Pot Luck

Better page... (0.00 / 0)

AP is nice and neat and up-to-date for Wisconsin results.

6 recall races, all R incumbents - R's have won two (Harsdorf, Cowles) and are on the verge of a third (Olsen); D's will win one (Shilling), should win another (Pasch), and the third (would flip control of the State Senate from R to D) is almost a 50-50 tie (King) with Dem-friendly territory remaining.

Two more recalls next week, both Dem incumbents...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 03:04:01 AM UTC

Flip those two around... (0.00 / 0)

Shilling wins, just called.  Looks like King will win narrowly.  Pasch has a ten point lead but with a lot (more than half) of precincts still out...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 03:17:29 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

And... final. (0.00 / 0)

R's hold 4 of their State Senate seats, D's take two of them, and came about 4,000 votes short in SD-08 of taking control of the chamber.  Assuming both D's hold their seats in next week's recalls (one looks toss-uppy), the Wisconsin State Senate will be 17-16 R.

Up until tonight only 13 recalls had ever been successful in all of US history.  

Boy, we recall more weight in food in any given hour than we do politicians in a century, don't we?

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 05:21:12 AM UTC

I think the result in Pasch's race may be challenged. Remember (4.00 / 1)

the county clerk in this district is the same one who magically discovered the extra votes to put the Republican  on the State Supreme Court.

Wouldn't surprise me if she magically found extra tonight, too.  

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by: caseyOR @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 05:46:24 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Another good point someone just made elsewhere... (0.00 / 0)

I forgot about the Olsen - Clark race.  That one was called pretty early, but it was even closer than the Pasch race.  No Kathy Nickolaus or Waukesha County tomfoolery there, of course, but that race (and the Wisconsin State Senate) would have been won if the D's had only flipped 1100 votes or so.

I hear she's not going to concede tonight, but down by 5300-plus votes with all but one precinct in, that race is over.  Doesn't look like anything went down there tonight, but it was definitely odd that while every other county was flying in with results, Waukesha was holding steady at only one precinct reported for like, what, three hours?  You'd think they'd especially want to be on the ball this time with all eyes on them, but nope.  Inexplicable.  At best, it's dumbfounding incompetence...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 05:58:20 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Waukesha County clerk has been (4.00 / 1)

playing these kind of games for quite some time. Incompetence has nothing to do with it. She's a longtime GOP operative. and she does not care what anybody thinks (except Scott Walker and the state GOP).

That clerk acts very deliberately. She keeps the results on her personal laptop with no paper back-up.  She got away with it in the Supreme Court race because Repubs control state government and, now, the Supreme Court. And the Obama DOJ was not going to do anything. They are so afraid of Republicans calling them partisan.

So, she may well get away with it this time. I hope Pasch fights it, though.

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by: caseyOR @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 06:08:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It is amazing, isn't it? (0.00 / 0)

It's almost like she's trying to arouse suspicion.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 06:11:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well, she's gotten away with it all this time. (4.00 / 1)

No reason for her to mess with a winning scam.  

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by: caseyOR @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 06:13:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

And of course... (0.00 / 0)

...Walker's next!

That one will be decided by the whole state, not just 18% of the state's voters in longtime Republican districts.  I think Mr. Walker may be in a bit of trouble next year.

;)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 06:10:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

NAIS round II (4.00 / 2)

This time USDA is operating completely within their jurisdiction. This one will probably sail right through.

Animal ID proposed rule

A lot of cattlemen are upset that USDA won't recognize hot brands as individual ID unless the shipping and receiving state/tribe recognizes hot brands as official ID, and I can understand that. I think the only situation where this would pose a problem is in non brand states, and those states already don't recognize the heat brands so I don't see any great changes there from what people shipping from a brand state to a non brand state anyway. I think cattle shipping from Oregon already have to go through a brand inspection and have a health certificate (ICVI) issued unless they're going from one area of Oregon to another specific area in one of our neighbor states where the states have agreements between them that waive the ICVI and inspection requirements. Also, cattle going directly to slaughter don't have to be ID'd. Probably because they pose minimal risk of spreading disease.

While a hot brand doesn't identify an animal as a specific individual, it does serve as a group ID mark. USDA is allowing group ID for poultry as well as sheep and goats (flock or herd ID). If they're going to allow group ID for those animals, especially sheep and goats, they should allow hot brands as a group ID for cattle. Sheep and goats can harbor and spread a lot of the same diseases that cattle can, and are moved interstate (at least sheep are) frequently as are cattle, especially during slaughter season.

Looks like USDA actually did learn something from those listening sessions where they took a drubbing from the public. Had they aproached the system as they are now, that is, by staying within their jurisdiction and not really expanding ID requirements much more beyond what they require now, we'd already have their fancy shmancy tracability system in place. There'd been some squabbling, but I think it would have been a done deal and would have been implemented pretty quickly.

Where they got into trouble last time they tried this was when they went after all the people who only stay in state as well as all of the hobbyists who have livestock and poultry. As someone who was in the hobbyist ranks back then I can attest to how pissed off we were. There are WAY more unregulated hobbyists out there than there will ever be people working with livestock and poultry as a business.

I'll be reading the whole document over the next day or so. There are proposed rules for poultry, sheep, pigs, horses, goats as well as for cattle. This book is 114 pages long. Thank God it's mostly 114 pages of explanation instead of 114 pages of actual rules.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 13:37:24 PM UTC

Children (4.00 / 2)

Here is some sad stuff:
http://www.childrensdefense.or...

On line or PDF.  There are way too many people needing
to learn how to stop being victims.  Can urban ag be an
answer?  You bet, and along with the food there can be
community building and empowering.

Wisconsin.  Thats my home, back when it was very blue
collar.  Now I would not want to live there. Dumb state.

Peace, Bob

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by: ColonelPanik @ Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 14:51:25 PM UTC

1493 is out in electronic format (4.00 / 2)

Just got finished reading the intro or foreward or what ever he called it. My only problem with the book is that now, having read that first part, I have to go out and go back to work in the gardens. :-(

I'll read another chapter when I have lunch or dinner. If the rest of the book is as good as the part I just read I'm going to have to be very careful and ration my time, otherwise I won't be able to get any work done until I've read the whole book.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Thu Aug 11, 2011 at 17:05:28 PM UTC

newtie patootie (4.00 / 1)

Just saw a Yahoo! blurb about GOP debates - Newt Gingrich still is running for President! Who knew?

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by: count @ Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 04:10:08 AM UTC

I think it's adorable (4.00 / 2)

when he pretends to matter.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 16:31:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I don't know if that's the word I'd use... (4.00 / 1)

After two Bush terms, people like him now scare the living crap out of me.  Anybody can apparently get elected these days.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 19:00:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Iowa Farm Bureau still in fine form (4.00 / 2)

trying to "harass and intimidate" an environmental group I'm involved with.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 16:31:34 PM UTC

Crosspost? (4.00 / 1)

Please?

:)

I feel horrible, I told Jill I'd try to come up with a blog post at least every other day while she's gone... but it's not coming easy!  Slow, lazy summer news days and whatnot, argh.

Heh, then again maybe that's a good thing.  It seems these days, no news is good news.  Unfortunately.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 19:37:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

will do (4.00 / 2)

No problem. Sorry didn't see sooner.

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by: desmoinesdem @ Sat Aug 13, 2011 at 01:18:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thank you! (4.00 / 1)

Very much appreciated.

:)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sat Aug 13, 2011 at 06:48:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

What to do with all those green tomatoes? (4.00 / 2)

Roasted Green Tomato Salsa.

I'm going to take this one out for a spin. That is, if the damn guinea fowl leave me any...

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Sun Aug 14, 2011 at 18:46:28 PM UTC

Picked my first ripe tomatoes today (4.00 / 1)

Golden Nugget. Cherry, grape, pear and currant tomatoes are always the first to ripen. August 16th. I think that's a new record for me. I've got a very large Black Krim or Purple Russian (haven't looked at the hang tag on the plant yet) that's half way ripe.

If these things actually do ripen, they're all going to hit at once and I'll be picking 200# of tomatoes all in one week I'm afraid. I've told the CSA members to get ready for an onslaught of ripe tomatoes. The rest of the green ones that are left when the weather cools, I'm going to pull the plants and distribute green tomatoes for salsa, relish, pickling, frying etc.

I'm looking foreward to getting the big hoop house set up where the tomatoes are and getting a hydronic heating system set up for it.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Wed Aug 17, 2011 at 04:00:41 AM UTC

My first ripe tomatoes have (4.00 / 1)

been Stupices. They are a bit bigger than a cherry tomato; they run -2 inches in diameter. And they are quite tasty. They are billed as early season and they produce for the entire season, heavy producers if my plants are any indication. I've harvested several Stupices already. The first grape tomatoes are just today ready to pick and eat. Given the poor tomato growing conditions this year and last, and the fact that they produce and ripen in that less than optimal weather, Stupices will always be in my garden.

I have lots of Black Krim on the plant, but nothing ripe yet. Big tomatoes on the Gold Medal plant, lots on the San Marzanos, but nothing even close to ripe.

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by: caseyOR @ Wed Aug 17, 2011 at 05:40:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yup (4.00 / 1)

it's going to be another year like last year. What little harvest I did get came all at once, in a 2-3 week period. I had a suspicion back in March that we were going to have this kind of year. That's one reason why I've been growing so many greens. I didn't even bother planting beans, and my squash and cucumber plants got stem borers before I could even get them in the ground. The few that did make it in the ground are mostly producing male flowers, so they're getting ripped out and I'll plant more greens and other fall/winter crops in their place.

That's the thing about farming and gardening. Unless you can grow in a climate controlled greenhouse, ya gotta roll with the punches.

Last spring and early summer, I was watching the grain fields as I'd go to the store over in Canby. Man they had a lot of rust on them. Looks like they're all going to have a nice harvest, but I was worried for them just the same.  

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Wed Aug 17, 2011 at 06:41:04 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

On another note (4.00 / 1)

a friend of mine from Montana who's growing sugar beets for ethanol (he has a federal license to produce fuel ethanol) stopped by the farm today. We chatted for quite a while and I gave him the cook's tour of the farm. He gave me a whole bunch of sugar beet seed. I'm going to seed a couple of trays today and transplant the seedlings in the tunnel I grow the calcots in. I'll interplant them with the onion bulbs.

He's going to be harvesting his beets in October. I told him that if my experiment worked out the way I think it will, I'll probably be harvesting about the same time he's planting next year.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Wed Aug 17, 2011 at 06:44:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

My green beans are doing great. (4.00 / 1)

I planted haricot verts. And they have started pumping out the beans. I love these beans; they are so sweet and tasty.

The cukes are flowering, although I must admit I have no idea how to tell if the flowers are male or female. Hopefully, I am getting both.

As always happens, leaf miners have invaded the swiss chard. I don't know what to do about them. Everything I've read basically boils down to if I don't want to use chemicals, well, good luck. This year I am being vigilant about checking the plants for the LM frequently and snipping off the infected leaves immediately. I'm hoping that will make it harder for the critters to spread.

I saw on the weather report tonight that the temps just might go up to the high 80s and low 90s this weekend and into next week. If that happens, it might kick the tomatoes into ripening mode.

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by: caseyOR @ Wed Aug 17, 2011 at 09:46:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

One can only hope for warm temps (4.00 / 1)

the forcast on my desktop still says 80-83 up till Friday. I always get bugs in the chard and kales this time of year. I'm spraying everything down every 2 hours or so, the heat really dries out the trays. So far the bugs ain't too bad, probably because I keep soaking them so badly.

I can't believe how many ladybugs I've got. The gardens are litterally crawling with them. Looks like they're decimating the herds of aphids the ants have been ranching. My lovely little orange wolves with the black spots have been feeding and breeding famously.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Wed Aug 17, 2011 at 10:20:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]