Zatera Ul

The CPSIA just keeps getting worse and worse: now all children’s books printed before 1985 are to be considered unsafe and not resold; there may be lead in the pigments. (I’ve read that the law is so broadly worded that libraries may also be affected, depending on the interpretation of “distribute”.) Ballpoint pen and ATV manufacturers and sellers also are stranded up a creek with no hope of literal compliance to the law, and who knows what industry will be affected next week. Great way to stimulate the economy, eh?

[By the way, I found an abstract of a study looking for lead poisoning deaths. They found about 200 deaths over a span of 20 years, and the typical victim was an older black Southern male who drank lead-tainted moonshine. The CPSIA ain't gonna do much to save those guys.]

Then there’s the newly introduced HR 875, which very broadly expands federal jurisdiction and oversight over “food establishments” and “food production facilities”–including farms of all sizes. The definition of a “food production facility” fails to exclude backyard gardens or subsistence farms. (It’s unclear if a home kitchen is a “food establishment” if you bake things for a bake sale in it.) The proposed law contains a lot about expanding federal powers to regulate and oversee processes and practices, complete with onerous requirements for registration, record-keeping, and inspector access. More about it here. So, no surprise that the husband of the introducer of this bill works for Monsanto, a giant-mega-agribusiness that would dearly love to squish the remaining smaller farmers (and organic farmers in particular) out of business.

It kind of takes all the fun out of “going Galt” when your own government–at the behest of large corporations, that are reliably abetted by Congressmen who don’t even read what they’re voting for–is practically forcing you into it. I’m almost beginning to look forward to the day when I can “go Revelation 14:13″. Until then, it’ll be patient endurance and prayers and blog posts and angry letters to Congressmen.