I like The Cotton Wife Blog. She has good pictures of attractive redheads, often in a rural, farm setting.
But the post I linked to raises the old nurture/nature question on the differences between boys and girls. Which came first, her son's behavior or her evident enjoyment of the differences?
Monday, July 19, 2010
Returning Roads to Gravel
Political Animal comments on an apparent trend of cash-strapped states returning asphalt roads back to gravel. The theme is that this is an example of failure to spend money on necessary infrastructure, which all us good liberals support.
It's possible there's a knee-jerk reaction here. Many in the administration and in environmental community generally have bemoaned the drop in population in rural areas, particularly when it reflects the growing size of farms, "industrial agriculture". The fact is, as population thins out, there's less need for roads which can support high volumes of traffic, because there simply isn't the traffic. Roads may be used most by the farm operator who needs to move her equipment from one section to another; sections which used to support multiple families but which no longer have anyone living on them.
It's possible there's a knee-jerk reaction here. Many in the administration and in environmental community generally have bemoaned the drop in population in rural areas, particularly when it reflects the growing size of farms, "industrial agriculture". The fact is, as population thins out, there's less need for roads which can support high volumes of traffic, because there simply isn't the traffic. Roads may be used most by the farm operator who needs to move her equipment from one section to another; sections which used to support multiple families but which no longer have anyone living on them.
Let's Refudiate Twitter?
Sarah Palin illustrates one of the pitfalls of Web 2.0--you tweet a new word, like "refudiate" and you get mocked.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Best News Today
Is contained in this NYTimes article. which describes how Greg Mortenson and the US military are getting together. (Actually, the print version of the headline specifically mentions Mortenson and "Three Cups of Tea", which makes Gene Weingarten's column in the Post more timely. Gene mourns the decline of headline writers, because headlines on the Web are intended to play into search engines, not for information or humor. Be sure to see his mention of Lady Gaga.)
I read Mortenson's book back when it was just getting a little word of mouth. Briefly, chance leads him into the mountains of Pakistan/Afghanistan and into building schools for girls, schools which are supported by the village elders and therefore protected against outside terrorists The book was well-written and moving. It gradually found an audience, getting onto the Times best seller list, finally selling 4 million copies, including to the wives of Gen. Petraeus and Adm. Mullen, which has led to some rapprochement between Mortenson and the military, a rapprochement described in the article.
So far his site says 70+ schools, the Times article 130+ schools have been built. Mortenson thinks educating females is the ultimate solution to the problem of terrorism in that part of the world. Makes sense to me.
I read Mortenson's book back when it was just getting a little word of mouth. Briefly, chance leads him into the mountains of Pakistan/Afghanistan and into building schools for girls, schools which are supported by the village elders and therefore protected against outside terrorists The book was well-written and moving. It gradually found an audience, getting onto the Times best seller list, finally selling 4 million copies, including to the wives of Gen. Petraeus and Adm. Mullen, which has led to some rapprochement between Mortenson and the military, a rapprochement described in the article.
So far his site says 70+ schools, the Times article 130+ schools have been built. Mortenson thinks educating females is the ultimate solution to the problem of terrorism in that part of the world. Makes sense to me.
What Scares a Nuclear Submariner?
I don't think of submariners and Navy Seals in the same way, but I do consider submariners to be tough-minded. John Phipps is a ex-sub man and he's scared ****less by herbicide-resistant weeds.
I'd score that as one point for the organic types.
I'd score that as one point for the organic types.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Organic Versus Locavore
EWG has a post on organic gains from which I take this quote:
Organic salad greens have fared even more impressively. According to Nielsen surveys, fresh cut salad greens increased their market share from 8.3 percent in 2006 to 15 percent so far this year. Pre-packaged specialty salads have grabbed a whopping 46 percent of that market sector, compared to 29 percent in 2006.I observe the good news for organic isn't good news for locavores, as I'm assuming the pre-packaged greens are shipped. Once again the consumers' desires are conflicting; healthy--yes; convenience--yes.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Keepseagle and Pigford
Here's a piece on the Keepseagle class action suit, which follows in the footsteps of Pigford. Unwittingly, the author may reveal some of the Catch-22 qualities of the FSA loan program. The farmer given the most attention in the piece cites the discrimination he encountered. He's described as saying: "After the regional office denied him a loan at 4 percent interest, Porter said he received an 8 percent interest loan through a private bank. He purchased the acres he lives on now, but he said the high interest has put a strain on his finances."
Now FSA's lords in Congress have laid down commandments to FSA bureaucrats, and to the Farmer's Home Administration bureaucrats before 1994, which go something like this:
Or maybe the local banker runs out of money to loan. In that case FSA bureaucrat could, in theory, step in. The only problem is the running out of money is likely to occur late in the lending season, so the FSA bureaucrat's loan is likely to be late.
Now suppose both FSA and the bank have money to loan, and neither is prejudiced. So Jane Doe goes to the bank and gets an offer of a loan at 8 percent. She goes to FSA but since she has a loan offer from the local bank, FSA turns her down. Or, as in Porter's case, FSA turns him down, thinking it's likely the local banker will approve the loan. That could be the case, or it may be discriminatory intent. It certainly feels like discrimination to the loan applicants.
Now FSA's lords in Congress have laid down commandments to FSA bureaucrats, and to the Farmer's Home Administration bureaucrats before 1994, which go something like this:
- thou shall lend to the new farmers, to the historically disadvantaged, and to the needy
- thou shall never compete with private enterprise, so thou shalt not lend to someone who can receive a loan from local banks
- thou shall not lose money on bad loans
- honor the maxim, late money is worse than no money.
Or maybe the local banker runs out of money to loan. In that case FSA bureaucrat could, in theory, step in. The only problem is the running out of money is likely to occur late in the lending season, so the FSA bureaucrat's loan is likely to be late.
Now suppose both FSA and the bank have money to loan, and neither is prejudiced. So Jane Doe goes to the bank and gets an offer of a loan at 8 percent. She goes to FSA but since she has a loan offer from the local bank, FSA turns her down. Or, as in Porter's case, FSA turns him down, thinking it's likely the local banker will approve the loan. That could be the case, or it may be discriminatory intent. It certainly feels like discrimination to the loan applicants.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
USDA Cafeterias and Memory Lane
The Post's Jane Black visited various government cafeterias and rated them. She rated the USDA cafeteria a "D". I'm not sure how much it's changed in the last 10-15 years, since I last got the salad bar (with blue cheese dressing) every day.
When I started work at USDA I was in the Auditor's building, a red brick building from 1867 or so across 14th street from the South building and Administration buildings. Back then there was a small cafeteria on the first floor of the Auditor's building, and the South building had at least 2, maybe 4, cafeterias. In the middle 70's they built a new cafeteria by taking over one of the courtyards between wings 2 and 3, big enough to serve the complex. Once it was complete, they closed the old cafeterias, redid the space and moved my Administrative Services Division to the former site of the 6th floor cafeteria.
The old cafeterias were old-style: one line with limited choices for appetizer/salad, entrees, which were served by attendants, desserts, beverages, and payment at the end. The new cafeteria had more choices and was set up on the scramble system, with different stations for different things. Took a little getting used to.
[Added] I think this is just a small example of the expansion of choice, particularly choice in food, over the last 50 years. We expect lots of choices everywhere, we let and want our children to choose. That's fine, but it also is a factor in obesity.
When I started work at USDA I was in the Auditor's building, a red brick building from 1867 or so across 14th street from the South building and Administration buildings. Back then there was a small cafeteria on the first floor of the Auditor's building, and the South building had at least 2, maybe 4, cafeterias. In the middle 70's they built a new cafeteria by taking over one of the courtyards between wings 2 and 3, big enough to serve the complex. Once it was complete, they closed the old cafeterias, redid the space and moved my Administrative Services Division to the former site of the 6th floor cafeteria.
The old cafeterias were old-style: one line with limited choices for appetizer/salad, entrees, which were served by attendants, desserts, beverages, and payment at the end. The new cafeteria had more choices and was set up on the scramble system, with different stations for different things. Took a little getting used to.
[Added] I think this is just a small example of the expansion of choice, particularly choice in food, over the last 50 years. We expect lots of choices everywhere, we let and want our children to choose. That's fine, but it also is a factor in obesity.
CRS Graphic
CRS
I mentioned the CRS report on farm programs in this post. This graphic is snipped from the report because it clearly shows the reduction in farm program payments and the increase in crop insurance. Click on it to enlarge.
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