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| FEBRUARY 2004 |
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Legislative Fly-In II Provides Hands-On Grassroots Experience
Over the last six years, the National Grange's Legislative Fly-In program
has provided members the opportunity to experience democracy in action in a way
that is both fun and educational. Due to such positive feedback, the Legislative
Department decided to introduce an additional Fly-In program for January 2004.
Because the Legislative Fly-In program has always stressed civic involvement,
what better training ground could one ask for than the New Hampshire Presidential
Primary?
The
Legislative Fly-In II allowed participants to gain hands-on experiencing in campaigning
by serving as volunteers on presidential campaigns. Upon registering for the event,
each participant chose which presidential candidate they wanted to campaign for.
A significant part of time was spent in campaign activities such as door-to-door
canvassing, providing literature, telephone canvassing, updating computer databases
containing information on likely voters, locating recent news articles and running
errands. When not campaigning, participants had plenty of opportunity to hear
influential speakers, attend banquets and luncheons and explore their surroundings.
The first full
day of the program allowed participants to attend a luncheon featuring the New
Hampshire Grange's choice for "Outstanding Legislator", Senator Thomas Eaton.
His topic of his speech was titled "The Role of State and Local Elections Officials
in the Presidential Primary Process". Senator Eaton's speech stressed the importance
and significance of having New Hampshire as "first in the nation" to both the
candidates and the voters.
"The
Granite State is the place where candidates with little name recognition (Carter),
not a lot of money (Buchanan) and in need of a little redemption (Clinton) can
come and be successful." Said Senator Eaton. "By taking our first-in-the-nation
status so seriously, by having some of the finest grass-roots activists in the
country, and by respecting all comers, the atmosphere surrounding each of our
Presidential Primaries is electric." He added. He
went on not only to provide specific examples by quoting some well-known candidates
during his speech. "It's undeniable - New Hampshire inspires both better performances
and words of praise." Said Senator Eaton. "Take Howard Dean's comments on the
day he filed: 'I am absolutely committed to New Hampshire having the first primary.
The reason I am committed to doing that is because candidates like me would never
have a chance to look people in the eye and shake their hands and let them say
what they think of us.'" Another fine example from one of our candidates was also
included. "General Wesley Clark is equally generous, saying: 'One thing that I
learned about New Hampshire is that if you come up here people really take you
seriously and they take their politics seriously - I've never had a boring conversation
up here.'" Other
speakers included the Honorable William H. Gardener, Secretary of State for the
State of New Hampshire; Wayne McDonald, Vice Chairman of the Republican Party
of NH; Ms. Kathleen Sullivan, Chairwoman of the NH Democratic Party; Representative
Henry Parkhurst (NH); and Dr. Charles Weed, Professor of Political Science at
Keene State College in Keene, NH.
The
Legislative Fly-In II provided opportunities to some of our younger members along
with more seasoned grass-roots volunteers. This year, the National Grange Legislative
Fly-In sponsored a scholarship program. The two recipients of the Legislative
Scholarship Program were Sara Cole, a high school junior, and Brian Hunkins, a
high school senior, both members of the Ohio State Grange. For
Sara Cole, the Legislative Fly-In II proved to be an invaluable learning experience. "Another perk of the National Grange Legislative Fly-In was the opportunity I
was offered to expand my knowledge of government and politics." Said Sara. "Before
this trip, I didn't know anything about politics, and barely knew anything about
any of the presidential candidates. However, I learned a great deal about what
it takes to run, or participate, in a presidential campaign," she added. "Feeling
like I had made so much of a difference, combined with the fast-paced atmosphere
really complemented my lifestyle. I have already decided that in four years, I
want to come back to New Hampshire for the whole primary on my own and work for
a campaign." Brian
Hunkins expressed much enthusiasm regarding the Fly-In when he said, "recently,
I achieved the chance to fly to New Hampshire and experience the true grassroots
campaigning. Everyone that helped put this program together really made this an
exciting experience of a lifetime and I thank them for that." "I came to the understanding
that the grassroots of campaigning can be difficult and exciting at the same time."
Said Brian. "It requires hard work and dedication to the campaign such as canvassing
areas and handing out information to the voters and even entering data into the
computer." In conclusion, Brian said "although this adventure is over, I would
truly enjoy going back in another four years to experience it once more. Thank
you Potomac Grange for awarding me with one of the scholarships to experience
this program. Without it, this experience would not have been possible."
The
National Grange is pleased that its first presidential primary Fly-In was such
a success. Through developing programs such as the Fly-In and other grassroots
training activities the Grange carries on a century old tradition into the new
millennium. Programs such as these are evolving not merely to educate, but to
inspire grassroots activity in all Grange communities.
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European Union Expansion Raises Concerns for U.S. Agriculture
The National Grange has joined forces with several agricultural industry
organizations in producing a coalition letter for Ambassador Robert Zoellick of
the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative regarding future expansion of the
European Union (EU). Although this expansion is expected to take place within
the next few months, the EU Commission has not taken the time to explain the details
of its enlargement agricultural policies or discussed with the U.S. how to avoid
potential harm to U.S. trading interests. The
Grange, along with the other co-signers, believe the Commission's non-transparency
and notification delays appear to relate to an internal decision to delay WTO "compensation" talks until right before the enlargement takes effect. The Commission
apparently believes that delayed compensation talks will give it a negotiating
advantage over the U.S. and other supplying countries, who may find it more difficult
on the eve of enlargement to assess and calculate their full compensation rights. U.S. agricultural
producers have much to be concerned about regarding this impending expansion.
Over the last few years, the EU has placed excessive bans and restrictions on
the distribution of U.S. agricultural products, such as the illegal ban on U.S.
beef and restrictive meat inspections, restrictive biotechnology policies and
the EU ban on U.S. poultry due to antimicrobial use of chlorinated water during
processing. Restricted trade access to EU countries has been detrimental to U.S.
agriculture; this expansion would place added countries under the same restrictions
that have harmed industries such as beef and biotech crops. Furthermore, U.S./EU
bilateral agreements run the risk of being violated, which would put the EU once
again into non-compliance in important WTO cases.
Because
any damage done to U.S. interests as a result of this expansion could prove irreparable,
it is absolutely necessary that the U.S. take whatever measures are necessary
to ensure that the EU enlargement policies are disclosed by the Commission and
U.S. trading interests are protected. If our rights are impaired as a result of
this expansion, the U.S. must take steps to ensure prompt and effective remediation.
top USDA
Issues Final Update on BSE
As of this month, the USDA has completed its
investigation of the BSE case involving an affected cow in Washington State. This
incident lead to further investigations of cattle in the surrounding areas of
Washington, Oregon and Idaho, which identified 225 "animals of interest" meaning
those that may have been from the same herd from Alberta, Canada. After removing
them from the rest of the animal population and testing them, results for BSE
were negative.
After the investigation, the USDA found the remaining animals to present very
little risk to the American consumer. Any animal showing nervous system disorder
- or any non-ambulatory at the time of slaughter - would be condemned and prevented
from entering the food supply. Even in countries with a high prevalence of BSE,
it is rare to encounter more than one or two positive animals within a herd. To
further prevent the spread of animal borne disease, the USDA is in the process
of setting up an animal identification system program over an extended period
of time. Because identifying diseased and exposed animals is critical to the public's
safety, the USDA will require that all animals eventually bear individual identification
as part of a uniform program that is implemented across the U.S. The
first step in implementing this plan is to require all farmers and ranchers to
obtain a premise ID for their operations by July, which will be issued by each
state department of agriculture or other appropriate agency. By July 2005, a visual
ID for animals consisting of an ear tag will be required; by July 2006, an electronic
feature will be added which will serve as a tracking device. As of now, full details
of the requirements are unavailable, yet a plan can be viewed at the U.S.
Animal Identification Plan.
top Nebraska
Granger Edgar Hicks to Serve on Nebraska Rural Development Commission
On
February 2nd, Nebraska State Granger Edgar Hicks was bestowed with the honor of
serving on the Nebraska Rural Development Commission. The purpose of the commission
is to advocate and recommend programs encouraging regional cooperation and foster
community sustainability and economic development initiatives in rural areas.
The governor
appoints each member of the Rural Development Commission, who is chosen in regard
to how well they represent a wide range of agricultural interests in the State
of Nebraska. All members work together to help shape Nebraska State Government
and its programs in a way that meets the needs of its citizens while promoting
wise stewardship of natural resources. The
National Grange would like to congratulate Mr. Hicks on earning this position.
We believe that through his service, he will help to enhance the quality of rural
life in the state of Nebraska and be a wonderful representative for the Grange.
top National
Grange Welcomes Legislative Intern, John Beazley 
The
National Grange is pleased to announce the arrival of John Beazley, Legislative
Intern. John is a student at Texas A & M University - Commerce who will be interning
with the Grange from January 26th to May 7th, 2004 through a program in Washington
called "The Institute for Experiential Learning". This program allows students
to intern with an organization four days a week and attend classes one day a week.
John, who is now a senior with a double major in Animal Science and Political
Science, is very interested in public policy and governmental regulation, especially
pertaining to agriculture. During
his internship, he expects to learn much more about the way our policies are made
by taking a hands-on approach to learning. Not only does John plan to take full
advantage of being in Washington by seeing our government in action, he also hopes
to experience the cultural and social aspects of this diverse city. The classes
he is taking are designed to enhance his experience by allowing him to visit each
branch of government or government agency that is the topic of study for the week.
John was a very active Future Farmers of America (FFA) member and comes to us
with work experience in both farming and ranching. The National Grange is pleased
to have John join us and is looking forward to working with him this semester.
top Agriculture
Secretary Ann Veneman speaks at Food Group luncheon
On Thursday February
5, 2004 the Secretary of Agriculture made a special appearance at The Hotel Washington,
for the Food Group luncheon, as the keynote speaker. The Food Group hosts a monthly
luncheon as a forum for industries, interest groups, and other political organizations
interested in the food industry sector. There were over 250 in attendance representing
groups such as the American Bakers' Association, Bayer, Kraft, and the American
Apple Producers Association. The Secretary began by telling about her Christmas
vacation. As you may know the case of Mad Cow was discovered on December 23 in
Washington State. The Secretary revealed the details of the activities the USDA
is conducting in order to eradicate this disease and implement safeguards to prevent
a future outbreak. One particular area of interest was the discussion on animal
identification programs soon to come and the technology that will be used to keep
accurate records. Some of the questions posed were in regards to the specific
type of technology to be used and the time line the public could expect for implementation.
The Secretary said that those decisions have not been made yet but in regards
to the timeline, rest assured that it would be done right so the technology does
not become quickly outdated.
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