Andy wrote:
>I was struck by three (unrelated--it all seems related!) letters to the
>editor of the Washington Post on 8/28/99:
Oh, they're related alright, Andy. In my view, primarily in this way:
If someone published research evidence in the science section that
the sun rose this morning, the /Post/ would look for letters to the
editor by the Flat Earth Society claming that the sun DIDN'T rise,
the Dragon of the East spat it out for the Dragon of the West to
later devour, and it's those dadblamed liberals who run the world who
think in terms of such hoo-ha as celestial motion and round planets.
Later, Maureen Dowd would write a sniping opinion column about it.
:^)
This is the latter-day interpretation of the principle that used to
be known "journalistic balance." Actual balance requires way more
staff and human-hours -per-story than most newspapers care to budget.
So if Source A says X, we must concomitantly, or later in the Letters
to the Editor section publish source B saying not-X. This also
accounts for why Dennis Avery gets called upon to "balance" the
perspectives of people who actually have them, when all he basically
does is sit there saying "Nuh-uh, NYEAH!" and spouting undocumented
assertions, while trying to change the subject (I think it was Greg
Gunthorp who observed that here recently, re: Jeff Ishee's
Avery/Salatin interview). There's always a market for uninformed
"contrarians."
>Climate, Castles, Cathedrals
>
>Saturday, August 28, 1999; Page A18
>
>What if the eco-activists are right and global warming is heading our way,
>as David Ignatius asks ["Naysay Now, Pay Later"? op-ed, Aug.18].
>
>Luckily, we can look at the prospect of warming through the historical
>record, not an uncertain computer model. The answer is that we'd return to
>the finest weather in recorded history, the Medieval Climate Optimum
>(950-1300 A.D.). The Climate Optimum featured temperatures about 3
>degrees Fahrenheit higher than we have now. That's almost exactly what
>the global climate models are predicting (though we've had no significant
>warming since 1940).
>
>Food production surged during the optimum because of milder winters and
>longer growing seasons. All of the famous cathedrals and castles in Europe
>were built during that period because people had time to spare from
>working in the fields. Storms were fewer and milder. The polar ice caps
>did not melt. There was no wave of wildlife species extinction.
>
>DENNIS T. AVERY
>Swoope, Va.
>
>© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
I laughed till the bird stared, when I read this. Dennis's version of
mediaeval history reads like a Monty Python movie:
Scene I: Year, 957, somewhere in Shropshire
JOAN, goodwife of Aethelred: Aethelred!! We 'ave some lovely filth
over 'ere for the pigs n wattle daub!!!
AETHELRED, peasant farmer and serf: No, way, love! I'm not muckin'
in the muckety-muck no more! The weather's been so nice and warm
since 950, I don't 'ave to work much tillin' the land by 'and and
'orse, plantin', growin' the crops, settin' em by, gettin' em to
market! Why, the food practically grows itself through the miracle of
climate warming! I 'ave so much time on my 'ands! So, goodwife, I'm
leavin' you an' the kids an' the family an' the countryside and
movin' to the big city and buildin' a big cathedral for the Pope...or
maybe I'll stay right 'ere an' build a luxurious castle for our
UberLord and 'is army! They've done so much for us serfs...anyway,
didn't kill us yet...so it's time we did sumpin' in return for them!
Besides creatin' their wealth, which at this point in 'istory
consists mainly of food, since armies march on their stomachs and
even the powerful 'ave to eat!
Given Dennis Avery's tendency to align himself with those with money
and profile opportunities (corporations, media, foundations), his
Churches N Cathedrals interpretation of the Middle Ages is no doubt,
to his mind, plausible. Historical phenomena like the forced
concentration of wealth and land in Europe, or the economic
enslavement of the craftsman class, or the unplanned urbanization
that led to the Black Plague (the Howard Zinn model of history--where
it's happening to the unchronicled majority) are not likely to get
his attention. And he's likely anyway to consider a castle more
important than a crop as a measure of a culture's success. (Whereas
I'd say a culture's advanced status can be measured in inches of good
humus. To hell with castles--I adore old stuff as much as any history
geek...but any civilization full of slaves and administrators, with
an architect or two and a handful of obscenely wealthy people, can
build castles and cathedrals. Only a free society with good values,
social justice, and true wisdom can build soil).
Our buddy Dennis could learn a lot from historian Michael Clanchy's
treatise on land use and its documentation in England. He examined
Chancery Court records, starting with the Norman Conquest and moving
through the /quo warranto/ proceedings that made it possible for the
French conquering class to steal smallholders' land solely because
they were not literate (the entire framework of English/Anglo-Saxon
land law and jurisprudence was based on oral forms). This occurred
over the course of three centuries--1066 to 1377. Pretty close to
Dennis's time frames, eh?
But let's not trouble him with facts, on history, global climate
change, the effects of pesticides on biological systems, the needs
and experiences of rural communities, or anything else. The man is so
far removed from reality, his words should require DEA approval
before consumption, on the grounds that they can cause giddiness,
disordered vision, and hallucinations. Do not read before operating
heavy machinery.
>Our Wholesome Tofu
>
>Saturday, August 28, 1999; Page A18
>
>I write in response to Rick Weiss's two "Biotech" news stories that ran on
>Aug. 15, one on the front page. Our product, Mori-Nu Tofu, was shown
>in a close-up photograph captioned "This tofu consumer food from
>California, for sale in markets in this region, contains engineered soybean
>products."
>
>While I am sure The Post had no malicious intent, the caption's wording
>apparently has led many readers to believe that our product is loaded with
>genetically altered ingredients because, unfortunately, we have had several
>phone calls from concerned consumers and stores.
>
>Our company is very concerned with food safety and packages our tofu
>aseptically, which increases nutrient retention and flavor while ensuring
>safety. For the record, a recent test conducted by a third-party testing lab
>shows our product to contain only 0.1 percent of genetically modified
>material.
>
>ARTHUR Z. MIO
>Director of Sales and Marketing
>Morinaga Nutritional Foods, Inc.
>Torrance, Calif.
>
>© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
There's a wonderful cartoon in the 8/9 issue of /The New Yorker/. A
lab-coat-clad scientist is at a podium, beseiged by the microphones
and attentions of an obviously assertive flock of folks, and he,
looking defensive and eager, says something like,
"But apart from the presence of a few rat droppings and shards of
glass, it's a perfectly wonderful product!!!!!!"
And finally:
>Enough to Gag On
>
>Saturday, August 28, 1999; Page A18
>
>The French farmers protesting American hormones in imported beef are
>probably only sorry they didn't think of it first ["Something's Rotten in
>Roquefort: A New U.S. Tariff," front page, Aug. 21]. I visit the French
>countryside often, and when I hear them speak disingenuously of their
>produits de qualite I can only gag on the enormous amounts of fertilizer,
>insecticide, herbicide and you-name-it-cide I see them spreading
>everywhere, polluting the groundwater and endangering public health
>throughout its beautiful country. This is the same government that has
>chosen to put at risk the entire continent by its obsessive attachment to
>nuclear power.
>
>I offer my congratulations to the American officials for their exquisitely
>chosen targets in French agriculture. The protests in Roquefort, Dijon and
>foie-gras land are confirmation of the effectiveness of the message.
>
>RICHARD JOHNSTON
>New York
>
>© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
French bashing *and* farmer bashing!!! Two mints in one!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ya just gotta <heart> New York!!!
peace
mish
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michele Gale-Sinex
Communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems, UW-Madison
http://www.wisc.edu
UW voice mail: 608-262-8018
Home office: 415-504-6474 (504-MISH)
Home office fax: Same as above, phone first for enabling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a revolution, dammit! We're going to have to offend SOMEbody!
--John Adams (in the musical /1776/)
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