Day: January 6, 2024

Government Regulators Are Coming for the Amish Farmer Again

VICTORIA TAFT | 8:07 PM ON JANUARY 05, 2024
SEE: https://pjmedia.com/victoria-taft/2024/01/05/amish-farmer-is-raided-by-feds-n4925258; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes: 
AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma
Amos Miller is an Amish dairy and meat producer in Lancaster County, Pa. He's been hassled by the state in past, and on Thursday state food authorities "illegally" raided his quiet farm and took away 37 boxes filled with his products. Amos reportedly hadn't filed the proper signed documents in abeyance to the state health and safety regulators. 

What's the real story here? 

Amos Miller offers his organically grown and chemical-free cheeses, meats, raw milk, and eggs through a private club. His products are not sold in stores. His private club is thriving, thanks in part to the cheerleading of his attorney Robert Barnes who often urges people to sign up to Amos's club to get clean, organic, and fresh products. 

Miller has been on the state regulators' radar for the past few years. Seven years ago, a smattering of his products had been cited for contamination. Miller's supporters say this is a steady pressure campaign by state and federal regulators to put him out of business. 

The Acting Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Food Safety swore out an affidavit which was used to get a search warrant. Barnes says that "the state unlawfully obtained a search warrant, based on materially false statements in an affidavit." He said the acting director has a "known grievance against independent farmers like Amos, and, after the raid and finding no evidence of wrongdoing, then illegally ordered detained every item of food in one of Amos Miller’s coolers, including buffalo meat not even subject to federal regulation."

Barnes said that the state "without notice, raided Amos’ farm, and detained everything Amos had in the farm’s freezer. They did so in a lawless manner, without appropriate authority, in violation of their own rules and regulations, despite never objecting to the prior resolutions reached with the federal government, and despite a complete failure by the state to even reach out to Amos’ known counsel." 

Barnes said the raiders broke the law because they ignored "the state’s own rules require advance notice, reasonable time frames for inspections, and a showing of credentials, none of which occurred here." Indeed, he says taking Miller's products was "patently illegal under Pennsylvania law." 

The Lancaster Patriot local newspaper says the affidavit was done at the behest of "the [acting director] NY state Department of Health [which...] confirmed positive case of a foodborne pathogen (STEC – Shiga toxin producing E. Coli) in an underage individual.” 

The affidavit claims that Miller has not completed the application process through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for “registration, licensing, or permitting under the pertinent Retail Food Facility Safety Act, Food Safety Act, or Milk Sanitation Laws.”

That sent even Donald Trump, Jr. into fits. 

There is an indisputable rush in this country – especially during and after COVID-19 – to eat cleaner, grass-fed, food products without drugs. Getting this food is often done with subscriptions to farms. This is what Amos and many other farmers do for a nation of people who want cleaner food. In fact, I'm currently looking for a meat supplier to go with my home-grown organic vegetables and legumes. 

People can't help but wonder if there's a pressure campaign against these farmers to control the food supply.

In the video below a reporter asks, "If we don't have the freedom to decide what to put into our own mouths to nourish ourselves and our children, what freedom do we have left that means anything?" He adds, "How much confidence do you have in the U.S. track record for responsibility, for precision, for competence, and then ask yourself 'is this the body you want making the decisions for what you eat and what your children eat?"

These are excellent questions. I would add, however, that basic regulations can be good and necessary things, but as a liberty lover, this attack on the organic farmer in Amish country is getting heavy-handed, to say the least, and, if Barnes is right, illegal. 

I say this as a person who knew and grieved with a family who lost a child due to the cavalier defiance of food safety laws at a fast food restaurant. And I say this as the mother of two daughters who actively seek out cleaner food for their families. 

Big Food isn't always the answer, you know. 

Well, you know the drill. We'll probably be censored on some platforms for bringing you this story. We're fighting for America but the president's censors are trying to shut us down. Please support our journalism by becoming a VIP or VIP GOLD Member. 

Trump Stuns World with Prophetic Video Revealing He’s Been Chosen By God~Trump Messianic Video

Trump Messianic Video

Biden Has Already Allowed the Houthis to Win~Biden Blocked ‘Additional Military Response’ to Houthi Attack on US Navy~UK retail giant and others warn of shipping delays due to Houthi attacks on Red Sea merchant ships

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Playing defense against Islamic terrorists doesn’t work.

Playing defense against Islamic terrorists doesn’t work. The terrorists, at least initially, don’t need to win, they just need to take your society hostage and force you to constantly be on the defensive. Parts of your economy get shut down and you’re always on alert.

The Houthi Jihadists in Yemen, backed by Iran, have taken a crucial waterway hostage. Biden responded by playing defense, responding to Houthi attacks on shipping but without making a concerted effort to take out the terrorist infrastructure.

And so here we are.

Biden’s Red Sea Coalition responds defensively to attacks on shipping.

U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three small boats carrying Houthi militants in the Red Sea on Sunday, after U.S. warships responded to a distress call from a merchant vessel, military officials said.

A Maersk container ship, the Singapore-flagged Hangzhou, issued a distress call at about 6:30 a.m. local time, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Sunday. The merchant vessel said four small boats were attacking it.

“The small boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, fired crew-served and small-arms weapons at the Maersk Hangzhou, getting to within 20 meters of the vessel, and attempted to board the vessel,” Central Command said.

Helicopters from two U.S. ships — the USS Eisenhower and the USS Gravely — responded and issued verbal calls to the small boats, U.S. officials said.

While the helicopters were “in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the U.S. helicopters with crew served weapons and small arms,” Central Command said.

Service members aboard the Navy helicopters returned fire and sank three of the four small boats, killing the crews, U.S. officials said. The fourth boat fled the area.

Read between the lines here. US Naval personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on.

They did not have authorization to fire when the Houthis were firing on the Maersk Hangzhou or on what were clearly enemy vessels, but only defensively in response to attacks on the US Navy.

Is it any wonder that Maersk is calling it a day?

Shipping and logistics behemoth A.P. Moller-Maersk said Tuesday that it’s suspending its shipping operations through the Red Sea until further notice as it investigates an attack on one of its ships by Iran-backed Houthi rebels this past weekend.

Biden has demonstrated that he’ll only react defensively to clear attacks. That’s not going to secure the Red Sea for shipping.

So Biden has handed the Houthis a victory. They don’t need to actually seize ships, they just need to demonstrate that the area is unsafe for vessels (unless they covertly pay protection money to the terrorists) and that America isn’t going to make the threat go away any time soon.

This is how we lose and the terrorists win.

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US Navy personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on.

Yesterday I wrote that Biden had allowed the Houthis to win by refusing to take any affirmative action against the Iran-backed Jihadis operating in Yemen and attacking shipping in the Red Sea.

“US Naval personnel were only allowed to fire on the Houthis when fired on. They did not have authorization to fire when the Houthis were firing on the Maersk Hangzhou or on what were clearly enemy vessels, but only defensively in response to attacks on the US Navy.”

An NBC News account of inside deliberations in the Biden administration reveals that Biden refused to approve any follow-up response.

“According to the officials, U.S. Central Command provided Defense Department leaders with options for an additional military response after the incident, and the Pentagon sent those options to senior White House officials. Biden, who was on vacation in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, did not approve an additional military response.”

Military leaders probably wanted to at least carry out some minimal strikes on Houthi bases. Nope.

Now the Biden administration and its Red Sea coalition issued yet another threat warning of “consequences.”

We hereby reiterate the following and warn the Houthis against further attacks…

“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.”

Accountable and consequences. Words to terrify any bureaucrat. Not so much international terrorists.

Biden has pledged nothing, committed to nothing and therefore threatened nothing. Instead, he’s allowed Iran to hold the world’s shipping hostage.

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The Houthis are Iranian proxies who support Hamas. They have been escalating attacks in the Red Sea against merchant ships traveling to and from Israel. They have also launched missiles against Israel. For this reason, Biden created a naval coalition, called “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” to stop them. The motto for Houthis and their supporters: “Allahu akbar. Death to America, death to Israel, curse for the Jews, victory for Islam.” That motto is consistent with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian Authority and virtually every violent and stealth jihadist entity. Few, if any, would have foreseen that the Houthis, from one of the world’s poorest countries, would blockade one of the busiest trade corridors in the world, the Red Sea, disrupting merchant ships and even attacking them, and causing impact on businesses worldwide.

Britain’s multinational retail giant Next has now announced a two-and-a-half week delay in stock delivery times for products coming through the Suez Canal.

“Next warns of stock shortages if Red Sea shipping problems continue,” by Jabed Ahmed, Independent, January 4, 2024:

Retail giant Next has warned supplies of its products could be delayed if attacks on container ships in the Red Sea continue.

Attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on ships in the Bab-el-Mandeb Straight of the Suez Canal have seen the world’s largest shipping firms halt shipments through the Red Sea, with the diversions adding thousands of miles to journeys, driving up costs and leading to delays.

The attacks have forced a number of companies to reroute cargo around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, which adds 3,000 to 3,500 nautical miles to journeys connecting Asia with Europe — adding about 10 days to journeys, according to the Dutch bank ING.

Next is not the first company to warn of issues in the supply of products. Last month furniture giant Ikea said some of its products could also be delayed due to attacks.

According to a CNBC’s Stock market and business report:

Drone and missile attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants have upended shipping through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, a narrow waterway through which some 10% of the world’s trade sails.

The effects of the jihad against Israel are expanding globally — from antisemitism and intimidating pro-Hamas protests to the latest impact on businesses due to Red Sea attacks. In an update, the American-led naval coalition, which has grown to 13 countries including the US, has just vowed consequences if the Houthis continue attacks in the Red Sea. The Sydney Morning Herald stated that missile sites in Yemen may be targeted and struck. The participating countries in the Red Sea coalition are: America, Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore and New Zealand.

Biden regime spokesman defends UNRWA despite mounting evidence of its aid to Hamas’ jihad against Israel

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Over the years at Jihad Watch, and particularly since Oct. 7, we have provided extensive evidence of UNRWA’s collaboration with Hamas, as well as its teaching of jihad and Jew-hatred in UNRWA schools. The fact that the Biden regime does not wish to defund or even upbraid UNRWA in light of all this evidence is yet another indication of which side it is really on.

“John Kirby: UNRWA does important work,” by Elad Benari, Israel National News, January 5, 2024:

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Thursday defended the work of UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees” after a reporter suggested the US should rethink its support for the UN agency in the wake of reports that its facilities are being used by Hamas terrorists.

“UNRWA does important work. In fact, they’re doing a lot of heavy lifting right now in terms of trying to get food, water, medicine to the people of Gaza, all up and down the Strip. They’re doing a lot of work, and they’re doing it in harm’s way — very much so in harm’s way,” said Kirby.

“You can’t hold them accountable for the depredations of Hamas and the way Hamas uses civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for command and control, for storage of weapons, for the holding of hostages,” he added.

When the reporter noted that the US gave UNRWA a billion dollars, Kirby replied, “They do good work in Gaza, and they are important to helping get the humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. And we’re grateful for that work that they’re doing, very much in harm’s way.”

He added, “I will let them speak to whatever concerns they have over Hamas’s activities and the degree to which that they feel obligated to speak out or not.”…

However, it is also notorious for its anti-Israel activities. During the 2014 counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge, Hamas rockets were discovered inside a school building run by UNRWA.

Likewise, a booby-trapped UNRWA clinic was detonated, killing three IDF soldiers. Aside from the massive amounts of explosives hidden in the walls of the clinic, it was revealed that it stood on top of dozens of terror tunnels, showing how UNRWA is closely embedded with Hamas.

More recently, it was discovered that a hostage kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza was held for 50 days in the attic of an UNRWA teacher.

Last year, the US increased its financial support for UNRWA, reaching a record $223 million, an increase of $16 million on the previous year….

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Demands Israel Negotiate ‘Peace’ With Hamas

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“Stop bombing Gaza. Resume the cease-fire. Work toward a permanent peace.”

 

Unlike Obama, the leftist alternatives to him were always constructs, as much invented by the Left as of the Left.

Sen. Bernie Sanders was a more conventional old-school Marxist until he suddenly became famous and his base forced him to pay homage to identity politics, endorse open borders (both things he used to oppose) and hold AOC’s purse.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren fancied herself an old-school liberal socialist wonk after being a Republican and libertarian for a while. One way to measure how far she’s come is to look at her back in 2014 when she was just exploring the possibility of taking on Hillary.

Warren said Hamas has attacked Israel “indiscriminately,” but with the Iron Dome defense system, the missiles have “not had the terrorist effect Hamas hoped for.” When pressed by another member of the crowd about civilian casualties from Israel’s attacks, Warren said she believes those casualties are the “last thing Israel wants.”

“But when Hamas puts its rocket launchers next to hospitals, next to schools, they’re using their civilian population to protect their military assets. And I believe Israel has a right, at that point, to defend itself,” Warren said, drawing applause.

Fast forward to 2023, and Warren is complaining that Facebook is censoring Hamas supporters, and just tweeted that…

“Netanyahu & his right-wing war cabinet have created a humanitarian catastrophe, killing thousands of Palestinian civilians. Israel needs leadership that will bring the hostages home, not wage months of war. Stop bombing Gaza. Resume the cease-fire. Work toward a permanent peace.”

Bernie Sanders has said similar things, but he’s refused (thus far) pressure from the Left to call for a “ceasefire”. Why?

“Lastly, Hamas has been very clear, both before its barbaric attack on October 7th and after that attack, that their goal is perpetual warfare and the destruction of Israel. Just last week a spokesman for Hamas, Mr. Taher El-Nounou, told the New York Times, “I hope that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all the borders, and that the Arab world will stand with us.” I am not quite sure how you negotiate a ceasefire with a terrorist organization that is dedicated to perpetual war.”

Sanders has become more vocally anti-Israel throughout the months after Oct 7, and has called for no military support for Israel, but so far he hasn’t endorsed the big lie of a ceasefire in which Hamas gets to attack Israel while the Jews don’t get to fight back.

Warren has.

Sen. Warren has called for a “ceasefire”. There was one in play before Oct 7. And during the humanitarian truce that she endorsed so loudly, Hamas carried out a terrorist attack that killed a pregnant woman, a school worker and an elderly Rabbi.

Not only doesn’t Sen. Warren care, but she’s urging “work toward a permanent peace.” With whom? Hamas.

AG James Seeks $370M From Donald Trump After Civil Fraud Trial

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 13: New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference at the office of the Attorney General on July 13, 2022 in New York City. NY AG James announced today that her office has reached a settlement of $500,000 for more than a dozen current and former employees of the Sweet and Vicious, a bar in Manhattan, after a 16-month investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and wage theft at the establishment. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

OAN’s Sophia Flores
5:17 PM – Friday, January 5, 2024

Even though the proceedings have ended, the former president’s legal fate has not yet been revealed. Closing arguments will be made in front of the trial judge, Arthur Engoron, next week.

In addition to wanting the large sum from Trump, she is also fighting to bar him and his sons from conducting any further business in The Empire State.

Trump’s lawyer, Christopher M. Kise, responded to the brief on Friday. He referred to the new amount as “unconscionable, unsupported by the evidence, untethered from reality and unconstitutionally excessive.”

“Every single member of the New York business community, no matter the sector, should be gravely concerned with this gross overreach and brazen attempt by the attorney general to exert limitless power where no private or public harm has ever been established,” a Trump Organization spokeswoman said.

Trump maintains that his assets were genuinely valued and he has since denied any misconduct, stating on numerous occasions that there were disclaimers in his financial statements. He also requested that the banks review the figures.

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New York Attorney General Letitia James is now demanding that Donald J. Trump pay up $370 million in penalties for what she claims is retribution for “decades” of financial fraud.

When James first sued Trump in the fall of 2022, she asked the judge that Trump be penalized $250 million for “inflating his net worth in order to retain better loans” from banks. Her number rose to $370 million on Friday, as she now believes that through the trial, he gained all of his money unlawfully. 

The fraud trial began in October 2023 and the proceedings concluded last month.

Even though the proceedings have ended, the former president’s legal fate has not yet been revealed. Closing arguments will be made in front of the trial judge, Arthur Engoron, next week.

In addition to wanting the large sum from Trump, she is also fighting to bar him and his sons from conducting any further business in The Empire State.

Trump’s lawyer, Christopher M. Kise, responded to the brief on Friday. He referred to the new amount as “unconscionable, unsupported by the evidence, untethered from reality and unconstitutionally excessive.”

“Every single member of the New York business community, no matter the sector, should be gravely concerned with this gross overreach and brazen attempt by the attorney general to exert limitless power where no private or public harm has ever been established,” a Trump Organization spokeswoman said.

Trump maintains that his assets were genuinely valued and he has since denied any misconduct, stating on numerous occasions that there were disclaimers in his financial statements. He also requested that the banks review the figures.

Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts