This is an excellent article on the subjects of organic and kosher food, labeling, and government intervention.
Despite their overly political ways, I think Whole Foods Market has the best organic (and conventional) produce. It is amazing that they are able to provide such aesthetically-pleasing, tasty vegetables and fruits for the same price as mega-grocer HEB. Yum!
9:24 AM
Bureaucrats get EBay fever
State sells penknives confiscated at airports at online auction
In my unbelievable naivete, I merely thought that airport screeners "confiscated" stuff for their own personal collections, but these thieves are stealing stuff for the benefit of even more evil thieves. Yes, the State of California has reached new lows in tackiness.
"The Transportation Security Administration, which employs most airport screeners, allows airports to decide how to get rid of the mountains of items collected, said spokesman Nico Melendez.
They are too numerous to return to their owners, Deignan said.
......
In cash-strapped, tech-savvy California, someone in the state's surplus property program thought up the idea of selling the things on EBay, Deignan said. "
If CA is that tech-savvy, they could keep track of who they steal from, then make arrangements to return people's property. Why has no one thought to have shipping envelopes for sale at checkpoints, so people could pay to have their stuff delivered to their homes if they choose? Most people would rather give up their nail-clippers to the inept assclowns at the gate, but with other things, people would be glad to have the opportunity to arrange to keep their belongings without fear of being arrested. Two examples:
"But when some airline passengers who had unwittingly donated items to the cause were informed of the program, they weren't too pleased.
"As far as the concept is concerned, I think it's ridiculous," said Bernard Wormgoor, who was flying out of Oakland with his wife when she was asked to relinquish a pair of nail scissors that her mother had given her some 40 years before.
"They don't own it. They took it away -- that doesn't mean you relinquish ownership," he said. "I don't want to use the word 'theft,' but it starts smelling like it."
Nicola Place of Danville agreed.
Flying out of Oakland on a business trip, she lost a Swiss Army knife her dad had given her more than 20 years ago. "It broke my heart," she said. "It had been everywhere with me."
Thinking about it ending up on EBay, she said, "It makes me sad. . . . It irks me that they can take it away and make money off us. It's bad enough they take it away."
Don't get the idea for a minute that I'm anti-ebay. If things must be confiscated, and the passenger willingly gives them up, then I think selling the items on ebay is far better than recycling or otherwise disposing of them. However, there is so much inconsistency that there's really no way to know what's allowed on planes and what isn't, so one can hardly blame the passengers for bringing inappropriate items. And it's hardly as simple as just telling a screener "alright, I'll take this to my car/friend/nearest mailbox, then I'll be right back to be screened again." Such a move would undoubtedly result in arrest, as well as confiscation of the desired item, in addition to missing the flight and quite possibly being placed on a "special" list. The simple truth is the airport screeners have been granted a license to steal and they are taking full advantage of it. I can't help but notice that their uniforms have pockets, so these barely trained uneducated flunkies are nicely poised to take advantage of the situation. The pockets were chosen for their subtlety. Shopping carts would have been too obvious.
Flying during the holiday season can be particularly treacherous, as the screeners will be shaking you down not only for things they wish to steal, but for Christmas gifts for their friends and family. A traveling passenger is an airport screener's personal general store. If you don't believe me, ask Ann Coulter:
Surprise, surprise. The group that is consistently against everything that is good and that epitomizes the "Vision of the Anointed is attacking yet again. I don't know what I would do if Public Citizen wasn't around to save me from myself.
These people are among the shrillest and nuttiest anywhere. Nothing can stop these Naderite pinheads; certainly not truth, logic, or human decency. I have learned from this delightful collection of imbeciles that I am both socially and environmentally hostile, and that I am putting myself in harm's way to boot.
Public Citizen is undoubtedly setting the stage for the forced return of the Volga, or perhaps even the esteemed Yugo and the banning of all lesser vehicles.
