http://www.salon.com/2013/07/07/%E2%80%9Cwhy_did_you_shoot_me_i_was_reading_a_book_the_new_warrior_cop_is_out_of_control/
SUNDAY, JUL 7, 2013 07:00 AM EDT
“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”: The new warrior cop is out of control
SWAT teams raiding poker games and trying to stop underage drinking? Overwhelming paramilitary force is on the rise
(Credit: Public Affairs Books/Jenna Pope)
Sal Culosi is dead because he bet on a football game — but it wasn’t a bookie or a loan shark who killed him. His local government killed him, ostensibly to protect him from his gambling habit.
Several months earlier at a local bar, Fairfax County, Virginia, detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. “To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends,” a friend of Culosi’s told me shortly after his death. “None of us single, successful professionals ever thought that betting fifty bucks or so on the Virginia–Virginia Tech football game was a crime worthy of investigation.” Baucum apparently did. After overhearing the men wagering, Baucum befriended Culosi as a cover to begin investigating him. During the next several months, he talked Culosi into raising the stakes of what Culosi thought were just more fun wagers between friends to make watching sports more interesting. Eventually Culosi and Baucum bet more than $2,000 in a single day. Under Virginia law, that was enough for police to charge Culosi with running a gambling operation. And that’s when they brought in the SWAT team.
On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in. Seconds later, Det. Deval Bullock, who had been on duty since 4:00 AM and hadn’t slept in seventeen hours, fired a bullet that pierced Culosi’s heart.
Sal Culosi’s last words were to Baucum, the cop he thought was a friend: “Dude, what are you doing?”
In March 2006, just two months after its ridiculous gambling investigation resulted in the death of an unarmed man, the Fairfax County Police Department issued a press release warning residents not to participate in office betting pools tied to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The title: “Illegal Gambling Not Worth the Risk.” Given the proximity to Culosi’s death, residents could be forgiven for thinking the police department believed wagering on sports was a crime punishable by execution.
In January 2011, the Culosi family accepted a $2 million settlement offer from Fairfax County. That same year, Virginia’s government spent $20 million promoting the state lottery.
Militarized police gone wild across America
Terrorizing citizens, shooting pet dogs, behaving like occupying military force
Mike AdamsNatural News
July 6, 2013
America is rapidly devolving into the oppressive police state we’ve been warning readers about. Right now, cops are exhibiting thuggish, out-of-control “mafia” behavior as they run loose across America, terrorizing innocent citizens, shooting up the vehicles of people who are merely driving cars on public roadways, taking warrantless blood draws from drivers, shooting pet dogs of people who are merely filming police, raiding farmers at gunpoint over raw milk and terrorizing young women for buying bottled water and cookie dough.
July 6, 2013
America is rapidly devolving into the oppressive police state we’ve been warning readers about. Right now, cops are exhibiting thuggish, out-of-control “mafia” behavior as they run loose across America, terrorizing innocent citizens, shooting up the vehicles of people who are merely driving cars on public roadways, taking warrantless blood draws from drivers, shooting pet dogs of people who are merely filming police, raiding farmers at gunpoint over raw milk and terrorizing young women for buying bottled water and cookie dough.
All of these are real and happening right now in America. The cause behind them? Police are being “militarized” through federal training while being given weapons of war through federal grants. Police departments across the country are now being handed armored assault vehicles, surveillance drones and full-auto assault rifles. Along with this equipment comes a training and engagement posture that is increasingly aggressive and militaristic, subjecting more and more Americans to the kind of “theater of war” engagement tactics that the U.S. military would typically use at a roadblock in Afghanistan, for example. (See latest example, below.)
Military tactics and equipment now used by your local police
“In recent years, police departments have widely adopted military tactics, military equipment (armored personnel carriers, flash-bang grenades) — and, sometimes, the mindset of military conquerors rather than domestic peacekeepers,” writes TimesDispatch.com.
President Obama famously said, during the gun control debate of 2012, that, “AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not on the streets of America.” Yet it is his administration that’s putting weapons of war on the streets of America via local police departments. By arming police and training police in the hardware and tactics of military warfare, the Obama administrations is doing an end-run around Posse Comitatus and effectively putting wartime troops on the streets of America.
As part of all this, federal law enforcement have been training with so-called “no hesitation targets” that train them to instinctively shoot pregnant women, children, young moms and old men. These targets — whose existence was first denied, and then downplayed when the denials didn’t work — offer irrefutable proof that the corrupt, criminal government currently running the USA is actively planning to engage women, children and senior citizens with weapons of war.
This is, of course, on top of the long-confirmed two billion rounds of ammunition the Department of Homeland Security has ordered (and partially acquired) in an attempt to stockpile enough ammunition for a twenty-year war with the American people. Once again, this stockpiling of hollow-point ammo by DHS was first denied, then downplayed, and now has been called a “conspiracy theory” even thought it is confirmed by the federal government iself which says it needs the ammo for “training purposes.”
The IRS is now being trained with AR-15 rifles, and DHS has also purchased thousands of armored assault vehicles that are mine resistant and bulletproof.
Meanwhile, the Boston marathon bombing proved that local police will now act completely outside of law and initiate Martial Law in a manhunt for a teenager. It wasn’t declared Martial Law, of course… it was called “shelter in place,” meaning you could not leave your homes. Once the lockdown was in place, Boston police went door to door, yanking citizens out of their homes at gunpoint, screaming at them to put their hands up or be shot on sight. This was all done completely without any warrant or any suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of homeowners.
It later turned out that the entire Boston marathon bombing was meticulously planned in advanced by the Boston police and was run as a “terror drill” to terrorize Boston and give the police some much-needed practice in running a police state oppression scenario. This is all 100% confirmed and openly admitted. Even the Boston Globe reported, on June 8th:
The scenario had been carefully planned: A terrorist group prepared to hurt vast numbers of people around Boston would leave backpacks filled with explosives at Faneuil Hall, the Seaport District, and in other towns, spreading waves of panic and fear. Detectives would have to catch the culprits. … But two months before the training exercise was to take place, the city was hit with a real terrorist attack executed in a frighteningly similar fashion.
Now, apparently, local law enforcement can simply utter the word “manhunt!” and completely ignore all citizens’ rights, the Bill of Rights, due process and state and federal law. Police have become rogue gangs with complete immunity from all crimes even while they are the ones committing crimes on a massive scale. They can pull you over for no crime whatsoever, stick their fingers inside your anus and call it a “roadside search” while using the same glove on you that they just used on somebody else’s anus. (True story. Click here for source.)
Police terrorize 20-year-old girl for buying bottled water and cookie dough
The latest example of the terror being dished out by local police operations is found in the story of Ann Downey, a young girl whose vehicle was assaulted by plain clothed “undercover” policewho she thought were trying to carjack her.
It is very important to listen to the audio of Ann’s 911 call begging for help as she and her friend were rushed by six men with guns:
It turns out Ann Downey was being terrorized by members of Virginia’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), which apparently consists of trigger-happy police who are so bored out of their minds that they can think of nothing more useful to do than terrorize young women for buying cookie dough.
Imagine the scene: You’re getting into your car after buying some cookie dough, then suddenly six non-uniformed men rush your car and start screaming at you while wielding guns. At least one of the undercover officers drew his weapon, according to media reports.
Am I the only one here who might have pulled out my own gun and started shooting in self defense, believing my life to be in extreme danger by a rogue gang of armed criminals who were aggressively rushing my vehicle?
As far as I’m concerned, these ABC goons are lucky they didn’t get shot, and if they had been shot, it would be hard to argue that the woman wasn’t exercising her right to self defense in shooting them.
It’s important to note here that the driver of the vehicle, named Elizabeth Daly, was charged with three felonies. In a statement posted online, Daly said:
“This has been an extremely trying experience and one that has called into question what I value most: my integrity, honor and character. …Cookie dough and ice cream for a fundraiser should not put you through an extremely degrading night and afternoon in jail, appearing in court, posting bond, having to pay an attorney …not allowed to leave the state, causing you endless nights of no sleep, [a]ffecting your school work and final exams, wondering if you would be dismissed from school, wondering how this would damage your reputation and ability to get a job, all while waiting on pins and needles to see what the Commonwealth is going to offer you.”
See the interactive map of paramilitary police raids taking place across America
Here’s a map showing just some of the paramilitary police raids and attacks on American citizens:
To see the full map with interactive pop-ups, visit:
As you view the map above, keep in mind how widespread these events really are. Just last week in Nevada, a couple filed suit against local police there, claiming they were raided and shot with “pepperball rounds” by police that wanted to use their home as a stakeout location. For refusing this demand, the couple were shot at and then arrested for “obstructing justice.”
[Police officers] conspired among themselves to force Anthony Mitchell out of his residence and to occupy his home for their own use. It was determined to move to [the home address] and attempt to contact Mitchell. If Mitchell answered the door he would be asked to leave. If he refused to leave he would be arrested for Obstructing a Police Officer. If Mitchell refused to answer the door, force entry would be made and Mitchell would be arrested.
Seconds later, officers, including Officer Rockwell, smashed open plaintiff Anthony Mitchell’s front door with a metal ram as plaintiff stood in his living room. As plaintiff Anthony Mitchell stood in shock, the officers aimed their weapons at Anthony Mitchell and shouted obscenities at him and ordered him to lie down on the floor. Officers, including Officer David Cawthorn, then fired multiple pepperball rounds at plaintiff as he lay defenseless on the floor of his living room. Anthony Mitchell was struck at least three times by shots fired from close range, injuring him and causing him severe pain. Officers then arrested him for obstructing a police officer, searched the house and moved furniture without his permission and set up a place in his home for a lookout.
This is America? Think again…
When do Americans stand up and say, “Enough!”
So here’s the question: At what point will Americans realize their country has become a Stasi-inspired police state tyranny? When will they march on their state capitols and demand to be treated with dignity and respect rather than being beaten, shot, arrested, intimidated and censored by police?
And I ask this question as a supporter of local law enforcement. I’ve worked with police, trained with police and volunteered with police. I know that most police officers across the country are honorable men and women who are trying their best to keep the peace. But the number of “good” police seems to be shrinking while the number of “rogue” cops is on the rise.
This highly disturbing trend is an intentional one put in place by the Obama administration that’s trying to militarize police all across the nation in a run-up to something very, very big: an event that is expected to cause nationwide rioting and social unrest.
Why else would DHS buy 2+ billion rounds of ammunition, bulletproof roadside checkpoint booths, armored assault vehicles and full-auto assault rifles? Why else would police be trained to shoot pregnant women, children and senior citizens on sight? Why else would the government be spying on every phone call, email and text of every U.S. citizen right now?
We are living under a nightmare Big Brother police state right now, and it’s not an accident. This has all been brought in for a specific purpose: to first acclimate the public to a police state presence (hence the TSA security pat-downs), and then to activate that police infrastructure to engage in the mass-arrest or mass-murder of Americans.
The American people are asleep at the wheel while tyranny encircles them
This will happen as long as Americans allow it to happen. Every day that the American people spend distracted by gay marriage, sports celebrities, TV programs and the Kardashians is another day that the criminal elite running this country build up their infrastructure of terror and oppression against the People.
While Americans are hypnotized into a state of delusional denial by CNN and the New York Times, the Obama administration is strangling freedom to death with a determined rollout of total surveillance, actual death squads that target journalists, the criminalization of whistleblowing, the targeting of reporters in the mainstream media, the intimidation of patriot groups by the IRS and a hundred other forms of oppression, intimidation and blackmail.
What we are witnessing here is a government gone completely criminal. This is a government that now openly kidnapped the President of Bolivia on the off chance that his airplane might have been carrying Ed Snowden. This is the government that openly admits to the existence of secret kill lists that target American citizens for assassination. This is the government that runs the world’s largest surveillance spy program which even spies on ally nations like Germany and France.
Trickle-down tyranny
The U.S. government abides by no law and respects no limits whatsoever to its power. It is a rogue, out-of-control criminal mafia that has taken over positions of government in order to grant itself the appearance of authority.
It is this mafia mentality that’s trickling down to local police departments in the form of aggressive tactical training, armored assault vehicles and even police uniforms which now look like something torn right out of a dystopian, Orwellian sci-fi flick depicting a dark future.
I coined the term “Trickle-Down Tyranny” in 2011. The phrase was later picked up by Michael Savage and became the title of his book by the same name.
Since 2011, Savage himself has become increasingly outspoken about the rise of tyrannical government, the oppression of freedom in America, and the dangerous tactics of intimidation and oppression being practiced by police nationwide.
Everyone can see what’s happening: America is turning into an occupied police state. Individual freedoms are bring crushed. All the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights are being systematically destroyed by design. The Obama administration is rapidly becoming the Orwellian dictator we all feared might one day rise up in America, yet half of America remains too far gone to open their eyes and realize what’s happening.
And so the injustices are allowed to accelerate to the point where innocent Americans are being routinely terrorized by law enforcement. While the guilty run free, the innocent are targeted for shakedowns, arrest or beatings.
This is the death of freedom in America. You are watching the destruction of the Land of the Free and the rise of Obama’s tyrannical regime.
If you and millions of others do not rise up against this, you may one day find yourself collapsed on your knees, looking over a large ditch of fresh bodies while a “police officer” holds a pistol to the back of your head and pulls the trigger.
You, like hundreds of millions before you, are about to become another statistical victim of government gone bad. Throughout history, rogue governments have murdered at least 260 million people. And it all began with precisely the same process we are seeing unfold in America today.
Rise up or be exterminated.
http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2013/07/fear-spreads-over-militarization-of-police-in-us-2676068.html
Fear Spreads Over ‘Militarization’ Of Police In US
Friday, July 5, 2013 10:55
Elizabeth Daly went to jail over a case of bottled water.
According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress, shortly after 10 p.m. April 11, the University of Virginia student bought ice cream, cookie dough and a carton of LaCroix sparkling water from the Harris Teeter grocery store at the popular Barracks Road Shopping Center. In the parking lot, a half-dozen men and a woman approached her car, flashing some kind of badges. One jumped on the hood. Another drew a gun. Others started trying to break the windows.
Daly understandably panicked. With her roommate in the passenger seat yelling “Go, go, go!” Daly drove off, hoping to reach the nearest police station. The women dialed 911. Then a vehicle with lights and sirens pulled them over, and the situation clarified: The people who had swarmed Daly’s vehicle were plainclothes agents of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The agents had thought the sparkling water was a 12-pack of beer.
Did the ABC’s enforcers apologize? Not in the slightest. They charged Daly with three felonies: two for assaulting an officer (her vehicle had grazed two agents; neither was hurt) and one for eluding the police. Last week, the commonwealth’s attorney dropped the charges.
The agents’ excessive display of force is outrageously disproportionate to the offense they mistakenly thought they witnessed: an underage purchase of alcohol. But in a sense, Daly got off easy. A couple of weeks after her ordeal, a 61-year-old man in Tennessee was killed when the police executed a drug raid on the wrong house. A few weeks later, in another wrong-house raid, police officers killed a dog belonging to an Army veteran. These are not isolated incidents; for more information, visit the interactive map at www.cato.org/raidmap.
They are, however, part and parcel of two broader phenomena. One is the militarization of domestic law enforcement. In recent years, police departments have widely adopted military tactics, military equipment (armored personnel carriers, flash-bang grenades) — and, sometimes, the mindset of military conquerors rather than domestic peacekeepers.
The other phenomenon is the increasing degree to which civilians are subject to criminal prosecution for noncriminal acts, including exercising the constitutionally protected right to free speech.
Last week, A.J. Marin was arrested in Harrisburg, Pa., for writing in chalk on the sidewalk. Marin was participating in a health care demonstration outside Gov. Tom Corbett’s residence when he wrote, “Governor Corbett has health insurance, we should too.” Authorities charged Marin with writing “a derogatory remark about the governor on the sidewalk.” The horror.
This follows the case of Jeff Olson, who chalked messages such as “Stop big banks” outside branches of Bank of America last year. Law professor Jonathan Turley reports that prosecutors brought 13 vandalism charges against him. Moreover, the judge in the case recently prohibited Olson’s attorney from “mentioning the First Amendment, free speech,” or anything like them during the trial.
In May, a Texas woman was arrested for asking to see a warrant for the arrest of her 11-year-old son. “She spent the night in jail while her son was left at home,” reports Fox34 News. The son never was arrested. Also in Texas, Justin Carter has spent months in jail — and faces eight years more — for making an admittedly atrocious joke about shooting up a school in an online chat. Though he was plainly kidding, authorities charged him with making a terrorist threat.
Federal prosecutors also recently used an anti-terrorism measure to seize almost $70,000 from the owners of a Maryland dairy. Randy and Karen Sowers had made several bank deposits of just under $10,000 to avoid the headache of filing federal reports required for sums over that amount. The feds charged them with unlawful “structuring.” Last week, they settled the case. Authorities kept half their money to teach them a lesson.
“I broke the law yesterday,” writes George Mason economics professor Alex Tabarrok, “and I probably will break the law tomorrow. Don’t mistake me, I have done nothing wrong. I don’t even know what laws I have broken. … It’s hard for anyone to live today without breaking the law. Doubt me? Have you ever thrown out some junk mail that … was addressed to someone else? That’s a violation of federal law punishable by up to five years in prison.” Tabarrok notes that lawyer Harvey Silverglate thinks the typical American commits “Three Felonies a Day” — the title of Silverglate’s book on the subject.
As The Wall Street Journal has reported, lawmakers in Washington have greatly eroded the notion of mens rea — the principle that you need criminal intent in order to commit a crime. Thanks to a proliferating number of obscure offenses, Americans now resemble the condemned souls in Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” — spared from perdition only by the temporary forbearance of those who sit in judgment.
“What once might have been considered simply a mistake,” The Journal explains, is now “punishable by jail time.” And as 20-year-old Elizabeth Daly has now learned, you can go to jail even when the person making the mistake wasn’t you.
Source: http://patdollard.com/2013/07/fear-spreads-over-militarization-of-police-in-us/
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/07/state-demands-700000-from-michigan-farm.html
Friday, July 5, 2013
State Demands $700,000 from Michigan Farm Family and the Destruction of 70 Farm Animals
David MichaelActivist Post
[Editor's note: Over $10,000 has been raised to help the Baker family fight the motion for all farmers nationwide, with $14,000 left to go. It is encouraged by the author to consider donating $17.76 to make a statement. More ways to help below.]
On this Independence Day we should be celebrating freedom and thankful for those who died, were injured and served in the military over the decades to keep the freedom we have. This is the thanks this 20-year military veteran has received from the Michigan state government and this is an example of those freedoms being lost.
Late last week, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) demanded the payment of $700,000 from a small farm family of ten and the destruction of 70 of their pigs at Baker’s Green Acres, operated by Mark and Jill Baker and their eight children. This action followed Mark Baker’s comments during testimony opposing a new rule at a state congressional hearing where he identified himself as owner of three hogs deemed illegal (because of their looks). He understood the new rule, called an Invasive Species Order (ISO) to mean the state would threaten him with fines, criminal charges and a two-year prison term and an order to destroy his animals. Baker answered the ISO by filing a lawsuit against the state agency for the damages and their reckless behavior.
In the latest action on Thursday, June 27—legal papers sent to the court say the state demands $700,000 in fines and destruction of the farm animals—all based on how the pigs look. These actions are not just against Mark and Jill– it is also against their children and their animals, too. This is one of five lawsuits against MDNR and their new ISO (several more suits are pending).
The Baker’s small farm business has nearly been ruined and at jeopardy now are their pastured poultry and beef production for local families who want want farm fresh, healthy food. The Baker’s have set up an interent crowdfunding account through Pledgie to handle the donations (that are only trickling in as of now) to meet family needs, feed pigs and fix the tractor and for the small fees being charged by an independent attorney.
(Below you will be asked to pledge your support to help the Baker’s by donating to help win this case for all farmers nationwide)
George Orwell, author of 1984 also wrote Animal Farm where farm animals revolted because of their treatment and after a new policy was issued: “All animals are created equal, except some are more equal than others.” Orwell coined the term doublespeak, a language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words so as to deceive—where the same word can have different meanings in the same paragraph or where new phrases are made up with no definitions–commonly used in legalese. Doublespeak is common among politicians and state bureaucracies in their sales campaigns for new programs to protect us from potential harm. Hear what it sounds like to me.
Late last week, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) demanded the payment of $700,000 from a small farm family of ten and the destruction of 70 of their pigs at Baker’s Green Acres, operated by Mark and Jill Baker and their eight children. This action followed Mark Baker’s comments during testimony opposing a new rule at a state congressional hearing where he identified himself as owner of three hogs deemed illegal (because of their looks). He understood the new rule, called an Invasive Species Order (ISO) to mean the state would threaten him with fines, criminal charges and a two-year prison term and an order to destroy his animals. Baker answered the ISO by filing a lawsuit against the state agency for the damages and their reckless behavior.
In the latest action on Thursday, June 27—legal papers sent to the court say the state demands $700,000 in fines and destruction of the farm animals—all based on how the pigs look. These actions are not just against Mark and Jill– it is also against their children and their animals, too. This is one of five lawsuits against MDNR and their new ISO (several more suits are pending).
The Baker’s small farm business has nearly been ruined and at jeopardy now are their pastured poultry and beef production for local families who want want farm fresh, healthy food. The Baker’s have set up an interent crowdfunding account through Pledgie to handle the donations (that are only trickling in as of now) to meet family needs, feed pigs and fix the tractor and for the small fees being charged by an independent attorney.
(Below you will be asked to pledge your support to help the Baker’s by donating to help win this case for all farmers nationwide)
George Orwell, author of 1984 also wrote Animal Farm where farm animals revolted because of their treatment and after a new policy was issued: “All animals are created equal, except some are more equal than others.” Orwell coined the term doublespeak, a language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words so as to deceive—where the same word can have different meanings in the same paragraph or where new phrases are made up with no definitions–commonly used in legalese. Doublespeak is common among politicians and state bureaucracies in their sales campaigns for new programs to protect us from potential harm. Hear what it sounds like to me.
What’s The Stink?
Can you imagine having your farm animals confiscated and destroyed because of the way they look? Due to a new rule Michigan DNR can enter a private farm and kill hogs that look different than those approved types. To make their point, the DNR has gone after this farm family of ten, just because the farmer has three pigs that look like what is loosely nicknamed Russian boars—a type of pig made “illegal” recently.
The new rule, as described in the Invasive Species Order ( ISO) and declaratory ruling -- is touted to control feral pigs (roaming wild) the state says–yet these pigs are already under control by hunters. The ISO clearly states can mean any type of pig. If a pig has a curly tail or a straight tail, ears that are with erect or floppy, striped piglets, hair on the underbelly, certain colors including being black, then these are “wild or feral hogs” even if on a farm behind fences. Approved, exempted swine include those raised in huge hog houses called CAFOs (Confined or concentrated animal feeding operations (commonly called factory farms) and the young pigs raised by farmers under contact with CAFOs contract. These CAFO owners have contracts with the giant food processors controlled by four companies. (The largest US pork producer is Smithfield –sold last month to the Chinese.)
Can you imagine having your farm animals confiscated and destroyed because of the way they look? Due to a new rule Michigan DNR can enter a private farm and kill hogs that look different than those approved types. To make their point, the DNR has gone after this farm family of ten, just because the farmer has three pigs that look like what is loosely nicknamed Russian boars—a type of pig made “illegal” recently.
The new rule, as described in the Invasive Species Order ( ISO) and declaratory ruling -- is touted to control feral pigs (roaming wild) the state says–yet these pigs are already under control by hunters. The ISO clearly states can mean any type of pig. If a pig has a curly tail or a straight tail, ears that are with erect or floppy, striped piglets, hair on the underbelly, certain colors including being black, then these are “wild or feral hogs” even if on a farm behind fences. Approved, exempted swine include those raised in huge hog houses called CAFOs (Confined or concentrated animal feeding operations (commonly called factory farms) and the young pigs raised by farmers under contact with CAFOs contract. These CAFO owners have contracts with the giant food processors controlled by four companies. (The largest US pork producer is Smithfield –sold last month to the Chinese.)
About Baker’s Green Acres
Mark and Jill Baker and their eight children bought farmland in Michigan after he retired from 20 years of service in the U.S. Air Force. His goal was to produce specialty pork from an unusual heritage breed called Mangalitsas that he breeds. His nutrient-dense “red meat” pork and lard is of the quality that is highly prized throughout the world and throughout this part of Northern Michigan by fine chefs and restaurants. Mark decided “farm livin’ is the life for me” and bought his green acres so he and Jill could raise their children on a farm and teach them these old skills. They also have educational programs to teach others they can farm too—and a right to farm– and produce healthy food locally in the old humane way which enhances the environment and the health of those consumers who choose this type of fresh farm food. The dilemma they are facing was broadcast last year on NPR with a 11-minute radio segment on Hog Wild.As crazy as it sounds, it is clear from what has been said, the state’ rationale is that this type of operation may be threat to human health and the environment and a financial threat to the state’s big pork industry. But currently, rivers of pig diarrhea are flowing through CAFOs in 15 states with a new type of virus—similar to the Chinese CAFO outbreak—caused by conditions within these indoor operations. In 2009, the swine flu, later called H1N1, was shown to originate from Mexican swine CAFOs. Studies have shown serious respiratory illnesses and higher infant mortality occur near CAFOs.
More on the Invasive Species
The ISO –which has the force of law — was decided last year by DNR staff in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), the Michigan Pork Producer‘s Association (CAFO operators) and other Big Food corporations and it’s not just routing out wild hogs. They redefined what the term “feral pig” is rather than using the real English definition in use for at least three centuries. Read the Invasive Species Order ( ISO) and declaratory ruling
The rule allows DNR to call any type of swine as being an illegal feral (wild roaming) pig even if they are within a fence and grown by a farmer for food production. Exemptions are for domestic hog production but there is no definition for this term in Michigan law or listed in the search at the MDNR or MDA. All hogs in a CAFO or raised indoors are approved but not all hogs that pasture outdoors on a sustainable farm.
According to the state DNR and Big Pork written statements, these pigs, including the Baker’s, are a threat to public health and the environment and “the commercial pork industry”. Some states have issued to themselves special pre-approved open burning air pollution permits on farm lands so that state agencies can enter the farm and burn animal carcasses killed by them—if a herd issuspected to be potentially infected with a particular type of listed organism.
This week a Journal correspondent called the program director with MDNR, a wildlife biologist, to discuss the meaning of the new rule for an Indiana heritage hog farmer who may want to relocate to Michigan. The DNR agent gave him false and misleading information by emphasizing that the ISO pertains only to the Russian boar. She could not tell him the definition of domestic hog production (which is exempt) when asked three times. But this is not what the rule says- it even includes cross-breeds and descendents of Russian boars–and that includes many of these domesticated heritage breeds—many of which have some of the looks of the Russian boar. It does not apply to only Russian boars, like the MDNR program director stated, because last week MDNR is demanding all 70 of Baker’s pigs be destroyed because they are part-Russian.
An en environmental expert from Ohio, a former state regulatory and enforcement agent provided us with his opinions. He requested anonymity and told us some small family farmers are at a tipping point.Eventually someone in going to get hurt, and I don’t just mean state and county agents, I mean women and children. They are getting well organized in Michigan and other states. What seems to be occurring more now is employees inside the agencies are speaking out in public meetings and on their jobs against their own agency directives and refusing to carry them out. In my view these actions can be a form of religious persecution. They tend to target large families that homeschool, independent-minded, liberty lovers and that are religious. They believe they are doing right by choosing to farm with older and healthier methods and is a large part of their mission and ministry.There are a number of legal problems the MDNR will have to deal with—but it is possible the judge will side with the state and not allow this to be mentioned in court. These are some of the disturbing findings of the Journal investigation that included published and internal documents, public hearings and interviews with both sides.
- The staff at DNR in cooperation with the outside big business organizations developed the ISO. It was finalized and an Open House was given to inform farmers of the rule in. The DNR failed to follow their own legal procedures of public notice and a 60-day comment period and public meetings for those affected and interested parties.
- During the recorded Open House to inform farmers of their options, questions were not allowed and they were refused an answer. After the first logical and polite question, the Program Director snapped “These questions will be handled one-on-one after the meeting. We are not going to get confrontational here” she said.
- When Baker finally saw the final ISO, he gave testimony before the state representatives at Lansing showing why he opposed the rule. Then MDNR decided to target him with enforcement actions. According to the MDNR Program Director, Baker was targeted because he “spoke out publicly and openly admitted” he used boars that looked like what is nicknamed a Russian boar—as reported by our correspondent from Indiana.
- After filing a law suit against the state for their threats against him and his family, MDNR offered to settle and drop all criminal charges and the fines as long as he destroyed all of his pigs—not just the “Russian” boars. Baker and his attorney responded “no thanks”. Baker thinks the state wants to settle this privately and confidentially to avoid certain evidence he has in writing to become public and blowing up into another state-wide scandal.
- After receiving the response to the settlement, last week MDNR and the state’s attorneys and their legal consultants prepared a laboriously lengthy letter to the court demanding the $700,000 from the family and the destruction of all their pigs – citing numerous regulations and “legal” decisions of the past.
- The DNR has stated it will identify potential violators through their database (they know who is growing these heritage breeds) and will be targeted for inspection.
Some farmers and consumers think it is also a threat to independence, and their ability to choose nutritious farm fresh foods like meats, poultry and raw milk for families direct from the farmer they know. They want the freedom to choose who they want to do business with versus a supermarket. Some of them say it is a threat to the ability to choose their vocation and the right to farm. A few others add it threatens their right to practice their religious beliefs. Ultimately, this may lead to only one type of allowed hog, a diseased Federal Hog that can only be raised indoors–which can be detrimental to public health, the environment and local economies– resulting in a loss of many jobs. The MDNR actions are in violation of the intent of the federal law on invasive species and, the international Biodiversity Treaty and Endangered Species Act.
The Meatrix (5 min)
Personal Liabilities for the Individual State Employees
State laws allow individuals whose rights are trampled by overzealous bureaucrats to sue government employees and elected officials and hold them personally responsible for illegal or unethical actions taken during the course of their official duties. This may be effective in slowing down the runaway regulatory freight train.
Organizations plan to sue individuals involved in what they call illegal and unethical acts. It is common knowledge among farmers that there is anti-competitive collusion by the state DNR and Department of Agriculture with corporations who control the Michigan pork, milk and poultry market. In our interview with Pete Kennedy, Esq, an attorney with Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund agreed: “This fits the pattern of other actions against farmers in Michigan and throughout the U.S.”
If successful the named employees will need to defend themselves and would require them to dip into their personal savings, retirement plans and other assets to pay fines, damages and attorney fees. It will also give a hundreds of employees within MDNR, MDA and Michigan Department of Health who object to the ongoing farm police state tactics all the more reason to refuse directives from their superiors and organize from within.
Like in State of Wisconsin v Vernon Hershberger raw milk case in May, a legal win for the Bakers will cause small farmers to Praise the Lard while the Michigan assistant attorney general and their legal staff could walk away roasted and go “wee wee all the way home”.
David Michael has recently retired from a local health department as a contract pollution engineer for Ohio EPA. He has helped farmers facing enforcement actions and has taught many seminars on food, nutrition and raw milk in the evenings while working at the health department. He is the publisher of theJournal of Natural Food and Health and author of the Locator eGuide to Finding Safe, Local Raw Milk and Real Food Too!All are welcome and invited to celebrate farm fest at Bakers Green Acres the weekend of July 12 for a pig roast –pigs MDNR wants destroyed. All the friends and supporters within the MNDR, MDA and the department of health are also invited. Come and meet the farmed and “dangerous”. But first, readers should know they need to bring home some bacon to the Baker’s by donating a few dollars.
You can bring home the bacon to the Bakers!
Take 4 Simple Actions Now
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Media Coverage/Bloggers/Facebookers - Take this Pig Story to Market
This story had received good media coverage last year, including farm and food blogs, farm news and papers and broadcast media and lots of buzz and chatter on social networks. Even NPR did an excellent 11-minute radio segment on Hog Wild. But now, at the most critical time money and time is running real short, it seems there is little or no media coverage or internet stories as of today. Use the Share button and let your network of contacts know about this. If you are a blogger, use some extracts from this article and point them back here for the full story.
Short link to this article is http://wp.me/pZzqp-1Vl and is posted at Facebook to easily share. https://www.facebook.com/livingfood
Remember, “All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.”
Animal Farm cartoon (4 min.)
http://www.offthegridnews.com/2013/07/02/exposed-russian-troops-on-us-soil-to-aid-fema/
EXPOSED: Russian Troops On US Soil To Aid FEMA
Russian troops on American soil are supposedly only here to offer “assistance” to FEMA during emergencies and disasters. According to media reports, 15,000 Russian troops have been requested by the Obama administration for this “training” exercise on American soil.
Russian troops began carrying out joint anti-terrorism drills in America last May. US Defense Press Officer Commander Wendy L. Snyder had this to say about the Russian soldiers on US military bases:
“This is part of a formal bilateral exchange program between the US and Russia that seeks to develop transparency and promote defense reform.”
Transparency has been the keyword of choice for the Obama administration—which has been anything but. When approximately 20 airborne Russian troops arrived at Fort Carson in Colorado last year, it was the first time soldiers from the country had ever engaged in military training on American soil. The foreign soldiers supposedly were trained on how to target terrorists in America.
The existence of Russian troops in America has bolstered both concern and anger about United Nations-prompted global peacekeeping force. Representative of both President Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met last week in Washington, D.C. The meeting was a part of the Russian Bilateral Presidential Commission Working Group on Emergency Situations and seventeenth meeting of Joint US-Russian Cooperation Committee.
A press release issued by the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense stated that both countries are now cooperating in an exchange of experts for “joint rescue operations” purposes. The group of Russian soldiers reportedly includes trainers, rescuers, and military security teams.
* * *
An excerpt from the Russian ministry release reads:
“The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and the USA Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are going to exchange experts during joint rescue operations in major disasters. This is provided by a protocol of the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission Working Group on Emergency Situations and seventeenth meeting of Joint U.S.-Russia Cooperation Committee on Emergency Situations, which took place in Washington on 25 June.
The document provides for expert cooperation in disaster response operations and to study the latest practices. In addition, the parties approved of U.S.-Russian cooperation in this field in 2013-2014, which envisages exchange of experience including in monitoring and forecasting emergency situations, training of rescuers, development of mine-rescuing and provision of security at mass events.”
The Russian ministry release goes on to state that both the governmental parties involved were satisfied with the level of cooperation between the two nation and expressed a combined desire to develop the emergency response necessary to efficiently respond to “all kinds of disasters.” Would civil unrest due to a continued disrespectful attitude towards the Constitution and the usurping of our guaranteed rights constitute the type of emergency or disaster which would garner a response by Russian troops?
When Russian soldiers first appeared within the United States last year, Captain William Geddes of the US Army Reserve deemed the situation illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act. Violation of the federal act was also called into question during the Waco compound stand-off two decades ago. Captain Geddes stated that it is against federal statute to use American troops for police patrols. He considers the potential use of foreign troops an even further perversion of the Posse Comitatus Act.
If Russian troops are ever deployed on American soil to aid in a natural or man-made disaster, it does seem like an outright violation of the intent of the Posse Comitatus Act. What would happen if a United States citizen was given an order to disperse or evacuate by a foreign soldier and refused to adhere to the instruction? I would quickly move as legally directed to do so by a police officer, firefighter, or American soldier, but would give no credence at all to a similar order from a foreign soldier.
A renewed look at the US Department of State Publication 7277 was prompted as rumors about Russian troops in America began circulating. The document was released in 1961, but went viral only recently.
An excerpt from the “Disarmament Series 5” report reads:
“A strenuous and uninterrupted effort must be made toward the goal of general and complete disarmament; at the same time, it is important that specific measures be put into effect as soon as possible. The control organization must have the manpower, facilities, and effectiveness to assure that limitations or reductions take place as agreed. It must also be able to certify to all states that retained forces and armaments do not exceed those permitted at any stage of the disarmament process.”
The decades old US Department of State publication goes on to state that international peace-keeping efforts will only be successful through a series of progressive strengthening of international institutions under the United Nations. The report also suggests that a United Nations Peace Force be used to enforce peace as the disarmament process progresses.
The Freedom From War portion of the governmental report reads:
“The over-all goal of the United States is a free, secure, and peaceful world of independent states adhering to common standards of justice and international conduct and subjecting the use of force to the rule of law; a world which has achieved general and complete disarmament under effective international control; and a world in which adjustment to change takes place in accordance with the principles of the United Nations. The elimination from national arsenals of all armaments, including all weapons of mass destruction and the means for their delivery, other than those required for a United Nations Peace Force and for maintaining internal order.”
The FEMA training of Russian troops also has some concerned about foreign soldiers being used as a security force at public events. The wording of the release by the Russian ministry appears to some to suggest that happenings designated as “National Special Security Events” by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could now utilize foreign soldiers as a party of the safety detail. Events which reportedly fall under such a heading could include the Super Bowl, presidential inaugurations, the G8 and other international summits.
The United States boasts the best trained fighting force in the entire world. We do not need and should not be forced to rely on foreign troops to aid FEMA during any type of emergency. If the need for more boots on the ground truly exists, then President Barack Obama should bring soldiers home from the multitude of bases we still operate (at quite an extensive expense) around the globe. Perhaps some of the countries which we have been taking care of since World War II could learn to stand on their own two feet, defensively speaking, if we brought our men and women home to better protect our own nation.
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