Cynical this morning, are We?

Parke Wilde brings Us a good Review of the Agricultural policy and its implications, now that We are internalizing the worst flood conditions in 15 years. The Post provides access to Congressional desires to curtail the Cost of Crop Insurance in the Federal budget; one can only say that it is beneficial that Congress can never manage to get Anything done. Agriculture will have massive Clean-Up and Replant Costs over an Interval of extended Loss of consistent Farm Income. Conservative Congresses seem to possess uncanny powers to destroy efficient programs right before the greatest Need for those programs. Bush and Congress came together to functionally cripple FEMA immediately prior to Katrina, and were trying to ‘gut’ the farm programs right before the floods. Leave it to Congress to pick the intrinsic Loser every time!

Tyler Cowen may be attempting to massage guilt feelings about his, and Everyone’s, use of flying to arrive at places. This undoubtedly holds considerable importance to Tyler, who has a Conservative bent, and vast subsurface angers at Government regulation. I, on the other hand, love the simplicity of potential Government interference on multi levels; I would allow Flight with Business trips and Responses to Medical Emergency, and forbid airplane use for domestic Tourism or Holiday reunions. I would naturally insist all using Flights pay the full Cost of flying, and adequately fund Amtrak. We could finally get up to Speed in slowing American travel, by allowing Gasoline Prices to spiral upward out of control. The Whole could pull tons of Tin out of the Air, though this might not have been Tyler’s intent.

George W. Bush has decided to side with the Oil companies, what a Surprise, and eliminate the ban on off-shore drilling of Oil. Somewhere in this unholy dedications to filling Oil company coffers, Congress should fund Inspection teams to assess how much Oil could be withdrawn from closed American Oil fields, if modern Drilling methods were utilized. It is my belief, totally unfounded on Science at the current time, that many fields could be reopened with the simple expedient of drilling another 750 feet in depth. It might be more Scenic to tear up already torn-up locales, rather than destroy future ecological environment. lgl