Flukes, fleas, ticks and tapeworms – does anyone hold them in high regard? What about weevils and webworms, moths and mosquitoes?
With the possible exception of entomologists and other scientific sorts, these parasitic pests appeal to no one.
No one wants to find a fluke on his fish, or faithful Fido afflicted with fleas, ticks and tapeworms. No one wants to have the harvest harmed by weevils and webworms, a special suit or sweater munched by moths, or become a skeeter feeder.
Texans do whatever can be done to get rid of pests or control them.
Can you imagine anyone consciously cultivating these parasites?
Even Californians wouldn’t do that. Or would they?
Some plaintiffs attorneys are parasitical, preying on successful businesses and industries and trying to suck the wealth out of them – the businesses and industries that supply the rest of us with useful products and services, offer well-paying jobs and provide tax revenue for our local, state and federal governments.
You would think that our courts and our elected representatives would protect our producers from these pests. In Texas, they do, but not in California.
Ten jurisdictions in California -- including Los Angeles and Santa Clara Counties and the cities of San Diego and San Francisco – are pursuing a public nuisance suit against a slew of paint manufacturers in an effort to make them finance a billion-dollar, lead-paint abatement program.
The defendants argue, persuasively, that no public health threat exists and that lead paint is not the primary source for what little lead exposure there is in California. Blood lead levels there are close to zero. Gasoline is just one of many things more likely than lead paint to raise blood lead levels.
Suits such as these are what you get when public officials stop protecting us from parasites and become parasites – and another reason why California companies are heading our way.