The Patriots

by Allen Williams

The lure of municipal bonds as a ‘tax free’ investment can be very appealing, however, it’s the risks that significantly decrease its potential, risks that are never satisfactorily explained by the purveyors of these instruments, other than in ambiguous terms. The claim is that one would require an investment paying 8% to provide the same benefit as a tax free municipal bond, but is that true?

Congress ensures that no one truly attains tax-free status on any investment beyond themselves, despite many statements to the contrary, because of the Alternative Minimum Tax. Government simply adjusts the tax tables and reduces the social security benefit by an equivalent amount for tax-free interest received.

NuVeen offers tax free bond investments in the states of Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. The company offers four basic types of municipal bonds that claim tax-free status. They are ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘R.’ We will confine discussion here to ‘A’ and ‘B’ bonds. ‘B’ bonds perform nearly identical to ‘A’ bonds but provide slightly less yield because they lack liquidity. Once purchased, they require a holding period before they can be sold. ‘A’ municipal bonds provide a slightly better return than class ‘B’ municipal bonds because the management fee has thus far been less. But, you may expect to pay at least a 4.0% ‘commission’ up front for the privilege of purchasing ‘A’ tax free bonds. The company’s prospectus notes that certain ‘special’ charges may apply when buying $50,000 or more of ‘A’ bonds depending on who offers them and the terms of the fund.

One may expect to pay a monthly management fee anywhere from 0.53% to 0.75% on the gross assets invested to manage the funds, regardless of the type bond purchased or its performance throughout the time of the holding. There is a penalty for selling class ‘B’ bonds ‘too quickly’, thereby depriving the fund manager of his ‘hard earned’ management fee.

A first investment in ‘B’ tax-free municipal bonds was made during the late summer, i.e. Aug. of 1998 through NuVeen Investments or The Boston Group as they are now known. Although the funds were purchased in late August, it was Oct 8^th of that year before the first dividend check was received. It seems that the Capitol One true blue Kansas broker was able to collect the interest on my investment, as the funds were deposited with him for 7 weeks while Nuveen ‘processed’ the new account. When questioned on this, the broker indicated that it was typical because of the high demand for these investments. So, either the broker enhanced his earnings or both he and the company benefited during this time. It’s tantamount to buying a $300,000 house with 20% down and closing several months later. The realtor pockets the interest on your $60,ooo down payment with no credit to you during the wait. And, that’s in addition to the selling commission; it’s one reason why realtors favor substantial down payments.

NuVeen seems to function loosely and haphazardly at best for an investment firm. Reports on the bond funds investment performance tended to skip data such as the dividend rate during the period of interest. Early on, I had been required to garner a signature medallion notarization to buy or sell my bond shares over the telephone, which was done on March 4^th, 2005 in anticipation of divesting some of my holdings. However, on March 23^rd I received a notice from the company that my Telephone privileges had been cancelled.

NuVeen was informed that no one had authority beyond me to cancel since I was the sole owner of the account and had a valid notarization. However, I had to Fax a second copy of the original notarized form (and threaten them) in addition to the one I had already mailed. It was Sept. 22, 2005 before I finally got the company to re-instate the telephone privileges that I had requested in my original March 4^th letter. The broker had apparently acted to thwart my ability to sell without utilizing his services.

The holding period for converting Kansas Class ‘B’ to Class ‘A’ tax-free municipal bonds was changed from 6 to 5 years and then back to 6 years again on little more than company whimsy. Class ‘B’ bond rollovers are automatic after 6 years, whether you want them to or not and whether or not it is favorable to you, the holder. In the former case, it prevented me from divesting some of my holdings for more lucrative financial opportunities because an earlier buyout of Nuveen put me right back in the CDSC band that I was just exiting under the original terms. So, instead of being able to sell at the end of the 6^th year from the original five-year hold, I had to wait until the 7^th year before I could divest.

The ‘tax free’ fund was trading at $10.63 per share in Sept of 1998. Despite some brief upswings, the fund had fallen to $10.54 by the following year and at the end of the 6 year holding period, just before the Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac bankruptcies, had settled in around $10.15 per share. So, what does this translate to in terms of dollars and cents? Well, first let’s calculate the cost of bond conversion. What? You thought they just transferred the shares like you deposit money? Not so, here’s how conversion works on a typical $10,000 class ‘B’ investment purchased at $10.63 per share and now worth $10.44 per share:

940.734 class ‘B’ shares x $10.44/share = $9821.26

Class ‘A’ bonds typically command a higher per share price than ‘B’ bonds largely due to their liquidity. So, you will likely lose shares as well as portfolio value in any bond transitions since there is no set time prior to Dec. 31^st of the last holding year to require the company to effect conversion. It likely won’t be the next business day from the anniversary of purchase as is the case with a bank investment. The transaction is done automatically by the company if the shares have not been divested and you don’t get any options for the time of conversion. So now, class ‘A’ shares at $10.53/share are purchased by the Fund:

$9821.26/10.53 = 932.693 of class ‘A’ shares

In this case, 8.04 shares per $10,000 of investment were lost in the roll over. So, the holder has lost both capital and shares as a result of the ‘B’ to ‘A’ municipal bond conversion. Now, sum the losses for a $100,000 to $250,000 investment in bonds and you’re looking at some serious capital gain losses.

Well just sell off the ‘B’ bonds before they convert and there’s no problem, right? Well that’s not-quite true. A purchaser pays no up front fee to buy class ‘B’ bonds but pays a Contingent Deferred Sales Charge, i.e. CDSC, if they are sold anytime before 6 years and you may expect this requirement to change occasionally in favor of the bond issuer especially after you own the investment.

The CDSC charge is graduated based on the number of years the bond is held as follows: 5% the first year, 4% the second and 3^rd years, 3% the 4^th year, 2% during the 5^th and 1% during the 6^th. So, class ‘B’ bonds must be held 7 years before there is no CDSC sales charge to the holder, assuming the company doesn’t decide to ‘up’ the requirement. Yes, issuers of municipal bonds get to ‘change the rules ‘ after you own the investment due to buyouts and mergers just like banks, except banks usually continue to honor any preexisting CD terms from the financial institution bought. However, investment concerns like NuVeen, dealing in municipal bonds, do not. There is also the problem of declining share worth because bond values fluctuate like stock market shares, so losing $0.50 cents per share on the sellout is of greater concern than paying small CDSC commissions. There is an optimum time to sell.

NuVeen has a history of buyouts since my original 1998 purchase, the most recent is their acquisition by the Boston Group. Buyouts often present a convenient terminus for changing the rules on existing investments. This company has altered dividend quantities, dividend pay out times, the hold time for divesting bonds as well as the holding period for conversion to Class ‘A’ bonds.

Dividends from the fund were initially due on the 4^th of the month but the most recent buyout settled on the 9^th and often was the 11^th before they were actually distributed. It should be noted that there is no penalty to the company, no matter when they make the distribution. The monthly holding time requirement for selling bonds shifted to the 29^th of the month, i.e. if the bonds are sold prior to this date, the holder automatically forfeits the dividend for that month. So, if I held the investment until the 28^th of the month and then sold, I would lose my dividend because its not prorated and the sale was prior to the 29^th. You won’t read this on their website at http://www.Nuveen.com, change notification comes by letter and it can come at anytime.

In November of 2007, I received just such a letter: "We would like to take this opportunity to inform you of a change that will take place regarding your NuVeen investments bond mutual fund dividends. Starting in December of 2007, you can expect to receive your monthly dividend check approximately four days later than you receive that check currently. This change is a result of moving the record date from on or about the 9t^h of each month to three business days prior to the payable date. Moving the record date will allow a larger window during which investments received will be eligible to earn the dividend payable the following month." - Nuveen Investments.

This is pure nonsense. The shift has been made to facilitate the brokerage, first in collection of the monthly management fee and secondly, to accommodate delayed interest payments from the participating states, it gives no benefit whatsoever to the bondholder. The Nuveen letter also fails to note a corresponding shift in the monthly holding time, prior to divesting, as a result of the dividend change.

Tax-free municipal bonds work along the same lines as a ‘slush fund.’ They’re intended to be ready resources for states that can’t manage money. Interestingly enough, both Kansas and Michigan fall into that category with high tax economies and poor growth. States with poor economic policies seek to increase taxes to pay the interest on what they borrow through the sale of bonds. Impoverishment of the citizenry and cheating investors is of no concern to those who hold political office, staying elected is the only objective. Investment firms like NuVeen are ready to capitalize on state's poor fiscal management.

Income tax table adjustments and negotiating lower bond rates are means by which states can ameliorate interest burden and hedge against future operating costs at the expense of taxpayers.

Unlike fixed investments, bond interest rates fluctuate with economic conditions. Bond rates generally fall when the economy is good and increase when it is bad because states are more likely to vorrow during poor economic times. However, Kansas NuVeen municipal bonds ‘went south’ right from the start and were poor performers during the time of my holdings, regardless of the condition of the economy, demonstrating a steady downward trend over a ten-year period.

Figure: Ten Year trend of Bond prices and Dividends for NuVeen Investments

My dividends began at 0.0370 per share initially, dropping to 0.0345 and then to 0.028 per share in April of 2004, a 24% drop in dividend rates in just 6 years. The rate remained at 0.028 through December of 2006. Shares were trading for $10.28 during this same period.

The supposed strength of tax free muni-bonds is the taxes you don’t pay. The NuVeen motto claims, "it’s not what you earn, its what you keep." So how much did I keep due to NuVeen bond fund performance? Well, in 1999 the tax benefit was $152 dollars per 1000 of capital allocated to bonds but by 2006 the savings were down to $101 dollars per 1000. This is a 35.6% drop in tax benefits for capital invested in bonds in addition to the 24% drop in dividend rates during the same period.

It’s an obvious conclusion at this point that the fund is managed for the benefit of the states that sell the bonds.

{This informative article was first published on LewRockwell.com. It has been re-published here by special permission of Dr. Miller. It's a long read but the health incites on iodine usage provided by Dr. Miller make it well worthwhile, particularly in the area of cancer prevention. We also wish to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Cleveland Chiropractic Institute of Overland Park, Kansas for their assistance in locating these materials on important public health issues. - Ed.}

by Donald W. Miller, Jr., M.D.

There is growing evidence that Americans would have better health and a lower incidence of cancer and fibrocystic disease of the breast if they consumed more iodine. A decrease in iodine intake coupled with an increased consumption of competing halogens, fluoride and bromide, has created an epidemic of iodine deficiency in America.

People in the U.S. consume an average 240 micrograms (μg) of iodine a day. In contrast, people in Japan consume more than 12 milligrams (mg) of iodine a day (12,000 μg), a 50-fold greater amount. They eat seaweed, which include brown algae (kelp), red algae (nori sheets, with sushi), and green algae (chlorella). Compared to terrestrial plants, which contain only trace amounts of iodine (0.001 mg/gm), these marine plants have high concentrations of this nutrient (0.5-8.0 mg/gm).

Photo: Kelp off the coast of Hokkaido

When studied in 1964 Japanese seaweed consumption was found to be 4.5 grams (gm) a day and that eaten had a measured iodine concentration of 3.1 mg/gm of seaweed (= 13.8 mg of iodine). According to public health officials, mainland Japanese now consume 14.5 gm of seaweed a day (= 45 mg of iodine, if its iodine content, not measured, remains unchanged). Researchers have determined that residents on the coast of Hokkaido eat a quantity of seaweed sufficient to provide a daily iodine intake of 200 mg a day. Saltwater fish and shellfish contain iodine, but one would have to eat 15-25 pounds of fish to get 12 mg of iodine.

Health comparisons between the two countries are disturbing. The incidence of breast cancer in the U.S. is the highest in the world, and in Japan, until recently, the lowest. Japanese women who emigrate from Japan or adopt a Western style diet have a higher rate of breast cancer compared with those that consume seaweed. Life expectancy in the U.S. is 77.85 years, 48^th in 226 countries surveyed. It is 81.25 years in Japan, the highest of all industrialized countries and only slightly behind the five leaders—Andorra, Macau, San Marino, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The infant mortality rate in Japan is the lowest in the world, 3.5 deaths under age one per 1,000 live births, half the infant mortality rate in the United States.

Today 1 in 7 American women (almost 15 percent) will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. Thirty years ago, when iodine consumption was twice as high as it is now (480 μg a day) 1 in 20 women developed breast cancer. Iodine was used as a dough conditioner in making bread, and each slice of bread contained 0.14 mg of iodine. In 1980, bread makers started using bromide as a conditioner instead, which competes with iodine for absorption into the thyroid gland and other tissues in the body. Iodine was also more widely used in the dairy industry 30 years ago than it is now.

Now iodized table salt is the chief source of iodine in a Western diet. But 45 percent of American households buy salt without iodine, which grocery stores also sell. And over the last three decades people who do use iodized table salt have decreased their consumption of it by 65 percent. Furthermore, the much higher concentrations of chloride in salt (NaCl) inhibits absorption of its sister halogen iodine (the intestines absorb only 10 percent of the iodine present in iodized table salt). As a result, 15 percent of the U.S. adult female population suffers from moderate to severe iodine deficiency, which health authorities define as a urinary iodine concentration less than 50 μg /L. Women with goiters (a visible, noncancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland) owing to iodine deficiency have been found to have a three times greater incidence of breast cancer. A high intake of iodine is associated with a low incidence breast cancer, and a low intake with a high incidence of breast cancer.

Animal studies show that iodine prevents breast cancer, arguing for a causal association in these epidemiological findings. The carcinogens nitrosmethylurea and DMBA cause breast cancer in more than 70 percent of female rats. Those given iodine, especially in its molecular form as I₂, have a statistically significant decrease in incidence of cancer. Other evidence that adds biologic plausibility to the hypothesis that iodine prevents breast cancer includes the finding that the ductal cells in the breast, the ones most likely to become cancerous, are equipped with an iodine pump (the sodium iodine symporter, the same one that the thyroid gland has) to soak up this element.

Similar findings apply to fibrocystic disease of the breast. The incidence of fibrocystic breast disease in American women was 3 percent in the 1920s. Today, 90 percent of women have this disorder, manifested by epithelial hyperplasia, apocrine gland metaplasia, fluid-filled cysts, and fibrosis. Six million American women with fibrocystic disease have moderate to severe breast pain and tenderness that lasts more than 6 days during the menstrual cycle.

In animal studies, female rats fed an iodine-free diet develop fibrocystic changes in their breasts, and iodine in its elemental form (I₂) cures it.

Russian researchers first showed, in 1966, that iodine effectively relieves signs and symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease. Vishniakova and Murav’eva treated 167 women suffering from fibrocystic disease with 50 mg KI during the intermenstrual period and obtained a beneficial healing effect in 71 percent (it is reference 49 here).

Then Ghent and coworkers, in a study published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery in 1993, also found that iodine relieves signs and symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease in 70 percent of patients. Their report is a composite of three clinical studies, two case series done in Canada in 696 women treated with various types of iodine, and one in Seattle. The Seattle study, done at the Virginia Mason Clinic, is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 56 women designed to compare 3-5 mg of elemental iodine (I₂) to a placebo (an aqueous mixture of brown vegetable dye with quinine).

Investigators followed the women for six months and tracked subjective and objective changes in their fibrocystic disease.

A statistical analysis of the Seattle study (enlarged to include 92 women) was done, which shows that iodine has a highly statistically significant beneficial effect on fibrocystic disease (P < 0.001). Iodine reduced breast tenderness, nodularity, fibrosis, turgidity, and number of macroscysts, the five parameters in a total breast examination score that a physician blinded to what treatment the woman was taking, iodine or placebo, measured. This 36-page report, now available online, was submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1995 seeking its approval to carry out a larger randomized controlled clinical trial on iodine for treating fibrocystic breast disease. It declined to approve the study, telling its lead investigator, Dr. Donald Low, "iodine is a natural substance, not a drug." But the FDA has now decided to approve a similar trial sponsored by Symbollon Pharmaceuticals. This company is enrolling 175 women in a phase III trial, registered on clinicaltrials.gov. (Any women with fibrocystic disease reading this who might be interested in participating in this study should call its sponsor, Jack Kessler, Ph.D., at 508-620-7676, Ext. 201.)

Most physicians and surgeons view iodine from a narrow perspective. It is an antiseptic that disinfects drinking water and prevents surgical wound infections, and the thyroid gland needs it to make thyroid hormones—and that’s it. The thyroid gland needs iodine to synthesize thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), hormones that regulate metabolism and steer growth and development. The thyroid needs only a trace amount of iodine, 70 μg a day, to produce the requisite amount of T4 and T3. For that reason thyroidologists say that iodine is best taken just in microgram amounts. They consider consuming more than 1 to 2 mg of iodine a day to be excessive and potentially harmful.

Expert opinion on iodine is now the purview of thyroidologists. Mainstream physicians and surgeons accept their thyroid-only view of iodine and either ignore or discount studies that show iodine in larger amounts provides extrathyroidal benefits, particularly for women’s breasts. Thus a leading textbook on breast disease, Bland and Copeland’s The Breast: Comprehensive Management of Benign and Malignant Disorders (2003), fails to mention iodine anywhere in its 1,766 pages.

Iodine has an important and little understood history. Studying kelp researchers have shown how iodine does this and found that kelp will absorb increased amounts of iodine when placed under oxidative stress. Other rersearches have shown that iodine increases the antioxidant status of human serum similar to that of vitamin C.

Iodine also induces apoptosis, programmed cell death. This process is essential to growth and development (fingers form in the fetus by apoptosis of the tissue between them) and for destroying cells that represent a threat to the integrity of the organism, like cancer cells and cells infected with viruses. Human lung cancer cells with genes spliced into them that enhance iodine uptake and utilization undergo apoptosis and shrink when given iodine, both when grown in vitro outside the body and implanted in mice. Its anti-cancer function may well prove to be iodine’s most important extrathyroidal benefit.

Iodine has other extrathyroidal functions that require more study. It removes toxic chemicals—fluoride, bromide, lead, aluminum, mercury—and biological toxins, suppresses auto-immunity, strengthens the T-cell adaptive immune system, and protects against abnormal growth of bacteria in the stomach.

In addition to the thyroid and mammary glands, other tissues possess an iodine pump (the sodium-iodine symporter). Stomach mucosa, the salivary glands, and lactating mammary glands can concentrate iodine almost to the same degree as the thyroid gland (40-fold greater than its concentration in blood). Other tissues that have this pump include the ovaries; thymus gland, seat of the adaptive immune system; skin; choroid plexus in the brain, which makes cerebrospinal fluid; and joints, arteries and bone.

Today’s medical establishment is wary of iodine (as they are of most naturally occurring, nonpatentable, nonpharmaceutical agents). Thyroidologists cite the Wolff-Chaikoff effect and warn that TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) blood levels can rise with an iodine intake of a milligram or more. The Wolff-Chaikoff effect, a temporary inhibition of thyroid hormone synthesis that supposedly occurs with increased iodine intake, is of no clinical significance. And an elevated TSH, when it occurs, is "subclinical." This means that no signs or symptoms of hypothyroidism accompany its rise. Some people taking milligram doses of iodine, usually more than 50 mg a day, develop mild swelling of the thyroid gland without symptoms. The vast majority of people, 98 to 99 percent, can take iodine in doses ranging from 10 to 200 mg a day without any clinically adverse affects on thyroid function. The prevalence of thyroid diseases in the 127 million people in Japan who consume iodine is not much different than that in the U.S.

Everyone agrees that a lack of iodine in the diet causes a spectrum of disorders that includes, in increasing order of severity, goiter and hypothyroidism, mental retardation, and cretinism (severe mental retardation accompanied by physical deformities). Health authorities in the U.S. and Europe have agreed upon a Reference Daily Intake (RDI), formerly called the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), for iodine designed to prevent these disorders, which the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates afflicts 30 percent of the world’s population. The RDI for iodine, first proposed in 1980, is 100-150 µg/day. Organizations advocating this amount include the American Medical Association, National Institutes of Health’s National Research Council, Institute of Medicine, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, WHO Expert Committee, and the European Union International Programme on Chemical Safety. These health authorities consider an RDI of 100-150 µg/day of iodine sufficient to meet the requirements of nearly all (97-98%) healthy individuals.

This consensus on iodine intake flies in the face of evidence justifying a higher amount. This evidence includes animal studies, in vitro studies on human cancer cell lines, clinical trials of iodine for fibrocystic breast disease, and epidemiological data. An intake of 150 µg/day of iodine will prevent goiters and the other recognized iodine deficiency disorders, but not breast disease. Prevention of breast disease requires higher doses of iodine. Indeed, a reasonable hypothesis is that, like goiters and cretinism, fibrocystic disease of the breast and breast cancer are iodine deficiency disorders (and uterine fibroids as well).

What Albert Guérard writes about new truths applies especially to iodine: "When you seek a new path to truth, you must expect to find it blocked by expert opinion." The reigning truth on iodine is that the thyroid gland is the only organ in the body that requires this micronutrient, and a daily intake of iodine considerably more than what the thyroid gland needs is potentially harmful. The new truth is that the rest of the body also needs iodine, in milligram, not microgram amounts.

These are the four most common formulations of inorganic (nonradioactive) iodine, as iodide (I^-) with or without molecular iodine (I₂): Potassium iodide (KI) tablets, in doses ranging from 0.23 to 130 mg; super saturated potassium iodide (SSKI), 19-50 mg of iodide per drop; Lugol's solution, 6.3 mg of molecular iodine/iodide per drop; and Iodoral, each tablet containing 12.5 mg iodine/iodide. Both Lugol’s solution and Ioderal are one-third molecular iodine (5%) and two thirds potassium iodide (10%). Studies done to date indicate that the best iodine supplement is one that includes molecular iodine (I₂), which breast tissue prefers.

Iodine was used for a wide variety of ailments after its discovery in 1811 up until the mid-1900s, when thyroidologists warned that "excess" amounts of iodine might adversely affect thyroid function. It is effective in gram amounts for treating various dermatologic conditions, chronic lung disease, fungal infestations, tertiary syphilis, and even arteriosclerosis. The Nobel laureate Dr. Albert Szent Györgi (1893-1986), the physician who discovered vitamin C, writes: "When I was a medical student, iodine in the form of KI was the universal medicine. Nobody knew what it did, but it did something and did something good. We students used to sum up the situation in this little rhyme: If ye don’t know where, what, and why Prescribe ye then K and I"

The standard dose of potassium iodide given was 1 gram, which contains 770 mg of iodine.

Regarding KI and other iodine salts (like sodium iodide), the venerated 11^th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1911, states, "Their pharmacological action is as obscure as their effects in certain diseased conditions are consistently brilliant. Our ignorance of their mode of action is cloaked by the term deobstruent, which implies that they possess the power of driving out impurities from the blood and tissues. Most notably is this the case with the poisonous products of syphilis. In its tertiary stage—and also earlier—this disease yields in the most rapid and unmistakable fashion to iodides, so much so that the administration of these salts is at present the best means of determining whether, for instance, a cranial tumor be syphilitic or not."

This 19^th and early 20^th century medicine continues to be used in gram amounts in the 21^st century by dermatologists. They treat inflammatory dermatoses, like nodular vasculitis and pyoderma gangrenosum (shown here), with SSKI, beginning with an iodine dose of 900 mg a day, followed by weekly increases up to 6 grams a day as tolerated. Fungal eruptions, like sporotrichosis, are treated initially in gram amount with great success. These lesions can disappear within two weeks after treatment with gram doses of iodine.

For many years physicians used potassium iodide in doses starting at 1.5 to 3 gm and up to more than 10 grams a day, on and off, to treat bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with good results and surprisingly few side effects.

There is a case report in the medical literature of a 54 year old man who, thinking it was iced tea, drank a "home preparation" of SSKI in water that his aunt kept in the refrigerator for her rheumatism. Over a short time he consumed 600 ml of this solution, which contained 15 gm of iodide, an amount 100,000 times more than its RDI. He developed swelling of the face, neck, and mouth, had transient cardiac arrhythmias and made an uneventful recovery.

Dr. Guy Abraham, a former professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA, mounted what he calls "The Iodine Project" in 1997 after he read the Ghent paper on iodine for fibrocystic disease. He had his company, Optimox Corp., make Iodoral, the tablet form of Lugol’s solution, and he engaged two family practice physicians, Dr. Jorge Flechas (in 2000) and Dr. David Brownstein (in 2003) to carry out clinical studies with it.

The project’s hypothesis is that maintaining whole body sufficiency of iodine requires 12.5 mg a day, an amount similar to what the Japanese consume. The conventional view is that the body contains 25-50 mg of iodine, of which 70-80 percent resides in the thyroid gland. Dr. Abraham concluded that whole body sufficiency exists when a person excretes 90 percent of the iodine ingested. He devised an iodine loading test where one takes 50 mg and measures the amount excreted in the urine over the next 24 hours. He found that the vast majority of people retain a substantial amount of the 50 mg dose. Many require 50 mg a day for several months before they will excrete 90 percent of it. His studies indicate that, given a sufficient amount, the body will retain much more iodine than originally thought, 1,500 mg, with only 3 percent of that amount held in the thyroid gland.

More than 4,000 patients in this project take iodine in daily doses ranging from 12.5 to 50 mg, and in those with diabetes, up to 100 mg a day. These investigators have found that iodine does indeed reverse fibrocystic disease; their diabetic patients require less insulin; hypothyroid patients, less thyroid medication; symptoms of fibromyalgia resolve, and patients with migraine headaches stop having them. To paraphrase Dr. Szent- Györgi, these investigators aren’t sure how iodine does it, but it does something good.

Thyroid function remains unchanged in 99 percent of patients. Untoward effects of iodine, allergies, swelling of the salivary glands and thyroid, and iodism, occur rarely, in less than 1 percent. Iodine removes the toxic halogens fluoride and bromide from the body. Iodism, an unpleasant brassy taste, runny nose, and acne-like skin lesions, is caused by the bromide that iodine extracts from the tissues. Symptoms subside on a lesser dose of iodine.

As theses physicians point out, consuming iodine in milligram doses should, of course, be coupled with a complete nutritional program that includes adequate amounts of selenium, magnesium, and Omega 3 fatty acids. Done this way, an iodine intake 100 times the reference daily intake is "the simplest, safest, most effective and least expensive way to help solve the health care crisis crippling our nation," as the leader of The Iodine Project, Dr. Abraham, puts it.

People who take iodine in these amounts report that they have a greater sense of well-being, increased energy, and a lifting of brain fog. They feel warmer in cold environments, need somewhat less sleep, have more regular bowel movements, and improved skin complexion. These purported health benefits need to be studied more thoroughly, as do those with regard to fibrocystic breast disease and cancer.

Meanwhile, perhaps we should emulate the Japanese and substantially increase our iodine intake, if not with seaweed, then with two drops of Lugol’s Solution (or one Iodoral tablet) a day.

Recommended Reading:

Miller DW. Iodine in Health and Civil Defense. Presented at the 24^th Annual Meeting of Doctors for Disaster, can be found here.

Abraham GE. The safe and effective implementation of orthoiodosupplementation in medical practice. The Original Internist 2004;11:17-36 abailable here. A good introduction to The Iodine Project. His other research studies are online here. .

Flechas, JD. Orthoiodosupplementation in a primary care practice. The Original Internist 2005;12(2):89-96. Available online here

Brownstein D. Clinical experience with inorganic, non-radioactive iodine/iodide. The Original Internist 2005;12(3):105-108. Available online here.

Derry D. Breast cancer and Iodine: How to prevent and how to survive Breast cancer. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing; 2002.

Brownstein D., Iodine: why you need it and why you can't live without it. West Bloomfield, Michigan: Medical Alternatives Press; 2004.

Low DE, Ghent WR, Hill LD. Diatomic iodine treatment for fibrocystic disease: special report of efficacy and safety results. [Submitted to the FDA] 1995:1-38. Available online here.

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Donald Miller (sendhimmail) is a cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is a member of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness and writes articles on a variety of subjects for LewRockwell.com. His web site is www.donaldmiller.com

"God's Word is an anvil that has worn out many hammers."

You will be surprised to see proof of Pharaoh's chariots and bones of horses and men found in the Red Sea. Evidence of the crossing of the Red Sea.

Photo: Wheel Artifact

Confirmation of the actual Exodus route has come from divers finding coral-encrusted bones and chariot remains in the Gulf of Aqaba.

ONE of the most dramatic records of Divine intervention in history is the account of the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt.

Photo: Exodus Route

The subsequent drowning of the entire Egyptian army in the Red Sea was not an insignificant event, and confirmation of this event is compelling evidence that the Biblical narrative is a truly authentic account.

Over the years, many divers have searched the Gulf of Suez in vain for artifacts to verify the Biblical account. But, carefully following the Biblical and historical records of the Exodus brings you to Nuweiba, a large beach in the Gulf of Aqaba, as Ron Wyatt discovered in 1978.

When Ron Wyatt first visited Nuweiba in 1978, he found a Phoenician style column lying in the water. Unfortunately the inscriptions had been eroded away, hence the column's importance was not understood until 1984 when a second granite column was found on the Saudi coastline opposite, identical to the first, except on this one the inscription was still intact!

Photo: Actual Crossing

In Phoenician letters (Archaic Hebrew), it contained the words: Mizraim (Egypt ); Solomon; Edom ; death; Pharaoh; Moses; and Yahweh, indicating that King Solomon had set up these columns as a memorial to the miracle of the crossing of the sea.

Saudi Arabia does not admit tourists, and perhaps fearing unauthorized visitors, the Saudi Authorities have since removed this column, and replaced it with a flag marker where it once stood.

The Bible writers frequently refer to the miracle of the Red Sea crossing, for it was an event which finds no equal in history.

The Hebrew prophets describe the sea at the crossing site as '...the waters of the great deep...the depths of the sea...' Isaiah 51:10 How deep is the water?

Photo: The amazing land bridge

The Gulf of Aqabais is very deep, in places over a mile (1,600m) deep. Even with the sea dried up, walking across would be difficult due to the steep grade down the sides. But, there is one spot where if the water were removed it would be an easy descent for people and animals.

Photo: Above NUWEIBA BEACH

The spot where the crossing began. This is the line between Nuweiba and the opposite shore in Saudi Arabia. The distance between Nuweiba and where artifacts have been found on Saudi coast is about 18km (11 miles).

Depth-sounding expeditions have revealed a smooth, gentle slope descending from Nuweiba out into the Gulf. This shows up almost like a pathway on depth-recording equipment, confirming it's Biblical description, '...a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters.' (Isaiah 43:16) Knowing the exact spot to which the Bible writers were referring, what is the depth there?

Along this line, the deepest point is about 800m (2,600 feet). No wonder that inspired writers of the Bible described it as the mighty waters. And no wonder that not a single Egyptian survived when the water collapsed in upon them.

Repeated dives in depths ranging from 60 to 200 feet deep (18m to 60m), over a stretch of almost 2.5 km, has shown that the chariot parts are scattered across the sea bed. Artifacts found include wheels, chariot bodies, as well as human and horse bones. Divers have located fossils on the Saudi coastline opposite Nuweiba as well.

Photo: Human & Horse Bones

Mineralized bone, one of many found at the crossing site.

This one tested by the Department of Osteology at Stockholm University, was found to be a human femur, from the right leg of a 165-170cm tall man. It is essentially 'fossilized, ' i.e., replaced by minerals and coral, hence cannot be dated by radiocarbon methods, although this specimen was obviously from antiquity. Mute witness to the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Hebrews 3,500 years ago.

Photo: One of Four wheels found

A chariot wheel and axle covered with coral and up-ended. Found with a metal detector. Coral-encrusted chariot wheel, filmed off the Saudi coastline, matches chariot wheels found in Tutankhamen's tomb.

Exodus 14:25 "And took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily..."

Since 1987, Ron Wyatt found three four-spoke gilded chariot wheels. Coral does not grow on gold hence the shape has remained very distinct, although the wood inside the gold veneer has disintegrated making them too fragile to move.

The hope for future expeditions is to explore the deeper waters with remote cameras or mini-subs.

by Denis Boyles

Locking the courthouse door may seem like a lousy way to insure fair justice for all, but holding secret hearings on one of the state's most controversial issues is exactly what the Kansas Supreme Court is doing.

Most of us don't trust courts that operate in the dark. Americans, observed Justice Hugo Black 60 years ago, have a "historic distrust of secret proceedings, their inherent dangers to freedom, and the universal requirement of our federal and state governments that criminal trials be public."

Here's a short list of places where secret court proceedings are not unknown:

• North Korea
• Iran
• China
  
• Cuba
• Syria
• Zimbabwe
• Kansas

All those secretive Syrians and enigmatic North Koreans probably would beg to differ, but, to paraphrase everybody's favorite Sunflower cliché, "what's up with Kansas?" How did it hop onto that short list of kangaroo judiciaries?

Back in June 2007, Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri filed charges in the Kansas Supreme Court against former Attorney General and Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline, all part of the ongoing battle by abortion clinics to prevent government enforcement of state laws regarding late-term abortions and child molestation.

Peter Brownlie, Planned Parenthood's CEO, confirmed the filing and that's the last we've heard, because Planned Parenthood requested a secret hearing, and the Kansas Supreme Court gave them one. That meant, according to David Klepper, blogging at the Kansas City Star, "the public couldn't see what the court case involved, couldn't read the filings, couldn't sit in on what surely must have been a fascinating hearing before the Supreme Court."

It's risky business when courts invite ridicule, but at the Kansas Supreme Court, the invitation's a standing one. Because of the eccentricities of state law, none of the supreme court's justices have ever been vetted by elected representatives. As many critics, including KU law professor Stephen J. Ware, have complained, "..there's no confirmation process at all" the governor appoints them and there they sit, sometimes dozing through cases that often seem to have already been decided by some backroom handshake.

Because Kansas has never had a conservative governor, there's not even much political diversity on the court. All the members are in general agreement on the way things ought to be in Kansas in fact, in 2005, they even started passing legislation of their own, deciding to the penny how much the state should spend on educating kids. Most of them have, at one time or other, made clear their impatience with wing-nuts and others who disagree with them.

You'd think conservatives would be pleased with a court that has moved so far back in time that its hearings resemble the Star Chamber trials that ended the reign and the life of Britain's Charles the First back in the 1600s.

But no. this afternoon, Rep. Lance Kinzer's House Judiciary Committee will hold hearings "public's invited, of course"on HB 2825, a crowbar bill that would pry open courtroom doors across the state by limiting the ability of judges to conduct secret trials and hearings or have their pleadings sealed.

The Planned Parenthood v Kline case triggered Kinzer's concern, but, as he wrote in an email, the bill is "more of an open [government] issue than a pro-life issue." In a statement released yesterday, Kinzer wrote, "The public has a fundamental interest in all cases that are submitted to a court for resolution. It is an unfortunate reality today that many of the most important public policy issues facing our State are being decided by courts. As such it is more important than ever that our judicial process is open and accessible."

An open court presided over by justices who have been through a public confirmation process? There's a wild and crazy idea, one that's never been tried in Teheran or in Topeka.

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Denis Boyles, comments on the media and the Midwest for National Review Online, also writes the Monday, Monday column for Kansas Liberty. He's the author of Superior, Nebraska, an oddly-titled book mostly about Kansas.