Hello my fellow Debt Ceiling Refugees.  Is that the correct phase for how I'm feeling about having the American Debt Ceiling increased?  Somehow I feel like I'm on a sinking life boat somewhere between Miami and Cuba in shark infested water, but my president and a bunch of lunatic extremists in Congress have thrown me a cement life preserver with a new Visa Card in the vest pocket. 

Why do us average Americans even have to know about this Debt Ceiling stuff anyway?  It's not like I get to discuss or even know what the options are.  I have two Senators and a District 7 House Rep. there in Washington, DC taking care of me on this matter and we Minnewegians pay them well to tend the chicken coop for us and keep those big bad Republican Wolves away from our free range chickens: Here Little!  Here Red!  Here Riding!  Here Hood!.  All secure and tucked into the coop for the night.  I can rest assured.

Rest Assured?  Rest assured about what?  I don't even know what the Debt Ceiling looks like.  Did Michael What's His Name paint on it or am I thinking of a chapel somewhere in Rome?  I guess I'm supposed to be reassured that the "full faith and confidence" of the world has been restored in our ability to pay back our debts.  But, since when would a guy like me worry about paying back a debt to China or France or O'Canada for that matter, when I'm going down in shark infested water clinging to a cement life preserver with an unsigned credit card in the vest pocket just behind my emergency Acme Thunderer black plastic whistle (only to be used in case of emergency)?  I, being a life-long debt monger (I should have been a fish monger), have never had to worry about paying back my borrowed debts.  If I didn't there was a contract that specifically stated I would be thrust behind bars for eternity if I defaulted.  Hells Bells man, the good old US of A has a nuclear arsenal to back up it's "full faith  and confidence" should we ever have to default.  I mean, to me that says loud and clear: "Hey schmuck, we'll pay you back when we get the cash.  Right now we're in a spiral to hell economy and the Tea Mongers (who are really spouting terrorist tactics while holding us all hostage to their radical position that if we don't curb the spending we won't see God) are trying to slow the economy even more by curbing government spending whilst all their corporate booking agents are holding two trillion dollars in escrow (aka hording shareholders money) because they know the average American (that's me and you unless you're a corporation reading this) doesn't have a dollar to spend on anything besides food, clothing and shelter and many of us low lifes don't even have money for more than one of those three items.

OK.  So, we less than upper class folks are busted.  The wealthy 1% now own 70% of American wealth.  Uncle Sam has his hands tied behind his back so he can't press the keys at the ATM.  THEY are cutting my social security and my annuity by not allowing any increases in cost of living and more cuts are promised by this new law.  God knows the cost of living isn't going up anyway,  according to the latest poll conducted by the 1% that own 70% of the wealth. 

I think this is a perfect lead into the title of this post.  I've been contemplating turning my bull, Joey Mauer, in with my cows so he can breed them and I can get rich on the seven or eight calves they might produce next spring.  See, I like my calves to slide onto a green carpet on the opening day of their ballgame.  When I lived in Montana and I wasn't the cowboy I am now, I observed many ranchers calving in February and never really understood why calves wanted to be born in a Montana blizzard, why a cow would like going into labor when she was at the peak of her annual malnourishment and why a rancher would want to participate in pulling a breached calf or even just watching  calves be born when the wind is howling, the snow is flying sideways and their breathe is freezing their mustache to their nose hairs.  There certainly was a reason for choosing February in Montana, but I see no reason for anything before mid-May in Northwestern Minnesota.  Unless.  Unless you are raising cows for the commodities market and that's the best timing for getting calves ready for the finishing feedlots in Kansas or Nebraska.  Well, I raise grass fed beeves and I don't know if I have a market from one day to the next, one month to the next or one year to the next.  So, why not have calves on this farm in mid-May after the cows have fed on green grass for at least two weeks, the temperatures have moderated somewhat and spring blizzards are at least three or four days apart rather than non-stop in February.  So, I'm thinking tomorrow I'll let Joey in with "the girls" and that'll be that until next May. 

And of course this brings me full circle.  Yesterday I was locked in a debate with myself over the National Debby Sealing and today I'm all flustered trying to figure out if Joey should be with "the girls" now or in a few days.  And before I knew it all my troubles were over.  The National Kentucky Derby was passed and President Obama signed it into law and tomorrow Joey Mauer the Angus bull will step into the greenest pasture he has seen since last August.  His upper lip will be doing curls like a weight lifter and life will go on. 

I love farming.  I made this procreative bovine decision without any negotiations with President Obama or Congress, there was no Bill to be signed into law and I'm not in prison for defaulting on my debt.  I do have seven grandchildren though, and now I'm wondering; just how I explain "debt ceiling" to them.  I have to find a way to tell them what we are putting off for them to pay for.  They are the ones who really got stuck with the Bill as far as I can see and this little old farm I'm loosing to the bank one day at a time is surely not going to be a nuclear arsenal they can brandish in front of their World contending to be broke.  Maybe they won't have to worry about it.  Maybe by then the world will be one nation under China with liberty and justice for all.

Green side is up and it sure is purdy....