Mediaboss Marketing

Five years ago, the Florida Department of Agriculture turned its regulatory power on a small third-generation dairy farm in the Panhandles Calhoun County, population 14,462.

The Ocheesee Creamery, as its known, was caught being a little too honest.

Mary Lou Wesselhoeft, owner, was selling all-natural pasteurized skim milk whole milk with the cream skimmed off and labeling it exactly what it was: skim milk.

But in a strange twist with First Amendment implications, the state said Wesselhoeft was misrepresenting her product. After a decade without complaints or confusion, newly enforced regulations required artificially injected additives something Ocheese Creamery had never done andwasnt about to start doing.

As a result, the department issued an ultimatum: either stop selling skim milk or label it imitation milk.

Wesselhoeft, whose website header includes the Bible verse, The hills shall flow with milk, Joel 3:18, opted to stop selling her locally popular item rather than comply with a condition she believes is dishonest.

But not without a fight.

In March 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled in favor of the Department of Agriculture.

The First Amendments protection of free speech extends to commercial speech, the court said, adding that while Wesselhoefts label is literally true, the department has the authority to establish a standard of identity.

On Jan. 24, the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, argued her case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Court in Jacksonville. The firm has represented Wesselhoeft since 2014.

The state has turned the dictionary on its head, managing attorney Justin Pearson told Watchdog.org.

The state admits that Ocheesee Creamery skim milk consists entirely of pure all-natural skim milk. But because it doesnt add any other ingredients, the state has ordered the dairy not call it what it is. That violates the First Amendment, Pearson said.

According to the department, skim milk can only legally bear the name skim milk in Florida if it contains the same amount of vitamin A as whole milk. If it doesnt, vitamin A must be artificially added.

That puts Wesselhoeft in a bind.

Ocheesee Creamerys milk is separated so the cream rises to the top. But because vitamin A is fat soluble, its largely removed when the cream is skimmed.

The thing thats different about our creamery is that its pasteurized, not homogenized, and our milk goes in glass bottles and is all-natural, Wesselhoeft said in a video produced by the Institute for Justice.

Commercial milk is typically homogenized a mechanical process that breaks down fat globules from the cream and suspends them, along with vitamin A, throughout the milk.

The dairys all-natural products are produced from grazing grass-fed cows. Many of its customers frequent the small business precisely because its products dont contain additives.

Many older people enjoy our items because it reminds them of their growing-up days when milk in glass bottles was the norm,the dairys website says.

The three-employee farm also includes a storefront where guests can watch how the family operation bottles its milk.

According to the lawsuit, department regulators routinely tested and approved the farms skim milk prior to October 2012, when the state issued a stop-sale order and demanded that Wesselhoeft refrain from listing any nutrient or health claims on its labels.

But not because its unsafe.

The state doesnt dispute that the creamerys skim milk is safe to drink without the full amount of vitamin A, explained Pearson. The state also agrees that the creamerys skim milk is legal to sell without any additives, he said. It just wont allow them to call it skim milk.

In 2013, Wesselhoeft proposed alternative labels, including Pasteurized Skim Milk: No Vitamin A Added, Pasteurized Skim Milk: No Lost Vitamin A Replaced, and Pasteurized Skim Milk: Most Vitamin A Removed by Skimming Cream from Milk.

The suggestions were denied.

If we would have ignored the Department of Agriculture, they couldve come and pulled our permit and shut us down completely, and we could not have sold any of our products anywhere, Wesselhoeft said.

According to the lawsuit, in addition to canceling permits and issuing fines, selling pasteurized skim milk without complying with Floridas labeling laws could result in incarceration for the Creamerys owners.

The farm has managed to continue operating, but not without losing money. It sells dairy items containing cream, but since the leftover skim milk cannot be sold, itsdiscarded.

Every day we cant sell it, it hurts our livelihood and we lose customers. We cannot continue on. It hurts us in a big way, Wesselhoeft said.

The Agriculture Department refuses to back-off its labeling prohibition despite the lack of public safety concerns. Court documents show the states interest is in establishing a standard of identity and nutritional standards for milk for the purpose of interstate commerce.

Ocheesee Creamery sells its products exclusively within the state of Florida.

Pearson said that amicus briefs were filed by large farm organizations, including the International Dairy Foods Association, on behalf of the state governments position.

Its clear that giant international dairy farmers dont like the idea that small, authentic creameries could offer alternative choices. I dont think thats a coincidence, he told Watchdog.org.

The Eleventh Circuit is expected to decide the case before summer. The lawsuit doesnt seek monetary damages, only the ability to call the product skim milk.

We think the judges understood what we were saying, Pearson said.

For Wesselhoeft, the challenge is a simple matter of right and wrong. We should win this case because we want to tell the truth, she said.Someone has to stand up.

comments

Visit link:
Small dairy farmer seeks First Amendment protection from state ... - SaintPetersBlog (blog)

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

A contempt of the laws is the high road to anarchy.

Alexander Hamilton

Hillary Clintons email scandal and the Clinton Foundation scandal are back in the news, as they are likely to be for years to come. At his confirmation hearing, Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions said he would recuse himself from all investigations involving the Clintons.

Last November, President Donald Trump said that his preference was for no further investigation of Hillary Clinton or the Clinton Foundation. A decision (which does not seem to have been made yet) not to continue any investigation raises at least three concerns:

1). Deciding whether to prosecute someone isnt normally the presidents decision to make. Its the job of the system.

The system may sound amorphous, but in fact the system is what we call the rule of law. That rule is not just an arcane concept that interests lawyers and public policy mavens. The rule of law is probably the single most important governing concept we have far more important than democracy. The rule of law elevates the weakest citizen to the level of the most powerful.

In this case, the rule of law would see the FBI and the Justice Department make the determinations whether or not to continue investigating and to prosecute. Nevertheless, the attorney general can always exercise prosecutorial discretion and decide to drop an investigation without necessarily traducing the rule of law. And if the AG (in this case the deputy AG, Mr. Sessions having recused himself) can make that decision, so can his boss, the president.

2) Dropping the case raises the question of fairness.

Fairness may be an elusive concept; even so, we tend to know its missing when we dont see it. It is true that its not always possible to be fair. Sometime its necessary to be just. But in this case, there are people who have done far less than what Mrs. Clinton has already been shown to have done and who have been punished for it. Why should they have to pay a price if she does not? The response that life is not fair does not entirely satisfy.

In 2009, Kristian Saucier, a Navy machinist, took six photos labeled confidential/restricted of the nuclear submarine USS Alexandrias classified propulsion system. Saucier was sentenced to one year in prison and six months of home confinement following his release, and to perform 100 hours of community service.

In 2015, Bryan H. Nishimura, a naval reservist deployed in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008, pleaded guilty to unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials. There was no evidence, however, that Nishimura intended to distribute the classified information to unauthorized personnel. Nishimura pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation, assessed a $7,500 fine, and ordered to surrender any his security clearance.

And Gen. David Petraeus, hero of the Iraq War, gave classified material to another person who had a security clearance but no need to know. Gen. Petraeus was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.

3) Danger lurks in curtailing the investigation.

Who knows what evils the Clinton Foundation engaged in? The answer is: Many people know the many people who have been investigating it. They know things. And it is almost inconceivable that there will be no leaks. Those leaks would embarrass Donald Trump for letting Mrs. Clinton escape, even as they would embarrass Mrs. Clinton always assuming its possible to embarrass a Clinton.

One can argue that continuing to investigate and perhaps prosecute Mrs. Clinton would continue to divide the nation, though we should note that it appears to be the hard-core left that is fomenting the divisive activity. Even so, one can argue that trying to heal that divide is more important than strictly observing the rule of law. Perhaps. People will differ.

What is more difficult to differ on, however, is how people like Nishimura and Saucier, and probably dozens like them, should be treated if Mrs. Clinton et al. are allowed to escape investigation, and perhaps prosecution and punishment.

If Mr. Trump decides to stop the investigation of the Clintons, he should also pardon all people currently in situations similar to those of Nishimura and Saucier. Such a pardon would be both fair and supportive of the rule of law because it would tend to equalize the small fry and the kingpins.

In addition, such pardons, especially if there were lots of them, would make apparent the venality of Mrs. Clinton and make the case for her guilt, but without the trauma of another Watergate-like circus. Mrs. Clinton, though free to spend time with her loving husband, would appear in the publics mind to be guilty, yet would have no way of being exonerated.

Thats not a perfect outcome. But its not bad either.

Daniel Oliver, chairman of the board of the Education and Research Institute and senior director of the White House Writers Group, previously served as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President Ronald Reagan.

Read the rest here:
Hillary Clinton and the law - Washington Times

Nick Merrill, Clinton's spokesman, confirmed that the 2016 Democratic nominee will be the commencement speaker at the all-women college in May.

The remarks will be one of Clinton's biggest speeches after her 2016 loss. She has kept a low profile since losing to Donald Trump, only headlining a handful of small events that generally have a personal connection to her life.

Clinton has slowly begun to emerge into public life, however. She tweeted earlier this week that Trump's travel ban was "not who we are," her clearest rebuke of Trump since the election.

Clinton has begun booking speeches, too. She will speak at a ceremony honoring Oscar de la Renta on February 16 in New York, at a Vital Voices event recognizing International Women's Day on March 8 and at an event at the LGBT Community Center in New York on April 10.

And then comes her book: Simon & Schuster, Clinton's publisher, announced Wednesday that Clinton will publish a new book of personal essays in fall 2017.

Clinton will discuss different points in her life in the book, a release said, using quotes she "lives by" as a way to get into each essay.

"These quotes have helped me celebrate the good times, laugh at the absurd times, persevere during the hard times and deepen my appreciation of all life has to offer," Clinton said in a statement.

Clinton was the first student to ever speak at the Wellesley College commencement in 1969. Republican Sen. Edward Brooke, speaking before Clinton, argued in favor of small victories and decried people protesting.

"The overwhelming majority of Americans will stand firm on one principle: Coercive protest is wrong, and one reason it is wrong is because it is unnecessary," he said.

Clinton, who had written a speech, instead tore it up and used the top of her remarks to blast Brooke.

"Something that our generation has been doing for quite a while now," Clinton said. "We're not in the positions yet of leadership and power, but we do have that indispensable element of criticizing and constructive protest."

Clinton was lauded for being a student leader after the speech, and was profiled by LIFE Magazine.

See the rest here:
Hillary Clinton to give Wellesley College commencement address - CNN

NewsBusters (blog)

NBC Welcomes Hillary Clinton's 'Return to the Spotlight' NewsBusters (blog) Co-host Matt Lauer eagerly told viewers: ...after taking some time away from public eye following the election, Hillary Clinton appears ready to return to the spotlight. In the report that followed, correspondent Peter Alexander proclaimed: After a ... and more »

See the article here:
NBC Welcomes Hillary Clinton's 'Return to the Spotlight' - NewsBusters (blog)

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Just as former Secretary of State used a private e-mail server, whose contents she later wiped, in an attemptto shield some of her communications from the government and from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, bureaucratic rebels are using external communications and applications to create what amounts to a shadow administration. But unlike Clinton, or perhaps having learned her lessons, they are encrypting their communications, using secure messaging apps like Signal.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Politico notes:

Whether inside the Environmental Protection Agency, within the Foreign Service, on the edges of the Labor Department or beyond, employees are using new technology as well as more old-fashioned approaches such as private face-to-face meetings to organize letters, talk strategy, or contact media outlets and other groups to express their dissent. The goal is to get their message across while not violating any rules covering workplace communications, which can be monitored by the government and could potentially get them fired.

At the EPA, a small group of career employees numbering less than a dozen so far are using an encrypted messaging app to discuss what to do if Trumps political appointees undermine their agencys mission to protect public health and the environment, flout the law, or delete valuable scientific data that the agency has been collecting for years, sources told POLITICO.

The effort is part of what Breitbart News has called the coup of the bureaucrats. There are several steps the Trump administration could take to clamp down on it. One involves internal investigations, leading to disciplinary action though that could also lower morale and drain administrative resources. Another is to set an example by firing high-profile rebels like acting Attorney General Sally Yates though that does not solve the problem completely. The Trump administration could also appeal to former President Barack Obama to stop encouraging protests and to urge bureaucrats to do their jobs though it seems unlikely that President Trump would want to make such an appeal, or that President Obama would agree.

The simplest solution may simply be to cut or close federal government departments that seek to operate independently of the executive. With Republican budget hawks in charge of Congress, the Trump administrationmight have a unique opportunity to fulfill conservatives long-standing ambition to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy and the scope of its powers.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the most influential people in news media in 2016. His new book,How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Follow this link:
Federal Bureaucrats Go 'Full Hillary Clinton' with Secret Emails - Breitbart News