High Fructose Corn Syrup: The millions of Americans while they get rich. Some might say, “The government is correct, HFCS is bad for you, so the State Government Hypocrisy has the right to limit use of the additive.” by Michelle Williams Here comes the hypocrisy: the government has the audacity to demonize the industry despite the fact that they are the reason Let me begin by expressing that for such rapid growth and use of the sweetener. How is this I am deeply concerned about true? The US government pays farmers to grow corn. These health, something I am government subsidies cause a surplus of supply, and hence, especially wary of after having someone found a way to use that surplus to create a low cost struggled to lose eighty-four sweetener. Corporations trying to cut costs then use this lower pounds over the past five years. cost ingredient to attain higher margin and output. Does that I know first-hand what it is like make them evil? No, they are in business to make money so to resist temptations and make they will watch their bottom line and use HFCS over natural hard decisions to avoid certain sugar. types of food. There are a lot of “bad” options out there, and it Would those takes willpower to live a corporations use real healthy lifestyle. sugar, all other things being equal? Yes, if the Further, I understand the desire to help others avoid price was not inflated temptation. That being said, there is a strong movement for due to government government to use laws to “force” people to live healthier. subsidies and undue These efforts go too far. The fact is that if someone wants to be interference in the food healthy, they will make good decisions on their own. If they do production industry. The not desire such a lifestyle, it is not the place of the government unfortunate truth is that to infringe on our civil rights to make it so. many Americans do not ever make the Within the past few years, there have been several regressive connection between steps made by government to impose “healthy” options on government corn subsidies and the HFCS industry, so in the Americans. The most notable is the ban on soda over sixteen end, many side with the growing nanny state to “help ounces in New York in 2013, a measure pushed by Michael Americans win the war for health”. Bloomberg. There was an attempt to repeal the law in 2014, but unfortunately, it is still on the books in New York. Below are some links to articles with information about topics discussed in this essay and statistics relating to subsidies for Another well-known those interested in digging further. attack on “unhealthy” food is http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/high- the incessant fructose-corn-syrup-dangers/ vilification of High Fructose Corn Syrup http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-03-13/that- (HFCS) by the State, sickening-sugar-subsidy and as they would have you believe, http://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php? also by anyone who fips=00000&progcode=corn values human life. This sugar substitute is used in everything from bread, to canned fruit, to candy, to soda. High Fructose Corn Syrup is the new “big oil” or “big tobacco” that is killing Page 1 Libertarian Party of Dallas County, Texas April 2015 Canon from a Loose Libertarian: An communicate with others about our ideas? Interview Humor is only one of many ways to communicate our ideas. by Curry B. Taylor Whether it's effective all depends on your audience. One libertarian wanted off my contact list because he was opposed to attacking Statists with satire, ridicule, or mockery. He was I caught up with Garry Reed an extremely serious guy. over the weekend at an exclusive, super-early movie Sex sells. Are your script review and audition for "Playboynomics"- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress in themed chapters in the Los Angeles, California. Bryan book a thinly-veiled Singer was in attendance, and as attempt at appealing to expected, he suggested that the hedonist in all of us, casting would be extremely or is there a much competitive. However, when he larger and deeper heard that Reed was among hidden agenda? those present in the talent pool, Singer declared that the most I'm compiling articles 20 important role was filled. Garry is going to play the moon. per book and I realized I had these two Playboy-themed articles written close to the same time so I decided to make Okay, okay, none of that happened. But Garry Reed does have "Playboynomics" the theme for this edition which also covers a smashing new book out, and I picked his prolific brain about several of the other economically-themed articles. Besides, sex it in this interview. sells. What motivated you to The editor has often compile this second book, wondered about how "Selected Salvos 2: From science funding the Loose Cannon (especially basic, Libertarian"? Is it fundamental connected to the first research) would look book, "Selected Salvos: in a libertarian From the Loose Cannon universe. Do you have Libertarian" in any way, any thoughts or ideas or is it an independent on this? work? Like everything else The two books are Garry Reed science would be connected and independent. funded by those who Each book and every article most benefit from it. in them can be read independently. My motivation for Since new scientific compiling the books was personal. I'd written over 150 articles discoveries get turned from 2001 to 2007 for two different sites and I decided I into practical products wanted to preserve them before my hard drive or my old for sale companies, website finally crashed and burned permanently. I wrote these manufacturers, articles in a style I developed called "Fun&Freedom" in which industries, trade associations would always fund research and freedom was the message but the delivery system would be development since true competition would demand it. So fun to read. I labored over them and only produced two would universities that could sell their discoveries to the articles per month. It costs virtually nothing to self-publish market and help support themselves and their research into books these days so I'm publishing them for my own "pure science" that doesn't have any immediate practical bookshelf. While I don't expect to make much money, I also application. When I say "those who benefit" from science I offer them to the public for anyone who is interested. mean economically, commercially, intellectually, psychologically, philosophically, emotionally, etc. You have a talent for using humor to quickly illustrate a libertarian point of view on an issue, or situation. Do you Your essays cover a wide variety of subjects and issues think that this can be a general tool to help libertarians Page 2 Libertarian Party of Dallas County, Texas April 2015 from a libertarian perspective, including the draft, style when I self-syndicated a weekly opinion column for a government spying, the war on drugs, pop culture, and of while and then began writing for Examiner, but I couldn't course, economics. Do you have any favorite chapters? sustain it in a climate that demands constant writing. Now I call myself the "Libertarian Opinionizer", but too much of My favorites in this book are the two Playboy chapters just what I do now are libertarian attack and defend articles with because they're more edgy and maybe more controversial than an occasional fun piece thrown in. Hence, I really enjoy the others. Actually, though, my real favorites are the scores of reading through my old stuff and preparing the materials for satires I've written, but I'm setting those aside for later. I figure publication. I can publish all of my old "Fun&Freedom" articles in 10 little books, then I'll collect my satires into maybe 4 "Satirical Anything else to add? Salvos" editions. Thanks very much for the interview! Anyone who wants to In your last chapter, "The Playboy School of Economics" buy or download one of my books can find them all at my you jokingly state that libertarians should perhaps read Amazon Author's Page. about economics from a magazine of nudies rather than a scholarly source. People these days are also getting their news and information from comedians rather than more traditional sources. Is this a disturbing trend overall, or is LPDC Membership Program! there a silver lining? Want to help out the LPDC and at the same time get some The real disturbing cool libertarian swag? Check out our contributor trend has been the loss membership program! of trust in the major media. Both the political left and right Checkmate the State consider each other's news sources biased by Kevin L. Frederickson and end up believing only the news and The following speech was history that their own made by Kevin L Frederickson side feeds them. It's at the March LPDC General even worse with Meeting. political news. Everything that the current administration says is suspect to the side that is out of We humans seem to have an power. Reed's Rule states that "anything that becomes instinct for manipulating our politicized ceases to be about that thing and becomes all about environment to suit our needs, the politics." Personally I trust only known, proven libertarian for bending nature to our will. sources, but even then to have any chance at all of getting This instinct has served us well. It's so strong, the end result honest information I still look at a given subject from many doesn't necessarily need to have any tangible, practical value.