I hope the South Plains drought lasts a few more years!

I hope the South Plains drought lasts a few more years until it drives these prima donna cotton farmers out of business.

Back in the saddle again.

Due to a chronic illness, I had to take a couple months off from blogging. But I'm back in the saddle again, so you can expect to see more of my thought-provoking posts in the coming days.

USPS can close my rural town's post office.

I live in one of the many small rural towns spreadout across America where the United States Postal Service (USPS) does not deliver mail to street addresses. You have to pick your mail up at the post office in town. I've never understood the logic behind this policy of the USPS not delivering mail to small town street addresses, when they will deliver mail right to your home if you live outside the city limits--even if your house sits alone at the end of a 10-mile dirt road.

I never realized what a problem this is until I started ordering stuff from online businesses who prefer to ship with Fedex or UPS. They want a street address. Well I have a street address, but since the USPS doesn't deliver mail to it, there's no record of it in the USPS database of street addresses. And it just so happens that many businesses and shippers like to use the USPS database info to confirm street addresses.
Often I will be told by these businesses and shippers that the street address I gave to them is invalid because it doesn't show up in the USPS database. I then have to go through the process of explaining the situation and hope they understand. "The address is good," I tell them. "I get UPS and Fedex deliveries all the time there with no problem."

Most businesses understand the strange predicament rural folks such as myself are in when it comes to mail delivery and street addresses, and they use the street address I give them with no problem. Some balk, especially automated systems, and I have to shop somewhere else that will accept my word over USPS database. Frankly, I've grown weary of this ongoing hassle.

If closing my local post office resulted in me getting my mail delivered to my home and finally getting my street address in the blasted USPS database, then by all means close this sucker down. I won't miss it. I don't want to see anyone put out of a job, so maybe they could just reassign the one or two post office employees to the new carrier routes that would be created by closing the post office.

Please USPS, close my rural town's post office now!

Teabagger congressman Joe Walsh defends banks and throws a tantrum.

Lunatic teabagger congressman Joe Walsh defends bankers during a screaming tantrum with his constituents in Illinois.

Atlanta and Oakland police attack Occupy Wall Street protesters!

Using the same tactics as Middle East dictators, the mayors of Atlanta, GA and Oakland, CA ordered early-morning police attacks against Occupy Wall Street camps in their respective cities.

Above is video of Atlanta police attacking the Occupy Wall Street camp in Woodruff Park. Below is video of the Oakland police attacking Occupy Wall Street protesters in Oakland, CA.

The Middle East isn't the only place where peaceful protest is suppressed using police violence. America's police are well-trained in the methods of violently suppressing peaceful demonstrators as well.

Dust Bowl is a-coming!

Few, if any, individuals living on the South Plains today have ever witnessed drought conditions as severe as the ones that currently have the region tightly in its grip. This is the first time that anyone can recall a year so dry that even the tumbleweeds won't grow in many places. It doesn't get much drier than that unless you live in the middle of a desert. The recent mile-high wall of dirt that swept across the South Plains was viewed by many as a harbinger of things to come.

Meteorologists have forecast that the La Nina effect responsible for the drought will continue at least through next spring. Some so-called experts are saying that even under these conditions it's highly unlikely that the High Plains will experience the massive sandstorms of the 1930s Dust Bowl era. They claim that advances in farming techniques and irrigation technology have significantly reduced the possibility of another Dust Bowl. These experts couldn't be more wrong.

While it's true that much of the South Plains is irrigated, much of it is not. It's so dry that most dryland acreage wasn't planted this year, and even many irrigated fields were not planted. The soil in these fields is being pulverized into fine dust particles. Since early spring, this fine dust has begun accumulating in the lower atmosphere to the point that it lingers like a thin smog even on calm days. This phenomenon is most visible outside cities and towns where you can view long stretches of open plains.

Even fields that have been planted in native grasses under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are rapidly deteriorating due to drought and relentless winds sandblasting away the dead grass. Add to this the millions of acres of prairie destroyed by wildfires and left exposed to wind erosion. A perfect storm is developing, so to speak, that is ripe for the reappearance of a dust bowl on a scale comparable to or even exceeding that of the 1930s. The experts better wake up and smell reality.

Here's a reality check from a local farmer given to Delta Farm Press last June:
The article goes on to say:

"I don’t think people realize how bad it is," said Brad Heffington, Littlefield, Texas, producer and president of Plains Cotton Growers, Inc., speaking during the Ag Market Network’s June conference call.
Heffington, who farms in the High Plains, said, "No one alive that I know has seen the level of drought we’re seeing in west Texas right now. It breaks records set back in 1895, when they started keeping records."

Heffington says there’s very little hope left for the dryland crop, "but I don’t think people realize how serious the situation is on the irrigated crop, especially on the High Plains. We have limited irrigation that is typically supplemental to the 18 inches of rain we usually receive annually. Without any rain in the last year, I don’t want to sound like I’m ringing the bell, but it’s serious, as serious as I’ve ever seen it."

It's obvious to those who live on the ground around the South Plains that this year is like no other year in the recorded meterological data as far as drought is concerned. When even the weeds don't grow you know things are dry like never before. I've watched the landscape just around my house go through a metamorphosis this past year from broad expanses of bermuda grass to barren ground and mini sand dunes. The rate of deterioration has accelerated even more in recent weeks.

If the La Nina weather pattern stays in place as meteorologists have forecast, then walls of dirt will become a more common phenomenon in the coming days. Yes, the Dust Bowl is a-coming!

Occupy Lubbock gains momentum.

Just about the time I was giving up on Lubbock being anything other than a breeding ground for teabaggers and the Christian Taliban, along comes a small group of local activists who defy the status quo. Occupy Lubbock has setup their outpost on a small speck of city property located at the southwest corner of University Avenue and 19th Street.

A recent statement issued by OccupyLubbock.org:　

As of 2pm Saturday 10/22, Occupy Lubbock made it to the one week mark of continuous, 24/7 occupation of the public greenspace at 19th & University Ave. There have been a few events announced on the Occupy Lubbock facebook page — including a few general assemblies, regular demonstrations at peak traffic hours, and another sign-making party — but most of the on-site group’s efforts have been focused on logistical concerns. The occupiers at 19th and University have braved a historic haboob, a bustling urban environment at all hours, and decreasing nighttime temperatures. The support shown by the community has been fantastic; physical and motivational contributions have kept the occupation going.
The occupation now has an information tent and welcomes your contributions of facts and data behind the movement. One of our most effective roles has been talking with regular folks who stop by the occupation and want to know what it’s all about.
Going forward, general assemblies will take place daily at 6:30pm at the occupation site. Most GAs will simply cover logistical concerns of the day, but event planning, outreach, and other discussion may take place. GAs with a larger-than-usual agenda will be announced ahead of time. All are welcome to participate in the GAs. Watch the facebook page, the twitter account, and this website for more details.
Thanks everyone for the support. Let’s keep this occupation growing!

Occupy Lubbock has held its public space for about nine days so far. It will be interesting to see what happens in the days ahead if the local movement continues to grow.