I know that Christianity is a religion of peace. You can remind me about the Crusades and all the blood shed then in the name of religion. That was then. Not now.

We have grown up. We have matured. We don't try to spread the faith with the sword. It seems to me that Christians and Jews alike try to follow some simple teachings: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Judge not, unless you wish to be judged."

That's just not…

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I was invited to testify before the House Ag Committee last week to give my ideas on what the next farm bill should look like. That is a complicated question. It might be easy to say, "Don't change it. Farmers like the one we have." But the fact is, times and conditions change and farm supports must also. The first farm bill I participated in was in 1981, 25 years ago, my first year as Secretary ofAgriculture. That bill did not change much but every bill…

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Some thoughts today about Hurricane Katrina.

One year since Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, and we have seen the press give us story after story about the government's failure to rebuild New Orleans. Vast sections of the city still lie in ruins of broken homes, trash and no life. No one is returning. Will they come back? Blame President Bush. Blame the Governor. Blame the Mayor. The circular firing squad is in full view.

I…

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