Selling eggs now illegal in “free” America

Incredible.

Just incredible.

In Ohio, formerly a free state in formerly free America, a family sold some eggs to an undercover government agent — and was assaulted by a SWAT team.

SWAT teams are American — or Amerikan — versions of the Gestapo, the Geheime Staatspolizei: “Secret State Police.”

Hey, didn’t we defeat the Gestapo and the other Nazis in World War II? I seem to remember my father, who died earlier this year at 90, a captain in the U.S. Army in World War II, mentioning a little something about how he and a couple of million other G.I.’s invaded Europe and liberated it from tyranny.

Here’s what happened in Ohio, reported WorldNetDaily.com:

A state agent from the Ohio Department of Agriculture pressured a family whose members run a food cooperative for friends and neighbors to “sell” him a dozen eggs, sparking accusations of entrapment from a lawyer defending the family.

The case brought by state and local authorities against a co-op run by John and Jacqueline Stowers in LaGrange, Ohio, came to a head on Dec. 1 when police officers used SWAT-style tactics to burst into the home, hold family members including children at gunpoint and confiscate the family’s personal food supply.

Secret police. Raids by government goons. Guns pointed at unarmed family members, including even children. Stealing food.

Is this America, or…

California Assemblywoman wants to increase costs for assisted living

Yet another bad idea has washed up on the beaches of the Fruity and Nutty State. Reports a biased article in the Sacramento Bee:

Assembly Speaker-elect Karen Bass recalls scrambling to find a home for her late uncle, Thomas Duckett, after his rent was “unexpectedly jacked up” at the assisted living facility where he lived near Los Angeles.

Assemblywoman Lois Wolk says the facility in Davis where her late mother-in-law, Gertrude Cartino, was living lost power for two days after a storm.

Driven in part by their personal experiences, the two Democratic lawmakers have joined a coalition of seniors, caregivers and the Service Employees International Union, in calling for increased regulation of the fast-growing assisted living industry. The group calls itself the Campaign to Improve Assisted Living.

I’ve had recent experience of this industry with one of my relatives, and can report that regulation is the last thing needed. It only would raise prices and reduce the number of beds in these places.

Doesn’t Ms. Bass realize that rent controls would only force providers out of the assisted living business? And that government itself — her beloved Legislature — is behind much of the high cost of housing for everybody in California? How about cutting regulations on building new houses, apartments, and businesses? How about cutting taxes across the board?

As to the power outage brought up by Ms. Wolk: How could that be blamed on an assisted living home? Does she believe the home also owns the power company?

I’ll tell you how to find a good home for your loved one, if you need it. A good friend told me this, I used it, and it works. You should be able to find a place for $3,000 to $3,500 a month. That’s a lot of money, but it’s the way it is.

1. Find a home with between 8 and 12 residents. Any more and it becomes impersonal.

2. Make sure the home is spotless.

3. Make sure the home is run by a “take charge” Registered Nurse. You don’t want a softie. You want someone who will insist that the staff act properly toward the residents. That way, the staff will respect the R.N. and be inspired to do their jobs with skill and love.

We don’t need a government solution here. We need less government — and more common sense by citizens.

Gov. Arnold, Legislature terminate raw milk in California

If you’ve never had raw milk, I suggest you try it. You’ll never go back to that chalky “pastuerized” and “homogenized” stuff.

But isn’t raw milk unhealthy? Not if it’s produced right, in a clean diary. In fact, the other stuff is homogenized and pasteurized in part to make up for an unclean dairy. It lets the big agribusinesses make cheap milk in big quantities. Raw milk also helps reduce allergies. You can get info on raw milk here.

Also delicious are raw cheese and especially healthy, raw butter. Unfortunately, raw dairy products cost more than twice as much as the pasteurized stuff. But it’s worth it.

Now, government is cracking down on these healthy foods. Gov. Arnold and the California Legislature stuck us with AB 1735, which imposes strict and unnecessary new standards on raw milk producers. Reports the Chronicle:

California’s two raw milk producers filed suit Thursday to keep the state from imposing a strict new standard that, they say, would put them out of business.

The suit, filed in San Benito County Superior Court, is part of an all-out effort by the raw milk dairies and the estimated 40,000 dedicated raw milk consumers in California to forestall enforcement of the new law, AB1735, which takes effect Jan. 1….

Raw milk proponents see AB1735 as a way for the state to effectively ban raw milk without actually saying so. The two dairy owners were not informed of the proposal as it went through the Legislature and weren’t offered the chance to make their case against the coliform limit. Passage was routine.

The lawsuit asks that the law be declared unconstitutional and the court keep it from taking effect.

Organic Pastures, whose milk, cheese, and butter I’ve used for years, explains:

Section 35928f of the California Food and Agricultural Code says:

The Legislature finds and declares that the state does not intend to limit or restrict the availability of certified raw milk and certified raw milk products to those persons desiring to consume such milk and such products, provided such milk and products meet standards of sanitation and wholesomeness at least equal to market milk that is grade A raw milk, as defined in Section 35891.

California law says that our access to raw milk will not be limited but it must meet sanitation requirements. AB 1735 changes the sanitation requirements for raw milk sold to consumers.

Eighty percent of the milk that comes out of cows would not meet this new level of “sanitation.” That 80% would be considered unsanitary and unfit for human consumption. In effect raw milk will be “limited” under AB 1735 to the 20% of milk that might possibly qualify under the new sanitation threshold. This is an unprecedented requirement in California milk legislation.

Why not let consumers decide? Aren’t we Americans supposed to be “free”? Why does government force us to use its favored milk, instead of the kind we like and believe is better for us? Who does Gov. Arnold think he is terminating our right to healthy, raw milk?

And who is Arnold, whose career is built on injecting himself with steroids, to tell us what to put into our bodies?

The Weston A. Price foundation, which champions raw milk, was kinder to Arnold:

Gov. Schwarzenegger is perhaps the most progressive governor California has ever had regarding health issues. It is doubtful he had any idea that AB1735 contained a hidden surprise that would threaten raw milk. How could he have known? There were no discussions or debate.

But the law still will go into effect Jan. 1, 2008. And it is chilling that the all-powerful government can take away healthy foods we love and need.

Contact your legislator and demand repeal of AB1735.

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No building permits needed

Government always insists that, if it doesn’t regulate us to death, we can’t live. Yet here’s a great example that such a belief is false:

Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia church, an unfinished Barcelona landmark that is considered a marvel of modern architecture, has lacked a construction permit for more than a century, city officials acknowledged Friday.

The church, one of the greatest architectural achievements of the last century, hasn’t fallen down. Nobody has been killed.

If innumerable permits had been needed, it might never have arisen to its current height and beauty. This is another example of how government can most help us by getting out of our lives.