I obtained a text of Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger’s full statement to the judge in criminal court on Friday. It explains more clearly how he realized he erred by signing a bail agreement to discontinue supplying his food club, and where he is headed on his voyage, than the one quote I had in my comment following the previous post. Here it is:
Vernon HershbergerI cannot in good conscience tell the 100+ families who own the food and depend on it to feed their families, that they can no longer get food to feed their families. The Almighty God has spoken and I cannot do otherwise. God’s word in the Bible states in 1 John 3:16-18, quote, “Hereby perceive we the Love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren. But whoso has this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the Love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in Word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Your honor, I have spent many sleepless hours since signing the bond due to my conscience being plagued by the thought of shutting up my bowels of compassion to my Brethren who are dependent on the food that is provided by and for them on our farm. To most of them it is not merely a matter of preference but much more a matter of life or death! If the owners of the food cannot eat their own food, aren’t we living in a communist state? If our farm stopped feeding its owners’ families, there will be literally hundreds of children who will suffer malnutrition and even starvation. Your honor, I would much rather spend the rest of my life behind bars or even die than to be found guilty of such a gross sin before the Almighty God. Col 3:6, quote, “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.”
It seems to me Hershberger came to a realization that his decision to cut the tape placed on his cooler by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection in April 2010 was merely the first step of a long journey, and a step that allows for little hesitation, and no compromise. It’s a realization not unlike Max Kane came to when he decided not to turn over the names of his food club’s farmer suppliers to Wisconsin authorities in 2009, and Michael Schmidt came to when he decided to go on a hunger strike last fall. Once you cross the line to civil disobedience, you must follow the journey through to its logical conclusion.
I think we also understand why the two women were moved to protest in the courtroom. Hershberger has cut to the heart of what this struggle is about. Once you understand how fundamental it is, it is difficult not to be seriously moved.
Something for folks to consider:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification
Our right, as jurors, to nullify egregious "laws" is one of the most important of our most valuable and least widely understood safeguards.
Thanks for posting this!
if you think that jurors can "nullify" a law, just try it. That's when your education will really begin. Mister Anderson's comment reveals how little he knows about the conditions in the south, post-war. Rather than regurgiate the ADL myths, educate you-self. Richard Kelly Hoskins' book War Cycles Peace Cycles is an excellent primer.
My sympathy is with Vernon Hershberger : as strong as he is in some areas, he's just a babe in Christ, now snared in the coils of the Dragon. Open that Bible and read, it, Vernon, read it ALL. Especially the part that says " Life and Death are the Power of the Tongue"
Being contumaceous comes from an adolescent mentality. And that's said by some-one who's done it, me. I don't regret doing it … I'm just saying = there's a time and a place for everything. That kind of political rhetoric is done on the steps of the Courthouse, rather than to the Judge's face. you defy the Man with the Gun, and he feels he has to demonstrate his superiority right now
What you want is to be able to go home and sleep in your own bed, so as to be able to continue the struggle long-term.
http://www.alternet.org/story/153929/how_swedes_and_norwegians_broke_the_power_of_the_%E2%80%981_percent%E2%80%99?page=entire
(the author actually admits they are not "utopias" and have some work to do towards achieving true democracy and social justice… but their history of collective struggle should inform all of us)
Gordon, I am not in favor of the ADL either, because of their ardent support for apartheid in Israel/Palestine, and their support for official government repression of radical environmental activists and animal rights activists.
However, this Hoskin's character you cite sounds even more despicable than the ADL. The evidence of how jury nullification was used to uphold Jim Crow and racist oppression in the old south is overwhelming and irrefutable. You only make yourself look bad when you bring up racist authors like this.
Please do not try to pigeonhole me, Gordon. As a socialist, I stand against all forms of oppression and tyranny. The oppression of small farmers in the US cannot be separated from the oppression of peasants in the third world, or from the oppression of workers and people of color in this country. They are all interconnected systems of capitalist oppression, and the only way to effectively dismantle them is through a grassroots and democratic mass movement, willing to contest the political power of the ruling elites. Again… see the article on Norway and Sweden I linked to above.
Gordan and Bill
You two are like a couple of cockroaches running across the screen
putting up with uncomfortable ideas is the price you pay for the wonderful thing called the internet … I don't apologize. If'n you don't like my style, tough tittie
my opinion comes from my experiences of a decade of political /religious activism as an abortion abolitionist, then another few years' involvment in the so-called 'de-tax protest movement'. I've met well over a 100 judges face to face in the lion's den : I've beem arrested more times than I can recall = I do know what I'm talking about in that dept. Your line about the "signature" is the kind of halfbaked claptrap put out by the Freedom peddlars./ Pay-triots for Profit
now that the govt. has him where they want him – entangled in contempt of Court, rather than the substantive issue – let me tell you what happens next. Mister Hershberger, full of righteous indignation, presumes that all this attention means he has lots of people who will actually support him when push comes to shove. Wrong. The govt. will drive a wedge between those who sympathize with him, and his issue, to a point. That point of demarcaction being, ' breaking the law' of men'. All the namby-pamby Christians then get pff the bus. Which is a good thing ; separation of the contenders from the kibitzers
My friend Maurice Lewis was one of the finest gentlemen you'll ever meet. Last time I spoke to him, ( before he was murdered) he told me how the Pro-lifers cheered him as he went out to get a good set of facts with which to challenge the no-free-speech / 'bubble-zone law' around the abortuary. He said, " I looked over my shoulder to see who was behind me, and it was clear to the horizon".
If you think people are going to link arms and dig their heels in, resisting armed police, over a jug of milk, think again. Beginners love to appeal to the memory of Ghandi and ML King Jr etc. …. those civil dis-obedience movements succeeded because they had millions of warm bodies = people who had nothing to lose. Versus all the rhetoric on internet forums … just preaching to the choir : morally and physcally degenerate white Americans will not 'go to the wall' for a glass of cold milk.
the Campaign for REAL MILK is being won on the gound, in the milking parlor and in the genuinely free market, not in Courtrooms. what really counts is ; people getting up at 4 am and doing the chores. Michael Schmidt prevailed because he ignored the over-educated idiots in their black robes. He and Mark McAffee and all the others where REAL MILK is flowing today, know our strength is serving the demand side of the equation.
One of the most important things to know in guerrilla warfare is : you have to pick your spots. You don't fight where you can't win = enemy territory
Unless Mr Hershberger grows up a whole lot, quickly, he'll find out the hard way how those guys got into the Faith Hall of Fame = Hebrews 11 He's a hell-of-a-lot more valuable at home, farming, than he is thrashing-around on the playground of the Cult of the Black Robe, then sitting in a gaol cell
There's no money in dairying, per se. The money is in the merchandising, which entails delivery to the Big City where the high prices are. Vernon Hershberger erred by, first of all, compromising his theology of separation from the world, then, being the deliveryman, as well as the simple producer. The merchants whose toes he was stepping on, are going to have him put in his place
A signature is a signature is a signature
Cheap food means hungry people
The reference to a particularly obnoxious insect still stands
Greg
No, its not actually a utopia (as the author freely admits), but Norway and Sweden are the freest and most prosperous nations on the planet. Coincidence? No, I don't think so…
http://www.alternet.org/story/153929/how_swedes_and_norwegians_broke_the_power_of_the_%E2%80%981_percent%E2%80%99?page=entire
http://www.theozonehole.com/uvindex.htm
"Get Vitamin D Safely
Get vitamin D safely through a diet that includes vitamin supplements and foods fortified with Vitamin D. Dont seek the sun."
That is the stupidest thing I have seen yet. It is impossible to get the majority of needed Vitamin D from foods……And if you avoid processed phoods you'd get even less…. "Don't seek the sun."? If you have low vitamin D you will be more susceptible to illnesses…thus the pharm companies make more money off your suffering. They are NOT looking out for the masses. And we are to trust their judgements? Not in this life time.
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is synthesized in the skin with exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation from sun.
talk to Russell A Porisky about the signature issue. For about a decade, he went across Canada, merchandising that crap-ola about the Strawman, Natural Person, etc. as part of his method of not paying income tax. In which scam the "signature" was the lynchpin
In 2006, I started warning all-concerned in the Tax Honesty movement that that stuff wouldn't fly when put to the test. Last week Mr Porisky was convicted of 8 counts of tax evasion / counseling an indictable offence in the Supreme Court of BC. He comes back in Feb to find out how long he'll spend in the penitentiary, like some of his "students" who tried the same thing, and got 3 years.
In the first round of Michael Schmidt's thing, some rank beginner, full of that same nonsense stood up in the Courtroom and tried it on. Of course the JP sent him packing with a stern admonition.
go ahead + hang around with those 'children calling out to each other on the playground', but don't be cluttering up the forum screen with half-baked notions which only crash and burn when the peddlers wake up in the objective reality shared by the rest of us = facing real judges in real courts and being sent away to real prison cells.
See George Gordon's audio archives : Destroyed Arguments, by Larry Beecraft
A word to the wise is sufficient, but the backs of fools are made for stripes.
Someone who says, "I know what *it* is, you're an idiot for not knowing what *it* is, but I'm not going to tell you what *it* is!"
"…but don't be cluttering up the forum screen with half-baked notions…"
Has anyone else noticed that since Gordon has been such a regular poster, that all of the other regulars are gone? Perhaps there are times you need to take your own advice, Gordon.
If you have something to say, Gordon, SAY IT. If you have something to add, ADD IT. But stop telling us to educate "we-selves" and acting like we're all idiots.
anyone with a high-school level of literacy would've noticed that I was referencing what Mister Niewendorp had written immediately above my message
he said = "Beware of signing ANYTHING when dealing with the state. The only way they can proceed is with your signature. "=
that's utter nonsense, as explained in George Gordon's 7 part series – Destroyed Arguments – page 67 in his audio archives. Larry Beecraft put the boots to that "signature / sovereign versys Strawman" word magic, 20 years ago.
what I was attempting to do (with my limited command of the English language) was to supply lessons I and others have learned in the school of hard knocks, so as to help Vernon Hershberger and other babes in Christ, not to waste their lives / making the same mistakes\ winding up in gaol = like we did, for proceeding on dis-information
sorry, I can't be more specific than that, Barney. If you can't grasp my point on one or 2 more tries, maybe you are an idiot, after all
A truly sustained movement is Based on producers connected to and feeding their consumers. Each needing and feeding each other. That movement never tires out or leaves the battle.
The blogs may eb and flow and comments will come and go but…. the teaching of raw milk and sales of raw milk rages upward……because the nutritional truth is the nutritional truth and moms seek the truth for their families. True action is what really matters….the rest is truly empty hot air and just a measure of those that breath negativity.
He who laughs last….laughs best…..and when all is said and done…when all the stones are thrown…..moms will still go get raw milk from their trusted farmers. Words feed no one. Food feeds people and raw milk is the king of foods.
I prefer the custom Vitamin D made by my own body.
The recommendation to get Vitamin D from supplements and to "Apply broad spectrum SPF 30+ water resistant sunscreen every 2 hours. Sunscreen should not be used to extend the time you spend in the sun" are disappointing, considering that the chemicals in most sunscreens are thought to be the trigger behind many cancers.
I take heart in that the site at least recommends seeking shade and wearing protective clothing to avoid a burn as the first steps to be taken. The only time we use sunscreen is in situations where we protective clothing will not be enough. We stick with the old fashioned sesame oil and zinc oxide based sun screens for the vulnerable parts. The whole point of the sunscreen is to extend the time we can be in the sun for the activity that requires it.
Vit D made by your body is the best form. I've been saying for years that commercial sunscreen lotions appear to be a contributor to skin cancers. I read the ingredients and looked them up. Clothes, shade are the safest for protection.
http://www.sodahead (DOT) com/living/usda-forces-whole-foods-to-accept-monsanto/question-2414349/
Another reason to avoid Whole Foods….
No, Gordon, you are wrong.
You are not teaching anything to anyone.
You are marginalizing, abusing and mistreating anyone who is not in agreement with you in a twisted game of one-upmanship. You use your righteous indignation to chastise and use childish name calling for anyone who doesnt support your world view, which in this case, is everybody. You are in a sorry state of denial if you believe you are teaching anything, unless you consider teaching whacking your student over the head with a 2×4 when they arent supposedly as knowledgeable as you are.
You claim to be a Champion of REAL MILK but continually deny that pathogens, outbreaks and illnesses *can* occur, and you mock the experiences of those like Mary Martin, who is trying to dispel the myths told by the WAPF and to engage us in a legitimate conversation about the realities of raw milk.
You claim to be a Christian but lack any measure of humanity and compassion.
You denigrate the ideas and experiences of anyone except the major players , which shows you dont care about getting the raw milk flowing, you only care about getting YOUR raw milk flowing.
And perhaps the most offensive of all, you use the Bible to legitimize your racist/White Supremacist ideas.
No, Gordon, you are not teaching anything to anyone. You have been kicked off of several blogs and discussion groups, for good reason. You are an embarrassment. You are a pathetic, sad man who justifies his hate with his own self-righteousness.
But, then again, I would expect nothing less of someone who claims to part of The Bloodline.
your reading comprehension is extremely poor … I never say that people cannot get sick from drinking raw milk. What I do is, supply examples from real life, of how the dariy cartel / govt. have been caught outright lying, time and again, merchandising its myth. If I'm guilty of "hate", it's hating liars in high places
on my website I post the wording of Dr Beals' affidavit in our court case, where he uses the CDC's own numbers to prove that raw milk is 35,000 times LESS risky than "homo milk" < http://www.freewebs.com/bovinity >
your assertion " … you dont care about getting the raw milk flowing, you only care about getting YOUR raw milk flowing." is utterly at variance with everything I've ever posted on the internet, or published in print.
In FACT, I'm on record as calling for hundreds of cowshares across Canada. I hold up the model of local dairies with 40 cows in milk, with 2 families on the farm to do the work, serving the neighbourhood, making a million dollars a year.
I have 10 years' of hard numbers and proprietory information, though 4 cowshares, proving how to do it. I helped 5 other cowshares get started in BC, aside from ours. 1000 people are getting REAL MILK today in the Vancouver area, because of my initiative. I invested $15,000 and worked for a year for nothing, to get the Home on the Range underway. Today, its successor = Our Cows = serves 1000 people with food and medicine. Perhaps you'll share with this audience what you've done, comparable?
as for taking issue with my tone : as my old man used to say "you can't insult me, I've been insulted by experts". ….. Read the Bible some time – and ALL of it – you'll notice that the hallmark of the prophetic type is telling people what they NEED to hear, rather than soft-soap them with what they want to hear. When the God of Israel calls a man to do this, He gives him an adamantine fore-head, Putting up with flak from the idiots + naysayers like you just comes with the territory
I posted my opinons in this thread consequent to David Gumpert's report of Vernon Hershberger's court case. Taking on the government of race traitors, is my area of expertise. I do know what I'm talking abuot when it comes to 'contempt of court". having been through 6 of them previously – and prevailed in a couple. And having prosecuted 2 of them myself. Including putting a lawyer in gaol. Right now, I'm getting ready to face the allegation brought on by the Health Authority for 'contempt" of the Order which outlaws raw milk in BC. In which contest, I am encouraged by my God telling Israwlites "You are my battleax and weapons of warfare"
as for Mary Martin's endless pityparty .. she's no friend of the Campaign for REAL MILK. As a thorn in Mark McAffee's flesh, her role is to wear out the saints. And she'll be rewarded accordlingly
as for "the Bloodline" ? you'll have to explain that one. I've never said any such thing
Requisite on-topic posting: my hat is off to Vernon (and Michael) for taking the moral high road. They can take everything away from you but your dignity, which can only be voluntarily given.
Also, why are we "commie" bashing? The raw milk suppression is more properly termed "fascist," as it represents the "merger of state and corporate power," in the words of Benito Mussolini.
Communism is more properly state ownership of the means of production. The government isn't trying to own any cows here; it's just ensuring that the corporate interests it favours owns all the cows that are allowed to produce milk.
If you're going to spam and troll, at least use correct terminology when calling people names!
If you don't understand how the milk marketing boards control of the means of production, you're not up to speed. The milk in the bulk tank does NOT belong to any farmer who has quota under the Canadian system …at that point it's owned by the govt. Thus, as those farm families drink it, and give it away to their relatives, they're taking someone else's property : often called "stealing" But woe to anyone who points THAT out to them on their way to church ; they're happy in their serfdom. Ignorance is bliss … it's only prickly cantankerous types like moi, coming along and telling them the Truth, with whom they have a problem
Jan Steinman et al. : read the Communist Manifesto, then tell me one single one of its planks which AREN'T in place, in your neighbourhood?
stay tuned : as Canada ditches the milk supply system, it will buy out the present quota holders, then, corporate interests will be the only ones around able to finance that quota. Same as happened with fishing licences. 'Throwing money at the problem" is the Canadian way. Of course you realize those corporations are wholly creatures of the state?
When they started appearing in America, they were criticized as "
Roman Corporations" … because they such legal fictions were part of what destroyed the Roman empire.
Just sheer co-incidence that you have the bundle of rods on each side of the Speaker's Chair in the US Senate? Just another co-incidence that we see that same bundle of rods in front of the Supreme Court of Canada? Regardless of your favourite color, you're living under fascism, today.
coming in so late in the thread, maybe you missed that it originated with a quote by Vernon Hershberger, talking himself into gaol. My main point being : there is a time and place to draw the line against the tyrant, but his circumstance, is not it.' You can do the work, or you can do the politics, But you can't do both. Please get Vernon to explain what an Amish man is doing in a worldly gaol?
http://www.alternet.org/story/153929/how_swedes_and_norwegians_broke_the_power_of_the_%E2%80%981_percent%E2%80%99/
Vernon is a farmer, Vernon has a family, Vernon is standing up to authorities within his ability as farmer and as a human being.
His journey and his challenges needs to be supported unconditionally. No science ,no legal maneuver, no discussion on this or any other blog will support his struggle and his any impact on his imminent fate.
He is at the point of no return, this will either break or make him.
My pleading to all is very simple.
The focus needs to be on Vernon and his Family right now.
We know how corrupt courts can be.
We know how corrupt bureaucracy IS
We know how easy politicians can be swayed
The one thing we do not know YET how strong and effective we can and will be once we focus on action instead of "knowing all without action."
Both Norway and Sweden have Rothschild-owned private central banks. The people of both countries pay somewhere between 50-70% of their income in taxes.
They are not free.
"Kosher slaughtering
The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law. (Deut. 12:21). We may not eat animals that died of natural causes (Deut. 14:21) or that were killed by other animals. In addition, the animal must have no disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish; only to the flocks and herds (Num. 11:22).
Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah, and the person who performs the slaughter is called a shochet, both from the Hebrew root Shin-Cheit-Teit. The method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within two seconds, and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible.
Another advantage of shechitah is that it ensures rapid, complete draining of the blood, which is also necessary to render the meat kosher.
The shochet is not simply a butcher; he must be a pious man, well-trained in Jewish law, particularly as it relates to kashrut. In smaller, more remote communities, the rabbi and the shochet were often the same person."
To Quote the First Amendment of the United States Costitution "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
I hope citing the A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States and the First Amendment of the Constitution, will be of use in the fight for the rights of all the Amish and all citizens, and residents of the United States to continue to sell their goods under the protection of our United States Constitution.