S O U N D   O F F

June 9, 2008

Thank you for inviting me to visit with you about Good Neighbor.
Kerry Lewis and Chase Carter wedding.......

The 1796 Old Farmer’s Almanac said:

"The cultivation of the earth ought ever to be esteemed as the most useful and necessary employment in life...
The food, and raiment... by which all other orders of men are supported... are derived from the earth.
Agriculture is of consequence, the art which supports, supplies, and maintains all the rest."

Two hundred years ago... Agriculture was everything. But as time marched on, more and more people moved further from “cultivating the earth.” They became citified...which in itself isn’t bad, but it brought with it a disconnect between the city people and farmers. And this is bad...Bad for many reasons.

Economics is one reason...as WIFE well knows.

Policies that harm food production and so forth....

More needed food producing acres are being squished, condensed and shoved in a one... acre corner..

And farmers are then ordered to produce enough food to feed the world off of it.

Don’t you agree that these things are what brings us here together today?

....Trying to re-connect our city friends with us?

Don’t you think our city friends need to be a part of helping us protect their food source?

Our food source....?

The world’s food source...?

It is my understanding, that WIFE was formed in 1976...

The same year my youngest child Lea, was born.

Now, 31 years later, she's a comedian in La La Land California.

And you’re a serious bunch....But only when it comes to business.

Cause when it comes to wit, humor, and hardy laughs- out - loud... Ladies...you outshine guys and gals who make a living...trying to make people laugh!

In the month Jesus was born, a group of Nebraska ladies gave birth to a tiny little organization called WIFE.
Women involved in Farm Economics.

You ladies... leaders in your communities....decided it was time to educate others on the importance of agricultural... and how it plays into a community's economy.

Then you got together and picked as your WIFE color RED?

Does that have anything to do with "Go Big Red?"You rolled up your sleeves and got to work on building a Grassroots Organization... open to anyone... involved or interested in agriculture.

I applaud...and thank.. each of you... for that!

Listening to my funny child Lea, tales of Hollywood celebrities.... has made me realize that with few exceptions....most of - "those celebrities" - have insecurities....sadness...get disgruntled and scared. just like the rest of us.

They just have loud showy ways to let the world know.

They get attention.

We... get ignored.

Frankly - I think we need to school off their "showiness."

Now you and I know....that's a tough call for us farmers.

...Farmers and ranchers..

We're not very good at showing off... being loud... grandstanding... or making big to-do's.

We pretty much take care of our own problems quietly.

Ladies, I have a confession.

I’d rather be the worker bee behind the scenes... than in front of people.

But - - - When Pam Pothoff asked me to talk about Good Neighbor.... sure...of course....I said YES!

After all, Good Neighbor's our baby.

Who doesn't like to brag on their kid?

Even when they're a bit rump high...Like Good Neighbor is presently.

But the truth is, I hung up the phone and froze.

Looking like this.....Jackie Gleason... Away we go!

Just like the freeze dried black bird I found when cleaning Chuck's log sod ranch house...A wrangler hangout that hadn't had a cleaning for over 10 years.

Yeh....I'm a noisy old broad...But only when one on one.

For when it comes to get’n up front of public... I...like most farmers... clam up!

And I sure as heck don't want paparazzi's shoot’n the funny directions my legs go... when getting on and off my Ford tractor.
How DO those Hollywood gals train their legs to look so glamorous...silky...shaved...while they slide in and out of limousines?

But ladies, we have a big O chore ahead of us...

And frankly...I believe we need to turn up the volume.....Shake our legs....(Even at the risk of scaring the dickens out of ourselves and making the dog and husband howl.) ...And shout out our message!

FARMING IS OF CONSEQUENCE!!

Don’t you think we need to be heard...To save farming?

Good Neighbor and WIFE share many of the same values and goals.
Including:

* We're both grassroots organizations open to anyone involved or interested in agriculture.
* We're non-partisans who embrace truth and facts.
* We're education driven.
* We're make up of those unique caring individuals called volunteers.

I love what you say about education:

"Members educate themselves to be factual when communicating on agricultural issues.

Members regard this responsibility with utmost integrity and professionalism."

The question becomes:

How do we communicate this?

How do we get our message our to the world?

What do we do to get heard?

How do we grow our memberships today... when our fuel and food dollars are stretched to the max?

Maybe this is where those loud Hollywood folks come in.

Can we learn something from them?

I grew up on a farm in Nebraska... Not far from where the Platte River ends its run.

On those burning hot... dripping wet... humid... Nebraska summer days... after finishing the morning milking chores and getting the corn rows hoed... Mom and Dad would treat us to a drive to the Platte, for a swim in the sand pit.

I loved our farm... But grew to hate... milking cows.

Bet some of you ladies have been in the milking parlor, when an electrical storm shut off the milkers and started the chain reaction of hoses flying, cows a kicking, manured tails slapping your face...in the dark. As you ladies know, working on a farm, chores and all...is no picnic...

But regardless...that’s when my deep respect for farmers took hold... and held.

Chuck, grew up on the farm where we live now. His ancestors developed irrigation on that bottom land, and helped take the Platte River from barely a stream, into a flowing, productive river.

But city folks don’t know about these things. How do I know this? I took a 40 year hiatus from farming ...and raised four city kids. Sure...They’re great kids... but they truly do not understand what it takes to grow food. All while I lived in the Denver, I never stopped caring about my farmer friends. Everywhere... I read about...water being diverted out of beneficial use...Costly mandates...Land taken out of agricultural production... and converted into prairie rat villages.

Most of all, I could clearly see a lot of property rights violations... Violations that run rampant. Owning a farm or ranch today... is a dangerous situation... For the owner becomes a target to anyone who wants it. Particularly now... when lying and stealing seem to be the way of going... for far too many...including our own federal government.

On a daily basis, Farmers and rancher have all kinds of ugly... unfair...manmade treatment thrown at them. Treatment much worse than anything Mother Nature tosses.

For unlike man, Mother Nature usually has the courtesy to warn...before she strikes.

Chuck and I agreed we needed to do something to help our friends.

In 1729, Giles Jacob said:
"First: No man is to deprive another of his property, or disturb him in enjoying it.
Secondly, every person is bound to take due care of his own property, so as the neglect thereof may not injure his neighbor.
Thirdly, all persons must so use their right, that they do not ... damage their neighbor's property."
I love Giles Jacob’s words. They’re plain, direct, and rich with common sense.
In discussions...I kept calling his message... Good Neighbor Law.
During Colorado's 2006 election cycle, not one candidate for public office would address critical agricultural concerns...including water use... conservation easements... animal I.D.... and land takings.
This bothered Chuck to such extent, that he came out of his short lived retirement from the Stock Show...and ran for governor as a write in....Just to get these matters out in a public forum.
Speaking out and listening to the trials and tribulations of ag producers, he found a tremendous need for them to know...and understand... that they have rights...and to exercise them.
It was through this collection of observations the idea of a Good Neighbor was born.
There seemed a real need to have a forum...open to the public.
One where everyone... farmers, ranchers, miners, loggers, fishermen... city folks could come...learn...and get educated about farming and other resource production.
And educate them on respecting and protecting private property rights.
By then, we’d come so accustomed to using Good Neighbor Law in our conversations...that is was a natural to simply call the evolving movement...Good Neighbor Law.

We believe Good Neighbor was meant to be...As it just continues to move forward...in spite of our slow down goof ups.
On all of our materials, you'll read...and this is in Latin...so I’m not sure how to pronounce... "Sic utere tuo ut non laedas”...which means: "So to use your own as not to injure another."

That’s what being a Good Neighbor is all about...Using your own...so as not to injure another.

I found the angels picture in an ancient book on business. A talented young man reworked it... We said YES! That’s it! ...
Don’t you love the comfort that seems to come from those little angels... looking over us...protecting us...in such a sweet, old-fashioned way. At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked, "What have you wrought?" He answered, "a Republic, if you can keep it."

Our Republic, as we've known it for near 221 years could end soon...if we don't get smart today. Where in the world, has a government combined with Jurisdictions foreign to our Constitution...to usurp our legislative process -and mandate law without our consent? Where in the world are loggers putting down their saws... ranchers thinning their herds... fishermen laying aside their nets... oil field workers leaving their rigs...and miners blocked from working? Where in the world have farmers stopped their plows...and bureaucrats sped up their lies? Where in the world have bribes ballooned... scruples shriveled... and manners froze in limbo? Where in the world are these things happening? The United States of America.

Over a period of about 40 years... groups including the Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Nature Conservancy... and other jurisdictions foreign to our Constitution... have raised millions - and made billions - off pulling the plug on farmers...and other resource providers.

Why? Gain of absolute control and money, through deals with foreign markets. Some, including Al Gore, fabricated a scam of global proportions called "global warming," to control you... your land... and your water. This is not an exaggeration.... It is fact... I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. You know how your locally generated food... fuel... and fiber are being blocked from production and reaching their destinations.

Presently we pay 9-10% of our disposable income for food. At $8.00 per gallon gas and $10.00 per gallon diesel, this could easily jump to 50% or more... Particularly if we're forced into the position of transporting food from far away countries.
So now we’re all paying exorbitant prices at the fuel pump... and we still have to buy food. Some families look at the few bucks they have left... and are faced with the dreadful choice of... who gets to eat tonight. A country unable to feed itself is a country ripe for takeover. Yet your government... with its mega-rich eco- partners, has made a choice as to who gets to dine.
And you weren't invited... Together, they make policies surrounding bogus claims of endangered species and global warming...while jeopardizing your food supply and safety. They know national security is tied to American Resource Production, yet they blaze on...

Good Neighbor is very blessed... in that more and more of the world's brightest legal... and scientific minds... are communicating with each other...to provide us with the facts and truth we need... to re-connect urban and rural and protect individual private property rights. We have individuals of such magnitude - like Dr. Willie Soon, Lawrence Kogan, Harriet Hageman, Jim Beers, Kimmi Lewis (Describe.)

As Chuck once said... “ While our opinions on wars, economic conditions, religion and politics differ dramatically, and some may care less who the Rockies recruit to play ball, we do agree and care deeply about one thing: FOOD. We all eat!”
A gentleman by the name of Elie Wiesel knows intimately... the danger a hungry country faces...It becomes ripe for takeover by a dictator!

A survivor of the Holocaust, he wrote his heart wrenching autobiography “Night.”

If you haven’t read it, please do. It’s a wake up call in real time.

When Elie received the Nobel Peace Prize for “Night”... he firmly cautioned the audience... “We must take sides.”

Elie Wiesel added, "...to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all..."

Here’s a powerful excerpt from "Night" - - - -

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.
Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live.
Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.
Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."
--------------------------------------------------------
Good Neighbor is passionate about being heard... For we agree with Mr. Wiesel...That...to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.... Ask your neighbor: “If you had to take a side... which side would you take?” Listen to their answer. They may need help figuring out that choice...and you...are just the person who can help. So now you know why...Chuck and I are passionate about building Good Neighbor. Yes. To be affective and support groups like WIFE...

What do you think about launching a nation wide campaign...something bold...something big...something loud.
Like coming out with an ad: “Good Neighbor will give any entity that can bring it 1,000,000 validated members, a check in the amount of $1,000,000!” We all know 25 bucks is a tough go for most of us today... but add it up. What’s 25 bucks times 1,000,000? Say it out LOUD. Yes! Twenty five MILLION dollars. Frankly, we believe that’s what it’s going to take... to bring in the BIG support... groups like WIFE deserve.
Goethe said... “There’s magic in boldness.”

Even though I don’t agree with much of what takes place in Hollywood...wouldn’t you agree... they do with boldness? And doesn’t that give them the magic... that gets them...the attention? So what do you think ladies? Shall we give it our best shot?
I am so proud of you ladies!... Women Involved in Farm Economics! ...You’re taking a side!
Shall we work together...take a side...return Ben’s Republic...protect our food supplies? You can become a member of Good Neighbor two easy ways.

One - We have memberships forms available right here.
Two - You can go online www.GoodNeighborLaw.com
Everything’s spelled out real easy. We even have PayPal.

Remember:

"The cultivation of the earth ought ever to be esteemed as the most useful and necessary employment in life. The food, and raiment, by which all other orders of men are supported, are derived from the earth. Agriculture is of consequence, the art which supports, supplies, and maintains all the rest."

Agriculture is of consequence.

Let’s tell the whole world...Agriculture is of consequence!

Don’t you agree there’s not one reason in the world, that should stop us from getting a bit Hollywoodish and make our voices heard?

Time to shed our shyness and shout out -

EVERYONE - COME ON BOARD AND BECOME A GOOD NEIGHBOR! Come on....Join me and say it! EVERYONE...COME ON BOARD AND BECOME A GOOD NEIGHBOR!

There. Now don’t you feel better? Let’s go ladies. You can do it. We can do it. We must do it!

Thank you.