Censored? Not here!

Okay, one of my new year’s resolutions was to censor less on my blog. I know that certain people read my blog (hi all of you!) so I am careful about what I write. Not that I have bad things to say, but as Eileen would say, my need for approval is evident. I may think something, but I don’t want to offend, or I wonder what people would think of me.

Originally, I started my blog as therapy. If you notice, I am quite anonymous—I don’t mention my location (just general), or my name, or my company, etc. If you wanted to find me, you couldn’t (I hope). My blog is just the general ramblings of a woman who was transplanted to paradise from the suburbs.

However, the word has gotten around, so my friends and family visit. And generally, that’s okay. But I like to keep relations between my friends and family friendly. So I don’t write about things that might offend.

But, by doing that I am not being true to myself. This is MY blog, MY vent, MY space to compose. If my writings offend you, I would not be upset in the least if you chose to refute my ramblings either in my comments section, or on your own blog. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and this is just the venue through which I share mine.

A fact that my cousin Mike will confirm, as he has really given me some things to chew on about farmers, and I greatly appreciate the dialogue that he continued with me. It was really good, and I am glad that he chose to comment on my writing and question me on my opinions. : )

By the way, you can make a comment in the comments section by clicking below the entry, and you can remain anonymous! So all of you 3000 people that have visited me, SPEAK UP!! At least let me know why you keep coming back!

Okay, and now my vent:

The recent news of the government spying on private citizens is shocking to me. I have nothing to hide—I’ve done nothing wrong. For that reason, I feel as though I deserve to be left alone and to have all of my constitutional rights respected.

Think about it: the government has legislated for years on privacy: the Freedom of Information Act, the Financial Modernization Act (requiring financial institutions to adhere to privacy standards), the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and even the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. These acts are in addition to the basic premise that allows personal privacy, as noted in the Fourth Amendment.

I did a little checking, and I found that the Supreme Court had ruled on this very same issue in 1968. In Katz v. United States, the Court found that: The Government's duty to preserve the national security did not override the guarantee that before government could invade the privacy of its citizens - it must present to a neutral magistrate evidence sufficient to support issuance of a warrant authorizing that invasion of privacy. This protection was even more needed in ''national security cases'' than in cases of ''ordinary'' crime, the Justice continued, inasmuch as the tendency of government so often is to regard opponents of its policies as a threat and hence to tread in areas protected by the First Amendment as well as by the Fourth. Rejected also was the argument that courts could not appreciate the intricacies of investigations in the area of national security nor preserve the secrecy which is required.

You can find the complete explanation of the proceedings here. (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment04/05.html#f151)

I think, in the wake of 9-11, all of us were beside ourselves with concern for our country’s and our personal security. I have to admit, I was fearful of flying, and even worried about trips to large cities. However, as the immediate fearfulness dies down, logic prevails, and we now need to stop and look at what is being done in the name of national security!

It is horrific enough that people are being profiled as security risks by the color of their skin and the origin of their names. We are now finding out that the President took it upon himself to authorize the wiretapping of anyone and everyone—superceding the Constitution, and a Supreme Court ruling on this very issue.

Have you bought a car lately? We bought one after 9-11, and we were asked for our drivers’ licenses so they could photocopy them. We were also required to furnish same when we bought a house, and also when we opened a separate checking account for the farm. Each time it was explained that the relationship and/or transaction was being disclosed to the government as per the requirements set forth in the Patriot Act.

You know, all of these things in and of themselves really aren’t that big of a deal. Come on, you pay taxes, all of your private information is out there and linked with your social security number. The government KNOWS YOU. But where do they draw the line? They could encroach little by little until we look around and say, “How the hell did it get to this point?”

I don’t want you to think I am one of those people who worries about this constantly, who is ready to barricade the borders of my farm and secede my own little plot of land from the US. Not at all!

But something came to my attention lately that has caused me to reflect upon all of this collective “government in my business”:

The NAIS. The National Animal Identification System.

If you have never heard of the NAIS, it was quietly instituted back in 2004, for implementation by 2009. It is a national program intended to identify specific animals in the United States and record their movement over their lifespans. It is being developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and State agencies. Animals will be tagged with radio frequency ear tags (or other RFIDs), and they will be tracked.

The premise is to track animals that could be sick, or animals that might have been exposed to bioterrorism. Many of the press releases that mention the NAIS specifically mention the BSE (mad cow disease) threat and the potential for this system to track the animal’s movements and exposure for its life. (As an aside, the total number of people in the WORLD that have died from vCJD [the human disease caused by mad cow disease] is about 150—think of that in relation to the number of people that have died from dog bites [20 per year] or the flu [36,000 per year]).

It isn’t just the big producers that will be required to tag their animals (in fact, “Big Ag” will not have to tag its animals, they can just create a premises ID and estimate the number of animals they have—in my opinion defeating the USDA’s proposed purpose), nor will it just be animals that are designated for meat. They will require cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, poultry, bison, deer, elk, llamas, and alpacas to be tagged. If you read the information that is provided on the USDA’s website, they say that not all animals need to be tagged, only those animals that are “commingled.” They define commingling as an animal having contact with, or being inter-mixed with, animals other than herdmates from that animal's premises of origin. While on the surface that may seem to mean “only if the animal leaves your premises,” remember that an animal may leave your premises if it is going to the vet, or on a trail ride, or to a show, or if you sell it. So if you sell that animal at any time, it must be tagged. Think of it this way: the only way you will get away with NOT tagging your animal is if it is born and lives its entire life on your premises, without ever leaving the property.

In my opinion, the government doesn’t even have much luck running the postal service, so what makes them think they can run a national animal ID program? And for what purpose? A valid reason, in my opinion, has not been established, and given the other privacy issues that have recently come to light, it is a little scary.

Remember, consumers will see the implications! I have ranted previously about the narrow profit margins for farmers, and now this is one more cost for them to incur in the process. Not only that, but if there is a perceived increase in liability (if you trace an illness back to my herd and I have to destroy my entire herd, kind of thing), then consumers will see the costs increase. There may even be insurance implications that could be costly and passed along to consumers.

For me, it just goes against common sense. Come on, I’m over here, just trying to mind my own business and keep my pets until I have the guts to raise real animals for business. Suddenly the government is saying that everyone, myself included, has to ear tag their animals with a radio frequency ID so that they can track every step of that animal’s life? Come on! What about those people who are reclusive and just want to raise their animals for their own food? If they bought that calf from the farmer down the road, it needs to be RFID-ed.

Breeders do keep records of their animals. Responsible animal owners keep extensive records for their animals, and would have no problem tracking illnesses. Those of us with registered stock tattoo our animals and register them with the appropriate organization. I have a database of my animals, and I record everything in there- birth, vaccination dates, manufacturers of the vaccinations, hoof trims-- everything. There are also government programs that require registration, such as scrapies eradication, that are currently in force, and folks can choose to participate. Or NOT. And that, there, is the key. The NAIS program will be mandatory.

The other shoe to drop is the registration of people who purchase animal food. This falls under the Bioterrorism Act. Now, there are certain exemptions for who needs to keep records but it will be mandated that feed is tracked, and the paper trail be documented from the time that the seed is sold to the farmer, from the growth process, to the feed mill, to the feed store, and then to the consumer. The information on this is vague, but some interpretations suggest that even dog and cat food will need to be tracked, and people who purchase it will be entered into a national database. There are already feed stores who are requiring customers to furnish name and addresses for the government database.

I’m just wondering WHY?

Okay, my rant is done for the evening. Feel free to comment—I’d love to dialogue about this.

P.S. I’d like to see Uncle Sam out there in his stripey top hat trying to catch Joe Llama so he can ear tag him.