Local Readers Can Meet Kaine Staff in Duffield Thursday

There's no book review today. I've been very busy with scheduled hack writing and unscheduled work around an ailing computer. However, this is time-sensitive, so you need to see this morning's e-mail from U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA):

"

Dear Friend,

On June 21, my staff will host Kaine Connects office hours in Duffield from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM.

Although I can't be there in person, this is a terrific opportunity to get personalized and undivided attention from my staff. Please make an individual appointment by emailing Laura_Blevins@kaine.senate.gov. Walk in visitors will be accommodated upon staff availability.

LENOWISCO Planning District Commission Office
372 Technology Trail Ln
Duffield, VA
June 21, 2018
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

For more information on upcoming Kaine Connects, click here.

Sincerely,

[that signature graphic Google doesn't like: Tim Kaine]"

Here's my immediate reply, headlined "Can I just say it in e-mail?" First-time readers will find a row of "Labels" at the bottom of this post; clicking on "GLYPHOSATE" will pull up the posts to which the e-mail refers:

"

Hello, Laura Blevins,

How are you feeling this morning? I hope you're feeling healthier than I am.

I'm a celiac. The first thirty years of my life, my celiac mother and I worked very hard at "being healthy" and were, at best, only just noticeably less healthy than other people. When I developed full-blown celiac sprue, that was alarming because it doesn't usually appear before age 50, but at least we finally had the key to making all the other "healthy lifestyle" tips work. I achieved normal health, energy, productivity, stamina, etc., with the trade-off of never being able to eat socially with non-celiacs again.

It felt great. I never looked back. Mother and I became models for other people in southwestern Virginia who were finding out that they had the celiac gene, or didn't have the gene but had some sort of other reaction to wheat products. As my sister's children grew up, they were tested for the celiac gene, and the ones who share it had their chance to be healthy, energetic, even athletic kids.

Unfortunately, about five years ago I started having unmistakable celiac reactions to things that weren't wheat--corn, soy, rice, peanuts, potatoes, and who knew what next. I observed that these were not reactions to these natural foods themselves. They were brand-specific, and varied from season to season. Others observing similar patterns pinned the real cause. While no "pesticide" has ever been completely safe for humans, and problems have increased with exposure, glyphosate is specifically poisonous to all celiacs. It affects us as wheat gluten does, only moreso. After exposure to airborne glyphosate around roads or railroads, I don't even have to eat anything to find myself rushing to the bathroom, passing what feels like gas but is actually blood, as this genetically specific (Irish Genocide!) poison shreds my colon.

During one of these poisoning episodes I spent a day in town, watching people who had been healthy suddenly become ill. The range of non-celiac glyphosate reactions includes almost every acute physical and mental symptom you can think of. Thanks to corporate propaganda, people were blaming flowers that had not been bothering them all week, "allergies," "a cold going around," "age," whatever--they weren't taking the time to see that everybody in the Friday Market was noticeably sicker than they'd been an hour ago. Well, I was. And I know that some of these people, in their ignorance, went home and made themselves and their children even sicker over the weekend. "Ohhh, my allergies. Oh, I'm getting old. Doctor, does my child need antibiotics? 'Roundup' only affects weeds."

I have a blog where I've been documenting these things, encouraging people to complain to companies and demand glyphosate-free food, for years now: PriscillaKing dot blogspot dot com.

Today, once again, I'm working through what normal people would call a sick day. This was normal for me as a child and young adult; I spent my formative years feeling that I was always backpacking uphill when everyone else was coasting downhill. I've worked hard to make normal health normal for me, and I deserve to enjoy normal health today. Unfortunately other people are being allowed to make me sick again.

What I'd like from my elected officials is not face time (although I'm available to go to Richmond or Washington to speak on this issue, for a fee), but solutions:

1. A total statewide ban on any use of glyphosate, or any similar chemical, under any circumstances.

2. Educating the public to understand that all pesticides are poisons and become poisonous to humans after a few seasons. "Herbicides" should not be allowed at all. If people can't cut back or dig up their own weeds, they should pay other people to do that.

3. Educating the public to understand that when we poison plants and animals outdoors, we kill their natural predators, so we are actually just breeding more of what we don't want. We can't go on poisoning the environment year after year. Poisoning mosquitoes to stop an epidemic is the kind of heroic effort people should plan to make once in their lifetimes, not twice. I know farmers who've been depending on insecticides will find it very hard to break their farms' addiction, but they need encouragement to make the change.

If saying this to you in person can make the message any clearer, I will walk into Duffield to meet you on Thursday. I'd be pleased, though, if the e-mail is clear enough that you can give the face time to Duffield people who'll be chuffed at not having to come into Gate City.

Priscilla King

"

And here, for what it's worth, is the reply...I don't blame Laura_Blevins for this. The office computer had been programmed to do it.

"
Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office until Wednesday, June 20, 2018 and will not have regular access to email. If you need immediate assistance, please call Senator Kaine's Richmond office at 804-771-2221.
"

Duffield readers, you know how e-mail works. Those of you who want to talk to your senatorial staff should go ahead and e-mail Laura_Blevins anyway; she/they will see your e-mails in the order received and are likely to plan appointments accordingly.