...a disaster insurance program for all livestock producers.

Why should we pay for that?

It's nice to see the Republicans doing their best to alienate rural folks who would benefit from such a useful program.

I cannot wait until the Republicans have alienated everyone, everywhere. That might take until Tuesday.

Q. "I just have no idea when that day will arrive."

A. "In the year 2525,
if man is still alive..."

Isn't Vitter the guy who got outed for hiring prostitutes? Does he have the moral authority to challenge anyone on anything? The good people of Louisiana must be proud.

Yeah, Drum is on this honeybee stuff too. It's actually good to support honeybees and protect against losses, those tireless insects keep our agricultural system going and it has been touch and go keeping them protected from whatever has been wrecking their hives lately. BTW how is that going?

If the Republican congressional leaders insist on bending the political debate their way by obfuscation and deceit while they play out their scenes on the political stage, they better prepare themselves for the final curtain call in 2010 when their entire run as a political party will be canceled and no more performances scheduled for future election engagements! -Kevo

American beekeepers have been going out of business due to cheaper foreign imported honey. That means fewer bees to pollinate what's left of American agriculture. American beekeepers need some kind of subsidy to maintain a healthy number of hives for pollination.

http://www.beesource.com/news/article/bell.htm

People should care because cheap honey at the market is going to mean higher food costs, Johnston said. That's because fewer bees means less pollination, which means smaller crops and higher prices, he said.

Paul Hendricks, the editor of Denver-based Bee Notes trade journal, said that a domino effect is just waiting to happen.

As large beekeepers fold, food will cost more, Hendricks said.

For the first time, there's a shortage of almonds in California because of a shortage of bees.

Not to mention scientists are no closer than they were two years ago to figuring out why Europe and America's honeybees are dying at unprecedented rates.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_605674.html

Since Haik asked, and all.

I like to think there will come a day when Republican lawmakers will appreciate the gravity of their responsibilities and take public policy seriously. I just have no idea when that day will arrive.

Really? That's just pure fantasy. When in 1933 and later did the Republican dead enders ever see the light?

They were removed by the voting public or retired which is the only reason they stopped carping. Many were replaced by new people with the same attitudes, but who had no reason to go back and refight already lost battles.

Those people will not change. They have to be removed from office.

Republicans are the party of mindless destruction. DESTROY.

Pat Buchanan on MSNBC a few minutes ago pretty much said everything you need to know: "The honeymoon's over, and there's a whole lot of wifebeating going on."

Ah, the right....

The facts surrounding "honeybee insurance" are irrelevant. They have their sound bite...and the "liberal media" will play it ad nauseum.

Where are our talking points? Where are our coordinated messages? Where are our sound bites?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but many of our fellow Americans are uneducated, misinformed, uninformed, lazy or just plain stupid. As a result, sadly, coordinated talking points, coordinated messages and sound bites work ("death tax" anyone?). The sooner we realize it, the easier it'll be to educate others and get our agenda passed.

Why does Mitch hate the beekeepers?

An ignorance of science? Agriculature, polination? You betcha! The Party of Big Ideas.

Steve: "I just have no idea when that day will arrive."

I do. Never.

Their campaign was joined Tuesday by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.),

Vitter really shouldn't get his diapers in a twist about this.

No, it'll happen. After they're voted out of office and their responsibilities consist of trying to score lucrative lobbying gigs.

Republicans are the party of mindless destruction. DESTROY.

I'm just curious which of the R Senate contingent is Karl Hungus.

Why should we pay for that? -Haik Bedrosian

First they came for the honeybee, and I said nothing...

Not to mention scientists are no closer than they were two years ago to figuring out why Europe and America's honeybees are dying at unprecedented rates.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_605674.html

That's a misstatement of the article's information. Scientists don't now have an answer, but they certainly know more.

As to Vitter, I find his ignorance particularly ironic because traditionally the state where the most honey bee queens were reared for stocking honey bee hives around the nation was -

Louisiana........

I just have no idea when that day will arrive.

I keep a close eye on the weather forecast for the Ninth Circle of South Hades. (I have friends and relations there.) If I notice a cooling trend, I'll let you know.

"I like to think there will come a day when Republican lawmakers will appreciate the gravity of their responsibilities and take public policy seriously. I just have no idea when that day will arrive."

The day AFTER the last Republican't is voted out of office.

I, for one, support insurance for honeybees. Seriously, I am not joking. Think about it. Our entire food chain is utterly dependent on food crops being properly polinated. Without polination there is no corn, rice, oats...and without those much of our livestock starves...and us. Honeybees are no joke. There are not enough other beneficial polination helpers to cover a devastating loss of honeybees. This isn't about honey...its about insuring a fundamental link in our food supply.

Why should we pay for that?["that" being disaster insurance for livestock producers] -- Haik Bedrosian, @16:06

Don't know about you, but I like my steak. Which I won't be able to get, if my steak-on-the-hoof doesn't get fed, because its food ain't multiplying, due to lack of pollination.

And, even if you're a total vegan... How would you like to say "good bye" to fruit? Or did you think that daddy fruit tree strolls over to mommy fruit tree for a ritual yearly mating, which results in all those little baby fruit?

I wonder if a bee got caught in Vitter's diaper at some point; angry bees can be really mean. They're the suicide bombers of the insect word... :)

Although it's been forgotten in the mists of time and other crises, one of the many egregious moves Bush made early on was to cut the already-paltry federal funding for researching the honeybee disease problems:

Even commercial beekeepers, who take extraordinary measures to ward off pests and disease, are in trouble. During the winter of 2000-2001, Maryland was among East Coast states hit particularly hard by drought and mite-related causes. While a federal program has helped to restock the hives, winter losses generally remain far higher than in pre-mite times. Wild bees remain scarce; longtime beekeepers are calling it quits, and too few new ones are taking their place.

Which is why beekeepers from California to Virginia are scratching their heads at the Bush administration's proposal to close three of the four Department of Agriculture bee research laboratories, including the first, opened in the 1890s in Chevy Chase and moved to Beltsville in 1939.

To save money and avoid possible duplication, the president has proposed closing the bee labs at Beltsville, Baton Rouge, La., and Tucson. The laboratory at Weslaco, Tex., would remain open. Funding would be reduced from $5.7 million to $2.5 million, and the number of positions cut from 21 to 9.

"It's like cutting all research for mad-cow disease just when an epidemic of the disease reaches its pinnacle and decimates our beef industry," said Laszlo Pentek, an Arlington beekeeper.

http://www.cyberbee.net/news/mites.htm

Indeed. It's almost like Bush has wanted to exacerbate these various crises. Hey, it's only our food supply, right?

I would venture to say that honeybees are much more important to this nation than is Senator McConnell.

Yes, we need bees for food pollination. Those who make it all about honey really do know nothing. Reminds me of Sarah Palin's mocking of fruit fly genetic research during the campaign.

But hey, mocking something is a lot easier than doing the research. Now can we get a rebuttal from the 4th estate? I'm not holding my breath, except maybe from Keith or Rachel...

Large sectors of American agriculture depend on honeybees. McConnell and other Republicans probably have a plan for farmers to hire desperate workers at below minimum wage to hand-pollinate millions of almond flowers with little paintbrushes, and uncountable other crops.

I like to think there will come a day when Republican lawmakers will appreciate the gravity of their responsibilities and take public policy seriously.
===================================

I like to think there will come a day when I win the Super Ultra Mega Gonzo Monster Lottery and become a billionaire philanthropist.

And frankly, I think my chances (although lousy) are better than yours.

With kind regards,
Dog, etc.
searching for home

If all those arguments about honeybees are true...then the farmers should pay for the honeybee insurance, right? They have the incentive to do so since their business depends on it. At least, the states that are affected should pay for it if it's a real problem.
If General Motors has a machine that keeps on breaking, shouldn't they pay for the insurance on it? (ok, bad example, probably they would try to make the taxpayer pay for it too) Is it the federal government's responsibility to pay for every business that has problems, even those entirely unrelated to our current crisis? If so, I suspect there will not be much money left for other progressive priorities. This sounds like another farm giveaway to me...as if there aren't enough of those already.

I agree with Jamie from the previous comment. Only 10B of this spending is for infrastructure. That's pathetic. We're going to fritter away 90B and only have something to show for 10 of it? The rest is for crap like bee insurance. Stupid! This is deficit spending! No less than 50B should be spent on infrastructure. I want to see decent intercity American rail in my lifetime.

I'm starting to think that's not to bee.

Honey bees are agricultural infrastructure.

From the USDA Agricultural Research Service:

"Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion in added crop value, particularly for specialty crops such as almonds and other nuts, berries, fruits, and vegetables. About one mouthful in three in the diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination. While there are native pollinators (honey bees came from the Old World with European colonists), honey bees are more prolific and the easiest to manage for the large scale pollination that U.S. agriculture requires. In California, the almond crop alone uses 1.3 million colonies of bees, approximately one half of all honey bees in the United States, and this need is projected to grow to 1.5 million colonies by 2010.

"The number of managed honey bee colonies has dropped from 5 million in the1940s to only 2.5 million today. At the same time, the call for hives to supply pollination service has continued to climb. This means honey bee colonies are trucked farther and more often than ever before.