The Mark It
Price Points
Et tu, Brute?
By Stephen L. Wilmeth
ȺS WE go into the New Year, we look back upon (the
year) as one of the most momentous years in our history, and the events of
the year may be expected to have far-reaching effects upon everyone engaged in
livestock agriculture. We are now approaching the second month of our part of (the)
World War (unstated) and it becomes more and more apparent that
livestock agriculture will play an important part in winning the war for the
United States and her Allies, and as (the) Secretary of Agriculture
says, “in dictating peace.”
The Mark It
Too many
things are hanging like a dust cloud across the width and breadth of drought
stricken Mason Draw.
The cow
market has pushed itself into an already overloaded 40-foot flat deck to add
insult to sleep ravaged nights. When to pull the trigger on selling calves in
the face of increasing drought is but one of the many components of tracking
weekly cash market trends.
The sales
over the last two weeks have remained sideways with the interesting corollary
of mid four weight calves bringing nearly the same as mates a hundred pounds
heavier. Does it make sense to put more money in the next 100 pounds of gain
for a bonus of a single portrait of President Jackson or will the snow in
northeastern New Mexico generate enough enthusiasm to make the Flint Hills
stocker operators compete for limited calf numbers in another month and a half?
Only time will tell, and the tracking and the worry will continue. The
trendline will be studied.
We will mark it.
Some 74,000,000 Americans are not
at all happy about the unilateral miscreation of the president’s social media
rights, either. The self-anointed dark knights of the tech left have breached
the bounds of all common decency and convention of standards. It doesn’t need
to be stressed any further. It is abundantly and continuously displayed. It is
lock step with the chow line of followers and disciples of progressivism in all
of its many shadows and shades of gray. It will be countered by those
increasingly dismayed Americans who will remember that words and actions will
suffer consequences through their future choices.
Indeed, mark it.
The willingness
of certain conservatives to run backwards from the evil of this whole election
affair does not go unnoticed. Those of us who grew up in southwestern villages
and towns with high percentages of dirt streets know what barrio dog fights
are. Implicit in that memory is a profound lesson. Joining the fight on the
side of slacker mob is defining. There is an outcome. Unless the canine mob
kills the he dog that is being jumped, he will eventually get
even.
That
eventuality will drive his life and existence … just mark it.
Et tu,
Brute?
Do
Republicans believe joining forces with democrats on any assault plan to oust
this president predicated on grudges and political animus will make their party
better?
If they do,
they don’t have a true read on the attitude of the 74,000,000 who form their
base. Further, several things must be demanded. First, they must clarify their
true regard for the oath of office they swore to uphold. Viewing the
Constitution on the basis of accepting every ballot that can be gathered, intercepted,
counterfeited, packaged, and drug through the door for blessing by acclimation
is poor form.
It gives one pause.
Secondly,
they must assess what they are really gaining for the pleasure of delivering a
sucker punch at the exit doors. Could it be they, too, are worried about
something that has been left unsaid or in the recesses of some dark cellar?
The whole thing is a reminder that
politics is the one of the only professions whereby some measure of
exceptionalism is not a prerequisite for entry. The hoodlum, the dude, the
grifter, and the idiot have as much or more chance of success than anybody to
gain and hold office. There is no process for advancing the statesman who
recognizes his own stature in life as subservient to the duty and the honor of
a bonded trust.
Maybe it is
time for the republican party to join the ranks of the democrats. They seem to
want to and they have certainly proven they can’t prevail in their present form.
It only gets worse, though. Both sides of the aisle are being recognized as obstacles to the preservation of our union.
The
operative word is ours.
It isn’t
just theirs, but that is the way it has likely, to a greater or less degree,
played out. You’d at least expect them to ride for the brand with whom they
came to the dance. There can be nothing more disappointing than to have the lead
steer turn back, run under you, and take everything with him just as you’re
about to get the drive penned.
Oh,
hell, not you, too!
Price
Points
The forward
hereinabove was dated January 1, 1942. That was 25 days after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor.
The theme
is so familiar it could well be dated similarly, 2021. The cash prices in the
market report were a recapitulation of the forces that impact our modern
counterparts. They are simply adjusted for the time value of money.
The war
mentioned is the real difference. The modern version is what we are witnessing.
The major enemy we face is internal. Like other businesses, our cow business is
not operating on simple supply and demand. It has and will continue to be
buffeted by pandemic and or political driven undertows.
So will our
country.
At some
point, we must all recognize the price being paid is simply too great to accept.
Something drastic must be done. As it is, we will never have faith in the story
line … much less an American election.
Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New
Mexico.
There can be nothing more disappointing than to have the lead steer turn back, run under you, and take everything with him just as you’re about to get the drive penned.
He used the correct term in steer. They are lacking certain body parts to be described otherwise.
Notice also the instances where he instructs us to "mark it." I'm concerned that, before this is all over, we'll each need a jumbo-sized tally book.
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