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Will we ever say "enough is enough!"
Topic Started: Dec 18 2008, 11:19 AM (299 Views)
Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
SWAT team raids a food co-op
"On Monday, December 1, a SWAT team with semi-automatic rifles entered the private home of the Stowers family in LaGrange, Ohio, herded the family onto the couches in the living room, and kept guns trained on parents, children, infants and toddlers, from approximately 11 AM to 8 PM. The team was aggressive and belligerent. The children were quite traumatized."

The crime, apparently, was failure to follow state agricultural regulations. The state had targeted the family food co-op after some non-institutional beef turned up at Oberlin College. The entry also notes that Amish farmers had been targeted by the state for selling raw milk, but apparently got off the hook because they were giving it away rather than selling it.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Your tax dollars at work.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
Mark, do you have a link to the original news item?
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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George K
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Finally
Doesn't just about every state have a "LaGrange" in it?
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The 89th Key
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A haw, haw, haw, haw.
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Red Rice
Dec 18 2008, 12:10 PM
Mark, do you have a link to the original news item?
Where in the mainstream media has anyone seen anything related to this?

Nowhere?

Yeah, I figured as much.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Frank_W
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Resident Misanthrope
Well, you're the one who posted the original article, Mark. I thought you'd copied it from somewhere. There's no link?
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Phlebas
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Mark
Dec 18 2008, 11:19 AM
The state had targeted the family food co-op after some non-institutional beef turned up at Oberlin College.
- the first time in the history of Oberlin College that beef turned up at all on campus.

Seriously, Mark, where did you get the story? Just curious.

Random FML: Today, I was fired by my boss in front of my coworkers. It would have been nice if I could have left the building before they started celebrating. FML

The founding of the bulk of the world's nation states post 1914 is based on self-defined nationalisms. The bulk of those national movements involve territory that was ethnically mixed. The foundation of many of those nation states involved population movements in the aftermath. When the only one that is repeatedly held up as unjust and unjustifiable is the Zionist project, the term anti-semitism may very well be appropriate. - P*D


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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Source
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Source 2
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
Thanks Mark. As a supporter of local food producers, I find the law-enforcement actions and the reasons for them extreme and unjust.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Great! So do I! The question remains.

What are we going to do about it?
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
Ummm... seek redress through the legal system?

Or were you contemplating armed revolt?
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
We need to elect leaders who will deal with this crap.

And where the hell is the media on this?
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
If the family being held at gunpoint were illegal Mexian immigrants, then this would be all over the news.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Our media is worthless.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Larry
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
It's time for a revolution.

I'm going to take a nap and rest up for it....
Of the Pokatwat Tribe

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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Was wondering when you would come around. :D
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Here it is in a Vermillion Ohio newspaper. All the other mentions I find are in blogs of some sort. I find no mention of swat-type tactics, guns, etc., just one Ohio agricultural agent with a search warrant. Being an Ohioan and knowing something of our government, I find that part of the story less than likely.

Being increasingly involved in local foods, I know of a lot of farmers around Ohio that are doing this sort of thing without interference. It looks to me like these folks were stonewalling legitimate state requests. Time will tell.

Quote:
 
y MORNING JOURNAL STAFF
news@MorningJournal.com

PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP — An Ohio Department of Agriculture agent seized food, electronic devices and documents from a Pittsfield Township organic and natural food cooperative believed to be unlicensed, according to a search warrant filed yesterday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Jacqueline and John Stowers, owners of the Manna Storehouse, 43565 SR 303, were inspected in November 2007 by the Lorain County General Health District, according to court records.

On Monday, ODA enforcement agent William Lesho confiscated hundreds of pounds of processed beef and large amounts of lamb, turkey and other perishable products in addition to office files, a computer, two cell phones and other electronic devices, according to the search warrant inventory. The items were taken to establish the Stowers' ownership in any property, records of hidden wealth or illegal income and anything that would establish illegal activity, according to the search warrant affidavit.

Jacqueline Stowers declined to comment because she had not seen the court papers yesterday evening.

A health district sanitarian and two other inspectors visited the cooperative on Nov. 30, 2007, to make observations and were told to leave. Jacqueline Stowers wrote in a December 2007 letter to the sanitarian that the inspectors never had permission to be on their property and that the Manna Storehouse is not operating a retail food establishment that requires a license.

"We declare now that we do not want to be a 'licensed retail food establishment' or a 'food service operation' and we do not plan to become one in the future and that we will not knowingly conduct any activities that would require that type of licensing," she wrote.

The matter was forwarded to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office after the Lorain County General Health District received her letter, according to court records.



Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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QuirtEvans
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
Larry
Dec 18 2008, 01:51 PM
It's time for a revolution.

I'm going to take a nap and rest up for it....
Quote:
 

You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We'd all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well you know
We'd all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be alright [x3]

You say you got a real solution
Well you know
We'd all want to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well you know
We're all doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother you'll have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be alright [x4]

You say you'll change the constitution
Well you know
We'd all love to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know know it's gonna be alright [x3]
Alright [x7]
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
A blurb on reason.com states:


Quote:
 
Manna may, perhaps, have needed a license to run a retail food establishment. Mostly a coop, they did sell some leftover products in a small store on the property. The exact nature of the business is in dispute, which is why the Stowers' wrote letters to various agencies asking for advice on how to proceed. Obviously, the best way to reply to that request was with a SWAT team.



So apparently they were running a retail operation to some degree. There is more to this story than meets the eye.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Mikhailoh
Dec 18 2008, 02:31 PM

There is more to this story than meets the eye.
There usually is.

If there's going to be a revolution, please let me know. I need to stock up on FDA-Approved Beefeaterbeefburgers.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
From another paper, the couple is suing, but agrees that no SWAT team was involved. Law enforcement officers were present, the family was held in one room for 6 hours while teh search ensued and not at gunpoint.

http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/12/18/couple-sue-over-raid-on-organic-food-co-op_122/

Quote:
 
Couple sue over raid on organic food co-op
Steve Fogarty | The Chronicle-Telegram


ELYRIA — A LaGrange couple who own an organic food cooperative and are accused of operating an unlicensed retail food business have filed suit against the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Lorain County General Health District and the Ohio attorney general’s office.

In the suit filed Wednesday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, John and Jacqueline Stowers, who operate Manna Storehouse on state Route 303, are seeking a court ruling to prevent future incidents like the one they allege was carried out Dec. 1 by state and local officials and lawmen during which the couple and their 10 children were held in their home for six hours while officials conducted a search for business records and food.

“We are asking for injunctive relief to prevent future raids like this against others, which amounted to an unreasonable search,” according to Maurice A. Thompson of the Buckeye Institute’s 1851 Center for Constitutional Law in Columbus, who is representing the couple.

The suit also seeks a ruling to declare unconstitutional a state law governing licensing of retail food establishments “as it applies to the Stowers,” Thompson said Wednesday from the center’s Columbus offices. “We will argue that the law may in fact actually exempt them … and if they are not exempt, they certainly should be.”

Both Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Serazin and Thompson said there have been no reports of anyone becoming ill from consuming meat or other products that came from the food co-op.

“The health department manufactured this case on their own,” Thompson said. “There were never any complaints made.”

Capt. Richard Resendez of the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office previously denied online reports of a SWAT team being part of the search of the Stowers’ property, and guns being held to the family’s heads.

While agreeing with those statements, Thompson maintained that “SWAT-like tactics were employed,” including guns being drawn by “specific police officers, who forced their way into the family’s house” and proceeded to confine the family “to one room, where they were required to stay for six hours while the entire house was combed over,” he said.

The search yielded boxes of beef, lamb and turkey meat, along with cell phones and computers, said Serazin, who previously stated that the Stowers claimed they were exempt from having to be licensed. The Manna Storehouse could face charges of operating without a license, a third-degree misdemeanor.

Thompson maintains the family never engaged in retail sales of food of any kind, but instead dealt solely with roughly 100 co-op members, who paid for delivery of shared meats, much of which was provided by Amish farmers, according to Thompson.

The only time money changed hands with anyone other than a co-op member was when an undercover state agriculture agent insisted on paying for a dozen eggs after the family refused to make him a member because of conflicting information he provided, Thompson said.

“That is the only evidence of any retail business taking place,” he said.

The case was assigned to Common Pleas Judge James Burge.





Mark, the piece you posted was quoted verbatim on any number of blogs. So what happened here is someone put up a sensationalized account fo what happened, and everyone who wants to believe it did, so it spread like wildfire. It does not necessarily mean that what happened was good or justified, but you might want to be a little more discerning in what you believe.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
So you're saying the revolution is cancelled?

Bugger! Now I'm left with this big bottle of Beefeater. Oh, what to do, what to do?
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
No SWAP team, no one held at gun point.

May be that's why the main stream media don't carry the story. :shrug:
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