This multi-zillion dollar piggy bank funds pension plans for federal prosecutors and judges, as well as a host of other government activities. These days, with so many pension funds falling by the wayside, with Social Security drowning in a sea of retiring Baby Boomers, everybody is anxious over the very idea of pensions and retirement and members of the Federal Bar are no exception.
However, whether the judges involved in handling these cases are aware of their indirect benefit from the disposition of these cases is up to debate, but the whole process is leaving a nasty taste in the mouths of farmers around the nation. Those who point fingers at the allegedly incestuous relationship between foreclosure profits, farm loan employees, the federal judiciary and US Attorneys, don't believe they can obtain justice from the system as it is currently structured. In their minds, why would a judge or federal prosecutor handle a case in a way that would put the pension gravy train in jeopardy?
Some claim they can't get a day in court to defend their property rights. Others say when ever they are in court, the atmosphere is toxic, and they are treated like the scum of the earth. Some of the most "far out" conspiracy theorists believe there is an active plan to drive them crazy or set them up for heart attacks.
One farmer with a heart condition is openly accusing the federal Justice Department of being so abusive in court so as to drive him into having a heart attack. Another's health is so unstable that as of this date (March, 2007), he is not expected to live another six months. The cumulative affect of years of legal battles, attacks on their income and social stigma associated with financial failure has created a population of thousands of angry farmers who believe they are under siege. It has also created a paranoid corps of federal law enforcement personnel who often over-react to farm foreclosure situations, and create more animosity within the ranks of farmers nationwide.
This is has become an extremely ugly situation in many parts of the nation, with accusations of, among other things, abuse of power, illegal searches, body cavity searches of female farmers during evictions and failure to follow both federal law and administrative process.
Many of these farm families have been battling for so long that their world view is tainted by paranoia, crippled by stress and haunted by such a pervasive web of paranoia that their very mental health is at risk. Their lives revolve around their farms, their families, the small cadre of similarly situated family farmers, and their hopes of obtaining justice "some day".
For them, the current political hoopla in the nation's capital over the firing of US Attorneys/AKA federal prosecutors is like trying to put a bridle on the tail of a horse–you're dealing with the wrong end of the animal. They say the real issues are: illegal foreclosure, power abuse and criminal conflict of interest.
Human rights activists and farmers say Congress is falling down on the job. They cite USC 7, ch 55, section 2266, which says: "Congress reaffirms the historical policy of the United States to foster and encourage the family farm system of agriculture in this country. Congress believes that the maintenance of the family farm system of agriculture is essential to the social well-being of the Nation and the competitive production of adequate supplies of food and fiber."
For many of the nation's farmers, especially those who have been on the business end of a federal criminal or civil complaint, the issue is when will Lady Justice take her blinders off and start to kick some behind. Or, better yet, when will Congress put its money where its mouth is?
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