New Spreader & Debate

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Spread the news! A sight of extreme rarity exists on our farmstead right now........but, not for long, I'm afraid:

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What you're gazing upon right here is an immaculate, brand- spankin'-new Kuhn-Knight Slinger manure spreader........straight from the factory in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Husband had placed the order back in June, and it took this long to arrive! Needless to say, Husband was getting very impatient. Why anyone is impatient to spend thousands of dollars is beyond me, but, that's how it goes. List price was over $29,000; we received a trade-in allowance of $11,300. (Who would want a USED manure spreader, you may ask?!.........A farmer with lots of poop and not much money, of course!)
These photos need to be cherished for posterity, for in another hour or two, the first scoop of manure will be slopped into this spreader, and that will be the end of shiny-clean for this machine......forever!!

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On one side of the spreader is this opening with paddles inside which will rotate and shoot the manure out over the field. Old-time manure spreaders had a rotating apparatus at the back of the machine which dispersed the matter. In the newspaper just the other day was the sad report of a farmer in western Iowa who had been killed by the rear rotating parts of a manure spreader! My husband shook his head and said......"What a way to go."

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I feel like commenting on the vice-presidential debate of last evening, and don't worry, its simply a random coincidence that those comments will be contained in the same post as manure spreader photos. Ahem.

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I watched most of the debate......or, rather.......I LISTENED to most of the debate. For some reason, I have never cared for SEEING the candidates during the debates.........I get distracted by their gestures, expressions, etc. I did glance up a few times last night and did notice the way Sarah Palin stared right at the camera........right at us Americans in TV-Land. Probably, that was a smart move on her part.......eye-contact facilitates bonding.

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I don't know that much about politics and issues, but I tried to listen carefully to the questions and answers. I did feel Sarah Palin skirted around several questions, simply saying, "Americans want change." Its a catchy slogan........people latch onto catchy slogans, which help them decide who to vote for in the end. Probably, Joe Biden mentioned a catchy slogan, too. They all do.

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I honestly don't know yet who I will vote for. I refuse to buy into this or that party-line about either of the tickets. Liberals will try to say that Sarah Palin is the most awful thing to come along, and conservatives will say she is the best. I don't hold to either view. She's no example of perfect motherhood, nor is she a backwoods idiot. Her path in life led her to where she is. Make no mistake, she was noticed by Republican bigwigs several years ago, just as, I'm sure, Barack Obama was noticed by Democratic higher-ups early on.

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Our sports-saturated culture is enamored with winning, and recruiting the best players to make that happen. Its the same in politics, I believe.

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I want to not be distracted by the personal side of the candidates. I don't wish to hear anymore about John McCain happening to have been a POW, or Barack Obama happening to have been fathered by a Muslim, or Joe Biden happening to have tragically lost his wife and child in a car accident years ago, or Sarah Palin happening to be a breast-feeding mother. Those kinds of things have nothing to do with being president or vice-president, and I will not listen to anyone who tries to promote or bash candidates on the basis of those personal matters.

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I think my favorite part of the debate broadcast last evening was afterwards when the Biden and Palin families were mingling on the stage.........smiling, shaking hands, interacting. Right then I was thankful again to live in a country where debates can be held openly and peacefully. And, frankly, that's what the world needs........peaceful dialogue and interacting amongst human beings. I have to believe people are basically the same across the globe.........caring about their families. Even the bad eggs most likely have a loving family in their background somewhere.

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Sarah Palin kept mentioning "tolerance" and "freedom".........that we need to continue those traditions into the future, for the sake of our children. I hope she really means that, and I would hope that is the goal of both sides in this election.

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I truly hate to bring up abortion, but am going to. I, thankfully, have never been in a situation where I wished to have an abortion. I do believe that as long as there are humans in existence, there will be abortions happening. Pregnancies are not always wanted, or safe, and, naturally, women bear the brunt of consequenses from having sex. If abortions are made illegal again........they will move underground again. Abstinence is a lofty-minded, but unrealistic pathway. It will never happen in every case, everywhere, humans being humans. What was that line we used to hear......."You can't legislate morality." I hear some Christians----relatives of mine, even----rail on and on about how depraved our American society is........that view based on the abortion and homosexuality issues, mainly. They act like these are new, modern human issues.........GET REAL........they've been around since the beginning of time..........and they will be with us until time ends, humans being humans.

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We need to interact as people with each other........meet on the stage of life and get to know each other. I actually believe blogging does that in a tiny way.......allows a chance to reach out to faraway places to interact with other people. Otherwise, we get isolated and more fearful.

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Sorry for the rant! Enjoy the upcoming weekend!!

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[P.S. - Click here to find out possibly why Sarah Palin performed so well in last night's vice-presidential debate.]

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