Tuesday, October 11, 2005

LEFTIST "TOLERANCE" AT WORK

Ken Potts calls himself a patriot. That's what his front yard tells you too. Metal American flags are staked in the ivy beside the driveway. A red, white, and blue pinwheel spins near the front sidewalk. One flagpole flies the American flag. A second flagpole carries the banner of the Army's 101st Airborne. Even his mailbox on North 185th Street in Shoreline sports the image of the Airborne's screaming eagle.

But he says that in the last year the mailbox has been blown up twice with fireworks. The house has been egged. Paint has been thrown on the house too. The flags have been torn down and ripped up more than once. And the 101st Airborne flag has had the word "murder" and a swastika written on it with a permanent marker. "It's really difficult for me to see something like this and not feel sad," Potts told us of the vandalism that started around election day last year. Especially, he says, since the 101st led the charge in World War II to defeat Nazi Germany.

But the biggest insult to this house with a permanent Bush-Cheney placard attached to the second story and a collection of mostly Republican election signs in the side yard, is the spray paint someone left on his vinyl siding this past weekend. In two-foot tall letters on the side of his house facing Meridian someone painted "Bush Nazis." "Where do they get off calling the President of the United States a Nazi," he said.

This former soldier with three tours of Vietnam says he feels like his own freedom of speech is under attack. "When you have someone or a group of people who want to take that away from you, who probably didn't do a thing to defend them in the first place, it's really sad."

But to fight back he always puts new flags back on those front yard flagpoles. He installed a security camera that keeps watch over his front yard. And for his own political jab he put an electronic readerboard in a front window. 24 hours a day it says: "Liberalism - is a mental disorder." "I want to make sure that they know I can't be pushed around."

And he says he'll leave the spray painted "Bush Nazis" on the side of his house for a while to show people on this busy corner what tolerance "doesn't" look like. He also says he's turned the other cheek and doesn't want prosecution or revenge. He says he'd like to meet the vandal or vandals and have a friendly American debate instead. "If we want to have disagreements in this country there's ways to have disagreements and there's ways to have a dialogue. If you've got a problem with me come up and talk about it. We may not even agree but we can agree to disagree."

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BURGER KING STANDS UP TO BRITAIN'S FOOD FASCISTS

Burger King, Britain's second-biggest fast food chain, has snubbed the government's attempts to reduce levels of salt, fat and sugar in food to make it healthier. It has pulled out of a joint initiative between the food industry and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to reformulate fast foods to make them less unhealthy. The chain will instead concentrate on making its burgers and other products as "tasty" as it can - a decision that will mean no further cuts in salt, fat or sugar. Rather than promoting healthy foods, the company is considering selling the "Enormous Omelette Sandwich", a product recently launched in America. It offers 740 calories and 4.9 grams of salt comprising two slices of cheese, two eggs, three strips of bacon and a sausage patty on a bun.

The decision is a serious threat to the consensus that has emerged after two years of talks between the food industry, the FSA and the Department of Health. Those talks recently led to 50 retailers and manufacturers, excluding Burger King, agreeing to phased cuts in the amounts of salt added to a range of processed foods including bread, ready meals, breakfast cereals and cured meats. The talks on salt were intended to pave the way towards similar voluntary reductions in levels of fat and sugar. From this weekend, however, that consensus could break down because Burger King's competitors will fear the 700-restaurant chain could gain a competitive advantage if its products get a reputation for being tastier. Such a rift has long been predicted by groups campaigning for healthier food who say that legislation is required because the food industry will never voluntarily do anything that puts sales and profits at risk.

More than 20 of Britain's top chefs and food writers, including Gary Rhodes and Sophie Grigson, are to send an open letter to Tony Blair this week demanding ministers do more to prevent advertising of junk food to children. Rosemary Hignett, the FSA's head of nutrition, said: "We are aware of and very disappointed by Burger King's decision to abandon work on salt reduction. Any U-turn on such an important measure will have a negative impact on people's diets. "

When the FSA began talks with the food industry in 2003, Burger King signed up to them. Since then, however, Diageo, the British owner, has sold it to a consortium of American venture capitalists. The firm is now controlled from Miami. News of Burger King's decision coincides with the launch of a œ6m media campaign by the FSA to make people aware of the need to cut salt intake. It will warn that the average daily intake of 10-12 grams of salt per person is far too high and recommend they consume no more than 6 grams a day. This level is far in excess of the 0.5 grams most people actually need but the FSA wants to set "achievable" targets. High salt intake is a concern because it causes raised blood pressure.

Burger King maintains it is up to customers to take responsibility for their food choices. Its menu includes the XL Double Whopper with cheese which provides 921 calories, nearly half the 2,000 daily calories needed by a typical woman. Burger King's restaurants do not offer customers information on the nutritional values of its foods, but these are available on its website. This shows the same burger contains 56 grams of fat and 3.5 grams of salt. The company has recently suggested its new range of "fresh-baked baguettes" offers a healthier choice. It includes the Monterey Melt which contains 2.3 grams of salt and nearly 600 calories.

Edna Johnson, a senior executive at Burger King in Miami, said the firm had made concessions to the healthy food lobby in recent years. "In the UK we reduced the salt in our chicken bites by 50%," she said. The company has also offered a range of salads, plus fruit options for children. However, the impact of the sales of healthier foods is slight compared with Burger King's staple fare. Johnson confirmed that there were no plans for further cuts in salt, fat or sugar and said: "Our commitment to our guests is to provide them with choice."

The signatories to the open letter to Blair call on him to back the Children's Food Bill, a private member's bill supported by more than 200 MPs. Its sponsor, Mary Creagh, Labour MP for Wakefield, said: "Parents are tired of being pestered to buy unhealthy foods because their children recognise Bart Simpson or Shrek on the packet

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