Stooges

<a href="http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2005-08-20T190838Z_01_N20424197_RTRIDST_0_PICKS-MADCOW-MONTANA-DC.XML"><acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture, Bought and Paid for by The Big Meat Packers">USDA</acronym> 'bunch of stooges'</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>"A few years ago, the four big meat companies, they expanded their role in this country. They bought a U.S. company called the United States Department of Agriculture," Montana <a href="http://governor.mt.gov/governor/govbio.asp">Gov. Brian Schweitzer</a> said in an interview. "They are a bunch of stooges."<br />n<br />n "The <acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture, Bought and Paid for by The Big Meat Packers">USDA</acronym> crawled right into bed with them (the meat companies) and they run our internal policy and our international (beef) policy," Schweitzer said.</blockquote><br />n<br />nSomebody must be reading my blog. This is the point I make about the United States Department of Agriculture (<acronym title="United States Department of Agriculture, Bought and Paid for by The Big Meat Packers">USDA</acronym>) all the time. They are not protecting the interests of the consumers or producers. They run the shop like their boss's, the big meat packing companies, want. This is bad for consumers and producers alike and something needs to be done.<br />n<br />nA point I disagree with this article on is they credit Gov. Schweitzer for all of this. R-calf has been the point people on this for years and the Gov. is a late addition to the band wagon, but as long as we make progress for everybody I shouldn't complain who gets credit.<br />n<br />n<b>The brisk fond lackey to fetch and carry,<br />nThe true, sick-hearted slave,<br />nExpect him not in the just city<br />nAnd free land of the grave.<br />n<br />nA.E. (Alfred Edward) Housman</b>