I just received this comment a few days ago from the blog post on GMO Free Kauai: Silencing a Dissident post from another blog. The blog basically outlines how if you speak up against these activists, they will do anything within their social media power to silence you. It’s personal and they’ll do it.
The original post has nothing to do with pesticides or spraying and completely ignores the fact that they feel that it is okay to personally attack people who speak out. Yup, that’s how they do it. If you don’t like what is being said, bully them online. Destroy their own personal reputation online for that is the Kauai way. Not. We don’t do that here in Hawaii unless you’re an anti-GMO club member.
So apparently, when you see the things that they post as having any evidence of no aloha, they now call you an “antagonist.” Wait? Who is an antagonist now? The last I saw was that these anti-GMO club members seem to think that it is all right pass out fliers with their propaganda around farmers’ markets, support coercive intimidation tactics, accuse others of genocide, baby killers, and so on. From the sound of this comment from an anonymous person “lotsofaloha,” it seems that anything is justified. Whether it be being rude towards others because of his or her perception of what is being done, despite the fact that the data does not support this person’s claim.
I find it totally amazing also that I’m accused of “fanning the fires.” So when someone speaks out against this kind of tactics of coercive intimidation, it is considered fanning the fire and finger pointing? Well, if your supporters say nasty stuff and do rude things on the social media, it’s your own commentary that is fanning the fire caught for all to see. You know that saying, think before you talk? It might be a good thing to do before you post something if you don’t want it called out. I am pointing that out square and center because hey, I can’t believe you said that! Local people don’t talk like that to each other!
So ironic how these commenters ask for positivity and aloha and hate the name calling when they were the first one to give me a new name. Joni Tokyo Rose. Um, lotsofaloha, can you tell your friends there in the GMO Free Kauai club to stop making up names and wishing that I had babies with birth defects or wish me to drink RoundUp? That’s getting old. If you think that is the aloha way, you obviously don’t know what aloha really is.
The anti-GMO mob is continually stating that anyone who supports biotech should follow the money. Everyone apparently is a paid shill if they are speaking out for the overwhelming scientific evidence. (I sure wish I was paid to do this but I’m not which is hard to believe.) So today’s blog is just doing that, following the money with Gary Hooser.
Let’s take a closer look at the hot topic person of the week, Gary Hooser. Where is his money coming from? If you visit the Campaign Spending Commission link, you can do a quick search of who has donated to him as well as their personal information. Some very familiar names come up on there:
Those are just a few recognizable names that have contributed to Hooser’s campaign over the years and are publicly available. Even people who are so despised by the anti-GMO mob like John Radcliffe and Alicia Maluafiti gave money but you don’t hear any complaints from them about it! Some of those names are registered lobbyists in the state. The definition is found on the Hawaii Ethics Commission site:
“Lobbyist” means any individual who for pay or other consideration engages in lobbying in excess of five hours in any month of any reporting period described in section 97-3 or spends more than $750 lobbying during any reporting period described in section 97-3.
“Lobbying” means communicating directly or through an agent, or soliciting others to communicate, with any official in the legislative or executive branch, for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action or a ballot issue.”
The legally registered lobbyists registered with state include Jeff Mikilina, Alicia Maluafiti, and John Radcliffe. As you can see, even if you give money, the politician does not always listen to it. The latest list filed with the State Ethics commission can be found online with noted names of the seed companies listed also. Note that on Kauai, lobbyists have free range there as the county has not take any steps to regulate it despite being mandated since 1978. What does that say about the transparency issue that Hooser talks about with the seed companies but not within the county itself? Why hasn’t the county tackled this issue first before others if they care so much about the right to know?!
A group that has a strong hold and lots of playing time in the issue is Hawaii SEED. They sponsor the GMO Free groups on Kauai and Maui. Of which Hooser is a member and contributor of. Take a closer listen to Hawaii SEED’s Jeri Di Pietro talk about what they are doing with legislation here in Hawaii:
Now if these folks are trying to influence legislation, shouldn’t they be subject to the lobbyists laws like the others involved? Take a look at the tax filing that asks if they participated in lobbying activities. Their answer is no. A non-profit cannot be tax free if they are trying to influence or ask others to have an influence on legislation to be in compliance with the law. The IRS has clear rules for what lobbying is. The biotech companies have complied with the lobbying rules and why are the anti-GMO side exempt? I suspect that none of Hawaii SEEDs expenditures have been subject to the taxes that it should be paying for influencing policy and this has been going on for years. Hawaii SEED is not about educating, the video clearly provides evidence that they want to influence laws.
Let’s not forget the recent expose’ of the mainland monies being funneled into the who issue at the moment. These very wealthy activists donate money to these non-profits and get a tax write off on that and get to influence policy?! All the meanwhile the companies paying lobbyists to get some say in the legislation get taxed for the same efforts? Where’s the equality and transparency? If a non-profit is getting involved with lawmaking issues, they have to play the game fair and square. The anti-GMO mob complains about the corruption and money, but quickly hide behind bogus non-profits and skid free from the taxes that they should be paying.
I do have to question the fact that Andrew Kimbrell, Bill Freese, and Vandana Shiva have come down recently to “educate.” The fact that these people came down to provide consultations as to how to write the bill up which is influencing legislation and contacting lawmakers. That really starts to sound like lobbying to me. However, because it is all under the guise of a non-profit, it is not subject to taxes at the current moment. That needs to change!
How about the other activist groups that have been selling items likes shirts and hats? When they sell items and are using it for lobbying purposes like travel for other hearings and meeting with lawmakers, that is taxable. If you search tax ID numbers, there are none for Hawaii GMO Justice Coalition, Babes Against Biotech, or Ohana O Kauai. These groups complain about how corrupt the biotech companies are but are they really doing their fair share? I’ll have a follow up article on this soon.
Hooser is all about protecting the people and doing what is right. Is this really right that these groups are allowed to influence the issue with Bill 2491 and not playing by the rules themselves?
Quote of the day from Paul Watson, former Greenpeace activist and board member of Sierra Club, the parent of Earthjustice.
Gary Hooser is at it once again, January 29, 2014, spreading his toxic gospel over and over again. When he should have been at a Kauai County Council Meeting, he was among his favorite bikini clad calendar chics at the State Capitol.
Not only is he repeating himself once again, but his son, Dylan Hooser, is also starting to repeat it the same mantra in Civil Beat. Dylan has significantly cleaned up his image with a good shave and covering up his tattoo laden extremities to fit back into the political scene with his father, as long as he stays out of trouble with the law. Here’s son and father together at the capitol from their new page, Defend Kauai #shameonyou.
Hooser also extended his presence at the most recent Filipino Chamber of Commerce Dinner. That takes a lot of gall to be there, right after he and his mob said the most ugliest and heinous remarks about these workers and companies, whom he is attempting to rid the island of. He must think that people have forgotten what he has done.
So what is happening now, is likely going to be a repeat of what happened last year in October. Just take a stroll that down memory lane to recall the events that unfolded just a few months ago…
October 3, 2013
Last month, PBS Insights had to cancel the GMO panel that would include the Gary Hooser, Kokua Market GM Lynette Larson, Senator Nishihara, and of course my dad, Ken Kamiya. PBS never got a reason for the cancellation but if you just see what Hooser does, you’ll see why pro-biotech folks would cancel on this guy to begin with. (Note that this is my sole opinion of the whole issue.)
Here’s a nice video, by Kauai Rock Chick aka Bus Driver Chick of Hooser, being the hero for supposedly pinning down the seed company managers about disclosure. (Note that these people are not in positions to speak for these lines of questioning, but it makes for a great Hollywood courtroom drama scene as the hero lawyer finds ultimate guilt!)
First of all, why would Hooser want to discuss GMOs, pesticides, and “right to know” issues with someone who lives on a completely different island in a industry that isn’t really strong on Kauai? Could it be that he just wants more TV time to win over more voters for his next calling to office? Well, let’s just do some investigating of this further to see what the evidence shows.
Hear it from both sides on this clip. Hooser, Mark Phillipson of Syngenta, MMA fighter Barca, and Tim Pastoor, toxicologist for Syngenta:
Hooser was already on Olelo’s GMO panel several months back too stating the same things and getting friendly with Bill Freese of the Center for Food Safety, Hector Valenzuela, William Steiner, and Walter Ritte too.
How many hours have been spent going around stating the same thing, where he makes a statement that he consulted with attorneys from Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety, well known, well funded anti-biotech organizations?
And again for Big Island Anti-GMO Bill 113 at 2:20 speaking at his own behalf in the Brenda Ford circus.
Then he’s on yet another video also saying the same thing over and over again.
And again:
Then take a listen to his fellow followers and how they say the same thing over and over too nearly word for word.
Fellow County Council Member Tim Bynum repeating the same misinformation over too
Recall that Tim Bynum did once stated the he’d consider the evidence but apparently that’s out of the question now. “I trust that it is science’s job to get to the truth.”
Then come more of the same anti-GMO club members saying the same thing over:
Here’s another one repeating practically word for word what Hooser states:
Then there’s the MMA fighter giving his expert advice about GMOs. (Note that he goes through all the Monsanto myths and they aren’t even on Kauai):
Then there is Andrea Brower, who is a PhD candidate in sociology suddenly has expertise in feeding the world issues repeating the corporations and regulations. She’s also has an article in the HuffPo about pesticides too, repeating the same things Hooser states. (Interesting how she puts her PhD candidate credentials on her Huffpo post but fails to state what it’s in.)
And here’s another one stating over and over Hooser’s doctrine:
Well, we know that he has probably coached many of these folks on what to say because he’s well known in the GMO Free groups across our islands.
Note that he must not have much evidence to base his bill and and openly admitted that testing would be done after! He did ignore prior studies that were done that showed no high levels of the pesticides he claims as being dangerous. So do we make laws first and then figure out if there really is an issue while ignoring all other evidence collected? Yes, if you’re Gary Hooser that is.
But then again, Hooser is definitely on the bandwagon to political opportunities when people say this about him.
Some people are getting pretty sick of his ways and he knows it when he has to post stuff like this too. (Some others are starting to feel like he’s family when he get’s the name “uncle.” Also note that he even refers to people who don’t agree with him as “trolls,” which is a typical term anti-GMO mob folk love.)
When you start hearing from your constituents that they are not happy with you, guess you’d better get back on TV again and win more people for your mob!
The anti-GMO mob does need more supporters now especially after the recent papaya vandalism! It doesn’t bode well for these folks after they have been caught making threats of crop destruction for the past year or more publicly.
There are a certain bunch of anti-GMO club members that have taken to bombarding the social media. If there is anything with those 3 letters on them, you can bet you’ll find them there. There was a post yesterday in Pacific Business News having an editorial board meeting about the issues at hand in our state regarding biotechnology. Of course, when you put a comment after all the anti-GMO activists, you will get these kind of comments. Note that I simply asked a question in response to the post.
What I got was not a surprise considering that these activists have taken to bombarding the social media.
This person has even accused me of antagonizing her too! I can’t quite figure out how but once again paranoia sets in.
Another thread starts up too on this same link.
I do remember how she and yet another so called farmer posted some very “nice” comments on a farm fair picture on another ag FB page.
Here’s the no aloha comments posted by these same people in response to mine.
Unreal what these people are capable of saying publicly. Of course I was forwarded this clip too of how I acquired my nickname.
There is no getting through to these activists. When they have to start attacking people personally, it really shows that there is nothing in the form of evidence to support their argument. They can only resort to name calling or accusations of being a shill. This clearly demonstrates that these people are unreasonable and will only be agreeable to one single demand, their way. Working with the unreasonable will get you no where.
From the Bad Skeptic link:
“The only thing the crier o’ shill proves is that they don’t give a flying f*@k about having an actual discussion, about hearing any viewpoint but their own, or about any reality outside of the one they’re already convinced exists. Saying, “I’m right, and that’s that! Neener!” is good enough for them.”
That’s fine with me but more reason why we can’t make laws and policy according to these activists demands.
HawaiiFarmersDaughter 