AlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 28, 1999 OPINION An Enemy Of The State In the movies, government agents track and trace ordinary citizens by secretly using cutting edge electronics. Now according to the Washington Post as reported on ZDNet, the government wants permission to do such things for real. The U.S. Department of Justice wants the right to break into your home and without your knowledge disable the security precautions on your computer. Then it can track and trace everything you do. Right now, the effort exists as draft legislation for a "Cyberspace Electronic Security Act." According to Jesse Berst, editorial director at ZDNet's Anchor Desk, this legislation would extend the concept of hidden listening devices, a legal but rarely used surveillance technique to computers. We need a strong, capable Justice Department. And computers have made it easier for criminals to elude law enforcement. If we don't find ways to protect society against computer-aided crime, we're all in trouble. However, to give the government the right to spy on ordinary citizens in this way, is a terrifying thought. We would have to be convinced that every single government official is a sincere, ethical individual who would never step over the boundaries, no matter what the temptation. We have many politicians who are sincere, ethical individuals. But for many in government, from the president on down, withstanding temptation doesn't seem to be their strong suit. Since the land-grant university system closely associated with agriculture was one of the first to convey research information through the Internet, and because both agribusiness and individual farmers are moving fast to the Internet for information transfer, we think this potential invasion of privacy is quite relevant to our readers. To us, this seems like an underhanded way to make everyone an enemy of the state. Cast Iron Seat Collector’s Show and Swap Meet, Flemington Elk’s, Flemington, NJ. District IV Horse and Pony Show, Indiana County Fair, Indiana, thru Regional Potato Field Day, Leroy i^^^ The Great Allentown Fair, Allen town, thru Sept. 6. Big Knob Grange Fair, Rochester, thru Sept. 4. Wattsburg/Erie County Fair, Wattsburg, thru Sept, 5. Greene-Dreher-Sterling Fair, Newfoundland, thru Sept. 6. Pesticide training session for certi fication renewal, Gary Truck enmiller Farm, Watsontown, 6 p.m. Wednesday, September I Kiwanis/Wyoming County Fair, Meshoppen Township, thru Sept. 6. Stoneboro Fair, Stoneborp, thru Sept. 6. Sullivan County Fair, Forksville, .thru Sept. 6. Youth Activities, Flemin Allegheny County Fair and Expo, Championship Show, Fair grounds, Whitneyville, 10 a.m. Juniata County Fair, Port Royal, thru Sept. 11. y*" * * aS** . >yy. r ❖ Farm Calendars Mon Valley 4-H Daily Show, Fay ette County Fairgrounds. Northwest 4-H Dairy Show, Craw ford County Fairgrounds, Meadville. Pioneer Labor Day, Old Bedford Villa Bedford, 9' 5 thru Sept. 11. Spartansburg Community Fair, Ox Hill Community Fair, Water ford, thru Sept. 11. West Alexander Fair, West Ale xander, thru Sept. 11. Flemington NJ. Fair Open Dairy Show, Fairgrounds, Flcming ton. NJ. Claysburg Area Farm Show, Clay sburg, thru Sept. 11. Jamestown Community Fair, Fleetwood Grange Hall, 7 p.m. Bcllwood Antis Farm Show, Bell wood, thru Sept. 11. Luzerne County Fair, Dallas, thru Sept. 12. Pike County Ag Fair, Bushkill, thru Sent 12. ■ton NJ. Pa. Yorkshire Summer Show and Sale, Lebanon, thru Sept. 11. Nittany Antique Machinery Asso ciation Inc. of Central Pa. Red Power Showdown, Penns Cave, Sept. 19. T 7 % C To Manage Beef Herds During Drought Beef herds may be severely affected by drought at this time of tear, according to Dr. John Comerford, Penn State Animal Scientist. Beef producers need to consider certain management practices during drought and short feed supply. Make sure plenty of fresh water is available at all times to the herd. Provide correct mineral supplementation for the cow herd. Salt, calcium and phosphorus will be the most important. Consider weaning the oldest calves immediately. Weaning calves takes the pressure off depleted pastures. About one pound of a soybean meal equivalent protein supplement will be needed for calves of this age. Cows with weaned calves also will need energy and a little protein at this time. Their lactation is about over, but they need energy to cycle in time to be re-breed for next year. To Supplement Feed to Beef Dr. John Comerford, Penn State Animal Scientist, states you determine the amount of energy supplement needed by the availability of pasture or the energy value of stored forages. Corn is relatively cheap right now as a source of energy for both cows and calves. Supplementing poor quality forages with corn may be the most economical feed for cows whose calves have been weaned or for calves that have no pasture available. Calves may be removed from pasture but will need daily about one per cent of their body weight of a grain and Mason-Dixon Historical Society Inc. 37th Annual Steam and Gas Roundup Show, Carroll County Farm Museum, thru Sept. 12. 43d Annual Thurmont and Emmitsburg Community Show, Catoctin High School, Sui)(hi\, ScpU'inhrr 12 PennAg Industries Convention, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Balti more's Inner Harbor, thru Sept. 14. m hay mix to maintain comparable growth rates to nursing cows on pasture. When it does rain, rotate the cows on pasture as much as possible to take advantage of available grass. To Monitor Beef Reproduction According to Dr. John Comerford, Penn State Animal Scientist, droughts can hamper a beef herd's reproductive efficiency due to a combination of high temperatures and lack of rain fall during the prime breeding season for spring calving cows. It would not hurt to have a few extra bulls on hand. Yearling bulls could become overtaxed with more than 15 cows in the BEST OF ALL August 29, 1999 Background Scripture: Genesis 42 through 4S Devotional Reading: Psalms 105:7-22 When Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery, it must have felt good for a while. To be rid of that spoiled brat, to humiliate that pompous know-it-all must have relieved at least temporarily the terrible heartburn of anger, jealousy and resentment he evok ed in them. Now, with Joseph out of the way, their father Jacob would be able to treat them equal ly and fairly once again. Many people who commit violent acts feel a sense of relief once the deed is done initially, anyway. We don’t know how long that satisfaction stayed with the bro thers of Joseph, but I suspect not very long. They probably assumed that, after a reasonable period of mourning, their father would get on with their family life. But they had miscalculated just how much and how long Jacob would grieve. Years passed and Jacob’s wounds of grief never healed. One sus pects that it was the inconsolable grief of their father that first caus ed the brothers to realize that the satisfaction the deed brought them was very short-lived. When I was in college I acted in a production of “Romeo and Juli et,” the story, not only of two lov ers, but of two large clans of hat ers. If a Capulet was killed by a Montague, a Montague would have to be killed by a Capulet. Why? For the sake of “family hon or.” Each time an enemy was kill ed it brought a temporary sense of honor redeemed. But in “Romeo and Juliet” as in life today, the feeling that one’s honor has been reclaimed is doomed to be of short duration unless someone on either side can break the vicious cycle of retaliation. The compulsion to pay someone back is hard to over come. BEYOND RETALIATION Joseph’s brothers felt compel led to get even with him for the contentious situation he and their father had caused in the family. Joseph might have felt that what is brothers had done to him called for retaliation, too. Retaliation in each case is understandable, al though, to be honest, it would be more understandable in Joseph’s case than in that of the brothers. But, whatever satisfaction retalia tion may bring, there is a much higher satisfaction that retaliation can not even come close to giving breeding group under drought conditions. That figure rises to 25 cows for a two rear old bull and 30 to 35 cows for a mature bull. Semen content and quality may be affected by this kind of weather. This may mean extended calving seasons and delayed re breeding. Check the cow herd for pregnancy 60 to 75 days after the breeding season to determine how severe the weather affected breeding. It is possible that fewer cows than normal will be bred, so you will have to decide early whether to winter non-productive cows. Feather Prof.'s Footnote: "The best way to predict the future is to create it." us reconciliation. If. at the time the brothers sold him into slavery, someone had counseled reconciliation with their brother, they most certainly would not have considered it. As it was, they did not even want to lis ten to the moderating voices of Reuben and Judah. Similarly, if at the time Joseph found himself bound in slavery, someone had called upon him to be reconciled to his brothers, he might well have refused even to consider it. Between the day of the crime of his brothers and the day when they unknowingly come before him in Egypt, there is obviously a pas sage of time. The writer does not tell us how long, but we may as sume several years, perhaps even a decade. There has been at least a substantial interval of time and so we need to see whether the pas sage of time has produced any changes. NO CHEAP GRACE If you read chapters 42 through 45, you will see that Joseph did not immediately offer his hand in reconciliation to his brothers. He tests>them, plays with their consci ences. to see if there is any re morse for what they did to him. If there is to be a reconciliation it will not be a cheap grace! When Judah offers to substitute himself for Benjamin as a hostage, Joseph is deeply moved. When he tells Joseph, “I fear to see the evil that would come upon my father,” he realizes that Judah is concerned, not about himself, but their father, Jacob. Can you imagine the shock that must have hit them when Joseph says to them, “I am Joseph; is my father still alive?” He could have followed that revelation with a command to the Egyptians to kill his brothers or put them into sla very as they had enslaved him. He certainly had the power to pay them back. But, Joseph realized that how ever, good that might feel at the moment, there was a possibility that was much better. So, he says: “Come near to me, I pray you ... I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Retaliation might be sweet but reconciliation is immeasurably best of all. Lancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Main St.. Ephrata, PA 17522 -by Lancaster Farming. Inc. A Stemman Enteiprise William J. Burgess General Manager Everett R. Newswanger Editor Copyright 1999 by Lancaster Farming
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