...And here is merely one case in point: the U.S. Forest Service,
which I have mostly admired, has allowed corporate giant Nestle
to violate laws regarding public lands (i.e., putatively owned by
the people) for TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS. Now Nestle
wants a five year extension. What IS this??
Nestle, according to a USA Today article from October 2015,
is the world's largest food and beverage concern--I'm not
certain if this means by volume of sales or net profit. Nestle's
American division taps into Arrowhead Springs in the San
Bernardino Mountains (CA). Former foresters and several
environmental organizations have sued, protesting this long-
standing practice, as no rigorous scientific studies seem to
have been done to gauge any environmental degradation.
Considering California's lengthy drought, how does this pass
the smell test? The U.S. Forest Service in California issues
permits which allows Nestle to take great amounts of water,
but federal law has been broken by not requiring Nestle to
officially renew its permits; this shocking laxity has continued
for the above-mentioned 28 years. (!)
Dear readers, this outrage, others as well, greet me daily
in my Yahoo inbox. How can we be "the city on a hill",
"exceptional", "the best nation on Earth", etc., ad nauseam,
when laws are so often broken by government authorities as
I'm routinely aware of? --Really?? Isn't the United States just
another nation wallowing in an all-too predictable chauvinism?
I love this country because I was born here, a compelling
indication of loyalty as President James Madison said in
Marbury vs. Madison. Everyone I love is here--but I am not
blinded by all-too human flaws in its actions nevertheless.
The disgusting, disquieting tragedy is that much of what's wrong
here at home is not necessity or inevitability. We could become
a mature society, defying at last, the analysis performed by
Alexis de' Tocqueville in his world-famous Democracy in America
(~1835), wherein he describes us as being shallow, too restless,
hungering after novelty. --The prescription for this malady?
"Drink deep or taste not the pierian spring" (--fount of knowledge)
by Alexander Pope, poet from the UK.
[P.S.: For more details, anyone can check Case 5:15-cv-02098
Document 1, filed 10/13/2015. Kudos to the USA Today
for providing the full 15 page legal and source document
in its online version.]
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Oh YES! A company Amber we know or has a fame for a powdered chocolate drink and a crunchy candy bar is DEEPER than a deep well.They I believe are involved with a mojor bottled water company, That aspect of their company is interesting, deep AND a little frightening to me. When I se you remind me of this I will go into it further. I would rather not do so here Kind of a legal thing I understand. Thank you Amber for exposing the truth In these DUMB US DOWN, SHH keep quiet times.Happy spring.
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