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Farmerfriend, I see that you are from California. I also take in good faith your well meant intents behind this post. However, the budgetary crisis California finds itself in should be instructive about how government spending should not be run (let alone Davis' handling of your ongoing energy debacle).

Please realize that Minnesota (and our nation for that matter) is in the same kind of budgetary crisis. Our common crisis is due to unrestrained spending on issues, projects and matters that never should have been civil expenditures in the first place. The point is that everyone must realize that reversing the rule of socialism is going to cost every one of us something.

In fact, as administrators fight back against 'cuts' (and please realize that Pawlenty's budget is an INCREASE not a CUT), their intent will be to slash items that hurt the public in ways that will manipulate people to do things just as this email alert is doing. IOW, the intent will be to hurt taxpayers in ways that will make them lose the stomach for doing what needs to be done.

Can anyone seriously imagine ever getting to the real core of government waste, i.e., wealth redistribution and social programs, without cutting through a jungle of boondoggles aimed at the middle-class and special interest groups?

Not one-half mile from where I sit typing this post, the University of Minnesota operates the historical Gibbs farm in the era of the last half of the 19th century. Is this farm as important to our culture and history and future as the Kelly Farm? I doubt it, and I question the operation of this farm as well as another add-on component of the University of Minnesota's hugely bloated budget.

I don't mean to be harsh and denigrate the experience that these farms can provide (I actually plan to visit the Gibbs farm with the kids), but seeing them cut loose from the purse of government is a greater good than any value an afternoon watching somebody churn butter will provide.

Please do not interpret my posting of Grange news as support for the content. It may or may not be. There is a deep divide between the Granges on the west coast and the Granges on the east coast. That said, the Kelly farm is the homestead of one of the Grange's founding fathers, hence our interest in keeping it open. (personally, I think this should be done through private donations) Founded in 1867, the Grange is the oldest general farm and public policy organization in the United States. The Grange brought you anti-trust laws, free rural mail delivery and rural electrification.

If you check out my posting history, you will see that I am all in favor of the free market in agriculture. I just don't think that it is feasiable at this time. I advocate moving to a free market system for environmental conservation that would allow us to move into a free market for agriculture as well. Keeping government from interfering in both is the only way to go.