That being said, it utterly freakin' ridiculous (but not surprising) that our Corporate-Owned Federal Government refuses to regulate our food supply in basic ways to keep up safe.
From MSNBC's David Shuster:
Since this is the time of year when so many of us head to barbecues, I want to alert you to a story you need to know. Our federal government is putting all of us at risk of mad cow disease. And the incompetence and erratic approach of the Department of Agriculture has become so bizarre that one begins to wonder if some officials at that agency are deliberately trying to get fired.
First, a refresher: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE is an infectious disease in cattle that causes their brains to degenerate. Animals with the disease will often stagger and become hopelessly agitated before they die, thus the name “mad cow.” The disease is usually fatal to people who eat infected beef. And since the proteins that cause the disease can survive temperatures hot enough to melt lead... turning a hamburger into a hockey puck (while killing off other potential problems) will not make BSE meat safe to eat.
At the moment, there appears to be an outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan... and American researchers are incredibly nervous that we may be on the verge of a deadly mad cow outbreak here in the United States. That’s what makes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approach so troubling.
As it stands, the U.S. Department of Agriculture refuses to even consider the main recommendations put forward by the World Health Organization that have stopped mad cow disease across Europe. What are these recommendations? The first is testing. The other is to stop the practice of feeding cow blood, tissue, and slaughterhouse waste to other cows.
I can hear some of you now: “Come on, Shuster, that feeding practice is so grotesque it couldn’t possibly be happening in the United States.”
Actually, it is happening a lot. Sure, there are some livestock producers who don’t give their animals the kind of feed that contains cow blood or waste. But many livestock producers do.
And the fact is, much of the commercially produced calf feed available today contains the very stuff that could spread mad cow disease throughout our food chain.
What is the Department of Agriculture doing about this? Nothing. As I said, the Department of Agriculture refuses to even consider stronger regulations that would put an end to this disgusting practice. But it gets even worse. The department is doing everything it can to assure the public that our food chain “is safe.” Thus, we have a ridiculous pep rally like the one on Thursday at the University of Minnesota. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns will, as his press release says, “hold a roundtable discussion regarding the safety of North American beef...” Those invited to participate include USDA officials, producers, packers, and others.
Who are the others? Groups that don’t want more testing and don’t want the government passing regulations that would make calf feed cleaner and thus slightly more expensive. In fact, consumer groups, organic livestock companies, and beef producers who oppose allowing cows to eat cow blood and slaughterhouse waste will not be allowed to participate.
The irony is that if the Department of Agriculture really cared about the U.S. meat industry, the department would add a little pain now to prevent the industry from being decimated down the road when an outbreak occurs and nobody wants to buy U.S. meat. But once again, it’s all about short-term profits and paying back your political contributors. And consumers are left holding the bag... or in this case, mourning the deaths of loved ones who could die suddenly from the human form of BSE.
Did I mention that American scientists are tracking a mysterious spike in the U.S. of the human form of BSE, known as Creutzfeldt Jakob disease?
I apologize if this blog about cows eating slaughterhouse waste has made you lose your appetite. But, tell that to your congressman or senator. Maybe they will have better luck getting explanations from the government officials who are supposed to be responsible. My calls today to the Department of Agriculture were not returned.
Questions/comments: DShuster@MSNBC.com
Seriously, when the beef hits the fan and we have an outbreak, and it cripples businesses like McDonald's, I am willing to bet that the Republicans try to blame the Democrats, which will be pathetic, because they're in charge and have the power to prevent this.
To bad people dying of Mad Cow disease don't spend millions on lobbyists.
-The Oklahoma Hippy
Please please please, eat as much mad cow infested beef as you can.
ReplyDeleteby the way, you fat dickweed- can you answer these questions?
ReplyDelete15 question on Galloway
Journalist Johann Hari poses 15 questions to a supporter of George Galloway.
If you are ever confronted by somebody who supports George Galloway or
has any sympathy for him, here are 15 questions to put to them:
(1) Do you believe Saddam Hussein's genocidal assaults on the Kurds, democrats and Marsh Arabs in 1991 were "a civil war with massive
violence on both sides"?
(2) Would you go on holiday with the foreign minister of a fascist state?
(3) Would you go disco dancing with the foreign minister of a fascist state?
(4) Would you call for the release of the former foreign minister of a fascist state on the grounds that he is "an eminent diplomatic and intellectual person"?
(5) Do you believe Iraqi trade unionists today are "quislings"? Would you dismiss their tearful recollections of torture at the hands of Ba'athists by calling it "a party trick"?
(6) When told about Saddam Hussein's seven palaces in a country where people are "dropping like flies", would you respond by saying, "Our own head of state has a fair bit of real estate herself"?
(7) Do you believe Saddam Hussein is "likely to have been the leader in history who came closest to creating a truly Iraqi national identity, and he developed Iraq and the living, health, social and education standards of his own people"?
(8) Do you believe Fidel Castro is "not a dictator, not at all"?
(9) Do you believe the Charity Commission leads "politically inspired witch-hunts"? Do you think it is reasonable that the Mariam Appeal documents have never been handed over for investigation, and are somewhere in an undisclosed location in Jordan where they cannot be viewed?
(10) Do you believe Tony Blair is "waging war on Muslims both at home and abroad", that he is " a crusader", and "he will burn in the hellfires for all eternity"? If so, would you say so in areas of extreme racial tension to audiences of young and angry Muslim men?
(11) Do you believe the Shi'ites Saddam murdered in the 1980s were often "a fifth column" who "actively undermined the Iraqi war effort in the interests of
their country's enemy"?
(12) Do you think it is "unreasonable" to ask a member of parliament to live on less than £150,000 a year?
(13) Would you describe yourself as "a Stalinist" if it didn't "make a rod for my own back"?
(14) Was the day the Soviet Union fell "the worst day of your life"?
(15) When you found out there had been a coup in Pakistan, was your response to declare, "In poor third world countries like Pakistan, politics is too
important to be left to petty squabbling politicians. Pakistan is always on the brink of breaking apart into its widely disparate components. Only the armed forces can really be counted on to hold such a country together ... Democracy is a means, not an end in itself"?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, why don't you oppose George Galloway?
Ok, I'll answer them, but I am going to do it in the style of Logic Monkey, Leader of the Ass-Clowns.
ReplyDeleteLet's C
(1) Do you believe Saddam Hussein's genocidal assaults on the Kurds, democrats and Marsh Arabs in 1991 were "a civil war with massive violence on both sides"?
No. I believe that the Kurds were slaughtered because George H.W. Bush's CIA promised them support if they attempted to overthrow Saddam, and then left them out to dry.
(2) Would you go on holiday with the foreign minister of a fascist state?
Is George Bush inviting me fishing? Sure, I'll clear brush with the Cowboy from Connecticut.
(3) Would you go disco dancing with the foreign minister of a fascist state?
Disco Dancing with Condi? Hell Yes!
(4) Would you call for the release of the former foreign minister of a fascist state on the grounds that he is "an eminent diplomatic and intellectual person"?
Well, she's the daughter of sharecroppers isn't she? And she speaks almost 3 words of Russian. Sure, let her go.
(5) Do you believe Iraqi trade unionists today are "quislings"? Would you dismiss their tearful recollections of torture at the hands of Ba'athists by calling it "a party trick"?
No, I would call it a prequel to Abu Gharib.
(6) When told about Saddam Hussein's seven palaces in a country where people are "dropping like flies", would you respond by saying, "Our own head of state has a fair bit of real estate herself"?
No, I would point out that our Leader is much more altruistic than that. He helps rich people build palaces for themselves. He's so much cooler because he give money to the rich in the form of huge corporate tax cuts while at the same time cutting all the social programs of designed to help the poor.
(7) Do you believe Saddam Hussein is "likely to have been the leader in history who came closest to creating a truly Iraqi national identity, and he developed Iraq and the living, health, social and education standards of his own people"?
Uh, yeah, pretty much. It's easy to forget that you can do all those things and still be a mass-mudering fuckhead, just like George W. Bush.
Before we attacked in 1991, Iraq was a mondern nation with a middle class and the highest education levels in that part of the world.
(8) Do you believe Fidel Castro is "not a dictator, not at all"?
No, but I also don't believe that dissasemble means to lie.
I also didn't believe Dick Cheney when he said "we know that Iraq has reconstituted nuclear weapons."
(9) Do you believe the Charity Commission leads "politically inspired witch-hunts"? Do you think it is reasonable that the Mariam Appeal documents have never been handed over for investigation, and are somewhere in an undisclosed location in Jordan where they cannot be viewed?
They're in the same place as the WMD, right bitch?
(10) Do you believe Tony Blair is "waging war on Muslims both at home and abroad", that he is " a crusader", and "he will burn in the hellfires for all eternity"? If so, would you say so in areas of extreme racial tension to audiences of young and angry Muslim men?
No, I would say George W. Bush is "waging war on Muslims both at home and abroad", that he is " a crusader", and "he will burn in the hellfires for all eternity," and Tony Blair is just his spinless poodle
(11) Do you believe the Shi'ites Saddam murdered in the 1980s were often "a fifth column" who "actively undermined the Iraqi war effort in the interests of
their country's enemy"?
Actually, yes I do believe that. They were fighting Iran, and Iran was controlled by Shi'ites. And the Sunnis have a history in Iraq of being complete fuckheads to the Shi'ites. Why wouldn't I believe that. It's called REALITY.
(12) Do you think it is "unreasonable" to ask a member of parliament to live on less than £150,000 a year?
No more so than I think it's unreasonable to ask Congress to guarantee health care to everyone in the good old United States of America.
(13) Would you describe yourself as "a Stalinist" if it didn't "make a rod for my own back"?
Nope, but I'm not Scottish.
(14) Was the day the Soviet Union fell "the worst day of your life"?
Nope. The day that Fox News went live is proably up there though.
(15) When you found out there had been a coup in Pakistan, was your response to declare, "In poor third world countries like Pakistan, politics is too
important to be left to petty squabbling politicians. Pakistan is always on the brink of breaking apart into its widely disparate components. Only the armed forces can really be counted on to hold such a country together ... Democracy is a means, not an end in itself"?
When I found out there had been a coup in Pakistan, I said, "Is there anything good on TV tonight?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, why don't you oppose George Galloway?
Because my support of George Galloway begins and ends with his testimony before congress you idiotic brainless pantywaste.
-FIN-
Ok, so in the style of Logic Monkey, I have answered these questions.
I wonder how I manage to deal with people who have so clearly seperated themselves from reality?
-The Oklahoma Hippy
No. I believe that the Kurds were slaughtered because George H.W. Bush's CIA promised them support if they attempted to overthrow Saddam, and then left them out to dry.
ReplyDeleteonly because you limp wristed little butt fuckers on the left and in the U.N. wouldn't let us finish the job- just like you wouldn't let Patton kill the Russians off in WW2. Sissy little man.
Mr Ranck.
ReplyDeleteYou actually claim to teach American History?
Those limp wristed little butt fuckers were George H. W. Bush and Colin Powell.
I think what you school administration needs is a best of list of you comments.
What do you think?