– In April 2004, Bush’s USDA issued legally binding guidances allowing the use of antibiotics on organic dairy cows and synthetic pesticides on organic farms.

– Another 2004 guidance narrowed the scope of the federal organic certification program to crops and livestock, meaning that national organic standards would “not be developed for fish, nutritional supplements, pet food, fertilizers, cosmetics, and personal-care products.”

– Though then-Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman reportedly “rescinded the directives” after activist uproar, the vice chairman of the National Organic Standards Board told the Chicago Reader that the USDA “sticks to their interpretations, only now they are no longer posted.”

– In June 2007, the USDA greenlighted a proposal “allowing 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the ‘USDA Organic’ seal, despite more than 10,000 e-mails and letters from concerned consumers and farmers.”

– This past September, the USDA “abruptly halted a government program that tests the levels of pesticides in fruits, vegetables and field crops, arguing that the $8 million-a-year program is too expensive.”

As an ordained Disciples of Christ minister myself, I am absolutely thrilled by the selection. The Disciples of Christ has a long history in the United States, and, in fact, is the oldest Christian denomination founded in the U.S. Moreover, it was the spiritual home to presidents James Garfield, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan. Any tradition that can claim a liberal such as LBJ and a conservative like RR has got to represent a microcosm of American society that gives hope to all who seek the bridge that which divides us in this country.  

Right now most of [the] cost is paid by the people in small towns like Kingston, TN and Larado, WV and Inez, KY. It’s the towns near the plants that stockpile ash, and the towns near the mines that impound sludge. Towns like the one where I grew up. That’s where people pay the price so that politicians can talk about “clean coal.”

It’s worth a look …

UPDATE (January 8, 2009): Tennessee Republican Congressman Zach Wamp, who is said to be planning a run for governor in 2010, has called the spill “Katrina-like,” while Senate Democrats said Thursday they want stricter rules for toxic ash from coal-fired power plants.

[Obama's] going to have to be more assertive than he’s been. At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time. I’m afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He’s got to remedy that situation.

It seems the Treasury Department agrees with Frank.

Oh, how quaint. And now, twenty years later, as John McCain makes his selection of a running mate, it turns out my friend was right.