Marti Oakley (c)Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved

____”Had this bill passed, DATCP swat and raid teams would have been all over your dairy farms like flies on a dead cow.”  ******************

I tried to warn you back in November of 2009 that hiring lobbyists and handing your hard earned dollars over to national groups claiming to be prepared to defend you should you come under fire, was an exercise in futility.  And, after receiving yet another alert of a pending protest or whatever they were calling it, I couldn’t help but note this new alert that had come out at that time, strictly forbid any calls from outside the state of Wisconsin or anyone showing up in person to support Wisconsin family and independent dairy farmers.  This kind of support could set things back!  After all…you had a paid lobbyist along with a couple of big name national groups who were going to handle everything. Any “outsiders” would just mess things up! 

In fact, the emails that were sent around behind the scenes specifically mentioned my own efforts to gather farmers and herders from several states to travel to Wisconsin to stand with farmers there in solidarity.  This planned protest was called off at 3. a.m. in the morning via email by the very group that had called for it.  No explanation was ever given as to why: just the ensuing organizational alert forbidding the interference from “outsiders”.  Now didn’t any of you think that was just a little on the odd side? 

Somewhere around this same time an obviously faked version of a milk bill was published as some kind of evidence that action was being taken.  When the fraud was exposed, a bill was quickly cobbled together which I can only assume was the pretext for the Milk Bill that just got vetoed by Gov. Doyle. 

After reading the contents of that bill, I could only marvel at the missed opportunities to access the law to protect the interests of private individuals engaged in their lawful and Constitutional right to business and trade.  You simply could have launched the same arguments used by corporate producers intent on seizing a market and creating not only a monopoly, but also a monopsony.  In other words: only one selected buyer and one selected processor, each made up of conglomerates of corporations; kind of like the situation in the Northeast with FDA, Dean foods and a few others who banded together to drive small and independent producers out of business so their big CAFO dairy’s could take over the markets.

You have two real and very strong options:

A Constitutional tort (based on this:

TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 21 > SUBCHAPTER I > § 1983

1983. Civil action for deprivation of rights

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.

Tort of Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage   (You really should have your paid representatives read this: I could have put this case together during a commercial break of “Criminal Minds”)

The idea that any of you would have agreed with having your right to advertise your business, your products and to make a living doing so, abrogated and violated by elected officials under a bill that would have sunset in 2011 really struck me odd; especially the time frame. 

Thinking about that I realized that, this bill would have allowed just enough time for DATCP to increase its revenues through the implementation of a system of fees to engage in a lawful business (a Constitutional right).  This would have continued as DATCP constantly changed its rules and regulations so that any standard set could never be met which would result in fines fees and penalties to keep the money mill rolling and the inevitable demands that financially burdensome demands to upgrade, rebuild, reconstruct and update ever changing facility requirements would never end. That; and DATCP is a private corporation and has made clear they will not be subject to legislative micro-management. 

But it was that short time frame for this bill that kept bugging me.   Here is what I think was supposed to happen:

Passage of the bill would have allowed DATCP to raise revenues,

To finalize the regulations they are working on now to end private dairy farming,

At least 50% of the few remaining private and independent dairy farms would have been forced out of business through excessive regulation and rising cost barriers.

Those that were left would have been consumed by corporate producers or intentionally harassed and terrorized until they voluntarily quit.

This time frame was just long enough to allow corporate producers to get set up in the fresh/raw milk business, get their “New Zealand Agri-tech” farms running and their processing plants readied.

And, at the stroke of midnight when this bill would have sunset: 

There would have been a legislative/DATCP epiphany and fresh/raw milk would have been declared the end-all be-all answer to the worlds problems.  And you, the family/independent producer would effectively be prevented from entering into or engaging in that market for reasons not yet even created.

So, while you rallied for your own destruction and left the Monchilovich’s to fight your battles for you without any of you being there to support them (with the exception of three people,) the Moncholvich’s won in their efforts….and you lost.  Which actually was a good thing.  Had this bill passed, DATCP swat and raid teams would have been all over your dairy farms like flies on a dead cow.   ******************

See also:

1. Wisconsin: Heroes will just set things back……Oh! The drama of it all!

2. Civil Servants are liable for their Actions: I was just following orders is no excuse.

3. Conflicts of Interest: Revoking the charters of State agencies

4.  State of Wisconsin vs. Pat and Melissa Monchilovich