Congress is on recess (when they’re in session, it’s called abscess). Following his Midwest, small-town “listening” tour, President Obama is roughing it at Martha’s Vineyard, and the Supreme Court of the United States is on summer break. I long for those days of years ago when there was no 24-hour news cycle, no internet, no electronic media….just cracker-barrel and fireplace politics. Even when they are vacationing, we can’t escape their perfidy and lack of reasoning. The bureaucracy churns on…grinding out one after another of restrictive regulations with nary an oversight. Almost daily new elements of Obamacare are revealed…each more offensive than a previous one. People like you and I need a breather….just some time on the front porch or the back forty….relaxing and slowing the spinning sensation in our minds. This is not just a media-driven phenomenon. It is a natural outgrowth of huge government. Just when you believe you can hit the “pause” button, some little bureaucratic mole in some little bureaucratic agency in some little bureaucratic office in some little bureaucratic cubicle decides that CDL drivers’ licenses is a good idea for farm equipment operators. Huh? Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway) the Shinola hit the fan with a resounding “splat.” Two cabinet Secretaries, Transportation and Agriculture, backtracked and equivocated faster the Obama’s weak denials that he’s responsible for this economy. As for now, 14 year-old farmboys will not need a CDL to operate the John Deere. As for now….for the moment…until we’re no longer watching….as for now.
Here’s thought (I average about 3 per week): School starts soon. Let’s “school” our career politicians. The GOP presidential race has blunted some of the “fear and trembling” that elected officials SHOULD be experiencing. The debt-ceiling battle has ended for this term (same old result---lose and claim victory), and with the recess focusing on the race, we cannot let Congress amble along without adult supervision. I’m still perplexed about why the GOP House doesn’t de-fund or repeal noxious laws and let the Senate and the President defend them….I think I get it….RINO’s on committees. Aha! Eureka , I have found it (literary redundancy). Speaking of committees……
The “Super Committee” which was a product of the debt-ceiling “compromise” is an absolute abomination. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) is the ONLY committed budget-cutter of the twelve. Others may “lean” that way but have spotty records. The Democrats are all political appointees which means that the President will break ties…..I’m encouraged and hopeful, aren’t you? (sarcasm). The committee is unconstitutional, unworkable and amazingly stupid. Boehner and McConnell call this a victory for fiscal sanity. We should send the DEA and the FBI to their offices to find out what they’re smoking.
The wheat harvest appears to be under projections based on early numbers. August is “ear shooting” month for corn, and the final predictions are all over the map. The Chinese have been purchasing corn at an unprecedented rate which will certainly impact prices. A less-than-expected harvest would place more upward pressure on corn prices. Haven’t studied the soybean crop, but anecdotally, the crop looks promising (August is “pod-filling” time) although the plants appear shorter than is normal. That is not necessarily bad because plant energy could be directed towards fruit rather than stalk, but harvesting could be more difficult because combines do not like to eat dirt to get the lower pods.
Research informs us that a significant portion of our younger demographics get their political news from “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart on the Comedy Central cable network. If you haven’t seen his analysis of the Ames, Iowa, Straw Poll, you should see it.
Our Tuesday and Wednesday radio shows resume this week (took last Wednesday off). Tune in if you can, or pick up the podcasts. Tuesday and Wednesday, 6:00pm-7:00pm, 1370 WSPD, Toledo, Ohio.
Monday’s column is “Life Choices.” It may not be one of my best, but it is one of my most passionate.
Have a great remainder of the weekend. Enjoy your family and a local festival.
Charlie
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