The Debatable Land

Country Life

The countryside can be a wild and dangerous place:

Farmers have been warned to be on their guard as scrap metal thieves target large gates in southern Scotland.

Three farms in the Selkirk area of the Borders were struck at the weekend.

Farmers said the thefts were not only costly but also put livestock at risk of being killed if they wandered out onto nearby roads.

The Scottish National Farmers Union said that when the economy was under pressure people needed to guard against "petty, opportunistic crime".

Happily, as best I can tell, none of the gates here have been taken. Yet.

Department of Awkward Votes

I hadn't realised until Sallie James at Cato pointed me in the right direction that neither John McCain, nor Barack Obama nor Hillary Clinton voted on the (awful) 2007 Farm Bill. Well, I guess one can see why. Still, it would be nice to hear their answers to the questions:

1.Why didn't you vote on the Farm Bill?

and

2. If you had would cast a vote, would you have voted Yes or No?

Plus: How protectionist is your candidate? Find out here!