Mark McAfee and James Stewart at raw milk rally last Wednesday in Los Angeles. I’ve been fond of telling whomever will listen that the U.S. is in a war over food rights. But I must amend that. We’re in a guerrilla war over food rights. There’s an important distinction.
A war implies that two sides are sort of evenly matched. But it’s pretty obvious that the U.S. government and its financially dependent states possess overwhelming firepower, and aren’t afraid to use it on small farms and consumers alike.
There are frequent references on this blog to the “movement” that is expected to win back our rights. And that certain people are or aren’t good representatives of the movement or are taking the wrong steps. The underlying assumption is that we’re talking about a single unified movement.
In reality, though, movements don’t unfold that way. Nor do guerrilla wars that underlie such movements.
Oftentimes, they aren’t very pretty, and the people behind them not very attractive. Menachem Begin, the Israeli leader who signed the peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 was, in his younger days, the leader of a guerrilla movement that planted bombs and blew up British civilians, often to the disgust of other members of the movement for an independent Israel. Malcolm X, the black leader who is so admired today, used to suggest violence against the “white devils.”
No one is suggesting violence on behalf of food rights, but we can expect continuing government pressure (and violence) to increase as the word spreads more widely, and growing numbers of people begin to understand the nature of the government’s threat on their food. In response, we can expect the movement to adjust and change, along with the alliances and forms of resistance.
Case in point came at the pre-hearing rally for the Rawesome Three last Wednesday evening in Los Angeles. The 75 or so attendees saw for the first time on stage together two old enemies–James Stewart, the manager of Rawesome Food Club, and Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy Co. The two have been at loggerheads since 2004, when McAfee fired Stewart as OPDC’s southern California distributor.
A number of Rawesome members told me that the shutdown of Rawesome hasn’t meant the food void many feared. Instead, at least three new food clubs (and possibly more) appear to have sprung up in and around Los Angeles to replace it. That’s the sign of a healthy response–they eliminate one food club, and people set up three, or four, or six new ones. Heck. each time they do a raid, more people sign up and new food clubs spring up–what better marketing can you ask for? Well, maybe there are less costly and upsetting ways, but in terms of the outcomes, that’s certainly not what the authorities had in mind.
Michael Schmidt after his court victory in early 2010, which has since been reversed. Then there’s the hunger strike front, and there, once again, things aren’t pretty, and the outcome far from certain. Raw milk farmer Michael Schmidt reports from Ontario, Canada, that he is in Day 10 of his hunger strike, has stopped consuming any food and now only drinks water. His demands:
“I respectfully ask that the Ontario and BC governments agree to a constructive dialogue on how we can provide a framework to enable people to make real choices about their food and what they eat, beginning with raw milk and the implementation of a framework that grants legal standing for cow share operations in Ontario and BC. This objective also includes the end of the current prosecutions of cow shares which meet proper production standards.”
So if I understand correctly, he is talking about the oft-demanded safety standards that food regulators accuse raw dairy advocates of ignoring. There should be lots to discuss in the “constructive dialogue” Schmidt seeks.
He says that eight Americans and Canadians have joined what he terms “this Hunger Strike for Responsible Food Freedom.” They include Max Kane, the Wisconsin activist; Vernon Hershberger, the Wisconsin raw milk farmer; Bernie Cosgrove, an Alberta farmer; and five others who don’t want to be named right now.
Those running the attacks on food rights might want to keep in mind Gen. David Petraeus’ pioneering strategy on dealing with an insurgency: “The protection, welfare, and support of the people are vital to success.”
***
There is an academic study out reenforcing the healing potential of raw milk. This one is a review of numerous studies around the world on the impact of both raw milk and farm living on building immunity. Here are a few quotes:
“Maternal contact with increasing numbers of farm animal species, work in barns, and stables and the consumption of unprocessed cow’s milk during pregnancy were shown to be the relevant protective exposures.”
“Thus, both the pasteurization and homogenization of cow’s milk might abolish the asthma- and allergy-protective effects.”
“The protective effect of unprocessed cow’s milk consumption is a recurrent epidemiological finding, but no model is yet available to explore its mechanistic implications. The importance of the exposure route (gut versus airways) is also still a matter of speculation.”
How much evidence must there be for America’s scientific community to take notice? Thanks to Joseph Heckman, a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, for forwarding the study.
***
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is promoting a special deal on Joel Salatin’s new book: Folks, This Ain’t Normal. Buy one and get the second at half price…and support both FTCLDF and a book that promotes food rights.
Why do they accuse the raw dairy advocates of ignoring safety standards? Especially when any farmer if their safety standards fall, they will be out of business.
"The protection, welfare, and support of the people are vital to success."
This is where teaching the public is so important. Short, to the point, facts. Photos of how milk is produced and processed in America. People are visual. People remember repeated bullet statements.
If raw milk was so dangerous, then it would have killed off millions centuries ago.
And where does America's scientific community get their funding? Follow the money.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/idUSL3E7LB07P20111011
"dietary supplements do little good in Western countries where vitamin deficiency is not common."
The title implies that women take vitamins to live longer and if you take vitamins they may kill you. Rarely do patients get vitamin levels drawn so how do they know vitamin deficiency is not common in the US? This issues was on the evening news and a woman was interviewed and she said she takes vitamins because she doesn't believe the food of today has the nutrients of years gone by. The news MD said that she probably gets plenty of nutrients from all the fortified foods Americans consume. Perhaps the woman doesn't consume the over processed fortified foods….
I give James tremendous credit for saving Raw Milk in CA. If he had not helped me start up Socal operations and grown it for four years, OPDC would not be what it is today…
No Way….
James has a special place in my heart. Yes…OPDC had to gain control over our distribution in order to grow and serve all the people that were calling us and yes….James was hurt badly in a Raw Milk delivery truck accident on the 405 highway in LA weeks prior to OPDC getting our own trucks and delivering ourselvves…there is far more to the story.
James is a great person and deserves all of our help, respect, prayers and support. Sometimes in business and in serving our consumers, we do things that are seen by others as harsh. Those same actions when taken from a different angle make complete sense.
James is a brother, he has a very special place in my heart. Anytime he wants all OPDC products delivered to RAWESOME at the cheapest prices in CA….he knows my number.
His credit is good with me.
1-877RAWMILK.
Mark
In your post near the end of the last blog, you said the Colorado Cheese Festival was November 10-11. According to http://www.cocheesefest.com/, the website of the Colorado Cheese Festival, the festival will be held November 5-6 at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds.
Did you or they confuse the dates or is there more than one Colorado Cheese Festival going on?
Really? "admired" by whom? His cellmates? Dr. King was the leader of the civil rights movement, and he was a man of peace.
You have lost my respect, Mr. Gumpert. I used to think you were a neutral reporter in regards to the raw milk movement. But now that you have revealed that you are on the board of McAfee's group, have criticized those of us who live in California and personally know what is really going on here, and have now held up Malcom X and his message of violence as someone "who is admired" and is an example for the food freedom movement today, I think I will look for my raw milk information elsewhere and help those who want to start a campaign of truth that the food freedom movement can be proud of.
I am glad to see you leave….try leaving America while you are at it. No~named Bigots have little place here or anywhere. When the blacks were being hung for just being black, killed for sport and oppressed as a matter of white policy, some had the balls to start shooting back. This I respect entirely.
Raw Milk Advocate, as you slide back under your bigoted no name rock, think about this…if members of your family could get no justice, police dogs ate you for lunch, you had to walk or ride in the back of the bus, you drank from the blacks only fountains…would you just take it with a smile or would you get really pissed and shoot back?
One of the reasons that MLK is idolized by white America is he did not advocate what most white people would have done given the same circumstances.
Get real with yourself. I stand with David in the real world, where good people want to build a better world of freedom, justice for all people's, and safe good food for all people's that make that choice.
Pasteurization is racist. Raw milk can be consumed by nearly every one regardless of race. Yet pasteurized milk producers claim that certain races have deficiencies. What a crock of Food Inc crap….or worse. You are not a Raw Milk Advocate. You are a person in need of counseling.
You can start by apologizing to David and the rest of us who care about justice, equality and freedom. These are not socialist or communist ideas….these are not republican or democratic idiologies. This is not left or right. These are foundational American precepts.
The right to defend ones self when seriously threatened is as basic a right that exists in the world. Malcolm X was not perfect, but he tried to follow his conscience and tried to help his people the best he could in the face of the insanity of horrible oppression and few choices.
Raw Milk Advocate….what have you done to create more justice for people today?
I don't just suggest it, I absolutely advocate defensive violence. I refuse to allow myself to be aggressed against when I have done nothing wrong. Because as Mark points out:
"The right to defend ones self when seriously threatened is as basic a right that exists in the world."
RMA: David just pointed out that NOBODY was "the leader of the movement". Not X, not King, nobody. Talk about missing the point! But if you're that easily offended, this probably isn't the place for you.
Malcolm X believed that the blacks and whites should be segregated. He alluded that the white man was evil, MLKs "non-violent protests" weren't working and violence was needed. He passionately insisted that blacks identify with Africans and not whites. The "X" was to replace his last name and he strongly encouraged ALL blacks to use it as supposedly their last names were that of the slave owners. The issue of violence loomed large in his rhetoric. He in fact was a racist.
The majority of Africans were kidnapped by their own countrymen and sold into slavery…..AND the majority did NOT come to America, And I believe it was Lincoln gave any the opportunity to go back if they wished with the govt paying for the ride.
You want to say the man had every right as he and his race had a hard life as did their ancestors? To attack me verbally or physically because of something that someone else did to you or your ancestors is not right. Hating everyone because of it is not right either. Should I hate all blacks because my great uncle was raped by several black men back in the 20s? He was a poor dirt farmer himself, an easy target out in a field. He never was right in the head after that.
Mr. X incited separation and racism by any means.
Quotes by Malcolm X:
"He got the peace prize, we got the problem…. If I'm following a general, and he's leading me into a battle, and the enemy tends to give him rewards, or awards, I get suspicious of him. Especially if he gets a peace award before the war is over."
"If I have a cup of coffee that is too strong for me because it is too black, I weaken it by pouring cream into it. I integrate it with cream. If I keep pouring enough cream in the coffee, pretty soon the entire flavor of the coffee is changed; the very nature of the coffee is changed. If enough cream is poured in, eventually you don't even know that I had coffee in this cup. This is what happened with the March on Washington. The whites didn't integrate it; they infiltrated it. Whites joined it; they engulfed it; they became so much a part of it, it lost its original flavor. It ceased to be a black march; it ceased to be militant; it ceased to be angry; it ceased to be impatient. In fact, it ceased to be a march."
"The common enemy is the white man."
"An integrated cup of coffee isn't sufficient pay for four hundred years of slave labor."
"But it does make the black people in this country who are jobless and unemployed and standing in the welfare line very much discouraged to see a government that can't solve our problem, can't provide job opportunities for us, and at the some time not only Cubans but Hungarians and every other type of white refugee imaginable can come to this country and get everything this government has to offer."
"I've never seen a sincere white man, not when it comes to helping black people. Usually things like this are done by white people to benefit themselves. The white man's primary interest is not to elevate the thinking of black people, or to waken black people, or white people either. The white man is interested in the black man only to the extent that the black man is of use to him. The white man's interest is to make money, to exploit."
"I am not a racist in any form whatsoever. I don't believe in any form of discrimination or segregation."
"We're not Americans, we're Africans who happen to be in America. We were kidnapped and brought here against our will from Africa. We didn't land on Plymouth Rock – that rock landed on us."
Violet wrote, "Until Mark has a K Street address in DC . . . . he will never have legislative/lobbying authority . . . it takes millions to do this . . ."
I wasn't expecting that RAWMI would be lobbying on the federal level, I expect that they'll do it on the state level – like, when "raw milk bills" come up in state legislatures they'll push for the bills to include RAWMI standards and testing, and their organization and funding will trump the wants and needs of the citizens of those states.
Mark wrote in regards to his dad, "He also traveled to Vietnam to help secure a better trade relationship with Vietnam in the early 1980's and helped settle the Amerasian crisis of all the children fathered by American Soldiers. he spent time in Russia and China. He spend time in El Salvador and was almost killed by an American Special Forces unit that was operating secretly there."
Mark, who did he work for? Who paid his salary? If he did all of this voluntarily, what did he do for income?
here are some sites with information about the excursions of Marks father and the environments he placed his family;
http://books.google.com/books?id=gXrwCZ8QlOEC&pg=PA247&lpg=PA247&dq=Rodger+McAfee&source=bl&ots=wB265KAb3e&sig=WfkGkn4TqSSGB2YrglPkPScEx1A&hl=en&ei=Tj2UTv6gEeGIsAL3vrTvAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CGEQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=Rodger%20McAfee&f=false
Search in the book for Rodger McAfee…
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910206,00.html from 1972
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=135390136482816&topic=182 another from 1972
No one paid his salary. He did this out of his farm budget. This was one of the things that drove my mom nuts. She was left with little to raise us five McAfee brothers as my father placed the worlds causes and his search for utopia above ours needs. He traveled abroad with his family when we were young and by himself when we were grown. His search for utopia finally broke up his marriage and the family in 1979 when I was a senior in high school. My mom could no longer be last place behind the rest of the world and his search for utopia.
If you have reviewed the links above, those are just the tips of the icebergs that form my early years.
I carry a few things from my dad. Passion, dedication, little fear, use of non violence, use of the media, a sense of justice, an ability to see, read, respect and calculate the enemies power and not fight it conventionally. I am also dedicated to not replicating my dads life. I love my wife and kids and place them first in the world. I have a clear appreciation for health, farming and what can help make America stronger and healthier. We all need jobs and we need health. Raw milk does both very well.
I am dedicated to organic farming and raw milk….these are very foundational efforts at job creation and the nutritional prevention of illness in America.
I have little tolerance for no named fake personalities that can make claims and judgements about people that were fighting 45 years ago against brutal racist oppression. Malcolm was not perfect….this I agree. But…America needed correction and it is better today because of his fight and the Dreams of MLK and the We Shall Over Come of Chavez and the Look not what America can do for you of JFK. These were times of change. Respect this bloody trail of evolution and perhaps some revolution. We are perhaps re entering a generation of more of this upheaval. This time it is not about black and white but…about Food Inc and the Rights of all people to access nutritional justice. Where CA seems to be a free state and Wisconisn seems to be a slave state…..these impressions are false. We as Anericans are not free to eat, grow, sell and distribute safe raw milk. The FDA and it's Corporate handlers have denied us these freedoms. This is about the fight to actually Get to Know Your Farmer Again…and Get to Know Your Food Again. It is about bypassing those in the middle of the food chain that cheat farmers of money and consumers of nutrition. This is a change of order fight that centers on money….that is how I know it will be tough. The rich will refuse to allow their money to be taken from them.
We all carry 'things' from our past, it is what forms us into who we are today. I've no doubt the above links barely touch the surface of your family's life. I take my hat off to your mother, she must have been a strong woman.
The words you used that spoke of some things you carried forth from your dad is admirable. Your wife and kids should always come first.
I didn't read that anyone disrespected the "bloody trail" in regards to the fight for equality. There are many so called "leaders" and those who think they are leaders that do the job very poorly and those that divide the masses. For example: bush2-many think he was a great gov'nr and president…many loathe his leadership skills….. a debate that will never be in agreement.
Mark, you have some really good ideas. Not all your ideas will work for everyone. It is not a one-size-fits-all world. Diplomacy isn't always your forte.
"We as Anericans are not free to eat, grow, sell and distribute safe raw milk. The FDA and it's Corporate handlers have denied us these freedoms. "
And with bringing the awareness to the population of these facts will serve to make the masses stand up for themselves and food rights. Their awareness of what they are losing will make them stronger and inturn make any movement stronger….after all, you have to have food and water to survive. Knowledge is power.
You plant seeds and watch it grow. BUT, you must always be truthfull and factual otherwise it will come crashing down.
There is a common goal…freedom to choose how we each live.
Thank you.
I have come to let the ID Fixation Go as a matter of emotional health. It is in deep conflict with my upbringing and concept of man. But… I do tend to treat people with real names with a whole lot more dignity than those that hide behind some fake mirage. That is why I have no problem with Mary Martin and her day by day saga of her story ( a story of a real person not a fake hiding out unknown sniper ). The saga will end….it does end. We must all be tolerant. We must learn from it as well. I know that I have. I never want to give anyone fodder for a saga like that again.
Thanks for the links. Interesting reading.
What better way to push an agenda then to have your BEST man on the front line.
Hegelian Dialectic: Thesis (Problem they create)
Anthesis (We react as they expect us to)
Synthesis (We reach their pre-planned solution)
Also known as Problem-Reaction-Solution.
Weston A. Price Foundation: creates a demand for raw milk where none before existed
(but it's not legal, so…)
Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund: represents farmers and loses court cases tied to raw milk sales
(so to attempt to "gain legitimacy"…)
RAWMI: creates standards, which will have the effect of consolidating the food industry, where there was none before
Classic problem-reaction-solution.
Please, use another offensive metaphor. I'm dying to see where your thought processes take you. It's very enlightening.
I'm breaking my rule of not posting here anymore, but I was made aware that you decided to launch unprovoked personal attacks against me once again, because of my political views. I wasn't aware that it was STILL a crime to be a socialist in America… that is unless you are trying to return us to era of McCarthy.
I have stated in the past that I am not a Marxist. I know this may be hard for you to comprehend, but Marxism is by no means the only type of socialism. There is a rich history of grassroots democratic and socialist movements throughout the history of western civilization, of which Marxism is only one tendancy. IMO, Marx's analysis can be useful when talking strictly about the class struggle between factory workers and industrialists, since he was writing during the industrial revolution. But we live in a very different era today — one could argue nearly post-industrial — and so I find Marxism to be rather obsolete. Another shortcoming of Marxism, IMO, is that it is too rigid, almost to the consequence of denying free will.
I have extensively studied radical philosophy, including the right-wing "libertarianism" (a more appropriate term is neo-liberalism) of von Mises et al. I find the radicalism most compelling in today's context to be eco-socialism, eco-anarchism, and permacultural thought.
Philosophy is only useful to the extent that it informs action. That is precisely why I find the "libertarian" philosophy utterly useless, because it proposes no course of action for struggle against the state or against the ruling class. It is an ideology of inaction, of preserving the status quo and maintaining the hegemony of corporate capital.
Your conspiracy theory about RAWMI couldn't be more fitting for right-wing black-helicopter-chasing nutjobs. My involvement in the raw milk movement started during the 2009-2010 crackdown, and I have gained absolutely nothing financially out of it. In fact, I have sacrificed a lot of money and relationships in the dairy industry fighting for the legalization of raw milk. Perhaps I am a fool for engaging in this fight, since raw milk cheese is perfectly legal, but alas, I let my radical-activist-inner-self get the best of me.
As for the discussion about Malcom X and MLK, consider these quotations:
I believe that there will be ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think it will be based on the color of the skin… ? Malcolm X
"You cant talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You cant talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out of slums. Youre really tampering and getting on dangerous ground because you are messing with folk then. You are messing with captains of industry Now this means that we are treading in difficult water, because it really means that we are saying that something is wrong with capitalism There must be a better distribution of wealth and maybe America must move toward a Democratic Socialism." -MLK jr.
Again, if you have something factual, would love to see or hear it. But until then, it is mere blowing hot air around.
Bill, your understanding of libertarianism is faulty on numerous levels. Mises and others have wrote and given large amounts of practical suggestions for how to positively apply the general philosophy in our current pharma-bankster-gov-big ag controlled nation.
I think the problem is not that they don't give practical suggestions or a framework for action (again, I have seen hundreds of articles and hundreds of pages in books, etc. that deal with this… Ron Paul's whole Manifesto displays this), but that you disagree with their suggestions because you desire to be able to tell other people what they should and should not do, as with your views on RAWMI, real milk, etc.
Liberty would be the ultimate upending and abolition of the status quo that is destroying small farms and people's health… it also is what our constitution requires.
Day 35 Hospital
Chris had been successful with keeping water down for 24 hours. At 4:00 a.m., they did not need to give him his blood pressure medicine and the remainder of that day they did not need to give him any blood pressure meds. It finally appeared that his blood pressure was getting under control.
Chris had not had a bowel movement for 10 days. He finally had one and it looked as if it was 10 days worth. Amazing considering it was only TPN he was receiving for nutrition. It appeared as if the Reglan helped regulate stomach and intestine issues. (Sorry Gordon)
He was still on 4mgs of methadone and was not experiencing any twitches, redness or itchiness.
We were moved to the basic unit somewhere between 9 and 10 p.m. We now discovered why it is called basic. This part of the hospital is very old. My guess it was built in the 1960s or 70s. The rooms were very small. There was an end table against the wall, a bed, a curtain, a bed, an end table and another wall. There was also a bathroom we shared.
The biggest adjustment, besides the space, was the fact that Chris was no longer hooked to a monitor where you could view his vital signs at any time. After so many days in a PICU, the monitor was like a security blanket. As a parent you become a bit dependent on the readings to make you feel secure about your childs bodily functions. Now it felt like we were suffering withdrawals. How would know what his heart rate was or his blood pressure? I would have to wait for a nurse to measure these functions on him. It was quite a drastic change that triggered a bout of anxiety.
It was Tonys night with Chris. Unfortunately for Tony, the bad nights seemed to fall on his watch. The basic unit is where sick kids were sent from the emergency room. They would be evaluated and the very sick ones would be moved to the 5800 unit. This night, a sick child came from the emergency room and he was placed in Chris room. He cried all night long because he was in so much pain. He hadnt urinated for days. Somewhere in the middle of the night, Tony asked to be moved to another room so Chris could sleep. They found a spot for him and Tony.
In the early morning hours, Chris blood pressured dropped dramatically. They had to move him back to the 5800 unit. It was a short stay in the basic unit.
Did you or they confuse the dates or is there more than one Colorado Cheese Festival going on?
Lynn, I confused the dates – Sorry! You are correct, the Colorado Cheese Festival is Nov 5-6.
Thank you!!!
-Blair
Wonder if they will get more aggressive in pushing their contaminated phoods..
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_24059.cfm
Someone posted about Prowers County and the listeria outbreak on the last post. Most of eastern Co is filled with cafos. In the late 80s we drove through Lamar, which is in Prowers county and the aroma before you ever got to the town was overwhelming. The stockyards had mountians of manure and cattle just standing in the slurry up to there bellies.
It's all about $$$, greed rules.
http://www.connecttristates.com/news/contents.aspx?metadata=keywords=CAFO
Im sorry to hear that Bill sacrificed a lot of money and relationships in the dairy industry fighting for the legalization of raw milk (which was already legal in Wisconsin, by the way), but Id suggest that maybe it is his aggressive tactics that in part caused those relationships to be severed. One does not teach, teach, teach by strong-arming someone and marginalizing their opinions. Plus, those of us in the industry absolutely resent the insinuation that he has sacrificed more than we have, when we produced and sold raw milk and voluntarily and knowingly put ourselves in DATCPs crosshairs.
Probably most interesting to me, even as Bill seems thoroughly entrenched in his political philosophy, it has changed over time. Now a democratic socialist, he was once an anarchist who stated, Democratic government is impossible.
Bill Anderson (certainkindoffool@gmail.com) is a Community Activist, Anti-Authoritarian Social Revolutionary and Anarchist philosopher. He is also a former UW student.
http://badgerherald.com/oped/2006/11/16/voting_divides_spurs.php
Perhaps I am a fool for engaging in this fight, since raw milk cheese is perfectly legal, but alas, I let my radical-activist-inner-self get the best of me.
Bill, you may see your activism as a duty, but in my household, it is not welcome or wanted.
John M.,
For all those with all these theories about WAPF, FTC, and RAWMI, I would really like some evidence… since well 90% of FTC's cases attest to the fact that they do not support or are working for RAWMI type standards, along with every single conversation I have ever had with people at FTC… seems just a wee bit too far fetched.
Im sorry if this line of thinking challenges your sensibilities, but if youre looking for concrete evidence you will not find it. Do you expect to open the WAPF homepage one day and see a banner that reads We Are Controlled Opposition? Of course you dont. The thought process behind this is one of connecting dots and understanding how our government likes to create and/or control grassroots movements. This is from an article talking about the Tea Party:
An Astroturf campaign is a fake grassroots movement: it purports to be a spontaneous uprising of concerned citizens, but in reality it is founded and funded by elite interests. Some Astroturf campaigns have no grassroots component at all. Others catalyse and direct real mobilisations.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/25/tea-party-koch-brothers
Considering this, I think it is impossible to believe that the government will not co-opt the raw milk movement, if it hasnt already. Id suggest that weve already been co-opted.
If its hard to understand the hows and whys of our government, Id suggest you investigate their insidious side. Research MK Ultra and Operation Northwoods, read Programmed to Kill or the Laurel Canyon series (free on the internet) by Dave McGowan, War is a Racket by Major General Smedley Butler, or How to Create an Undetectable Mind Control Slave by Fritz Springmeier. Couple this with Tim Wightman admitting he was consulting Codex to write the National Standards, and the fact that S510 allows for the creation of third-party certifiers (RAWMI?) and you may see what I see.
http://realrawmilkfacts.com/raw-milk-regulations
Wisconsin:
Retail Sale of Raw Milk Allowed? No.
Other Sale of Raw Milk Allowed Yes – allows incidental sales directly to consumer at farm where produced. .
Citations:WI St 97.24 (requiring that milk sold to consumers be Grade A and requiring that Grade A products be effectively pasteurized); Wis. Adm. Code. ATCP 60.235 .
MW
At plumbbobblog.com, within the posting on 6/27/2011, Posing As Christians, Philip Weingart placed this citation:
"Some members have alluded to the notion that people might infiltrate [Christian] groups with the intention of furthering their agenda. While this may sound a bit conspiratorial, I want to acknowledge that it is true, that it is very common, and that I have been paid to do this in the past, that is; not now.
Before I was saved, I worked for [organization's name redacted to protect the identity of the author.] I worked as a writer and as a(n) [official title redacted]. I routinely assumed false identities in order to introduce some radical agenda to a group. Staff writers had accounts at all the major newspapers sites and at various blogs and forums. We would pose as members of the group to legitimize our authority. I would pretend to be black, pretend to be a woman, pretend to be an immigrant, or pretend to be a Christianwhatever suited the cause.
My wife, formerly a [topic redacted] activist, did the same thing.
My point is, its not just trolls who do this sort of thing: its a concerted effort made by multi-million dollar a year organizations. They particularly want to infiltrate conservative groups and slowly introduce their agenda. The more people who profess to be Christians and, for instance, advocate for gay rights, the more tolerable the stance becomes. The position gravitates from unthinkable heresy to well, we disagree, but were still brothers in Christ to acceptance. It really is that simple, and frankly it works. We need to be cautious of this, and we really need to consider the motives of people introducing foreign ideas, as well as the impact merely tolerating those ideas will have on the future of our group. Tolerance is what they rely on.
My $0.02, from someone whos been on the other side."
I find Weingarts citation fascinating. We are thrown onto our own resources to think through whatever is presented to us. It is useless to judge matters by evaluating book covers.
Liberty and freedom are the air of death to those that seek control over other people. But maniacs need to be brought under control for the sake of others as well as for their own sakes. Who does the controlling? Who draws the boundaries? The roots are always determinative of the fruits. If the roots of our societal structures are solicitous of death and control of that which is by nature free, the fruits without fail will tend towards limitation followed by death, destruction, chaos. If the roots are solicitous of life and supportive of liberty and freedom for that which is by nature free, the fruits will without fail tend towards liberty and freedom.
I just heard a political candidate discuss what must be done by the government to get the economy of the U.S. of A. going. I do not concur with that gentleman. Let the government defend and protect our liberty and our freedom. The CPSIA of 2008 alone has destroyed plenty of legitimate economic activity in this country because it is badly written. It was nevertheless enacted by the 2nd session of the 110th congress and signed into law. Neither those scolds nor subsequent scolds could be bothered to repair the CPSIA. They were, I suppose, too occupied with subsequent, and weightier legislative matters to repair the CPSIA of 2008. So who weathers best this 110th congressional storm of oppression on legitimate business? The bigger the better. Many smaller business have been significantly hurt.
The members of congress that engage in this type of counter-productive legislating are all, all elected every two years. I strongly recommend paying attention to the substantive matters re. our governance: federal, state, and local. The allies of our liberty and freedom are like-minded people the world over. Let us shore up our liberty and freedom through understanding it in the first place. There are others willing to adopt it if we will dust it off and preserve it.
Liberty and freedom are high maintenance. The pursuit of happiness is not license.
Mr. J. Ingvar Odegaard
The current legislation was enacted in 1957, and at that time with every piece of legislation a document describing the intention of the legislation was drafted. According to a friend of mine who has studied this document, the intention of the 1957 legislation was to consolidate milk production into the hands of the cooperatives, its true, but it was not intended to ban raw milk altogether; thus, the incidental sales clause.
FTCLDF mentioned the incidental sales clause in their case for the Zinnickers/Craigs, and Judge Fiedler did address this, saying basically that since they never argued the *intent* of the legislation and presented no research on it, he could not make a judgment on it.
Interestingly, the homepage of FTCLDF lists raw milk in Wisconsin as illegal, where on the MarlerClark sponsored page Milky Way provided its listed as available through incidental sales.
http://jezebel.com/thomas-westerman/
Govt workers are screened so well…. sick people in this world and put in places of authority.
http://www.foodhaccp.com/indexcopy.html nice sponsors…
http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/%e2%80%98no-food-rights%e2%80%99-judge-quits-to-work-for-monsanto-law-firm/
"The Wisconsin judge who recently ruled that we have no right to own a cow or drink its milk resigned to join one of Monsantos law firms."
MW
I did not think that this law firm had any dealings with Big – Ag but I was wrong . . .
It seemed to me that this judge just wanted to go back to criminal law . . .
Now I am mad . . . really, really mad . . . .
People are now not buying Cargill's crap . . . off 66% . . . . the PTB are going to be after the small local producers and those that serve them even harder now . . .
This may explain why my own butcher is having a difficult time ramping up to a State Inspected facility . . . . he had to contract someone out to come up with a suitable HACCP plan . . . can you believe this . . . and I could eat off his custom butcher floor . . . he is so clean . . .no slaughterhouse smell either on his facility . . .
Kind regards,
Violet
http://www.kilbyridgefarmmaine.blogspot.com
I believe this is true.
MW when a person is placed at the head of an entity and makes a statement that consuming raw milk is the same as playing Russian roulette, (Russian roulette is sucidial and when a person is suicidal they are not in their right mind for that moment) in essence he is stating that we are all in psychosis. Shame on him for lumping all raw milk consumers. I also do not hear anyone from those govt entities disputing him…so they all must agree.
For those who don't know: psychosis is when a person has lost contact with reality, usually with delusions and/or hallucinations.
When in fact we are better in touch with reality than he….
Day 36 Hospital
Once back at the 5800 unit, they started an IV drip for low blood pressure. In the morning when the doctors made their rounds, the nephrologist told us that one of the negative side effects of Reglan is that it can cause problems with the heart which lowered his blood pressure. They took him off the Reglan and this medication was now on the dont use list along with morphine. It was added to the wristband.
It was nice to have the monitor back. One day without it and look what happened.
We were put in room with another unhappy, crying child. We took Chris to the playroom and watched a movie so he wouldnt have to listen to the crying. As we passed the other rooms, Chris heard another child crying and told me that was the boy he was in the room with last night. He said he could recognize that cry anywhere. I guess you would if you had to listen to someone cry for hours. It is difficult to get rest in a hospital full of sick kids.
While we were in the playroom, the mom of the sick child from the previous night came to thank Tony for being so kind and helpful the night before. She was terrified being in the hospital and experiencing her child in so much pain. They figured out his bladder wasnt releasing and gave him a medication that helped. She also told us how bad she felt that Chris didnt get much sleep.
Chris was still on 4mgs of methadone, and he drank a total of 6 ounces of water. It was a great accomplishment.
Louis Pasteur was a bastid and a liar.
With respect to the article you referenced.
All manipulative, self serving and overbearing forces we see at work (past and present) have played a pivotal role in shaping human demeanor and its antagonistic bias towards organisms. The process is made simpler when society is enamored by and idolizes a man such as Pasteur and his theory.
Ken Conrad