We find two or three "mad cows" and then we lose $5 billion of exports in two and one-half years. That is a serious loss. Finally, it looks like Japan is ready to open the door to our beef and I expect Korea and other countries to follow.

As silly as the global fear of"mad cow" may be, we need to make sure our markets aren't shut down again. The best way to minimize our risk is to implement a national traceability system for livestock.

We can't seem to get our act together. It looked like the…

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Are we really serious about becoming energy independent? Are we?

I know you may say -- of course, look at the emphasis placed upon ethanol and biodiesel. Isn't it the President's policy to end our dependence on Middle East oil? Yes, but I don't think the Congress gets it. We cannot afford to be in a position where a group of unreliable, hostile countries can hold us hostage.

That's where we are today.

Iran threatens us with an oil cut-offand the price ofcrude shoots up. We could not get out of…

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The U.S. Congress (including both parties) doesn't get very high marks from the people. Their approval rating is under 30 percent. And, it is not going to get any better unless they get some things done. Will we get an immigration bill? Don't hold your breath. It is still all but impossible to stop the earmarking of special spending for powerful Members of Congress. We couldn't muster the 60 votes needed to bury the death tax. Can the Congress pass an acceptable compromise? Again, no…

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