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I'm upset at him too. The the farm bill is a damn joke. Paying people NOT to raise crops is nonsense.

I don't like it either, but I know why it happened: There are only four or five states where the Senate seat is realistically in play this year. Three of those states are Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota. That's all you really need to know about why this bill was passed and signed into law. Everything else is window dressing.

Not only that, but the farm bill is probably unenforceable. What are they going to do if farmers keep growing corn? Send the DEA as was done against kulaks in the Soviet Union? I'd like to see that. After all, they could grow it for fuel too. I think Bush knows that and simply is signing a bill to pre-fix the prices of crops in the market officialy so that prices do not go too low and strategic farming stays alive. Unfortunately there are better methods such as taxing crop and food imports instead or forcing other nations from whom we buy goods lately to buy our crops. However it is hard to do. Even Japan's expensive rice production is heavily subsidised by the Japanese government and the Japanese do not buy US rice because they claim it does not taste good or some other nationalist protectionist bull.

I think what is going to happen is that farmers will get subsidised one way and will sell crops anyway the other way via the internet. It really is irrational policy, but when we see how foreign farmers are being protected by their own nations, you start to think about it. It does tend to the communist regimes of Africa that would buy Chinese rice to "feed" their people at a price 3 times higher than the price that local production could afford, hence leading to peasant virtual strikes on crop growing and famines there. I do not think it will be that bad in the US, but we sure are toying stupidly with deals and police actions like these that any wacko Democrat like Ms. Clinton or Butch Reno would happily use to torture a few gun owners in North Dacota. These people should be careful to see that deals like these with Bush are OK but have their consequences in the future if Dems are elected!!!

There are only four or five states where the Senate seat is realistically in play this year. Three of those states are Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Republican control of the Senate is not worth Bush signing CFR, the Farm Bill, amnesty for illegal aliens, the "Patriot Act", nationalization of airport security, and so on. Rush is right on this and maybe there is hope but I think the Bush administration, aka the Titanic is so arrogant towards conservatives it's probably too late to turn it around. I have noticed that when people on FR used to criticize Bush a dozen Bushbots would pop out of the wordwork to try and explain just why Bush was selling out on a particular issue. Seem to be fewer and fewer Bushbots lately.

There are only four or five states where the Senate seat is realistically in play this year. Three of those states are Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota. That's all you really need to know about why this bill was passed and signed into law.

Exactly. I don't like it either but I still plan to show up and vote Republican this year. The fact is Bush has established some strong conservative credentials in a number of areas, like his judicial nominees and most of his cabinet as well. He's pretty much ignoring his own principles for the moment on economic issues. His view, correctly or incorrectly seems to be that it will help the GOP in November. He's determined not to have Daschle running the show for the last two years of his term. I can't say I blame him.

I saw ABC news last night talking about the tariffs Bush slapped on imported steel. The reporter called him a hypocrite. What are they doing that for? They're trying to get conservatives to stay home in November. I think the Dems are concerned they don't have an issue to get their own supporters to the polls, so the media wants to drive down conservative turnout too.

There are only four or five states where the Senate seat is realistically in play this year. Three of those states are Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota.

Power wins over principal each and every time.

And pretty soon there is only power and no principal.

Looks like we're headed that way.