At 11:13 PM 12/13/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Andy:
>How can you possibly be accused of 'stealing' information paid for
>by all of us taxpayers for the benefit of all of us taxpayers. I am of
>course assuming that all good US beekeepers report their legitimate
>and illegitimate income... :-)
 
Hi Al,
 
Of course you are right, I was just waxing elegantly, but I do think my
chances of resting in peace on top of Granddad at Arlington have been
eliminated because of my cynical public views of the present US government.
I would add what one wise old beekeeper once told me after being the only
one I did not insult during one of my bee convention "beekeeper to
beekeeper" talks, " no beekeeper was born a cynic only his experience makes
him that way".  I think I made the switch when plastic flowers replaced the
real thing at the local bone yard but I had hints for many years such as
when on a trip to Florida I found most of the ideal bee yard sites piled 10
and 20 high with used pesticide containers.
 
I was a "honey market reporter" for many years, without pay other then the
return postage the government would pay. Early on it really bothered me
that they would "censor" my reports. At the time in California we beekeeper
were really suffering because our bees were being damaged late in the
season from the use of pesticide dusts on late milo and corn crops the bees
worked for pollen and they of course died during the inactive months that
followed and we did not have any mites to blame it on then.  I could not
take it anymore, I complained and got no satisfaction as my reports were
still censored of all reference to the negative effects of agricultural
chemicals on the beekeeping environment.
 
By chance I fell in with some educated people, two newspaper reporters who
were starting up a new business as lobbyists at our state capitol. I traded
them my poor skills as someone who worked in an odd ball agricultural
industry that holds great fascination with the public and entertained their
clients at small luncheons at the capitol which brought me in contact with
those with political power and the chance to see a few changes made for
beekeepers. One of these was the stopping of censoring of the Beekeeper
Reports, of course in a few years beekeepers no longer got return postage
paid for their reports, then beekeepers were no longer used as reporters,
and then the state reports were eliminated and beekeepers were asked to pay
for the National Honey Market News, $35 now..
 
I have asked repeatedly that these reports be made available electronically
as all the rest of the commodity reports are and have received no
satisfaction just the run around and the silent treatment. It is such a
small thing to ask for, and something that could end up saving money for
the government as you can bee sure if they are selling the reports for $35
it is costing them $100.00 and they can prove it. But the danger is always
"rock the boat" and they will eliminate the reports all together because so
few use them. Well when they were free that was not the case, and the
cooperation was good and the reports were much more current and factual as
today much of reports is make up from information supplied by desk jockey
bee regulators who seldom leave the office and when they do its to make a
run to the local coffee shop to collect intelligence on bee keeping
conditions.
 
ttul, the OLd Drone
 
 
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