Farming

This is an interesting story about the success of a program in Wisconsin, where a $1 cigarette tax lead to more people trying to/actually quitting. But, before I get into that, I'd like to share my point of view on tobacco and taxes. I'm for taxes on tobacco as a way of diversifying the family farming industry in North Carolina. I'm also against growing tobacco because it is an immoral crop - a crop that leads to addiction, pain, agony, and finally death. It kills more people than drunk drivers, it kills more people than heroin, it kills more people than Osama bin Laden, it ruins more lives than gambling or fornication or adultery or taking the Lord's name in vain. It is immoral.

The only reason we allow its growth is to make rich, white men richer and because it is the only good, addictive drug that we grow here in the US. As Chris Rock says:

God forbid some brown people got wealthy... We can't have that! Because drugs come from brown countries. We can't have no wealthy brown people!
...
If drugs were legalized, there would be a drug spot in every corner. It wouldn't be a Starbucks. It'd be Weedbucks. McDonald's? McCokeald's. Krispy Kreme? Kracky Kreme.

Chris Rock is probably right, if rich, white men could grow poppy here or could take over a place where it was grown, say Afghanistan, and reap profits while killing off their customers. I'm sure they would.

And a very good time was had by all - well, the Navy guys might not have had such a great time .... however, I must say the folks in Washington County are super polite. (They were much nicer to the Navy than I would have been)

Enjoy the show. More later.

UPDATE This just in: A resolution was presented to the NC Farm Bureau in December and will go before the NCFB Board in February 2007 to be voted on.

Be it resolved: The North Carolina Farm Bureau shall solicit full support and direct involvement of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) to defend eastern North Carolina farmers from the U.S. Navy’s proposed Outlying Landing Field (OLF) by providing direct lobbying assistance, elevation to AFBF priority status and to take any other action that is appropriate and effective.

I'll look into this later today, but it looks like the NCFB may be finally getting into gear on this. The February vote will be the test. Let's keep a close eye on it. That said, where the dickens has the Farm Bureau been for the past three years?

Back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .

Over the next couple of days, I'll report on several different angles of how your United States Government is working overtime to screw farmers and destroy the environment in northeastern North Carolina. But before all that, let's focus on the spectacularly miserable performance of the North Carolina Farm Bureau and its likely collusion with own own back-stabbing senior senator, Elizabeth Dole.

The North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation was organized in 1936, with the goal of protecting the interests of farm and rural families across the state. For the first time, an organization would give farmers a unified voice on agricultural issues. Now, as then, N.C. Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization, serving as a legislative advocate for our members at the local, state, national and international levels. From the county courthouse to the halls of Congress, N.C. Farm Bureau provides powerful and effective representation for agriculture and rural communities.

That all may have been true back in 1936, but in 2007 the North Carolina Farm Bureau appears to be just another arm of big business, big money, and the Party of Greed. At a time when the Farm Bureau could have stood strong to support the hundreds of farmers in Washington and Beaufort Counties, they stood silent instead.