Good Morning, Everyone, on this sunny (or soon to be sunny, it is still early here) Sunday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And no, we are not participating in either. The Christmas frenzy has become increasingly irrelevant, though massively irritating. We don't need much and there is even less that we want, so what is the point? Of course, that isn't what retailers want to hear. (Update on weather--NOT sunny and we just had one hell of a thunderclap that shook the house.) (Update on the Update--we are now getting a heavy rain and it is quite cold as well.)

I found this article on MSNBC which provided a deja vu moment. The major flaw in this article is the author's failure to mention the several drawbacks to Monsanto's Round Up based technology (Round Up itself, and Round Up 'ready' seeds) like the increased use of the herbicides and the natural development of Round Up ready weeds some of which are very aggressive. The focus, instead, is on Monsanto's monopoly on the technology. Dupont has joined the legal fight over Monsanto's refusal to license the technology so other bio-tech firms could piggyback on it. It reminds me of the fight over Microsoft's business practices which is still not fully settled in Europe. Sadly, I expect that the legal arguments will have more effect than environmental ones in modifying Monsanto's behavior.

I absolutely loved this New York Times article and nominate Judge Noah Dear for 'Judge of the Year.' I hope more judges start holding collections agencies responsible for finding the right people to sue. This is the second time this past week a judge has had me cheering. The first was when I saw the news story about the judge who blasted a mortgage company for its behavior toward a homeowner it had foreclosed on and then cancelled the entire mortgage debt. The entire debt!! The company had filed the foreclosure after months of rejecting every offer from the family to refinance the mortgage. The judge found the family's offers very reasonable and the company's actions in refusing to even discuss them reprehensible. I think these collections agents and mortgage 'bankers' are better candidates for drawing and quartering than lobbyists, Kay. Do it in public and have a grand picnic celebration!!