Mark Baker
For entertainment these days, Michigan hog farmer Mark Baker likes to watch episodes from the 1960s sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show. It’s the show where Andy is the sheriff of the fictitious small town of Mayberry, North Carolina, assisted by his trusty, and somewhat flaky deputy, Barney Fife.
Baker is drawn by the show’s portrayal of an old-fashioned county sheriff who operates much like the U.S. Constitution envisioned for the only law enforcement officer specified in the document—he’s locally oriented, trusting of his own, and suspicious of outside state and federal law enforcement types. Baker especially appreciates an episode in the sitcom in which Andy expresses suspicions about an FBI agent who comes to Mayberry supposedly to honor the town of Mayberry.
If FBI agents come into a particular county and tell the sheriff “we are going to do things this way, the county sheriff can say no, we are not going to do it this way.”
Baker’s special interest in county sheriffs stems from the fact that he is making his first foray into politics by running for sheriff in his Missaukee County, in Michigan. Just to make things interesting, he is running for sheriff as a write-in candidate, against a long-time incumbent, James D. Bosscher, who is in his 24th year as sheriff.
Baker was motivated to test the political waters after he endured some three years of fighting with Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources over whether the pigs he raised on his farm were allowable under a questionable state agency order that barred supposedly feral pigs. He eventually prevailed when the state gave up the fight in a court case Baker brought, but Baker never forgot the refusal of his local sheriff to stand up on the farmer’s behalf.
“Most of the things the DNR wants to do are not in the purview of the Bill of Rights” of the U.S. Constitution, he says. He envisions himself “a constitutional sheriff” who will question federal or state agents who come after local farmers or other residents. “The FDA could be slapped on its heels by a constitutional sheriff….I will beat them every time.”
Baker says he decided to run a write-in campaign in part to avoid having to declare himself a Republican or Democrat, and be drawn into the party politics he finds distasteful. He also decided to run after other possible opponents declined the challenge. “Everyone is afraid of our sheriff. I would be, too, if I hadn’t had my thing with the DNR.”
As it is, running hasn’t been easy. “They systematically steal my signs,” he says. Many residents whom he knows support him are afraid to put out signs because they fear retribution from the incumbent if he wins.
Despite all that, Baker is confident of victory. Many residents who aren’t inclined to put up his signs have indicated they will vote for him in the privacy of the voting booth.
Baker has been able to broaden his reach beyond Bosscher’s by adeptly using the Internet and social media—he has a web site and an active Facebook page. Bosscher has no online presence.
He has a fundraiser scheduled this weekend at his farm.”We are going to be feeding people this pig that got the whole thing going,” he jokes. Except he is very serious. “They only have the power we give them,” he adds.
I am voting for Mark and I live in Fresno California!!!! Mark has a big heart, a smart brain with the guts to do the right thing. Go Mark!!
As for those voting for Trump…..think again, his wharped, racist, narcissistic candidacy is over. I am rejoicing….the whole world is rejoicing. All of my friends from arround the world were scared to death of how and why America would chose such an ass to guide the worlds greatest power. It is scary to think that America is made up of people that would chose him to lead us all.
Something is amiss. Perhaps Americans are easily dooped or hypnotized. No one person can promise anything to us…..anything great in America will come from we the people and we the people as a team will do great things together. That includes both houses of congress working with the White House. If one person was to singularly force anything onto America….that is called a dictatorship. Stop and frisk….vulgarity, racism, violence against women, flip flopping on critical policy positions, lowering taxes for the extreme rich….never paying taxes..advocating physical abuse at his rallies, …making fun of the disabled….suggesting that more nukes in the world ( including for Saudi Arabia and Japan and south Korea ) is a good thing !!!!! The man is a sociopath !!! Claiming that he is brilliant because he repeatedly uses and abuses the bankruptcy laws of the USA to cheat contractors out of hard earned money so he can afford cash for his jet Helicopter and huge private jet. He is the very worst of America. He loves Putin!!! America….wake up!! What does it take to stir your wakeful conscience.
Trump is done. The tapes are out and his true self has been exposed.
what wonderful irony, to see you – Mr McAffee, or all people who oughta know better! – allowing yourself to be so brainwashed by the mainstream media … the very ones who are literally bought and payed-for by monstrous corporate food processors, to tell lies about REAL MILK. >> Discounting the very real possibility of the vote being rigged – Donald Trump will win the Presidency because he articulates the outrage of white Christians who are waking up as to how we’ve been betrayed by race traitors in high places. “Dogwhistle politics”? For sure … He says what ordinary Americans say to demselves, privately. >>>>> I dare you to call Mark Baker and ask him who he’s voting for, for President. It sure as hell won’t be that pathetic hag who’s hobbling to the finish line. As a Para-medic, you can see the signs that Hillary Clinton is one very sick woman. If she had a grain of love for America, she’d step away from the contest. >>> What it will take for Americans to wake up, is : the end of the derivatives insanity. . When those “weapons of mass financial destruction” implode – as MUST happen – the greatest debtor nation in the world, the US of A, will find itself scuffling with the swine, just for something to eat ; Ham-merica has yet to fulfill the the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Then! you’ll see a Dictator. >>> now your homework is to go back through this forum, and find your posts in which you say you never talk politics!!
Gordon, McAfee is everything real small agriculture finds reprehensible. Ignore him.
I did discuss the presidential election with Mark Baker, and yes, he does support Trump, because “he’s not a politician.” Mark was in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, and was very disturbed by Bill Clinton’s support of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the 1990s, covering homosexuals–says it led to several thousand military people being forced out with dishonorable discharges for “telling” that they were gay. We had a very civil discussion about Trump–I told Mark I was particularly turned off by Trump for what seems to be his contempt for what Mark is standing tallest on– the U.S. Constitution. Trump has said he’d be willing to suspend protections in the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments covering freedom of speech, religion, assembly, etc.). We agreed to disagree.
as Franklin Sanders puts is so well = “Listen to me, hear my words: this is a financial tornado brewing. When the bond market breaks & snatches control of interest rates out of the Fed’s pale, flabby, uncalloused hands, the storm will level tall skyscrapers” >>> At that point in time … certainly within the next Presidential term … the Mussolini-esque character of Mr Trump, will be more friendly to individual liberty, than that red Fascist / Namely Hillary R Clinton.
Mark,
You Americans certainly have a couple of “choice” candidates to choose from. H C and D T’s focus on assassinating each other’s character rather then stick to the issues and defend the constitution is unfortunate. With the release of these tapes I hope Trump doesn’t use that as an excuse to fire back with both barrels. Based on his statement toward the end of the last presidential debate I get the impression he was expecting that that taped information would be forthcoming.
Trumps true self has always been more or less “front and center”. You may have to eat your words in suggesting that he is “done”.
If you American folks or “we the people” as you suggest, want to do “great things”, then you need to respect your constitution and minority rights. As it stands the constitution is destined to become a dead duck if the electorate in conjunction with the powers that be in your country continue to abuse and manipulate it to the extent with which they do. As far as minority rights are concerned, they to are destined for the same fate if federal and state governments continue introduce mandates and regulations, that coerce parents to capitulate to have there children injected with toxic vaccines, as was/is the case in California.
Good luck Mark Baker I followed your story and was happy to see the outcome.
Mcafee, you are a false friend, you only truly support yourself and I would not be surprised if you had a hand in taking down Rawesome or in the problem that now exists at millers farm in Pennsylvania. I will never drink your milk. I would say that if you were to go into the hog raising business, one of the first people I would warn would be baker.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Baker, hearing him speak twice, and eating pork belly from his farm. I can think of no better candidate for sheriff or any other office in the land. As for the presidential candidates, Trump is as phony as a three dollar bill, and a creep besides; the Clintons are fascist opportunists with no core beliefs except in the value of the greenback dollar; Jill Stein is clueless. I’ll be voting for Gary Johnson, the only candidate who opposes forced vaccination.
Ahem, Gary Ogden, I think you’d better check again (ca. August of this year):
“You know, since I’ve said that … I’ve come to find out that without mandatory vaccines, the vaccines that would in fact be issued would not be effective,” he said. “So … it’s dependent that you have mandatory vaccines so that every child is immune. Otherwise, not all children will be immune even though they receive a vaccine.”
Johnson said he believes vaccination policy should be handled at the local level.
“In my opinion, this is a local issue. If it ends up to be a federal issue, I would come down on the side of science and I would probably require that vaccine,” he said.
Johnson said his position changed recently.
“It’s an evolution actually just in the last few months, just in the last month or so,” he said. “I was under the belief that … ‘Why require a vaccine? If I don’t want my child to have a vaccine and you want yours to, let yours have the vaccine and they’ll be immune.’ Well, it turns out that that’s not the case, and it may sound terribly uninformed on my part, but I didn’t realize that.”
I took this excerpt from
http://digital.vpr.net/post/reversal-gov-gary-johnson-now-supports-mandatory-vaccination#stream/0
Gary Johnson is not opposed to forced vaccination. To the contrary!
I am thinking that expecting to vote for a presidential candidate based on their positions on vaccination and food freedom is not a working strategy. Mostly I am now in the sad position of looking simply for one with a whisper of moral backbone, who also might not bring our country to financial/ economic ruin. That is getting harder and harder to find these days… and I fully expect it will be the demand of our people that brings better days for food quality and food freedom, and freedom from forced vaccinations in this country, NOT promises from the political candidates. Remember Obama’s promise to label GMOs…?
milk mama: You’re absolutely right. Gary Johnson is an idiot, the dumbest of the bunch. I already voted my mail ballot, and I wrote in a candidate for prez. None of the four candidates are worthy of the ink. The battle against forced vaccination will be in the courts. Funny thing is, some are in favor of Trump because he said some equivocal things about vaccines, but “they gotta get their shots,” and it was the conservatives on the Supreme Court who slammed the final door shut in the face of the victims of this centuries-old quackery, in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, with Scalia writing the majority opinion, and (two of) the liberals in favor of justice for Hannah. Yet in California it was the Democrats who shoved it down everybody’s throat. We simply can’t trust any of the bastards, Obama included.
I see no objective basis to show Hillary as a liar…..none. She has been dedicated to children and humanity her entire life. Remember….it takes a village??
The bigotry and brainwashed numbed deafness for Trump is clear. When republicans ask for Trumps resignation as the candidate…..that’s the limit. A true measure of a persons moral center is who they stand with.
@ Mark: Yes, Mark, we’ve all seen the village.
Mark,
You state, “I see no objective basis to show Hillary as a liar…..none. She has been dedicated to children and humanity her entire life. Remember….it takes a village??”
Perhaps after you read the following article you might wish to reconsider your above statement. It takes love, sacrifice and commitment between a man and a woman “to raise a child”. The village’s role is only secondary and should not preempt the role of parents when it comes to food, medical care and moral values. When the village mandates laws that impedes and manipulates the availability of wholesome healthy food, compels/forces parents to vaccinate their children, and dictates the type of the sex education that a child receives, then it has gone to far and needs to be rained in.
http://www.visionandvalues.org/2016/09/how-mother-teresa-challenged-hillary-clinton-on-abortion/
I have serious misgivings with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Taking sides in this election campaign is a damned if you do and damned if you don’t scenario that I am reluctant to partake in. I think people need to seriously contemplate their options and probe their conscience before deciding who to vote for… that is, if they can find it themselves to vote at all.
I have only heard part of what’s going on with the presidential candidates because we have been out camping and just got back this morning. I’ve heard the discussions on tv but none of those commentators actually say what was said by or about either candidate. Does anyone have a link they could post showing or telling what was actually said or done by both candidates? I did a search but couldn’t find anything but older information, nothing from yesterday or today.
I’m going to give myself away, but on this subject, I agree with Gordon Watson. If I have to vote for that ill-tempered, illness-plagued hag, I’ll write in Mike Pence any day of the week. Gary Johnson, even though a “libertarian” just doesn’t seem to have what it takes. IOW, he’s certainly no Ron Paul.
I’ve read almost all the books I can find on Amazon kindle concerning these two candidates and I have to say, there’s a whole bunch about Hillary et al, and I’d be willing to bet most of the people in America are too busy social networking with “friends” to do their homework and find out about her. Well, I have done just that and I wouldn’t vote for her for anything in this world. She stands for everything I don’t support and her words are often cloaked. Also, if she is not able to finish her term, if elected, we’d be stuck with Tim Kaine and I just don’t think America wants to go there, either. His performance in the debate the other evening was, sorry for the pun, deploreable.
Here is Donald Trumps apology.
http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37595045
Thanks Ken. I did get a chance to see that at one point this afternoon and I also was able to catch (a re-run I think) of the interview between Neil Cavuto and Nigel Farage (sp?). Great stuff.
http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/10/08/nigel-farage-donald-trump-not-running-pope-president-ukip-brexit-hillary-lewd-comments
Wait a minute, please! We got so much “pivoting” going on that I’m getting dizzy!!
Mark Baker has as much chance of becoming sheriff as Gary Johnson has of becoming president, but that’s not the point!
Mark’s candidacy is all about standing up to the over-reaching bureaucrats and their enforcers in the interests of food freedom.
This election cycle prepares Mark for when Old Man Sheriff finally falls down,
No more, no less.
Jack
If I lived in Michigan, I’d vote Mark Baker for Sheriff. Mark, would you consider running for President?
“It has been 1403 days since my adventure with the legal system started. Today in the Superior court in Newmarket all charges in regards to me were withdrawn…for those people that don’t know me I had stopped shaving and cutting my hair the day I was charged so I have 1,403 days worth of hair. The reason I did this was to give a visual as to how long it actually takes to go through the legal process in Ontario.” Robert Pinnell
https://thebovine.wordpress.com/2016/10/12/sheep-napping-charges-against-robert-pinnell-dropped-michael-schmidt-and-montana-jones-in-court-again-nov-21-23/
excellent read ; I highly recommend the link provided by Ken Conrad to the summary re : the sheep-napping thing = much-needed comic relief. The way the Canadian Food Inspection Agency bungled it gives hope that there is some law of entropy which kicks-in when Bureaucracy reaches critical mass, at which point the feedback immobilizes the institution. The lads in the Monty Python troupe could explain how that works
This is one of many reasons why the political whore Hillary Clinton is having such a hard time staying ahead of the whoremaster Donald Trump. Indeed, and it is because of this type of government abuse that Mark Baker is running for sheriff. The American people must be at wits end trying to decide whom to vote for.
Bob Hayles,
Have we ever met? Could you please explain to me in detail what it is you find reprehensible about me or what I do?
I support Micro dairies through RAWMI
I am dedicated to food safety research and testing.
I provide free raw dairy products to non profit educational orgs
I am totally dedicated to educational outreach and children’s health and nutrition
I am totally dedicated to my family farm and our consumers.
I invite you to come visit and take a tour….in my life, there is no space for hatred or anything less than humanity and bridge building.
Bob, you don’t speak for all small-ag. When it comes to small ag, I’m about as real and as small as it gets. Mark has been a friend, an advocate, a resource, and a champion to both the regulated and unregulated micro-raw milk farm for years. I’ve sat with him many a time, as he encourages, teaches, listens-to, and supports the 3 cow farmer….many of whom provide raw milk in areas where his milk is sold in stores. You may not like his politics–fair enough. But the “Mark McAfee is anti-small farm” refrain is totally unfounded.