Another sticky note for my own reference, so no comment on something that’s as ugly as anything I’ve seen.
Obamacare gives the government control over your body. This apparently gives the government control over everything you own made of wood — and that’s just for starters:
I don’t know what all is in that bill, but last night when I was researching something else I stumbled upon just one teensy provision of the bill — an amendment to the Lacey Act which received no media attention at all, and isn’t receiving any now.
This amendment deals with illegal plants — the primary thrust being illegal wood. Henceforth, all wood is to be a federally regulated, suspect substance. Either raw wood, lumber, or anything made of wood, from tables and chairs, to flooring, siding, particle board, to handles on knives, baskets, chopsticks, or even toothpicks has to have a label naming the genus and species of the tree that it came from and the country of origin. Incorrect labeling becomes a federal felony, and the law does not just apply to wood newly entering the country, but any wood that is in interstate commerce within the country. Here are some excerpts from a summary:
The Lacey Act now makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken in violation of the laws of a U.S. State, or any foreign law that protects plants. The Lacey Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account or label for, or any false identification of, any plant.The definition of the term “plant” includes “any wild member of the plant kingdom, including roots, seeds, parts, and products thereof, and including trees from either natural or planted forest stands.”
[...]
Anyone who imports into the United States, or exports out of the United States, illegally harvested plants or products made from illegally harvested plants, including timber, as well as anyone who exports, transports, sells, receives, acquires or purchases such products in the United States, may be prosecuted. In any prosecution under the Lacey Act, the burden of proof of a violation rests on the government.
[...]
Violations of Lacey Act provisions for timber and other plant products, as well as fish and wildlife, may be prosecuted through either civil or criminal enforcement actions. Regardless of any prosecution, the tainted plants may be seized and forfeited.
Everyone means everyone, which includes every reader of this blog.
[Note that the summary link is to a .gov domain, which means this is the official government summary, not some wild eyed conservative scaremonger.]
Crap. This is law now, and it’s being enforced. Gibson Guitars was raided under the Lacey Act a couple of days ago.
I can’t wait to hear what Billy Beck has to say about this.
[Fixed link. Since when was "ttp" not a valid protocol? The Internet SUX!]
Tags: Gibson Guitars, Lacey Act
“Obamacare gives the government control over your body.”
There’s a critical word missing there.
Obamacare gives the government *more* control over your body.
How would any of the proposed bills (none of which were written by Obama, obviously) on healthcare reform allow the government to control your body? For that matter, how does the government already have any control over our bodies? I know, if you commit a crime, you get locked up, etc., etc. But the main motive of the bill is to better regulate an industry that refuses to serve people because of such things as being a victim of rape or spousal abuse, and to offer people a reasonably priced alternative product. Worry less about the federal government and more about the people who are actually screwing America and working Americans over: large, powerful, greedy corporations.
And considering the current and past attacks on a woman’s right to abortion, you’d think that it was the Republicans who were trying to exercise control over the persons of Americans.
So suck it, Matt. Go back to your Rashy Null Planet and learn a few facts before you take part in political discourse.
And Dave: Quit whining about the Lacey Act. It doesn’t give the government control over everything you own made of wood. Nowhere in the excerpt you cited does it say anything about OWNING any of these things. If you own a mahogany coffee table that you bought a year ago and was made of smuggled wood, this new law won’t affect you. It’s only the transactions that the Lacey Act covers. And suppose you sell that coffee table? Well, I doubt Uncle Sam’s going to give a rat’s ass. First, since the burden of proof falls on them, they’d have to show unequivocally that you knew that you were breaking the law. The bigger reason, though, is that you’re a very little fish, one too small to be worth their time no matter what their motive is. They’re not going after one item sold here or there; they’re cracking down on the suppliers, dealers, and consumers of illegal herbaceous merchandise, all of which I assume you are not.
Paranoia-meter has hit a new high for the week. Keep watching Glenn Beck’s delightful variety show, though, and you may be able to break even this lofty record by the solstice.
Go jump in the septic tank,
venomlash