Those damn people who Governor Branstad thinks don’t like meat need to be investigated.

Branstad.beef_-252x300.jpgI was reading Mike Glover’s piece: “Iowa Governor seeks Congressional investigation of ‘pink slime,’” and the word “tool” came to mind.

Defined as “a person used as an instrument by another person.” Yes, that would be Republican Governor Branstad (a.k.a., “I will say anything for money and eat hamburgers at your Beck and Call”).

Apparently, Governor Branstad has called for a Congressional investigation (that would be the same Congress that has refused to investigate the 2011 Cantaloupe Outbreak that sickened nearly 150 and killed over 35) into how what he called “a smear campaign” against the meat product commonly called “pink slime” got started.

And, Governor Branstad’s desire for a public flogging of First Amendment rights I am sure has nothing to do with the fact that Beef Products Incorporated’s (BPI’s) top executives and workers have given $820,750 to congressional and presidential candidates over the past decade, with all but $28,400 going to Republicans (who are those Democrats?). And, Governor Branstad, a Republican, received $150,000 over the past two years from people tied to BPI.

Governor Branstad, you are not only a tool, but you are pathetic as well. Don’t you have any pride?

According to Mike Glover, the phrase “pink slime,” coined by a federal microbiologist, Gerald Zirnstein, has appeared in the media at least since a critical 2009 New York Times report by Pulitzer Prize winner, Michael Moss. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has railed against it, and it made headlines after McDonald’s and other major chains discontinued their use last year. But a recent piece by The Daily’s, David Knowles, on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s purchase of meat that included “pink slime” for school lunches touched a nerve with Houston mom, Bettina Siegel, whose blog “The Lunch Tray” focuses on kids’ food. She started an online petition asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to halt use of “pink slime” in school food.  ABC News,’ Jim Avila, brought the issue to a wider audiance, and then USDA announced that starting in the fall it would give schools the option of choosing ground beef that doesn’t contain it.

So, now Governor Branstad wants to call before Congress: Gerald Zirnstein, Michael Moss, Jamie Oliver, David Knowles, Betina Siegel and Jim Avila and step on their First Amendment rights?

Say, Governor Branstad, guess who will be sitting right beside them? And, yes, I can match dollar for dollar BPI’s war chest. So, to borrow from a President you might like: “bring it on.”

I think it would be fun to be at that hearing. Perhaps, someone might ask you some tough questions about what else you might do for money?  I think Rush Limbaugh might have a word for that.

And, if you really want to vomit, watch this BPI Press Conference.