Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 228, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 10, 2012 Page: 4 of 12
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Sweetwater Reporter
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EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for
expression of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except
those labeled “Editorials” reflect the opinions of the writ-
ers and not those of the Sweetwater Reporter.
GOEST COLOMN
MGM celebrates
50th anniversary
HOLLYWOOD—God bless America, and how's
everybody?
MGM celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the
release of the first James Bond movie, Dr. No.
The handsome spy drank, gambled, slept around,
drove too fast and saved the world from commu-
nism. Imagine Mitt Romney if he converted to the
Episcopalian Church.
Roseanne Barr made the presidential ballot in
California along with her running mate Cindy Sheehan
on the Freedom Party. The party lists
itself as pro-marijuana and anti-evil.
They're sure to get the votes of people
who would otherwise stab themselves
with the pen.
Southern California gas stations
had supply shortages from a power
outage at Exxon Mobil's refinery in
Torrance. Prices neared five dollars a
gallon. Even the people who pay for
their gas with stolen credit cards are
complaining out of sympathy for their
victims.
The L.A. County Supervisors urged
restaurants to reduce the size of food
portions served to local customers. Obesity is costing
Los Angeles County six billion dollars a year. Tourists
who come to our beaches expecting to see Baywatch
go into shock and need medical treatment.
President Obama was in Los Angeles Sunday for
a fundraising concert featuring Katy Perry, Stevie
Wonder and George Clooney. The Secret Service had
its hands full. With gas prices at five dollars a gallon
all the drivers were shooting at him instead of each
other.
Mitt Romney apologized Friday for his remarks
at a donor soiree criticizing forty-seven percent of
Americans who get government checks. He said that
was completely wrong. What rich white people say
to each other in country club settings is very often
wrong if it's overheard.
Mitt Romney enjoyed a post-debate bounce in
Ohio, Florida and Virginia in the polls Friday. His
next task is to change America's attitude on deficit
spending. It's looking more and more like planning
our financial future on the Mayan Calendar wasn't
the best plan.
President Obama will train for the debate this week
at Colonial Williamsburg. This is where they re-enact
pre-revolutionary America. The last time Obama went
to Colonial Williamsburg his white half sold his black
half, and a week later he saved Bank of America.
Mitt Romney rallies were infiltrated by protesters
dressed as Big Bird who object to Mitt's proposed
cuts to PBS. Mitt Romney declared he likes Big Bird.
Anybody who's done as many fundraising dinners as
these guys routinely says something nice about the
chicken.
Charles Manson's accomplice Bruce Davis was
recommended for parole in California Friday. He's
been in state prison for forty years for killing a rock
musician and an action movie stuntman. The parole
board calculated they certainly would have been dead
by now.
Daily Variety said the presidential debate generated
a record ten million tweets. The iPhone is destroying
attention spans. Winston Churchill would be unable
to rally the world against Hitler today unless he could
get it all in one hundred forty characters or less.
Germany's far-right political party will hold a pub-
lic screening of the anti-Muslim film Innocence of
Muslims. It's to challenge Germany's anti-blasphemy
laws. Germans miss the give-and-take of free speech
they once enjoyed when they started two world wars
with it.
Wall Street tycoon Paul Singer used a court ruling in
Ghana to seize Argentina's naval flagship in a Ghana
port Thursday because the country owes him a billion
dollars in defaulted bonds. Capitol Hill lawmakers
panicked. Hedge fund managers are discovering that
building their own navy is less expensive than paying
off lobbyists in Washington D.C.
Argus Hamilton is the host comedian at The
Comedy Store in Hollywood and entertains groups
and organizations around the country. E-mail him
at Argus@ArgusHamilton.com.
Argus
Hamilton
C-FORCE
The power and perils in peanuts
Q: Chuck, I just recent-
ly learned that allergies to
peanut butter are among
the most common nega-
tive food reactions and
that they are rising. True?
— "Not Skimping
on Skippy" in
Pennsylvania
A: I love peanut
butter. Most do.
I make a mean
peanut butter and
jelly sandwich. And
there are few things
better than a toast-
ed English muffin
with peanut but-
ter on it — unless,
of course, you're
allergic to that all-
American nutty
spread.
USA Today recently
reported that 78 million
Americans have food aller-
gies or food intolerance.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
elaborated that eight types
of foods account for 90 per-
cent of food allergy reac-
tions: shellfish, fish, eggs,
cow's milk, wheat, soy-
beans, peanuts and tree nuts
(such as almonds, walnuts,
pecans, cashews, hazelnuts,
pistachios and macadamia
nuts).
Chief among them are
peanuts. And allergies to
them have been increasing
for years.
For example, Maria
Rinaldi, an epidemiolo-
gist at the University of
Minnesota and the lead
author of a new study on
peanut allergies published
in The Journal of Allergy
and Clinical Immunology,
told Reuters Health, "No
matter how we're defining
peanut allergy, we're seeing
this consistent increase."
Why? No one is exactly
sure, but factors such as the
increased reliance on anti-
biotics, antibacterial prod-
ucts and vaccines may have
resulted in a human body
GOEST COLOMN
that is capable of reading
more things as antibodies,
even peanut proteins.
The CDC noted that the
perils or allergic reactions
to peanut butter and other
food allergies can
be mild to severe
and can include
one or more of the
following:
—Swelling in the
tongue and throat.
--Difficulty
breathing.
—Hives.
—Tingling in the
mouth.
--Abdominal
cramps.
—Vomiting or
diarrhea.
—Eczema or rash.
—Dizziness.
—Coughing or wheezing.
—Loss of consciousness.
—Anaphylaxis, which is
a sudden, severe allergic
reaction involving multiple
symptoms simultaneously;
it can result in death.
Why are some allergic to
peanuts?
The Mayo Clinic explained
that peanut allergies occur
when one's immune sys-
tem inadvertently identifies
peanut proteins as harmful
agents.
Though it is not known
why some people are aller-
gic to peanuts and others
are not, we do know that
adverse reactions can occur
by direct contact (consump-
tion of peanut products),
cross-contact (unintended
introduction of peanuts
into a product) and inha-
lation (of dust or aerosols
containing peanuts, such as
peanut flour, oils or cooking
sprays).
Presently, there are no
tests or cures for most food
allergies, so avoidance is the
best prevention. In today's
world, everyone should be
an avid reader of product
ingredients.
To add insult to injury,
peanut butters — among
other nut products — have
faced a substantial recall
recently.
According to Fox News,
a New Mexico company,
Sunland Inc., just recalled
its nut butters — including
peanut, almond, cashew,
tahini (a vegan sesame
seed paste used in many
ethnic cuisines) and other
blanched and roasted nut
products.
Sunland initiated its recall
under multiple brand names
after salmonella illnesses
were connected to Trader
Joe's creamy salted Valencia
peanut butter, which is cre-
ated by Sunland.
The CDC linked 30 ill-
nesses in 19 states to the
particular brand of pea-
nut butter; they occurred
between June 11 and Sept.
11. (Salmonella can cause
stomachaches, diarrhea and
fever 12 to 72 hours after
infection.)
The recall has been
expanded to other retailers
of Sunland's nut products,
including Whole Foods
Market, Giant, Harry and
David, Target, Fresh & Easy,
Stop & Shop Supermarket
Co., and others. Some stores
use Sunland ingredients in
their own recipes.
More than 100 prod-
ucts have been recalled,
including the brand names
Natural Value, Naturally
More, Late July, Heinen's,
Joseph's, Archer Farms,
Earth Balance, Open Nature,
Peanut PowerButter,
Sprouts Farmers Market
and Serious Foods. (Even
a pet company is issuing a
voluntary recall of its canine
treat, Dogsbutter.)
It's just one more remind-
er that we never should
check our health brains at
groceries' doors. But let's
not throw the baby out with
the bath water. There are
still many great organic
brands of peanut butter.
For those who are not
allergic — and when peanut
butter is contamination-
free — it packs a powerful
nutritional punch.
Mary Ellen Camire, a pro-
fessor in the University of
Maine's department of food
science and human nutri-
tion, explained to Men's
Health magazine that a
mere spoonful delivers a
surplus of protein, vitamin
E and cholesterol-regulat-
ing monounsaturated fats
and "might even help curb
your appetite." And I would
add B vitamins and fiber.
Camire explained that
additional benefits of pea-
nut butter are that it is rich
in antioxidants, may reduce
your risks of coronary
death, may help prevent
Alzheimer's disease and
may help keep you slim.
Of course, as with other
products, the best peanut
butter is always organic.
Many grocers even are
providing peanut butter-
churning machines to make
it yourself right in the store.
But ask where the peanuts
originate. And if you are eat-
ing out, never fear inquiring
about menu ingredients.
As James A. Garfield, the
20th president of the U.S.,
once said, "man cannot live
by bread alone; he must
have peanut butter."
Write to Chuck Norris
(info@creators.com) with
your questions about health
and fitness. Follow Chuck
Norris through his offi-
cial social media sites, on
Twitter @chucknorris and
Facebook's "Official Chuck
Norris Page." He blogs at
http://chucknorrisnews.
blogspot.com. To find out
more about Chuck Norris
and read features by other
Creators Syndicate writers
and cartoonists, visit the
Creators Syndicate Web
page at www.creators.
com.
rading places
Chuck
Nonis
Who was that stiff,
out-of-touch guy onstage
in Denver at this week's
presidential debate? He
looked a lot like Barack
Obama — but how could
that be?
It was as if
the candidates
swapped bodies
before they went
out onstage.
The president
became the Mitt
Romney carica-
ture the Obama
campaign has
created through
millions of dol-
lars of adver-
tising: an elit-
ist who has no
idea what the
middle class is
going through.
Mitt Romney became
the great communica-
tor who understands the
suffering and anxiety of
ordinary Americans and
knows how to relieve it.
There is no question
that Mitt Romney won
the debate on points —
his answers were crisp
and coherent, while
Obama's were slow, ram-
bling and too much in the
policy weeds to resonate
with most listeners. But
the bigger problem for
Obama was his manner.
He couldn't look Romney
in the eye, spent more
time looking down than
he did trying to connect
with the audience and
looked annoyed at hav-
ing to answer questions.
Obama reminded many
of President George H. W.
Bush when Bush looked
at his watch during a
town hall debate in 1992.
Unfair or not, observ-
ers at the time thought
President Bush looked
like he didn't want to be
there and thought he had
better things to do than
answer questions for the
electorate. Some people
thought that was the
moment when President
Bush lost his re-election
bid — and Wednesday's
debate could be the
moment when Obama
lost his.
The media were
stunned by Obama's
performance. But any-
one who watched his
debates with Hillary
Clinton in 2008
should know
that Obama is
not quick on his
feet. The differ-
ence between
2008 and today
is that Obama
is no longer
the new, fresh
face that people
thought might
actually change
11103 politics and
bring Americans
3V6Z together. He's
spent much of
the last four
And years — and all of his
campaign dollars — try-
ing to divide the country
and demonize his oppo-
nents. He came across
as mean and angry dur-
ing the debate, while
Romney came across as
caring and passionate.
Certainly the substance
of the candidates' posi-
tions on issues was an
important factor in the
debate as well. Obama
reiterated his core belief
that government is
the engine that drives
America and can cre-
ate jobs and take care of
people.
Romney, on the other
hand, said that creating
jobs can best be accom-
plished by freeing the
private sector from anxi-
ety that their taxes will
rise and costs to hire new
employees will increase,
due to everything from
Obamacare to burden-
some overregulation.
And Romney said that he
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wants to make sure "that
those people who are less
fortunate and can't care
for themselves are cared
for by one another."
Obama said that the
way to reduce the deficit
is by cutting some spend-
ing but more important-
ly by increasing taxes
on the wealthy. Romney
believes that the way to
reduce the deficit is to
cut government spend-
ing. He summed up his
philosophy brilliantly,
saying that his test on
every federal program
will be to ask: "Is the
program so critical it's
worth borrowing money
from China to pay for
it? And if not, I'll get rid
of it."
The Romney campaign
should run that clip as a
campaign ad and contrast
it with what President
Obama has wasted
money on since he came
to office, including the
list of handouts to alter-
native energy companies
such as Solyndra that
have gone belly-up and
put workers on unem-
ployment lines.
It has never made sense
to me that an incumbent
president whose term
has seen unemployment
go up and remain over
8 percent for the last
43 months and who has
racked up almost $5 tril-
lion in debt stood any
chance to be re-elected.
But the polls have shown
the president ahead or
virtually tied with his
challenger through much
of the campaign. The
conventional explanation
las been that people like
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the president personally
and have been lukewarm
or cool on Mitt Romney,
which means they are less
willing to take a chance
on the challenger.
In the two most recent
elections in which incum-
bents have been ousted
— Jimmy Carter in 1980
and George H.W. Bush
in 1992 — the challengers
seemed more dynamic
and in touch with aver-
age Americans than the
incumbents, and vot-
ers decided to take their
chances on the new guy.
Mitt Romney passed that
test Wednesday — and
President Obama failed
it miserably.
Based on their per-
formance in the debate,
Obama looked a lot like
Jimmy Carter of 1976,
and Mitt Romney could
just be the Ronald
Reagan of 2012.
Linda Chavez is the
author of "An Unlikely
Conservative: The
Transformation of an
Ex-Liberal." To find
out more about Linda
Chavez, visit the Creators
Syndicate Web page at
www.creators.com.
Correction Policy
Editorial:
As a matter of policy, the
Sweetwater Reporter will
publish corrections of errors
in fact that have been print-
ed in the newspaper.
The corrections will be
made as soon as possible
after the error has been
brought to the attention of
the newspaper’s editor at
236-6677.
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to reject, edit or cancel any
advertising at any time with-
out liability. Publisher’s liabil-
ity for error is limited to the
amount paid for advertising.
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 228, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 10, 2012, newspaper, October 10, 2012; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth851876/m1/4/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.