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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / Republican Health Care Plan (Die Sooner) Implemented Via Shutdown — Salmonella Outbreak edition

Republican Health Care Plan (Die Sooner) Implemented Via Shutdown — Salmonella Outbreak edition

by Tom Levenson|  October 9, 20133:17 pm| 69 Comments

This post is in: Republican Stupidity, Outrage, Teabagger Stupidity

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Ok.  That title is a bit of hyperbole (you think?–ed.).  No deaths have yet been reported from this:

This evening, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture announced that “an estimated 278 illnesses … reported in 18 states” have been caused by chicken contaminated with Salmonella Heidelberg and possibly produced by the firm Foster Farms.

Vincenzo_Campi_-_Chicken_Vendors_-_WGA3826

The news and its context (and lots of links, now updated) comes from the invaluable Superbug blog written by the equally prized Maryn McKenna (known to her friends as the internet’s Scary Germ Girl, perhaps for books like this one.)*

That’s not the punch line, though.  Something else makes this latest demonstration of the risks inhering to the US food supply system so infuriating and so scary — something with a distinctly GOP reek wafting through it:

 [The Food Safety and Inspection Service] is unable to link the illnesses to a specific product and a specific production period,” the agency said in an emailed alert. “The outbreak is continuing.”

This is the exact situation that CDC and other about-to-be-furloughed federal personnel warned about last week.

As Maryn emphasizes:  we are confronting a potentially deadly public health crisis with legally enforced ignorance:

 At the CDC, which operates the national foodborne-detection services FoodNet and PulseNet, scientists couldn’t work on this if they wanted to; they have been locked out of their offices, lab and emails. (At a conference I attended last week, 10 percent of the speakers did not show up because they were CDC personnel and risked being fired if they traveled even voluntarily.)

To mix metaphors — when you have a political party determined to spin the cartridge on the whole country, eventually the hammer will find a loaded chamber.

Go read the whole of Maryn’s reporting.  This isn’t skittles. It’s illness and misery, the possibility of life-long diminishment…and maybe deaths too, as always with the most vulnerable, kids and the elderly, squarely in the cross hairs.

Even if, as I deeply hope, the current outbreak passes with minimal harm to our fellow citizens, that just means we got lucky.  As long as Republicans see the shut down as a game in which they must put “points on the board” we’re on the hook for the news we know will come.

To take it one step further:  the dominant view within the modern Republican party is one that in essence denies the existence of society.  In the Tea Party view — the one shaping the entire party’s vision — the US is and must be a nation of individuals, atoms; there is no concept that we might act in concert to ends other than those we can address one by one.

From that perspective deciding we don’t need food safety inspectors makes sense.  It’s my job or yours to make sure we cook that chicken breast all the way through, that we sterilize our cutting boards, that we never forget to soap off our knives between cuts, that we never eat with friends less cautious than ourselves. (I’m following Maryn’s argument here, btw.)

One could choose to live that way.  Kids would die from time to time and maybe grandpa too, gone before he needed to go.  Such deaths would be the price of my freedom, a definition of liberty renders every other person around me a kind of ghost: there, but not so much so that I need act as if they are just as real as me.

That’s what’s at stake in the current impasse in Washington.  I don’t want to live with ghosts. I want friends, I want colleagues, I want a society — civilization.  Hell!  I want chicken inspectors, and it’s a privilege, not a burden, to live within a system that’s figured out how to  have them.  That the Republicans don’t seem to get that is why the current version of the party (no longer) of Lincoln must be ground into the dust.

Factio Grandaeva Delenda Est.

UPDATE:  Via blog friend Mike the Mad Biologist, this news:

A sweeping salmonella outbreak has become so serious that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called back 10 furloughed staff members to monitor this and other outbreaks.

Mike tells me that the recalled staff work on PulseNet.

*You can get the word directly from Maryn via my conversation with her on the Virtually Speaking Science podcast.

Image:  Vincenzo Campi, Chicken Vendors, 1580.

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Reader Interactions

69Comments

  1. 1.

    srv

    October 9, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    You can’t Live Free without some risks in life.

    You liberals will never find enough ways to keep us safe and erode our precious freedoms.

  2. 2.

    Face

    October 9, 2013 at 3:24 pm

    But but but but but….Bruce Jenner and Mom KarCrashian are getting divorced! Why cant you report the important shit?

  3. 3.

    jeffreyw

    October 9, 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Live free, die young, leave a pox ravaged corpse.

  4. 4.

    kindness

    October 9, 2013 at 3:26 pm

    The bad news? I like Foster Farms. They don’t use any hormones in growing their birds. More bad news? I used some this weekend when I did a stir fry. The good news? Tasted really yummy and no one has gotten sick so I guess my batch was OK (or cooked properly).

  5. 5.

    Tone in DC

    October 9, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    @Face:

    But but but but but….Bruce Jenner and Mom KarCrashian are getting divorced! Why cant you report the important shit?

    Just reading about reality TV may make me hurl today. I just read that Cornyn (R – InsaneInTheBrain) will not agree to allow back pay for federal workers. I am just literally sick of these g00pers.

    On the subject, I truly hope that this strain of salmonella is reined in quickly. The CDC and food inspectors are on it. Thank Jeebus for their dedication.

  6. 6.

    Punchy

    October 9, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    And to think all these likely Fox watchers were told that the slimdown had no consequences. Or not.

    Amazing to watch all these fucktards suddenly aghast when their government doesn’t give them what they want. Turd sandwiches all around.

  7. 7.

    Trollhattan

    October 9, 2013 at 3:30 pm

    Note to self: cook the holy hell out of any chicken, incinerate cutting board and knife, wear gloves.

    Awww what the hell–steaks.

    Knew a guy who went from county public health director to run the environmental program at Foster Farms. Wonder whether he’s still there…?

  8. 8.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 9, 2013 at 3:32 pm

    As long as Republicans see the shut down as a game in which they must put “points on the board” we’re on the hook for the news we know will come.

    You mean like Death Race 2000?

  9. 9.

    Gex

    October 9, 2013 at 3:33 pm

    Their beliefs about this kind of regulation are horrid enough. But under Shrub’s administration the FDA refused to sell the testing kits to a high end steak company that wanted to voluntarily test every last cow for mad-cow disease. No taxes spent on it. No government requirement for it. A company wanted to do a thing they thought would enhance their ability to sell the steaks in Japan.

    It just shows that they don’t even really demand we all be free to do as we want. They demand that no on be able to do any better.

  10. 10.

    joes527

    October 9, 2013 at 3:34 pm

    Does the “risked being fired if they traveled even voluntarily” bit get explained? Who is threatening firing for volunteering?

  11. 11.

    Trollhattan

    October 9, 2013 at 3:35 pm

    @Punchy:
    This “taker” was caught up in their shenanigans and the NIH closures.

    http://www.sacbee.com/2013/10/09/5805897/auburn-womans-quest-for-cancer.html

    She’s in McClintock’s (R-Carpetbagville) district so will get zero help from him. He’d reach out in a second if she were having trouble buying a gun.

  12. 12.

    LanceThruster

    October 9, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    Let those freeloaders take care of their own healthcare needs via the freemarket as the freemarket chicken unfettered by government tyranny makes them sick.

    Win-win, bitches!

  13. 13.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 9, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    More Newsmax good news: Dick Morris: Oklahoma Suit May End Obamacare

    This guy fights with Bill Kristol as the worst seer in contemporary America.

  14. 14.

    TAPX486

    October 9, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    So as far as the GOP is concerned the shutdown is both a bug and a feature!!!!!

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    October 9, 2013 at 3:46 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Could be more like Battle Royale. As a bonus, think of all the pay-per-view revenue the government would get.

  16. 16.

    cleek

    October 9, 2013 at 3:47 pm

    Only 28 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, according to findings from Gallup released Wednesday.

    That number represents a nadir for either party since Gallup began asking the question in 1992 and a 10-point drop for the GOP from a month ago. Sixty-two percent said they have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/gallup-gop-favorability-plunges-to-record-low

    plunge, you fucking morons. plunge right into oblivion.

  17. 17.

    Roger Moore

    October 9, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    Life Republican-style:

    In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain, and consequently, no culture of the earth, no navigation, nor the use of commodities that may be imported by sea, no commodious building, no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force, no knowledge of the face of the earth, no account of time, no arts, no letters, no society, and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

  18. 18.

    Hungry Joe

    October 9, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    If some people get sick and die from salmonella, word will get out and no one will buy fish from that company anymore.

    Restaurants and grocery stores don’t really want that to happen, so they’ll hire independent, for-profit food inspectors, then post their safety seals. Of course, it may be more profitable for private inspectors to do a lousy job and/or take bribes, in which case some more people will get sick and die. But we’ll find out, eventually, and in the long run the shady food-safety-inspection companies will be driven out of business.

    Well, it may take us a while to find out, because there isn’t much in the way of journalism anymore. But sooner or later someone will start a local news source that reports on things like people dying from food poisoning, and it’ll turn a profit because … because … anyway, it’ll turn a profit, and we’ll all know about the shady food-inspection company and the outfit supplying the tainted food, and everything will be okay via the genius of the marketplace.

    No tax dollars required for any of this. Freedom! It works!

  19. 19.

    ? Martin

    October 9, 2013 at 3:58 pm

    Look, nobody is really going to accept that the Tea Party has power until some people start dying at the hands of that power. I guarantee that this is being discussed with pride within the party right now.

    Boehner’s whole attitude here is simple: Power unused is power lost.

  20. 20.

    scav

    October 9, 2013 at 3:58 pm

    Keep infecting that chicken gentlemen.

  21. 21.

    ? Martin

    October 9, 2013 at 4:00 pm

    As long as Republicans see the shut down as a game in which they must put “points on the board” we’re on the hook for the news we know will come.

    It is not truth that matters, but victory.

  22. 22.

    Chris

    October 9, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    To take it one step further: the dominant view within the modern Republican party is one that in essence denies the existence of society. In the Tea Party view — the one shaping the entire party’s vision — the US is and must be a nation of individuals, atoms

    Only for the 99%. Reduce the poor, the working class, the middle class, heck even the only-kind-of-rich to an atomized society with all their mechanisms of association gone, and you just make it easier for the 1% to pick them off one at a time. The 1%, needless to say, will continue to collaborate in ways that screw the general public.

  23. 23.

    Pluky

    October 9, 2013 at 4:03 pm

    @Hungry Joe: This has already been done. Ever hear of a book called “The Jungle?”

    And what “local journalism” source is going to have the resources that the FDA and CDC have to trace back through a national, or worse global, food supply chain to locate the source of contamination?

  24. 24.

    gian

    October 9, 2013 at 4:04 pm

    The more they talk that the debt ceiling doesn’t matter (but even though it doesn’t matter it’s critical leverage… cognitive dissonance anyone) and seem ready to just default, the more I start to wonder if they think they can “win” in a default in a “shock doctrine” attack on social security, as that trust fund is big into treasury bills.
    Then I think a plan like that might require competence which is not in evidence

  25. 25.

    Hungry Joe

    October 9, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    @Pluky: Hi, Pluky.

    Re my lengthy comment (#18 on the Big Board) …

    From the Urban Dictionary: SNARK (n) — Combination of “snide” and “remark”. Sarcastic comment(s).

  26. 26.

    cleek

    October 9, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    @Pluky:
    no amount of resources would matter, because no private firm will have the authority to inspect food processors, the way the FDA does. no journalist will be able to flash a badge and walk, with impunity, into a food processor or drug manufacturer to see what’s going on; nor would they have the technical background to know what to look for if they could get in.

  27. 27.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    October 9, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    Government shutdown feels a lot like the Bush years.

  28. 28.

    Chris T.

    October 9, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    @Hungry Joe: Indeed, no tax dollars, just a lot of sick and dead people.

  29. 29.

    Pap Finn

    October 9, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    Who would have thought that government by anti-empiricist sociopaths could lead to such outcomes?

  30. 30.

    McCanada

    October 9, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    The NFL couldn’t work with replacement referees, imagine it with no referees…

  31. 31.

    Seanly

    October 9, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    Tom – well said, sir. Especially the last 4 paragraphs.

    @Roger Moore: What is that blockquote from?

    Is the media going to pick up that the Republicans are in disarray? Some of their leading lights have dropped the ‘Obamacare’ defunding from their list of demans & now want more budget cuts. Nevermind that the CR would continue the sequesteration BS and that the budget is even less than the terrible Ryan plan.

    I hope Obama can counter strong – if they’re now going to push for more budget cuts then demand that there be tax increases too. Make them take it back off the table.

    I truly & deeply loathe Republican politicians and party leadership. I wouldn’t vote for an R even for dog catcher.

  32. 32.

    R-Jud

    October 9, 2013 at 4:17 pm

    @Seanly:

    What is that blockquote from?

    Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes.

  33. 33.

    Mike E

    October 9, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: …or like living in Pat McCrory’s NC.

  34. 34.

    raven

    October 9, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    Ryan walking back his “not about Obamacare” stance.

  35. 35.

    Trollhattan

    October 9, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    I keep hearing faint poppoing sounds. I suspect it’s wingnut head ‘splosions.

    Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday expanding the type of medical providers who can perform abortions in California.

    Assembly Bill 154, by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, will allow nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and physician assistants to perform certain first-trimester abortions.

    Proponents of the bill, including Democrats in the state Legislature, said it will address a shortage of abortion providers and the need for women to travel long distances for the procedure.

    The tourism board will doubtless have a whole new angle to promote.

  36. 36.

    TAPX486

    October 9, 2013 at 4:21 pm

    The six week extension plan is back on the table. For the life of me I can’t see why Obama and the democrats would agree to a 6 week extension, esp. on the debt limit. Does any one with an IQ greater than pond scrum (sorry scum) think they can work this out in 6 weeks? This has been going on since Jan. 2011 when the control of the House changed. We will be right back at the same spot with the same countdown clock come the end of November.

    Now there was one suggestion that I think Obama should agree to an d that is John Boeher needs a fig leaf in order to compromise. I would suggest poison ivy as the leaf in question.

  37. 37.

    monkeyfister

    October 9, 2013 at 4:21 pm

    So, we can add “Objectively Pro-Salmonella” to the long list of horrible things that Republicans objectively support. They are objectively pro-E.Coli, objectively pro-Cancer, objectively pro-rape, objectively pro-torture… and on and on.

    I suspect that their life-expectancy as an effective political party is less than fours years at this point The 2014 elections will be the litmus, and it is not looking good for them at this point.

  38. 38.

    fuckwit

    October 9, 2013 at 4:22 pm

    Um, have any of you had a look into the glibertarian cesspool that is the comment thread on that there Wired article?

    Jeebus fuck. We’re in deep shit if those people vote.

  39. 39.

    TheF79

    October 9, 2013 at 4:23 pm

    It’s probably also worth pointing out that having 300 million individuals engaging in food inspection is also inordinately costly! The entire Food Safety and Inspection Service budget for last year was 1 billion dollars, or 3 dollars per person in the US annually, or the equivalent of about 8 and a half minutes of work annually based on average per-capita income.

  40. 40.

    kc

    October 9, 2013 at 4:23 pm

    there is no concept that we might act in concert to ends other than those we can address one by one.

    From that perspective deciding we don’t need food safety inspectors makes sense. It’s my job or yours to make sure we cook that chicken breast all the way through, that we sterilize our cutting boards, that we never forget to soap off our knives between cuts

    Also, if you die from eating tainted chicken, the producer will have lost a customer, so the market will ensure that no tainted chicken gets sold ever.

  41. 41.

    Hungry Joe

    October 9, 2013 at 4:24 pm

    @Chris T.: ” Indeed, no tax dollars, just a lot of sick and dead people.”

    Well, okay, yeah. Lamentable. But some VERY profitable quarters for the burgeoning private-food-inspection industry.

  42. 42.

    piratedan

    October 9, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    @TAPX486: probably being pragmatic that the holidays are upon us and its better to buy six weeks for folks and return to the impasse if it means that he sits in a room and listens to them blather.

  43. 43.

    scav

    October 9, 2013 at 4:31 pm

    The important thing is that foodstuffs be cheap and whenever possible patented (need to improve those margins). Edible, let alone healthy is a bonus — one reserved for those that can afford (cf. healthcare).

  44. 44.

    Botsplainer

    October 9, 2013 at 4:31 pm

    @Trollhattan:

    Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday expanding the type of medical providers who can perform abortions in California.

    Assembly Bill 154, by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, will allow nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and physician assistants to perform certain first-trimester abortions.

    Proponents of the bill, including Democrats in the state Legislature, said it will address a shortage of abortion providers and the need for women to travel long distances for the procedure.

    California is rocking it these days. I may start looking to move there.

  45. 45.

    Mike in NC

    October 9, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    To take it one step further: the dominant view within the modern Republican party is one that in essence denies the existence of society. In the Tea Party view — the one shaping the entire party’s vision — the US is and must be a nation of individuals, atoms; there is no concept that we might act in concert to ends other than those we can address one by one.

    This is merely in keeping with the gospels of their heroines Ayn Rand and Margaret Thatcher.

  46. 46.

    scott (the other one)

    October 9, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    @TAPX486:

    Actually, here’s why I think it’s not a terrible idea—probable armageddon later is better than definite armageddon now. Also, because the GOP is losing EVERYONE. The Koch Bros, for pete’s sake, seem to be wanting the suicide party to back the hell off. So they sign a 6-week CR and there’s at least the possibility a long term CR can be quietly passed in a few weeks without as much sturm und drang and without losing so much face.

    Likely? Not at all. Possible? Remotely.

  47. 47.

    Soonergrunt

    October 9, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    “Die Sooner”?!?!
    That’s a little too personal, don’t you think?

  48. 48.

    ? Martin

    October 9, 2013 at 4:35 pm

    @TAPX486:

    For the life of me I can’t see why Obama and the democrats would agree to a 6 week extension, esp. on the debt limit.

    Because not agreeing to it means they’re holding the government hostage. Of course nobody thinks it can be worked out in 6 weeks, but at least the country is working for those 6 weeks, and that alone is a victory.

  49. 49.

    Botsplainer

    October 9, 2013 at 4:37 pm

    The Virgin Ben writes an article about how Paul Ryan went apostate – both Breitbart and FR commentors go nuts, throw him out of the GOP.

    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/09/Wall-Street-Journal-Paul-Ryan

    Ryan did rip into President Obama’s intransigence, rightly pointing out that he had negotiated on the debt ceiling in the past, as had other presidents. Then he gave “a few ideas to get the conversation started,” including means-tested Medicare premiums, Medigap plan reform, and federal employees contributing more to their own retirement.
    All good ideas. None of them have anything to do with the implementation of Obamacare, which is the concern at the heart of Republican resistance to current Obama spending – and the sticking point for Obama

    Do they all go into the Hunger Games arena, or does it look more like Thunderdome?

  50. 50.

    TAPX486

    October 9, 2013 at 4:38 pm

    @scott (the other one): Hope your right but what did the Super Committee produce – lots of hot air time on cable and no enough of a result to put on the cover of a matchbook. If there were talks going on and the two sides were and ‘3’ and 7′ and with some extra time they could get to ‘5’ then the extra 6 weeks would make sense. The GOP isn’t even using the same number system that the reality based world uses so I just don’t see any way it will work. The teaparty is already pissed at Paul Ryan because he didn’t mention Obamacare. For them if it was a choice of eternal; life and Obama care or repeal Obamacare and then getting the black death, they would opt for the plague.

  51. 51.

    Tom Levenson

    October 9, 2013 at 4:41 pm

    @Soonergrunt: FTW….;-)

  52. 52.

    beltane

    October 9, 2013 at 4:42 pm

    @Botsplainer:

    Do they all go into the Hunger Games arena, or does it look more like Thunderdome?

    Neither. From a distance it looks more like the toilet bowl of a salmonella victim.

  53. 53.

    Bill Arnold

    October 9, 2013 at 4:46 pm

    @monkeyfister:

    They are objectively pro-E.Coli, objectively pro-Cancer, objectively pro-rape, objectively pro-torture… and on and on.

    Don’t forget objectively pro-treason.

  54. 54.

    Roger Moore

    October 9, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    @Hungry Joe:

    eventually, and in the long run the shady food-safety-inspection companies will be driven out of business.

    And then go back into business under a different name and address to do exactly the same thing. Free Market, bitches!

  55. 55.

    Seanly

    October 9, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    @TheF79:

    Well, they feel we should all be informed consumers, We should all be licensing boards for doctors, lawyers, dentists, beauticians, etc. We should all inspect our meat, eggs & milk. We should all verify that the regulations, fire codes and building codes are followed for the construction & upkeep of our vehicle,s churches, hotels, apatments, houses and office buidlings. We should all inspect each truckload of concrete when a road is being built and make sure that the calculations for the seismic design of the bridge is done properly.

    Oh, well, there won’t be any regulations, fire codes, building codes or bridge design codes. So no worries there!

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    October 9, 2013 at 4:52 pm

    @scav:

    The important thing is that foodstuffs be cheap and whenever possible patented (need to improve those margins)

    I assume you mean that it should be cheap to produce, not cheap to buy. Also, too, addictive should be a highly desirable property, since it helps to increase sales volume.

  57. 57.

    Ms. D. Ranged in AZ

    October 9, 2013 at 4:57 pm

    “To take it one step further: the dominant view within the modern Republican party is one that in essence denies the existence of society. “

    This, a thousand times this…..Whenever I debate right wing loons I always end up cornering them into admitting that they don’t want to live in a society (or at least a society that doesn’t reflect every belief they have the moment they have it, which a sane person knows is unreasonable).

    It’s just unfathomable to me that a group of people could deny the benefits of people living in societies since our species has probably been doing it since before we became homo sapiens. Humans now gather together by instinct because they learned in very hard ways over tens of thousands of years that there is safety and important benefits in numbers. Perhaps they can’t and won’t accept that because modern life, particularly in the U.S., has given them the false impression that they don’t need the rest of us.

    If only we could dump them on a deserted island and let them re-learn that important survival lesson, we’d all be better off.

  58. 58.

    Villago Delenda Est

    October 9, 2013 at 5:10 pm

    @Ms. D. Ranged in AZ:

    If only we could dump them on a deserted island and let them re-learn that important survival lesson, we’d all be better off.

    This idea intrigues me, mainly because I don’t think many of these dumbshits would return from the experiment.

    Yes, I would like to subscribe to your newsletter!

  59. 59.

    Roger Moore

    October 9, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    @Ms. D. Ranged in AZ:

    If only we could dump them on a deserted island and let them re-learn that important survival lesson, we’d all be better off.

    Or not learn and die. I’m good either way, just so long as we get the “dump them on a deserted island” part. I’m thinking we should give them a couple of decades there to make sure the lessons really stick.

  60. 60.

    scav

    October 9, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    @Roger Moore: ‘f course, and if they do so go far as to insist on the fresh stuff, sell it prepackaged and sliced to wring some more cash out of them.

  61. 61.

    Trollhattan

    October 9, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    @Tom Levenson:

    Besides, shouldn’t it be “Der Herr Sooner”? Where’s Amir?

  62. 62.

    Bob's Had Enough

    October 9, 2013 at 5:50 pm

    For the life of me I can’t see why Obama and the democrats would agree to a 6 week extension, esp. on the debt limit.

    Because it could be the fake success Republicans need to get out of the corner into which they’ve painted themselves.

    RepReps can make a lot of noise about how they forced PBO to the negotiating table and how they are now going to win everything they’ve ever wanted. Their backers will cheer and throw their hats into the air, not because they believe they’ve won, but because it’s the role they need to play in an attempt to cover up their team’s loss.

    RepReps are looking for a face-saver. Democrats lose nothing by giving them this one. We need to deal with budget issues anyway. This might actually cause RepReps to sit down and talk. Now that they’ve discovered they can’t extort their way to victory.

  63. 63.

    Waspuppet

    October 9, 2013 at 6:53 pm

    @Hungry Joe: obviously the fact that Foster Farms is now unfettered by federal regulation means they immediately implemented this system. Therefore this outbreak did not happen.

  64. 64.

    mai naem

    October 9, 2013 at 9:19 pm

    As Rand Paul says shit happens and as long as it’s not happening to him personally or somebody who is useful to him who is not easily expendable, he doesn’t care.

  65. 65.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 9, 2013 at 9:28 pm

    @monkeyfister:

    I suspect that their life-expectancy as an effective political party is less than fours years at this point The 2014 elections will be the litmus, and it is not looking good for them at this point.

    I think the Republicans are going to come out of this stronger than ever. Fear makes people conservative, and misery makes them hate whoever is in the White House. If the Republicans actually cause a default and the economy collapses again, they’ll probably sweep the midterm elections.

  66. 66.

    mai naem

    October 9, 2013 at 9:28 pm

    @Bob’s Had Enough: The teabaggers are not going to sit at the table and negotiate. They really do think an economic collapse during an Obama admin. is going to be fantastic for the teabagger movement. I did an internship in college and spent a few days at the State Capitol. As a twenty year old, I was shocked at how truly stupid some of the State Reps and Senators I met came across. I wasn’t anywhere as politically involved as I am now and I truly wondered how people elected these guys. And I believe the teabaggers are at the same intellectual level. They were the dunces in grade school that other kids tittered at only because they were so dumb.

  67. 67.

    Bob's Had Enough

    October 9, 2013 at 9:51 pm

    @mai naem: Agreed, most of the Republicans won’t negotiate like grownups. Certainly not the Baggers.

    But I suspect something has been broken on the right. I think some of the RepReps now see the Baggers as people who aren’t going to lead them to victory. That they aren’t going to ride roughshod over PBO. And that the way for them to gain some of their goals is best found in talking and compromise.

    I think it probably has dawned on some of them that they now stand a chance of losing control of the House next year and if they do they might not have a decent chance of getting it back until 2018. It might be time to make some gains.

    I’m not saying that is what will happen. But it does seem that a few might have felt that dope slap they’ve been given and might decide to be politicians for a change.

  68. 68.

    boatboy_srq

    October 10, 2013 at 10:31 am

    @kindness: This is the new Teahadis jihad: holy war against undercooked foods.

    Next up from the GOTea Free Market Machine: eliminating the maximum sawdust levels in sausages.

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