Gary Hooser’s blog post about the Committee Amendments passed through to the full Council yesterday regarding Bill 2491 are as typically ridiculous as his constant BS during the committee meeting yesterday. Here’s his blog post, where he tries to act like his bill being chopped in half is a victory while also keeping people angry and afraid:
Here are Hooser’s bullet points, in orange (the color of the meat of a yummy Rainbow Papaya), and my thoughts in black (the color of the souls of the ecoterrorists who cut down a farmer’s papaya trees on the Big Island).
1) The core of the issue – “The Right To Know” was preserved and strengthened. Should Bill 2491 pass out of the full Council in its present amended form companies will have to disclose to the world the chemicals they are using on our island. They will have to tell us what pesticides they are using, how much they are using and where and when they used it. And they will have to tell us what GMO crops they are growing as well.
But only the large farms. Because the smaller farms that use the same pesticides are not as dangerous because….errrr… oh yeah, they are not GMO companies, the REAL reason for this bogus bill. If it was really about pesticides, all farms would be required. Why don’t we have the “right to know” what smaller farmers are using and spraying into our keiki’s faces?
Notice he said, “disclose to the world,” not “disclose to the medical community who need that info to know what might be causing a problem?” Yeah, that’s because it’s not about safety like his cult says, it’s about getting information their Big Activism lawyers can make millions on suing the GMO companies (whether they win or lose) and then donating to Hooser’s mayoral campaign.
2) Buffer Zones – While I believe this section needs significant strengthening, the amended Bill includes buffer protection zones around schools, hospitals, homes and many other areas. To be clear this section IMHO needs to be expanded and I am hopeful this can be done in the upcoming Council meeting.
The only acceptable “buffer zone” for Hooser is one that evicts all the GMO farms from Kauai, because he saw a cartoon of some zombie kids eating Monsanto corn on the cob and turning into zombies.
3) Health/Environmental Impact Study – The amended Bill requires the County to conduct a study following a comprehensive process designed to ensure the end product is comprehensive and includes the detailed medical and environmental data gathering and analysis required for solid future decision making. While not following the 343 EIS process which I preferred and was outlined in the Bill, this is an alternative path to the same objective.
The only part of the bill that is useful, although number 5 below was how Hooser was going to pay for it, so I’ll be interested to hear how he thinks the millions of dollars will be paid. My guess? Your tax money.
4) Prohibition of open air testing of experimental pesticides and experimental GMO’s – These provisions were deleted and are not included in the “moving forward Bill 2491”.
Since none of the seed companies are using “experimental pesticides,” this amendment was to drop off a tiny portion of the political BS from the bill.
5) Permitting – This provision was deleted. I attempted unsuccessfully to retain this provision by amending the words “shall” to “may” and thus retaining the option of the County to implement permitting. However, those introducing the amendments decided this provision could be passed into law at a future date, after the study was completed and if the study showed a specific need for permitting.
So Hooser attempted to use political word play to sneak this provision in, but the Council is not totally made up of morons. So where is the money going to come from for the EIS, which estimates say could cost tens of millions of dollars? Just $10 million would be $150 for every man, woman and child on Kauai – $600 for a family of four. Just because some anti-GMO folks want to evict the seed farmers and wouldn’t accept the results if it says we’re safe? Maybe they can take up a collection instead.
6) Moratorium – This provision was deleted and was perhaps my biggest disappointment. However apparently the 4 agrochemical companies are prepared to sign a written agreement that they will not expand their operations north of the Wailua River for a period of time that I believe was two years or until the County Health and Environmental study was completed. While at first it may seem like a welcome offer to those who live on the north and east shore, this proposal is offensive and unacceptable – and must include the entire island.
Yes, voluntary agreement to not expand is offensive to Hooser. What’s not offensive to Hooser? Full eviction of the GMO companies. Everything else is offensive, because he saw some women in bikinis saying GMOs are evil and we all know when that happens which part of a man “thinks.”
Of course I’m joking about Hooser introducing Bill 2491 because of a cartoon or half naked semi-attractive women from Oahu. He’s too much of a politician to let those kinds of things influence him. Clearly the reason he introduced Bill 2491 is to be his central mayoral campaign platform. Coming soon, Hooser for Mayor graffiti on our highways and Hooser for Mayor parades at taxpayer expense!