Groaning

I'm to a point right now in my life where I am feeling overwhelmed with the government intrusion that is going on around me.

A couple weeks ago this happened near here:
"Manna Storehouse, a food co-op in La Grange, providing grass fed beef, lamb, pastured poultry and other Weston A. Price foods was raided yesterday by SWAT, ODA officials, and local authorities.

The family that runs the co-op tells me they were herded into the living room for 8 hours while the home and business was torn apart. They were not given reason, saying they were under investigation. All of their computers and phones, and customer information were taken, as well as $10,000 worth of beef. A "warrant" which didn't appear to be valid, showed the reason for investigation, was "beef".

If you are a customer, please know they only have cell phones and a few numbers that may be in those phones they can call. They have no records as they were all taken, so they can't be in contact.

They won't know anything until they go to court, and at this point are considering going to the media.

Interestingly, I believe they said a month or so ago, an undercover ODA official came to their little store and claimed to have a sick father wanting to join the co-op. Both the owner and her daughter-in-law had a horrible feeling about the man, and decided not to allow him into the co-op and notified him by certified mail. He came back to the co-op demanding to be part of it. They refused and gave him names of other businesses and health food stores closer to his home. Not coincidentally, this man was there yesterday as part of the raid."

The above came from a poster on the OhioWAPF (Westen A. Price Foundation) yahoo group. The following is a portion of the latest post on this:

"If you have been following this story, here is what you may not know: Search warrant was expired, eggs were sold to a health department employee posing as a plain citizen to obtain evidence, father of the family is serving in the military in Iraq, home school with children and toddlers was in progress in their home. According to the family, guns were pointed at the children held for several hours as the house was ransacked and coop and personal food was taken with computers and phone from their private home. 12 armed deputies were there along with agents from ODA and local health department. 61 boxes of grass-fed beef were taken that was butchered, wrapped and labeled by a licensed and USDA-inspected butcher shop. There was violence in the home and according to the sheriff's report, a deputy was injured by falling such that medical care was needed. According to the expired search warrant, deputies were to seize money and bank accounts. The complaint was the Manna Storehouse did not have a retail food license which is not required. This is the fifth raid like this in Ohio in the past three years. A law firm has been retained."

Then I recently learned that the Consumer Product Safety Commission managed to get the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act passed which basically requires all children's toys and clothing to be third-party tested for lead and phthalates. That may sound good, but it effects crafters, families who want to give their hand-me-downs to someone, people who rely on making things for their livelihood, etc. See these links for more information.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/12/10/consumer-safety-rule.html

http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/handmade-childrens-items-unintended-consequences-consumer-pr-3056/

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/

These are just two (of who knows how many) examples of what I call being in bondage to the state. I feel all I can do is groan and that the Holy Spirit will intercede on my behalf to the Father.