Tabled Labels: Consumers Eat Blind While Congress Feasts on Campaign Cash

As the Senate prepared to vote on its version of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) budget, Public Citizen released an investigation to illustrate how big agribusiness used millions of dollars in lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions, and a network of Washington insiders with close connections to the Bush administration and Congress, to thwart a consumer-friendly provision mandating country-of-origin labeling, popularly known as COOL.Mandatory country-of-origin labeling would require beef, pork, lamb, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, fish, and peanuts to be labeled with where they were raised, grown or produced. Although the 2002 Farm Bill stipulated that the new program be implemented by September 2004, mandatory COOL has been postponed by Congress -- where lawmakers are under intense pressure from the meat and grocery industries -- for two years. In June, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to once again delay COOL's implementation for meat until 2007. Industry is strongly lobbying the Senate to either delay the funding for the USDA to work on COOL or turn it into a "voluntary" program.Public Citizen analyzed donations from 19 companies and trade associations, each of which has announced opposition to mandatory country-of-origin labeling and has registered to lobby against COOL. They have contributed a total of $12.6 million to candidates for Congress and in soft money to the Republican and Democratic parties since 2000.These companies have focused their giving on 64 members of Congress who have sponsored a bill to replace the mandatory country-of-origin requirement with a voluntary one, which is considerably weaker and does not empower consumers with the right to know where their food is from. Instead, it offers industry a way to hide critical information from the public. These 64 members, accounting for only 12 percent of Congress, have received 28 percent of contributions to candidates from the COOL foes

Criminal Appropriations of Shakespeare in Jasper Fforde's Something Rotten

In reaction to studies of Shakespearean appropriations that focused on violent and oppressive uses of Shakespeare’s cultural capital, recent scholarship has emphasized the constructive, collaborative nature of appropriations. In this essay, I argue that Jasper Fforde’s "Thursday Next” series, and particularly the fourth book Something Rotten, offers an alternative understanding in which violent appropriations can be constructive rather than oppressive. While the series begins by depicting a world in which all readers are potential appropriators of texts and appropriating Shakespeare can literally be criminal, in the end it embraces a model of appropriation in which transgression can lead to liberation

A comparison of reactions of delegates and conference assistants to the 1975 Tennessee 4-H Communications Leadership Conference

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the 1975 Tennessee 4-H Communications Leadership Conference in terms of Delegates\u27 and Conference Assistants\u27 opinions according to sex and grade level. A total of 186 Delegates and 18 Conference Assistants attending the Conference completed the evaluation form. Delegates also were contacted at three- and six-month periods following the Conference to determine what had been done as a result of participation. A total of 122 Delegates responded to either the three-month and/or the six-month survey. Ninety-four responded to both, and eight responded only to the second. Major findings included the following: 1. The average ratings by the total for Delegates and Conference Assistants together for the time allocated for the Conference as a whole and for its various parts and items were in the not enough time category. 2. While the average rating by the Delegate and Conference Assistant total for each subject as a whole was very adequate, average ratings for the various study groups ranged from fairly adequate on Radio to very adequate on Group Communications. 3. While the average rating by the total of Delegates and Conference Assistants for the time allocated to each subject as a whole was not enough time, averages for the various study groups ranged from about right for Music to not enough time for all other groups. 4. Nearly three-fourths of all Delegates and Conference Assistants indicated their need for additional training to chair promotion committees and more than one-half also felt need for training if they were to most successfully lead project groups. 5. Items liked most by participants included Meeting People and Making Friends, Television Study, Whole Conference, Radio Study and Total Study Groups. 6. Breakfast Cookouts, Vespers and Lack of Time were the three things disliked the most by the Conference participants. 7. Study Groups, Radio, Housing, and Television were the four strengths most frequently mentioned by all the participants. 8. Of 29 weaknesses, Breakfast Cookouts, Vespers and Lack of Time were most frequently mentioned. 9. Percentages of Delegates and Conference Assistants desiring additional training in preparation to chair county 4-H promotion committees ranged from approximately two-thirds each for ninth graders and twelfth graders to three-fourths of eleventh graders. Those desiring additional training to lead project groups ranged from only one-third twelfth graders to 58 percent of eleventh graders. 10. With regard to project and special interest groups, Delegates most frequently mentioned working with Public Speaking, Newspaper, Photography, Arts and Crafts, Radio and Music in that order at both three- and six-month periods following the Conference. 11. With regard to promotional work done by Delegates following the Conference, most frequently mentioned items in descending order included Writing of News Articles, Taking of Leadership in Promotions Committee, Planning of Radio Programs and Exhibits, and Promotion by Word of Mouth. This was true in both time periods. 12. Other things reportedly done following the Conference included Leading Group Singing, Developing a Program, Helping Train Officers, Working on Newsletters or Newspapers, Writing and Giving Speeches, and Assuming a Leadership Role. This was true in both time periods. In terms of specific evaluation, it was found that: 1. The informal nature and freedom of all sessions allowed participants to express themselves. 2. There was a feeling of friendliness and trust which pervaded the Conference atmosphere. 3. Based on findings of this study of the Conference, it is implied that the Conference was successful, that people did grow and that such Conferences are useful. Recommendations for application of findings and further study were listed

LONG-TERM PLANNING OF A LIVESTOCK-CROP FARM UNDER GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS

Optimal crop and livestock mix was determined for a representative Alabama farm using a dynamic programming model. Results indicate that decisions concerning livestock production are highly influenced by the amount of cotton base available on the farm. In most cases, increasing cotton base results in less cattle production. The triple base provisions of the 1990 Farm Bill, however, may give some cotton farmers an incentive to produce more stocker cattle during the winter months. Research results also indicate that the availability of farm programs can alter the optimal enterprise mix on a farm with no beginning base in cotton.Farm programs, Dynamic programming, Livestock, Farm Management,

Characterization of a graphite epoxy optical bench during thermal vacuum cycling

In-situ monitoring of the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera, a Hubble Space Telescope science instrument, was performed in a vacuum environment to better understand the formation of ice on cooled optical detectors. Several diagnostic instruments were mounted on an access plate to view the interior of the instrument housing and the graphite epoxy optical bench. The instrumentation chosen and the rationale for choosing the instrumentation are discussed. In addition, the performance of the instrumentation during monitoring operations is discussed