Would you
agree trust is the most important factor in every
relationship whether it be social, familial or
business? As it is nearly impossible to regain once
it is lost, a wise person guards their word, yet the
government does not. Characteristically, the ruling
class draws my attention today.
For a veterinarian to sign health certificates or
Bangs vaccinate heifers requires special
accreditation. When I graduated vet school in 1983
and passed a USDA exam, a simple training session
secured your life-long endorsement to perform this
regulatory work. As I recently learned, the only
thing life-long about government are the programs
themselves; veterinarians must now re-certify every
three years. The procedure is relatively painless to
normal veterinarians, but it pegs the tolerance
meter of those of us repulsed by government
intrusion. Apparently, my four sessions in Montana’s
House has sensitized me.
My accreditation was set to expire at the end of
October, so last week I downloaded and read the six
training modules, took the test, filled out the form
and became re-certified. It sounds painless, but it
wasn’t. The module addressing foreign animal
diseases drove me insane as it stressed the
importance of obtaining a thorough history when
investigating a suspicious animal disease. “Has
anyone recently visited a foreign country,” was
suggested as an appropriate question. Now, let’s let
that incubate a moment while I tie this to a
real-life example of regulatory medicine.
In August, a livestock broker from Canada requested
I do the lab tests and issue an international health
certificate for the shipment of 12, male, Boer goats
from Texas into Canada. This would require a 21 day
quarantine in Montana, an import permit, Brucellosis
and TB testing and about two dozen phone calls.
Sadly for me, the broker called on our only slow day
in August, so I accepted the job. Over my 30 years,
I have done this enough to know international health
certificates can be rejected for critical things
like misspelled words, so I go to great lengths to
be certain every detail is correct. This time I
missed one. The regulations state alpha-numeric
tattoos are acceptable permanent ID, but either they
were just kidding, or one particular border agent
prefers USDA metal ID tags. Either way, the ruling
authority forced me to re-tag all 12 goats and then
re-issue lab work coordinating the new tags with the
alpha-numeric tattoos previously used. While
visiting with Michelle, the very nice USDA
representative in Helena, I expressed my disgust
with Canadian health certificates.
“This is nothing,” she offered. “You should see the
nightmare of paperwork to get critters into Mexico.”
Remember this when you think about the thousands of
illegal immigrants and possible terrorists flooding
our southern border. Recent news reports claim the
federal government has secretly shipped these
illegals into every state in America, which would be
against USDA rules if they were animals but is
apparently okay with humans. Could these shipments
be related to a surge in respiratory infections
caused by Enterovirus D68; recently claiming the
life of a four-year-old New Jersey boy. My
re-certification training suggests we should ask,
“Has your son recently visited a foreign country, or
possibly have citizens of foreign nations recently
visited your community?” Let that question incubate,
while I jump again.
What do you know about the Ebola virus? Is it highly
contagious and truly a health threat? Can you be
vaccinated against it? In terms of air travel, why
is it more dangerous to carry seven ounces of
toothpaste in your luggage than to crawl on board
leaking Ebola virus through your bodily fluids?
Obviously, the government is lying and this finally
brings me to my point.
The ruling class has proven they will lie, cheat and
steal to get the unwashed to submit. Their
credibility is at zero; exactly where it belongs.
Trust, but verify only works if you have the
knowledge to verify. Never forget, the only backside
about which the ruling class is concerned is their
own.
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