The Wet and the Dry

The midsection of the country is suffering with flooding, relentless rain and no relief in sight.  Crops are not being planted and those that were before the deluge are probably suffocating in the ground.   Meanwhile, both coasts are dry.  Much of New York and New England are classed as in a moderate drought situation.  California is suffering the 4th year of extreme drought.  Of course, to climate change deniers this is just business as usual.  I have a feeling the price of most foodstuffs will be going up as a result of the latest weather gyrations.  Let's see what the common wisdom says when that happens.  Surely at some point, the deviations from normal will even wake up the crew at Faux News to the dangers of ignoring the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.  I would laugh out loud, but at this point it would be more appropriate to CQ (cry quietly).

The moral minimum

In today's NYT, Marc Bittman makes an impassioned argument for a living minimum wage.  His thesis is both moral and practical.  Anyone who says they can't run their business without using employees making the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr. probably should review their business model.  Those workers are forced to seek state and federal benefits to keep a roof over their heads or work another 20-40 hours per week at another minimum wage job.   The iconic moment when Shrub congratulated a woman who was working 3 different jobs to make ends meet is the republican plan for the 99%.   As Bittman said, even the rabid capitalist, Henry Ford realized you can't stay in business if your workers can't afford to buy the products they are making.  Many of Mickey D's workers can't afford the "food" they serve.  A federal minimum wage of $15.00/hr., indexed to the CPI would go a long way toward leveling the playing field and boosting the economy.  Most of the money these workers make would go right back into the economy, increasing demand in a virtuous cycle.  Meanwhile, there would be fewer demands for government subsistence programs, lowering deficit spending.  The whole idea is a no-brainer, which is exactly why there is so much opposition.

Trolling the Dems

The NYT published what is essentially a troll piece by a republican operative who has served in the last three GOP administrations.  Peter Wehner argues the democratic party has moved further to the left than the republicans have moved right.  Aside from a few facile comparisons between Presidents Clinton and Obama and an assertion that the Gingrich house was about as conservative as Boehner's circus, he basically has nothing.  Saying that Obama is a flaming radical is like comparing vanilla to srichacha.  Any good liberal from the 60s would consider the president an Eisenhower republican.  Hubert Humphrey would scratch his head in wonder if Elizabeth Warren was described as a leftist because she is for regulating the biggest banks and protecting consumers.  On the heels of a recently published study which says congressmen overestimate the conservatism of their constituents by as much as 20%, Wehner's piece seems even more out of touch.  I guess he heard the sound of radical revolution when Bernie Sander's announced his campaign for president.  A living minimum wage, a pledge to address economic inequality and less jingoistic foreign policy is hardly a call to storm the barricades.

Fleeting Memorials

As advertised, the Memorial Day weekend was an orgy of planting here on the NCR.  Peppers, tomatoes, squash, beans and carrots all crowded into the garden on Saturday and Sunday.  With reports of rain coming in on Monday I scaled back expectations, but we got little or nothing from the sky, so the planting and weeding continued.  This time of year, weeding, planting and watering compete for attention and if you neglect any of them the consequences will haunt you for the rest of the season.  I tried to think of the supposed meaning of the holiday as I worked, but the older I get, the more cynical are my remembrances of wars, past and present.  I have lived during the brushfire war era.  Starting with Korea and continuing  through Vietnam, the Balkans, Iraq 1 and 2, etc. it is hard to believe the rhetoric which is trotted out every Memorial Day.  Most politicians have retreated to honoring those who serve in these odious little wars of choice without even trying to justify them.  It is a facile position which is virtually unchallenged.  No one wants to denigrate the sacrifices made by our volunteer army, but we need to get the blinkers off and realize what exactly we are fighting for in the 21st century.

Whirlwind Weekend

For the garden warriors, there is probably no more important weekend than Memorial Day.  Just about everything from arugula to zucchini needs to get into the ground to take advantage of the warm weather to come.   Add to that urgency the prediction of rain or showers virtually every day next week and the combination is nearly overwhelming.   On my schedule is transplanting winter squash, tomatoes, peppers, onions, shallots and lettuce.  Zinnias and other flowers are also on the schedule, as well as yard chores like mowing and weeding.  It's an ambitious and exhausting wish list and I will be happy if I get a decent fraction of it done before it starts to rain on Monday.  In between, the Divine Mrs. M and I will celebrate the 40th anniversary of our marriage and the sacrifice of the brave soldiers who enabled the American Empire, er, I mean secured our freedom. 

Start and Stop Economics

The Fed is meeting again and the rentier class is hoping for a rate hike.  Meanwhile, the rest of us are wondering how any rational person would raise rates in an economy which is limping while the rest of the world is doing even worse.  Those of us who toil for wages have seen little to cheer about for the last 15 years.  The housing bubble which burst at the end of the Shrubs administration was just the climax of several years of virtually non-existent growth of wages for the middle class.  For those who graduated college and came of age during the early years of the present government have seen wage erosion.  The fight for a livable wage, now pegged at $15.00/hr. is probably the best hope many have of seeing progress on the defining issue of our time.  A floor of $15.00, indexed to the CPI will pressure businesses to pay more to all employees.  The next step is a guaranteed stipend for every working age American.  That will level the playing field between capital and labor.  Meanwhile, we will have to listen to the pundits question the wisdom of the central bank in not raising interest rates.  These people are so out of touch, it hurts to read the garbage they dispense as revelation.

Chilly mornings

Cloudy and cool with a northwesterly wind this morning on the NCR.  It feels more like April than May, but it has been that kind of year.    The asparagus and the weeds love this weather, the rest of the garden not so much.  Thanks to the recent dry spell, all the gardens are workable which will probably lead me to plant some areas too early.   The long range forecast is for 5 days of showery weather next week.  That will make some areas too wet for growing.  I made that mistake two years ago and lost all my potatoes and several beds of laboriously planted onions.  At least I won't make that mistake again.  As opposed to Jeb Bush, who would most assuredly have made the same decision his brother did as far as invading Iraq.  Especially if Dick Cheney was running the intelligence operation as he did in 2001-03. 

Stupid military tricks

As always, cranky John McCain is demanding we put "boots on the ground" aka bodies in bags, to help the Shiite government of Iraq and Iran to retake Ramadi.  Why anyone would want to descend into the religious war between Sunni and Shia is beyond me, but McCain and his lap dog, Lindsay Graham are determined to keep us involved.  Thanks to the shrub and his henchmen, it looks like we can continue to be involved in mass murder for decades to come.

Celebrations

The Divine Mrs. M's anniversary party came off without a hitch and from the rave reviews most participants were giving, it would seem a good time was had by all.  Family and friends from 4 generations gathered and celebrated the combination of timing, luck and hard work that continues to enable my bride and yours truly to defy the common wisdom concerning marriage.  The commitment we made to each other 40 years ago includes the knowledge that consideration, flexibility and day to day work are just as important as the more romantic interludes many people think of when marriage is mentioned.   As our guests were reminded as they looked at our original wedding album, you don't remain young and beautiful (except for my better half) forever.  I'm looking forward to the next 40 years with my best friend.  I hope they are every bit as wonderful as the first 40.

Reign of Error

The title of this post was lifted from the closing sentence of Paul Krugman's column in the NYT this morning.  He was talking about the Bush family's and more generally republicans' inability to admit they were ever wrong about anything and how this seems to work out as they are continuously rewarded for being wrong.  In Jeb Bush's now infamous interview on Faux News, he averred he would have copied his brother's disastrous march to war even if he knew then what we all know now.  Seeing his foreign policy team is stocked with with such luminaries as Paul "They will greet us as liberators" Wolfowitz, it's no wonder he validated his brother.  Some have even suggested he is in thrall to the chief architect of the Iraq debacle, the un apologetic Dick Cheney.  Meanwhile, no one on the right questions the economic polices that from Reagan to Bush have led at best to increased inequality and at worst to the economic disaster of the last year of W's second term.  Cutting taxes for the rich, shredding the social safety net and deregulating every bank and industry in sight.  What could possibly go wrong.   How the inhabitants of the republican clown car hope to sell this set of policies to an even semi literate American public is beyond me, but somehow it seems to work for them.  Nothing smells sweeter to the modern GOP than the whiff of failure.

GOP philosophy in a Nut...shell

Anything for the military and for government to interfere in our private lives, but nothing to address inequality or the crumbling infrastructure on which our economy depends.  Both sides of the republican philosophy were on display yesterday.   Less than 24 hours after a disastrous Amtrak crash in Philadelphia left 7 dead and hundreds injured, the House committee on transportation voted to cut funding for the railroad.  Meanwhile, the full House is expected to vote on further restrictions on a woman's right to choose abortion.  Marco Rubio came out with a "Doctrine" which includes "rebuilding" the military, a code word for enriching military contractors.  Meanwhile we are told by various candidates we need to make hard choices on "entitlements", another code word for cutting lifelines for the poor, sick and elderly.  So we will have the most robust military in the world, a domestic surveillance government ever ready to deny individual freedoms except the right to carry guns and a pinch penny welfare state with ever more homeless and destitute who will be subject to ridicule.  Is this any way to run a country?

The Science of profit

As the preponderance of evidence leads to the conclusion that glyphosate, the ubiquitous weed killer known by its trade name Roundup, is a probable cancer agent, the usual suspects, led by Monsanto present a blizzard of propaganda to debunk the science.   These efforts include so-called science writers who try to simplify science for the layman.  However, they also use the black and white analogy to say if there is not conclusive proof of harm, we should ignore the "alarmists" who would have the substance banned.  Of course, that's not the way science works, as the climate change debate illustrates.  97% of climate scientists have signed off on the theory that our climate is changing due to human causation.  The other 3% of mostly charlatans and cranks are afforded almost as much space to posit wild notions.   Cancer caused by smoking was a radical notion in the 1970s and those that espoused the connection were ridiculed by industry hacks and even by some well meaning writers who felt the evidence was not conclusive.  Similarly, the proof of harms attributed to Roundup continue to pile up.  So called Roundup ready crops inhibit biodiversity, contribute to species decline and and weed resistance.  When will the regulators finally make the call to remove this environmental menace?  Sad to say, but when Monsanto's profits begin to shrink, or when another even more effective herbicide knocks Roundup off its perch.

Genuflecting to the crazy

Following in the steps of other republican presidential wannabes, Jeb Bush made obeisance to the theocracy at Jerry Falwell's  Liberty University.  In a speech which would have made Ted Cruz proud, Bush railed at Obamacare, abortion, gay marriage, etc.  Following on the heels of his endorsement of Shrub as his go-to guy for Middle Eastern policy, I believe it is fair to say his campaign is officially off the rails.   I don't believe there is any way he can tack far enough to the center if he manages to win the nomination.  He will certainly get the 20% who miss his brother, and there are certainly enough Hillary haters out there to boost his vote totals to the mid 40s, but I have to believe there is a plurality of reality based voters in the country.  Besides, it is still early in the cycle.  It will get crazier.

No relief

So much for the deluge predicted by local and regional forecasters!  We had a collective 6 drops at Casa Monzeglio over the weekend.  Some rain is predicted for today, but it could fall within 50 miles of the house and forecasters will claim they were right.  I guess it was a good weekend for the corn and soybean growers.  They were able to get out and work up all but the wettest areas and get some early crops in.  There is probably enough subsurface moisture to get the corn up and growing, but I don't like the way this season is starting.  Too long dry and then probably too long wet.  The Divine Mrs. M feels I am unduly pessimistic regarding the weather, but as any broken hearted farmer can tell you, putting your trust in Mother Nature is a lot like counting on purchasing the winning ticket for a $200 million lotto jackpot.

Time to build the ark

We've had a pretty good dry spell here on the NCR, but now comes the law of averages to mess with us.   It looks like most of the rainfall we should have had in April and a good bit of May will come within the next 4 days.  As a kid, I can remember moving irrigation pipe during the mid 60s when Long Island was under drought conditions in early May, but I don't remember the alternating cycle of dryness followed by torrential rain which we have been dealing with for the last few years.  I have added many tons of compost to the gardens over the years, so most of the beds can take the rain and remain friable, but it does play hell with planting schedules.  I have to try and get the onions transplanted before it starts to rain tomorrow.  Of course, that means it will start raining tonight....

Can't beat the Crazy

The tinfoil hat brigade is out in full strength in Texas.  They are predicting a martial law takeover of Texas and confiscation of their guns and they seem to have found support for this theory with the governor of the state.  Oye veh!   Aside from the rational part of the brain that screams at this stupidity, one only has to look at the military presence in Texas.  Among the various bases, all four branches of the service are represented, and the combined strength they represent could easily have subdued the population at any time.  I think the Defense Secretary should advocate the removal of all servicemen and the closure of all defense bases in Texas.  Then we'll see the Lone Star state playing a different tune.  The economic impact of all those bases might even be enough to repudiate the epic foolishness now on display.

Hold onto your hats

It looks like we're in for a rollercoaster weather ride as we head towards Mother's Day this Sunday.  It has been dry and fairly mild here on the NCR this month.  The warmer weather is welcome, but it is drying out the ground at a rapid rate.   Normally I can plant early crops like carrots, beets and other cold weather standbys without having to worry about moisture.  Now, I am having to move hoses and spend precious time watering.  Meanwhile, the weeds grow whether or not they are irrigated.   Temps in the 80s are predicted for Friday and Saturday, followed by 4 days of showers.  As usual this time of year it is feast or famine.  The temptation is to plant as much as possible in advance of the rain, but two years ago when I planted most of my potatoes and onions in the heaviest soil, the rains came and rotted the seed and seedlings where they sat.  I was unable to replant that part of the garden until June.  I have a feeling we will see a similar scenario, but at least this time I will refrain from playing my part in the drama.

Hitching a ride

The republican clown car is running our of room early.  They'll probably have to go to a minibus to accommodate all the grifters lining up to fleece the rubes who make up the base.   Carly Fiorina, the failed H-P executive and Ben Carson of "Obamacare is the worst thing since slavery" fame are the latest to show up for their 10 seconds of notoriety.  Mike Huckabee will announce today and many more wannabes are waiting in the wings.  By some estimates there will be as many as 20 candidates with real money to spend on campaigns.  The restaurants and hotels in Iowa and New Hampshire are probably hiring feverishly to meet the demand.  Most of these folks will never command more than 5% in any poll, but it won't stop them from getting their message out.  Kicking the poors is a viable strategy for most of them, along with bashing Hillary and advocating more military actions around the world.  But the major play for these leaders of the free world is the expectation of speaking  tours, inspirational books and other strategies to separate racist, homophobic and angry old white men from as much cash as possible.  It should be an amusing few months as the crowds swell and then dwindle.

Down and Dirty

In the garden, of course.  Got 15 yards of compost on Saturday and immediately started spreading and planting.   Second plantings of carrots, beets and spinach are in as well as some green onions.  Temps in the upper 70s today should get things going and continue to dry the wetter spots in the garden.  This is the first real growing weather we have had this year and so far it is shaping up to be a dry spring.   The weeds are responding predictably and some areas are a virtual carpet of lamb's quarters thanks to my failure to prevent the parents from dropping hundreds of thousands of seeds last fall.  I am trying to cut back on the amount of planted area, so maybe this year will be different in that respect.  If it stays warm and dry this week, I'll try to get the first plantings of corn in the ground.  The fruit trees are pushing out this years buds and getting ready to flower.  The only unwelcome sight is the grass stretching out.  Got to get the lawnmowers out this week.  Ugh!

Honesty

Billy Joel called honesty "Such a lonely word".  However, for the coming primaries and elections honesty and integrity should become the touchstones on which we base our choices for who will become the next President.  As has become all too obvious, that pretty much disqualifies most of the republican candidates.  Anyone who simultaneously embraces the Iraq War and complains Obamacare is a complete failure should also be using a fire extinguisher on their pants.  Jeb Bush loudly proclaims he is his own man, but meanwhile has hired a stable of advisors who pushed his brother into some of the most disastrous choices in American History.  Scott Walker has left a trail of advisors and aides in the local jails in Wisconsin for campaign irregularities and let's not even start on Chris Christie.  On the other side, Hillary will be questioned for her real and imagined lapses.  It's hard to know which is which in her case.  Bernie Sanders is probably the most honest of all the declared and lurking candidates, but the scrutiny is just beginning.  While competence is certainly desirable, honesty and integrity should trump any other qualifications for the nation's highest office.