Impolite Company

Positive Actions by USDA

Grist has a good summary up of positive actions taken by the USDA, particularly in the realm of organic farming, Vilsack's USDA Shakes Things Up.  Those who are big into the sustainability and organic farming side of things had a lot of concern over Secretary Vilsack being appointed head of the USDA and though a lot of their concerns remain, they may have to realize that they're not going to get everything they want and try to see the good things that Vilsack is doing.  I'm glad to see that Grist is doing this:

I know some are still reeling from the recent Obama administration announcement on biofuelscontinued pimping for Monsanto and other biotech companies seems both unsustainable and uninformed. But a slew of positive decisions have come down from the USDA in recent days that merit attention and suggest that business is very much not as usual at ag’s end of the Mall.
and its implication that it remains a bit too much in thrall to the concerns of Big Ag. And Tom Vilsack’s

The article has the details but the recent moves include $50 million earmarked for current and transitioning organic farms in the environmental quality program, an end to the fight to prevent the EU from banning beef raised with the growth hormone rBST, full funding for a settlement of longstanding discrimination claims over how the agency treated black farmers in various programs and improvements in the standards that require a certain amount of grass-feeding for dairy products to be considered organic.

The Swine Flu Mother Lode

Effect Measure put up a post yesterday that included a link to the Mac Daddy of all swine flu resources, H5N1:  News and Resources about Avian and Swine Flu.  I'll probably mainly follow Effect Measure, just because it's relatively condensed whereas H5N1 may be a little too rich for my blood for every day consumption.  Still, if you want a place to go to find the real loot on the swine flu, go there!  Here's a little bit from a recent post, Pandemic:  Come as You Are, Dumb as You Are:

Stress, we hack novelists know, is the key to revealing character. So it's discouraging to see how little stress it takes to reveal a serious lack of character, not to mention basic common sense, in our political masters.

The Iraqis, after six long years' experience with irrational and pointless violence, shoot the three wild boars in the Baghdad Zoo. Just to make sure. (Why didn't they shoot all their chickens back in 2006 when they actually had a couple of human H5N1 cases?)

The Egyptian government is slaughtering all the pigs, who belong to Coptic Christians, while the Copts and cops get into punch-ups about this policy.

China, home of a large fraction of the best minds on the planet, has banned Canadian pork imports.

What's Your Government Doing?

The Obama Administration has posted a number of reports from federal departments on their results so far in reforming government and reinvesting in America.  If you're interested in any of these areas, follow the links below, Taking Stock:

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Defense
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy (pdf)
• Department of the Interior
• Department of Health and Human Services (pdf)
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Department of Justice
• Department of Labor
• Department of The Treasury
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• United States Trade Representative (pdf)
• United States Mission to the United Nations (pdf)

Time Out for History

Sometimes righteous anger can be a beautiful thing.  For instance, a FB friend of mine ranted about the kids on public transit yesterday who were bullying the transgendered person and how she told them off.  Nice!  This morning I read a post via The Edge of the American West (I believe the poster is one of The Edge's author's advisees) that laughingly and snarkingly takes down some historical fictions making the rounds these days in the guise of Truth.  He addresses the Boston Tea Party, the Right to Secede, We're not a Christian Nation, waterboarding and smiling at Chavez.  Here's the author's intro, U.S. History for Dummies:

So, as a public service of sorts, and because, after this morning's revelations, I've reached the limit of craven and/or patently stupid falsehoods that I can feasibly ingest over so short a time, some "U.S. History for Dummies." I expect most everyone who comes by this site with any frequency knows all this, but ya never know. Apologies for the didacticism in advance -- if this were this a Coors Light commercial, this would be where i vent. (And thanks to Lia for the timely visual tax lesson, above.)

What's that crytic comment about the visual tax lesson?  I must indirectly thank Lia as well because I'm going to reproduce it here.  It's an image from a Tea Party with arrows and small captions pointing out all the things that the protestor's tax money helped pay for in the small scene:

Swine Flu--In Depth Information

I've already spent more time talking about swine flu than I thought I would but this is just a little heads-up to a site that's giving good information that gives you the context to understand the conversation about swine flu from an expert who can explain to lay people.  The site is Effect Measure and a number of notable online resources have referred to it.  For instance, Revere writes about flu pandemics and how you can't track one by assuming that it's going to act like an earlier one in Swine Flu:  Flu Pandemics, You've Seen One, You...:

As we keep looking, we will find cases, so the total will rise, probably on a daily basis. Like poll numbers, it is probably wise not to pay attention to daily fluctuations but look at the big picture. Right now the big picture isn't visible, but with the passage of days or a week, it should become clearer. The current spate of cases could burn itself out as warmer weather ensues. Flu is a highly seasonal disease, for reasons we don't understand. That wouldn't mean we were home free, however. Wherever flu hides in the "off season" (flu does find work in the southern hemisphere's winter), it can come back the following year. Those familiar with 1918 know there seems to have been a milder "herald wave" the previous spring which came back like a freight train in August. CDC is well aware of this possibility and should this outbreak wane will clearly urge and engage in continued preparation in the event this evolves in the same way.

This is analysis from senior public health figures that hasn't been filtered through a sensationalist media source and it's worth your time if you're curious.

Austin Parks & Rec Should Support Community Gardens!

I just got an email from the Sustainable Food Center requesting our support in letting the Austin Parks and Recreation Department know that we support community gardens and we think they should continue their efforts to encourage more of them in Austin.  As it's in the form of a press release, I'm just going to copy it into the blog, including the links to the city and let you have at it:

Community gardens are an essential part of a vibrant, livable, and sustainable city. They offer space for residents who live in apartments or have a shady yard to grow fresh, healthy food.  Community gardens help unite neighborhoods, contribute to neighborhood beautification, and connect urban dwellers with nature. They facilitate communication, foster intergenerational and cross-cultural connections, encourage physical activity and provide therapeutic benefits. The impact of these spaces is immeasurable and invaluable.   The number of community gardens in Austin is small compared to other cities of similar size and development pressures are putting community gardens in Austin in jeopardy.  An opportunity though to promote community gardens in Austin is here.  The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is seeking input about its Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities and Programs, 2010-2015.  Let Austin PARD know that you want it to support community gardens by sending your comments to [email protected].  Use the sample message below or write your own.  Be sure to submit your comments by April 30, 2009.   I would like to commend the Austin Parks and Recreation Department on its recognition of community gardens as a growing trend in Austin (PARD Long Range Plan, p. 176).  PARD has shown great initiative in devising guidelines for community gardens in parks.  I urge the PARD to continue this momentum by keeping the recommendation to provide additional land for community gardens and farmers' markets (Ch. 10) and by including a recommendation to adopt the draft Austin Parks and Recreation Community Garden Information Packet (Appendix Ch. 6 Supporting Documents Public Meetings) in the Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities and Programs, 2010-2015.  I also request that PARD incorporate community gardens as an activity or special use in Ch. 2 PARD Definitions and Standards; include Deep Eddy Community Garden when discussing existing facilities in Planning Area 2 in Ch. 3 Existing Facilities; continue to consider community gardens in planning for park and trail development; and work with other city departments to increase their support of community gardens as well.   Thank you for your support of community gardens in Austin!         Sincerely,   To read the Austin Parks and Recreation Department Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities, and Programs, visit: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/longrangeplan.htm.  To comment, send an email to [email protected] before April 30, 2009.

About Sustainable Food Center With roots dating back more than 30 years, SFC is involved in every step of the local food system from seed to table.  Our mission is to cultivate a healthy community by strengthening the local food system and improving access to nutritious, affordable food.

Swine Flu Information

There's going to be a whole lotta hoopla over swine flu in the near future--it's actually already started.  I probably won't talk about it much, unless the brou-ha-ha gets too silly and I have to mock it.  But I do think that more information is better and you can follow the links in the follow widget to Center for Disease Control and Department of Health and Human Services resources on swine flu:

How serious is swine flu infection?
Like seasonal flu, swine flu in humans can vary in severity from mild to severe. Between 2005 until January 2009, 12 human cases of swine flu were detected in the U.S. with no deaths occurring. However, swine flu infection can be serious. In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman in Wisconsin was hospitalized for pneumonia after being infected with swine flu and died 8 days later. A swine flu outbreak in Fort Dix, New Jersey occurred in 1976 that caused more than 200 cases with serious illness in several people and one death.  CDC--Swine Flu and You.

Docubloggers: The Gay

(Editorial Note:  Yes, I tried, I really tried to type out "teh gay" in the headline but couldn't do it.  Somehow, I can do it mockingly in everyday emails and what-not but when I tried to do it in a HEADLINE, it proved impossible.)

Two videos from the good folks at Docubloggers today, once exploring the opinions of Texans on the subject of same-sex marriages (including Ron Paul) and the other is a discussion with Rep. Elliott Naishtat about  a bill before the house that would allow partner benefits for same-sex partners from the UT and A&M systems. 

The legislation is HB 861, a very simple bill that would authorize the university systems to define who can be the beneficiary of benefits earned by system employees and gives them the power to allow such benefits to go to same-sex partners.  This is both a moral issue, as currently we have a system that discriminates against gays and lesbians in the distribution of benefits and it's also a practical issue, as it makes the university systems less competitive in recruiting faculty.  The best universities in the nation offer such benefits and if the Texas systems wants to compete with them for the best professors and staff, they need to offer these benefits.  Sadly, this bill appears to be stuck in committee--it deserves a vote (give your reps a call!):

The opinions of Texans on gay-marriage video isn't that surprising, with most folks saying it should be a state issue or that same-sex marriage shouldn't be allowed.  It's on the flip side, if anyone's interested.

Chronicle Endorsements

Ever since I moved to Austin back in 2000, I've relied on the Austin Chronicle's endorsements of candidates as a very good starting place for looking at the line-up.  Their recommendations are out for the May 9th elections, so I guess that means it's almost time to start thinking about who to vote for.  My biggest question mark is in the Riley v. Cavazos battle for Place 1.  I like Riley's history on the environment and his support for more high density urban planning but I think that I may go for Cavazos and her attention to neighborhoods and East Austin.  I'm sure I'll write more on this in the near future but don't forget, Early Voting starts April 27th--click here to get to the Chronicle's endorsements!

Another Look at the Results from Torture

The Times has an article today that looks a little bit more at the question of whether we got anything out of our brutal interrogation techniques that we wouldn't have (or didn't) get from traditional U.S. methods.  It doesn't really come to any conclusions but it does advance the conversation a bit, At Core of Detainee Fight:  Did Methods Stop Attacks?

Within the agency, the necessity, effectiveness and legality of the interrogation methods have been repeatedly subject to review. The agency’s inspector general, John L. Helgerson, studied the program in 2004 and raised serious questions. According to former intelligence officials, that led to separate reviews by an internal panel headed by Henry A. Crumpton, a veteran counterterrorism officer, and by two outsiders, Gardner Peckham, who had served as national security adviser to Newt Gingrich, and John J. Hamre, a former deputy defense secretary.

On a related note, there's really not much hope that those who drafted the legal memoranda these policies are based on will see any sort of successful prosecution.  There just aren't that many laws and legal precedents that apply and there are plenty of protections for those in the policy-making process, Any Indictment of Interrogation Policy Makers Would Face Several Hurdles:

Steep legal and political hurdles remain to criminal prosecutions of the high-level policy makers, and even lesser punishments — like disbarment of the lawyers who signed off on the program — are supported by few precedents, legal specialists say.

“Those who want heads to roll are likely to be dissatisfied,” said Daniel C. Richman, a professor of criminal law at Columbia University.

Opposition to Kathleen Sibelius for Secretary of HHS

The GOP's grumbling about Pres. Obama's pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius, is getting a little bit louder but it's not based on much.  I'm seeing three major themes that are being tossed around--her tax mistake, support from a Kansas doctor who performs late term abortions and her support for comparative effectiveness research on medical services.  Sibelius won the approval of the Finance Committee on a 15-8 vote and should win overall approval by the Senate, but it probably won't be a quiet process.

Torture: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

The New York Times has a good piece looking at what sort of information the decision-makers (the Cabinet, intelligence heads, president [The Decider] and friends) had on hand when they were evaluating whether it would be a good idea to start using harsh/robust/illegal interrogation techniques (torture) in the wake of 9/11.  It seems like in the first blush of embracing the Post-9/11 world, the Bush Administration (and apparently the leadership on the intelligence committees) showed a typical disregard for facts, research and history and instead went with their guts, In Adopting Harsh Tactics, No Inquiry Into Their Past Use:

In a series of high-level meetings in 2002, without a single dissent from cabinet members or lawmakers, the United States for the first time officially embraced the brutal methods of interrogation it had always condemned.

This extraordinary consensus was possible, an examination by The New York Times shows, largely because no one involved — not the top two C.I.A. officials who were pushing the program, not the senior aides to President George W. Bush, not the leaders of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees — investigated the gruesome origins of the techniques they were approving with little debate.

Texans, Do You Feel Stimulated?

The Texas Comptroller has a website that tracks the spending and effects of stimulus spending in Texas--big ol' ten gallon hat tip to The Texas Observer for pointing this out, Comptroller's Stimulus Site.  It includes spreadsheets of what's going to be spent here, a master list of contacts for who's spending the money (in case you want to get your hands on some or you just want to send them a tea bag), the latest news on Texas stimulus efforts, plain English explanations of the legislation and more.  Check it out at American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:  A Texas Eye on the Dollars.

Cuba Policy Changes

Baby Steps or Is That All There Is?

At Monday afternoon's press briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs began by outlining the changes that Pres. Obama was making to US foreign policy regarding Cuba and though all of the changes are welcome, they don't go nearly far enough.  Here's what Gibbs said, Reaching Out to the Cuban People:

Today, President Obama has directed that a series of steps be taken to reach out to the Cuban people to support their desire to enjoy basic human rights and to freely determine their country’s future.  The President has directed the Secretaries of State, Treasury and Commerce to carry out the actions necessary to lift all restrictions on the ability of individuals to visit family members in Cuba, and to send them remittances.  He’s further directed that steps be taken to enable the freer flow of information among the Cuban people and between those in Cuba and the rest of the world, as well as to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian items directly to the Cuban people.

Looking closely, he's freeing up the rules on family visits and remittances to family members and he's also freeing up the flow of humanitarian aid to the Cuban people.  The rest doesn't really mean anything.  As Pres. Obama is a step-by-step kind of guy, I don't think this is going to be the final word and I believe that in the near future we will see more engagement with Cuba on the diplomatic front and eventually dropping the travel ban and stepping back the embargo.  He may go through Congress on some of these steps in order to give himself some political cover and use the institution to build broader support for changes.  And he may loosen things up by degrees in order to leverage his bargaining position and get Cuba to walk towards more openness with us in concert with our actions.

This is what I hope, at least.  For a good breakdown of some reactions in the press, check out Dan Froomkin's column, Obama's Timid Cuba Move.  For instance, he quotes Eugene Robinson's column (registration required to view):

"Those who argue for keeping in place the trade embargo and what remains of the travel restrictions -- and even predict that these measures, imposed at a time when the Cold War was getting chillier, will bring the Castro government to its knees any day now -- have been drinking too many mojitos. Claims that the United States would somehow surrender valuable "leverage" by lifting the sanctions are purest fantasy....

"What we should do is lift the embargo, which Obama hasn't meaningfully disturbed, and end the travel ban for everyone. That would put the onus on the Cubans to somehow keep hordes of American capitalists and tourists from infecting the island with dangerous, counterrevolutionary ideas."

Corn-based Ethanol Smackdown

The CBO has posted a report and a blog entry on the short and long term costs of ethanol made from corn and whether it is beneficial to continue subsidizing and requiring it.  I'm glad to see it and hopefully it will give Congress the cover it needs to have  real policy debate on it.  Hat tip to Grist for publicizing the report (The Impact of Ethanol Use on Food Prices and Greenhouse Gas Emissions) and here's a bit from the blog post, Ethanol, Food Prices and Greenhouse Gas Emissions:

Most ethanol in the United States is produced from domestically grown corn, and the rapid rise in the fuel’s production and usage means that roughly one-quarter of all corn grown in the U.S. (nearly 3 billion bushels) is now used to produce ethanol. The demand for corn for ethanol production has exerted upward pressure on corn prices and on food prices in general. CBO estimates that the increased use of ethanol accounted for about 10 percent to 15 percent of the rise in food prices between April 2007 and April 2008.

$18 Chicken Follow-up

Sometime last week I linked to an article about the high prices of locally raised meat, Unfair Fare, and I want to do a bit of a follow-up on it because there's a good conversation going on about it.  First of all, as to prices around here the price for chickens has gone way down--in retrospect, it may be that the chicken that I bought was out of season for purchasing which would account for the quality as well.  Regardless of why, I can get the same bird for 12 or 13 dollars now instead of $18 a few months back.  But as to the ongoing conversation, you can go to the above link and read through the comments; here's one of them:

This is not a bad thing if you believe that pastured meat is better for everyone concerned (the animals, the consumers, the planet). A rational farmer will keep raising her prices until she can’t sell all her meat. High prices will give more farmers the incentive to enter the market, lowering the cost of locally raised, pastured meat. Supply will increase. Prices will go down.

And now Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm and Omnivore's Dilemma fame, has entered the fray with a guess post at Food Renegade, Joel Salatin on Why Local Food is More Expensive:

But after reading the heated discussion in the post’s comments (many of which were written by local, small-scale farmers), I second-guessed my first reaction. After all, a lot of the cost we pay for locally-raised meat comes from ridiculous laws forcing small-scale farmers to fit into giant agribusiness shaped holes.  The next day, I read Joel Salatin’s annual newsletter to his on farm customers. Then I sent Joel an email, asking him to do a guest post for me expanding on what he wrote. This is Joel’s take on why local food is more expensive...

Congressional Oversight Panel: Assessing TARP

The Congressional Oversight Panel overseeing the administration of the TARP program has made its April report and, thanks to an assist from Paul Krugman, I've got the goods on it right here.  Or actually, I just have links to the goods.  I've only had the time to very quickly breeze through the executive summary but there's plenty of loot there to dig through and so I'll give you links to the full report, the executive summary and embed video below.  Here's a couple of operative paragraphs from the executive summary:

One key assumption that underlies Treasury’s approach is its belief that the system-wide deleveraging resulting from the decline in asset values, leading to an accompanying drop in net wealth across the country, is in large part the product of temporary liquidity constraints resulting from nonfunctioning markets for troubled assets. The debate turns on whether current prices, particularly for mortgage-related assets, reflect fundamental values or whether prices are artificially depressed by a liquidity discount due to frozen markets – or some combination of the two.

If its assumptions are correct, Treasury’s current approach may prove a reasonable response to the current crisis. Current prices may, in fact, prove not to be explainable without the liquidity factor. Even in areas of the country where home prices have declined precipitously, the collateral behind mortgage-related assets still retains substantial value. In a liquid market, even under-collateralized assets should not be trading at pennies on the dollar. Prices are being partially subjected to a downward self-reinforcing cycle. It is this notion of a liquidity discount that supports the potential of future gain for taxpayers and makes transactions under the CAP and the PPIP viable mechanisms for recovery of asset values while recouping a gain for taxpayers.

Open Letter to Sen. Patrick

A friend of mine has posted an open letter to Dan Patrick of the Texas Senate over at Reproductive Health Reality Check and I think it does a terrific job of contrasting the gotcha-style, wedge issue driven use of the abortion issue by some on the right with the real, tangible health issues faced by women in Texas every day.  We spend so much time arguing and posing on the abortion issue, time that would be better spent looking for areas of agreement and ways to improve health care.  Check out her post at Hey, Sen. Patrick, Rachel's Mom Needs a Mammogram:

...Senator Patrick, if I've done my math correctly, it seems to me that each year there are at least 11 million women and girls in Texas who AREN'T getting abortions.  Like the 25-year-old woman who had to give up her job in order to be eligible for Medicaid so that she could afford to give birth to her son.  Or the woman who tried to obtain a tubal ligation but was told by her doctor that she was "too young and too fat to have the procedure."  If you're really passionate about women's reproductive health (and here I will perform a gross suspension of disbelief and claim that you are), why do you choose to ignore everything that doesn't have to do with preventing abortion?

I have listened to you and other legislators discuss in great detail the nuances of a clause about whether or not the patient may avert her eyes when her doctor displays the ultrasound.  Meanwhile, Cheryl hasn't had a pap smear in over five years.   And Sharon needs transportation to another town for a breast cancer screening, since she can't afford any of the clinics in the city where she lives.

Vermont!

Vermont has legalized gay marriage!  Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage:

Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage -- and the first to do so with a legislature's vote. The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.

Time for a Revolution?

Since the election back in November I have seriously curtailed the amount of time I spend listening to right wing radio--at first I just wanted a break from it but for the last couple of months it's been because I find some of the undercurrents disturbing.  Not so much Rush--he is who he is and he's too established, too smarmy, too vested in the pundocracy to really shake things up.  Rush will probably be making more money than ever during the Obama Administration as he gives establishment Republicans a release valve for their anger at being out of power.

But Glenn Beck is different.  Glenn Beck spouts a sort of populist nonsense, impassioned and parading as common sense, that way too often seems to straddle the line between advocating strong opposition and advocating for people to prepare for a fight against their government.  He has things like his 912 Project that encourages "tea parties" around the country and just going through and randomly reading some of the commments on that site, there is an incredible amount of vitriol and some thinly veiled threats.  I recognize that he's not completely responsible for what his followers say but he is an enabler, giving people the permission to express this sort of outrage.

How is this different from they way many of us on the left reacted to the Bush Administration?  I was definitely outraged by much that the Bush Administration did and there were plenty of us who felt powerless but kept talking about the issues anyway.  And there were others out on the fringe who argued that the political system was broken and that Diebold and the Supreme Court were robbing us of democracy.  But most of us just kept working within the system, talking about the issues and then Pres. Obama came along and tapped into that, organized the hell out of it and won the election.  What's going on feels different, feels a little bit scary, feels like it's balancing on the edge between good ol' American outrage and militia-style threats of violence that inspires people like Timothy McVeigh to act. 

I guess I'll keep listening and try to keep track of where they're coming from but keep your ears open.  Texas Kaos has a post on a number of these issues that, quite frankly, gets a little ranty at places but thematically and resource-wise has a pretty good run down of some of this stuff:  So Now They Want a Revolution.