Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at wine, wine corks, and AIDS.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at Iowa, wine, and the "first in the nation" caucus.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at nature, Big Pharma, and orphan drugs.

Remember the excitement a week or two ago when Mellencamp sang for an Obama rally?  People were sure his endorsement would help in Indiana, even using it as an opportunity to ridicule the Elton John concert, saying things like "How representative of America is Elton John anyway?"  It was also reported here, with comments like:

that is frickin monstrous

John Cougar Mellencamp is basically Indiana.

He will be good for 2-4 points himself.

Wow!

Wow!

Well, it turns out Mellencamp is a DEMOCRAT, not a supporter of either Democratic candidate.

I said before the Ohio primary that the big question for superdelegates would be, "did Obama peak in February, and go downhill from there?"  Obama got a huge bump from January through March based upon his incredible charisma, his speaking skills, his freshness and, quite frankly, his not being Hillary.  But the real question was always could he maintain it through November, and the test would be can he maintain it through June.  If it was a wave that would peak, superdelegates are obligated to note that, even if it means going against the pledged delegate count.  Why do I say that?  Because the pledged delegate count is no more democratic than superdelegates.  Both are part of the system, and they mutually support each other.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at wine, women, and body image.

WOE IS ME!

WOE IS ME!

ABC IS MEAN!

Well, yeah.  ABC was mean to Obama.  They treated him like, dare I say it, the frontrunner.  They treated him like they are going to treat him every day from now until November.  You saw him, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, get the same sort of treatment Clinton has been getting from day one, and your feelings are hurt.  Why?  Because it's not fair?  Hell no.  Not a darned one of you cared a whit about "fair" when the shoe was on the other foot.  No.  You're offended because you thought, for what reason I can not even imagine, that the media would continue to give Obama the same ride they always give McCain.  And under it all, in the backs of your heads, you are finally acknowledging the echos of what Clinton supporters have told you all along - that the media would turn on Obama once Clinton was out of the way, and the free ride would be over.

What do I mean?  Why don't you take the jump and find out.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at wine, labels, and personal filters.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at wine, religion, and politics.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at wine, ethanol, and biofuels, and their effect on hunger and the economy.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today we look at how modern technology is changing the way people sell, and the way people buy.

Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today, we travel to Hong Kong for a look at the world's economy, through the bottom of a glass.

Cross-posted from Seeing the World Through the Bottom of a Wine Glass.

What happens when consumers' and producers' interest, and modern technology, conflict with an entrenched interest with lots of lobbying power?  Let's take a trip around the country and find out, shall we?  First stop, Tennessee.

Wine is both an agricultural product and a luxury product.  As an agricultural product, and a fairly delicate one at that, it is the "canary in the coal mine" for environmental concerns.  As a luxury product, it is the same sort of bird for economic concerns. So what does wine tell us about our world today.  In simple words, we're in big trouble.

from

I waited a week, for tempers to cool.  I also read and re-read Obama's speech, trying to figure out what bugged me so much.  When I first heard it,  I was completely cynical about it.  I have no doubt that comes from my point of view as a Clinton supporter.  I even started to write a diary giving it a word-by-word autopsy.  But you know what?  It was a good speech. He said wonderful things.  What I first heard as "it's really okay, because I'm mostly white" was NOT what was said.  He talked about his mother's family, not to make himself more acceptable, but to draw important comparisons.  BUT, and yes, this is a big "but," WHY did he make the speech?  And this is where he loses me.

This is a potentially big non-decision.  Today the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Middle District of Florida's decision dismissing a lawsuit against the DNC, WITHOUT PREJUDICE.  The last two words are the ones that count.  "Without prejudice" means "you can file it again." But should the Plaintiff do so?

I have read people here describing Barack Obama's speech on race as "brilliant," "magnificent," and "moving."  I agree.  But I have also seen it referred to as "brave," "daring," even "heroic," and there I have to disagree.  I disagree for a simple reason.  Obama did not give the speech, as many here have posited, "when America needed to hear it."  He did not give the speech "because it was time to talk about race."  Obama gave that speech for one reason, and one reason only - to save his campaign.  The Rev. Wright videos were damaging his campaign, perhaps, if he did not stop the bleeding, to the point where superdelegates would consider him unelectable.

Heroism, quite simply, is not doing something brave to save yourself.  It is doing something brave selflessly.  Had Obama given that same speech two months ago he would have been heroic.  He would have been Martin Luther King trumpeting "I have a dream."  But he did not.  So, no matter how eloquently he spoke, he was really Richard Nixon saying "our little girl-Tricia, the 6-year old-named it Checkers.  And ... we're gonna keep it."

Obama just finished his speech.  It was a good speech. It will be interesting to see if it changes people's minds.

For those who don't know, I used to write The Daily Pulse, well, daily.  It always included "Letters Tuesday Editor," LTEs from papers around the country.  I still reanimate the concept once in a while, like right before an election, or in the midst of a big political story.  Today, I thought I would take a look at what people were writing in about the whole Obama, Ferraro, Wright flap.  It will make an interesting comparison next week, to see if the letters change as a result of the speech, and news about it in the next few days.

So, with no more ado, Letters Tuesday Editor: