1.) Old MacDonald had a farm … and child labor regulations — The Obama administration is seeking to put an end to the great national scourge that is 12-year-olds helping out on their family farm, Patrick Richardson reports for TheDC:
“A proposal from the Obama administration to prevent children from doing farm chores has drawn plenty of criticism from rural-district member of Congress. But now it’s attracting barbs from farm kids themselves … John Weber, 19, understands this. The Minneapolis native grew up in suburbia and learned the livestock business working summers on his relatives’ farm. He’s now a college Agriculture major. ‘I started working on my grandparent’s and uncle’s farms for a couple of weeks in the summer when I was 12,’ Weber told TheDC. ‘I started spending full summers there when I was 13.’ ‘The work ethic is a huge part of it. It gave me a lot of direction and opportunity in my life. If they do this it will prevent a lot of interest in agriculture. It’s harder to get a 16 year-old interested in farming than a 12 year old.'”
Thank goodness the Obama administration is here to rescue all the other John Webers out there who are too blind to know what’s good for them. No word yet on whether Old MacDonald’s family farm is going to have to shut down if the new regulations are enacted — or whether his animals would die a wretched death since his teenage sons may not be allowed to help sustain them. On the up side, the next Old MacDonald song would probably be a killer blues tune instead of a kids sing-a-long.
2.) Ayotte says Adios — Freshman New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte doesn’t seem particularly interested in discussing her prospects of being Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nominee, reports TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein (ME!) and Alex Pappas:
“But other than the GOP 2008 presidential nominee, every other senator TheDC caught up with before and after the policy lunch demurred on offering suggestions to Romney about whom he should pick to be the GOP VP nominee. Asked to respond to her name being raised as a potential running mate, Ayotte dodged the question from TheDC as she hopped into an elevator off the Senate floor. ‘I have to go talk to some school kids and get my picture taken,’ she responded. When TheDC followed up by asking the first term senator what she would say if the school kids asked her the same question, Ayotte smiled and said, ‘bye guys.'”
Kudos to Ayotte for pulling off quite the razzle-dazzle. Evoking children to avoid questions from reporters. Well done.
3.) Tea partied out in South Carolina — In South Carolina, the tea party flame barely flickers, reports TheDC’s Paul Conner:
“The tea party seems to be on its last legs in a state where two years ago the movement was as energized as anywhere in the country. In a Winthrop University poll released on Tuesday, just five percent of South Carolinians consider themselves a member of the tea party. More surprisingly, just 11 percent of state Republicans and independent voters who lean Republican consider themselves part of the movement. A year ago, over 28 percent of Republican voters and independent-leaning Republicans identified themselves as part of the tea party.”
If this poll is accurate and the tea party in fact can’t even maintain vibrancy in The Palmetto State, then its future is certainly in serious doubt.
4.) U haad us att helo — In the Editor’s Notebook, TheDC’s executive editor David Martosko prints an intriguing freelance submission The Daily Caller received:
“Hi daily caller. Iam a budding writer who has written an artical about the 2012 mitt romney election campaign and would like to see what you think about it, and if it has the potential to be accepted for your blog. Any feed back would be mutch appreciated.”
Stop right there. We love it. And you’re hired. Read the whole submission from an unusually talented and literate bunny rabbit.
5.) Poll of the Day: Romney holds slight lead in Arizona — Arizona State University poll of Arizona: Mitt Romney 42% vs. President Obama 40%.
6.) Tweet of Yesterday — Albert Brooks: If Jon Lovitz continues with the Obama rant he’s going to lose the Aflac duck account.
VIDEO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu certain of Iranian nuclear ambitions
