archenemy

More like: Clean up and get out.

So how fat do you have to be to enter this race? Do you have to actually bring food with you (like a week's supply in a backpack) in order to compete? If you have man-boobs, do you have to take the alternate Male-box route? We need some rules here. Who's in?

Why don't you light your tampon string and blow up your box. Cuz that's the only bang you're going to get

I don't know who that is a picture of, but I consider that a good looking man. I'm all for looking at the young and the restless once in a while, but people with some character and people with healthy attitudes are far more interesting. Now, for the fat fuck race, we'll have to set some parameters. This requires another thread (as the fat-diet thread is lost somewhere and I ain't looking for it).

call the ghostbusters... Shhh, listen....do you smell that?

Sometimes, when I am looking for a change of pace, I do something to surprise my lover. For example, I just be standing there, doing the dishes, and all of a sudden BAM! I'm all over myself. Shocking....

I just don't believe that. The majority of the Americans I know are honest, hardworking people. Of course, they don't spray at work...

That's the one. Had me hook line and sinker for a bit. As jaded as I am, I can still be taken for a ride. Makes me mad. He got me with the whole "I need help cuz my life is all messed up right now and it's not my fault". Grrrrr.

I am a conservative man caught in a loose woman's body!!!

I hate that guy. He almost got me talked into the gear swap until someone drew my attention to him. Bastard.

Yeah, just like heterosexuals don't have any problems.

I'm sitting back and watching these fireworks.

This from memory, but I remember reading that the average welfare payment is less than $500 a month. This does not include subsidized housing or food stamps. Last year, during the picker shortage, pickers in E. Wa could make $150 a day...more in a week than you could make in a month on welfare. Plus, their dinero is worth even more south of the border. Part of the labor shortage stems from a lack of population 'willing' to work those jobs in rural areas. This creates a demand for a migratory labor force that the area could not support year round. Just thinking out loud on that one - but just to continue the exercise further, you'd probably have to find the pay-threshold at which working extremely hard in hot fields becomes more desirable than earning less pay for doing nothing. If X is the pay for doing nothing, and it's enough to live on, then I imagine that they pay for working hard in a field would have to be some multiple of X in order to persuade people to accept the trade-off. I can only imagine the response if someone suggested cutting off welfare payments - at least during harvest season - to able-bodied males and childless women who weren't in some kind of a training program, and who refused offers of employment from farmers at whatever wage rate was in effect at the time. Believe it or not, there are many people in the world who actually do have a work ethic and would be ashamed to accept money when they are able-bodied. Earning one's own way is not only an economic drive, it is also something instilled into us.

That would be interesting. And as a side note--I really believe farmers can't attract laborers because farm work is actual work. With all our non-tag-playing fat-assed spoiled children growing up self-entitled and all full of self-esteem, I don't see that changing.

Yup - but if the only people who are willing to work for those rates under those conditions are illegal aliens who lack other options, Here, let me help. Option 1: stay home. Option 2: get your citizenship and pay taxes. I didn't even need a Ph.D to come up with those two.

I agree with what you are saying. And I would like to see more family farms--hell, I come from one. I am just a bit skeptical when moon-eyed city folk start talking about getting a little farm, yadda yadda (not directed personally obviously). I am happy to hear about the ed programs going on; and hope that it weeds out the pie-eyed and helps ease the shock to those who actually buy and run a farm.

I don't feel dictated to. I feel like it was another talking head saying whatever he needs to in order to get elected. Nothing personal. And I am keeping my V8 and driving the fuck out of it whenever I damn well choose. His opinion has no effect on my driving habits.

mean. I like it.

Let's all just agree that we are all hypocrites at times and we all have double standards at times. As a matter of fact, it is a little lame to be pointing the finger at this guy for holding a double standard as if each one of us has not done so in our lives. But please, get out of mine and stop demanding I use a low-flo toilet, wear organic cotton underwear, and drink free trade coffee. I'm just not that good a person.

YUM! Can I come over?

Don't you love it when they stand over your shoulder saying, "click here, open this" a nanosecond before you are about to take that next obvious step.

I have more problems with the "growing suburbs" part of that than the water subsidy for farms. If sububanites are willing to pay more to water their lawns, let them. It doesn't get the farmer (or, more accurately, the large agriculture conglomerates who are actually doing this) off the hook, but don't make the farmer shoulder all the blame for this.

And as for paying below market rates, there is actually a little more complicated pay structure going on here. (I suspect that it came about simliarly to restaurant workers who have a differnent pay rate). Farm workers are subject to the lower min-wage rule, as you know. But they also often qualify for a seperate wage rate depending on what they are farming. Cherries, for instance, pay out per bucket. Depending on the year, a picker can make $15/hr or more. The worker only gets min. wage if he doesn't pick enough buckets to make the min. And of course, he is usually let go if his performance is that bad. Also, a number of workers also share in a year-end bonus depending on how the crop did. I assume that the market-rate you refer to should, logically, be derived from what the market will bare. If people will work for these rates and fill the positions needed, then the going pay rate is pretty close to correct, no?

As you know, this will result in higher food prices for Americans. Personally, I agree with this--they (we) should pay the true cost of food. But I understand that there would be a great deal of resistance to this. And what makes it worse is that raising these prices on healthy foods (albeit, they would be healthier if organic) makes cheap junk food look even more attractive. Then, we all pay more as the medical system continues to stagger around like a clogged artery.

Yes there is, they speak Spanish and aren't well documented. Hello--talking about starting up organic, local farms here. I already mentioned the difficulty in hiring workers for harvest. It is a bi-annual problem for my family.