Thursday, March 22, 2007

House Speaker Pelosi - Why the E Coli Spinach Farmers Relief?

Roughly $124 Billion is being discussed as the latest number for the Iraq War Bill Legislation, being voted on in the House tomorrow, Friday March 23rd. Aside from a definitive timeline issues and overall spending issues that I will not address - a key piece of pork legislation being added includes $25 million for California spinach farmers to recoup loses due to the E Coli outbreak earlier last year, as reported in the USA Today column here: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/03/post_41.html must be addressed.

For one, we certainly do not need additional expenditures as pork projects, in lieu of our troops and secondly what type of message does this send to the health and safety of our citizens by rewarding the California-based spinach growers who were the source of the E Coli outbreak?

House Speaker Pelosi openly discussed and pressed for useless pork expenditures to be cut from budgets, as the newly elected Democratic Congress took the majority and power back from Republicans. Barbara Boxer and Barbara Feinstein, Senators from California, also have been ardent "anti-pork" supporters upon their Democratic party victory in November's Senatorial elections. Remember - it was the Republican "out of control spending" that led to their "anti pork stance".

But now, it appears California spinach farmers may benefit from sickening people, in the back yard of Pelosi, Boxer and Feinstein as a pork expenditure. That's twice the hypocrisy.

Why are they rewarding producers and growers who are responsible for E Coli outbreaks? Is it politics as usual on the backs of the 3 dead and over 200 sickened? In the name of pork and spinach?

It's outrageous and reckless.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The spinach was contaminated through long-standing fecal runoff issues from cattle farms nearby. The spinach farmers were not aware there was an issue caused by other farmers' unsustainable practices, (although the cattle farmers who leased them the land may have been). Unless you wish to countenance increased use of bleaches as a post-cropping and uncontrolled additive to human food the solution is to prevent the problem at source.

Blind partisanship and the distortion of reality to support a political agenda is clearly not just the preserve of lunatics, bigots and radicals.

Absolucy said...

"long standing runoff problem"

"The spinach farmers were not aware there were..."

Which one is it?

Spinach farmers know damn well who their neighbors are - and the practices THEY are expected to maintain.

Since you are clearly "from the industry or area" - why aren't the farmers going after the cattle ranchers as the source of contamination? Because through discovery - their practices would be exposed.

And why is $25 million in pork attached to a War Bill?

Your excuse or at least attempt at an excuse is the same knee jerk reaction that is expected from the industry concerning food safety. "Not our fault" "But compensate us Uncle Sam"

Considering Pelosi and the Democrats "vowed to end the cycle of pork expenditures" and "favoritism" - clearly they are hypocrits and you don't like your lying "party" to be held accountable. I see American politics escapes you.

And "conservative" small c is an ideology, not a political party. Perhaps you didn't pay attention in elementary school.

Anonymous said...

Well written article.