Now we're talking

People who know more about these things than I do were disappointed by Obama's appointment of Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture, because of his ties to Agribusiness. You might guess that I'm not a fan of agribusiness, but I do think it probably wouldn't be a good idea to pull the rug from under them all at once. Anyway, there was a piece about him this morning on NPR which sounded very promising to me. He wants to "remake American Agriculture," outlined a very broad plan to begin our changes in energy use, environmental impact, and reduce the deficit. Among other things, he wants to largely replace farm subsidies with cap and trade. Sweet!

But really, the thing that excited me most was the news that he took a jackhammer to his building's driveway, so the office can put a garden there this summer.

"Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Operates a Jackhammer Breaking Ground for the People's Garden Project on the Bicentennial of Lincoln's Birth at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. The Event Took Place 12 Feb 2009."