"Actively Engaged" Versus "Primary Activity"

Who has it worse--IRS or FSA employees?

Kevin Drum blogs about the problems IRS employees have in determining what "primary activity" means in regards to organizations who try to claim § 501(c)(4) status.  I sympathize, but I believe the controversy and unclarity over what is "actively engaged in farming" for payment limitation purposes trumps the IRS problem.  Come back to me in 28 years and we'll see whether IRS is still grappling with unclear rules.

(BTW, I've not blogged on the new farm bill versions, but it does seem that the Senate version revives last year's clarifications of what counts as actively engaged.  Now if I could only remember what they are, I could save some research.)

Bryce Harper and Pete Reiser

Yes, I'm too young (not a set of words I often write) to remember Pete Reiser in person, but old enough to remember his legend 
a very talented player who kept running into fences and incurring injuries which ruined a promising career.  See this report on Bryce Harper's latest injury. Did I mention the Nats were playing Reiser's old team?

Uniforms, Bands, and Prison

The Post ran an article last week on the proliferation of military camouflage uniforms--our military now has 11 different patterns.  The writer says

"The duplication problem grows out of three qualities that are deeply rooted in Washington. Good intentions. Little patience. And a lust for new turf.
When a bureaucrat or lawmaker sees someone else doing a job poorly, those qualities stir an itch to take over the job."

 Meanwhile, Walter Pincus, who has written for the Post for years, has a vendetta against military bands.  He delights in counting the number of bands the US supports, summing the dollars spent, and comparing it against other public expenditures.

Finally, there was a piece on why a Jewish prisoner ate with the Aryan Brotherhood.

Seems to me there's a common thread here: people seek community, and in part they do so by opposition to others.  So the Marines insert their logo in very fine print on their uniforms, just to make sure no other service will use them.  So each service and command needs its own military band to establish its identity.  After all, the world would come to an end if the Air Force band played "Anchors Aweigh".  And in prison, everyone has to affiliate with one or the other gang, just for safety.

"Lust for new turf"?   Yes.  But even more important is preserving one's old turf.

Have I Recently Said Change Is Bad?

This week facing an "upgrade" from Windows 7 to 8 because of a need to replace my main PC (don't ask why, but a hint--if you start messing around with the innards of  a computer, refresh your memory of the owner's manual before you start)  This for someone who used to be an early adopter, but now is far behind the tech curve, not even a smartphone to my name. Also facing the impending loss of Google Reader. 

John Dvorak's Rule

Used to be, according to Dvorak who was a columnist for a PC mag (either PC or Byte), the PC you wanted cost $3,000.  That rule is long gone.

Astronauts Are Human Too

The guts of Joel Achenbach's latest post:

"And there was an astonishing pair of images, presented by a fellow from Boeing, Greg Gentry, who has duties involving the International Space Station (I didn’t quite catch his precise role). He showed the U.S. laboratory module at launch: A perfectly clean chamber, with all the equipment carefully stowed in cabinets — not a loose item to be seen. Then he showed that same module as it is actually used at the International Space Station: Extremely cluttered, with wires everywhere, gear all over the place. Frankly, it looks like a mess (though I’m sure the astronauts know exactly where everything is and why they’ve got it set up that way).
“We really didn’t anticipate the needs for stowage very well,” Gentry said.

The ancient lament: Not enough closet space!"

Wisdom from a Man

Via Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution, here's words of wisdom from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Liberrals in a Bind on Organic Checkoff?

Liberals, being mostly urban types, tend in my observation to have little sympathy for the various agricultural promotion programs.  And libertarians definitely think they're an encroachment on the freedom of the individual producer. 

So this line from todays Farm Policy'  may set up an interesting conflict:

"Mr. Lies also noted that, “Schrader said he also is working on an amendment with Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., to establish a national checkoff program for organic producers.”

Why?  Because I think liberals are also more favorable to the organic movement.  Do they support a checkoff to promote organics or do they resist to promote freedom?

Support Beef, Vote Obama?

Who knew the President was a steak man?  I thought he was one of those effete liberal crunchies?  Guess that impression was wrong.

I Think It's a Bubble

According to Illinois extension, farmland prices have gone from $3000 to $7000 per acre since 2000.