Over the past week or so I've been hearing a lot of rhetoric about Obamacare forcing religious institutions to make birth control "free" through their health plans and I have a few opinions about this. First of all, the administration has signed off on so many waivers that surely they could just waive these religious institutions who object to this part of the legislation. I don't know, maybe they have to apply for a waiver or something. Seems to me that if the legislation is so good, why would any company need a waiver? But that's not what galls me.
What bothers me is this whole notion of "free" birth control. Heck, "free" anything, for that matter. Pharmaceutical companies make birth control pills. There are costs that go into manufacturing and marketing them. They do not appear out of thin air. So in order to give them away, those costs to the drug companies have to be covered somehow. If the insurance company pays the drug company for them, then the insurance company somehow has to recoup their costs. How do you think they do this? Well, the person using them could pay for them or it could be a cost that is spread among all the policyholders. Either way, someone is paying for them. They are not free. Just because Suzy Q doesn't pay a co-pay for them, she is paying for them in higher premiums or in higher co-pays for another service. In other words, the cost of the "free" birth control is subsidized.
Here's the screwy thing with health "insurance." It doesn't work like traditional insurance. An insurance policy is something you hope to not use. Auto insurance, homeowner's insurance, life insurance, liability insurance, all of these protect you financially against peril. If you're driving down the road and you get in a car wreck, your auto insurance pays for the damaged property if it's your fault. If your house burns down, your homeowner's insurance pays off your mortgage and helps you get into a new home or repair the damaged one and replaces your lost contents. Life insurance pays your beneficiary money if you die. You write the check or have the autodraft monthly or yearly for these insurance plans and you hope to never use them. They're insurance. Peace of mind.
Health insurance is not insurance, as least not in the same sense these others are. You expect to use your health insurance. You go to the doctor for check ups or when you're sick and you file a claim. You pick up your monthly maintenance prescriptions for high blood pressure, birth control or diabetes. You have medical tests or get antibiotics or physical therapy for an injury and you expect that your health insurance will pay for these things. In theory, anyway, the large pool of people paying premiums is supposed to be larger than the amount paid out in claims, but with so much chronic disease, the impatience of Americans to get well NOW and the skyrocketing costs due to innovation, the profit margins are dwindling. Add to that the lower investment returns in the stock market over the past several years and insurance companies have had to increase their rates to continue to make a profit.
Yes, those evil insurance companies dare to make a profit. Damn capitalism. And those horrible hospitals keep charging more so they can stay in the black as well. And don't get me started on those slimy doctors and nurses and physical therapists who want to make a good living and pay off their student loans and drive nice cars and take vacations. Horrid, horrid people, making their living on the backs of people who need their services. They shouldn't charge anything at all. It should be free.
While we're at it, there's plenty of other things that should be free as well. Everyone needs to eat, why should Wal-mart and McDonald's and farmers charge money for food? Food should be free. We all need water to live, so why should the city send me a water bill every month? Water should be free too.
I can think of about a million more things that oughta be free, but I think maybe you see my point. The farmer needs to make money to care for himself and his family. The guy flipping burgers or stocking shelves does too. The city has to pay people to maintain the water lines. Everything costs something, nothing is "free."
So why is Obama talking about "free" birth control? People who support "free" birth control say that it's to improve access, to make sure there are no barriers to women getting birth control if they want it. If you really want to remove barriers, make the FDA change it to over the counter and stock it next to the Tylenol at the drug store. As it stands, you have to go to the doctor and get a checkup if you want to use birth control. That's a barrier. You have to pay the doctor and wait for an appointment. My OB-GYN makes appointments a year in advance and even if I call tomorrow, chances are it's going to be at least a couple of months before I can get in to see her. Another barrier. If you're over 35 and you smoke, the doctor isn't going to want to prescribe the birth control pill. Yet another barrier.
Looks to me like the only barrier this plan eliminates is the $5-50 a month cost of the birth control pills. And I'm guessing if every health plan has to make them "free," those costs are going to be passed on in higher premiums. Maybe not $50 a month higher since men, children and postmenopausal women will have to pay more too, but certainly more. Likely enough more that there will be women who would have been better off had they not gotten "free" birth control.
A cost of $50 a month for birth control is peanuts compared to what some cancer drugs cost. And many insurance companies either don't cover these drugs at all or have huge co-pays. And let me tell you, cancer is something you hope you never have to use your insurance for. I'd much rather cough up an extra $50 a month to not get pregnant if I knew if God forbid my kid got cancer my health insurance would cover her medications without me having to pay $1000 a month co-pay. I think most reasonable people would feel the same way.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Recent happenings
The past few weeks have been eye opening for me. I've dealt with people who are well out of school acting like junior high school children. There is a saying: All is fair in love and war. I think that may need to be extended to politics as well. I guess it's a good thing I quit expecting things to be fair when I was a little kid, because I'd be ten kinds of torn up otherwise.
I've stepped outside my comfort zone multiple times since the beginning of the year and it's worked out nicely for me so far. I was elected vice president of our property rights group, something that I was almost afraid to hope for. I've not been to as many public meetings as I had been attending, but when I've gone I've paid attention and I've spoken up when I felt it was necessary. I even testified before the Missouri House Judiciary committee last week about opening adoption records to adult adoptees. In spite of being terrified and feeling unprepared, I feel like my testimony was well-received and I hope it will make a difference. Arkansas' General Assembly will be in session soon so it's getting close to time for me to start contacting senators and representatives about opening records in Arkansas.
I've been paying attention to the Presidential race, even though I've already picked out who I will vote for. I'm so happy that the Republicans are discussing adding a resolution condemning Agenda 21 to their platform. I'm anxiously awaiting the county caucus on March 17 and I'm working with a group of like-minded voters to get ready and hopefully be able to get the delegates we want elected to go to the 7th district caucus and the state convention. I think it's a shame our Missouri state senators and governor could not get a bill passed to either move the primary later or cancel it altogether. It's just another example of how they waste our money. And don't worry, I will be paying attention when it comes time to reelect them.
Since I'm running for office myself, I've started trying to get to know some folks so maybe I can get elected to the health department board of trustees. It's an unpaid position, one I didn't even know existed until a couple of months ago. But this board of five people, three of which are up for re-election, approves the health department budget and the health codes for the county. Apparently I've thrown a wrench in there by running, because they haven't had to have an election in years. Sorry, establishment. I guess I'm going to have to start getting up at the crack of dawn the second Thursday of the month to be at their 7:30 AM meetings. Hmm, I wonder if they serve breakfast. I guess I'll find out next week.
Speaking of breakfast, I guess there's some kind of community breakfast in the county about every Saturday of the month. Last Saturday I trekked out to Bruner, where I met up with some folks I already knew and met some new ones. One of the guys told me which ones were the first and second Saturday but darned if I remember now. I should have written it down. I guess I'd better find out if that's how you get elected in a somewhat rural county.
The weird thing about living in a small town is that everyone knows each other and the folks who become "the powers that be" are your friends, neighbors, people you go to church with, etc. I don't think that's a bad thing, necessarily, but it certainly can make it awkward to recognize that a guy you, say, go to church with, isn't doing things quite the right way in his elected office. If you say something, you're gonna come across as a jerk. If you don't say something, you're not doing what is right and that could be bad for your city or county or school. Sadly, I think most people would probably look the other way unless it was blatantly obvious that someone was breaking the law and the closer the relationship, the harder it would be to say something.
So I'm gonna say this right now. Just because I know you and I like you doesn't mean I'm going to think everything you do is the right thing. If you're in a public office, you have to expect that the public is going to be paying attention to what you are doing in that office. I don't think it's right that people's private lives get delved into (no matter how sordid the love lives of the *average* Newt, Bill or John might be) but if you're on the county commission and you aren't publicizing the meetings well, I'm going to call you on it. Or if you're on the school board and you're pushing stuff through without allowing for public comment, I'm going to call you on it. And when I say "call you on it," I don't mean I'm going to say something to you in private or send you an e-mail or give you a call. Nope, you're gonna get called out publicly. It's gonna be on Facebook or in a comment on a blog. Or in my blog. Or it may even be brought up at a public meeting. Why? Because you're in a public office serving the public. Technically you are not breaking the law by only putting the meeting notice on the bulletin board at the courthouse when you could just as easily also put it on the website you already have. Technically you can start the public portion of the school board meeting early if the executive session wraps up early so that you can pull the sign in sheet for public comment. But it doesn't make it right. You can follow the letter of the law without following the spirit of the law and frankly, when you do things this way, it makes people think you're hiding something. You can hide whatever you want in your private life but when it's my tax dollars paying your salary, you need to be as transparent as possible in your public office.
I believe most public servants are there because they want to do what is right for their county, school district, city, state or country. There are a few bad apples and of course as they work their way into the state and national spotlight there are going to be some (maybe even many) who are involved because they are power hungry or want to get rich. Or they are constantly looking ahead to the next election and trying not to piss off the wrong constituency so they get booted out of office. I'm sure it's easy to do things the way they've always been done and go along to get along. But you have to be willing to do what is right. You have to be willing to make tough decisions and do things that are unpopular. You have to take the risk and stand up to the presiding commissioner or the board president or the mayor and say hey, I don't think we should do it this way. You may not be the only person who thinks it's wrong. You may break the ice and find that everyone else agrees with you but they were afraid to say something.
Or you may be left hanging in the wind. You won't know till you try.
I've stepped outside my comfort zone multiple times since the beginning of the year and it's worked out nicely for me so far. I was elected vice president of our property rights group, something that I was almost afraid to hope for. I've not been to as many public meetings as I had been attending, but when I've gone I've paid attention and I've spoken up when I felt it was necessary. I even testified before the Missouri House Judiciary committee last week about opening adoption records to adult adoptees. In spite of being terrified and feeling unprepared, I feel like my testimony was well-received and I hope it will make a difference. Arkansas' General Assembly will be in session soon so it's getting close to time for me to start contacting senators and representatives about opening records in Arkansas.
I've been paying attention to the Presidential race, even though I've already picked out who I will vote for. I'm so happy that the Republicans are discussing adding a resolution condemning Agenda 21 to their platform. I'm anxiously awaiting the county caucus on March 17 and I'm working with a group of like-minded voters to get ready and hopefully be able to get the delegates we want elected to go to the 7th district caucus and the state convention. I think it's a shame our Missouri state senators and governor could not get a bill passed to either move the primary later or cancel it altogether. It's just another example of how they waste our money. And don't worry, I will be paying attention when it comes time to reelect them.
Since I'm running for office myself, I've started trying to get to know some folks so maybe I can get elected to the health department board of trustees. It's an unpaid position, one I didn't even know existed until a couple of months ago. But this board of five people, three of which are up for re-election, approves the health department budget and the health codes for the county. Apparently I've thrown a wrench in there by running, because they haven't had to have an election in years. Sorry, establishment. I guess I'm going to have to start getting up at the crack of dawn the second Thursday of the month to be at their 7:30 AM meetings. Hmm, I wonder if they serve breakfast. I guess I'll find out next week.
Speaking of breakfast, I guess there's some kind of community breakfast in the county about every Saturday of the month. Last Saturday I trekked out to Bruner, where I met up with some folks I already knew and met some new ones. One of the guys told me which ones were the first and second Saturday but darned if I remember now. I should have written it down. I guess I'd better find out if that's how you get elected in a somewhat rural county.
The weird thing about living in a small town is that everyone knows each other and the folks who become "the powers that be" are your friends, neighbors, people you go to church with, etc. I don't think that's a bad thing, necessarily, but it certainly can make it awkward to recognize that a guy you, say, go to church with, isn't doing things quite the right way in his elected office. If you say something, you're gonna come across as a jerk. If you don't say something, you're not doing what is right and that could be bad for your city or county or school. Sadly, I think most people would probably look the other way unless it was blatantly obvious that someone was breaking the law and the closer the relationship, the harder it would be to say something.
So I'm gonna say this right now. Just because I know you and I like you doesn't mean I'm going to think everything you do is the right thing. If you're in a public office, you have to expect that the public is going to be paying attention to what you are doing in that office. I don't think it's right that people's private lives get delved into (no matter how sordid the love lives of the *average* Newt, Bill or John might be) but if you're on the county commission and you aren't publicizing the meetings well, I'm going to call you on it. Or if you're on the school board and you're pushing stuff through without allowing for public comment, I'm going to call you on it. And when I say "call you on it," I don't mean I'm going to say something to you in private or send you an e-mail or give you a call. Nope, you're gonna get called out publicly. It's gonna be on Facebook or in a comment on a blog. Or in my blog. Or it may even be brought up at a public meeting. Why? Because you're in a public office serving the public. Technically you are not breaking the law by only putting the meeting notice on the bulletin board at the courthouse when you could just as easily also put it on the website you already have. Technically you can start the public portion of the school board meeting early if the executive session wraps up early so that you can pull the sign in sheet for public comment. But it doesn't make it right. You can follow the letter of the law without following the spirit of the law and frankly, when you do things this way, it makes people think you're hiding something. You can hide whatever you want in your private life but when it's my tax dollars paying your salary, you need to be as transparent as possible in your public office.
I believe most public servants are there because they want to do what is right for their county, school district, city, state or country. There are a few bad apples and of course as they work their way into the state and national spotlight there are going to be some (maybe even many) who are involved because they are power hungry or want to get rich. Or they are constantly looking ahead to the next election and trying not to piss off the wrong constituency so they get booted out of office. I'm sure it's easy to do things the way they've always been done and go along to get along. But you have to be willing to do what is right. You have to be willing to make tough decisions and do things that are unpopular. You have to take the risk and stand up to the presiding commissioner or the board president or the mayor and say hey, I don't think we should do it this way. You may not be the only person who thinks it's wrong. You may break the ice and find that everyone else agrees with you but they were afraid to say something.
Or you may be left hanging in the wind. You won't know till you try.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tonight!! Attention Christian County and Ozark!
Tonight...if you live in Christian County, this applies to you...
Christian County Planning and Zoning Commission meets tonight at the Christian County Courthouse at 7 PM in Room 208 (old courtroom).
They will be discussing rezoning 4381 Selmore Rd. from R-1 (suburban residence) to C-2 (general commercial)
They will also be discussing and possibly voting on new and/or revised definitions of recycling centers, junkyards and automobile graveyards and for what zoning district these might be appropriate.
So why is this important? Well, it has the potential to impede on personal property rights if not done properly. So the public needs to be there...and ready to speak out to make sure the commission makes regulations that are fair to all parties involved.
http://christiancountymo.gov/planningandzoning/agenda.pdf
Also tonight is the Ozark Board of Aldermen meeting at 7 PM in the Council Chambers of Ozark City Hall.
They will be discussing contracts to powerwash the water towers at Wal-mart and Tracker. They will also talk about an amendment to the city ordinances about Board of Aldermen meetings. I believe this is the ordinance that Mayor Pro Tem wanted to throw out completely and start over because there was an amendment to the amendment. These are open for public comment.
They will also be voting on a zoning change for 604 E. Jackson and a conditional use permit for 2114 E. Robin. They will also vote on amendments to the current year budget. These bills are final reading and not open for public discussion.
http://www.ozarkmissouri.com/archives/42/Board%20of%20Aldermen%20Packet%2011-21-2011.pdf
Crap. Now I have to decide which one to go to. Why do they both meet at the same time??
I'm leaning toward planning and zoning just because it seems property rights are a more pressing issue, but I know there will likely be people there that will represent my point of view. At the city council meeting, the only person there besides the council and people who are supposed to speak to the council will probably be the former mayor. That makes me think maybe I should go to Board of Aldermen...
OK well I don't have to decide right now...
Christian County Planning and Zoning Commission meets tonight at the Christian County Courthouse at 7 PM in Room 208 (old courtroom).
They will be discussing rezoning 4381 Selmore Rd. from R-1 (suburban residence) to C-2 (general commercial)
They will also be discussing and possibly voting on new and/or revised definitions of recycling centers, junkyards and automobile graveyards and for what zoning district these might be appropriate.
So why is this important? Well, it has the potential to impede on personal property rights if not done properly. So the public needs to be there...and ready to speak out to make sure the commission makes regulations that are fair to all parties involved.
http://christiancountymo.gov/planningandzoning/agenda.pdf
Also tonight is the Ozark Board of Aldermen meeting at 7 PM in the Council Chambers of Ozark City Hall.
They will be discussing contracts to powerwash the water towers at Wal-mart and Tracker. They will also talk about an amendment to the city ordinances about Board of Aldermen meetings. I believe this is the ordinance that Mayor Pro Tem wanted to throw out completely and start over because there was an amendment to the amendment. These are open for public comment.
They will also be voting on a zoning change for 604 E. Jackson and a conditional use permit for 2114 E. Robin. They will also vote on amendments to the current year budget. These bills are final reading and not open for public discussion.
http://www.ozarkmissouri.com/archives/42/Board%20of%20Aldermen%20Packet%2011-21-2011.pdf
Crap. Now I have to decide which one to go to. Why do they both meet at the same time??
I'm leaning toward planning and zoning just because it seems property rights are a more pressing issue, but I know there will likely be people there that will represent my point of view. At the city council meeting, the only person there besides the council and people who are supposed to speak to the council will probably be the former mayor. That makes me think maybe I should go to Board of Aldermen...
OK well I don't have to decide right now...
Monday, November 7, 2011
Tragedy, property rights, building codes and Agenda 21
This is bugging me...
Did you hear about those boys in NYC who pushed a shopping cart off the 4th story of a parking garage and it landed on a lady and killed her? Fortunately, a doctor was right there and witnessed the whole thing and handed off their baby to his wife so he could do CPR. She was revived and taken to the hospital. The lady, Marion Hedges, had her 13 or 14 year old son with her, who was hysterical (understandably) so the wife of the doctor comforted him and helped him call his grandmother. Mrs. Hedges is still in critical condition according to the news reports I found in a Google search this morning.
A couple of things disturb me about this story. First of all, if these boys had no more sense to know that dropping a shopping cart four stories is a bad idea, they should have not been out in public without adult supervision. This has gotten a lot of media coverage and some sources describe the boys as good kids. I highly doubt that. Another source was surprised these kids hadn't been to juvie yet. That's more like it.
In spite of what happened to his wife at the hands of these little punks, Michael Hedges told the NY Daily News they would like to create a foundation to help kids like Jeovanni and Raymond, the "alleged perpetrators". My gut tells me tossing them off a four story building would be a good first step. However, they are just kids, and apparently they don't have a lot of supervision. Maybe we should chuck their parents off instead.
But wait...we have to find their parents first. Apparently these boys are growing up in the projects in Harlem and their daddies are long gone. One of the boys' moms spoke out and said she needs help, she's a single mom. Well, if she's living in the projects, chances are she's already getting some "help". Some Food Stamps, some Medicaid, some Welfare, some Section 8 housing. Could it be that all the "help" she's getting isn't really the kind of help she needs? Could it be that the kind of "help" the Feds have been doling out for over 40 years is hurting more people than it's helping?
I pray for everyone involved in this tragedy. The victim, her family, the kids who injured her, their families. The witnesses, the doctor and his wife who stopped to help. The older boy who tried to stop the boys from tossing a shopping cart to begin with and eventually turned them in when they ran away instead of taking responsibility for their actions.
So...how does this tie into property rights and building codes? And what does Agenda 21 have to do with any of it? Oh, oh, oh, I'm glad you asked!! I love it when I can tie it all together.
"The pedestrian walkway at East River Plaza was erected by a private developer, but if it had been owned by the city, builders would have been required to construct an 8-foot high fence over the wall, city officials said."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/tragic-error-city-loophole-led-cart-toss-horror-walkway-east-harlem-target-article-1.972201
The title of the article is "Tragic error: City loophole led to cart-toss horror on walkway at East Harlem Target."
Therefore, it's not the fault of the boys who threw the shopping cart. It's not the fault of the parents who were not supervising their children. It's the fault of the builder and the city. Really?
First of all, if you're going to have building codes at all, they should be consistent. Why should the city have to build thousands more into the budgets of their building projects for safety devices that privately-owned buildings are not required to have? Either it's needed or it's not, doesn't matter whether the government owns it or Donald Trump owns it! Second of all, you cannot legislate common sense. These boys had been in school for at least six or seven years, surely the schools there aren't so bad that they haven't touched on gravity and momentum in science classes. So I'm guessing they knew a shopping cart dropped from 40 feet was going to make a big bang. They'd already been dropping shushies and seen their cups exploding.
I guess technically if there had been an 8 foot tall one inch mesh barrier curved inward at the top, the boys would not have been able to toss a shopping cart over. OK I'm convinced. Totally not their fault they rolled a cart out from the store or parking garage, picked it up and chucked it over the 42 inch railing.
Since Bill Clinton had an office in Harlem, let's blame him. And Michael Bloomberg is mayor of New York, so it's his fault too. New York is in the United States, so let's not forget to blame President Obama while we're at it.
Agenda 21 proponents want us all in sustainable living zones. Big cities. Where you can go everywhere by foot, bicycle or train. Parts of New York are much like what Agenda 21 invisions...mass transit, high population density, tall buildings. But a tragedy like what happened at the East River Plaza could only happen in an Agenda 21 city. It couldn't happen in Ozark, Missouri. We aren't so crowded here that we have to build multi-level stores and parking garages. I'm safe from falling shopping carts here (I hope).
The UN and proponents of Agenda 21 (sustainable development) want all the people in human zones so the rest of the land can be used as appropriate to raise food. No family farms, no country life. No hunting and fishing for recreation and food. No raising a few chickens for the eggs and a couple of goats for the milk. No backyard garden for a few tomatoes and cucumbers.
Our Federal agencies are doing the best they can to burden farmers with so much regulation that they cannot survive. You have to know the rules to be able to play by them, and you can't understand all the bureaucracy and still have time to make a living. So you do the best you can until you get caught breaking one of their rules. Then they slap you with fines and put you out of business. A bigger operation buys up your land for the taxes and you move into one of the human zones.
Bureaucrats have taken what is supposed to protect our citizens and have turned it around to use it against them. Big commercial farming operations have lawyers to interpret and relationships with inspectors to make sure they stay out of trouble. I believe there have to be some rules in place to keep unsafe food off our tables. Unfortunately, food that may not have bacteria or bugs in it but has been filled with hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and other chemicals does make it to the store and there are no warning labels that say we don't know what this may do to you or your kids 20 or 50 years down the road. If I want to stay away from all this, I have to raise all my food myself. But I can't sell any of it to my neighbor because I have to play by all these rules. I can't band together with 50 other people and each raise something and trade with one another.
This is America! We have to wake up and defend the rights of people who may be doing things we don't agree with or would never do ourselves, but aren't hurting anyone else!
Did you hear about those boys in NYC who pushed a shopping cart off the 4th story of a parking garage and it landed on a lady and killed her? Fortunately, a doctor was right there and witnessed the whole thing and handed off their baby to his wife so he could do CPR. She was revived and taken to the hospital. The lady, Marion Hedges, had her 13 or 14 year old son with her, who was hysterical (understandably) so the wife of the doctor comforted him and helped him call his grandmother. Mrs. Hedges is still in critical condition according to the news reports I found in a Google search this morning.
A couple of things disturb me about this story. First of all, if these boys had no more sense to know that dropping a shopping cart four stories is a bad idea, they should have not been out in public without adult supervision. This has gotten a lot of media coverage and some sources describe the boys as good kids. I highly doubt that. Another source was surprised these kids hadn't been to juvie yet. That's more like it.
In spite of what happened to his wife at the hands of these little punks, Michael Hedges told the NY Daily News they would like to create a foundation to help kids like Jeovanni and Raymond, the "alleged perpetrators". My gut tells me tossing them off a four story building would be a good first step. However, they are just kids, and apparently they don't have a lot of supervision. Maybe we should chuck their parents off instead.
But wait...we have to find their parents first. Apparently these boys are growing up in the projects in Harlem and their daddies are long gone. One of the boys' moms spoke out and said she needs help, she's a single mom. Well, if she's living in the projects, chances are she's already getting some "help". Some Food Stamps, some Medicaid, some Welfare, some Section 8 housing. Could it be that all the "help" she's getting isn't really the kind of help she needs? Could it be that the kind of "help" the Feds have been doling out for over 40 years is hurting more people than it's helping?
I pray for everyone involved in this tragedy. The victim, her family, the kids who injured her, their families. The witnesses, the doctor and his wife who stopped to help. The older boy who tried to stop the boys from tossing a shopping cart to begin with and eventually turned them in when they ran away instead of taking responsibility for their actions.
So...how does this tie into property rights and building codes? And what does Agenda 21 have to do with any of it? Oh, oh, oh, I'm glad you asked!! I love it when I can tie it all together.
"The pedestrian walkway at East River Plaza was erected by a private developer, but if it had been owned by the city, builders would have been required to construct an 8-foot high fence over the wall, city officials said."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/tragic-error-city-loophole-led-cart-toss-horror-walkway-east-harlem-target-article-1.972201
The title of the article is "Tragic error: City loophole led to cart-toss horror on walkway at East Harlem Target."
Therefore, it's not the fault of the boys who threw the shopping cart. It's not the fault of the parents who were not supervising their children. It's the fault of the builder and the city. Really?
First of all, if you're going to have building codes at all, they should be consistent. Why should the city have to build thousands more into the budgets of their building projects for safety devices that privately-owned buildings are not required to have? Either it's needed or it's not, doesn't matter whether the government owns it or Donald Trump owns it! Second of all, you cannot legislate common sense. These boys had been in school for at least six or seven years, surely the schools there aren't so bad that they haven't touched on gravity and momentum in science classes. So I'm guessing they knew a shopping cart dropped from 40 feet was going to make a big bang. They'd already been dropping shushies and seen their cups exploding.
I guess technically if there had been an 8 foot tall one inch mesh barrier curved inward at the top, the boys would not have been able to toss a shopping cart over. OK I'm convinced. Totally not their fault they rolled a cart out from the store or parking garage, picked it up and chucked it over the 42 inch railing.
Since Bill Clinton had an office in Harlem, let's blame him. And Michael Bloomberg is mayor of New York, so it's his fault too. New York is in the United States, so let's not forget to blame President Obama while we're at it.
Agenda 21 proponents want us all in sustainable living zones. Big cities. Where you can go everywhere by foot, bicycle or train. Parts of New York are much like what Agenda 21 invisions...mass transit, high population density, tall buildings. But a tragedy like what happened at the East River Plaza could only happen in an Agenda 21 city. It couldn't happen in Ozark, Missouri. We aren't so crowded here that we have to build multi-level stores and parking garages. I'm safe from falling shopping carts here (I hope).
The UN and proponents of Agenda 21 (sustainable development) want all the people in human zones so the rest of the land can be used as appropriate to raise food. No family farms, no country life. No hunting and fishing for recreation and food. No raising a few chickens for the eggs and a couple of goats for the milk. No backyard garden for a few tomatoes and cucumbers.
Our Federal agencies are doing the best they can to burden farmers with so much regulation that they cannot survive. You have to know the rules to be able to play by them, and you can't understand all the bureaucracy and still have time to make a living. So you do the best you can until you get caught breaking one of their rules. Then they slap you with fines and put you out of business. A bigger operation buys up your land for the taxes and you move into one of the human zones.
Bureaucrats have taken what is supposed to protect our citizens and have turned it around to use it against them. Big commercial farming operations have lawyers to interpret and relationships with inspectors to make sure they stay out of trouble. I believe there have to be some rules in place to keep unsafe food off our tables. Unfortunately, food that may not have bacteria or bugs in it but has been filled with hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and other chemicals does make it to the store and there are no warning labels that say we don't know what this may do to you or your kids 20 or 50 years down the road. If I want to stay away from all this, I have to raise all my food myself. But I can't sell any of it to my neighbor because I have to play by all these rules. I can't band together with 50 other people and each raise something and trade with one another.
This is America! We have to wake up and defend the rights of people who may be doing things we don't agree with or would never do ourselves, but aren't hurting anyone else!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Priorities
I've been thinking a lot over the past year and a half about what is important to me. I guess losing your job and then having your health threatened will do that to you. I am thankful every day that when things started falling apart with me, DH was there to pick up the pieces and keep our family afloat. Since I've not been working, I've had a lot of free time on my hands. I've read books, watched a lot of TV, surfed the Internet, played games on my smart phone. I've been decluttering my house SLOWLY (too slowly for DH, he's ready to rent a dumpster and chuck it all!!) and cooking more. I've been trying to get away from using convenience foods. It really doesn't take much longer to make cheeseburger macaroni from scratch than it does to open a box of Hamburger Helper.
I'm trying very hard to buy local and buy more natural. I read labels of food, I look for more natural alternatives to some of the convenience shortcuts that are common in recipes. I recycle paper and try not to bring things into my home that I don't need, love or use.
And I've gotten more involved in my community. Not just in PTA, but church, the Republican Central Committee and the Ozarks Property Rights Congress. I'm going to public meetings, researching what I hear, blogging about what I think of what I hear. I'm trying to do something about the problems I see around me.
Education problems, erosion of freedoms, lack of personal responsibility. Decision making bodies who were ELECTED by the people rubber-stamping every proposal that comes before them from the superintendent or city attorney or health department director or city manager or planning and zoning administrator, without researching, discussing or getting the opinion of their constituents.
All these meetings are cutting into my TV time. The research I do has cut into my Facebook time. Meal-planning has taken me away from the book I've been trying to read for the past 3 months. Walking into the local coffee shop to get my caffeine fix takes longer than going through the McDonald's drive-thru. But I feel like I'm doing SOMETHING to improve things.
If people like me don't get involved in PTA, church and community/political organizations, then we will get what we've always got. You don't like the way things are going in your PTA? Get involved. Volunteer for stuff, maybe a job no one else wants to do. Let people get to know you. Work your way into becoming a decision maker. And then be a part of the change. Don't just walk away from the group because you don't like how it's going or one of the leaders. Help them see how it could be better. And work to make it better. Don't just complain.
You can replace "PTA" in the paragraph above with any other group you are or would like to be involved in. I use PTA as an example because it was the first organization I got involved in that I stuck around long enough to become part of the change, rather than just get frustrated and quit. And what I've learned from PTA I've taken with me to the other groups I've gotten involved with.
So what is important to me?
Family is at the top of the list. I want my kids to become independent, self-reliant adults. So they have chores and responsibilities around the house. I provide healthy food for my kids and I'm teaching them how to cook and prepare their own food. I tell them I love them every day. I give them opportunities to make choices so they will learn to make good decisions for themselves. I make sure they get to bed at a decent hour and are ready for school each day. I talk to them about what they are learning. I'm available to help with homework but they have to do it themselves. I try not to nag. That's hard. But much better for them to make mistakes now than when they are older and the consequences are greater.
When I think about it, EVERYTHING I do is for my kids. I want them to inherit the best country in the world. I want them to experience the freedom and prosperity that DH and I have experienced. It's an amazing feeling to get out of bed in the morning and know that if you want to pick up and move 1000 miles away, you can start planning and do it. You can get in your car and go anywhere you want. You can buy land and build a house or a barn. You can hunt and fish, own guns and shoot them. You can do almost anything if it doesn't hurt anyone else. Well, kind of.
In some places, you can't sell vegetables you grew in your garden or even give them to your neighbors. You can't milk your goats and sell the milk to someone who wants to buy it. I'm not talking about taking your tomatoes and raw milk down to Price Cutter and letting them sell them to the general public. I mean you can't put an ad in the newspaper or on Craigslist and someone come TO YOU and buy these items.
Why not? If you have something to sell, why can't you sell it? The "powers that be" talk about protecting the public health. They have a point...but at least if I buy milk from John or tomatoes from Bob, I can go back and tell John and Bob if said items made me sick. I have an actual connection to them. I bet John would even let me come look at his milking and bottling operation if I asked. I doubt I could go see where my gallon of milk from Wal-mart was produced.
Where DH grew up, there were multiple meat processing operations (when I say meat, it could be bovine, porcine or poultry, I'm not giving any other details). I know people who worked in some of these plants. I know the stories they have told about things that happened on the line. And the meat that was being processed still made it to grocery store cases, in spite of some questionable sanitary practices.
And I worked in restaurants. Don't even get me started on what I've seen or heard what has happened to food that was served to customers.
Seems to me if you actually KNOW your customers, you might be more likely to make sure you treated the food properly. If you knew your mom was the one who was going to eat that steak, you wouldn't pick it up and throw it on the grill when you dropped it taking it out of the fridge (that was one I actually witnessed for myself. I told the cook to throw it away but he just laughed. I told the manager. He laughed too).
So here's the deal. Give some consideration to your own priorities. What do you want for yourself, for your children, for your country? Do you think we are headed in the right direction? If you think not, get involved! Involvement can be as little as making a donation to a worthy organization or reading a news article or blog about what's going on. Or it can be as much as starting your own organization or your own blog and informing as many people as possible. Or anywhere in between. But I will warn you...once you start paying attention, you will have trouble stopping.
But in the long run, I think it will be more beneficial than keeping up with the Kardashians.
I'm trying very hard to buy local and buy more natural. I read labels of food, I look for more natural alternatives to some of the convenience shortcuts that are common in recipes. I recycle paper and try not to bring things into my home that I don't need, love or use.
And I've gotten more involved in my community. Not just in PTA, but church, the Republican Central Committee and the Ozarks Property Rights Congress. I'm going to public meetings, researching what I hear, blogging about what I think of what I hear. I'm trying to do something about the problems I see around me.
Education problems, erosion of freedoms, lack of personal responsibility. Decision making bodies who were ELECTED by the people rubber-stamping every proposal that comes before them from the superintendent or city attorney or health department director or city manager or planning and zoning administrator, without researching, discussing or getting the opinion of their constituents.
All these meetings are cutting into my TV time. The research I do has cut into my Facebook time. Meal-planning has taken me away from the book I've been trying to read for the past 3 months. Walking into the local coffee shop to get my caffeine fix takes longer than going through the McDonald's drive-thru. But I feel like I'm doing SOMETHING to improve things.
If people like me don't get involved in PTA, church and community/political organizations, then we will get what we've always got. You don't like the way things are going in your PTA? Get involved. Volunteer for stuff, maybe a job no one else wants to do. Let people get to know you. Work your way into becoming a decision maker. And then be a part of the change. Don't just walk away from the group because you don't like how it's going or one of the leaders. Help them see how it could be better. And work to make it better. Don't just complain.
You can replace "PTA" in the paragraph above with any other group you are or would like to be involved in. I use PTA as an example because it was the first organization I got involved in that I stuck around long enough to become part of the change, rather than just get frustrated and quit. And what I've learned from PTA I've taken with me to the other groups I've gotten involved with.
So what is important to me?
Family is at the top of the list. I want my kids to become independent, self-reliant adults. So they have chores and responsibilities around the house. I provide healthy food for my kids and I'm teaching them how to cook and prepare their own food. I tell them I love them every day. I give them opportunities to make choices so they will learn to make good decisions for themselves. I make sure they get to bed at a decent hour and are ready for school each day. I talk to them about what they are learning. I'm available to help with homework but they have to do it themselves. I try not to nag. That's hard. But much better for them to make mistakes now than when they are older and the consequences are greater.
When I think about it, EVERYTHING I do is for my kids. I want them to inherit the best country in the world. I want them to experience the freedom and prosperity that DH and I have experienced. It's an amazing feeling to get out of bed in the morning and know that if you want to pick up and move 1000 miles away, you can start planning and do it. You can get in your car and go anywhere you want. You can buy land and build a house or a barn. You can hunt and fish, own guns and shoot them. You can do almost anything if it doesn't hurt anyone else. Well, kind of.
In some places, you can't sell vegetables you grew in your garden or even give them to your neighbors. You can't milk your goats and sell the milk to someone who wants to buy it. I'm not talking about taking your tomatoes and raw milk down to Price Cutter and letting them sell them to the general public. I mean you can't put an ad in the newspaper or on Craigslist and someone come TO YOU and buy these items.
Why not? If you have something to sell, why can't you sell it? The "powers that be" talk about protecting the public health. They have a point...but at least if I buy milk from John or tomatoes from Bob, I can go back and tell John and Bob if said items made me sick. I have an actual connection to them. I bet John would even let me come look at his milking and bottling operation if I asked. I doubt I could go see where my gallon of milk from Wal-mart was produced.
Where DH grew up, there were multiple meat processing operations (when I say meat, it could be bovine, porcine or poultry, I'm not giving any other details). I know people who worked in some of these plants. I know the stories they have told about things that happened on the line. And the meat that was being processed still made it to grocery store cases, in spite of some questionable sanitary practices.
And I worked in restaurants. Don't even get me started on what I've seen or heard what has happened to food that was served to customers.
Seems to me if you actually KNOW your customers, you might be more likely to make sure you treated the food properly. If you knew your mom was the one who was going to eat that steak, you wouldn't pick it up and throw it on the grill when you dropped it taking it out of the fridge (that was one I actually witnessed for myself. I told the cook to throw it away but he just laughed. I told the manager. He laughed too).
So here's the deal. Give some consideration to your own priorities. What do you want for yourself, for your children, for your country? Do you think we are headed in the right direction? If you think not, get involved! Involvement can be as little as making a donation to a worthy organization or reading a news article or blog about what's going on. Or it can be as much as starting your own organization or your own blog and informing as many people as possible. Or anywhere in between. But I will warn you...once you start paying attention, you will have trouble stopping.
But in the long run, I think it will be more beneficial than keeping up with the Kardashians.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Upcoming events
Here's a couple of upcoming events...
The Christian County Chapter of the Ozarks Property Rights Congress will meet Thursday, November 3 at 7 PM at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 877 State Hwy JJ, Sparta (take Hwy 14 east through Ozark, turn north on JJ, church is about 3/4 mile on left). We meet in the fellowship hall unless the group is huge and we'll move to the sanctuary. This is not a church service, just a group of concerned citizens who have decided to DO something about our eroding personal freedom and big government encroachment on our property rights.
This month Doreen Hannes will be explaining Codex Alimentarius. If you've never heard of, this is directly from their official website:
"The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations."
Guess where this originates? (I'll give you a hint...the key words are "Programme" and "non-governmental organizations.") If you said United Nations, ding ding ding, you are correct!! A gold star for you.
So what's the problem? Don't we need safe food? Of course we do, but they keep over-reaching! Forcing private citizens to adhere to the same standards for their personal food supplies encroaches on individual rights. If I want to raise a cow or goat and drink unpasteurized milk from it, why shouldn't I make that decision for myself? Or if I want to buy unpasteurized milk from an individual, knowing the risks, why shouldn't I? There are certainly no labels on pasteurized cows milk that say we use hormones to make our cows produce more milk and we have no idea what problems this may cause in the future or in children who get much of their daily caloric intake from milk! But I digress.
She will also talk about the "China Hub," a plan to open up trade between China and the Midwest, using St. Louis Lambert Airport as the "hub." As usual, the devil is in the details.
Doreen knows these subjects inside and out and I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say.
So be there!! Questions? Email help@StopFarmerCDLs.Com or klanehall@gmail.com or call Bob Estep at 417 844 8406 or Mike Wasson 417 634 5679
The other event is somewhat political in nature...
"The 7th District Congressional Republican Committee, the Missouri Federated Republican Women and the Evangel College Republicans will present an ABC (About Basic Campaigning) grassroots custom workshop for candidates, campaign workers, grassroots activists or any Republican interested in learning the political process of a successful campaign."
This will be held Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 8 am to 5 pm at Evangel University, Trask Hall Room 101, 1111 N. Glenstone, Springfield, MO
It's $25 but free for students with a current school ID (not just Evangel students or even college students...political teens welcome!!) The fee includes lunch. Casual dress.
I will be there and I just e-mailed Mavis Busiek this morning and there are still a few seats left. If you're interested, e-mail her at mbusiek@aol.com or call her at 417 864 4333 or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Missouri7thDistrictCRC
School board and Bill Randles blogs coming soon...I promise!!
The Christian County Chapter of the Ozarks Property Rights Congress will meet Thursday, November 3 at 7 PM at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 877 State Hwy JJ, Sparta (take Hwy 14 east through Ozark, turn north on JJ, church is about 3/4 mile on left). We meet in the fellowship hall unless the group is huge and we'll move to the sanctuary. This is not a church service, just a group of concerned citizens who have decided to DO something about our eroding personal freedom and big government encroachment on our property rights.
This month Doreen Hannes will be explaining Codex Alimentarius. If you've never heard of, this is directly from their official website:
"The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations."
Guess where this originates? (I'll give you a hint...the key words are "Programme" and "non-governmental organizations.") If you said United Nations, ding ding ding, you are correct!! A gold star for you.
So what's the problem? Don't we need safe food? Of course we do, but they keep over-reaching! Forcing private citizens to adhere to the same standards for their personal food supplies encroaches on individual rights. If I want to raise a cow or goat and drink unpasteurized milk from it, why shouldn't I make that decision for myself? Or if I want to buy unpasteurized milk from an individual, knowing the risks, why shouldn't I? There are certainly no labels on pasteurized cows milk that say we use hormones to make our cows produce more milk and we have no idea what problems this may cause in the future or in children who get much of their daily caloric intake from milk! But I digress.
She will also talk about the "China Hub," a plan to open up trade between China and the Midwest, using St. Louis Lambert Airport as the "hub." As usual, the devil is in the details.
Doreen knows these subjects inside and out and I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say.
So be there!! Questions? Email help@StopFarmerCDLs.Com or klanehall@gmail.com or call Bob Estep at 417 844 8406 or Mike Wasson 417 634 5679
The other event is somewhat political in nature...
"The 7th District Congressional Republican Committee, the Missouri Federated Republican Women and the Evangel College Republicans will present an ABC (About Basic Campaigning) grassroots custom workshop for candidates, campaign workers, grassroots activists or any Republican interested in learning the political process of a successful campaign."
This will be held Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 8 am to 5 pm at Evangel University, Trask Hall Room 101, 1111 N. Glenstone, Springfield, MO
It's $25 but free for students with a current school ID (not just Evangel students or even college students...political teens welcome!!) The fee includes lunch. Casual dress.
I will be there and I just e-mailed Mavis Busiek this morning and there are still a few seats left. If you're interested, e-mail her at mbusiek@aol.com or call her at 417 864 4333 or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Missouri7thDistrictCRC
School board and Bill Randles blogs coming soon...I promise!!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Attention farmers!!
Attention farmers and anyone who has family farms or uses kids under the age of 16 to help haul hay, tend to animals, etc. The DOL is looking to put MORE restrictions on kids working on farms. Make your opinion known! We only have until November 1 to give comments.
Click on the above link to comment.
Here is the letter from Farm Bureau
MISSOURI FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
P.O. Box 658, 701 South Country Club Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65102 / (573) 893-1400
MEMORANDUM
October 19, 2011
TO: County Farm Bureau Leaders
FROM: Garrett Hawkins, Director, National Legislative Programs
RE: Urgent Action Needed!
The regulatory onslaught at the federal level continues, but this time itfs coming from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and agriculture is the target. Proposed changes in federal child labor rules, if finalized, will place more restrictions on what youth can do on the farm, increasing legal liabilities for farm families and forcing changes in the way some operators plant, harvest, handle livestock, etc. The regulations would also limit hands-on training opportunities afforded through high school agricultural education programs.
The negative impact of this rule would be felt as soon as it is finalized, and for generations of farmers to come. All farm and ranch employers affected by this proposal are encouraged to submit comments to the DOL and send copies to members of Congress. The deadline to submit comments is November 1.
Background and Potential Impacts:
This rulemaking has been in the works within the DOL for nearly a year and half and is the first significant update to the child labor rule since it was promulgated in 1970. DOL says the proposal continues to exempt family farms and does not provide protections for 16- and 17-year-olds. The changes apply to youth under age 16.
The DOL proposal could affect your operation by:
. Restricting the \Parental Exemption. rule so that farms operated by partnerships and corporations may not benefit. As a result, the rule does not take into account the ownership patterns and operations of family farms because many family farms involve different members and generations of the same family working on the farm. DOL wants to limit the \family farm. exemption solely to the children of the owner or operator of a farm. Other family youth.nieces, nephews or grandchildren.would be restricted in what jobs they could do on the family farm by this rule.
. Calling into question longstanding practices in agriculture, including livestock welfare, planting, operating a tractor, and harvesting of fruits and vegetables, working near grain bins & elevators, silos, and livestock barns.
. Affecting standard education and training for future farmers by reducing on-farm learning opportunities. A student-learner on a farm must satisfactorily complete at least 90 hours of systematic school instruction in agricultural education at or above the 8th grade level before working on the farm.and even then the exemption would only apply to power-driven equipment.
. Setting a maximum height restriction of 6 feet (no work on roofs, scaffolds, elevated farm structures, vehicles, machines and implements at elevations greater than 6 feet).
. Prohibiting young hired workers from engaging and assisting in many animal husbandry practices to include those than inflict pain upon the animal and/or are likely to result in unpredictable animal behavior such as, but not limited to, branding, breeding, dehorning, vaccinating, castrating, and treating sick or injured animals. The prohibition would also include herding animals in confined spaces such as feed lots or corrals, or on horseback, or using motorized vehicles such as trucks or all terrain vehicles.
. Potentially preventing youth from working under \extreme temperatures. (e.g., harvesting fruit) or being paid piece rate wages for such jobs. DOL contends it is seeking input to prevent heat-related illnesses and injury to workers in the field.
. The Department of Labor rule does not take into account the unique organization of family farms being owned and operated by many members and generations of one family.
. Farms and ranches provide a unique educational and training experience to learn about horticulture, animal care & welfare, equipment operation, environmental protection among other unique opportunities found exclusively on a farm.
. Traditional farm activities performed by youth are threatened by this rule.
. Family members and other workers on the farm are protected by numerous laws and regulations. Parts of this rule represent regulatory over-reach. It does not recognize the unique structure of today's family farm operations and the traditions that the family farm provides to all workers.
Click on the above link to comment.
Here is the letter from Farm Bureau
MISSOURI FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
P.O. Box 658, 701 South Country Club Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65102 / (573) 893-1400
MEMORANDUM
October 19, 2011
TO: County Farm Bureau Leaders
FROM: Garrett Hawkins, Director, National Legislative Programs
RE: Urgent Action Needed!
The regulatory onslaught at the federal level continues, but this time itfs coming from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and agriculture is the target. Proposed changes in federal child labor rules, if finalized, will place more restrictions on what youth can do on the farm, increasing legal liabilities for farm families and forcing changes in the way some operators plant, harvest, handle livestock, etc. The regulations would also limit hands-on training opportunities afforded through high school agricultural education programs.
The negative impact of this rule would be felt as soon as it is finalized, and for generations of farmers to come. All farm and ranch employers affected by this proposal are encouraged to submit comments to the DOL and send copies to members of Congress. The deadline to submit comments is November 1.
Background and Potential Impacts:
This rulemaking has been in the works within the DOL for nearly a year and half and is the first significant update to the child labor rule since it was promulgated in 1970. DOL says the proposal continues to exempt family farms and does not provide protections for 16- and 17-year-olds. The changes apply to youth under age 16.
The DOL proposal could affect your operation by:
. Restricting the \Parental Exemption. rule so that farms operated by partnerships and corporations may not benefit. As a result, the rule does not take into account the ownership patterns and operations of family farms because many family farms involve different members and generations of the same family working on the farm. DOL wants to limit the \family farm. exemption solely to the children of the owner or operator of a farm. Other family youth.nieces, nephews or grandchildren.would be restricted in what jobs they could do on the family farm by this rule.
. Calling into question longstanding practices in agriculture, including livestock welfare, planting, operating a tractor, and harvesting of fruits and vegetables, working near grain bins & elevators, silos, and livestock barns.
. Affecting standard education and training for future farmers by reducing on-farm learning opportunities. A student-learner on a farm must satisfactorily complete at least 90 hours of systematic school instruction in agricultural education at or above the 8th grade level before working on the farm.and even then the exemption would only apply to power-driven equipment.
. Setting a maximum height restriction of 6 feet (no work on roofs, scaffolds, elevated farm structures, vehicles, machines and implements at elevations greater than 6 feet).
. Prohibiting young hired workers from engaging and assisting in many animal husbandry practices to include those than inflict pain upon the animal and/or are likely to result in unpredictable animal behavior such as, but not limited to, branding, breeding, dehorning, vaccinating, castrating, and treating sick or injured animals. The prohibition would also include herding animals in confined spaces such as feed lots or corrals, or on horseback, or using motorized vehicles such as trucks or all terrain vehicles.
. Potentially preventing youth from working under \extreme temperatures. (e.g., harvesting fruit) or being paid piece rate wages for such jobs. DOL contends it is seeking input to prevent heat-related illnesses and injury to workers in the field.
. The Department of Labor rule does not take into account the unique organization of family farms being owned and operated by many members and generations of one family.
. Farms and ranches provide a unique educational and training experience to learn about horticulture, animal care & welfare, equipment operation, environmental protection among other unique opportunities found exclusively on a farm.
. Traditional farm activities performed by youth are threatened by this rule.
. Family members and other workers on the farm are protected by numerous laws and regulations. Parts of this rule represent regulatory over-reach. It does not recognize the unique structure of today's family farm operations and the traditions that the family farm provides to all workers.
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