by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
It has been reported that Jim Norman has introduced a new bill which would make it a crime to, in the words of one writer, “step on the farm property without the owner's permission to take pictures or make audio and video recordings.”
That existing trespassing laws already cover such acts apparently appears to be well beside the point to to Senator Norman.
As with similar bills that were proposed in various states throughout 2011, and failed, the motivation is clearly to prevent abuses of farm animals and workers from being documented by undercover investigations, as happened in shocking detail a number of times in the past 12 months, and has been the case for many years.
So far attempts to find documentary evidence of shady connections between the senator and big Agribusiness have come up short, though it would appear that someone found out enough to support claims by the largely conservative Tampa Tribune editorial board's that Senator Norman is “a deceptive, self-interested politician who has displayed little regard for ethical behavior.”
Now there is a surprise about a politician being as to being deceptive and self-interested, NOT. The great majority of them appear to be, whether it is this side of the Atlantic or in the USA. Or, one probably could add, elsewhere. Finding a politician with integrity and ethics is not the easiest thing to do, not even in the so-called free and democratic countries such as the USA, the UK, etc.
Big Ag this side of the Atlantic and on the other side are scared to death that someone could find out what they are up to and it is certain that they lobby enough politicians to have some of them take up their cause of “privacy”.
Dordi! Dordi! What a twisted world...
© 2011
