License to blog?

By William R. Toler

I love North Carolina. It’s a beautiful state, from the miles of beaches on the Atlantic Coast to the hazy hills of the southern Appalachians. But sometimes the idoacy the “powers that be” make me sad to be Tarheel born and bred.

A blogger could be facing jail time. His crime: wrting about the Paleo Diet.

After Steve Cooksey was hospitalized with diabetes in 2009, he decided to fight his ailment by changing his diet, the Carolina Journal reports. After experiencing positive results from the low-carb, high-protein regimen, Cooksey decided to start a blog.

Depsite having a disclaimer at the bottom of his blog stating, “I am not a doctor, dietitian nor nutritionist… in fact I have no medical training of any kind,” Cooksey received a letter from the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition.

Isn’t that nice? We have a Nanny State agency to “protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of North Carolina from harmful nutrition practice by providing for the licensure and regulation of persons engaged in the practice of dietetics/nutrition and by establishing educational standards for those persons.” How did we survive before 1992?

Why the war on weed?

By Adam Carlson

“Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Marijuana is still illegal here in the United States under federal law, but why?

Marijuana was made illegal to posses, sell, or use “without a special government issued permit” sometime in the mid 30’s under the Marijuana Tax Act. Tricky move by Uncle Sam.The catch was that you had to show up with the amount of weed you wanted a permit for in order to apply for one. Weed being illegal to posses or transport without said permit, anyone applying for a permit would be breaking the law.

Clearly a violation of the Fifth Amendment, this law was ruled unconstitutional in 1969 by the U.S. Supreme Court ( Leary v.s. United States). However it was immediately replaced by the Controlled Substances Act. But why? The real reasons were racially motivated politics of course. The fine upstanding white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (land owners) of the southwest felt threatened by the “wild, dirty Mexicans” and their totally alien culture.

FDA milk ban has consumers sour

By William R. Toler

Recent statements by the Food and Drug Administration have natural food advocates crying out over raw milk.

In a dismissal brief to a lawsuit brought against the FDA by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, the agency asserts that people “do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish.”

The suit was brought against the federal agency for its interstate ban on raw milk sales.

There has been a rise in individuals and families preferring to solicit their groceries from local farms and farmers markets instead of the processed foods being peddled by the corporate chains.

Unpasteurized milk, farm-fresh eggs and vegetables straight from the garden are believed to be much healthier and taste better than their mass-produced and sometimes genetically-modified counterparts.

FDA “experts” and those who drink the government’s Kool-Aid claim that the natural foods which haven’t been processed for your protection will harm you.

Smoking ban chokes individual rights

By Sami Birdsong

On Jan. 2, a smoking ban was instated, prohibiting smoking in all bars and restaurants in North Carolina. This ban was meant to help protect people from the horrid health effects that secondhand smoke causes. The violators of this ban are fined $50 for continuing to huff and puff after they have walked into an establishment which enforces this law.

Now, this ban is very beneficial in many ways, like keeping the filtered air inside clean and safe to breathe and protecting us from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. However, there is also a very important downfall to this ban, one that has been severely overlooked and almost forgotten. That downfall is the question of morality.

We, as American citizens, live in a free nation. This nation is one of religious tolerance and opportunity. It is one of the many reasons why people ever came to this country in the first place all those years ago. This freedom, however, is taken away when morality is forced upon us. There have been many examples of this throughout history, one of the most famous being prohibition. One would think after that epic failure, people would have learned that it is impossible to impose morals upon others.

At CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern, N.C., smoking is not allowed on the grounds, which forces people to stand out by the busy highway and smoke. This is the part of the smoking ban that I feel has gone too far. I can understand not being able to smoke in a restaurant due to the simple fact that people have a right to not choke on smoke while having a nice dinner with the family, but not being able to smoke in bars or having a designated smoking area at a hospital is just going too far.

Reap a healthful harvest of local foods

By Nina Kilbride

Most popular health articles I read agree: we all need more Omega-3 fatty acids in our diets. Some experts say if you are going to take just one supplement, make it an Omega-3.

Omega-3 fatty acids are important for our bodies in ways we understand and ways we don’t. What we do know is that food sources with a high ratio of Omega-6 fatty acids to Omega-3 fatty acids are bad for human bodies. Modern scholars associate many ailments like heart disease and breast and prostate cancers with excessive Omega-6 consumption.

If Omega-3 fatty acids are so important to good health, how did people historically get their Omega-3 ration? Not every culture has access to fish and fish oil in its diet. Where else does Omega-3 come from? Why are we deficient in Omega-3 now?

Health care: Can N.C. do better?

By Nina Kilbride

I’m disappointed that the tone of the political world is:  “The health insurance reform bill is the best we are going to get, even if it sucks.  Let’s move on.”  I guess they are right – uncertainty about the future of the health insurance industry is paralyzing to the political and economic process.

I hoped for better and still do.

I hope once “health insurance reform” is a done deal, we can move on to what Americans really need:  health care.  Maybe the answer is at the state level, not federal.  I ask for ideas:  how can North Carolina lead by example in improving the health of its citizens regardless of their insurance status?

Local Muslims against vaccine

By William R. Toler

Last week, WCTI-12 reported on a group of Muslims in Pitt County who are against the H1N1 vaccine.

“It’s a vaccination that has been placed out and not been fully experimented and may cause injury to those who are injected with that vaccination,” Remonia Muhammad told the New Bern-based television station. She believes that the vaccine was contrived purely for profit. “The question needs to be asked how much money are the pharmaceutical companies making off producing the vaccination…of course it’s a money making business.”

Muhammad is not alone in her assessment. Dr. Len Horowitz and Dr. Sherri Tenpenny have both issued their concerns about the swine flu vaccine as well as vaccinations in general. Nurses have also expressed concern over mandatory vaccinations and being threatened with their jobs should they refuse.

Swine flu sensationalism cause for control

By William R. Toler

As an adherent of alternative media and an employee of the mainstream media, I’ve heard enough about the swine flu to make anyone’s head spin.

With the rapid media attention and declarations that followed the initial outbreak in Mexico several months back, I began to question the whole scenario.

First off, the genetic makeup of the current strain contains elements of the regular flu, swine flu and avian flu. It seems a little inconceivable that this combination would manifest itself naturally.

Another aspect that seems mind-boggling is the media frenzy that ensued. Granted, the mainstream media is known for blowing things out of proportion, the public was whipped into mass paranoia of a virus that has killed less people than the regular flu. To top it off, those in America that died were already ill with something else.

Tobacco ban B.S.

By William R. Toler

Apparently the Sun Journal couldn’t find any smokers or anyone opposed to the ban on tobacco at Craven Community College for the article in Friday’s paper.

The article feautred several students and staff who seemed to be supportive of the ban, but the Independent Register has already reported on non-smokers who find the ban a little much.

The ban, approved by the board of trustees earlier this year, bans the use of all tobacco products. Not only that, but no advertisements are to be displayed anywhere on campus. Clubs are prohibited from taking donations from tobacco companies. It’s not like that was a common practice to begin with, but it completely outlaws it. Even student publications, such as the former Campus Communicator, can not accept advertising from tobacco companies.

So now, the Health Nazis have infiltrated CCC and are telling adults that they cannot smoke on public grounds…outside. One student interviewed for the puff piece (no pun intended) is a former smoker, but says now he can’t stand the smell of it. He went on to say, “People are going to have to realize that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Most smokers are courteous enough to go somewhere else if politely asked by someone who is bothered by smoke. But that doesn’t matter to those who want control.

Many non-smokers will say it’s for everyone’s health and it doesn’t bother me because it doesn’t affect me. Public health…isn’t that the line the Nazi’s used when they sent the Jews into the fatal shower rooms?

When will people draw the line?

Senate serves up soda tax

By William R. Toler

In an attempt to come up with ways to pay for a nationalized health care system,Senate leaders are bouncing around the idea of a soft drink tax, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to soda, the list of taxable beverages includes energy drinks (Monster), sports drinks (Gatorade), fruit drinks and ready-to-drink teas.

The idea for the excise tax comes from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a group of health nazis, who believe taxing the sugar-filled beverages will cut down on consumption and, in turn, related health problems such as obesity and diabetes.