tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19226967315870588032024-03-23T12:07:42.245-06:00farmeruminationsA place for the ponderings, musings, meditations, or just plain old chewing the cud of a bovine feeder from the heartland.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-61745958365116141722014-06-07T20:54:00.002-06:002014-06-07T20:54:54.635-06:00For Res IpsaIt's been a long time since I posted anything. To much time on FB. These pics are for Res Ipsa.
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gdrsc9qfBqQ/U5POk0eqO9I/AAAAAAAAAXE/qDHF5jhgOwo/s1600/1074322_564018930379577_8916640482646754217_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gdrsc9qfBqQ/U5POk0eqO9I/AAAAAAAAAXE/qDHF5jhgOwo/s320/1074322_564018930379577_8916640482646754217_o.jpg" />
</a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6bM5ei52Ms/U5POl46zTOI/AAAAAAAAAXM/WlUrxIMVCGM/s1600/1979199_564018907046246_8351380046387678650_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O6bM5ei52Ms/U5POl46zTOI/AAAAAAAAAXM/WlUrxIMVCGM/s320/1979199_564018907046246_8351380046387678650_o.jpg" /></a>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmiUYbYf39w/U5POnmyCJBI/AAAAAAAAAXU/0JbTNKy5RFw/s1600/10293690_564018943712909_7282398089996649394_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmiUYbYf39w/U5POnmyCJBI/AAAAAAAAAXU/0JbTNKy5RFw/s320/10293690_564018943712909_7282398089996649394_o.jpg" /></a>farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-90428769277085852002011-11-23T13:04:00.010-06:002011-11-23T13:46:44.012-06:00the Republican CandidatesI attended the Family Leader Presidential Forum on Saturday night. <br /><br /><br />As I left the building at the end of the evening I was asked by a reporter from ABC News what I thought of the evening and of the candidates. <br /><br />My response was simple. <br /><br />"I saw a lot of half empty glasses. Or half full ones if you think that is more optimistic. Either way I saw a lot of candidates with some strong points and some serious negatives as well."<br /><br />In an attempt to put the glass empty analogy in a visual form, I asked my daughter to do a little work in photoshop to create a visual image of each candidate as a glass/cup. <br /><br />In no particular order. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8-wuDsc5Pa4/Ts1I1Ikpm8I/AAAAAAAAAUs/BkvHa5pGQzQ/s1600/Bachmann.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8-wuDsc5Pa4/Ts1I1Ikpm8I/AAAAAAAAAUs/BkvHa5pGQzQ/s320/Bachmann.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678274782855535554" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wEjFtlWZLh0/Ts1JE2vqgEI/AAAAAAAAAU4/wtppe4ZQ3Hc/s1600/Cain.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wEjFtlWZLh0/Ts1JE2vqgEI/AAAAAAAAAU4/wtppe4ZQ3Hc/s320/Cain.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678275052947800130" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E-tiTISyzfs/Ts1JPzg-KZI/AAAAAAAAAVE/DzbBUXOLQAo/s1600/Santorum.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E-tiTISyzfs/Ts1JPzg-KZI/AAAAAAAAAVE/DzbBUXOLQAo/s320/Santorum.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678275241059428754" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OD_sEaO5yPI/Ts1JYR5J0LI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/AorE5Njyz9g/s1600/Gingrich.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OD_sEaO5yPI/Ts1JYR5J0LI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/AorE5Njyz9g/s320/Gingrich.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678275386652872882" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U0lI_QEuyOU/Ts1Je3YO29I/AAAAAAAAAVc/4ukPmgVz7Cs/s1600/Perry.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U0lI_QEuyOU/Ts1Je3YO29I/AAAAAAAAAVc/4ukPmgVz7Cs/s320/Perry.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678275499794553810" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NpeMPc_FEls/Ts1JmwDz1aI/AAAAAAAAAVo/ryKRm0Hc0gE/s1600/Paul.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NpeMPc_FEls/Ts1JmwDz1aI/AAAAAAAAAVo/ryKRm0Hc0gE/s320/Paul.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678275635268801954" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QfoLT3D6cGo/Ts1JwLoyFBI/AAAAAAAAAV0/i3UmSR-1iz4/s1600/Romney.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QfoLT3D6cGo/Ts1JwLoyFBI/AAAAAAAAAV0/i3UmSR-1iz4/s320/Romney.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5678275797290456082" /></a><br /><br />Of course, some are fuller than others. And some are full of it.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-15122065936975475562011-08-14T16:41:00.002-06:002011-08-14T19:25:12.526-06:00Thoughts From the Iowa Straw PollI took my family to the Iowa Straw Poll on Saturday. I've been able to attend every one since 1995 when Bub Dull and Phil Gramm "tied" (what a scam).
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<br />The following are a list a random thoughts about what I saw and experienced.
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<br />First, it was a gorgeous day. In 2007 it was hot and muggy, almost unbearable. Yesterday on the other hand was close to perfect. Temps in the low 80's, high intermittent clouds, and a gentle breeze from the NW at 5 to 9 mph. People were comfortable, even while standing in line, fairly agreeable and generally in a good mood. The weather alone was probably a huge factor in the turnout.
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<br />Second, the voting its self was, while poorly organized, very straight forward and did't allow anyone to suggest that the numbers were not very accurate. They tried to run too many people at a time through a small hall way to mark their ballots, which lead to some very long lines. Someplace where more people could get through the voting process at a time would have been very helpful. The accuracy however was excellent. The new Republican Secretary of State in Iowa is pushing for voter ID at the polls. In conjunction with that, reminding all Iowa voters that the Democrats are resisting Voter ID at the polls, all those who voted in the Straw Poll were required to show proof of Iowa residence with an Iowa drivers license. After they had marked their ballots and the ballots were placed in the ballot counter, everyone was required to mark their thumb with blue ink. I personally had gotten two tickets to vote, from an advocacy group which was present, and a candidate. After I voted once, I was not allowed in the door with the blue mark on my thumb.
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<br />Speaking of advocacy groups. It was interesting mix of wacko atheists, limpwristed gun groups like the NRA, big money grubbers like the wind energy advocates, and the big oil front groups. There were also some serious advocates like Gun Owners of Iowa, pushing Constitutional Carry. And a new group I helped with a petition drive, Iowa Pro-life Action, which is dedicated to ending the "pro-life" exception scam. We are advocating a personhood Amendment to the Iowa Constitution. We are tired of Repuke politicians giving the life issue, lip service during their campaigns, then voting for legislation which allows abortion till 20 weeks, or funds Medicare provided abortions. "A pro-life, but you can go ahead and kill the baby approach."
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<br />Got a ticket from the Strong America Now group, which is pushing Lean Six Sigma. They spent a great deal of time and money pushing their idea for reducing the budget, by reducing fraud and waste in the Federal Budget. So I let them spend their $30 bucks for my ticket. They were giving away t-shirts, hats and candy. Between the freebies there and at other tents, I shouldn't need any t-shirts for another year.
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<br />On the candidates. Had a short, rather contentious visit, with Rick Santourum in the parking lot on the way into the event. True story. He asked for my vote, I told him only when he got down on his knees and apologized for supporting Arlyn Spinchter. He refused, and tried to defend his actions by claiming that Spinchter allowed Bush to put two "conservative" justices on the SCOTUS. I countered with, "Do you really believe that Toomey would have lost?" To which he suggested only Spinchter could have gotten Roberts and Alito confirmed. I told him that I didn't consider Bush a conservative, and I do not think helping a flaming liberal, baby killer lover, to be reelected to to the US Senate was a benefit to the cause of "life" which he claims to support. I walked away irritated, and he was visibly aggravated. He asked, I gave him my opinion. And I'm quite sure he did not appreciate it.
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<br />Saw a bunch of my Ron Paul supporting friends. I was there in 2007 when all of us supporting Ron Paul fit in a tent that would hold a couple of hundred people. He got 1305 votes that year, out of 14,302 votes cast. This year there were Paulistia's everywhere. After being there about an hour, it was clear that either Paul or Bachmunn would win the vote. Both of them overwhelmed the rest of the candidates there with their supporters. Visually, it was a toss up who had the most supporters.
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<br />Two comments directed to the Ron Paul group. First, I admire their enthusiasm. They were having fun, they were aggressively supporting their guy. And they clearly put up more signs, banners, and Ron Paul paraphernalia than any other candidate did. But, sometimes they were their own worse enemy. See a wacky looking pot head, a poorly dressed/unkempt neer-do-well, or a radical atheist-leftist (who wants to end first amendment rights for Intelligent Design scientists and Christians) (more on that later) and they were wearing Ron Paul shirts. Your pothead, anti-god, leftist radical friends are not helping your cause. I talked to several people who might have supported Dr. Paul, who instead supported Bachmann, and did so because of the kind of people who identified themselves a Ron Paul supporters. A lot of people believe the old saying, <span style="font-style:italic;">"You can tell a lot about a man's character by the company he keeps."</span> And frankly some of Dr. Paul's supporters were a scary looking bunch.
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<br />Bachmann and Pawnlenty and Santourum supporters were very similar. Families or older couples. Normal white bread, conservative American's/Iowan's who want another normal white bread president, who looks and acts like they do. The difference between the Bachmann and T-Paw supporters were that many of the T-Paw people were the establishment Repuke crowd. The ones you see at the Repuke fund raisers. The ones with ties to the Bumstead administration. The ones who currently serve as State officials or Legislators and don't want to rock the boat. The Bachmann and Santourum voters were split between those who claim to be very conservative, yet can not jump on the libertarian wagon. The Bachmann people were people I know who are very conservative, who do not like the current mess in Washington and want to stop the federal leviathan from getting bigger, as opposed to the Santourum crowd who think we will have to work within the system (think Spinchter) to achieve their conservative goals.
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<br />Two obvious facts to this observer. Bachmann and Paul were the only two who vociferously argued against raising the debt limit. And they lapped the rest of the field. Clearly, whether you are a Bachmann or a Paul supporter, you believe that we must stop getting more credit cards to pay off the staggering debt problem. T-Paw wavered on the subject, and Santourum claimed in the Thursday debate that talk of not raising the debt ceiling was dangerous. Second, and you libertarians take note. Life is still a huge issue. Bachmann is wholeheartedly pro personhood. Very outspoken about her views on life and marriage. Paul spent much of his speech on Saturday defending his pro-life position. Santourum is clearly pro-life and the rest of the field gave it lip service. You can not win in Iowa and be pro-baby killer.
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<br />Because of this Ron Paul is going to continue to have trouble reaching a broader audience. The radical libertarians among his supporters could care less if the innocent life in the womb is sucked into a tube, flushed down the stool or cut into chunks and sold as Soylent Green. Liberty means that "Every man can do what is right in his own eyes." And if a few million babies get killed in the preservation of liberty, who cares, liberty is the thing. That's why you see radical atheist professors like Dr. Hector Avalos and his wife supporting Dr. Paul. Avalos is the one who got Dr. Guillermo Gonzales fired at Iowa State University because of his ID theories. See "Expelled" for details. Yet, a large number of the Paul supporters were Godly Christians, Reformed/Calvanists who believe in total depravity, and that the Laws of Nature and Nature's God are supreme over even the Constitution. At the point that Dr. Paul's policies allow some states to choose to support abortion on demand, he will have a total revolt on his hands from within his own base. Many of these supporters tolerate the anarchist, pot-head, anti-god crowd only to reach the goal of defunding, destroying or downsizing the federal leviathan. If the Libertarians attempt to push their pro-baby killing libertine ideas, there will be a total war between the two groups.
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<br />Bachmann on the other hand is going to face firestorm/total destruction from the establishment ruling class within the Repuke party. They do not want her views on abortion, sodomy marriage and debt limits to be allowed on the stage. They will do everything in their power to destroy her. I predict that the first line of attack, within the next 48 hours will be directed at her husband and his counseling ministry, which attempt to get sodomites to turn from their wicked lifestyle and live as God intended. They will find someone or several someones who have been through his program, to claim that he used state money to indoctrinate them. I would not even be surprised to see him accused of engaging in acts of sodomy or molestation. She is hated by the Repuke establishment, and by every godless liberal pro-abort, pro-sodomy advocate out there, and she must be silenced if they have their way.
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<br />The Iowa Straw Poll was great. Had a blast, and I voted for................... Well, I wrote in a name and my guy got less that Thaddeus McCotter's 35.
<br /> farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-12431943350151004912011-05-23T21:13:00.003-06:002011-05-23T21:25:13.988-06:00Bash on the FarmA friend of mine has been having this event for 10 years. <br /><br /> Most of the bands are "Christian", and the gospel message is given on both evenings. <br /><br />If you have the weekend free, come to the Bash, then come see the farmer while you're in the neighborhood. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hREVeGQEp3g/TdskKSUvBlI/AAAAAAAAAUU/76OxdgaZRAU/s1600/bash.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 102px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hREVeGQEp3g/TdskKSUvBlI/AAAAAAAAAUU/76OxdgaZRAU/s320/bash.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610117519956182610" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's the website. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.bashonthefarm.com/index.html">Bash on the Farm</a>farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-9132691931601738362011-03-29T19:52:00.001-06:002011-03-29T19:52:29.469-06:00Another Possible Presidential CandidateI found out today that another possible candidate for President has been putting out some feelers, and forming an exploratory committee. Now I have met this guy, talked to him on the phone recently and think he would make a good Presidential Candidate. I have edited his National Issues Position statement enough to take out the obvious references to his career. Without knowing who this man is, do you like his positions on the issues, and would you support him if he were to run? <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><blockquote> <span style="font-weight:bold;">Economy</span> – Lower taxes, smaller government, and less spending will reduce the deficit and enable economic growth and a truly “stimulated” economy. <br /><br />I believe in the reduction of taxes at all levels, and a need to reform the tax system by studying and implementing a “flat tax” or “fair tax,” which relies on a national sales tax instead of a tax on income. <br /><br />We also need to return American manufacturing to our Country by revoking unfair “free trade” agreements which have severely damaged our economy through loss of jobs and skill development. We need the phrase “Made in America” to mean something again.<br /><br />We must cut the deficit and balance the budget using accurate data unlike budget projections used by the present administration. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Constitution</span> – ......................, I know that the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the Land and all officials, state and federal, Legislative, Executive and Judicial are bound thereby. <br /><br />Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, States’ Rights, and our Bill of Rights are integral parts of the Constitution which we must observe.<br /><br />All actions of state and federal officials must conform to the Constitution and it should only be changed by amendments by the people, not decisions of activist judges. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Immigration</span> – We must stop the flow of illegal aliens across both our northern and southern borders. Open borders are a threat to our national security and to our economy.<br /><br />We must allow willing states (like Arizona) to do their own job of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Health Care</span> – We do not need socialized medicine which will ultimately lead to loss of quality and affordability of health care, as well as loss of access to the latest medical technology. <br /><br />Businesses should receive tax credits for employee health care coverage, and health insurance should be available between the states for competition and quality care. <br /><br />Churches and charitable organizations should be encouraged to help the needy and poor.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Military</span> - As a former military officer, Vietnam veteran, and graduate of West Point, I believe in a strong military defense, and I have always been a strong advocate for the men and women who now serve in the Armed Forces. <br /><br />More funding should be available to develop a missile defense system and to bring back our Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines and Coast Guard to the most modern technological advances including weapon systems.<br /><br />Homosexuality should be against military policy as was the law prior to Bill Clinton. <br /><br />We should not be entangled in foreign wars merely at the whim and caprice of any President. Only in dire emergencies should a President as Commander-in-Chief employ the use of arms as set forth in the War Powers Clause. In all other cases action by Congress is required under the Constitution.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Energy</span> – We need independence from foreign oil by freeing access to our own natural resources and developing other sources such as nuclear, solar, wind, and fossil fuels. Coal and oil supplies should be developed. Off shore drilling should be increased but subject to reasonable regulations. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Education </span>– the federal government should not hamper the education systems of various states as there is no authority for federal involvement under the Constitution. <br /><br />Competition between the states and freedom of various educational structures should be available to parents who are charged with the responsibility to teach their children.<br /><br />Charter schools, vouchers, tax credits, home schooling, Christian schools, and technical training should be encouraged.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Foreign Affairs</span> – America should serve as a good example to other nations, not as a police force to force our will upon others. <br /><br />We must treat sovereign nations as we would want to be treated. <br /><br />Respect for our strength is our best defense. “Walk softly and carry a big stick” is and should be our guide.<br /><br />We should not be subject to UN control and direction and should not rely or support UN treaties like LOST (Law of the Sea Treaty), Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Kyoto Protocol, which Barack Obama unsuccessfully tried to force on our Country. Such treaties only undermine our sovereignty as a nation. <br /><br />We must stand strongly with our allies and act with authority and discipline with those who would undermine and destroy our national security. <br /><br />We must maintain a strong nuclear defense and not rely on nuclear reduction treaties which will leave us vulnerable to foreign powers.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Family</span> – As a husband, father, and grandfather I know the importance of the future we leave to our posterity. <br /><br />A strong family based on marriage between one man and one woman is and shall remain our only guide and model. <br /><br />I oppose abortion, same-sex marriage, civil unions, and all other threats to the family.<br /><br />Funding for Planned Parenthood or any form of abortion using federal funds should be stopped. <br /><br />We must remain a moral and virtuous people, and remain one Nation under God. <br /><br />I strongly support freedom of worship and faith in God upon Whom we have always relied in peace and war. </blockquote> <br /><br /><br />I'll post his name on Friday.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-1863630315042876072011-03-23T18:45:00.003-06:002011-03-23T19:00:43.728-06:00I'm BackI simply haven't taken the effort to post anything for a long time. Too many other things going on. Since I intend to start posting again, I'll try to tell about some of those things in the coming weeks. <br /><br />Tonight however, I want to point you to a phenomenal article in the latest issue of Imprimis. This in not an endorsement of the publication, Hillsdale college or the author. I simply desire to urge you, maybe even implore you to go to the website and read this piece. It is amazing on about 5 different levels. <br /><br />I've been getting Imprimis since Paul Harvey was offering free subscriptions way back in the late 90's. Most of the time it goes in the round file with the rest of the neo-con, faux conservative propaganda. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis/archive/issue.asp?year=2011&month=02">The Floating Dollar </a><br /><br /><br />I welcome your comments. What do you think??farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-78989104736294405882010-07-11T12:46:00.004-06:002010-07-11T18:26:02.897-06:00Concealed CarryIowa has been, for years, I don't know how long, a state where the sheriffs issued concealed carry permits based on the discretion of the sheriff, or what is commonly called a may-issue system. <br />The sheriff may issue a permit based on his own discretion, and is not required to issue a permit. <br /><br />Those of us who are purists have real trouble finding the concept of may-issue permits in the text of this Constitutional statement, <br /><br /><b> A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. </b> <br /><br />In my humble opinion is takes a real serious case of mental absurdity to find in that text the ability of some two-bit County Mountie to deny a God given right. Of course I'm not a sleazy lawyer, nor do I desire to play one on TV. <br /><br />In the last legislative session here in Iowa, a friend of mine introduced for the second year in a row, a bill was based on a Vermont style carry law. Here is an excerpt of a position paper from <a href="http://gunowners.org/vtcarry.htm">Gun Owners of America</a> of which I am a member on the subject. <br /><br /><i> <blockquote> Several states are considering adopting "Vermont-style" concealed carry legislation. Most of the Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) laws in the country require citizens to first get permits. But in a couple of states, like Vermont, citizens can carry a firearm without getting permission . . . without paying a fee . . . or without going through any kind of government- imposed waiting period. There are many reasons for a state to adopt a genuine right to carry law:<br /><br />1. Carrying a firearm is a "right" not a "privilege"<br /><br />The Second Amendment guarantees that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." This means that law-abiding citizens should not need to beg the government for permission to carry a firearm. That would turn the "right" to bear arms into a mere "privilege." Likewise, one should not have to be photographed, fingerprinted, or registered before they can exercise their Second Amendment rights. Criminals certainly do not jump through these "hoops." The Second Amendment is no different than any of the other protections enumerated in the Bill of Rights. That is, honest citizens should not need a government issued permission slip; rather, they should be able to carry as a matter of right.</blockquote> </i> <br /><br />What we got instead was a compromise deal between the NRA and the sodomy loving Demoncrat president of the Iowa Senate, which allowed a bill that made shall-issue the law in Iowa. Now this is an improvement over what we had, but we were one vote short of getting the Vermont style law last year. And in an attempt to keep that from happening, the NRA sold out the Iowa gun owners to claim victory in getting a shall-issue bill. <br /><br />As a side note, it should not surprise anyone that the NRA may endorse Harry Reid in his Senate Race in New Mexico. Anything it takes for NRA to keep itself in a position of power seems to be the current mode of operation at NRA. <br /><br />Anyway, Iowa is now going to be a shall-issue state. The sheriff must issue a permit, unless he can provide a written reason explaining his reason for refusing to issue a permit. This legislation passed near the end of April, and goes into effect later this year. <br /><br />I still intend to fight for a Vermont style law. I'm assuming I will be fighting against the NRA and it big money interests, but I will continue to fight. <br /><br />I was motivated to write about this issue after a verdict was announced in a recent court case here involving an acquaintance of mine. Rather than try to explain the details I'm just going to link to several articles on the subject, ......<br /><br /><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-gunpermit-ruling,0,3942729.story">Concealed Carry Denial </a><br /><br /><a href="http://theiowarepublican.com/home/2010/07/11/too-little-almost-too-late/">Too Little (Almost) Too Late </a> <br /><br /><a href="http://volokh.com/2010/07/08/iowa-federal-court-finds-concealed-carry-permit-was-designed-because-of-applicants-political-activity-orders-sheriff-to-take-a-first-amendment-class/"> First Amendment Violation</a><br /><br />And I going to reprint this one, the highlights are added by me, <br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/07/09/judge-gives-sheriff-a-first-amendment-lecture-then-orders-him-to-get-more/"> Wall Street Journal</a><br /><br />They say you’re never too old to learn, but one sheriff who ran afoul of the First Amendment won’t have a choice.<br /><br />A federal judge upbraided Osceola County, Iowa, Sheriff Douglas L. Weber this week for denying a concealed weapon permit to an Iowa man because he engaged in frequent political advocacy. So egregious were the sheriff’s actions, the judge found, that the judge ordered Weber back to school for a court approved course on the Constitution. See here for story in the Sioux City Journal. (h/t: The Volokh Conspiracy)<br /><br /><b>“In denying Paul a concealed weapons permit, Sheriff Weber single-handedly hijacked the First Amendment and nullified its freedoms and protections,”</b> wrote Federal Judge Mark Bennett in the opinion.<b> “Ironically, Sheriff Weber, sworn to uphold the Constitution, in fact retaliated against a citizen of his county who used this important freedom of speech and association precisely in the manner envisioned by the founding members of our nation.”</b><br /><br />Paul Dorr, who filed the suit, was denied the permit because people considered him strange as a result of his political activities, which included gathering information on the size of the county budget. By way of explanation for the denial, Weber wrote on Dorr’s application, “Concern from Public. Don’t trust him.”<br /><br />Bennett writes in his ruling that it is often difficult to determine what drives an individual’s decisions in a case like this, but Weber’s testimony was so forthcoming that it didn’t leave a shred of doubt.<br /><br /><b>“The court finds a tsunami, a maelstrom, an avalanche, of direct, uncontroverted evidence in Sheriff Weber’s own testimony to conclude beyond all doubt that he unquestionably violated the First Amendment rights of at least Paul Dorr,”</b> he wrote.<br /><br />Dorr, unsurprisingly, was quite happy with the ruling. “Justice is served,” he told the Sioux City paper Wednesday. “I get my permit back and the sheriff is being sent back to school. The harm done by Sheriff Weber against the 6th and 9th commandments has been made right.”<br /><br />The paper couldn’t reach the sheriff for comment on the case or the required class. Judge Bennett, for his part, seems quite comfortable giving a lecture himself:<br /><br /><b>“This is a great reminder that the First Amendment protects the sole individual who may be a gadfly, kook, weirdo, nut job, whacko, and spook, with the same force of protection as folks with more majoritarian and popular views.”</b><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And I want to say that this kind of behavior by sheriffs is exactly why I want a Vermont style law as opposed to the Shall-Issue which we will soon have as Law. <br /><br />If a sheriff will knowingly violate the rights of a citizen thy way Sheriff Weber violated Paul Dorr's rights, by what logical standard can we expect that same kind of sheriff to justly and fairly exercise his position when the shall-issue system is in place. I believe that some sheriffs will find every way possible to continue to deny gun owners the right to carry by using every illegal, immoral and underhanded tactic they can think of to refuse to issue carry permits. Just like Sheriff Weber did to Paul Dorr. They will have to work harder at it, they will have to issue more permits than they previously did, but my guess is that we will continue to hear accounts of lawful citizens denied they Constitutional rights by sheriffs who have no regard for the rights of the citizen,farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-79671275666455176402010-06-04T18:11:00.003-06:002010-06-04T20:41:26.445-06:00Maybe I could ride the Tour De France?I used to ride a bike a lot when I was a kid. Had one for getting around when I was in college. Went on several rides around Saylorville Lake in those days. Now that I'm old, I haven't been on a bike for several years. But, I wonder could I take up competitive cycling if I had one of these bikes? <br /><br /><br /><object width="580" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/8Nd13ARuvVE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/8Nd13ARuvVE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />I have a fair collection of Dewalt cordless power tools. And I've always wondered how they could be used to power a bike. I think we have an answer. <br /><br /><br />And no I couldn't ride competitively, unless they have a class for fat guys.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-58107861751803471002010-05-17T18:33:00.007-06:002010-05-17T19:14:29.242-06:00The Lastest News from the farmers place.First, this picture is for Res Ispa.<br /><br />A while ago you asked if there were common around here. And the answer is, sorta. <br /><br />Since so much of the land is tilled for agricultural purposes, the areas where you can find them are limited. But, in those areas, we seem to have the proper rainfall and temperature for a healthy crop. A good friend of mine found several hundred of them earlier this year. I went to a county park and looked for a while one evening, found nothing. <br /><br />This evening one of the twins was mowing along the grove and found these. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S_HjQ60mfNI/AAAAAAAAAT0/7d523GA9s7Q/s1600/img_1971.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S_HjQ60mfNI/AAAAAAAAAT0/7d523GA9s7Q/s320/img_1971.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472404902039157970" border="0"></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S_HjpK8SVnI/AAAAAAAAAT8/04Yewb7CCzM/s1600/img_1972.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S_HjpK8SVnI/AAAAAAAAAT8/04Yewb7CCzM/s320/img_1972.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472405318683219570" border="0"></a><br /><br /><br />Now an update on the chickens. They are at the ugly stage. Lost all the downy yellow fuzz, and have very small feathers on the wings. Otherwise they are butt naked and butt ugly. On the second week we had them we had a cold snap in the weather, it got too cold in the barn, even though they were under heat lamps. So I put some old Ron Paul campaign signs around the room for the chickens and hung a LB White, LP gas heater in there for about a week and a half. We lost 12 from them piling up when it got too cold. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwpR96y1GfLO0ucytfjhbA9W9JOucIDfVHDSfcgfsLDhJna7ZF8vtFOJNEbWpLuggca5PdSvfJutRoGN1LjgA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br />On Friday I took the day off. At 7:00am we left the kids at a friends place, then the lovely Mrs. farmer and I drove to western Iowa pulling a 24 ft trailer with a couple of sign/billboards to put in the back of a pickup for a parade. I'm helping a group of concerned citizens here in the area fight back against the lawless decision of the Iowa Supreme Court, which advocated granting sodomy permission certificates. <br /><br />After we dropped off the sign in western Iowa, we went to my folks place, picked up a busted lawn tractor, which I need to work on as well as an old chicken nesting box which needs some major work. After we get these broilers raised, we may get a few laying chickens. <br /><br />From my folks place we went to Des Moines for a meeting at 3:00, then parked the trailer in Ankeny, then visited some relatives for a few minutes. <br /><br />We left Ankeny, went down East 14th to Euclid, went west two blocks and ate our supper at the Iowa Beef Steakhouse. Good food, decent price, good service. No complaints. <br /><br />With our stomachs full we then ventured into downtown Des Moines to the Embassy Suites. Campaign for Liberty held a regional conference there. I joined Gun Owners of America for a year. Shook hands with several political types. Then heard speeches from Jan Mickelson of WHO Radio,( a Christian Libertarian), Thomas Woods author of Meltdown, and the honorable Ron Paul. A very enjoyable evening. <br /><br />Picked up the trailer in Ankeny on the way back north. Got home about 11:30.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-76080823013462635112010-04-25T12:51:00.003-06:002010-04-26T05:19:36.087-06:00ChickensOne again the farmer's clan is in the chicken business. <br /><br />We ordered 150 chicks from the local hatchery on Tuesday the 13th, they were hatched on Monday the 19th, and my wife picked them up from the USPS on Tuesday morning the 20th at 7:20 am. So, on or around the 25th of May we will once again be butchering chickens. <br /><br />Since last years chickens got rather large, 10 lb average, we will be butchering before eight weeks of age. And because we got a new video camera, we will try to post pictures over the next few weeks showing the growth of the chickens. <br /><br />He is a short video taken in the afternoon, on Tuesday. <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwf_tJxpnAmCKFX5DIDfyeZkgavI9OKfwULkKIjMi0BVfM3MdqtCBp30LQgTpuC0ChqNKS8hPDI42oDt07cvA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Sorry Res, no ducks this time. Maybe later in the year. <br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx6UiQLtAMaXIcgLWTaKztbTN4B8Z1HvMxXPIJSpAP57P_UdOa7u_R0q3SZkW8XGuDSb_7bJiRffwZD7hcw2g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We still have a few which remain unspoken for, so if you are interested say something in the comments, or email me. <br /><br />In other news. <br /><br />We are somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 done planting for the year. All of the hog pits have been pumped and hauled. We are far ahead of the seasonal schedule, and even farther ahead of last year. <br /><br />I'm supposed to go to the Repugnant Party district convention this weekend. We'll see if the weather allows that? The governors race is heating up here in Iowa. We have a three way contest, with the former governor Bumstead, who held office for 16 years, raised taxes thirty times, introduced legalized gambling, and had as his Lt. Governor a Planned Parenthood activist, and current sodomy marriage supporter, seeking a 5th term. Then we have a very nice, polite, standard issue, conservative Republican, who has served 5 terms in the State Senate, without ever making a name for himself by doing anything of note, a typical party man who shows no real abilities as a leader, just a party man. And a relatively young former educator, businessman, consultant from northwest Iowa. He has pledged to fight the Iowa Supreme Courts ruling on sodomy marriage, by issuing an executive order staying the ruling until the legislature changes the law or amends the Iowa Constitution. He is promising to take the funding of the education away from the state and give it back to the parents of school children (60 percent of the state budget), he wants to challenge the Obama healthcare fiasco on 10th Amendment grounds and yesterday, he endorsed an Oklahoma/Arizona type immigration reform. <br /><br />Shouldn't be a difficult choice. But, I'm quite certain that the Repugnant establishment has got the second guy in the race to take votes away from the third. We have not had a true "conservative" candidate for governor in Iowa in twelve years who did not face a three way race. The establishment is very anti christian conservative. They are more concerned about retaining power for a handful of elites in Des Moines, than in seeing actual change in the current system. <br /><br />My guess is that Bumstead will win the party nomination, and the Demoncrats will retain the governorship because those of us on the far right side of the aisle will either not vote, or vote third party in the general election.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-23255665150781619162010-03-14T13:38:00.002-06:002010-03-14T13:43:25.142-06:00A little humor at the vegans expense!!Saw this at LRC. Laughed out loud. <br /><br />Hope you enjoy it. <br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GKTsWjbjQ8E&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GKTsWjbjQ8E&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object>farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-86910344243377278812010-02-23T21:40:00.002-06:002010-02-23T21:46:54.430-06:00The SpeechSince I asked for your help, I thought it only appropriate to keep you informed about the speech to which I referred. <br /><br />Tomorrow afternoon, I will be speaking for about 7 minutes at an event for Iowa Family Political Action Committee. <br /><br />I have been helping them with a project to get the Iowa Marriage Amendment on the ballot. <br /><br />I will probably post my speech tomorrow evening.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-84689690095547767572010-02-19T06:22:00.002-06:002010-02-19T06:56:26.541-06:00I need some help with a mental exercise.I have to do a little speech in a few days, related to my worldview. Explaining why I hold my spiritual, political and personal views. The group I'm speaking to is specifically concerned with family issues. <br /><br />Remember Hitchens interview in which he asserts that if you don't believe X you really can't call yourself a Christian!! Well, I'm a Christian fundamentalist. I don't consider anyone who doesn't hold to the five fundamentals of the faith to be a Christian.<br /><br />As a point of reference we'll use the following as the five. <br /><br />1. The Deity of Christ<br />2. The Virgin Birth<br />3. The Blood Atonement <br />4. The Bodily Ressurection<br />5. The Physical Return of Christ<br /><br />Now, as a fundamentalist, I think that there are certain absolutes/truths which follow in two other areas. We'll call them civil government, and family. <br /><br />What would you consider five fundamentals in each of those areas? <br /><br /><br /><br />Civil Government<br /><br />1. God has established government and has power over it.<br /><br />2. Government's first duty is to punish evil.<br /><br />3. Power comes out of the people.?<br /><br />4. <br /><br />5. <br /><br /><br /><br />Family<br /><br />1. Marriage One Man, One Woman, for life. <br /><br />2. Children are a blessing from the Lord.<br /><br />3. Education is the responsibility of the parents.<br /><br />4. Old age care of parents is the responsibility of the children. <br /><br />5. <br /><br /><br />I think you get the idea. Now, please help me fill in the blanks, start over, make a better list, .................<br /><br /><br />I have to give this speech next week. <br /><br />All your help would be appreciated.<br /><br />And if the troll/human weed shows up, don't respond to it, I'm going to delete all of it's comments.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-49061199123748882952010-02-08T19:44:00.002-06:002010-02-09T19:33:09.140-06:00A seriously funny trashing of a liberal atheist.I don't know the proper etiquette for the following post. Am I supposed to just link to it or cut and paste it? Whatever, I'll do both!<br /><br />It is not my work. It comes from the guys at WHO Radio in Des Moines. Jan Mickelson is my favorite talk show host, bar none. I have been listening to him since 1989? and I sincerely believe he is one of the best at his craft ever. His letter is posted by Steve Deace the afternoon host at WHO. Deace is slowly learning the truth. He started out as a Republican bootlicker, and has now learned enough to be an independent who is despised by the Repugnant party. <br /><br />The letter is in response to one from Hector Avalos the atheist religious studies professor at Iowa State University. Dr. Avalos is one of the leaders of the group that help keep Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez ("The Privileged Planet") from getting tenure. Gonzales story is one of those featured in "Expelled" by Ben Stein. <br /><br />I went to a "debate" between Avalos and Mickelson at Iowa State, featuring a topic related to sodomy marriage. Mickelson didn't really so much debate as throw hand grenades, which amused the large crowd of supporters and enraged the small contingent of sodomites. <br /><br />So these two have a very public history. And it is clear that Mickelson enjoys sticking in the knife and twisting it, before he pulls it out and sticks it in again. <br /><br />I hope you enjoy the exchange. I sure did. <br /><br />here is a link to the original post at WHO Radio,<br /><br /> <br /><a href="http://www.whoradio.com/pages/stevedeace.html">February 8th Steve Deace</a><br /><br /><br /> <br /> Deace's Daily Diary: February 8th, 2010<br />Monday 02-08-2010 8:08am CT<br />There are times you come across something that somebody has written that makes you realize you can't possibly top their work, so you just get out of the way and let it speak for itself.<br /><br />Today's blog is one of those days.<br /><br />My fellow WHO broadcaster Jan Mickelson exchanged emails recently with a militantly atheist religious studies professor at Iowa State named Dr. Hector Avalos, who once compared the Bible to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf: <a href="http://www.evolutionnews.org/2007/05/iowa_state_promotes_atheist_pr.html."> Dr. Hector Avalos </a> <br /><br />The exchange is below and is today's blog entry for two reasons:<br /><br />1) I'm lazy.<br /><br />2) This is so good nothing I could possibly write today as the Sultan of Snark himself could top this, so why try to reinvent the wheel?<br /><br />Guest commentary:<br />Haiti’s suffering is ungodly<br /><br /><br />By Hector Avalos<br />Special to The Tribune<br /><br />Published: Saturday, February 6, 2010 11:45 PM CST<br /><br /><i>Haitians were just starting to be dug out from collapsed buildings, when Pat Robertson, the televangelist and former presidential candidate, told us he knew what had caused Haiti’s horrific earthquake.<br /><br /> Hint: It was not geology.<br /><br /> As Robertson phrased it on his show, The 700 Club (Jan. 13): “They (Haitians) were under the heel of the French ... And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said we will serve you if you get us free from the French.” Haiti’s earthquake and poverty are punishment for that pact.<br /><br />Where do Robertson’s ideas come from? The earliest trace of any legend of a Haitian “pact to the Devil” is a book on the history of Haiti (titled, “Histoire de la Révolution de Saint-Domingue”) published in 1814 by a French inhabitant of Haiti named Antoine Dalmas.<br /><br />According to Dalmas, on the first night of the Haitian revolution (Aug. 20 to 21, 1791), some slaves at a plantation drank the blood of a black pig sacrificed to an African deity. The ritual supposedly made participants invincible.<br /><br />That’s pretty much it. Later writers added more dramatic and uncorroborated details, including an oath. Since the ceremony involved nothing beyond a few hundred slaves, it cannot be described as an entire nation making a pact.<br /><br />Nonetheless, Dalmas describes a ceremony associated with Voodoo, the collective name for diverse African religious traditions, which were often combined with Christian elements, in Haiti.<br /><br /><br />Voodoo, now an officially recognized Haitian religion, was often denigrated as devil-worship by Christian slavemasters. Robertson simply continues this demonization of African religions.<br /><br />And as for poverty being God’s punishment for Voodoo, a World Bank study, titled Social Resilience and State Fragility in Haiti (2007), calculates a poverty rate of 47 percent for Voodoo practitioners, 49 percent for Catholics and 51 percent for Baptists. Therefore, Haitian Christians actually are slightly poorer.<br /><br />Furthermore, Haitian slaves did not see just the “French” as their oppressors. Haitians saw white Christians enslaving them. Since Christianity was not helping them, slaves appealed to their African gods. Slaves could argue the appeal worked because Haiti became the only nation established by a successful slave revolt.<br /><br />However, Haitians paid a price for liberty. First, their revolution devastated the sugar industry, the heart of their economy. Revenues plummeted.<br /><br />France also imposed a price of 150 million francs (perhaps tens of billions in today’s dollars) to recognize Haiti’s nationhood in 1825. Paying that debt with already limited resources proved difficult. It took Haiti until 1947 to pay it off.<br /><br />Moreover, big slave-trading countries initially refused official recognition of Haiti’s nationhood in order to punish it for the sin of overthrowing slavery. The United States waited until 1862. This delay further distanced Haiti from all the benefits of trade that accompany recognized nationhood. Thus, much of Haiti’s poverty resulted from burdens imposed by outsiders.<br /><br />And this brings me to Iowa pigs. The former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, wrote a book called “Eyes of the Heart: Seeking a Path for the Poor in the Age of Globalization” (2000), which claims Iowa pigs impoverished Haiti even more.<br /><br />According to Aristide, prior to the 1980s, Haiti used very hardy local (Creole) pigs that could withstand tropical heat and eat almost anything.<br /><br />But, in 1982, international agencies, many influenced by the United States, convinced Haitians to slaughter their pigs because of concerns about a swine flu epidemic. The United States promised that better pigs would be substituted, and these came mostly from Iowa. <br /><br />However, Iowa pigs required clean water, which was unavailable to 80 percent of Haitians. Special roofed pens had to be built because Iowa pigs were susceptible to the sun. While Haitian pigs ate anything, feed for American pigs cost $90 per year in a country where the annual per capita income was $130.<br /><br />If a pig sacrifice helped to liberate Haiti in 1791, Haitians were being sacrificed to American pigs in the 1980s. Aristide claims that Haitian peasants lost $600 million in this fiasco (“Eyes of the Heart,” page 14).<br /><br />So, if Robertson had read Haitian history, he might have spotted a club of Christian slave-trading nations, and not God, shaking the foundation of Haiti’s society and economy to this day.<br /><br />Hector Avalos, a professor of religious studies at Iowa State University, writes monthly for The Tribune. His columns appear the first Sunday of the month.</i><br /><br /><b>Doc, <br /><br />Always great to hear from you. I always enjoy reverse engineering. And Billy Bob Robertson always is entertaining as well. That guy serves up a lot of nonsense for the consumption of the rubes…when he isn't rebuking hurricanes and taking out third world dictators, he still managed in his spare time to raise over two billion dollars for the relief of the poor over last couple of decades. Puzzling how crazy people do things like that.. And about those evil Christians who in the last several weeks have donated nearly another billion for Haiti relief….must be residue guilt over what those French Christians did don't cha think? I used to be similarly afflicted. <br /><br />Then, I became enlightened by science. Since then, I've come to realize compassion and altruism is completely wasted upon the lesser evolved races. All the money spent on those "yard apes" has been mostly wasted. By any objective standard, continuing to subsidize genetically deficient sub-species is a waste of time and money. In fact supporting humans who can't seem to get it together either before their African Muslim brothers sold them into slavery, nor after more than a century of welfare, should be cut loose. Nature should be allowed to take its course. <br /><br />I agree with that Darwin fellow. "At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world. At the same time the anthropomorphous apes [that is, the ones which look like the savages in structure] . . . will no doubt be exterminated. The break between man and his nearest allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilized state, as we may hope, even than the Caucasian, and some ape as low as a baboon, instead of as now between the negro or Australian and the gorilla." <br /><br />That earthquake is merely expediting Darwin's interrupted good works. <br /><br />Maybe we should keep a few Haitians alive and put them in the zoo like Darwin's buddies did to the Australian Aborigines during the World's Fair in the last century…and if they become extinct we could employ the services of a good taxidermist (as was done to some Aborigines) so as to keep alive at least the image of a Haitian so our grand children can get a glimpse what we overcame. <br /><br />I am appalled as you must be to see some deluded zealots try to adopt Haitian orphans…a genetic cruelty which will just keep the legacy of those savage races extant way beyond what Darwin intended. <br /><br />As to that slavery thing, perhaps if we have to keep around the legacy of those savage races, then "…if we are all biological accidents" as Darwin teaches, "why can't the white accidents own and sell black accidents?"<br /><br /><br />Anyhow… always nice to hear from you. I was beginning to doubt my resolve.<br /><br />Mickelson<br /><br />BTW… it's always gratifying to see atheists affirming competing religions. Your support of the religion of Voodoo is indeed heartwarming. Certainly a feeble step in the right direction. A few more natural disasters like this and you may be found humming "nearer my God to Thee"…. </b>farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-20163612360027100522010-01-27T22:54:00.002-06:002010-01-27T23:21:40.729-06:00My New Favorite SongI think any comment I might add is unnecessary!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-TC2xTCb_GU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-TC2xTCb_GU&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object>farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-68994635713302349962010-01-21T22:04:00.003-06:002010-01-21T22:15:51.987-06:00The Supreme Court Slaps Juan McMarkOCain upside the head.today the US Supreme Court got one right. <br /><br />What's appalling is that there were actually 4 of the black robed tyrants who failed to defend the Constitution from a traitor like Juan McAmnesty. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://bigjournalism.com/fross/2010/01/21/supreme-court-drop-kicks-mccainfeingold-scores-victory-for-1st-amendment/"> Big Journalism </a><br /><br />I written about this travesty before. And I greatly enjoy seeing Juan boy get slapped silly. <br /><br /><a href="http://farmeruminations.blogspot.com/2008/11/post-election-comments.html"> Post Election Comments </a><br /><br />Now if we could just hold his impeachment hearing and assemble the firing squad, maybe the country would sit up and take notice that the Constitution is not to be trifled with. One can only hope I'm afraid, after all, Jorge the Younger Shrub is still on the loose as well.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-66329825566626909942010-01-07T17:45:00.009-06:002010-01-07T18:22:24.773-06:00The weather here just continues to be awful. We did not leave the farm over Christmas, then I worked in the cold on Saturday and Sunday. New Year's week, it was at least -15 several times. On New Years Eve, we drove down to southwest Iowa to do Christmas with my family. It was very pleasant, everyone made it for the occasion on New Year's day. Ate to much, laughed a lot, had a great time. <br /><br />As I've mentioned earlier, I've been working on a project in my shop for several months. One friend gave me a hydraulic cylinder. Another friend traded some cutting torch work for a piece of I-beam. In an old shed at my dad's place was an old hydraulic control valve off of a combine header control, and I remembered an old sprayer frame in the weeds down at my folks, so I scrounged all the stuff together and built this,......... <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z2zYrXNII/AAAAAAAAATM/vDqz1F3ZCkM/s1600-h/img_1613.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z2zYrXNII/AAAAAAAAATM/vDqz1F3ZCkM/s320/img_1613.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424153426384073858" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3COfWmNI/AAAAAAAAATU/ApXv5vXpV4E/s1600-h/img_1614.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3COfWmNI/AAAAAAAAATU/ApXv5vXpV4E/s320/img_1614.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424153681347385554" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3N1cUCqI/AAAAAAAAATc/1MbWbulbieI/s1600-h/img_1615.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3N1cUCqI/AAAAAAAAATc/1MbWbulbieI/s320/img_1615.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424153880782178978" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3cus-bQI/AAAAAAAAATk/ykX0BUyoQVw/s1600-h/img_1616.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3cus-bQI/AAAAAAAAATk/ykX0BUyoQVw/s320/img_1616.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424154136671055106" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3pHeDwyI/AAAAAAAAATs/p61Rv1RLyhY/s1600-h/img_1617.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1luPyxDWVFA/S0Z3pHeDwyI/AAAAAAAAATs/p61Rv1RLyhY/s320/img_1617.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424154349477806882" /></a><br /><br /><br />So, there you have one of my excuses for why I haven't spent much time at this blog lately. <br /><br />It's designed to use the hydraulic power from a tractor. Can be used horizontally or vertically. <br />It got one coat of primer and some very flat black paint I bought on sale at the John Deere store. <br /><br />Now if I could just complete some of my other long list of projects I've been accumulating pieces for, a smoker from pipeline pipe, a large portable grill from an old fuel barrel. Fixing a 4-wheeler that a friend gave us, and the big one, finishing that(those) Oliver tractors. <br /><br />Happy New Year everybody. I'm home sick today. Have some kind of stomach flu. Went to work in the blowing snow. Fed the cattle, weaned pigs, then came home and spent the rest of the day in bed or in the recliner, when my back couldn't stand laying in bed any more.<br /><br />BTW, it was between -15 and -18 when I put that thing together in Dad's yard, Friday morning. Man did I miss my heated shop.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-33577912861300397322009-12-25T17:14:00.002-06:002009-12-25T17:35:23.545-06:00Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas from the farmer's house. <br /><br />I hope you took time today to celebrate the birth of the Saviour of the World. <br /><br />The Saviour of the World<br /><br />W.Y. Fullerton, 1857-1932 sung to an old Irish melody<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I cannot tell why He whom angels worship, <br />Should set His love upon the sons of men, <br />Or, why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wand-'rers, <br />To bring them back, they know not how or when:<br />but this I know, that Christ was born of Mary, <br />when Bethl'hems manger was His only home, <br />And that He lived at Nazareth and labored, <br />And so the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is come.</span> <br /><br /><br />We had a rather different Christmas this year. <br /><br />In case you were unaware the mid-west is engulfed by a large and lingering winter storm. It has been precipitating in one form of another since late Monday/early Tuesday, and probably won't quit until afternoon tomorrow. I'm sure we've had at least 8 to 10 inches of snow and it is snowing now. It rained all afternoon on Thursday. Now the temp has dropped into the middle teens, and the slushy snow and ice have frozen hard. <br /><br />So we did not travel to either side of the families homes, rather we stayed here by the fire, where it's warm and cozy, just the immediate family. We had ham and baked potatoes for dinner with green bean casserole and frozen sweet corn. I spent some time out in my shop working on the project I am supposed to be giving my dad for Christmas. It's not quite done, but I have started the painting phase. But some primer on this afternoon. <br /><br />Again Merry Christmas, God bless all of you.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-32412570763491301252009-12-14T20:00:00.002-06:002009-12-14T20:28:45.791-06:00A friend set me an email entitled: Democrat with a Rifle<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxCUz8iIj8MhRmacjsIUTfIJa9Z7ty8cVwink_UfrCQaWd-8q7Kc7WRog74d-uVCK3fSMUGNIbe_l70vBEnag' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-146740027586181962009-12-10T18:56:00.005-06:002009-12-10T21:14:53.386-06:00The Return of the Great DepressionReturn of the Great Depression by Vox Day <br /><br /><br />In case you were unaware, the financial/economic world has been going through a period of profound distress in the last 18 to 24 months. My two years of college with a series of general requirement classes did not include any economic classes. In the years since, the subject has always been one I never took the time to include in my attempts at expanding my knowledge base. In an effort to better understand these events, I have read all or part of several books related to this topic. Over a year ago while the TARP bailout was being debated, the stock market was falling and the country was throwing George W. Bush and his political cronies under the bus. I read some of Murray Rothbard's "America's Great Depression" with a group of people at Vox Popoli blog. Each week we would read a chapter, then take a quiz and discuss that weeks reading. The latter part of fall harvest and the holidays interfered with my plan to finish that book. <br /><br /> This spring I bought Thomas Wood's book, "Meltdown" and got it read just before planting started. I have Ron Paul's "End the Fed" laying in my stack of books to read. <br /><br /> Being a regular reader at Vox Popoli blog, when Vox announced that he was writing "Return of the Great Depression" I quickly acquired a copy as soon as it was available. Of course it came during harvest this fall, so I've just now completed reading it. <br /><br /> As I've already mentioned, until the last year I had very little knowledge of economics. "Return of the Great Depression" is a very effective tool for expanding one's knowledge base on this topic. The book addresses all of the various economic theories, while at the same time, pointing out some of the flaws/failures in those theories. It seemed to me that as an overview of economics, the book is useful in laying a groundwork upon which to do further study. <br /><br /> We've all heard of Keynes in the recent months, yet I did not understand the extent to which all of the economic actions taken by the government and the "Fed" have been influenced by Keynes in one way or another. I did not know anything about the monetarist theory nor the "Chicago School", even though I had heard of Milton Friedman. BTW, for those of you who still listen to Limbaugh, this is one reason he so despises Ron Paul and those who want to return to a gold standard. Limbaugh is a proponent of the Chicago School, and Friedman. <br /><br /> I had never heard of David Ricardo and his Vice. And I have long since concluded that the "Beast from the Sea" is an apt description of the fourth bank of North America. The subchapter on that topic includes an excellent short history of the "central bank" concept in the United States, leading to the obvious conclusion that we should rightfully "End the Fed". <br /><br /> The style of the book is different than I expected. Imagine listening in on a lecture in which the topic is the history of economics and finance. Since most effective speakers make the topic personal, the lecturer starts with an account of his own experience during the Japanese boom and it's following bust. The lecturer then begins to lay out the history of economic theories while at the same time interspersing comments and ideas on current events into the lecture. The conclusion of the lecture is a summation of the reasons to believe that we are about to experience a "Return of the Great Depression", This is followed by a list of six possible scenarios which will unfold either refuting or confirming that idea. <br /><br /> Vox concludes with a list of practical policies which would help, in the long term, to fix the coming distress. They are interesting, if almost completely impossible to see happening, since all of them require political and financial leaders with integrity and conviction who would be willing to do some serious amputation in order to save the patients life. Instead they will keep applying more leeches while promising another blood transfusion. <br /><br /> I can also say I never expected to see a poem in a book on economics, and I'm sure I did not understand it, but it certainly was different. <br /><br /> Get "Return of the Great Depression" for yourself. You will learn some facts about economic theory, you will certainly learn some history, and depending on which scenario you chose to accept, you can prepare for the economic future with a better understanding of the coming events.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-72204676939527111302009-12-09T07:19:00.003-06:002009-12-09T22:51:29.596-06:00Something Very UnusualI've worked for the same farming operation since 1997. We typically start the day at 7:00 am. For only the second time since I worked there, I got a phone call this morning telling me not to come to work. <br /><br />In these days of AGW, (Anthropogenic Global Warming) we are having a major snow storm. Seems that all of Iowa is shut down for the day. <br /><br />The boss was out on the tractor with the snow blower, trying to make a path so that we could get to the farm. And he could not see the road ditch on either side from the tractor seat. <br /><br />So I'm currently sitting at the computer at 7:30 in the morning, with a nice warm fire in the fireplace. <br /><br /><br />What's your weather like?<br /><br />Update: The boss called about 3:00 pm and said he was coming out with the snow blower, to clear the 4 to five foot drifts out of my yard. I could not even drive the 4 wheel drive pickup out of the shed. After he blew the snow out I went and did the evening chores. Put fresh bedding in for the cattle, and moved some more snow out at the main farm, so that we can wean pigs in the morning. Got home about 6:30, and the county still had not plowed any of the roads. Had to drive through someones yard to get around one pickup stuck in a drift that must have been 6 feet deep and twenty or thirty yards long.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-30290086556409772442009-11-25T22:46:00.003-06:002009-11-25T22:57:00.856-06:00More VideoSo, you think things are improving, the economic crisis is easing and we are on the road back to normal. I'm sure this little video will make your day. <br /><br />Listen carefully at 1:30 into the speech by the new President of the European Union (I can't spell the name) on the 19th November, 2009. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/bkxldCVcjSM&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/bkxldCVcjSM&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is the most important part of the speech. <br /><br />"We're living through exceptionally difficult times – the financial crisis and its dramatic impact on employment and budgets, the climate crisis which threatens our very survival, a period of anxiety, uncertainty and lack of confidence," he said in his maiden press conference. "Yet these problems can be overcome through a joint effort between our countries. <b> 2009 is also the first year of global governance with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of the financial crisis. The climate conference in Copenhagen is another step toward the global management of our planet." </b><br /><br />I think any further comments are unnecessary.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-33622793756441695512009-11-22T17:10:00.004-06:002009-11-23T15:16:31.194-06:00Viewer WarningBefore you view this video from SNL, beware that it is <strike> borderline</strike> , no, it is crass, and tasteless. <br /><br />It is however very indicative of the position we as a nation find ourselves in. Our president is a laughing stock, deservedly so. We are in genuine economic peril, we have sold ourselves into slavery, and the man who represents our nation to the world, seems to believe that he can lie with abandon to everyone he meets. And even his liberal cohorts are beginning to make jokes about his complete and utter incompetence. <br /><br />Again, you have been warned. This is not child friendly. And if you would rather not see reference to immoral activities, please refrain from watching. <br /><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/4b09c4f4ecaaa993/4b0969c709961fed/d64b9f6a/widget.js"></script><div style="font:10px arial;width:300px;margin-top:3px;"><a href="http://www.nbc.com/Video/library/" target="_blank">Video Recaps</a> | <a href="http://www.nbc.com/Video/library/full-episodes/" target="_blank">Full Episodes</a> | <a href="http://www.nbc.com/Video/library/webisodes/" target="_blank">Webisodes</a></div>farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-40831186722857142102009-11-10T20:53:00.001-06:002009-11-10T20:53:35.539-06:00Soybean Harvest is finally over.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1922696731587058803.post-5274487435242946042009-10-22T20:13:00.002-06:002009-10-22T21:45:03.786-06:00Chopping EarlageEach year we chop earlage to fill the silos here on the farm. <br /><br />from Greg Lardy, a North Dakota State University Extension Service beef specialist, <br /><br /><i> Earlage, which is ensiled corn grain, cobs, and in some cases husks, is higher in energy than corn silage with similar protein content. It’s lower in energy than corn grain because it includes the husk and cob, but it works well in a variety of cattle diets, including growing and finishing diets for beef cattle and feed for lactating dairy cows,</i> <br /><br />The chopper is a John Deere 5820. I think the hp rating is in the 325 range, I'm not certain. This particular chopper was sold new in Germany. A business in Minnesota imported the used machine, (came over on a ship). My understanding was the shipping costs were less than 2500 dollars. <br /><br /><br />In the first video if you look closely you can see the speed hitch system we use. It automatically hitches the forage wagon to the pulling implement. <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyT1xAByLKij6cm-CAEmiAeCLaMJ03qe65F4B5WiHifelzd7xx9I_ihfYdBFTkOVbMHC9RoCmnPBdjeLSlqKQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Next we drive alongside the chopper and the forage box it is pulling. The chopper has a regular corn head which strips the ears of corn off of the plants, then the ears flow back to a drum with 48 knives on it, (about 3 inches long, razor sharp,) which cut the ears of corn into pieces which must pass through the holes in a 3/4 inch screen. The chopped ear corn then passes into a blower, (literally a giant fan with paddles on it) which throw the corn out of the machine into the wagon. <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxEsL9TX2a6Z8yAz4248zbXt8d4RloTTIiPGQ0zwv0-eMmW0m8WBr_REF_aCW5PCR4V1hOOrPtzrQOI-N0f4Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />After the corn is chopped into the wagon it is hauled to the silo. There it is fed into another blower which blows it all the way to the top of a seventy foot silo. The blower spins at 1000 rpm. Laying horizontal to the ground at the bottom of the blower is a spinning disk with small paddles on it, which throws the earlage into the moving paddles of the blower.(Think throwing something into the moving blades of a fan.)<br /><br /><br /><br /> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwHsooAbBq9WcvYWXfKhKAiVNxpn-p741lEn3UNscajy8VFgxfg_cKhsjr-EOpjYnwXvA7nuNpRl2P6ouVc' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw2wpbjamzqVpLS5AIanUKdsR5iCFJZovpSOd6Hm8Xz-zSrRznpRhe5EG-LCvbxal7na39MG7h7IJC3pYEscQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />We completed chopping corn, almost exactly a month later than normal, blame it on global climate change or something, the crop was simply far behind normal in maturing. The rest of harvest is going just as slow or worse. The crop is not drying down naturally, we have had abnormal amounts of rain, and cold weather. <br /><br />Many years the entire harvest is done by the second week of November. At the rate it's going now, we will not be done till some time in December.farmer Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04384460303549987840noreply@blogger.com1