Sowell says

It is bad enough that so many people believe things without any evidence. What is worse is that some people have no conception of evidence and regard facts as just someone else's opinion.

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) March 14, 2022

Rural round-up

No out for NZ farming! – Jacqueline Rowarth:

The 2015 Paris Accord on the ‘need for an effective and progressive response to the urgent threat of climate change’, recognised the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger.

The often-paraphrased Article 2.1.b suggests that countries should do everything they can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) without compromising food production. In a world with an increasing population, this makes sense. But it isn’t an ‘out’ for New Zealand.

Even though we produce low GHG per kilogram of milksolids and meat on average, there is a range in efficiency. By identifying factors causing the range, we can do better. This was what the Paris Accord was about.

The introductory statements in the Paris Accord recognise ‘that sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production, with developed country Parties taking the lead, play an important role in addressing climate change’. New Zealand is a developed country with significant expertise in animal and pasture management and the research that supports that management. . . 

Cows, children petrified by boy racers in rural Waikato – Maja Burry:

Some rural residents in Waikato say an incident over the weekend where a milk tanker was attacked is just the tip of the iceberg and every weekend hundreds of boy racers are converging on rural roads, putting locals at serious risk.

Police have launched an investigation into how a milk tanker had its windscreen smashed and milk was poured across the road in the region at the weekend.

Waikato mayor Allan Sanson said the attack happened after the tanker driver tried to push past a group of boy racers who were blocking the road. The area was a regular weekend haunt for boy racers, the mayor said.

It is an issue that Gordonton dairy farmer Bruce knows too well. . . 

Yard weaning with @tekopaenz & hoping to get finished before the rain storm coming! Dads keeping a watchful eye on his offspring too @MorrisonFarming 😂 #farmerscare #animalhealth #calmcalves pic.twitter.com/3bi0Lvmjp4

— Sandra Matthews (@farmingwomennz) March 20, 2022

New Zealand farmers consider planting more milling wheat in face of global shortage – Sally Murphy:

Arable farmers here are considering planting more milling wheat this autumn to help combat global shortages.

Ukraine is major global producer of wheat – but following Russia’s invasion, the Ukraine government banned the export of wheat to preserve its food stocks.

This has resulted in supply fears causing global wheat prices to rise sharply.

Federated Farmers arable chair Colin Hurst said New Zealand grew about 100,000 tonnes of milling wheat and about 250,000 tonnes of feed wheat for stock. . . 

 

New Zealand Young Farmers scholarship winners announced :

Three New Zealand Young Farmers’ (NZYF) members have been given a helping hand to further their education through the organisation’s three exclusive scholarships.

Lincoln University post graduate student Jeremy Kilgour and aspiring Massey University veterinarian Nerida Bateup have been awarded the NZYF World Congress Charitable Trust Scholarship, receiving $1,500 cash in hand each.

Meanwhile Lincoln University student Georgia Moody is the first recipient of the brand new NZYF Future Me Scholarship, receiving $1,500 for planned professional development.

NZYF Board Chair Kent Weir said he’s very pleased NZYF is be able to provide these opportunities for members to develop their education and skillsets. . .

Sustainability at forefront for Auckland-Hauraki  Dairy Industry Award winners:

The 2022 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year winner is excited to see farmers moving forward with sustainability at the forefront of all aspects of farming, ensuring the New Zealand dairy industry will continue to produce top-quality milk for the world.

Danielle Hovmand was named the 2022 Auckland/Hauraki Share Farmer of the Year at the region’s annual awards dinner held at the Thames Civic Centre on Friday night. The other major winners were the 2022 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Manager of the Year Jimmy Cleaver, and the 2022 Auckland/Hauraki Dairy Trainee of the Year, Jamie McDowell.

The second-time entrant believes the Awards programme pushed her outside her comfort zone and increased networking opportunities.

“By analysing my business and learning to capitalise on my strengths and overcome any weaknesses, I’ve gained a better understanding of my farming business, my farming system, where I want my business to be in the future and how I’m going to get there,” she says. . . 

 

Wheat production worldwide pic.twitter.com/ENVXq9NYL8

— World of Statistics (@stats_feed) March 17, 2022

 

Taramakau sharemilker returns to competition as Dairy Industry Awards first timer :

Entering competitions is part of the farming process for West Coast dairy farmer Andrew Stewart who lines up for The West Coast/Top of the South regional title this Thursday.

He describes them as challenging and educational, as well as social and encouraging valuable time outside the farm gate.

Andrew and partner Jill 50/50 sharemilk at Taramakau, just inland from Kumara. The back of the farm is about 700m away from SH73 but the Taramakau River is in between, so it’s 17km back to Kumara to the bridge.

Andrew milks 240 Jersey cows on the 190ha farm, which includes a 30ha runoff with 60 young stock and another 30ha of fenced off wetlands and kahikatea bush (white pine). The farm is predominantly a grass-grazing system with bought-in hay and silage supplementing winter feed. Production is 350kg MS per cow using a flexible milking regime. . . 

Winston Churchill’s wisdom

No part of the education of a politician is more indispensable than the fighting of elections. #Churchill #quote #vote

— Winston Churchill (@Sir__Churchill) March 17, 2022

Principles vs politics

Labour’s election commitment to climate change was supposed to be its nuclear-free moment.

File that along with child poverty, Kiwibuild and so many other grand promises that have been followed by little, if any, progress.

The carbon tax on fuel was supposed to encourage people to use less. The steep increase in oil prices recently ought to have reinforced that.

But National leader Chris Luxon hit the target when he spoke about a cost of living crisis and the government folded.

Its poll-driven decision to reduce the excise tax on petrol, at least for three months, shows what happens when principles meet politics.

It illustrates the problem with so many policies that are supposed to address climate change – they impose too high economic and social costs to be politically acceptable. Too often they have little if any positive impact on the environment and sometimes they make it worse.

European countries are back peddling quickly from their decisions to get rid of coal and nuclear power plants because its left them too reliant on Russia’s gas.

Labour’s rush towards greener power has left us reliant on imported coal that is dirtier than the local fuel we’re no longer permitted to mine.

Its ute-tax achieves nothing because of the way the ETS works and its insistence on a carbon tax on fuel has been undermined by the excise tax cut.

Worse, still, Matt Burgess explains the government’s emissions reduction policies are based on the pretence of necessity:

At May’s Budget, the government will commit $4.5 billion to new spending on climate change, more than $2,000 per household. The government will also deliver its Emissions Reduction Plan, an array of levies, subsidies, regulations and hard bans. The government will say these interventions are necessary and that they will help deliver emissions targets.

Neither claim is true. Existing policies already have New Zealand firmly on track to deliver statutory emissions targets. Parliament has committed to reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases. Legislation defines net emissions as gross emissions (for example, from car exhausts) minus offsets (for example, the carbon captured by trees, co-operation with other countries). Offsets are recognised in domestic law and international agreements. They are affordable and available in effectively unlimited quantities.

These facts secure emissions targets. Regardless of how much or how little existing policies including the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) lower emissions, offsets will bridge the gap to targets. New Zealand is not in a position of having to resort to desperate measures to meet its climate change obligations. This country can make reasonable or best efforts to lower net emissions with existing policies and be certain
of success.

Accordingly, further policies are not necessary. We have options. The government could choose not to add thousands of dollars to the cost of imported vehicles from next month with its Feebate policy and be certain of delivering our obligations. Agriculture could stay outside the ETS indefinitely while the country reaches net zero emissions. Only by overlooking offsets can the government maintain the fiction that drastic further actions are necessary. The government bears the burden of proof to show how its new policies improve on existing policies.

Even if existing policies were not enough to reach targets, the government’s strategy would not help. The government has already capped greenhouse gases. Changes to the ETS in 2020 introduced a quantity cap. The new cap will be a sinking lid on emissions, set to fall in line with targets. It is well known that policies cannot reduce emissions from under an emissions cap. Cap-and-trade schemes like the ETS effectively neutralise other emissions policies. Where a policy lowers a sector’s emissions, the sector will buy fewer emissions permits. That leaves more permits for others, meaning higher emissions elsewhere. Overall emissions do not change. New Zealand has one of the most comprehensive ETSs in the world. Nearly all of the government’s policies will be neutralised – regardless of whether existing policies are enough.

The government’s vast new spending on climate change policies could reduce emissions by zero tonnes. If this were business, it would be fraud.

Whether or not the government can be accused of fraud, that is scandalous.

This report reviews the government’s climate change strategy. The strategy is based on a misunderstanding of the relationship between the ETS and other policies. The government is pushing its disruptive policies by misconstruing the legislation and by ignoring every feasible alternative. Officials have mostly abandoned cost-benefit analysis; they reject cost and effectiveness as primary goals; they believe climate policies should manage inequality and historic grievances as well as reduce emissions; emissions policies are rarely checked after they are launched; and poor performance is rarely corrected. It is not surprising that policies regularly spend 20 times more than the ETS to abate each tonne of emissions.

We are witnessing an historic public policy failure. Later this year, when the government delivers its new policies, it will call its policies “necessary” or “vital.” This is the pretence of necessity. It is cover for policies that could not survive any test of their merits. After all, there can be no case for expensive, ineffective, and often regressive policies if they are not needed.

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to mount a case for expensive, ineffective and often regressive policies if they are needed.

Inflicting them on us when they aren’t, is bad politics based on flawed principles.

It’s a very bad example of must do something and be seen to be doing it policy on the theory that doing something is better than doing nothing, even when in this case, it isn’t. It’s merely virtue signalling to the green zealots here and abroad.

Like far too many other supposedly green policies it unbalances the three-legged sustainability stool – cutting off the economic and social legs leaving the environmental one that superficially looks strong but will not support the weight of science.

The full report Pretence of Necessity is here.

Word of the day

Ardernity – the period of time between Jacinda Ardern making an announcement about an announcement and her giving us the decision.

 

Sowell says

One of the scariest things about our times is how easy it is to scare people and start a political stampede. There are people who could be upset if they were told that half of all Americans earn less than the median income—though of course that is the way median income is defined

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) March 13, 2022

Rural round-up

Book culling space now! – Peter Burke:

Livestock farmers are being urged to plan ahead for possible meat processing disruption due to Covid-19.

The expectation of some farmers that they can ring up a buyer at short notice and have animals collected quickly and taken to the processing works is unrealistic at the moment.

The chair of the Animal Welfare Forum Lindsay Burton says with Omicron in the community, there is a high degree of uncertainty around the availability of a labour force in processing plants. He says even before the recent omicron outbreak, the industry was 5,500 workers short and the situation has the potential to get worse.

The Farm to Processor Animal Welfare Forum – a grouping of various industries related to livestock farming – says it is critical that farmers book space at meat processors well in advance. It is also warning farmers to be prepared to potentially hold stock on farm for longer. . . 

‘It’s beyond a joke’ – farmer outraged at milk tanker fracas near front gate – Chloe Blommerde:

A dairy farmer reckons $80,000 worth of milk could have gone down the drain during a milk tanker fracas with boy racers on the road near his front gate.

Footage of the incident shows a group of people crowding around a Fonterra tanker and its driver in the middle of the night as a stream of white pours onto the tarseal, however it’s unclear how much was lost.

Police received a report that a milk truck was damaged by a group of people near the intersection of Stokes and Orini roads in Waikato around 1.20am on Saturday.

The rural crossroads is a well-known spot for street racers to park up and do burnouts at the weekend. . . 

Another month with no rain in the KC… feeding out a fair bit of imported feed to try & keep animals & pastures in good nick.
Thankful for selling stock early and our keen, young team who are mostly staying healthy🤞🤞😁 pic.twitter.com/uPi7fo99kd

— Anna Nelson (@annanelson_4) March 19, 2022

Fonterra to exit Russian business :

Fonterra has today announced it will exit its businesses in Russia. This follows the Co-op’s decision to suspend shipments of product to Russia at the end of February.

CEO Miles Hurrell says “our first step following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was to establish the safety of the team in Russia, and our priority through this process continues to be doing the right thing by our people.

“We then suspended shipment of product to Russia while we assessed the impact of economic sanctions and discussed our long-term plans with our customers and joint venture partner.

“Following careful consideration of the impact on our people and our long-term plans for the Russian market, we will now close our office in Moscow, re-deploying staff where possible, and withdraw from our joint venture Unifood.” . .

Business relationships crucial to success of winning farmers :

Bay of Plenty Share Farmer of the Year winners Scott and Becks O’Brien say farmers have nothing to lose and everything to gain in Dairy Industry Awards. Their advice to potential entrants is to give it a go.

“Whether you come first or last doesn’t really matter, because the networking with so many different people, and the feedback and information and scrutiny you’re getting on your business is as valuable as winning. You just have to give it a go. It’s little nerve wracking, but we really enjoyed it, and what you get out of it is so worth it.”

The O’Briens are sharemilking 900 cows on two farms about 10 minutes apart in the Galatea district. Since 2017 they have milked 650 cows on Rory and Susan Gordon’s 260-hectare farm, and since 2020 have been milking 250 cows on Cathy and Peter Brown’s 100-hectare property.

Scott has been dairy farming since he left school, just over 20 years ago. He and Becks have been married for 16 years. The start of their relationship was dramatic, with 21-year-old Becks diagnosed with cancer just after they met. It has permanently affected her voice, but after being at home with their young family – 12-year-old Hunter, 10-year-old Summer, and 8-year-old Piper – she has become an educational support worker at Galatea School (where Scott is also on the board of trustees). . . 

From Auckland to Reporoa lifestyle choice brings success in Dairy Industry Awards:

A former Auckland sales and marketing executive and a former adventure tourism guide and boutique lodge manager have won the 2022 Central Plateau Share Farmer of the Year title.

Todd and Renee Halliday were announced the winners of the region’s Share Farmer of the Year category at the Central Plateau Dairy Industry Awards annual awards dinner held at the Lake Taupō Yacht Club on Thursday night. The other big winners were Satveer Singh, who was named the 2022 Central Plateau Dairy Manager of the Year, and Zoe Bryson, the 2022 Central Plateau Dairy Trainee of the Year.

Todd was born and bred in Auckland city and had never set foot on a farm until he met Renee, who is a dairy farmer’s daughter. The couple spent five years in the hospitality sector managing boutique lodges together before entering the dairy industry in 2009.

Todd initially spent two years as a farm assistant in Reporoa before progressing to a management role for a further two years. He and Renee then spent seven years in Mid Canterbury before returning to Reporoa where they now contract milk and are equity partners with Phil and Diane Herdman, on a 153ha Reporoa property, milking 520 cows. They won $17,060 in prizes and eight merit awards. . . 

Can't beat a bit of red 👌 pic.twitter.com/VQnWx3EW2t

— Anieka Templer (@AniekaNick) March 18, 2022

RIP plant based meat mania – Prime Future:

I am often asked about my view on alternative meats and the threat they pose to old fashioned, plant-fed meat. I’ve stayed away from that question, for the most part because I’m just more interested in plant-fed meat.

First, it’s important to separate “alternative meat” into 3 distinct buckets: plant-based, fermented, cell-based.

Today we are looking at the plant-based meat category. Spoiler alert: I find the plant-based meat category bland and uninspiring. And honestly, I think we can reasonably lay plant-based meat mania to rest in peace in the history books, right alongside 1990’s emu farming mania in the US.

Some background on VC’s appetite for the category: . . 

Winston Churchill’s wisdom

Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room. #Churchill #quote

— Winston Churchill (@Sir__Churchill) March 16, 2022

Announcing announcement of changes sometime

Has there ever been a government as practiced at announcing announcements as this one?

Cabinet has made a decision about changing the country’s Covid-19 rules, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the decision won’t be announced until Wednesday. . .

Earlier in the pandemic, it became common for these press briefings to include major announcements about alert level shifts. But ahead of Monday’s Cabinet meeting, Ardern said its decision about the future of Covid-19 restrictions wouldn’t be revealed until Wednesday.

The Government was expected to loosen Covid-19 restrictions, as the Omicron outbreak appeared to reach its peak in Auckland.

During Monday’s press conference, Ardern said the Government would detail changes to vaccine passes and mandates on Wednesday.

She said this would give everyone “plenty of time to prepare”.

“There is literally no-one that will be impacted by us taking those extra 48 hours, because the changes aren’t immediate,” Ardern said.

The two-day wait was needed, she said, to sort out orders and prepare clear information.

“Over the next 48 hours, there is some additional pieces of work we need to finalise. We will be updating guidance, preparing orders, and ironing out some final details, to ensure everything is as straightforward as possible,” she said. . .

At first glance that appears to be reasonable. A deeper look begs the question – why hadn’t all the updating, preparing and ironing out been done already?

Unless the government thought it could keep us tied up in the yellow tape of Covid restrictions forever, Ministers, their advisors and the relevant agencies would have known that sooner or later the tapes would be loosened and ought to have been preparing for that long before now.

The announcement on Wednesday would be focused on the future of the Covid-19 response rather than enacting immediate changes, Ardern said. . . 

That means that tomorrow’s announcement foretold in yesterday’s announcement wont be an announcement of impending freedom but of more of the restrictions we’ve got for who knows how much longer.

In the meantime businesses are failing, jobs are being lost, babies are missing out on the socialisation which is essential for healthy development . . .

The government and its modelers have done such a good job of keeping us fearful that there will no doubt be some who prefer the restrictions.

Even if the yellow tape was loosened some, perhaps many, would continue to do what they consider is necessary to keep themselves and others safe from infection.

How long before we get an announcement that we’ll be trusted to do that rather than carrying on with no choice and growing frustration over some of the restrictions and requirements that no longer make sense?

Word of the day

Intervert – to turn to a course or use other than the proper one; to put something to another use, to divert effort elsewhere; misuse, especially embezzle; change, invert.

Sowell says

You can see the agenda behind the rhetoric when profits are called "unconscionable" but taxes never are, even when taxes take more than half of what someone has earned or add much more to the prices we have to pay than profits do.

— Thomas Sowell Wisdom (@TheThomasSowell) March 11, 2022

Rural round-up

Dairy prices expected to remain elevated in the near term, but longer-term outlook less certain — Global Report :

Dwindling world milk production looks set to support buoyant global dairy commodity prices over coming months, but with the Russia-Ukraine conflict creating a wave of uncertainty in markets, the longer-term pricing outlook remains much less clear, Rabobank says in a recently-released report.

In its “Global Dairy Quarterly Q1 2022: How high for how long?”,the agribusiness banking specialist says weather-related issues, high or rising production costs and lingering disruptions from Covid-19 resulted in milk production growth faring worse than previously anticipated in the final quarter of 2021.

“These challenges have impacted dairy farmers from all the key production regions around the world, and among the “Big 7” dairy exporters – New Zealand, Australia, the EU, the US, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina — production is now expected to fall by 0.7 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2022,” Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins said. . . 

Vegetable prices tipped to go higher due to spiraling costs :

Horticulture New Zealand says vegetable prices will continue to increase if the Government does not support growers to find ways to reduce the costs of growing.

‘There is a crisis developing in commercial vegetable production in New Zealand. Input costs have soared over the past 12 months, not the least being the cost of fuel,’ says HortNZ President, Barry O’Neil.

‘Reducing petrol excise duty by 25 cents a litre and road user charges for three months is a positive step for most New Zealanders. However, this has no impact on the significant increase in the cost of diesel for use on the farm, orchard or market garden.

‘Between December 2021 and March 2022, the cost of diesel has increased from $1.67 a litre to $2.41 a litre. . . 

Next week’s works lambs are organised. pic.twitter.com/Fx7kfYszef

— William Morrison (@MorrisonFarming) March 18, 2022

Young Waikato Dairy Award winners see value in judges views :

The major winners in the 2022 Waikato Dairy Industry Awards are a young couple who believe that progression is possible and your limits are only what you perceive.

Brian Basi and Rachel Bunnik were announced winners of the region’s Share Farmer of the Year category at the Waikato Dairy Industry Awards annual awards dinner held at Claudelands Event Centre on Monday evening. The other big winners were Andrew Macky, who became the 2022 Waikato Dairy Manager of the Year, and Edward Roskam, the 2022 Waikato Dairy Trainee of the Year.

Brian and Rachel are contract milkers for Dick and Liz Johnson on their 72ha, 230-cow Putaruru property for the past two seasons. They won $14,828 in prizes and four merit awards.

Brian placed in the top five in the same category last year and believes judges analysing their overall farming business and performance was a key benefit of the awards programme. . . 

Varroa increasingly responsible for NZ bee colony losses :

New Zealand beekeepers have reported varroa to be the most common reason for over-wintering hive losses for the first time, according to the recently released NZ Colony Loss Survey.

The 2021 Survey found varroa was responsible for nearly 40% of all losses. This marks a change in the primary cause, with queen problems having consistently been attributed as the key reason for colony losses in the past six years of the survey.

The Survey noted that an estimated 5.3% of all living colonies were lost to varroa and related complications over the 2021 winter, significantly higher than the 1.6% recorded just five years ago.

Beekeepers surveyed reported a number of reasons for the losses due to varroa; including reinvasion post treatment and timing issues with treatments. Nineteen percent believed their varroa losses were due to ineffective products. . . 

Australia’s biggest customer pressured to give kangaroo products the boot – Chris McLennan:

Australia’s biggest export market for kangaroos has the jitters.

There is a big push from the Netherlands for the European Union to give Aussie roo products the boot now free trade talks have begun.

The EU is our biggest market for kangaroo meat and leather worth about $130 million annually.

Traditionally the light and strong kangaroo leather has been highly valued by sporting apparel companies. . .

And the very last 4 big cattle gone.Thats a relief! pic.twitter.com/gsWS4ZNnw7

— Ben Dooley 🧢 (@BenDooley8) March 17, 2022

Spring Sheep Milk Co wins Company-X Innovation Award:

and the Company-X Innovation Awards goes to . . . the Spring Sheep Milk Co.

The smart Kiwi business began in 2015 and now sources sheep milk from 12,700 grass-fed Zealandia sheep, its own breed, from dedicated farms across the Central North Island.

The milk is spray-dried into powder at Waikato Innovation Park at Ruakura in Hamilton and is used to create high-value nutrition products. Its early life nutrition range, including Gentle Sheep Toddler Milk Drink and nutrition powders are sold in China, Malaysia and New Zealand. Sheep milk is one of the most nutritious milks available and may be helpful for people with stomach or digestion intolerances.

Grass-fed New Zealand sheep milk is one of the highest quality milks available in the world and is clinically proven to be more easily digested and absorbed than cow’s milk, making it the ideal base for premium nutrition products. . . 

Winston Churchill’s wisdom

This report, by its very length, defends itself against the risk of being read. #Churchill #quote

— Winston Churchill (@Sir__Churchill) March 15, 2022

Rules no longer serve purpose

Shh, not sure if we’re supposed to publicise this when the government didn’t, but unvaccinated New Zealanders and others eligible to travel here can now come without having to go through MIQ:

The Government’s quiet move to allow unvaccinated New Zealand citizens and other travellers back into the country is welcome, but further calls into question their Traffic Light Framework, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

“National welcomes the Government’s move to abolish restrictions on the unvaccinated entering New Zealand, but questions why it randomly plonked on the MIQ website at the end of a three-week Parliamentary sitting block, with no Ministerial announcement.

“This is a significant change to New Zealand’s border and the Government’s reluctance to publicise it is very odd, especially when we have daily 1pm announcements.

For two years Covid-19 announcements have been made from the podium of truth with all the attendant publicity. SImply placing this one on the Ministry website begs the question – why so stealthy?

“There is also confusion about what precisely the Government’s announcement means, including whether it applies just to citizens or also includes permanent residents and other visa holders. That’s what the website says, but the Order has not been published, meaning people can’t study the actual legal words. This is a big mess.

“Perhaps the reason the Government doesn’t want to publicise the change is that it calls into question their Traffic Light Framework. If you don’t have to be vaccinated to enter New Zealand now, why are there so many rules and restrictions on the unvaccinated who are actually in the country?

“It’s time to phase out vaccine mandates, abolish vaccine passes and end the confusing Traffic Light Framework. Omicron has changed the game and the rules no longer make any sense.”

One rule that makes no sense now is businesses having to display the QR code and signing sheets for contact tracing when no contact tracing is being done.

I’ve been dutifully scanning in but am wondering why I’m bothering when nothing would be done with it if I tested positive.

It’s been a very long two years and while the risk of contracting Omicron is real, having rules that no longer serve a purpose is prolonging the hassles.

Keeping rules we don’t need will also erode compliance with any that are still needed.

And changing rules by stealth as has been done with ending MIQ for unvaccinated returnees makes it look like the government doesn’t want to be questioned on the reason for this rule change and no change for others.

Word of the day

Quodlibet – a topic for or exercise in philosophical or theological discussion;  a philosophical or theological point proposed for disputation; a subtle or elaborate argument or point of debate, usually on a theological or scholastic subject; a light-hearted medley of well-known tunes; a musical composition that combines several different melodies; a light piece of music based on two or more popular tunes.

Milne muses

"If you are alone, the country is your companion; and nature becomes Nature, a person, someone to whom you can almost talk. You do not only walk through measured miles; you sit, dreaming, contemplating, absorbing it all, through unmeasured minutes." ~C.R.Milne #sundayvibes pic.twitter.com/4lJxdBpkbu

— A.A.Milne (@A_AMilne) March 6, 2022

Achieving Perspective

 

ACHIEVING PERSPECTIVE
by Pattiann Rogers

Straight up away from this road,
Away from the fitted particles of frost
Coating the hull of each chick pea,
And the stiff archer bug making its way
In the morning dark, toe hair by toe hair,
Up the stem of the trillium,
Straight up through the sky above this road right now,
The galaxies of the Cygnus A cluster
Are colliding with each other in a massive swarm
Of interpenetrating and exploding catastrophes.
I try to remember that.

And even in the gold and purple pretense
Of evening, I make myself remember
That it would take 40,000 years full of gathering
Into leaf and dropping, full of pulp splitting
And the hard wrinkling of seed, of the rising up
Of wood fibers and the disintegration of forests,
Of this lake disappearing completely in the bodies
Of toad slush and duckweed rock,
40,000 years and the fastest thing we own,
To reach the one star nearest to us.

And when you speak to me like this,
I try to remember that the wood and cement walls
Of this room are being swept away now,
Molecule by molecule, in a slow and steady wind,
And nothing at all separates our bodies
From the vast emptiness expanding, and I know
We are sitting in our chairs
Discoursing in the middle of the blackness of space.
And when you look at me
I try to recall that at this moment
Somewhere millions of miles beyond the dimness
Of the sun, the comet Biela, speeding
In its rocks and ices, is just beginning to enter
The widest arc of its elliptical turn.

Hat tip: The Marginalian

Maya muses

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” #MayaAngelou

— Maya Angelou (@DrMayaAngelou) March 5, 2022

Sunday soapbox

Sunday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, amuse, bemuse or simply muse, but not abuse.

When every benefit received is a right, there is no place for good manners, let alone gratitude. – Theodore Dalrymple

Word of the day

Etterath – the feeling of emptiness after a long and arduous process is finally complete—having finished school, recovered from surgery, or gone home at the end of your wedding—which leaves you relieved that it’s over but missing the stress that organized your life into a mission.

Hat tip: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows