Class-action insult

Froma Harrop’s article in the Sunday L-E is a provocative diatribe. Based upon her castigating others, and my opinion, she is an ill-informed pseudo-intellectual. I began as a private and retired as an Abn-Ranger Major, have a B.S. degree, farmed 1100 acres, and have been a real estate broker. Yet, she tabbed me and many others with four derogatory labels: (1) “sucker” conned by Trump because we “need to believe,” (2) “the little people” Trump suckers, (3) “chumps” who a “skilled con artist” can identify, and (4) “sap” to whom the “evidence doesn't matter.”

The facts are: * The Donald has had failures in his past. * He is far from being perfect. * His impressive, multiple successes, after getting up from some failures, speak highly of his abilities as a leader – a most important fact! * He has profoundly changed the dynamics of running to be the president of this nation. *

Trump has earned, as a Republican during a primary election, the support of more people than any other person in the history of this nation! I am one of the little people (61 inches tall) in political power (middle income bracket). One may purchase (label) me and my peers as chumps and saps, but one would be an infernal fool to sell us as such!

If my peers and I are saps, then please give us the correct labels to paste on those who are currently supporting: (1) A self-proclaimed democratic-socialist who has no logical plan to pay for the “freebies” he offers and (2) Another who is believed to be a liar, a crook, and one unable to lead this nation. I am seeking only facts!

Froma, you owe many “salt of the earth” intelligent patriots a sincere apology!

Failed ideologies

In their Communist Manifesto of 1848, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, calling for the creation of the first international working class unions, wrote the famous lines: “Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains.”

Now, over 150 years later, their extremist brand of support for the non-elite classes, through communist or Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology, has failed the working classes because early on it became a prime supporter of anti-democratic dictatorships almost everywhere, but particularly in Russia, China, and the Soviet Union.

Now, as the U.S. tries to shed its imperialistic wars, we have a chance to show solidarity with the other former colonies, many of whom are trying to adopt democratic socialism and overthrow their own dictators both communist and capitalist/fascist. It helps if we understand that fascism is simply an alliance of capitalists with dictators and imperialists. Despite their many faults, most U.S. capitalists have avoided lining up with dictators. FDR’s moderate socialism triumphed, but the fascist temptation remained, often as a bedfellow of anti-communism (1950s McCarthyism, the John Birch Society, Eisenhower’s and Reagan’s imperialist tendencies). And now even stronger with Trump. The biggest temptation for the working and middle classes, poor and unemployed as they are, is to believe that Trump, a first-class elitist, will support their needs. This is what Marx himself called “false consciousness,” a perennial problem for poorly educated non-elites who cozy up to the oppressor class. Movie buffs will recognize it in Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd,” or in “All the King’s Men” based on Robert Penn Warren’s great book. It is painful for me to see poor and unemployed workers, mesmerized by Trump’s neo-fascism. But then, not all the “common folk” in the 1930s supported Roosevelt and the New Deal.

‘Safe’ nutrition

There are 13 vitamins essential for human life. They include vitamin A, C, D, E, K, and the eight B vitamins. These are organic compounds required in very small amounts to regulate various reactions within our cells. Since vitamins are used up during these reactions, and since our bodies don't synthesize them, we need to get them on daily basis from food or supplements.

The healthiest and safest doses of vitamins are the ones found in natural food. Taking too much vitamin D, for example, can cause calcium deposits in arteries and kidneys and interferes with blood clotting. Too much vitamin A can cause liver damage and birth defects. Too much vitamin C can cause kidney stones. Too much vitamin E can interrupt blood coagulation and cause hemorrhage and platelet aggregation

Today there are 85,000 vitamin and supplement products available for sale in America. About 50% of American adults use some sort of dietary supplement.

The American Cancer Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association recommend that people who eat a balanced diet avoid taking any multivitamins. However, pregnant women should take extra doses of folic acid (B9), elderly women should take a daily dose of calcium, and vegans should supplement their diet with vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin).

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Class-action insult."