Saturday, July 08, 2006
The following story caught my eye the other day. I’ve quoted the essence of it, leaving out the descriptions of the Amish community and beliefs. Those who know of these rural people are aware that they traditionally don’t use electricity or drive cars, dress plainly, speak German, and refer to outsiders as “English.”
>>“MOUNT HOPE, Ohio - Arlie Stutzman was busted in a rare sting when an undercover agent bought raw milk from the Amish dairy farmer in an unlabeled container.
>>“Last September, a man came to Stutzman's weathered, two-story farmhouse, located in a pastoral region in northeast Ohio that has the world's largest Amish settlement. The man asked for milk.
>>“Stutzman was leery, but agreed to fill up the man's plastic container from a 250-gallon stainless steel tank in the milkhouse. After the creamy white, unpasteurized milk flowed into the container, the man, an undercover agent from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, gave Stutzman two dollars and left.
>>"State officials said they sent the agent to his farm because they received a tip from an anonymous neighbor about raw milk sales.
>>"’You can't just give milk away to someone other then [sic] yourself. It's a violation of the law,’ said LeeAnne Mizer, spokeswoman for the department.
>>“Regulators want Judge Thomas D. White to formally order Stutzman to comply with dairy laws. Stutzman said he is fighting the request on principle, saying he should be able to share his milk.
>>“He also enjoys sharing his product with others who would otherwise not have access to it. ‘We know people are deprived of this real food,’ he said.”
The zealous agents from the Ohio Department of Agriculture are doing a really great job of protecting consumers from Mr Stutzman. If he’s engaging in such heinous criminal acts as giving away unpasteurized milk to people who ask for it, what else might he be doing? Employing illegal immigrant farm labor from Germany? Dealing in rotten apples? Driving cars at night? Selling fake Amish furniture tax-free? The agents may have just exposed the tip of a much wider conspiracy!
And Ms Mizer’s quoted statement gives fair legal warning to all breast-feeding mothers in Ohio!
With all the other problems Ohioans must contend with, Amish farmers giving away unpasteurized milk to people who approach them and ask for it can’t possibly be near the top of their concerns. Had I been in charge, I would have fired the agent and his boss, and replaced Ms Mizer as a spokesperson. But that’s me, and I don’t live in Ohio.
>>“MOUNT HOPE, Ohio - Arlie Stutzman was busted in a rare sting when an undercover agent bought raw milk from the Amish dairy farmer in an unlabeled container.
>>“Last September, a man came to Stutzman's weathered, two-story farmhouse, located in a pastoral region in northeast Ohio that has the world's largest Amish settlement. The man asked for milk.
>>“Stutzman was leery, but agreed to fill up the man's plastic container from a 250-gallon stainless steel tank in the milkhouse. After the creamy white, unpasteurized milk flowed into the container, the man, an undercover agent from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, gave Stutzman two dollars and left.
>>"State officials said they sent the agent to his farm because they received a tip from an anonymous neighbor about raw milk sales.
>>"’You can't just give milk away to someone other then [sic] yourself. It's a violation of the law,’ said LeeAnne Mizer, spokeswoman for the department.
>>“Regulators want Judge Thomas D. White to formally order Stutzman to comply with dairy laws. Stutzman said he is fighting the request on principle, saying he should be able to share his milk.
>>“He also enjoys sharing his product with others who would otherwise not have access to it. ‘We know people are deprived of this real food,’ he said.”
The zealous agents from the Ohio Department of Agriculture are doing a really great job of protecting consumers from Mr Stutzman. If he’s engaging in such heinous criminal acts as giving away unpasteurized milk to people who ask for it, what else might he be doing? Employing illegal immigrant farm labor from Germany? Dealing in rotten apples? Driving cars at night? Selling fake Amish furniture tax-free? The agents may have just exposed the tip of a much wider conspiracy!
And Ms Mizer’s quoted statement gives fair legal warning to all breast-feeding mothers in Ohio!
With all the other problems Ohioans must contend with, Amish farmers giving away unpasteurized milk to people who approach them and ask for it can’t possibly be near the top of their concerns. Had I been in charge, I would have fired the agent and his boss, and replaced Ms Mizer as a spokesperson. But that’s me, and I don’t live in Ohio.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
A Fourth of July tribute to our fine women and men serving in our US Armed Forces, and fighting overseas to preserve our liberties and freedoms at home: A Very Heartfelt Thank You, and God Bless You All!
And a caution: Don’t listen to Ted Kennedy. Poor Ted! He’s been through so much, and he really deserves to be pitied more than admired. In fact, I think that he’s reelected again and again on a sympathy vote. So, unless you’re looking for comic relief, Teddy doesn’t really have a lot to say that’s worth listening to. Especially when he makes claims that you’re in a “quagmire.”
You see, Teddy doesn’t have a lot to show for his life that money couldn’t buy. He never volunteered to serve in the military during wartime like his older brothers John and Joe. He was a peacetime draftee. He couldn’t get into an Ivy League law school, even in his home state. He couldn’t even get his party’s nomination for the presidency, like his older brothers John, and potentially Bobby. So, every six years, he throws enough money around Massachusetts to get reelected, partly on wealth, partly on sympathy, partly on yellow-dog tradition (that’s, ironically, a Texas term held over from the losing side of the Civil War that applies to voters who blindly support any Democrat). And then the rest of the country is treated to six more years of comedy from this fool who takes himself, but not you, seriously.
Take it from me, one who has served in our country’s military. You're highly respected and deeply appreciated. I have the utmost admiration of your willingness to go to Iraq and the difficulties, both physical and emotional, that you will face. Your courage is on a par with my parents’ generation, the servicemen of World War II. And your mission is just as important, and perhaps even more difficult. We depend on you to defend our freedom. So does Teddy, even as he works diligently to strip you--and us--of our rights while you’re away.
So while Teddy claims you’re in a “quagmire” and Senator Dick Durbin says you’re like Nazis and Soviet gulag guards and genocidal criminals like Pol Pot, and Congressman John Murtha calls you cold-blooded murderers, and the tragically insane Cindy Sheehan gets press coverage by publicly proclaiming that you’re bloodthirsty killers and rapists, just rest assured that we Americans know who you really are. You’re Americans, and Americans are decent, good, generous, and passionate about freedom and liberty. We are so passionate that we're willing to sacrifice our own freedom, liberty, and if need be, our lives to preserve them for our people and for oppressed peoples elsewhere. And we understand that it is better to fight the wars against tyranny in other countries than on our own soil.
So, again, thanks for doing what you’re doing so well. Thanks for the courage that you routinely display as just part of the job. Thanks for putting up with the deprivations and situations that civilians will never know or experience. Thanks for putting your lives at risk so that Teddy Kennedy and the rest of us can live in freedom. Thanks for defending our liberties to express ourselves, even if we’re not heard on the national news media like Teddy is whenever he and his wealth command it.
And while you’re over there, we’ll try to defend the home front from Ted Kennedy and Dick Durbin and John Kerry and Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Hagel and Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Lee and Hillary Clinton and Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean and all the politicians who denigrate you and detract from your accomplishments to serve their own quests for political power. We support you and what you’re doing. We, the American people, have asked you to do this for us. Our obligation to you is that, in doing so, when you return you’ll still recognize the country you left just a few months ago. I’m hopeful, but not optimistic, that we will have lived up to that obligation as well and faithfully as you have lived up to yours. Have a great Fourth of July!
And a caution: Don’t listen to Ted Kennedy. Poor Ted! He’s been through so much, and he really deserves to be pitied more than admired. In fact, I think that he’s reelected again and again on a sympathy vote. So, unless you’re looking for comic relief, Teddy doesn’t really have a lot to say that’s worth listening to. Especially when he makes claims that you’re in a “quagmire.”
You see, Teddy doesn’t have a lot to show for his life that money couldn’t buy. He never volunteered to serve in the military during wartime like his older brothers John and Joe. He was a peacetime draftee. He couldn’t get into an Ivy League law school, even in his home state. He couldn’t even get his party’s nomination for the presidency, like his older brothers John, and potentially Bobby. So, every six years, he throws enough money around Massachusetts to get reelected, partly on wealth, partly on sympathy, partly on yellow-dog tradition (that’s, ironically, a Texas term held over from the losing side of the Civil War that applies to voters who blindly support any Democrat). And then the rest of the country is treated to six more years of comedy from this fool who takes himself, but not you, seriously.
Take it from me, one who has served in our country’s military. You're highly respected and deeply appreciated. I have the utmost admiration of your willingness to go to Iraq and the difficulties, both physical and emotional, that you will face. Your courage is on a par with my parents’ generation, the servicemen of World War II. And your mission is just as important, and perhaps even more difficult. We depend on you to defend our freedom. So does Teddy, even as he works diligently to strip you--and us--of our rights while you’re away.
So while Teddy claims you’re in a “quagmire” and Senator Dick Durbin says you’re like Nazis and Soviet gulag guards and genocidal criminals like Pol Pot, and Congressman John Murtha calls you cold-blooded murderers, and the tragically insane Cindy Sheehan gets press coverage by publicly proclaiming that you’re bloodthirsty killers and rapists, just rest assured that we Americans know who you really are. You’re Americans, and Americans are decent, good, generous, and passionate about freedom and liberty. We are so passionate that we're willing to sacrifice our own freedom, liberty, and if need be, our lives to preserve them for our people and for oppressed peoples elsewhere. And we understand that it is better to fight the wars against tyranny in other countries than on our own soil.
So, again, thanks for doing what you’re doing so well. Thanks for the courage that you routinely display as just part of the job. Thanks for putting up with the deprivations and situations that civilians will never know or experience. Thanks for putting your lives at risk so that Teddy Kennedy and the rest of us can live in freedom. Thanks for defending our liberties to express ourselves, even if we’re not heard on the national news media like Teddy is whenever he and his wealth command it.
And while you’re over there, we’ll try to defend the home front from Ted Kennedy and Dick Durbin and John Kerry and Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Hagel and Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Lee and Hillary Clinton and Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean and all the politicians who denigrate you and detract from your accomplishments to serve their own quests for political power. We support you and what you’re doing. We, the American people, have asked you to do this for us. Our obligation to you is that, in doing so, when you return you’ll still recognize the country you left just a few months ago. I’m hopeful, but not optimistic, that we will have lived up to that obligation as well and faithfully as you have lived up to yours. Have a great Fourth of July!
