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