Link: http://www.ignoranceorapathy.com/main.php/2012/02/01/rules_changes_cottage_food_law

© ignoranceorapathy.com 2/2/2012

Here is it in plain photograph.
In order for home bakers to comply with the proposed rule changes by the DSHS, this is what your average cupcake will now look like.

I have said all along, the label will be bigger than the cupcake, and I was right.

These rule changes by the bureaucrats, against the will and intent of the elected legislature, will kill trees. Millions of them by the look of this.

Credit where credit is due. I stole this photo from
TexasBakersBill

To illustrate the point of what these tyrants are trying to do to a just and legal piece of legislation who’s intent was to make start up business more attractive to entrepreneurs.
But it appears the goal of the unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats at DSHS is to protect the special interest of commercial food operations and harass micro business into extinction.

Here is the text regarding label requirements for a cottage food operation:

Sec. 437.0193. LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR COTTAGE FOOD
PRODUCTION OPERATIONS. The executive commissioner shall adopt
rules requiring a cottage food production operation to label all of
the foods described in Section 437.001(2-b)(A) that the operation
sells to consumers. The label must include the name and address of
the cottage food production operation and a statement that the food
is not inspected by the department or a local health department.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/SB00081F.htm

This was the will and intent of the legislature and the Governor of the Great State of Texas.

Now come the bureaucrats.
Proposed changes to the law:

All foods prepared by a cottage food production operation must be labeled.
(1) The label information shall include:
(A) the name and physical address of the cottage food production operation;
(B) the common or usual name of the product and an adequately descriptive statement of identity;
(C) if made from two or more ingredients, a list of ingredients in descending order of predominance by net weight, including a declaration of artificial color or flavor and chemical preservatives, if contained in the food;
(D) an accurate declaration of the net quantity of contents including metric measurements;
(E) allergen labeling in compliance with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-282, Title II, 118. Stat. 905; and
(F) the following statement: "Made in home kitchen, food is not inspected by the Department of State Health Services or a local health department" in at least the equivalent of 11-point font and in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background.
(2) Labels must be clearly legible and printed with durable, permanent ink.
(A) Ingredient statements shall be at 1/16 of an inch or larger.
(B) Ingredients shall include components of the ingredients.
(C) Net quantity of contents shall be separated from other text on the label and must be located in the bottom third of the label.

http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/

If this type of blatant discrimination against micro business / home business is allowed to stand, especially by a bunch of bureaucrats who are accountable to NO ONE.
Then I want to see this same label on every hamburger, fries and drink served, every plate a waitress brings to the table, every box of doughnuts and every single hot dog purchased by anyone, anywhere in the state! I want this same rule to apply to any food prepared in any kitchen and sold by anyone.

This label is only required for home bakers that are trying to comply with the new Cottage Food Law. These requirements do not apply to restaurants, coffee shops, doughnut shops or any of the rest of the big business food service establishments.

This is Texas not the Soviet Socialist Republic of California.
(no trees were harmed in the posting of this article)

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Link: http://www.ignoranceorapathy.com/main.php/2011/12/16/cottage_food_law_rules

© ignoranceorapathy.com 2/1/2012

The duly elected legislature of the Great State of Texas passed the Texas Cottage Food bill in 2010, the second time the bill came before the body. They did not pass it lightly, they took the bill into careful consideration. They held hearings, they compromised, they agonized and they finally found common ground with all the interested parties.
They passed the bill, they sent the bill to the duly elected Governor of Texas and Gov. Perry signed the bill into law.
The Texas Cottage Food Law took effect September 1st, 2011.

Now, after the process and well after the fact, the Health dept. has taken it upon itself to rewrite the law.

http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/
DSHS bureaucrats have extended their middle finger to the Legislature and moved ahead with their labyrinth of proposed labeling rules for cottage food operators, even after members of the Texas House Committee on Public Health told DSHS officials to take these rules back to the table and re-work them.
….
In a nutshell, DSHS has taken these simple labels (which were simply supposed to inform the consumer who they bought their food from, where the food was made, and that the food was made in a home kitchen), and turned them into a bureaucratic string of red tape a foot long. NONE of the labeling rules proposed by DSHS apply to licensed bakeries, food establishments, coffee shops, or doughnut shops.

There will be a hearing in Austin on February 2nd, 2011 to consider the unbelievable and over reaching changes the Health dept. wishes to impose on the home bakers, the small business entrepreneurs and the elected legislature and governor of the state of Texas.

The Food Establishments Group is holding a public hearing for the proposed rules regarding Cottage Food Production Operations on February 2, 2012. The public hearing will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Room K-100 on the DSHS main campus. This is an opportunity for the public to make comments on the rules prior to final adoption.
DSHS Central Campus
1100 West 49th Street
Lecture Hall K-100
Austin, Texas 78756

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© ignoranceorapathy.com 1/24/2012

Tonight January 24, 2012, the President will deliver his State or the Union address to congress and the American people. This president took office with much the same problems in our economy and in the world as President Reagan did. There is one key difference, Reagan did the right things to fix them, this president has followed the liberal playbook written by FDR and Johnson, the very same playbook the worsened the great depression and created the welfare state as we know it. The playbook that took away American freedom and prosperity and replaced it with an over taxing, over spending cradle to grave nanny state administered by the tyrannical federal government.

As Reagan points out in his 1984 state of the union address “a government program is the closest thing you will see to eternal life on this earth”, this president and the congress have created more “eternal life” than any in history. And the result, we are now worse off than we were 4 years ago. We have lost more and more freedom and replaced it with more and more government.

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© ignoranceorapathy.com 12/24/2011

This story, found on MSN, one among many, just serves to illustrate how far the Obama administration and the puppet Eric Holder Justice dept. will go to prop up the reelection hopes of Obama.
It also casts a brilliant light on exactly what this administration is willing to do and how much of the Constitution it is willing to shred in order to protect itself from the will of the voters.

First off lets be clear, there is no RIGHT to vote. Voting is not a right it is a privilege.
States rights as to how voting is to be done and who is eligible to vote is protected in the Constitution.
Firstly according the the text of the U.S. Constitution:

Article I Section I establishes the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

Article I Section III establishes the U.S. Senate.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State,
(then the 17th amendment abidges the means from appointment by the legislature to chosen by popular vote.)
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

Article II section I establishes the office of the President and Vice President.

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress:

Not one statement up to now is made about the right of voting.
Nowhere is the method of selection to be governed by the Federal government. When the selection process is mentioned it is always marked as “chosen by the people of the several states” except in reference to the executive branch where it is enumerated as “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct,”

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Link: http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/District_Attorney_Not_Happy_About_Suspected_Murder_Bonding_Out_135902438.html

© ignoranceorapathy.com 12/16/2011
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/District_Attorney_Not_Happy_About_Suspected_Murder_Bonding_Out_135902438.html

We all know true journalism died long, long ago. It was dead shortly after the end of WWII. This little piece of journalistic malpractice just made me shake my head.

KBTX channel 3 is the local CBS affiliate, last night (Dec. 19th, 2011) they ran a story, oh and what a story it was.
Headline: District Attorney Not Happy About Suspected Murder Bonding Out.

The headline and the aired story make you almost believe that a convicted murderer has been released from custody without spending a day in jail.

We will get to the DA in a moment but for now lets focus on the miscarriage of journalism.
The story they ran goes:

The Walker County District Attorney says he doesn't like the idea that a man charged with shooting a man to death was able to post bond and get out of jail, but says it was one of the highest bonds ever set for a suspect…

The story continues:

…was arrested for murder and aggravated assault, but a couple of days later he posted bond. The Garcia family is upset that Splawn was released from jail after posting his $130,000 bond.

The story goes on to say:

The family presented a petition with over 200 names--- all who believe that Splawn's release from jail is unfair.
….
The district attorney says he will present the petition in court. Garcia says there are several supporters still wanting to sign it.

And I love this part:

The family tells us their fuel for continuing to fight for justice…

Justice? This story actually ran on the evening news, broadcast to the public.
Yes, I know, your heart goes out to the family, I do understand that, but, you cannot run a story like this. This story violates every principle of journalistic integrity. This is not news it is at best propaganda and at the very worst, jury and witness tampering. This story, run as it was, with no foundation in the law will only serve to inflame the public and the prospective jury pool.

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