Friday, November 19, 2004
The sky is falling
For the past year, the Right has been accused of using fear as a tool: fear of terrorists, fear of gays, and using fear to disenfranchise black voters. Of course, the "fear" accusation is just another case of the Left trying to tarnish the opposition with it's own worst traits. What better example than the specious claims by the Kerry campaign that Bush was planning to reinstate the draft.
That being said, some Liberals are so concerned with scaring their audience that they are forced to resort to blatant deception. Over at the Daily Kos, DHinMI has provided a perfect example of where the Left is headed -- a place where the results don't even need means.
DHinMI's issue concerns congressional Republicans' attempts to repeal the authoritarian law requiring food producers to label their products with the country of origin, and replacing the statute with a law allowing food producers to label if they wish.
Any card-carrying conservative can rattle off several reasons why this is a good idea, and they all boil down to the fact that Congress will no longer be monkeying with the market. If producers feel that a "Grown in the USA" label is economically advantageous, then they will slap one on the package; if not, no label. Everyone benefits -- particularly poorer Americans (those loved by the Left) who will no longer be required to pay an ever-increasing percentage of their income on food to pay for the Liberal's label love.
The GOP's efforts seemed so rational, that I was extremely curious as to how DHinMI would criticize them. The answer? If we don't have mandatory labeling, we're all going to get "Mad Cow" disease. That's right, evidently mandatory country-of-origin labels are necessary to stop this deadly scourge that has affected . . . 1 cow. Sure, that cow did result in US beef importation bans in a few dozen countries, but how will country-of-origin labeling improve the situation? Simple -- it doesn't. But it looks good, and it's scary, which is all that the Left apparently needs these days to keep it's base hungry for blood.
Perhaps the most troubling thing about DHinMI's post is that the source he draws on for support actually counters his argument. To support his rant, he points to a quote stating that producers want to voluntarily track produce and give the government only limited access to the information. Now that may actually increase the threat of mad cow, but it has nothing to do with country-of-origin labeling. What he conveniently left out was that the article and quote specifically relate to the Bush Administration's attempts to establish a national tracking system for livestock and poultry. That's right, the Bush Administration is actually trying to HALT the possible spread of mad cow disease.
Can't we save the deceptions for the next election, guys?
That being said, some Liberals are so concerned with scaring their audience that they are forced to resort to blatant deception. Over at the Daily Kos, DHinMI has provided a perfect example of where the Left is headed -- a place where the results don't even need means.
DHinMI's issue concerns congressional Republicans' attempts to repeal the authoritarian law requiring food producers to label their products with the country of origin, and replacing the statute with a law allowing food producers to label if they wish.
Any card-carrying conservative can rattle off several reasons why this is a good idea, and they all boil down to the fact that Congress will no longer be monkeying with the market. If producers feel that a "Grown in the USA" label is economically advantageous, then they will slap one on the package; if not, no label. Everyone benefits -- particularly poorer Americans (those loved by the Left) who will no longer be required to pay an ever-increasing percentage of their income on food to pay for the Liberal's label love.
The GOP's efforts seemed so rational, that I was extremely curious as to how DHinMI would criticize them. The answer? If we don't have mandatory labeling, we're all going to get "Mad Cow" disease. That's right, evidently mandatory country-of-origin labels are necessary to stop this deadly scourge that has affected . . . 1 cow. Sure, that cow did result in US beef importation bans in a few dozen countries, but how will country-of-origin labeling improve the situation? Simple -- it doesn't. But it looks good, and it's scary, which is all that the Left apparently needs these days to keep it's base hungry for blood.
Perhaps the most troubling thing about DHinMI's post is that the source he draws on for support actually counters his argument. To support his rant, he points to a quote stating that producers want to voluntarily track produce and give the government only limited access to the information. Now that may actually increase the threat of mad cow, but it has nothing to do with country-of-origin labeling. What he conveniently left out was that the article and quote specifically relate to the Bush Administration's attempts to establish a national tracking system for livestock and poultry. That's right, the Bush Administration is actually trying to HALT the possible spread of mad cow disease.
Can't we save the deceptions for the next election, guys?
Centinel 5:30 AM #