We are still less than two months into the Obama/Reid/Pelosi axis of fiscal evil and I have hit the point of no longer being shocked at anything they do. I alternate between thinking they are stupid and incompetent and they are malicious. I really do not have an answer that question, but the stupidity coming from Washington could fuel endless blogs.
The Democrats are now pushing two items, which are just more examples of stupidity, malice, greed or a sad combination of all three.
The first is the so-called “Food Safety Modernization Act”. It is sponsored by one Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat representative from Connecticut. It seeks to control food establishments. Food establishments are defined as follows:
(A) IN GENERAL- The term ‘food establishment’ means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.
This can include almost anything, including a food coop, small farm or even a farmers market. As with all federal regulation, it imposes a daunting amount of paperwork that my be provided to federal regulators. Failure to comply can result in a fine of up to one million dollars per day, plus seizure of the property.
The primary beneficiaries of this bill are going to be the big food companies. They can afford to hire the accountants and lawyers needed to navigate this monstrosity of a bill. The small farmer, looking at the possibility of a bankrupting fine or even seizure of his farm for even an inadvertent error, is going to think twice about starting or staying in business. As I mentioned, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the bill are the big food companies, such as Monsanto. I mention Monsanto, because, amazingly Representative DeLauro’s husband is one Stanley Greenburg, employed by Monsanto.
Of course, it is only a conflict of interest when a Republican is involved.
This bill has the possibility of decimating domestic food production. Nothing in this bill has any impact on imported foods from China or Mexico. I mention those two countries because food from those countries has been the cause of a number of food safety problems.
The second, perhaps more frightening move is that the Obama administration is quiet dismantling the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program, also known as the armed pilot program. Pilots participating in this program must volunteer, be screened, travel at their own expense, take vacation time, so that can go be qualified and then requalified every six months. We have no idea how many incidents have been deterred by the possibility a pilot is armed. But the US Marshals who supervise the program and the FAA, as well as professional groups have all given this program good marks. So why is it being dismantled?
Stupidity? Malice? All of the above?
Time to call your Senators and Congressmen and tell them to kill the Food Safety Modernization Bill and keep the Federal Flight Deck Officer program.
Free America 