Freedom?

[cowman]

With the election today, it got me thinking about how our basic freedoms are dissappearing, slowly but surely.
Here is one that really bugs me:
When the government brought in Medi-care, it was generally supported? Hey free medi-care right? Well, actually there is no such thing as a free lunch and in the end it wasn't free at all...in fact it was very costly...and you also get to pick up the bill for every Tom, Dick and Harry...but that is another topic!
So we have medi-care. Then they pass garbage like the seat belt laws...now maybe it is a good idea to wear a seatbelt? But the excuse for making it a law...well you see if you get hurt it will cost everybody, through medi-care! Therefore we need to take away your right to not wear a seat belt for the good of the public purse! So for the good of all...we lose our right to make our own decision about seat belts!
Another example: You want to buy a steer for the freezer. You come out and see me and pick out one that you think might be tasty. We agree on a price and you and me shoot him and butcher him up. You are happy...I'm happy...no problem right? Well no actually we've probably broke about a million "food safety" laws and I'm in big trouble!
What you need to do is this: Haul that steer about thirty miles to the local packer so he is nice and stressed and tougher than hell. Have some immigrant, who thinks personal hygiene means washing his hands once a week as excessive, slaughter him after beating the hell out of him! Hang him up in a dirty old cooler with all the old sick cull cows! Throw all the crap off the floor into the grinder when doing up the hamburger!
Then you get the priveledge of paying close to $500 and take home your beef(maybe your beef?) only to find out you sure seem to have a lot of hamburger and not a lot of steaks! And how come some of the fat is so darned yellow and why is there hair in the burgers?!
But that is the law, right? Afterall this local packer has a license, right? And government always knows best, right?
But consider this....we have a buyer(you) and we have a seller(me)...now why in the hell do we need a middleman and a government employee to make this happen? Well, what has happened is once again we both have given up our rights, to a government that really couldn't give one hoot about food safety in the first place!
I don't know about you, but I don't like some little government dog telling me what I have to do! If I want to test my darned cows, I believe I should have that right? If I want to take them down in the field and shoot them and let the darned coyotes eat them, I believe that too is my right?
All this garbage of us having to give up our individual rights for "the good of the majority" is just that...garbage!
I was born with certain rights, from God, and no damned government should ever be able to take them away from me!

[ivbinconned]

A republic = Ruled by law ( yours is yours no matter what the mob says)

A democracy = rule by mob


Then... whom ever can convince the mob to elect them for the position of top dog, becomes the elected dictator!

[les]

Cowman..... Sounds like you need to find another abattoir to use..

[rsomer]

I think we need people to resist government imposing restrictions on our freedoms or we will have no freedoms left so cowman’s remarks are right on. There will always be people asking government for protections and we need to offset that with people demanding their freedom from government so that a balance is achieved. On an election day like this we collectively get to choose which government makes those decisions on our behalf which is the most important freedom of all. Please take the time to vote.

[whiteface]

Rsomer, I've never felt like this in my life, and I'm not all that old, but I'm not so sure, that any of them are going to do us any favors. Ivbinconned, it seems like more and more slaughter houses are realizing just what the big boys are getting away with and they're starting to follow, I have a pretty good idea of which little packer cowman goes too based on the area and I won't go there ever again either. I can relate to the word pirate and sympathize with the "attitude" I sure feel it too.

[cowman]

Well actually I've never in my life taken a beef to an abbatoir...just always beefed them right on the farm.
When I was young I worked in a packing plant and I learned how to debone cattle...so no big deal for me.
Also my Grandfather always had a little "beef business" right on the farm and we always did quite a few cattle and hogs every year(as well as all the darned deer my Grandfather shot.)
Whiteface: I suspect the packer you allude to is the one in my area? Innisfail?
Yea, it is really bad without a doubt! I know a guy who works there. I wouldn't buy anything out of there!
Well, let me see...over the years my grandfather sold many animals through that little "abbatoir" He made his own sausage and smoked his hams, bacon sausage etc. and you know something...no one ever got sick! Now mind you he was a sticker for being neat and tidy.
I wonder how many producers ever tour a packing plant? Do you have any idea of what goes on there?
I suspect the E-coli cases we get really have little to do with the cattle, but more so with the class of worker?

[ivbinconned]

"Every mighty oak was once just a nut who stood his ground."

[whiteface]

Without a doubt, it's who you're comfortable dealing with and trust with your meat. I loved Innisfail packers when Joe ran it, Ron leaves a little something to be desired and all his employees won't say shit even though their mouths are full of it for fear of being fired just like that poor sucker who squealed in Washington state that the cow wasn't in fact a downer, lost his job in a heartbeat. It's too bad about Innisfail, I was real happy there for years but now go elsewhere and theres just as many problems but they're different problems. Where I go now, I'm really happy with the emplyoees, friendly, honest, on time, considerate. The inspectors are even good to work with so we'll see how long this works out.

[whiteface]

I love that saying too, ivbinconned and have based almost my entire success on it. Same with testing and new packing plants, let's run with that philosophy!

[ivbinconned]

Another good one; "Resistance to tyrants is OBEDIENCE TO GOD." Thomas Jefferson