By Gene Hall

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey killed a spider  in front of school kids a few days ago. As far as I know, no arrests have been made in that “spidercide.” No articles of impeachment have yet been introduced against the governor. Sure, folks at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are upset. Darn.

If there is any action in which nearly 100 percent of the adult population of the world has engaged, it’s the swatting and subsequent crushing of a spider. I’ve done it. My wife is most aggressive at it. It’s a sight to see.

By Gene Hall

What are the greatest inventions of humankind?

Well, I’d guess the printing press and smallpox vaccination are right up there, but the TV remote control is pretty cool, too.

Automatic garage door openers have probably saved some marriages: “Honey, this monsoon has let up to just a driving rain so you can open the door now.”

I have a new candidate. The “find my iPhone app.” It is so cool. I am constantly misplacing my iPhone. Since I usually keep it in “stealth mode,” this is problematic. But the app tells it to beep anyway.

By Gene Hall

Last week I was in Washington, D.C., and had the pleasure of interviewing U.S. Representative John Carter, who represents the 31^st District of Texas. Congressman Carter, along with fellow Texas Congressman Sam Johnson, is working hard on the U.S. House version of an immigration reform bill for our country.

It takes some Texas-sized courage to stick your neck out on a heated issue like immigration reform in Congress. For agriculture, though, a legal guest worker program is the difference between harvested crops and lost opportunity. No workers in the field… No crops from the field… No food for the people.

By Gene Hall

It’s a curious coalition that always creeps out of the deep woods to oppose the farm bill, which, in one form or another has ensured U.S. supplies of food and fiber since the 1930s.

It’s sort of like an episode of The Walking Dead.  One group of zombies swoops in from the deep woods of the left, believing that attacking modern agriculture in their typical Luddite fashion will produce the environmental utopia of which they dream. 

By Gene Hall

Here I was, wondering what I would write about this week and suddenly the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)—a gift that keeps on giving—popped into mind.

It seems that someone at PETA took exception  to a 14-year-old boy raffling a beef animal that had been given to him to help him pay for a trip to Europe.

When a PETA representative responded to the boy, a link to their “Lettuce Ladies” website was included, apparently by mistake. My mother wouldn’t want me to actually give you that link. Google it if you are curious. The Lettuce Ladies are attractive young women wearing nothing but strategically placed lettuce to protest the consumption of meat.