Let Me Explain

I read this opinion piece by Ryan Goodman, which complains about Chipotle's "food with integrity" marketing strategy. Goodman thinks Chipotle is providing a misleading and unfair depiction of actual farm production. In reality, farming is actually like ....

Insert argument here.

Goodman doesn't say. He never says how actual farming differs from Chipotle's presentation. And obviously it is different -- Chipotle's viral videos are deliberately hyperbolic and dystopian, which contra Goodman is not itself a marker of dishonesty -- but we hear absolutely zero substance on the subject from Goodman. "Go talk with the farmers and ranchers," he says, but without giving the slightest hint as to what they'll say. I couldn't help but think of this:

Belt-Tightening

One of the ongoing challenges for the House Republican majority has been finding programs to cut. It turns out, "waste, fraud, and abuse" actually doesn't cover a substantial portion of the federal budget, which means our adorable "small-government" crusaders need to start hacking away at programs that people like. Like Medicare. Or Social Security. Or defense.

Not willing to do any of those things, Republicans have been left scrambling a little bit. But they've apparently found one program whose beneficiaries may need to resign themselves to a bit of, er, "belt-tightening": Food stamps!

Poor people -- what lucky duckies. It's time to get them off the government hog, so we don't have to make cuts in areas that might really hurt. Like farm subsidies.

Grouchy V-Day Roundup

Jill and I typically don't really celebrate Valentine's Day (coming so soon after my birthday, we're all celebrated out). But I'm feeling a little bit grumpy this week, so I think snuggling up with some candy and a movie might be just what the doctor ordered.

* * *

Bill Russell gets the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Justice Thomas' silence on the bench reaches 5 years. While my feeling going into the article was that I didn't really care whether Justice Thomas felt compelled to speak or not (viewing much of oral argument as a bit of a charade), I did think one attorney had a point when he noted the unfairness of Thomas deciding cases on grounds not briefed or argued, yet not giving lawyers the opportunity to at least respond to his concerns.

Two posts at TNC's place on Black people getting away with things.

Maryland Democrat joins the state legislative Tea Party caucus, chaos ensues.

Scott Lemieux on the individual mandate and federal power.

Dutch parliament voices opposition to unilateral Palestinian statehood, urges Palestine to recognize Israel as a Jewish state as part of a final peace agreement.

Jordan's Justice Minister calls for a pardon of a Jordanian soldier who murdered 7 visiting Israeli schoolchildren. The Minister previously served as the convicted criminal's defense attorney.

The Iranian government is vigorously suppressing Egypt-inspired protests cropping up in Tehran, Hillary Clinton remarks that Iranians and Egyptians deserve the same rights.

CPAC in a nutshell: "I witnessed someone calling Ron Paul people a 'cult' while eating a cake shaped like Reagan's face."