Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

When you see your Government at work - remember to ask if they have warrants

Nevada Health Dept. Shuts Down Gourmet Farm Dinner– “Pour Clorox on the Food”

November 11, 2011

By Augie - cross posted from Journal of Natural Food and Health

Folks, you can’t make this stuff up; although for a moment I thought it was– like an exaggerated satire from The Onion. The health inspector arrived shortly before the guests sat down to chow down–down on the farm. The farm fresh gourmet menu was not fit for the pigs or composting and had to be sanitized with Clorox and put in the garbage. Apparently, the health department inspector is on a mission from God to protect and promote the health of the planet by preventing a potential disease pandemic–even at private dinners on farms. After all, they cut vegetables without state permission, making them a “unlicensed food processor”–among other violations.

During this fiasco, FTCLDF’s General Counsel, Gary Cox, was called and he simply suggested that they apply our fundamental constitutional right to be protected against “unlawful search and seizure.” Gary said to ask two questions.  “Do you have a search warrant?”  “Do you have an arrest warrant?” That put the fear of God into the inspector because she then ran off. Now I would have added one other statement for the inspector: “you may be subjected to personal liabilities with civil and criminal penalties for your actions in the line of public service.” That could have caused a different kind of running off.– Augie

Here is the letter from  Monte and Laura Bledsoe from Quail Hollow Farm (Source: Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund) .

October 24, 2011

Dearest Guests, (You have all become dear to us!)
What an evening we had this last Friday night!  It had all the makings of a really great novel: drama, suspense, anticipation, crisis, heroic efforts, villains and victors, resolution and a happy ending.

The evening was everything I had dreamed and hoped it would be. The weather was perfect, the farm was filled with friends and guests roaming around talking about organic, sustainable farming practices. Our young interns were teaching and sharing their passion for farming and their role in it.  (A high hope for our future!)  The pig didn’t get loose.

Our guests were excited to spend an evening together. The food was prepared exquisitely.  The long dinner table, under the direction of dear friends, was absolutely stunningly beautiful. The music was superb. The stars were bright and life was really good.

Down With Evil Corporations

click to enlarge

While the President, liberal Democrats, union leaders and some in the media have tried to convince Americans that this is  a grassroots movement that is raging against corporate greed on Wall Street and is being led by disenfranchised Americans, the truth of the matter is that this is the usual bunch of suspects on the far left such as International ANSWER, Code Pink, the Communist Party USA, and the Workers World Party, to name a few — a loose coalition of anarchist groups and angry trust-fund babies looking for their lot in life.

See more at http://tinyurl.com/3q36a52

Agenda 21: US and UN Share a Global Vision - can we in Floyd resist it?

We have in Floyd the culmination of many dreams. We love the land and appreciate the people whose efforts make the county what it is today. The banner of international sustainable development is a screen for the implementation of communitarian wealth sharing and centralized control. It has little to do with actual conservation of resources.

If local planning efforts actually listen to the citizens living here, we may be able to implement needed changes without losing local control and losing private property rights. If we eagerly jump for the government grants held out as carrots for compliant communities, we can find ourselves obligated to turn control of our communities over to unelected regional authorities.The blueprint for this bleak future is shown below:

Agenda 21: US and UN Share a Global Vision

- reposted from biggovernment.com

by Laura Rambeau Lee

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held on June 14, 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  At this conference, referred to as the Rio Earth Summit, the participants crafted a blueprint for the world, commonly known as Agenda 21.

In its preamble, Agenda 21, Chapter 1 states “Humanity stands at a defining moment in history. We are confronted with a perpetuation of disparities between and within nations, a worsening of poverty, hunger, ill health and illiteracy, and the continuing deterioration of the ecosystems on which we depend for our well-being.  However, integration of environment and development concerns and greater attention to them will lead to the fulfilment of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and managed ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future. No nation can achieve this on its own; but together we can – in a global partnership for sustainable development.”

In other words, the goal of the United Nations is social and economic justice through a redistribution of wealth scheme using the threat of anthropogenic (man-made) global warming or climate change to implement the market based solution of carbon emissions trading. The International Monetary Fund has proposed a plan for a Green Fund to achieve this goal.

Following this Earth Summit President George H. W. Bush declared:

“Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced –a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This shift will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every human action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at every level.”

–signed by G.H. Bush, 1992

Despite pressure from the United Nations partners, U.S. delegates did not sign on to the convention.

On June 29, 1993 President Clinton issued Executive Order 12852 establishing the President’s Council on Sustainable Development as a result of the Rio Earth Summit in an effort to cooperate and implement the goals of Agenda 21.  That EO was revoked by Executive Order 13138 on September 30 1999.

During George W. Bush’s two terms as President he continued to further the goals of this UN agenda, following his father’s lead.

Why is all of this important?  This ties in directly with the push for cap and trade legislation that had been floating around the House and Senate the past few years.  When Congress failed to pass a cap and trade bill, on May 14, 2010 the E.P.A. unveiled their rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the largest industrial facilities, with a phased in approach that began on January 1, 2011.  As a result we are hearing about the many coal plants that will be forced to shut down in the next few years, because they cannot meet these emissions reduction numbers, and it will be too expensive to retrofit their plants.  President Obama announced new CAFÉ standards for automobiles that will require them to achieve 36.5 miles to the gallon by 2016 and 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025. The talking points are that this will help us achieve energy security and reduce our use of foreign oil.  But the truth is that the United States has committed to the United Nations and its partners to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and these CAFÉ standards will have to be met in order to achieve this goal.

When the cap and trade legislation failed to pass, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) said “The Obama administration has again reminded Washington that if Congress won’t legislate, the EPA will regulate.  Those who have spent years stalling need to understand: killing a Senate bill is no longer success.   And if Congress won’t legislate a solution, the EPA will regulate one, and it will come without the help to America’s business and consumers contained in the American Power Act.”   It is apparent in his statement that this administration is intent on pursuing this agenda with or without Congressional approval.

In April of 2010 Jon Stewart, of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, interviewed Lisa P. Jackson, the Administrator of the E.P.A.  During their discussion she stated that they were waiting for the price of carbon to be established so that we could meet our obligations to the country and the entire world.  At the time I did not understand what she was talking about, but it is apparent now what she meant.

The United States made commitments to the global community that it would implement emissions reductions, and even though this country never ratified this treaty it is intent on complying with its dictates.

Click below to see the Daily Show interview with Lisa P. Jackson

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-26-2010/lisa-p--jackson

 

Government Agenda 21 Update: Family Farms Are Under Attack

I read the very first link in this article and I fear for the farmers of Floyd County. Read the proposed rule and see if you agree. There is a lot of what I would call weasel-wording about who this regulation would apply to but once in place there are no safeguards that the DOT would not raise the requirements as they see fit.

Once again, the federal government is extending its reach into areas that are the resonsibility of the state.

The Federal Register

The Daily Journal of the United States Government

Proposed Rule

Regulatory Guidance: Applicability of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to Operators of Certain Farm Vehicles and Off-Road Agricultural Equipment

---

Government Agenda 21 Update: Family Farms Are Under Attack

Originally posted on July 31, 2011 at 1:07pm by Mike Opelka

In Late May, the DOT proposed a rule change for farm equipment, and if it this allowed to take effect, it will place significant regulatory pressure on small farms and family farms all across America – costing them thousands of dollars and possibly forcing many of them out of business. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), part of the Department of Transportation (DOT), wants new standards that would require all farmers and everyone on the farm to obtain a CDL (Commercial Drivers License) in order to operate any farming equipment. The agency is going to accomplish this by reclassifying all farm vehicles and implements as Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs).

(It is also important to note here that DOT Secretary Ray LaHood holds a seat on the newly created White House Rural Council. A powerful group whose members have ties to George Soros and The Center For American Progress.)

The move by the DOT appears to be “legislation through regulation.” By reclassifying all farm vehicles and implements as Commercial Vehicles, the federal government will now be able to claim regulatory control over the estimated 800,000 farm workers in America, at the same time, overriding the rights of the states.

This proposed change literally means family farms could no longer legally allow young workers, not old enough to drive and seniors who no longer drive on the public streets, to operate a tractor… even on the family’s private property.

Waco, TX television station KXXV has the story:

The proposed change also means ANYONE driving a tractor or operating any piece of motorized farming equipment would be forced to pass the same rigorous tests and fill out the same detailed forms and diaries required of semi-tractor trailer drivers. This reclassification would bury small farms and family farms in regulation and paperwork.

Some of the additional paperwork and regulation required:

• Detailed logs would need to be kept by all drivers – hours worked, miles traveled, etc.
• Vehicles would have to display DOT numbers
• Drivers would need to pass a physical as well as a drug test – every two years.

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation (WFBF) is one of many farm organizations not happy about the idea and has sent the DOT a letter expressing this opinion:

“WFBF opposes any change in statue or regulatory authority that would reclassify implements of husbandry or other farm equipment as Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs)”

WFBF Director of Governmental Relations Karen Gefvert continues, explaining the excessive cost to farmers if this allowed to move forward:

“The proposed guidance by the FMCSA would result in an initial increased cost to each Wisconsin farmer and employee of $124 just for the CDL license, permit and test; not to mention the time and cost for the behind-the-wheel training that is several thousand dollars.”

Additionally, Illinois farmers believe this regulation will also force new restrictions on trucks used in crop-share hauling. (One estimate claims more than 30% of Illinois farmers utilize shared land.) These crop-share trucks are typically limited-use vehicles that often travel fewer than 3000 miles each year, mainly hauling crops from the fields to nearby grain elevators. To require them to follow the same rules as semis would also mean a farmer would be forced to purchase substantial insurance.

The Hancock Journal-Pilot covered the story:

Earlier this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began to define crop-share tenant farmers as “for-hire“ carriers and implements of husbandry as ”commercial motor vehicles.“ The ”for-hire” designation for crop-share tenant farmers would have a dramatic effect on farmers because it voids exemptions from the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program and would require a minimum of $750,000 in insurance coverage for the farmer.

The DOT is holding hearings for public comment on the topic, but only through Monday, August 1st and farmers all across the country are rightfully concerned. No matter what the feedback is from the people who actually grow the food, it appears that the DOT’s mind is made up. Just last week, DOT Administrator Anna Ferro posted an Op-Ed addressing the controversial regulation. The opinion piece closes with this statement:

Everyone in this Administration – from President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary LaHood on down – is committed to the long-term success of America’s agricultural industry. In many ways, agriculture is the backbone of our economy – feeding hundreds of millions of Americans and billions more around the world. As the largest user of freight transportation in the nation, the agricultural industry is also one of USDOT’s most important constituents. We hope that this comment period is the start of a new and productive relationship. We may not ultimately agree on every issue, but we will always listen — and do our best to help America’s farmers succeed.

(A personal aside, when someone tells you, “We may not ultimately agree on every issue, but we will always listen… ” it has always been my experience that they are going to do whatever they wanted to do in the first place. The “listening” was just to make you feel better.)

The FMCSA has said their intent is to create uniformity in how federal safety regulations are carried out across America. The farming community and many of the states that would be affected by this change feel differently. Almost to a man, the farming community believes this to be a local issue, best handled by state governments, and not some Washington DC agency.

To make a comment to the DOT visit – www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket site. Or you can fax your comments here 1–202–493–2251.

H/T – All the active Farm Bureaus working to protect their rights and states rights. And to the ever-vigilent “Resist UN Agenda 21” groups (you know who you are)

Differences in Viewpoint

One of my favorite readers (not an American) made a comment that contained the following paragraph:

No-one owns the land. We may have pieces of paper that give us the man-made legal right to live on it, we may pass that paper down to our children but, in the end, we do not own the land. The land belongs to the planet and the planet belongs to everyone.

There is a vast gulf between that viewpoint and the one I was raised with. I was raised to take responsibility for my actions and to look after the rights of others.

If the planet belongs to everyone, then no one owns anything. The Soviet Union and every other effort at diminishing personal ownership and responsibility has show the results of collectivism to be uniformly unfortunate for all concerned.

If you want current examples of this, look at the abysmal record of Federal housing. Nobody cares if they have no stake in the results.

The big difference between failing economies and successful economies is individual ownership and the pride that comes with that.

The Floyd County Comprehensive Plan will affect your property rights - attend the July 19th meeting

A Public Hearing for the Updated Floyd County Comprehensive Plan will be held by the Floyd County Planning Commission on Tuesday, July 19th at 7 p.m. at the Floyd County Administration Bldg.

The complete draft is available here: http://floydcova.org/compplan.shtml

If you have not read this comprehensive plan, you are not alone as it is a lot to wade through. It has a lot of soothing phrases like "Residents will enjoy the rural character and sense of community that honors the past and forges the future" Unfortunately, all of this is to be accomplished by central control of almost every aspect of our lives.

A lot of work has gone into planning for the centralized control of your use of your private land and your water. Under the guise of protecting the environment, your personal liberties will be subject to central planning by non-elected groups that know better than you do about your needs.

Ask yourself how you are going to have a garden of your own in the communal area. Will your kids be able to play ball there? Can you run your dogs there?  Maybe the community will form a homeowners association to decide who does what.

Along with plans for communal living, there are plans to imposition of business licenses with fees to provide an active inventory for "economic development" purposes.

There are also several mentions of the urgent need to redesign the existing county seal to reflect a progressive and nature-oriented new direction. The old seal has done us well for many years. I for one do not see the need to adapt it to a "going green for Gaia" movement. (see pg 165 of the Comp plan)

A little background data:

Tuesday night we had a packed house at the library for Don Casey's presentation on what "Sustainability" and "Comprehensive Planning" actually means when interpreted by bureaucrats. It was a sobering experience and highlighted the threats to individual property rights when one is uninformed about the details of comprehensive plans.

Don shared a great deal of knowledge and a lot of handouts and DVDs for people to take home.  It fueled a lot of people's energy to get involved in Floyd's Comprehensive Planning activity.  The Executive Committee surveyed a number of active members and the concensus was that the Comprehensive Planning meeting on the 19th was more important than our FTP meeting on that same night.

As a result, the Executive Committee unanimously decided to urge you to attend the comprehensive planning meeting this month. We will not be holding the regular Floyd Tea Party meeting at the Library on the 19th.

Another disturbing trend - weaponizing government bureaucrats

If you have not seen reports of Department of Education SWAT teams and armed raids by other bloated government agencies, you have not been trying.

Putting weapons in the hands of non-law enforcement bureacrats is an invitation to disaster. Its smacks of a major move toward implementing a totalitarian state.

What's next? Armed school crossing guards?

Here are a few recent stories:

Weaponizing the Small Business Administration and Railroad Retirement Board

Quin Hillyer discusses the increasing armed firepower of the federal government.  Most people expect agencies like the FBI to be well armed for law enforcement purposes.  But the Railroad Retirement Board?  He reports that federal agencies far and wide now have armed agents, including the Small Business Administration.  For what?  To scare away phony 8(a) applications??  The United States Department of Education bought 27 Remington Model 870 12-gauge shotguns last year.  Here is the request for proposals to sell the weapons.  Perhaps the contracting officer, Holly Lee, knows why on earth the Department of Education needs a weapons arsenal. Maybe for the Department of Education SWAT team.

Here is a partial list of agencies that have decided to arm their agents so they can carry out their duties with lethal force:

• Department of Education
• Small Business Administration
• Departments of Health and Human Services
• Agriculture, Labor, and Veterans Affairs
• Bureau of Land Management
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Fish and Wildlife Service

We are already seeing tragedies as a result of this trend: Ninja Bureacrats on the Loose

It seems that many in the government are not content with disarming the American public, now they want to carry arms to enforce their capricious and unconstitutional policies.

Worth watching...

We live in interesting times - again...

Yesterday's vote on the health care reform bill was the result of political machinations, arm twisting and outright bribery on a scale we didn't expect when Barack Obama was elected to bring "new transparency and bipartisanship to government".

It was a beautifully coordinated series of actions that cut through the time-tested defenses of our Constitution and our long history as a well-intentioned Republic. Those who pulled it off consider it a victory, but it may mark a turning point that will have unexpected results.

I have to feel that somewhere in the Democratic Party, some of those in touch with their constituents are wondering if this has "awakened a sleeping giant" of grassroots rebellion against the excesses of government.

From my perspective as a conservative, but not politically active voter, the giant woke up some time ago but was getting its wits together as ordinary citizens kept meeting and exchanging views while most "mainstream" media figures kept their eyes averted and kept praising almost every move by the Obama Administration.

While media figures of uncertain gender applied racial and sexual epithets to the tea party attendees, the tea parties kept gaining adherents and pulled in potential leaders while remaining essentially conservative, anti-big government, and anti-incumbent. This last characteristic may bring about a major change in the makeup of our Congress and Senate over the next four years.

The thing that makes this more than a remote possibility is the historical fact that a splintered group can be united by an attack by an external force. Our present US government has divorced itself from us taxpayers by behavior as alien to ours as Marie Antoinette's was to French subjects in 1789.

The rumbling in the streets is not tumbrils this time, it is the angry voices of people who have woken up to the fact that they were not watching the shop and the people they elected were partying like there was no tomorrow.

If all goes well, that may be exactly what happens...we will know more in November.

Keep your eye on the Internet because that is where history is captured as it is being made.

Maybe it's time to recycle Congress

We started out, as I recall, with a representative form of government which has gradually morphed into an elite group of lawmakers who are no longer accountable to the people who elect them.

For example, our Congress critters vote themselves raises even as the economy tanks because of their inept leadership. These same public servants have a health care system that is not affected by the health care legislation that was voted on today.

In case after case, we find the leadership of the House and Senate buying votes through special deals, funneling money to relatives through contract awards and special tax breaks, and holding closed-door sessions to circumvent established procedures.

I think the problem began with us voters assuming that our representatives would represent our interests and not realizing that once in Washington, DC. our representatives play to a different audience.

Too many Congressmen and Senators have turned a deaf ear to constituent's complaints. Some have even utilized union goons to intimidate voters who asked embarrassing questions. We are seeing a climate of corruption that is getting worse every month.

Even 30 year veterans like Rick Boucher seem indifferent to constituent's questions. Send him an email on a specific measure and you will get a canned response in a month or two with a few platitudes and no specifics.