keeping our eyes on the ball

You know historically, if we couldn’t do nothing right in these United States of America, we could train some of the finest and brightest minds in the world as scientist. This is still true today albeit not to many folk want to be scientist as opposed to rappers, entertainers or pro athletes. And even in light of new intellectual circles the likes of India, China and Brazil are emerging to the top of the coffee as of late.But as far as our being proactive and forward thinking, we seem to sometimes take our eyes off the ball. Let’s take so-called terrorism for example. We have been so caught up in looking for folks with bombs wrapped around their somas that we don’t even move beyond thinking for ourselves. Not to mention we always want to contain them in certain regions as well as certain disposition. My problem is that bombs and guns and airplanes are not the only way to strike fear into the hearts of the affeared – especially us in the west. My diabolical mind has me thinking other wise.

For example, since the peanut contamination in South Georgia, I wave wondered what would be the quickest way to strike terror in the world I live in is to attack my stomach, I just wonder if our intelligence community has thought of this? I mean I was just a child when I first heard of Swine flu. I remember the new because it was in the year of the bicentennial, 1976, and occurred at Fort Dix where a young solider was killed by an influenza not seen since the plague of 1918-19.

Swine flu normally infects pigs, but has been detected recently in people in Mexico, the U.S., New Zealand, Canada, and the U.K... And just yesterday in New York officials stated eight "probable" cases, of swine flu have been documented. And over the past year, we can recant of food contamination -- salmonella found in pistachio nuts; Halal International Processing, a York, S.C., recalling almost 3000 pounds of beef, chicken, goat, and lamb products, and today in Georgia, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, because the product has been linked to Salmonella contamination.

I won’t even talk about things over the past 3 years. Like On December 4, 2006, health investigators linked an E. coli outbreak that has sickened approximately 22 folk at Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey and 14 in Long Island And remember not just meat, but that E. coli infections are also associated with sprouts or leafy vegetables such as spinach. That same year three people died and more than 200 fell ill from an outbreak traced to packaged spinach grown in California.

Now I’m not trying to scare anybody (folks who don’t grow their own food) but, if I know this I think so-called terrorist do too, but aint so sure about our homeland security apparatus. Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria are just a few of pathogens that can invade a food product and food poisoning causes about 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and up to 5,000 deaths each year. Listeria is found in soil, vegetation, raw milk, meat, poultry, cheeses (particularly soft mould-ripened varieties) and salad vegetables. I just want to make sure that we think and discuss and talk about such possibilities and that if we really want to secure our homeland, our food should be first and that we can never take out eyes off the ball. Besides folks like aren't NSF types, we cuss, hunt wild turkey on our frams and spend quality time with our kids - being a scientist and 185 IQ or not.