known to slather some Nutella onto an English muffin at times).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Or perhaps it's my favorite meal because it's not complicated, at a time in my Life when so many other things seem to be. With so much on my plate right now both literally and figuratively, and with so many people telling me what I should and shouldn't eat (some whose opinions are neither correct nor welcome), the changes in my diet are mostly substantial improvements. Put simply, I'm eating more balanced meals.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Yes, for now, I may be eating considerably more food to gain some of my lost weight back, but it's better food.. It's like those cereal commercials I saw during cartoons when I was a kid. Once the animated spokesbird or spokestiger had given his dry cereal endorsement, we all were reminded (with visual presentation) the cereal was "part of this complete breakfast."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Twenty years and a near-death experience later, I'm actually enjoying my own more complete breakfast every morning. I look forward to it, and the distance each new morning puts between me and the terror and tears I first felt when leaving the hospital... Not unlike those proverbial spoonfuls of sugar - err, Splenda.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-31582865447708688462012-01-15T23:29:00.000-08:002012-01-16T11:30:21.269-08:00Kickin' the Habit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For once, choosing and committing to a New Year's resolution took no time at all. Usually, I don't play that popular game, for a variety of reasons. But this year, I just couldn't resist... This year, I've decided to give up my diabetes.<br />
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What's that you say? It's not my fault that I got diabetes? That's what my doctors tell me, and they may be correct. It's a question with which I've struggled for quite a while myself. At the time of my diagnosis I was (what I considered then to be) a relatively healthy and active person. But the truth is I may never know for sure to what degree I played a part in my own condition. The truth is, for my purposes, that it doesn't really matter. My journey is not about laying blame. What matters - and what I can take responsibility for - are the choices I'm making right now, either to the tune of impeded progress or to the continued nurturing of this new healing lifestyle unto its highest manifestation. <br />
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Believe me, the boldness of my above statement is not lost on me. When the idea of "giving up diabetes" first crossed my mind, I had said it aloud to myself as more of a joke. Then I began really to consider the power of the statement, as a conscious abandonment of my current state of dis-ease. It is a decision - inasmuch as I have the power to decide - to be finished and free of these maleficent medical entanglements.<br />
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As I considered the statement, I became aware that my definition of healing had changed at some point during this last year. When I first embarked on my raw food adventure, I felt that I might only consider myself "healed" if and when I could return to eating those more familiar, less nutritious faux- or Franken-foods and not require any insulin to maintain a perfectly balanced blood sugar. (And to an impressive degree, that is precisely what has begun to happen on those now rarer and rarer occasions that I partake of more conventional cuisine.) One year ago, that, to me, would have been the ultimate proof of a normally functioning pancreas.<br />
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But then I got to thinking... If my now healthier, primarily raw and organic foods lifestyle currently demands barely any insulin at all - about 5 units per day, including both basal and bolus - and the only other time I require insulin "for my diabetes" is when I choose to eat that other crap, then some of the insulin I'm using is really less "for my diabetes" than it is <i>for my bad habits</i>. Once I'd begun to see it this way, diabetes looked more like a series of bad decisions than some random affliction to which I was not a party. And healing looked even more like a conscious choice. I mean, how much sense would it make really to have healed from diabetes only to return to those same highly processed so-called "foods" that tend to encourage diabetes in the first place? For me, the answer is: None at all.<br />
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With all this in mind, it seemed clear that I had been helping to perpetuate my own condition, and I can find no wisdom or meaning now in continuing to do so. That sort of behavior has no place in my new definition of the word "healing". The way I figure it, with any lingering bad habits out of my way, the only thing standing between me and my original goal of no longer being diabetic (according to this new definition of healing) is about 4.5 units of basal insulin. And that seems like kid stuff compared to the progress I've already made these last many months. In truth, however, it could prove the most difficult insulin dependence to break so far... We shall see.<br />
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In any case, whether by the support of nutrient rich foods or the strength of my simple resolute faith in the body's ability to heal, I am feeling more up to the challenge than ever... Here's to a happy, healthier new year!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-32480574528143366242012-01-10T16:26:00.000-08:002012-01-11T18:53:55.677-08:00Get the BS Out of Your BG<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="text-align: left;">I wanted to make you all aware of this free discussion by James Hopson, a man whose insight and guidance have been most influential in my progress. If you're going to be in the Los Angeles area and available on the evening of Monday, January 16th, please come to this lecture for some free information or to ask questions. If you're not available that night, or if you're decidedly out of the area, then please feel free to contact Mr. Hopson directly at 310-773-2323. Either way, you won't regret it!</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-83504417139941811522011-12-21T22:33:00.000-08:002011-12-26T20:49:46.393-08:00Raw Food RevengeThe more I doubt, the more I find reason to hope.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m25IqlvM42kMXH9BXpxma7-OVVJcaSjzUyXVij6p_-HBlGyk6GIjlB2jEuy1ZKI7f9zh48phonLOp8IvnnHxOOGT8nnq1dtrFCGoE5XQmPkZz5v3DyWzDl63Jm4K7X1SBDNmC4yvlFX9/s1600/applepie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3m25IqlvM42kMXH9BXpxma7-OVVJcaSjzUyXVij6p_-HBlGyk6GIjlB2jEuy1ZKI7f9zh48phonLOp8IvnnHxOOGT8nnq1dtrFCGoE5XQmPkZz5v3DyWzDl63Jm4K7X1SBDNmC4yvlFX9/s320/applepie.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My interpretation of <a href="http://artofbalancedliving.net/2008/02/08/raw-apple-pie-recipe/" target="_blank">Ani Phyo's raw apple pie</a>.</td></tr>
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I cannot honestly recall a holiday season during which I felt so unbelievably blessed. Even amidst the stress and emotion of several recent drastic changes and potentially daunting challenges in my personal life, my healing progress continues. Despite a most current A1C of 5.4 (and falling) and an average daily insulin dosage now below 5 units per day (4.29 of that being basal), I've been so busy these days that I sometimes forget to applaud myself for how far I've come since beginning my Raw foods adventure earlier this year. What I cannot now ignore, however, is how much I am no longer alone in the journey.<br />
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I've alluded before to my own personal [we'll call it a... ] diabetic's dilemma - this fear I've had of somehow being ostracized or marginalized by my group of diabetic friends because I refused to place all my trust in someone else's search for a long-awaited, much delayed "cure" and instead dared to take my healing into my own hands, as much as possible. I had thought that perhaps the institution of illness might overcome the <br />
<a name='more'></a>average diabetic's desire to pursue real recovery. Put simply, it seemed more likely to me that the big food and big pharmaceutical corporations would succeed in their heavily financed and deceptively well marketed campaign to convince the average person that the condition of diabetes was both permanent and incurable. After all, my early conversations with random diabetic acquaintances seemed to reveal that some perhaps didn't want to heal from disease - that it is possible for a person to identify him or herself so strongly with a condition (or related cause) that they lose themselves to it. Instead of the diabetes being merely another experience, the newly acquired and necessary structures can actually take root as a powerful belief system, and even, at times, a rather shaky crutch.<br />
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Fortunately, for us and the revolutionary journey we're now on, my diabetic friends are not content with mediocrity. But I didn't know that yet, when I proposed what I felt sure was a brilliant idea for our next meeting - a late lunch at a local Raw food restaurant. I welcomed skeptics and hopefuls alike to come "get revenge on [their] diabetes" with raw foods. We would discuss the purported healing properties of living foods, and then test our blood sugar levels against those claims as we sampled the menu. It's true I had illustrious plans for the meeting, but secretly, I was most confident that it would be a perfect flop, generating little interest and even less of a turnout. How surprised I was, then, when immediately after sharing the idea, the message board exploded in enthusiastic reply! A grand total of eleven people (diabetics and friends of diabetics too) showed for the event a few weeks later, making it our largest gathering in quite some time.<br />
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Many were impressed with results of their raw food encounter, some were already familiar with and incorporating raw foods into their diets, and a few were as eager and hungry for more information as I was when I began. Truly uplifting! And fun... I felt like I could see little lights turning on in the eyes of my fellow diabetics, just as I felt my own mind and heart lighting up. Here we were, in a tiny little space in Santa Monica, California, having a discussion on self-healing that so many others might very well desperately want to hear. We were rejecting the idea that modern medicine had all the answers. We were rejecting the idea of having no other choice but to be sick and suffering for the rest of our lives. We were refusing to accept that real and meaningful healing was impossible or improbable. We were opening ourselves to a new way of thinking, a more vibrant way of being. We were connected by the energy of Life, and living energy was moving through us in ways that couldn't help but hold our attention.<br />
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In that extreme and quiet focus, my mind began to envision a new future... What might be possible from this tiny little nook of the world, here on Main Street? Could this be the beginnings of a more organized backlash movement against an Idiot Cycle of disease and so-called treatments and 'cures' withheld - a system perpetuated and defended by our own government-for-sale? Would we help to redefine health and illness for generations to come, while empowering them to demand and do better? If enough like-minded diabetics got together and shared our stories with the world, might we change lives in a positive and meaningful way?<br />
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It could happen. It already IS happening. Many of us have begun the great work of helping change the world for the better, starting with ourselves. I know some of my diabetic friends are digging in, at the same time a few of my work colleagues, as well as other friends and family, are beginning to ask important questions too. And then there's you - yes, you who are reading my story.<br />
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Maybe you are following my progress, educating yourself however you can and sharing what you learn with people you know. Whether you're an avid reader or someone who only happened upon my blog by accident... Thank you, thank you, thank you! I appreciate you more than you know. And especially if you've taken a moment to contact me directly or share your own story with me, I am eternally grateful. Whatever your situation - dear friend or total stranger - I am so honored and humbled to have your company in this journey. You help me feel more supported than alone. You continually show me that the pursuit of truth is a noble quest. You help me remember that healing is about the heart, mind and spirit, just as much as it is about the body. You inspire me to continue what I'm doing, against all odds, against all envy, against all attack.<br />
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And so it is largely because of you that I celebrate these holidays with more faith, hope, joy and love than I could ever contain. May you and yours be just as happy and blessed... for you feed me in ways that even raw apple pie cannot.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-60416982251896177432011-10-28T22:30:00.000-07:002011-12-26T22:46:10.916-08:00Treat or Trick?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">I deserve it. This cookie, that cake, a taste of pastry, a bit of candy... It's a just dessert.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">When it comes to my own immediate gratification, I am capable of rationalizing almost anything. To my good fortune, however, my idea of what it means to treat myself appears to be changing radically these days. If ever there be conventional sweets on my fork, or some other highly refined or overly processed culinary assault of all things nourishing and sacred, the Frankenfood that still seems capable of satisfying my palate clearly does not love me for long. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">On the rare occasions I indulge, the passion of that first kiss fades all too quickly. What seemed attractive when I was drunk with desire becomes suddenly less appealing in this more sober light of morning. In truth, these indulgences have never loved me back. And now that I am less intoxicated - quite literally less poisoned by pesticides, preservatives, fertilizers, synthetic hormones and numerous other chemicals</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"> and harmful substances - I see them for what they are - evidence of an addictive, abusive, three-decade-long relationship with food... </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">That's more than three times as long as my longest romantic relationship! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">It certainly makes getting over boys seem easy by comparison. Moments of vulnerability and weakness are to be expected from time to time. But as with any relationship that's run its course, the reasons why the relationship didn't work only become more and more apparent as I gain both distance and perspective. Even those occasional lapses of judgment help me see what's really there and what is not.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">An apple pie that once helped me transcend time and space tastes less like earthy apples these days and more like corn syrup. Fried foods that once reinforced bonds among family and friends might now send me to another room in digestive discomfort and isolation. A warm creamy beverage with which I once associated freedom and creativity would now only keep me tethered to my insulin pump, chasing my blood sugar for hours on end. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a girl who's healing her diabetes with Raw foods and nutrition) to see... That's not the way I want to be or feel. And so I'm choosing paths that lead there less often.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">It's not about giving up my romance with conventional foods and dining so much as it's about embracing a more meaningful commitment to giving my body the nourishment it needs. For me, dead nutrients and empty calories in a relationship with food are akin to empty words in a relationship with a significant other. Saying "I love you" and actually loving me are two very different things. And with so many mixed messages in the world these days, choosing who and what to believe can be a tremendous challenge. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">For example, is a margarita after a hard day's work really a treat, or is the idea of it as a reward to which we're entitled indicative of some faulty way of thinking? Might the real treat be to enjoy a long, vibrant and disease-free life thanks to informed and healthy decisions we make every day? And what's really standing in the way of that? Am I willing to end my abusive relationship with food once and for all? Have I been continually duped by larger food and pharmaceutical corporations who stand to profit only from my deteriorating health? Is my response helping promote or discredit that message to children of a younger generation when they knock at my door on Halloween and pose my own question back to me in that scrambled version I recognize all too well - "Trick or treat?" </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">With so many masks and elaborate costumes on display this time of year</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fff2cc; line-height: 19px;">, it seemed an appropriate time to ask.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-5797427009307274942011-10-02T19:35:00.000-07:002011-12-26T22:47:14.416-08:00In Defense of Food Rights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Los Angeles Superior Court<br />
210 W Temple Street<br />
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Los Angeles, CA 90012<br />
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Dear Honorable Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court:<br />
<br />
I'm guessing you don't want the responsibility of holding my health in your hands any more than I want you to have it. Nonetheless to some degree, that is the situation in which we now find ourselves regarding the <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/08/sucker-punch.html">August 3rd government raid</a> of the Rawesome Foods private co-op of Venice, California. As the case unfolds, I ask that you consider these very important points:<br />
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First, the folks who will stand trial before you - James Stewart, Sharon Palmer and Victoria Bloch - are nothing short of heroes to their community, their friends and family, and especially, to people like me who suffer from chronic or degenerative illness. Each one of the defendants has been directly and profoundly instrumental in my own journey of recovery from Type 1 diabetes. Without their passion, strength and commitment to the<br />
<a name='more'></a> work they do, I would likely still be on the ignorant, complacent road to further health complications and premature death. That is the traditional path of diabetics anyway, by conventional medicine's own admission.<br />
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I became a member of Rawesome back in January of this year, as part of a new path I'd begun - one of self-education and alternative healing. When my own medical doctors insisted I would be diabetic for the rest of my life and that my condition would only get worse, I went looking for answers elsewhere. What I found at Rawesome was much more than just nurturing, nutrient-dense, enzyme-rich, living foods. I also found an amazingly vibrant family of influential leaders, thoughtful entrepreneurs and involved citizens - all concerned about personal health and environmental sustainability, and many determined to help change both for the better.<br />
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In just 8 months, the healing foods available at Rawesome had played a direct role in the reduction of my insulin intake by roughly 75%, as well as in the continued restoration of my own pancreas function. Instead of continuing to decline as conventional medical doctors said it would, my body's own natural insulin production had actually <i>increased</i> to a lower-normal range since I had begun eating Raw foods. This is the healing miracle of Raw, organic, unprocessed whole foods. This is the healing miracle of Raw, unpasteurized dairy and unwashed, <i>non</i>-refrigerated eggs. And this is the healing miracle to which the government has recently denied me access, by forcing the Rawesome Foods private co-op to close.<br />
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The next point I ask you to consider is that I am not alone in my situation. There are many, many others like me who have come to depend on this kind of high quality food in order to treat or heal problematic medical conditions, or simply to achieve and maintain optimal health - many whose health is now suffering because they have no access to it. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that foods of this caliber are not always easy to find. Rawesome Foods has been a kind of oasis for those of us who have learned better than simply to swallow whatever food or drugs the government tells us is healthy, just because the government tells us it's healthy. What we've come to see is that, in many cases, these government-approved foods and medications are only making us sicker and poorer, even as they make big food and pharmaceutical corporations wealthier and more powerful.<br />
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Despite my own family's assertions that<a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/08/politics-at-dinner-table.html"> politics has no place at the dinner table</a>, this greedy, corporate-run government has for too long made what We the People choose to consume its business. And when you consider the many levels of that corruption - from corn subsidies leading to the unbridled and unethical distribution and marketing of corn syrup and other corn products, to deceptive labeling practices, to genetically modified organisms (GMO) bioengineered to withstand the use of pesticides by the very same chemical companies who mass produce those pesticides, to cross-contamination of organic crops by these same GMOs, to merciless legal attacks citing patent violations against unsuspecting farmers who've not yet learned to harness the wind, to systematic raids against small organic dairy farmers who feel terrorized or are intimidated out of business, to revolving door conflicts of interests high up the ladder in government offices - it's no wonder that many of us have begun to mistrust the government officials who would like us to believe they're only looking out for our best interests... or for our health.<br />
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As we in the Raw foods community have come to learn - and as others outside the community are now beginning to see - conventional, processed foods only trigger and perpetuate sickness, disease and death. Forcing the closure of Rawesome Foods, therefore, denies our access to a powerfully healing alternative. The government's current position between us and the Raw foods we have privately, contractually <i>chosen</i> to consume - yes, label-free and FDA-<i>un</i>approved - is therefore an outright denial of our rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness as American citizens.<br />
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The final matter I'd like you to consider is that - with a courtroom docket likely full of cases involving accused murderers, rapists and pedophiles - you probably have more important things to do with your time and energy... and our tax dollars. Please, therefore, busy yourself dealing out the best justice you can to those who may have caused real harm to others, instead of facilitating unwarranted government attacks on heroes like James Stewart, Sharon Palmer and Victoria Bloch, who are true pillars of our community. No one has been harmed by what they do. No one has become sick from consuming any of the unpasteurized or unlabeled milk, dairy or eggs made available at Rawesome.<br />
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Instead, I invite you to see that quite the opposite is true. Many of us are actually healthier and happier as a result of their work. And no stamp of approval from the FDA or formal complaint by the USDA will make that any more or less true. Your Honor, I implore you to see this case for the frivolous attack on liberty that it clearly is.<br />
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In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories."<br />
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Many thanks for your kind attention.<br />
<br />
Angela Doss<br />
Los Angeles, CA<br />
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<b><i>"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson</i></b><br />
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PLEASE GET INVOLVED by drafting, signing and mailing your own letter to the address above. For more information on how you can help support Rawesome and protect your rights as a consumer, please visit: <a href="http://www.realfoodrights.com/">www.realfoodrights.com</a>.<br />
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<b><br /></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-71002519656470449192011-09-30T23:24:00.000-07:002011-10-29T00:44:15.159-07:00Doctor LoveI like to look good for my doctor.<br />
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I dress up for doctor visits these days almost as if I were going on a date rather than to a medical appointment. Of course, I'm pretty sure it's ultimately not my fancy shoes, form-fitting skirt and bare shoulder V-neck top he's thinking of when he says, "Well, look at you! Don't you look fantastic?!" The cute clothes probably don't hurt in helping to produce that desired reaction, but I trust he's commenting more on my increased vitality and apparent happiness - my "glow" if you will.<br />
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He's not the only person verbally acknowledging the change, but I will credit my doctor with a unique perspective. He's seen me at my very worst, after all. He's told me himself he is still haunted by the image of me in the ER, my fragile underweight frame - just a pale ghost of a barely responsive and nearly comatose 27-year-old new diabetic, fighting like hell from some unseen place <a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/01/diagnosis-1600-part-one-fish-out-of.html">against an unheard-of 1600 blood sugar</a>. He still recalls how I emerged from that Great Fight, terrified, trembling and confused, looking perhaps more like the loser than the winner.<br />
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But win I did. And the changes he's seen in me since, these last several months especially, are undoubtedly even more impressive by contrast. My outward presentation is usually a reflection of how I'm feeling - and, more consciously, Being - on the inside. It seems only natural to me, then, that I'd want to let it show. It's just plain fun, quite frankly, knowing before I even arrive that I'm going to knock my doctor's socks off - both with my blood test results and my vibrant energy and healthy appearance. And so I like to dress for what feels like a social occasion.<br />
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First comes the slightly awkward greeting. It's been a while since we've seen each other. Then follows the obligatory small talk. Before we know it, we're on familiar subjects and falling right back into our long-established doctor-patient relationship. He reminds me where we left off on my last visit, what my numbers were like, and things I said that I surely didn't mean or fully understand... like that I intend not to be diabetic forever.<br />
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On this particular visit, he sat and stared at his computer, perusing my stored test data. I had just recited by memory a list of all the blood and urine tests I wanted performed. He joked that I was doing his job for him and didn't need him anymore. I laughed mercifully, but finding more truth in his words than perhaps he intended or realized.<br />
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"I know you want to get off the insulin, but that's never going to happen," he said, point blank.<br />
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I kept quiet for the moment. I was never quite sure what reaction my frankness might get from him. My goal was and is simply to be off synthetic insulin and done with diabetes. And having reduced my insulin intake by roughly 75% since January and increased my own C-peptide/natural insulin production to the low-normal range of .08 and more recently 1.1, I had become more discerning of what comments and advice I let in and allow to affect me. So I heard him... I heard him state the limitations of what he believed was possible, and I just smiled and kept quiet.<br />
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"How much insulin are you taking now?" were the next words out of his mouth.<br />
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I literally pulled out my pump to check the totals. My average for the last 21 days was 5.45 units daily, with 3.85 of that being basal (or all-day insulin to keep me level during a 24-hour period). What that meant was that my entire day's worth of meal-time insulin totaled an underwhelming 1.15 units. Consider that before I went Raw, I was averaging 6-8 units of basal insulin per day and 3-5 units of meal-time insulin per meal, and you begin to have some context for my progress.<br />
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My doctor looked up from his computer. "What?! That's nothing!"<br />
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"I know," I said.<br />
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And then his tune changed. In what seemed a spontaneous burst of childlike energy and enthusiasm, he rolled his chair over to where I was on the opposite side of the room. "Here's how we can get you off insulin..."<br />
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What he outlined for me then was nothing short of the exact opposite of what I've been trying to accomplish. He proposed instead putting me on an experimental new synthetic hormonal drug (which seemed to require the aid of at least a couple other prescriptions) that would ultimately block my body's production of natural glucose. The idea was that suppression of that naturally occurring glucose would translate into a need for less insulin. It made about as much sense to me as telling a one-armed man that, in order to restore his sense of balance, he should pay someone to chop off his other arm. My dad's voice in my head kept repeating, "If it's not broke, don't fix it." Nonetheless, I was curious.<br />
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"And would I eventually be able to discontinue those medications?" I asked.<br />
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His answer was no. In his perspective, I would be on either the insulin or this new glucagon-inhibiting medication for the rest of my life. Clearly, he was missing my point. I didn't want simply to swap one harmful medication for another. I wanted to be rid of medication altogether. But perhaps that just wasn't a practical request to make of a conventional medical doctor. (Honestly, I've felt sometimes like pharmaceutical reps get more timely, consistent access than I do to doctors I've had over the years.)<br />
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Well, of course, I had no intention of agreeing to such an experiment. But rather than challenge my doctor, I decided it was best simply to let him finish. For months, I had been sharing my goals with him - even demonstrating them at times by refusing to follow all his advice and then telling him which parts of his advice I hadn't followed. And again, he had his medical viewpoint. But this time, his excitement seemed to reveal both a desire on his part to be included in whatever I was doing that was having such dramatic results, and a simultaneous unwillingness to acknowledge the route I was taking to get there.<br />
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It was becoming more and more apparent to me that my doctor and I were coming to a crossroads. As grateful as I was and am for his role in my life - especially after my initial diagnosis - what I'd begun to see was that we were no longer a good match. In fact, we had been growing apart for a while. Thus, my wandering mind's eye.<br />
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He's never known it (and I see no reason to tell him now), but I had begun cheating on my conventional doctor months earlier, with a doctor of Oriental medicine. This 'other doctor' had been using his knowledge and experience to inspire health in others for several years, after applying Raw foods and minerals in his own recovery from cancer. And so here he was - living proof of what I'd only ever heard about in documentaries and read about in books. He was the embodied truth of what was possible in health and healing. He could serve as a more direct path to the miracle I'd been seeking. I knew when I started seeing him that I was in good hands. And already, it is the single healthiest relationship of my life.<br />
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While the transition will certainly make future visits to my conventional doctor increasingly awkward, I expect to continue looking my best on those days. Perhaps over time he'll begin to notice the distance between my ever radiant glow and my waning affections for his particular brand of medicine. Maybe he'll begin to recognize that he is less and less a part of my improved overall health and happiness. We may even have more difficult conversations as time progresses. But what I'm counting on is one day finally uttering those now inevitable parting words in highest esteem of our magnificently capable, healing bodies:<br />
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"I no longer require drugs because I am free of disease."<br />
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Call it the 'pillow talk' of my new alternative healing relationship, if it helps you sleep... But this is the dream I keep safe every night from the dark, and the reality to which I wake every morning. No apologies. And no regrets.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-72497740048503324012011-08-28T21:09:00.000-07:002011-10-29T00:44:43.076-07:00Politics at the Dinner TableLike it or not, food is political.<br />
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Even if we deliberately refrain from talking politics for civility's sake, what we choose to eat can perhaps be more telling of our participation in government than what boxes we check on election day: Fast food or home-cooked? Steak or salad? Regular or diet? Raw or pasteurized? Conventional or organic? Gluten-free or not? Genetically modified or pure nature? Food from a box or from a local family farm?<br />
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Some of us ask ourselves these types of questions every day, some of us are already sturdy in the answers we've found, and yet others of us are only maybe peripherally aware that anyone is asking questions of this nature at all. Educating ourselves on issues like these can be a slow and sometimes painful process, but as with political candidates, the more we learn, the better our decisions become. The subtle similarities and differences among our options begin to reveal themselves as we move from general questions to more specific inquiries. Suddenly, what had been a choice between regular soda or diet soda becomes a decision to abstain from consuming Coke or Pepsi-type products altogether. Raw milk drinkers don't seem as insane as the TV news people would like us to think. The word Monsanto begins to conjure a negative emotional reaction. Still, some issues remain as much a mystery to us as the origin of our favorite grocery store item... What are the ingredients on the label, for example, and how do I even begin to pronounce them, let alone call any of it food? Where does my food come from? Who decides what is safe to eat? Who pays those people's salaries? Who are my food choices benefitting? Who makes money if not my local farmer? Why am I always tired? Why don't I feel healthier more often? What does 'genetically modified organism' (GMO) mean, and what are its consequences?<br />
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<a name='more'></a>An acquaintance of mine came into my workplace the other day eating an apple. When I asked him whether it was a "GMO apple", he shrugged, gave it a good polish with his sleeve, said "Not now," and then took another bite. He was making light of things and made me laugh too, but this is a good example of just how ignorant we can be, even as we silently consent to allowing others to make decisions for us every day - decisions which dramatically impact our individual health and longevity, as well as that of our families. If we want more of a say in those decisions, then we need to start by asking some of these important questions.<br />
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And more of us are doing just that, in light of the recent raid on Rawesome Foods in Venice. The private food club has been closed for a month and its members forced to find alternate means and methods of getting the nutrient dense, enzyme rich Raw foods on which they've come to depend for optimal health. In my case, the foods distributed at Rawesome - the highest quality Raw dairy, fresh meats, eggs, produce and even locally made salads and desserts - have been helping in my journey to heal from diabetes. Rawesome was essentially my pharmacy, and now that it's closed, finding the medicine I require is, shall we say, more complicated.<br />
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The experience certainly has been a catalyst for me in many respects. At the same time I'm growing closer to many folks within the Raw community - both locally and globally - I'm forced to be more creative and involved in how I locate and prepare my own foods. It seems like a great time to learn to make my own yogurt from Raw milk, for example - to sprout my own hummus, to plant my own garden, to ferment my own kombucha, to expand my own list of recipes beyond the smoothies and Raw cinnamon honey butter I've been enjoying from the privacy of my kitchen.<br />
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It also seems like the most appropriate time for me - for all of us - to become better educated as to the political and so-called 'legal' reasons behind this government attack on our rights to choose healthful foods from a private buying club. Rawesome will rise again, but in the meantime and for long after it does, we must demand a very public, open dialogue on these fundamental issues - a dialogue that transcends even the language we use to have it.<br />
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Like "democrat" or "republican", we've developed labels within our 'foodal system' which we think make it easy to distinguish our friends from our enemies. These days, words like "vegetarian" and "vegan" can almost emote an "if you're not with us, then you're against us" kind of attitude. To be clear, I am not talking here about the people themselves, but terms used to describe a lifestyle. Such words can seem so loaded with moral and societal implications that even just declaring one's self to be [insert alternative food lifestyle label] can have the same effect on unsuspecting passersby as threatening them at gun point. And it is here we must be careful.<br />
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It's true the subject of food is potentially every bit as personal and explosive as politics. Extremists may be present on all sides, but it is within our power to rise above the traditional two-party system. Especially as the 2012 elections draw near, it may be wise for many of us to rethink our past persuasions. If the current government We the People have hired is no longer working in favor of our rights, then perhaps we should be looking for who or what does. And as we take our next bite of whatever is on our fork at Grandma's dinner table, maybe we'll finally begin to ask ourselves just how much crap we're willing to swallow.<br />
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No doubt, John Galt enjoys his meals in peace... I don't suppose anyone out there knows the way to his co-op in Atlantis?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-5307597887303399512011-08-03T23:42:00.000-07:002011-10-29T00:45:14.330-07:00Sucker Punch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes I get so angry, I think I might go blind with rage. Some days, I can't help but break down in tears. Other times, I'm sure I'm going to breathe fire at any moment... Today, I've already experienced all that, and I've had enough. I am putting on my protest.<br />
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Early this morning, members of the government raided the primary source of my healthy foods and health community here in Los Angeles, the Rawesome food club in Venice. From what I've gathered from various news sources and folks who were there at the time, today's raid was <a href="http://vimeo.com/20076721">similar to last year's in its SWAT-team type approach</a>. Perhaps remembering all the publicity generated by <a href="http://vimeo.com/20076721">surveillance video of that event one year ago</a>, this morning's multi-agency raid team apparently wasted no time in turning off the club's security cameras. They then arrested my friend, Rawesome founder <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foKg-oShJP0">James Stewart</a> and set his bail at an astronomical $123,000 with reportedly no possibility for use of bail bonds. (This amount is greater, by the way, than the <a href="http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/bail/pdf/felony.pdf">2011 LA County presumptive bail</a> for human trafficking, rape, DUI, manslaughter, assault with a firearm upon a peace officer or firefighter, or threatening the life of a judge.) <a href="http://www.consumerwellness.org/">ONLINE DONATIONS to help support Raw food rights and cover Rawesome's legal defense costs ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED by the way!</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">where produce once was</td></tr>
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Meanwhile, in Ventura Country, a separate group of agents raided Healthy Family Farms, a Rawesome supplier, and arrested owner <a href="http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2010/7/6/in-vonderplanitz-affair-sharon-palmer-is-left-to-wonder-if-s.html">Sharon Palmer</a> at a recommended bail of $120,000. Her associate and L.A. County liaison for the <a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/">Weston A. Price Foundation</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLBoi-CfJIY&NR=1">Victoria Bloch</a>, was reportedly also arrested at a recommended bail of $60,000.<br />
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Though it <i>is</i> legal to sell raw milk in Calfornia, the charges against the three appear to include a conspiracy, related to what authorities insist is a lack of proper licensing and labeling - charges which seem clearly irrelevant in the case of a private buying club such as Rawesome, whose members all sign liability waivers acknowledging they understand the so-called risks involved in consuming products not 'approved' by the FDA. (For my part, I'm <i>more</i> suspicious of products the FDA approves. Just look at our rates of obesity, disease, and how little real nutrition is contained in most processed foods and fast-food meals... Please, can we stop pretending that "government knows best" and get back to making our own informed decisions?)<br />
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In any case, it seems the raid team involved here didn't even follow their own rules. Reports indicate the <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/033224_Rawesome_Foods_search_warrant.html">search warrant issued against Rawesome</a> ultimately led to the confiscation of the club's on-hand cash, as well as the destruction or confiscation of [close to] its entire inventory. And now Rawesome regulars, like me, are asking why the entire inventory was destroyed if officials were in fact authorized to take only samples of product. The search warrant reportedly states that "various samples of any food products present may be taken for laboratory analysis." Did they mistake the drain for a Petri dish? And why, especially, were tens of thousands of dollars in organic fruits and vegetables hauled away in the back of a huge truck if their supposed concern was with the dairy? The answer, for me anyway, seems clear: The raid has the look and feel of outright persecution against those who choose a wholesome, nutrient dense Raw foods lifestyle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">where dairy once was</td></tr>
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The items in question may as well have been stolen from my home. The Rawesome products taken or destroyed today represent the bulk contents of my own fridge, freezer, pantry... and yes, pharmacy. As a diabetic working to heal from my condition, Raw food is my medicine, and today I was robbed of it. The loss is that important and that personal. I felt it when I entered the walk-in at Rawesome this afternoon, ready to spend my dollars supporting local farmers, hoping anything would be left, only to find disturbingly barren shelves. I nearly broke down right there on the frosty floor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">where meats, cheese and dairy were</td></tr>
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My 'market day Wednesday' was shot. I could not purchase my food for the week. Tonight at home, my shelves are mostly empty where they would normally be packed to the brim with healthful, nutritious raw milk, yogurt, eggs, nuts, fruits, veggies and much more. I feel as though I've literally been punched in the gut. This <i>is</i> my food we're talking about. Have no delusions. What the government has done today has directly impacted my health, my rights to choose what foods I consume, and my ability to heal and live my most vibrant life. What's worse is that their actions today directly or indirectly affect ALL our rights. <a href="http://farmageddonmovie.com/">Farmageddon</a> is upon us.<br />
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Whether in malice or ignorance or some more unsettling combination of the two, I believe our government has today made a monstrous and unethical and <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/033255_Rawesome_Foods_license.html">demonstrably illegal</a> mistake. Whatever the charges - and please remember the government's alleging of a crime, doesn't inherently mean a crime was committed - I believe the more probable cause of today's events is rooted in the criminally unregulated revolving door of the USDA, the FDA, the CDC, and giant, profiteering food & pharmaceutical corporations.<br />
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You may remember my earlier post from about a month ago, called "<a href="http://www.thegirlsgoneraw.com/2011/06/farmageddon.html">Farmageddon</a>" in which I addressed this very concern. What I'd like to know is how a government that claims to be of, by and for the people justifies the continued harrassment of small farmers and health food store owners, even as it allows the likes of McDonald's and Monsanto seemingly free reign to cause us harm. Do these reckless food giants not pose a greater threat to our health than my friends? The folks spending the night in jail tonight have risked much in this hostile climate, so that folks like me (and others I've met who have demonstrated the significant health improvements possible with a Raw foods lifestyle), can continue our journey of healing and sharing with as much ease and guidance as possible.<br />
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I owe these three individuals more thanks than I will ever be able to communicate, and I implore our government to stop targeting them, our rights and my community. Oklahoma was my home when the federal building was bombed back in 1995; so the idea of "domestic terrorism" is certainly a loaded one for me. Please trust then, that it is with great sensitivity to that memory and the images that still linger in my mind, that I confess, today, I really do feel terrorized by my own government.<br />
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On hearing news of the raid this morning, a friend of mine asked, "So what are you going to do about food?" My honest answer to her - and remember this is coming from a diabetic - was simply, "I don't know."<br />
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I do know that, because of all this, for now at least, I cannot eat the way I choose. I know my optimal health is currently being thwarted by my government. I know, with these things in mind, I probably will not sleep well tonight... But I know I will pay a visit to the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse tomorrow to support my friends, my community, and most importantly, our inalienable rights.<br />
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I also know I won't be quiet about it until we get back those rights!<br />
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(Protest coverage by KTLA)<br />
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AUGUST 6TH UPDATE: Mike Adams of <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/">Natural News</a> interviews Rawesome member Lela Buttery on the front lines. <a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/033254_Rawesome_Foods_Lela_Buttery.html">CLICK HERE TO READ AND LISTEN.</a><br />
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(2010 reason.tv YouTube video):<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-34424463036134619072011-07-30T22:15:00.000-07:002011-10-29T00:45:40.199-07:00Bad DiabeticGuilty as charged. I am a bad diabetic... Rotten. The worst.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seasonal Fruit Crepes by <a href="http://www.planetraw.com/">Planet Raw</a></td></tr>
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These past few months you'd wonder where my head's been. I forget to wear my medical ID bracelet, and I don't always remember to check my blood sugar. I miss occasional support group meetings with fellow diabetics just trying to manage their condition. I defy doctors' orders, refuse to take their drugs, and am the regular recipient of scolding letters from my insurance company reminding me how important it is that I take the recommended daily dosage of a whole smattering of prescriptions I don't even need. Furthermore, I routinely and shamelessly devour honey, ice cream and other desserts (all raw), and I resist taking insulin and even disconnect from my insulin pump altogether at times.<br />
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That's right. I did it. I <i>do</i> it... It's all true.<br />
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So then why do my doctors continually insist they're so impressed and amazed by my performance as a diabetic? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my highest A1C ever (so far) was just 5.9, that my sensitivity to insulin is increasing, that I'm producing slightly more of my own natural insulin, and that my energy levels and overall zeal for life are so dramatically on the rise. Curious, isn't it?<br />
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The way I figure it, much of the mundane diabetic maintenance is less on my mind these days, because I no longer identify myself by it. I suspect this new perspective on my condition makes me a bit of an outsider in diabetic support groups. Maybe I leave my medical ID bracelet at home because it just doesn't match my hiking gear. <i>Must it be a fancy reason?</i> Perhaps I forget to check my blood sugar because I'm too busy living and loving life, and because, when I do check it, it's almost always within the normal range. Besides, I've come to trust as a general rule that, when I feel good, my blood sugar is usually good too. Mind you, this is my own body I'm talking about, and everyone is different.<br />
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In fact, I have a very sound reason for choosing to disconnect from my insulin pump more often, and that is that I don't want to risk the automated delivery's dropping my blood sugar too low. It seems I'm so sensitive to insulin now that I can hardly lower my basal dosage anymore. To give you an idea, my average insulin intake for the last 21 days is 6.04 total units per day. That's 4.39 units of basal [long-acting] insulin and 1.65 units of bolus [short-acting] insulin all day. I'm no doctor, but I'd say that's quite an improvement over about a year ago, when I was taking 6-8 units of long-acting insulin per day and 3-6 full units of short-acting insulin per <i>meal</i>. (I'd also say that calling it an "improvement" is understating it a bit. 'Damn miraculous' might be more appropriate!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBV4zKDnQC_ocBnT3paLCVmJfp1VIeDJepqAsMthmekEEYj2CnftWM6_Yl6gGTNym4qJiNWMytLG1UWPf8vAhiqO9Pu2vSW51q3x_nqjsaVTY_KvxuM2mJtl-6Glug97kbAH10U7s1lTZb/s1600/baddiabetic2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBV4zKDnQC_ocBnT3paLCVmJfp1VIeDJepqAsMthmekEEYj2CnftWM6_Yl6gGTNym4qJiNWMytLG1UWPf8vAhiqO9Pu2vSW51q3x_nqjsaVTY_KvxuM2mJtl-6Glug97kbAH10U7s1lTZb/s200/baddiabetic2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
Keep in mind, too, that the more recent numbers I just presented were a calculation by my insulin pump, which doesn't always work properly. Sometimes, like this past weekend, it fails to deliver the insulin I need, even while it records the data as though I received it. In essence, I'm actually using less insulin than even these numbers suggest.<br />
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During the weekend, I was headed to Hollywood to meet a friend when I realized something was wrong. I had just given myself a correction bolus, but my post-meal blood sugar continued to hover at right around 185 for an hour or so. I had been checking my sugar and re-attempting the bolus at every stoplight where I had the chance, but the number wasn't budging.<br />
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That's when I saw that the adhesive holding the reservoir connection to my body had pulled away slightly. This was typical behavior of any adhesive after several days, but when was the last time I had <a href="http://youtu.be/Px-L2Q1fYEY">changed the infusion site</a>? The company recommends changing it every three days. I checked the log in my pump, and surely enough, I had been using the same insulin reservoir for nearly six days.<br />
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This meant the same amount of insulin that once covered me for three days had this time been covering me for almost twice that long, and there was still some left in the reservoir. I couldn't get to it, though, because the adhesive had come away, and - like the bad diabetic that I am - I didn't have any back-up supplies with me. In short, I couldn't get the insulin I needed, and I wasn't planning to be back home for several hours; so I'd just have to wing it. Another few minutes to my destination, a brisk walk to lower the blood sugar, a very small bite for lunch, a few finger pricks and several hours later, I had just spent the whole rest of the day with both normal blood sugar numbers <i>and</i> no insulin.<br />
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Now, in keeping with the rebellious thinking seemingly inherent in a bad diabetic, I can't help but feel this means I should be spending more time separated from my insulin pump. What's all the fuss anyway? If my numbers are mostly normal, as long as I'm watching them closely, wouldn't I heal more quickly and effectively if I'm pumping less synthetic hormone into my system? </div>
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Well, I think so. I've already reduced my insulin take by about 60-75% since this time last year. Each new reservoir I fill is, by comparison, only half full at best - or half empty, for the optimists among us.<br />
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In any case, if being bad at having diabetes makes me better at healing from it - and, in this context, I believe it does - then I'm happy to receive a big, fat F for 'Fail' in the diabetes curriculum... because I'm already sitting in on the life lessons I <i>want</i> to learn.</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176002456502671957.post-52501172644705142582011-07-04T00:49:00.000-07:002011-10-29T00:46:57.974-07:00Weird Science<div style="text-align: right;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raw Honeycomb</td></tr>
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For a diabetic, it takes a certain amount of faith to deliberately start spooning "tremendous amounts of unheated [raw] honey" into regular meals. Medically speaking, it makes no sense at all. But for months now, that's exactly what I've been doing... And the more, the better.<br />
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In his book, "We Want to Live: The Primal Diet", Aajonus Vonderplanitz recommends about 3/4 cups of unheated raw honey throughout each day to help heal the pancreas. When I first began this Raw foods adventure back in January, I needed more insulin, of course, to compensate for this new habit. It was an adjustment, as expected. After all I'd read about the dangers of synthetic insulin, the last thing I wanted to do was increase my dosage, but it was an adjustment I was willing to make temporarily if it would ultimately lead to healing.</div>
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And I'd say it is. These days, I regularly prepare raw honey-heavy fruit smoothies, as well as sandwiches using about 1/3 cup raw honey, about 1/4 cup raw peanut butter and 2 slices of low sodium organic, sprouted Ezekiel bread. And I eat them with little to no need for short-acting insulin... It's crazy. </div>
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I say 'crazy' because, as a diabetic, I have been trained routinely to avoid sweeter foods like honey (in any form), but in reality, raw unheated honey seems to be a key ingredient to my recovery from the diabetic condition. Ironic, no? It was certainly a leap of faith on my part that helped me cross that bridge.<br />
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Unfortunately, for most of us, the idea of real, observable healing seems as elusive and far-fetched as the idea of magic and miracles. And for some dumb reason, prescription pills still seem easier to swallow than the truth - that we need not be sick in the first place.<br />
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At the beginning of my re-education, I stumbled upon something called the <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/180363/the-gerson-miracle">Gerson Therapy</a>, an alternative approach to healing, which treats both deficiency and toxicity in the body, through the application of a raw, vegan diet, heavy in green juices and detoxifying coffee enemas. I'll admit I've yet to try the coffee enemas and I'm currently not vegan (for a couple reasons), but I've clearly embraced raw foods as a lifestyle, especially Gerson's take on green juices. I remember feeling struck particularly by the <a href="http://www.gerson.org/GersonTherapy/gersontherapy.htm">Gerson Institute</a>'s claims that their approach had been healing people of cancer, diabetes, and so on, since the 1930s. On hearing this, I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. Had my whole world been built on lies?</div>
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I believe the answer was yes - yes, it had. Gradually, I've come to believe that disease is not a necessary part of life. As a good friend once articulated, there is only ONE disease; the body is either in a state of dis-ease, or it is not. Over these last few months, I've begun to view my body as a kind of healing machine. I believe it already knows what to do, if I will simply nourish it (and my spirit too) in ways that allow my body to perform its inherent healing function. </div>
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A natural consequence of this new perspective has been a radical change in my views on modern medicine. I've largely abandoned most traditional medical opinions and treatments. In addition to eating Raw foods, I've recently begun to incorporate <a href="http://www.herbisaverb.com/">organic healing herbs from the Rainforest</a> and <a href="http://www.originalquinton.com/">raw seawater minerals</a>. I've also begun working with an alternative holistic healer, who not only healed himself from cancer with Raw foods and minerals, but further believes he can help me be diabetes-free within six months to a year, using a treatment method personalized to me. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.herbisaverb.com/">Amazon Herbs</a> & <a href="http://www.originalquinton.com/">Original Quinton</a></td></tr>
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I recently shared these exciting developments with another discerning friend of mine, who perused the healer's website. He commented on something he found there - a reference to the fact that the healer's methods may not work for everyone, that they may be more or less effective depending on a person's own 'belief system'. With my best interests at heart, my friend felt led to remind me that "normal" science doesn't require any kind of faith in order to work. He offered the antibiotics he was taking for his own flu-like symptoms as evidence of this. At the time, I mentioned <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo">the placebo effect</a> as a possible counter to that claim, but his point stayed with me.</div>
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Always hyper-sensitive to not wanting merely to substitute one false 'religion' for another, I considered his perspective for several hours. What I ultimately realized, however, was that "normal" science essentially spat me out when it unflinchingly insisted I would be an insulin-dependent diabetic for the rest of my life, and that my health would only get worse over the years. In fact, "normal" science has yet to demonstrate any conclusive knowledge of the exact cause or nature of my condition. Meanwhile, "normal" science consistently warns me in writing of the risks of cancer associated with the use of my own daily diabetic supplies... And do I really need to explain to anyone that I don't want cancer?<br />
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"Normal" science and modern medicine have, therefore, declared themselves a dead end to me. And when that happens, a girl who dares to believe healing is not only possible, but inevitable, either stays where she is and dies, or she seeks life elsewhere. She finds a new place to lay her faith and perhaps discovers her answers in the sometimes seemingly wily ways of weirder science.<br />
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I, for one, would rather not live in the tiny bubble of blood that forms every time I prick my calloused fingers... Not while there are promising alternatives as powerful, palatable and simple as raw honey.<br />
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</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410269914958186965noreply@blogger.com4