franksolich asks the primitives

[franksolich]

This is meant for lurking primitives only; decent and civilized people may feel free to ignore this thread.

It now appears--on this day, July 19, 2012--that nearly the entire corn crop for this summer is a dead loss.  Even if deluged with tons of rain in five minutes, nothing's going to save the corn.  The bean crop may make it, but that's chancey.

Much of the country is enduring the worst drought since 1956, the naturally-caused cyclical global warming.

So.....what's Barack Milhous going to do about it?

After all, the primitives blamed George Bush on the tsunami in eastern Asia, and the hurricane in New Orleans, and as turnabout's fair play, decent and civilized people are free to blame the drought on Barack Milhous, the Magic One.

The Great Barack Drought of '12, one for the history books.

The primitives might shrug their hairy shoulders and sniff their stinking armpits, asking, "So what--these are red states who won't vote for Our Great One no matter what, so why should we care?"

The deal is, it's not only people in red states who eat.

In fact, based upon the weight-charts, it appears the primitives eat for more than we do.

The primitives might insist, "Well, that's just corn, making a scarcity of corn products.  There's plenty of other groceries that aren't corn-based, and we can buy and chow down on those instead."

Which shows how much the primitives understand about the production of food.

They're all related; the price (and availability) of corn affects the price of "non-corn" products such as beef, pork, poultry, bread, peanut butter, mayonnaise, fish, apples, and whatnot else in a list miles long.

The price of corn goes up, so too the price of apricots and tomatoes and cinnamon rolls go up.

franksolich is not God, and so can't foretell the future, but it's a pretty good guess that within weeks from now--and most assuredly by the time the presidential campaign gets underway in earnest this autumn--increases at the grocery check-out counter are going to make all the post-George Bush escalations at the gasoline pumps look like delfation.

So.....what's Barack Milhous going to do about it?

[thundley4]

The first thing that needs to be done is a moratorium imposed.  A moratorium on the ethanol requirement for gasoline, if it can be done without damaging engines.  OTOH, my job pretty much depends on the grain milling business, so maybe we shouldn't do that.

[franksolich]

The first thing that needs to be done is a moratorium imposed.  A moratorium on the ethanol requirement for gasoline, if it can be done without damaging engines.  OTOH, my job pretty much depends on the grain milling business, so maybe we shouldn't do that.

Won't work, because the production of ethanol involves parts of corn products that aren't used for food anyway, not even for cattle feed.

Remember, the big objection--and it's a legitimate objection--about ethanol is that in making it, more energy is consumed than what the ethanol itself gives us.

[Lacarnut]

Using a food product like corn to make fuel is got to be the dumbest idea that our brillant politicians in DC ever came up with. The higher cost of corn will result in higher gas prices. Plus, more people will starve in 3rd world countries cause they can not afford the increased cost.

Heck yeah, blame Obummer.

[thundley4]

Won't work, because the production of ethanol involves parts of corn products that aren't used for food anyway, not even for cattle feed.

Remember, the big objection--and it's a legitimate objection--about ethanol is that in making it, more energy is consumed than what the ethanol itself gives us.

But the milling process that produces the ethanol starts with the whole grains.  Granted that there are lots of useful by-products from that, but still that is corn not used for cattle food. 

For being dependent of the processes involved, there is a lot I don't know, but I do know they waste as little as possible.

[franksolich]

In primitivethink, the primitives think that with considerably less corn on the market, it only means that a primitive'll have to fork out a whopping fifty cents for a corn-on-the-cob for his barbeque, nothing more than that.

Alas for the primitives, it also means one is going to have to fork out two bucks, instead of forty-nine cents, for one of those pint plastic trays of fresh strawberries, or four bucks instead of one, for a watermelon.

I'm mostly worried about the price of milk and other dairy products; I suppose if what's now a gallon of milk at three dollars becomes twelve bucks, I'll still buy it, and as much as I ever did, but man, it's going to make a dent in the pocketbook.

I don't buy them--but the primitives do--think how it'll be, paying four dollars for what's right now a small 99-cent bag of Cheetos or Doritos.

My favorite bread--I won't touch any others--is right now $3.99 a loaf; I'm thinking it'll be sixteen bucks by the first week of November.

Now, you and I know, sir, whoever's president doesn't have any control over the weather, even though the primitives seemed to think so, back when George Bush was president.

And hence the Great Barack Drought of '12; why not?

A president however can ameliorate the effects of a natural disaster--in this case by cutting taxes and governmental expenditures, by taking the government out of what's supposed to be a free market, by ceasing to incite faux outrage (racism, the "war" on women, whatnot) and concentrating instead upon issues of substance, issues that matter.

Which is about the last thing Barack Milhous is willing to do.

So again, my question to the primitives--what's Barack Milhous going to do about it?

The last thing he should do is tour this burning land, offering us hope and change; he's already lost the election out here, and if he showed up, he'd lose even more.

Probably all he's going to do is play golf while the Corn Belt burns.

A starving populace (in this case, not actually starving, but beset by higher and higher grocery prices) is not an electorate willing to keep incumbents in power, no matter how many votes the Democrats can create out of thin air in the blue cities and blue states.

When driving through all four Upper Great Plains states this past week, seeing tens of thousands of square miles of dead corn, it became obvious to me that Barack Milhous is a goner.  Not only around here, but everywhere there are people who eat.

[vesta111]

In primitivethink, the primitives think that with considerably less corn on the market, it only means that a primitive'll have to fork out a whopping fifty cents for a corn-on-the-cob for his barbeque, nothing more than that.

Alas for the primitives, it also means one is going to have to fork out two bucks, instead of forty-nine cents, for one of those pint plastic trays of fresh strawberries, or four bucks instead of one, for a watermelon.

I'm mostly worried about the price of milk and other dairy products; I suppose if what's now a gallon of milk at three dollars becomes twelve bucks, I'll still buy it, and as much as I ever did, but man, it's going to make a dent in the pocketbook.

I don't buy them--but the primitives do--think how it'll be, paying four dollars for what's right now a small 99-cent bag of Cheetos or Doritos.

My favorite bread--I won't touch any others--is right now $3.99 a loaf; I'm thinking it'll be sixteen bucks by the first week of November.

Now, you and I know, sir, whoever's president doesn't have any control over the weather, even though the primitives seemed to think so, back when George Bush was president.

And hence the Great Barack Drought of '12; why not?

A president however can ameliorate the effects of a natural disaster--in this case by cutting taxes and governmental expenditures, by taking the government out of what's supposed to be a free market, by ceasing to incite faux outrage (racism, the "war" on women, whatnot) and concentrating instead upon issues of substance, issues that matter.

Which is about the last thing Barack Milhous is willing to do.

So again, my question to the primitives--what's Barack Milhous going to do about it?

The last thing he should do is tour this burning land, offering us hope and change; he's already lost the election out here, and if he showed up, he'd lose even more.

Probably all he's going to do is play golf while the Corn Belt burns.

A starving populace (in this case, not actually starving, but beset by higher and higher grocery prices) is not an electorate willing to keep incumbents in power, no matter how many votes the Democrats can create out of thin air in the blue cities and blue states.

When driving through all four Upper Great Plains states this past week, seeing tens of thousands of square miles of dead corn, it became obvious to me that Barack Milhous is a goner.  Not only around here, but everywhere there are people who eat.

Great post Frank, so what is one to do when CORN is used in most of our food products and other things we have no idea it is in as a binder or fuel.?  Darn even our pet food has some kind of corn product in it.

What can the farmers do to off set the loss, find another use for the dried corn stalks ????  Don't Cows eat dried corn stalks, goats will eat them.    How about turning the fiber into material as they use to do with Hemp.

Humans adapt or die, so with with all this dead corn it would be a shame to plow it all under and not find a use for the dead stalks.  Think outside the box, get some craftsmen in here from homemakers to scientists and find a use for all that dead corn.-----------Hell someone in China a few thousand years ago figured out how to make silk from worms, we today can find a use for dead vegetation I am sure.

 

[franksolich]

Great post Frank, so what is one to do when CORN is used in most of our food products and other things we have no idea it is in as a binder or fuel.?  Darn even our pet food has some kind of corn product in it.

What can the farmers do to off set the loss, find another use for the dried corn stalks ????  Don't Cows eat dried corn stalks, goats will eat them.    How about turning the fiber into material as they use to do with Hemp.

Humans adapt or die, so with with all this dead corn it would be a shame to plow it all under and not find a use for the dead stalks.  Think outside the box, get some craftsmen in here from homemakers to scientists and find a use for all that dead corn.-----------Hell someone in China a few thousand years ago figured out how to make silk from worms, we today can find a use for dead vegetation I am sure.

That's what a truly free market does, vesta, dear.

People on their own inspired to find uses for "useless" materials, and allowed to windfall-profit from their discoveries; to reap the rewards.

But as it is now, what with all the governmental regulations and high taxes, such "thinking outside the box" is stifled, if not outrightly repressed.

[vesta111]

That's what a truly free market does, vesta, dear.

People on their own inspired to find uses for "useless" materials, and allowed to windfall-profit from their discoveries; to reap the rewards.

But as it is now, what with all the governmental regulations and high taxes, such "thinking outside the box" is stifled, if not outrightly repressed.

Those gallon milk jugs that are disposed of, some kids super glued the tops back on to the empties collected them for a few months, tied them all together and went to Home Depot when they had a sale on slats of molding.   They coated the wood with water proof sealent, built a enclosure made of thrown away wood pallets, built themselves a rudder from the left over wood, Cannibalised the poles from thrown out table umbrellas, found an old sheet and made a small sail.

Big problem for the harbor patrol, this floating THING no propelling system, the kids used oars with the rudder to steer, it did not fit into any category of craft, some where between a row boat and a sail boat.   

To make matters worse the kids got permission to tie up at empty family and friends moorings when they wished.

What to do, this Thing did not have to get anykind of license to operate, much like a Kayak no registration or taxes to be paid.    Kids had one heck of a summer, up and down the river, a party every night.   

Fall came and when pulled on land the kids knew this was their last fun time, the bottles were leaking and the flooring was falling apart.   Time to abandon ship.   

What fun, the kids went on to go into ship building and engineering , and never forgot that summer of being 15-16 and doing the impossible dream at no cost.

Sad to say their kids could not do this, laws had been passed in the intervening years to insure kids and adults could not do this as it was not SAFE for them and a hazard to navigation and the fact no taxes could be collected on the What ever.

[DumbAss Tanker]

So.....what's Barack Milhous going to do about it?

Blame Bush, most likely.

[franksolich]

Blame Bush, most likely.

I said this four years ago, although it wasn't an original quote, that "one reaps what one sows."

Barack Milhous has spent the past four years blaming people and things other than himself for his problems.

Well, here comes the drought, about which Barack Milhous had no more to do with, than many of the other problems he said George Bush created or made worse--and since he's always been playing the "blame game," the rest of us are now picking up the habit.

The Great Barack Drought of '12.

[Bad Dog]

The Great Barack Drought of '12.

Easy peasy.

1. "What Drought?" El Supremo Obama  (alternate; "global war...coo...climate change")
2. "High food prices are caused by evil corporations" El Supremo Obama
3. "Higher taxes on evil corporations will solve this problem" El Supremo Obama

[dutch508]

That's what a truly free market does, vesta, dear.

People on their own inspired to find uses for "useless" materials, and allowed to windfall-profit from their discoveries; to reap the rewards.

But as it is now, what with all the governmental regulations and high taxes, such "thinking outside the box" is stifled, if not outrightly repressed.

GAWDDAMMIT!!!  I knew your mole was CaliPeggy!

[miskie]

The answer is simple, actually.

Obama will blame house Republicans for not passing global warming legislation that would have stopped the drought before it happened. It will be The Great John Boehner Drought of '12 as far as they are concerned.

[DixieBelle]

I suspect Barack Milhous will say he needs four more years to sort it out. Which we all know means cocking it up but good!!

[andhe78]

Won't work, because the production of ethanol involves parts of corn products that aren't used for food anyway, not even for cattle feed.

I thought the corn ethanol produced here in the states was made from the kernels?



For Vesta, it's not going to happen.  Farmers have insurance now days.  They do better just plowing it under and collecting the insurance than trying to find a new use for dead corn.  But you pretend to know about farming, so I'm going to assume by using the dead corn stalks for feed that you talking about chopping corn into silage instead of picking it.  There are problems with that though too.  Leaving out the fact that silage from drought killed corn needs to be tested for nitrate levels, these farms are not set up to do it.  Wrong type of corn, wrong type of planting, wrong equipment.  But even getting over all that, where are they going to store and transport it all.  I love people who throw out "solutions" with no idea of what's involved.