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As a physician, I'd like to say a few words about this Mad Cow Disease incident. It is absurd that Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman can, with a straight face, go on national TV and tell the American people that the food supply is safe and that she plans to serve beef for her Christmas dinner. If this doesn't sound like a lying beaurocrat I don't know what does. First of all, it's obvious that since this cow had MCD, there is no way the government, including this lying beaurocrat Ann Veneman, can be sure that other infected cows have not entered the food supply. Secondly and incredibly, we now learn that even when they knew this cow was diseased in some way, it's meat was allowed to enter the food supply! Apparently a law that would have prevented the use of such diseased animals was blocked by the House! How many Americans were aware that this practice is permitted by our government! I want to know which congressmen voted against the bill to ban such use of diseased cattle. They should be revealed publicly and be made to account for their failure to protect the public welfare. A congressional investigation is warranted.
A few points about MCD as I understand them:
1. The cause is not actually a living organism but rather a molecule called a "prion"
2. Cooking the meat will NOT destroy the prion, so cooking does not prevent MCD
3. The human form of MCD is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
4. The disease is NOT curable and as far as I am aware always leads to dementia and death
5. The disease is contracted by eating animal tissue contaminated by the animal's infected nerve tissue (remember the spinal cord near the vertebra included in some cuts of beef)
6. The prion makes it's way to the brain of the unsuspecting victim and somehow replicates there and induces the formation of more prions from proteins in the victim's brain
7. The victim's brain becomes riddled with these abnormal proteins and microscopic holes which cause the poor soul to literally lose his mind and all meaningful higher function until he finally dies a horrible and demented death.
8. The disease only becomes apparent years after consuming infected tissue so that is would be nearly impossible to trace a specific victim to a specific lot of meat product.
With all this well known to our government (are you hearing this Mr. Bush, Sentators, Congressmen, and Ms. Veneman) how could they allow this infected cow's carcass to be used for human consumption!!!? What kind of diabolical influence does the beef industry have over the elected representatives of the American people that would permit their greed to outweigh the safety of the goddamn food supply?
People, this is just another example of how we no longer have a representative republic. The real power is in the hands of the corporations and other powerful interest groups who have purchased your representatives and their votes. remember this the next time your child puts a hamburger in his mouth. And remember it in the voting booth, if that still has any meaning at all. I fear all is lost. We have become the servants and our representatives have become our masters. Remember what Jefferson said about the right of the People to abolish government when that government has become tyrannical and corrupted against the People.
