Bullshit ruling blocks slaughterhouse law

This is what America's stuck with for another 30 years because of Katherine Harris's corruption.

Right-wing judicial activism has reared its misshapen noggin again, this time regarding California slaughterhouses.

California has a very sensible law that says you can't sell meat that comes from downer animals. The law also requires these ill animals to be humanely put down. This statute is designed to promote humane treatment of animals and to safeguard the public from contaminated food.

Now, however, the National Meat Association and the American Meat Institute have filed a greed-driven lawsuit to have the law tossed out. And U.S. District Judge Lawrence O'Neill complied by blocking the law, saying that federal law trumps it.

Except it doesn't.

I can't find anything in federal law that says a state can't have such regulations. In fact, the law specifically allows states to have such rules. Even if federal law does say a state can't have rules like this, this is still an issue on which the states have a constitutional power to enact laws that are stronger than federal laws.

But not in the matchbook law world of BushAmerica. Who appointed O'Neill? I'll give you 3 guesses. He was appointed by scuzz-a-lug Bush, that's who.

The right-wing Ninth Circus had issued a similar ruling in a different case. It too is bogus, for the same reasons as this court diktat.

What's the point in even dividing the country into states if courts can just impose their whims to nullify state laws?

You'd think this problem could be remedied if the federal government passes a law saying states have the power to enact rules on slaughterhouses. But the law already says this, and the courts have just ignored it. Congress might have to pass its own law to do what the California law did, but on a national level. But who says courts won't gut that too?

Right now, California is going to have to pass a bill to assert state sovereignty, in order to defend its rules on slaughterhouses. Otherwise it's going to be stuck with Bush bunk gas for the next 30 years.

(Source: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/20/14656/2380/881/699826)