From the Missouri Newsletter
By Ed Fashing

Checkoffs

A court has ruled that the pork check-off from which farmers give 45 cents/cwt. is unconstitutional. At first look, that amount seems a small price to pay for pork meat ads for consumers. My opinion is: the real story is the $50 million dollars a year that goes into the National Pork Producers Council coffers is used against small hog farmers and to back hog factory farms when legislation is proposed. I believe the NPPC speaks for big hog farmers against interests of small hog farmers.

A majority of pork producers voted during the Clinton Administration against the pork checkoff and have been ignored. The counting of the checkoff referendum was delayed many months. I believe that the checkoff will continue after the 30-day implementation period. “Democracy delayed is democracy denied.”

Another court found the beef checkoff constitutional. Beef packers are more powerful than the pork industry! The situation is similar to the pork industry since the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association receives 85% of its funds from the beef Check-off. The NCBA backs and defends the beef packers and recently helped defeat the 14-day packer ownership ban on owning cattle. NCBA is against the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) a provision of the last sh#### Farm Bill.

The U.S. Trade Representative, Head of the Commodity Future Trading Commission, Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Interior have been selected from leadership positions where they opposed file family farmers. They are elite and globalists. Why do we farmers and ranchers gripe? Because big agribusiness corporations have so much power that they can do whatever they wish no matter how crooked, near-sighted, or absurd that policy is.

Freedom

Fox Network and radio talk show host, Bill O’Rielly, claims: 30% of the population is brave, 30% is cowardly, and 30% tentative in the area of the sniper attacks and execution. This is the same statistic as during the American revolution.

During WW II, the British continued their daily work while being attacked by V-1 & 2 rockets. Read the London is Burning broadcast by Ed Murrow from London during the Blitz. Too many Americans are cowards. If there is nothing for which you will die, then there is nothing for which you live except self-gratification.

Farmers must take a stand or we deserve our fate being decided by others. Many producers think we are at a stage beyond demonstrations. Producers must sue, back laws, lobby, write letters, call talk shows, argue with others, and peacefully demonstrate-even if we go to jail or are fined. John Ashcroft once personally chastised me for protesting as part of a group of 25 farmers asking for justice. If Jefferson or John Adams were alive today, they would be in the streets. Wayne Cryts bravely stood up; that is what woke me up to U.S. farmers’ oppression.

The Patriot Act and HOMELAND SECURITY LEGISLATION scare me. The new security agency should be titled the Neo Security Service, the SS, for short. Many conservatives and liberals fear the new act.

I was in several foreign countries and asked their citizens about how their rights are guaranteed. These countries have no Bill of Rights but they get their civil rights respected because they demand them in the street. In the U.S., we HAD the Bill of Rights but sat on our duffs expecting their application and so we essentially have the Bill of Rights in theory only! A British friend, Cyril Martin, despised U.S. semi and crazy police chases and told me if British bobbies behaved as U.S. cops, the people would go into the streets. The EU is more farmer friendly due to massive demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of German, Irish, British, Dutch, and French farmers. Meanwhile U.S. farmers quietly gripe in the coffeehouse.
Juxtaposition the above statements with the Patriot Act. It was written before 9-11! Ben Franklin said, “Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither…”

American citizens are surrendering civil rights due to the actions of 13 million illegal aliens and terrorists. It makes more sense to guard our borders and to restrict the rights or aliens. Most Americans are descendants of legal aliens who were screened for health and criminal background when they entered Ellis Island or a similar government facility. Today’s situation is dangerous and absurd.

By the way, I believe that the National Democratic Party is becoming the Socialist Party of America. The new minority house leader is a California ultra-liberal. Gephart’s resignation moves Democrats from middle-road to far left. I am still upset with the lack of the Bush Administration canceling USDA, F&WS, and BLM policies that oppress ranchers and farmers and confiscate land. My friend, Dave Arensberg, used to remind me only skunks are in the middle of the road. Jim Hightower say dead armadillos are in the middle of the road.