Publisher's Watch

Q. What has 17 heads, 34 legs and is competing to give away a huge tax subsidy in Iowa?
A. The current slate of announced and almost announced candidates for the 2008 presidential election.

It's interesting that every four years, a free-for-all breaks out in a state that currently holds a mere one percent of the U.S. population. The candidates fall over one another to prove that their government-sponsored ethanol tax scheme is the best thing that could happen in Iowa. What isn't well known is that the majority of Iowa's farms are corporate-owned by agri-businesses, and their very existence may not really be in the Hawkeye State's best overall interests.

Ethanol is only one of many alternative bio-fuels whose development is essential to weaning this country off foreign sources of oil. And the sooner we can move these new fuels to the market, the better. However, it's interesting to see how far each and every one of the presidential candidates for the 2008 election will go to make sure that sure he-or she-gets the vote.

Over the next year, perhaps more than $100 million will be spent in Iowa alone on campaigning and media coverage in order to secure the nomination for the presidency of the United States. Thomas Jefferson was adamant about this great country remaining an agrarian society. However, I doubt he imagined that this kind of money would have ever been spent on being corn's best friend.

This topic was published as part of the House Media Network newsletter. Read this newsletter in its entirety at www.housemedianetwork.com/newsletter/22

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