It took me a long time to start using a Kindle. I never thought I'd enjoy reading anything other than books printed on paper. But now I'm a convert -- for fiction, at least. (I still am addicted to highlighting...

Federal standards for the welfare of egg-laying hens suffered a defeat when they failed to make it into the farm bill legislation voted out of the agriculture committees in the U.S. House and Senate.

I'm not big on praying. A few days ago I called it absurd, even in the face of tragedy. Prayers alone have zero effect on anything or anyone. Prayers plus action to change things... that can work. Philosophically, though, praying...

The USDA hasn't taken proper enforcement measures against slaughterhouses that violate food safety and animal welfare laws, according to an internal agency audit.

I asked a great question at today's DemoForum session on whether a Third Bridge is needed in Salem, Oregon. "Mr. Fernandez, what is the most important reason a Third Bridge is needed? Please provide facts to back up your answer."...

After increasing significantly in 2012, Idaho wheat exports to Mexico dropped considerably during the first quarter of 2013. The drop was caused by very high corn prices last year that resulted in a lot of Idaho wheat being sent through feed channels.

I understand why people pray. I've done a lot of praying myself. It's a natural reaction to appeal to a higher power when a loved one is seriously ill, lives are in danger, or some other unwanted event begs for...

The following statement comes from the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), a national coalition of grassroots organizations in 30 states fighting for immigrant rights at the local, state and federal level. Causa Oregon is a member of FIRM.

A new Idaho law that takes effect July 1 will prevent people from using drones to spy on farmers and ranchers. A bill that has been signed into law by Gov. Butch Otter restricts people from using drones to spy on anyone but it was crafted specifically with agriculture in mind.

There are things I wish downtown Salem (Oregon) had more of: night life, throngs of people, cool shops and art galleries, vegetarian-friendly restaurants, street musicians. Parking meters... that's something I've never wished for. Yet the City of Salem is determined...

Some time last year, Scot and I spied a Mobile Scout going north on I-5 here in Oregon. Seeing him signal to exit the freeway, we stalked him in hopes he was swinging in for gas or some other quick stop, so we could talk to him about his trailer! After trailing him down streets, through neighborhoods, and back toward

A new Idaho Potato Commission recipe promotion seeks to capitalize on a sharp increase in Americans who report suffering from gluten intolerance.

This week's issue of New Scientist has a special section on consciousness. Conscious being that I am, I enjoyed reading about whatever the heck my consciousness consists of. The articles contained a lot of interesting information. Much progress is being...

If you're a Salem-area resident who cares about providing the best education possible for our children, in the May 21 election be sure to vote for Cris Brantley, Nancy MacMoriss-Adix, and Rick Kimball. They're running for the Salem-Keizer school board....

Oh, yeah. I'm almost a Bollywood star. Defining almost to mean... Someone who caused Shahid Kapoor, a Bollywood star, to become a vegetarian. Since what Kapoor eats is what makes him up, and I changed what he eats, ergo: I'm...

Until recently I'd never heard of Shahid Kapoor, a Bollywood actor in India. But it turns out that we have a connection: after reading my book, Life is Fair, Kapoor became a vegetarian. Here's the tale, as told in "The...

Here's a thought-provoking You Tube video: someone reading aloud Sam Harris' essay "The Fireplace Delusion." It's about how we can emotionally and intuitively enjoy something, while understanding reasonably and factually that this thing isn't good for us. We have a...

U.S. farm groups are alarmed by the president's proposal to eliminate the country's international food aid program, which purchases U.S. commodities and ships them abroad, and switch to a new cash-based system that can buy food overseas closer to where it's needed.

I only had one request to make of the Salem Weekly editors: if you have to shorten my opinion piece about the City of Salem's outrageous approval of a US Bank request to cut down five beautiful Zelkova trees, please......

Oil prices have shot up in recent weeks despite abundant production, pushing up prices for gasoline and diesel in the West, experts say.

Sounds good to me, this Jootsing thing. Learned about it in Chapter 8 of Daniel Dennett's new book, "Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking." Joots is a term coined by Douglas Hofstadter. It stands for "Jumping Out Of The...

The value of Idaho agricultural exports continued to increase during the first quarter of 2013 despite a reduction in dairy sales, which drove the state's record farm export totals in 2011 and 2012.

When I firs

If I was a betting man -- and Vegas placed odds on ill-advised city public works projects -- I'd put money on the City of Salem's Third Bridge project going down in well-deserved flames. I wasn't able to attend last...

The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a farmer's claim that patents on biotech seed are "exhausted" once the crop is sold to a grain elevator.

Have you been to Alcyone Cafe in the Pringle Park Plaza? If not, is it because of their limited hours? Then you'll be glad to know that owner Karo has made the decision to extend Alcyone's hours-- Mon - Tue: open until 6:30 pm; Wed - Thu: 8:00 pm; Fri:  9:00 pm. They'll be serving happy hour on Monday and Tuesday, dinner o

Here's two email messages that I got from a woman who practices Kriya Yoga and has had some pretty amazing yogic experiences. Yet she considers that the experiences are entirely based on the body/brain. The book referred to in the...

We've all got problems. Some days it seems like life is nothing but one problem popping up after another. Car won't start. Forgot to pay credit card bill. Child came home with bad report card. Faucet has started leaking. Knee...

The University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Science recently unveiled its restored John Deere Model AW tractor, as part of a celebration of the history of agriculture.

On May 1st, families, students, members of the LGBT, labor, faith, education, business and immigrant communities, allies and others from around the state gathered with community leaders and elected officials at the Annual May Day March and Rally at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Over 3000 people came to witn

Ooh! Here comes my theoretical physics-based putdown: "You're not even wrong!" Take that, Statesman Journal editorial board. Today's opinion piece about a proposed Third Bridge in Salem was so confusingly argued, it deserves the "not even wrong" -- a phrase...

Whenever I go to Maui, I learn something. Not from a book, holy or otherwise. Not from a person, revered or otherwise. From experience. The best teacher. Usually from one of my favorite experiences, bodyboarding, which I'm only able to...

As spring advances and travelers start to hit the road and airports – we can’t help but wonder what technology

Yawn. That's the right reaction to the unceasing efforts by Fox News commentators and other Republicans to convert the Benghazi tragedy into some sort of impeachable offense. Isn't working. Recent GOP hearings have told us what we already knew. Politicians...

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said today that she plans to hold a mark up of a new farm bill in May, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., signaled that he intends to bring it to the Senate floor.

AT&T has announced a new subsidiary called AIO Wireless. Pronounced “a-o”, the new brand wi

Having noticed my series of outraged posts about the utterly needless approval by the City of Salem of a US Bank request to remove five large trees in front of the bank building in downtown Salem, recently someone sent me...

I love to get free books. One of the benefits of being an active churchless blogger is getting review copies of books in the "spiritual but not religious" genre. I'm about a third of the way through Galen Guengerich's "God...