We borrow it from our Children

From the BBC, a politician that ours could well advised to learn from.

"It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay. Meet the president - who lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.

Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds. Only two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside.

This is the residence of the president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, whose lifestyle clearly differs sharply from that of most other world leaders.

President Mujica has shunned the luxurious house that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and opted to stay at his wife's farmhouse, off a dirt road outside the capital, Montevideo.

The president and his wife work the land themselves, growing flowers.

Ten days ago, the lower house of Uruguay's parliament passed a law legalizing marijuana, reflecting a growing sentiment in Latin America that the current prohibition on drugs should change. 

"But what are we thinking? Do we want the model of development and consumption of the rich countries? I ask you now: what would happen to this planet if Indians would have the same proportion of cars per household than Germans? How much oxygen would we have left?

"Does this planet have enough resources so seven or eight billion can have the same level of consumption and waste that today is seen in rich societies? It is this level of hyper-consumption that is harming our planet."

Mujica accuses most world leaders of having a "blind obsession to achieve growth with consumption, as if the contrary would mean the end of the world"."

----------------------------------------

Whether or not climate change is caused by man, or is just a normal cycle is irrelevant. Either way, I do believe that we contribute to it. The real problem is man's overpopulation, which feeds the utter disrespect by the majority, to our environment and the world's ecology in general. The days of safaris and the unchecked hunting of Africa's game has depleted and brought them close to extinction. Those that are left are being slaughtered for food and folk medicine by the hungry and greedy respectively. The dried hair from rhino horns bringing $1,400/oz in Viet Nam.

The rain forests are being cut down. The old growth forests here in Oregon with the exception of a few protected acres have been cut and re-planted as tree farms. These forests are not the same , if and when they are replanted. Countless thousands of species do not survive in the interim and what results is a forest that is a ghost of it's former self.

The cities are expanding and all those roofs and pavements collect toxic water. This water unfiltered by the earth, then runs unchecked through the storm drains daily, by the billions of gallons and drains directly into and pollutes the oceans.

Wherever man has reached a certain critical population, he has tended to do so at great cost to the earth's, and his children's future. The days of being fruitful and multiplying are past. The earth has only so much room, and while maybe not as fragile as any one particular species that may go extinct on any given day because of man, all of the earth's biota is interconnected and interdependent.

The twenty acres I once lived on far (I thought) from the city, in Florida, are now surrounded by developments and the small two lane country road has become a six lane highway.

The problem cannot be solved simply by carbon credits, electric cars wind generators and such. The problem is that there are too many of us. I do not know what the solution is. But, if we haven't reached a critical mass yet, we soon will, and I do believe that our growth rate is unsustainable.

OK. Rant over. Now I can go back to putting the second coat of paint on my farmhouse. Actually, the second it has had in it's entire life of at least 100 years.

We do not inherit the world from our Ancestors----We borrow it from our Children. (Kenyan Proverb)

A USDA-mandated rabbit disaster plan

Watch him pull a USDA-mandated rabbit disaster plan out of his hat

Micro management by our government, at work for the good of us all!

                    Marty the Magician

"The story behind it illustrates the reality of how American laws get made. First Congress passes a bill, laying out the broad strokes. Then bureaucrats write regulations to execute those intentions.

And then, often, they keep on writing them. And writing them.

In this case, the long road to regulated rabbits began in 1965 — when Capitol Hill was captivated with the story of a dognapped Dalmatian named Pepper.

The dog had been stolen from its family, used in medical research and killed. After an outcry, Congress passed a law that required licenses for laboratories that use dogs and cats in research.

In 1970, Congress passed an amendment that extended the law’s reach. It now covered a variety of other animals. And it covered animal “exhibitors,” in addition to labs. At the time, legislators seemed focused on large facilities with lots of animals: “circuses, zoos, carnivals, roadshows and wholesale pet dealers,” said then-Rep. Tom Foley (D-Wash.), a major backer and later speaker of the House.

But the letter of the law was broad. In theory, it could apply to someone who “exhibited” any animals as part of a show.

Apparently, it does.

Hahne has an official USDA license, No. 43-C-0269, for Casey — a three-pound Netherland dwarf rabbit with a look of near-fatal boredom. The rules require Hahne to pay $40 a year, take Casey to the vet and submit to surprise inspections of his home.

Also, if Hahne plans to take the rabbit out of town for an extended period, he must submit an itinerary to the USDA. The 1966 law that started all of this was four pages long. Now, the USDA has 14 pages of regulations just for rabbits.

But not all rabbits. Animals raised for meat are exempt from these rules.

“You’re telling me I can kill the rabbit right in front of you,” Hahne says he asked an inspector, “but I can’t take it across the street to the birthday party” without a license? Also, the law applies only to warmblooded animals. If Hahne were pulling an iguana out of his hat — no license required.

Now, he needs both a license and a disaster plan."

A tip of the hat to: Dan Mitchell at International Liberty

Happening more often?

There seems to be a rash of these mentally imbalanced persons lately.  I suppose somebody will also make assumptions based on his name,  Ali Syed, which may or may not turn out to be valid. Interesting that this one used a shot gun. In 2011, according to the FBI, more shotguns were used than rifles in California homicides. Probably should be next on the list for California to ban.  I don't suppose that the rabid, sensationalizing, reporting by the news media has anything to do with these occurrences   

Crop insurance

I've been reading up on crop insurance and federal subsidies. From what I can see, the real reason for the current system of crop insurance is not there to benefit the farmers, but rather to make lots of money for the insurance companies. Go into any town, large or small, and the largest building in town will nine times out of ten, be an insurance building. (My statistics) These guys aren't in business to give money away despite what they will tell you.


Here is an interesting read on the subject: Farm Subsidy Primer

And perhaps a solution:  Giving It Away 

"If the current system of crop insurance isn't working, why not abolish it along with direct payments and redirect the $13 billion in combined annual savings to shrink the deficit and create a truly cost-effective program? Since 2001, the current crop insurance program has cost taxpayers about $50 billion, but only half –$25 billion – has found its way into farmers’ pockets. The other $25 billion wound up in the coffers of crop insurance companies and in commissions paid to insurance agents. It strains credibility to claim that a program that costs $2 to deliver $1 of benefits is a wise use of taxpayer funds."