We rodeo fans down here in the San Joaquin Valley have had a ball for the last 10 days watching representatives debate the Farm Bill. McClatchy gave us minute-by-minute coverage of this greased pig contest, featuring Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, the fellow with the big 18-CA on his back. Cardoza was moving real good after them squealing, greased porkers. Boy’s got some moves in him we hadn’t seen before.
Cardoza put on a diverting performance on behalf of fruit and vegetables, while cotton, corn and dairy interests in his congressional district dod just fine in the new Farm Bill. Cardoza established himself as a good Nancy Boy, saved subsidies for his largest contributors, and “reached out” to the fruit, nut and organic communities. At least as far as McClatchy is concerned, the senior Valley Democrat was very successful. He is portrayed in their pages in the arena under the floodlights with a firm grip on the hind leg of a porker and defending it with snarling sound bites, like a real cowboy.
In fact, calmer voices than McClatchy see the bill as being just about the same except that the big commodity subsidies have actually increased.
You can almost hear the rodeo announcer saying “Ol’ Number 18 outta Merced, California has got a grip on a leg and if it don’t slip, maybe the fruits and vegetables and nuts and organics will get something. All he’s got to do is hang on to the greasy little trotter for … how long? Until the Republicans and big commodity Democrats chop up the bill, gut the provisions he fought for willingly? But ol’ Number 18 is showing some style out there in the arena.”
This is the kind of suspense that makes good rodeo.
In fact, Cardoza’s efforts on behalf of the interests represented by the subcommittee specialty crops he chairs, seen in light of his history, are total, hypocritical bunk. The communications director for the Blue Dogs advocating for organics? The old' Shrimp Slayer, who teamed up with former Rep. Richard Pombo, to try to gut the Endangered Species Act? But, we give him high marks for a fine performance as the Rodeo Clown in this porcine divertissement confected by the Speaker.
Letting all them porkers loose in the House for a couple of weeks put everybody in a fun-loving, all-American cowboy mood, and very few of those discouraging I-words (Iraq, Iran and Impeachment) were heard.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the president signed “Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq.” It appears to be a monarchial order of attainder against certain persons deemed by the administration to be fomenting or supporting violence against the Iraq government and hampering the peaceful development of that nation.
Liberty loving rodeo fans might find the “Persons” a mite vaguely defined for their tastes.
Although agriculture has recently been through an unseemly moment on the Farm Bill, there are a great many generous farmers in America who regularly contribute food through charitable foundations to foreign countries. If shipments get hijacked by groups defined as “evil doers” by the Bushies, these generous farmers could find themselves up a murky creek. So, make sure you hedge your contributions to the faith-based food charity of your choice with contributions to candidates of your president's choice.
Attainder: Extinction of the civil rights and capacities of a person upon sentenc of death or outlawry, usually after a conviction of treason.
-- Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary
The Constitution (Article III, Section 3, states:
1) Treason — Definition and Conviction: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
2) Punishment: The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted.
Neither the two witnesses, the overt act (in fact any act—suspicion will do) or the open court appear to be contemplated in the president’s executive order. Although the property blocking at first seems like a financial inconvenience, reading further the order begins to look like a declaration of outlawry — a very severe ban and set of restrictions. The order also neglects mention of the doer “of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people …” who invaded under false pretenses concerning the existence of weapons of mass destruction. The ensuing four-year-old undeclared war has “violently” killed 3,636 US troops, wounded an estimated 23,000-100,000 US troops, and killed between 68,000 and 74,336 reported Iraqi civilians — setting aside the carnage in Afghanistan.
While the president continues to prolong our Pogo moment (”We have met the enemy and he is us”), the Senate unanimously passed an amendment concerning Iran by Sen. Joe Leiberman, I-CT, which increases the danger of war with Iran.
We the People demand to be amused. We bought the ticket, after all. But, it appears the ticket we bought was for a one-way trip back to the Dark Ages in search of the last gob of grease.
Bill Hatch
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“Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq,” White House Office of the Press Secretary, July 17, 2007
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
(or http://www.counterpunch.com/ “Counterpunch Diary, Alexander Cockburn," July 21/22.)
Lieberman Leads Senate One Step Closer to Repeating History in Iran
R.J. Eskow
Huffington Post, NY - Jul 13, 2007
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/lieberman-lays-the-ground_b_56093.html
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
7-21-07
San Francisco Chronicle
Pelosi takes heat for OK of farm bill…Carolyn Lochhead
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/21/MNGDFR4M9M1.DTL
7-19-07
Washington Post
Farm Bill leaves some subsidies…Dan Morgan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/18/AR2007071802531.html