Debate Scheduled - Oct 23 Mississippi State

14. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

The Lord has smiled on our efforts.The Stennis-Montgomery Association at Mississippi State has scheduled a debate between the three candidates for Mississippi Commissioner of Agricuture and Commerce :

Constitution Party nominee Leslie Riley (me)

Democrat nominee Ricky Cole

and Republican (sic) nominee Lester Spell

The Debate will be held two weeks before the election — Oct. 23.

Each of the three candidates will get an equal number of tickets (no charge) so we are to ensure that the audience is balanced between the supporters of each of the candidates.

We really need to have a good turnout.
It is likely that there will be some TV coverage ( on Mississippi Public Broadcasting). Please keep doing everything you can do to get the word out locally & to all Mississippi voters in your circle of influence.

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VICTORY — We are back on the ballot !

12. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

We won, but it was quite anti-climactic.

We got there at 1:20 & had two reporters and about 20 supporters there.

Shortly after Eric Clark & Jim Hood came in, a fellow walked out & said “Mr. Riley,we got your written response. Everything looks to be in order. You will be on the ballot & you don’t even need to come in. You are not even on the agenda anymore.”

He then said, “We tried to call you. The number we have for you is disconnected.”

I said, “Yeah, I moved — in case you haven’t heard.”

Everyone laughed. The AP reporter interviewed me. I will be on Supertalk in the morning at 7:00.

That’s about it. I am fairly certain the coverage I got on the blogs & talk radio — as well as phone calls & e-mails from folks — helped my cause as much as the facts of the response we sent them.

Some folks have asked who I thought was behind it. I have my ideas, but it would all be speculation & gossip. Whoever it was, I hope they try something like this every week between now & the election

Ultimately, we are back on the ballot and we are confident in our ideas, our optimism, our sound positions on the issues, and the Wisdom of our Lord to work all things out as He would have them.

We will continue to do our duty and try to advance our ideals.

Leslie

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Treachery Afoot — Riley Disqualified from Ballot ???

8. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

“It is not the ones who vote who determine who wins elections, but who counts the votes ”

– J. Stalin former Russian Communist Dictator

I NEED YOUR HELP !
Someone wants me out of the Ag Commissioner’s race. Who and why are the questions.
Letting folks know about it and contacting the press & your elected officials is the best way to do something about it .

I received a phone call from my wife today at about 3:00 telling me that I had received a letter from the Sec. of State notifying me that I may be disqualified from the race for Commissioner of Agriculture’s race for very shaky sounding reasons.

I did not see the actual letter until tonight at 8:00, but I received this notification today, Fri. Sept. 7, after 2:00. The letter stated that could come to an election board meeting this Tues. Sept 11 at 1:30 and I would be given 5 minutes to make my case why I should be on the ballot and that I could make a written response ( with supporting documentation ) by Mon. Sept 10.

An explanation follows. I would welcome your comments and any help you can give me in getting this situation into the “court of public opinion” as we attempt to resist a capricious and un-warranted attack.

The following paragraphs are from a discussion between an election attorney & our party secretary — with some comments from me interspersed, but offset with ** asterisks & italicized**. The law that shows these claims are specious and an explanation by me is at the bottom:

********************************************
Leslie Riley has received notice from the Secretary of State that he will be disqualified on account of the fact that he lives in Pontotoc county - but is still registered to vote in Chickasaw county.

** The notice did not mention any statute or case law. When I called the elections division, I was told that they had an “Opinion from the Attorney General”. Without case law or statute to back this up, I still should not be disqualified. **

However, we cannot find any statute anywhere in the Mississippi code which “requires” a candidate for statewide office to be registered to vote in the county of his residence. So we cannot understand the basis of their accusation.

1. Leslie Riley was living and registered to vote in Chickasaw county until December, 2006;
2. In December, 2006 he moved his family to Pontotoc county;
3. In March, 2007 he filed his qualifying papers with the Secretary of State, on which
he listed his county of residence as Pontotoc county;
4. During the entire time, he was registered to vote in Chickasaw county;
5. There is NO statute (that we can find) which requires him to be registered in the
county of his residence.

** You have to be a “Qualified Elector. The requirement to be a qualified elector is that you have to be a resident of the county in which you intend to vote 30 days before the election — statute cited below**

Therefore, he was (and still is) registered to vote in Mississippi, AND he was (and still does) reside in Mississippi.

If there is no law requiring him to be registered to vote in Pontotoc county, then this is merely an attempt to deprive Leslie Riley of his lawful right to participate in the political process.

He has lived somewhere in Mississippi his entire life, and has been registered to vote somewhere in Mississippi most of his adult life.

The Secretary of State mailed the letter so that Leslie received in today’s mail **Friday, Sept 7**:

a. With an opportunity to submit a written objection (to be delivered to the Office of
Secretary of State no later than 5:00 P.m. on Monday); [giving him only one (1)
business day to prepare], and
b. An opportunity to speak his objections at a meeting of the Board of
Election Commissioners on Tuesday.

** I was told I would be given 5 minutes to speak, thus strongly implying that the decision has already been made **

This whole affair smacks of an attempt to vex him and obstruct his right to run for political office - based on most tenuous and un-convincing reasons.

************************
Leslie Riley’s Comments begin after the citations of the Mississippi Code dealing with this.

** I looked at the legal qualifications to run for Ag Commissioner they are as follows :
Qualifications: A qualified elector with a general knowledge of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, statistics, and general industries and an experienced and practical agriculturist. MISS. CODE ANN. §69-1-1; MISS. CONST. of 1890, art. XII, §250.**** I meet these Qualifications, provided I am a “Qualified Elector”. which, according to the Mississippi Code is defined as:
Every inhabitant of this state, except idiots and insane persons, who is a citizen of the United States of America, eighteen (18) years old and upwards, who has resided in this state for thirty (30) days and for thirty (30) days in the county in which he offers to vote, and for thirty (30) days in the incorporated city or town in which he offers to vote, and who shall have been duly registered as an elector pursuant to Section 23-15-33, and who has never been convicted of any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, shall be a qualified elector in and for the county, municipality and voting precinct of his residence, and shall be entitled to vote at any election. Any person who will be eighteen (18) years of age or older on or before the date of the general election and who is duly registered to vote not less than thirty (30) days prior to the primary election associated with such general election, may vote in such primary election even though such person has not reached his or her eighteenth birthday at the time such person offers to vote at such primary election. No others than those above included shall be entitled, or shall be allowed, to vote at any election. **

** When I called the Sec of State, they were not very helpful, and somewhat combative. They stated, “we have an opinion from the Attorney General.”

As stated above, nowhere in the letter nor in this conversation was any statute or court decision cited.

After some digging, with the AG, we were told that the person who we could ask about this was a fellow named Reese Partridge. He was not in the office, but we got his home # from 411. I called him & he told me that I was not a qualified elector because I was registered to vote in Chickasaw County, but lived in Pontotoc County. I said that the law said that I had to change my registration 30 days prior to an election. The last time I voted, I lived and was registered in Chickasaw County. I would not be voting again until November ( since I did not vote in the Primaries), so I believed I had until 30 days prior to the election to move my voter registration.

He told me that I had not changed my registration prior to the board meeting and was not qualified to run. ( I assume he meant the election board)

When I asked for a code or statute to back this up he cited 23-15-299 & 23-15-399.

We looked at these pretty carefully and they do not mention anything about a county of residence.

Then Mr. Partridge asked me when I had moved. I said December. He said, “You could have moved your voter registration when you established residence.” and told me that I was disqualified from being a qualified elector — and therefore disqualified as a candidate — because I did not live in the same county where I was registered to vote.

I thanked him and began trying to determine whether or not I had a case to get back on the ballot.

Three things that I should mention in response to Mr. Partridge’s last statements.

1) First, I was told that I ” . . .could have moved your voter registration when you established residence.”

This is, of course, correct. However, it is not a matter of what I could have done, but what the law requires. I last renewed my Driver’s License. while I was living in Chickasaw County. It does not expire until 2009 or 2010. I “could have” renewed my License. when I moved here to put the proper address on it. However, the law does not require me to renew it until it expires; so I likely will not.

I “could” file my tax returns with the IRS on Jan.31 when I get my W-2’s . I don’t have to until April 15.

And yes, I “could have” moved my registration as soon as I established residence in Pontotoc County. However, since the law defines a “Qualified Elector” as one who has established residence in the County “30 days” prior to the election in which he intends to vote, what I “could have” done is not at issue here.

2) Were I running for Sheriff of Pontotoc County, and I lived on one end of the County when I qualified to run, then moved to the other end of the county, I would still be able to be on the ballot, because I was still in the county.

If I were seeking a multi-county House or Senate seat, and moved I would still be able to run IF I stayed in the District.

Likewise, I should be able to be qualified for a statewide office as long as I remain in the state.
3) IF I am being disqualified as a qualified elector — and therefore disqualified as a candidate — because I do not live in the same county where I was registered to vote, can I expect to see Governor Barbour disqualified because he votes in Yazoo County, but has clearly established residence in Hinds ?

Attorney General Jim Hood — from whose office this opinion came — will likely vote in Chickasaw County — while he lives in Hinds.

***********

Again, this looks like a political hack job designed to keep me off the ballot, because SOMEONE wants me out of the race, or has some other motive. Even if they cannot keep me off the ballot, if I am forced to expend my very limited time & resources on this, this will seriously hinder my ability to campaign & to get my name/ ideas into the debate.

One thing that I noticed in the letter was that at the meeting that I will be attending to defend myself this Tues. the sample ballots for the counties & media will be determined. Since I could be still fighting to get on the ballot when these ballots are approved, I will not be on them, thus further harming my candidacy and presenting further hindrances to me getting a fair hearing for my views. This is discrimination and disenfranchisement at its worst.

I can assure, you that after I go through the kangaroo court on Tuesday where I will be given FIVE MINUTES to make my case, and the Politburo ( aka Elections Board) hands down their pre-determined decision, we will be fighting this injustice and attempted effort to deny me my right to participate in the electoral process in court.

Thanks for any help you can offer getting the word out.

Les Riley
Candidate for Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture

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How to Help the Campaign

8. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Support Idealism over Cynicism — Vote Riley for Agriculture
www.RileyForAgriculture.com -
A Conservative Voice for Rural Mississippi - Smaller Government & Safer Food for All

Please Forward to everyone on your list who is a Mississippi voter or a Conservative who might be interested in helping.

Friends,

Now that the primary is over, we have two Democrats in the race for Ag Commissioner ( one who happened to change his party affiliation last year to try and stay in office). Thankfully, we still have a true conservative option.

I am Les Riley. The Constitution Party candidate for Ag Commissioner. I am formally requesting your support and help in this year’s election.

This is a link to my campaign web site — www.RileyForAgriculture.com . If you are a conservative, I think you will like what I stand for. I update the blog on the site regularly so check back from time to time. I openly acknowledge that I am an underdog in this race. Which is why I need as much grassroots help as I can get.

I am planning on sending campaign updates as often as time allows.

For now, let me tell you why you should care about the Ag Commissioner’s race — even if you’re not a farmer. Then I will give you a few ways you can help our “long shot”, grassroots campaign.

Why you should care who wins the Ag Commissioner’s Race
The Agriculture & Commerce Department touches every citizen in Mississippi on a daily basis, possibly more than any other office. Not only is the Ag Commissioner charged with promoting Mississippi Agriculture, but the office also inspects food processing, meat plants & grocery stores as well as all gas stations ( so this only effects you if you eat or drive).
It is vital that we have an spokesman in this office who understands the needs of families and small business. One who is not beholden to special interests or aiming to use the department for a liberal agenda or to make political hay for his party or provide jobs for his political allies or to take retribution on his party’s politcal enemies.

On the most broad front, you should want to vote for the best candidate in every race. - I am that candidate :
* For folks concerned about everything from food safety; to smaller government; to economic development & opportunity; to a renewal of our small towns; to the environment; to elected officials who are independent of special interests, I am the best candidate for the job.

* For principled conservatives, this should be a no-brainer. I urge you to look at our campaign site, at the link to the Constitution Party site/ the CP platform & at www.lesriley.net . Any conservative who puts principle over party should see that I am the best candidate.

* And, for those who want to “send a message” –this is the ultimate opportunity to do so
– In most polls 60 to 70% of the people want another alternative to the two parties
– However, when it comes time to actually vote, the fear factor keeps them
from voting for anything besides Dems or Reps
– This is an opportunity to tell the GOP & the Democrats that you are tired of “politics as usual”, deal-making, and selling out of both the principles they espouse to get votes and the will of the people

To give you a picture of what we are in the race for, I have copied the information off my issues page at the bottom of this message; again, please read the web site for more complete information. If you are short on time, you can simply read my Neshoba Fair Speech.

Ways you can help –
First the Free/ Easy ones

1) Pray for us –
I am not going to presume to ask you to pray for us to win. I will ask that you pray that we honor Christ in both the message and the method of this campaign; that He would grant us both wisdom & strength; that He would protect our family against Spiritual & physical attacks; and that — if it is His will for us to do well in this race that He would grant us the resources & the people to help.

2) Internet/ e-mail –(this will cost you nothing but a little time — and could help advance our efforts at the grassroots level greatly)

Please forward these updates to everyone on your list that you think might possibly be interested or willing to help. This includes people outside Mississippi. I know that initially this will mean many of you will get this same message two or three times. (Sorry). Just use that as a reminder to forward/ help.

If you want to take a few more minutes, change the Subject line in your e-mail to “Who I’m voting for” or “A Candidate worth supporting” or something like that and include an introduction/ endorsement from you.

And if you want to get really precise (this will be even more helpful) in addition to the e-mail that you forward to everyone, you can divide up your contacts & send them more specific messages. For instance, to the homeschoolers you know “A Homeschool Dad for State Wide Political office” or to SCV/ League Members “Heritage Supporter vs Two Flag Haters” or to rural folks/ small farmers “A True Conservative for Rural Mississippi” or to Christian friends/ folks from church, “An Unashamed Christian Seeks Statewide Office” etc . The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and time ( the more that you can help people connect with me as a candidate and/ or our campaign, the more likely they will get involved.)

* If you do not want to forward all this, and just want to send an endorsement letter/ e-mail please make sure you : a) include a link to our campaign web site — www.RileyForAgriculture.com — and b) ask them to forward message/ get involved.

* Please blind copy me on these when you forward them. I want to know that I’m not whistling in the wind here and we are going to add an endorsement page to the web site later — we can use some of your messages on that page

3) Letters to the Editor/ Calls to Talk Radio/ Blog Comments –
Everyone on this list can send letters to the editor on my behalf via e-mail through this site : http://www.mspress.org/newspapers/index.php — if you live in Mississippi, please send one to your county paper as well as the Clarion Ledger and your big regional paper ( Commercial Appeal, Daily Journal, Sun Herald, etc). For those outside Mississippi, just pick a couple & send letters to the editor. Most you can read online & get some ideas what issues they are talking about. I need folks to commit to sending a letter to the editor about my campaign every other week or so between now and November.

* If you need some ideas on how to tie in a mention of my campaign with the issues the paper is discussing — or would like a sample letter to the editor to put in your own words and use, please e-mail me privately

Also, call-ins to talk radio. If we had volunteers to commit to call SuperTalk, Matt Friedman, and other talk radio shows every day or every other day and mention my campaign, it would be a huge boost. If you would be willing to do this, please e-mail me & we will get you a list of programs/ times/ phone numbers . . . ideally, we would like to schedule/ coordinate so that every program gets blitzed every couple of days ( at least). Again, please e-mail me if you’d like to help with this.

Finally, there are a number of good Mississippi based political blogs/ web sites. If everyone will start e-mailing the people that run these sites or posting on their blogs it would be a big grassroots boost. Please read the blogs before commenting so you can find relevant issues to tie in to the campaign. Several of these bloggers are already somewhat friendly to our campaign/ cause. Here are links to a few :
www.majorityinms.com
www.rightofmississippi.com
www.yallpolitics.com

3) Give/ Raise Money —
If at all possible, please send us a campaign donation immediately — of any amount, even $10 — then commit to raise 3 to 5 times what you give. You can send donations via check to the address below or electronically through paypal on the web site.

* Mississippi has no limit on individual donations — so if any of you can afford to write a bigger check, it’s OK. Corporate donations are limited to $2000 and any donation over $200 has to be reported.
* While candidates in statewide political races for Governor, Lt Governor, and Attorney General in Mississippi typically raise & spend millions of dollars, down ticket races are normally comparatively less expensive.
* In the last election the winner in the Ag Commissioner’s race raised & spent about $250,000 and the loser raised/ spent about half that. There is no reason to think significantly more than that will be raised this year. The sitting Ag Commissioner ( Lester Spell) has raised about $180,000 this year, but he spent most of that warding off a strong GOP primary challenge from Max Phillips. He has about $35,000 currently on hand. His Democratic challenger, Ricky Cole has under $8000.
* With just over two months left, I think I can be very competitive in this race with $20,000 to $50,000 total. If we could raise over $100K — and spend it wisely, I can win.
Our original goal was to raise $10,000 to $15,000 by Sept. 1. We have thus far received about $2000, but interest is growing.

* All this sounds like an insurmountable goal. However, if all the folks we know from the churches we’ve been to; the Constitution Party; the League of the South; Homeschooling/ Family Reformation movement; the pro-life movement; and just plain ole friends would give $10 to $20 each — as some have already done. And, if those who can afford to will send more, we can raise this amount.

4) Volunteer — we need folks in every part of the state to help in their counties and with like-minded interest groups they are a part of.

For instance, we need a campaign coordinator in every county and from there, in as many precincts as we can get.
We need some folks to help reach out to certain voter blocks or help promote our campaign to particular organizations or issue groups they’re involved in.
For instance, as a homeschool Dad, we would also like homeschoolers to be an integral part of promoting this effort at the grassroots level. We need someone to head this effort up.
The same could be said for other pro-family conservatives, immigration opponents, flag supporters, folks concerned about the family farm, folks concerned about food safety, etc.

We cannot match the fundraising ability of the two big parties (Goliath A & Goliath B) from special interest groups hoping to buy more influence. However, in God’s Providence, my long shot campaign has gained a great deal of media attention the last few weeks, and suddenly it appears that I can do quite well — possibly, God-willing, even win. To do so, we are going to need a big push at the grassroots level statewide.

Thank you,
Leslie Riley
Candidate - Commissioner of Agriculture
(662)-308-8391 cell
(662)-489-6505 home
lesriley@bellsouth.net
campaign site : www.RileyForAgriculture.com
personal site :  www.lesriley.net

FROM THE ISSUES PAGE:

My fellow Mississippians -

In many ways, our beloved state has progressed to be a much more diverse economy and urban culture than we were in our agrarian past, but our foundations and values haven’t changed.

Agriculture is Mississippi’s largest industry & employer. Most Mississippians still live in small towns & rural communities; and all of us depend upon agriculture for food, fiber.

However, whereas farming once played a vital role in our economic development and held a high place in our culture, it has been relegated to being seen as a relic that slows progress. It does not have to be this way.

The farm population is aging and our brightest and best young people neither can nor want to return to the farm anymore. Farmland is lying idle and small towns are chasing “help” from multinational corporations and big government.

And now our security & way of life is at great risk from an invasion from South of the Border, unhealthy imported food, and dependence on oil from the volatile Middle East.

We can no longer trust our Department of Agriculture to politicians.

As Mississippi’s Next Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Les Riley Will:

Work to create an enviorment that is condusive to profitability of farms — small and large; to young people going into farming; to communities becoming more independent & prosperous through agricultural & bottom-up development.

Show that having a clean enviorment, healthy food, an economy that is growing is not dependant upon cheap, illegal, immigrant labor, or a culture where cities and farms are at odds.

Most of all, my aim will be to promote the Glory of God, the good of the family, the advance of liberty, and the restoration prosperity & high esteem for agriculture in Mississippi.

WE CAN ACCOMPLISH ALL OF THESE AMBITIOUS IDEALS AS WE:

• Work to Drastically Cut the Size And Scope of Government - Including Cutting the Ag. Budget, Returning Tax Money to Mississippi Taxpayers

• Ensure that our regulatory work is:
1.) not duplicated by other agencies;
2.) aimed at protecting citizens against real, specific risk & helping our processors do better
…not merely more expensive, intrusive bueracracy.

• Fight to Eliminate the Health Risk of Illegal Aliens in Our Meat and Food Plants

• Oversee Closer Inspection & More Diligent Enforcement Against Contaminated Food Products From China, Vietnam, and Other Foriegn Countries

• Work to Promote ALL Mississippi’s Agricultural Products and with Mississippi Farmers, Private Industry, and Other Officials to Make Mississippi Independent In Both Energy & Food Production including :

Work to promote local energy independance, profitability for family farms, and economic growth for small towns through developing new micro-industry ethanol & biodeisel farms based on sweet sorgum & farm scale processing plants like this.

Work to make it easier for farmers to sell products like fresh milk and eggs to their neighbors.

Work to make it easier for agricultural companies to invest & stay here — as well as keep the ones we have.

• Interpose Against Federal Programs That Harm Our Farmers & Our State

• Work to Abolish Property Taxes on Farmland &
Cut ALL Taxes on Farming

• Work to Promote Mississippi’s Agricultural Products

Work with Mississippi Farmers, Private Industry, and Other Officials to Make Mississippi Independent In Both Energy & Food Production

• Work for the establishment of a PRIVATELY FUNDED Small Farm Research Center

• Stop Using Dept. of Ag. Outlets to Teach the False “Religion” of Evolution to Mississippi’s Children

---

  One of the underlying trends in both on the American scene & in international geo-politics is the growing rift between “rural / small-town” & “urban / suburban” interests.

The Red-Blue politcal maps that everyone keeps shoving in our faces is just the tip of the iceberg The limosine liberals ultimately want to empty the countryside and turn the Great Plains into a big buffalo park. (Sort of like Stalin.)

So-called conservatives see God’s creation as nothing but “resources” and rural / small-town people as nothing but “cheap labor” to build make their brick-a-brack; consumers to fuel their “global economy” at Wal Mart; and “brave men & women” to fight their wars.

By and large our local customs & slow-paced lifestyles are seen as backwards.

Sadly, many well-meaning folks who want to help their communities play right into the hands of the “progressives” who want to turn their small towns into McTowns.

Ultimately, the way the elitists deal with the threat of an awakening among the “sheeple” in the countryside who just want to be left alone is to do what Marxist do best : “Divide & Conquer.”

They set the “big farmers” against the “small farmers.” Organic vs conventional. Hunters against producers. Enviormentalists vs those who live on the land. Economic development vs traditon.

With Riley as Ag Commissioner we will work together as neighbors for the good of our state, communities, & families.

---

For more detailed analysis of the issues facing rural Mississippi and how they efffect our whole state — even those who don’t live anywhere near farms — read the articles on the front page blog by clicking the “home” button at the top of this page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask Leslie through the contact page.

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Will Robots replace Illegals for Farm Work ?

7. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Talk about a technological breakthrough with profound social implications:

this from Fox News :

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295965,00.html

Farmers Mull Replacing Illegal Workers With Robots

Thursday, September 06, 2007

LOS ANGELES — With authorities promising tighter borders, some farmers who rely on immigrant labor are eyeing an emerging generation of fruit-picking robots and high-tech tractors to do everything from pluck premium wine grapes to clean and core lettuce.

Such machines, now in various stages of development, could become essential for harvesting delicate fruits and vegetables that are still picked by hand.

“If we want to maintain our current agriculture here in California, that’s where mechanization comes in,” said Jack King, national affairs manager for the California Farm Bureau.

• Click here for FOXNews.com’s Patents and Innovation Center.

California harvests about half the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables, according to the state Food and Agriculture Department. The California Farm Bureau Federation estimates that the job requires about 225,000 workers year-round and double that during the peak summer season.

More than half of all farm workers in the country are illegal immigrants, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.

Last year, amid heightened immigration enforcement, California’s seasonal migration was marked by spot worker shortages, and some fruit was left to rot in the fields.

“There’s a lot of very nervous people out there in agriculture in terms of what’s going to be available in the labor force,” said Robert Wample, viticulture and enology program director at California State University, Fresno.

Mechanized picking wouldn’t be new for some California crops such as canning tomatoes, low-grade wine grapes and nuts.

But the fresh produce that dominates the state’s agricultural output — and that consumers expect to find unblemished in supermarkets — is too fragile to be picked by the machines now in use.

The new pickers rely on advances in computing power and hydraulics that can make robotic limbs and digits operate with near-human sensitivity. Modern imaging technology also enables the machines to recognize and sort fruits and vegetables of varying qualities.

“The technology is maturing just at the right time to allow us to do this kind of work economically,” said Derek Morikawa, whose San Diego-based Vision Robotics has been working with the California Citrus Research Board and Washington State Apple Commission to develop a fruit picker.

The process involves sending a mechanized scanning unit into orchards and orange groves. Equipped with digital-imaging technology, it creates a three-dimensional map displaying the location, ripeness and quality of fruit. A robotic picker then follows the maps, using its long mechanical arms to carefully pluck the ripe produce.

A prototype was tested last month, but it is still a few years from being ready for widespread commercial use, said Ted Batkin, a grower and president of the citrus board.

A set of scanning and harvesting units will likely cost about $500,000 when the equipment reaches market, Morikawa said.

Elsewhere, a team led by wine specialists at California State University, Fresno, is working on an automated picker to further mechanize the wine-grape business.

Growers of low- and mid-grade wine grapes already use mechanical harvesters, but picking and sorting premium grapes still requires a human touch.

The new technology includes a device called a near-infrared spectrometer, which measures the sugar levels and chemical content of grape samples before they are picked, Wample said. The data is then plotted to a global positioning system map, which a mechanical harvester uses to navigate the vineyards and pluck specific bunches at ideal ripeness.

The system has been under development for the past four years and is being tested in vineyards. The approximate cost of the two components is $230,000.

Salinas Valley-based Ramsay Highlander sells machines that partially automate lettuce picking by using band saws or water knives to cut the lettuce from the earth and convey it into bins for cleaning and processing.

The company is nearing completion on a new model that picks, cleans, cores and packs lettuce and other greens, chief executive Frank Maconachy said. It will likely cost between $250,000 and $400,000, he said.

“Because of the immigration issue, migrant workers are becoming a difficult entity to find,” Maconachy said. “If growers have a crop that needs to be harvested and there aren’t the people to do it, they’ll need to find a mechanized way to do it.”

Philip Martin, an agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis, said it was still unclear if heightened immigration enforcement would drive away enough workers to justify huge expenditures by growers on new machinery.

And the number of variables involved makes it difficult to determine how much, if anything, growers could save by switching to automated systems.

But some growers are excited by the prospect of having robots and a few trained technicians who know how to operate them replace the droves of manual laborers they currently depend on.

“It will open up a lot of opportunity for better paying jobs in the agriculture industry and perhaps get us out of the mentality that being a farm worker is a dirty job,” said Batkin, the citrus farmer.

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Riley Statement on Illegal Immigration

5. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Riley For Agriculture Statement on Illegal Immigration

Please forward

Hello,

My name is Les Riley. I am a fellow Christian, father, and citizen of Mississippi.

I am also the Chairman of the Mississippi Constitution Party and a candidate for Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture.

I, like many of you, have an understanding of the fact that we are a nation of immigrants and hold no-ill will towards any who have come to this country for legitimate reasons and who have done so legally.

But, I am also gravely concerned about the threat that unchecked illegal immigration poses to our survival & well being.

* The millions of third world illegal aliens who have no intention of assimilating into American society, but who still fly the flags of their native lands pose a threat to our culture and social fabric

* The flood of low wage illegal aliens into our State and nation threatens our economic stability by taking opportunity from poor Americans, as well as placing a burden on our already overstretched schools, hospitals, and social services — without paying any taxes in.

* Allowing, untold numbers of illegal aliens to flaunt our laws without fear threatens the very foundations of law and order.

* And in a post 9-11 world, when we have our sons & daughters risking their lives across the globe, it is downright suicidal to allow this insane policy to continue.

* On the other hand, I, as a Christian in the 21^st Century, am appalled by the fact that our leaders are seeking another class to exploit and use for their own personal, political, and financial gain. It is shocking that there are some who seem to be seeking another near slave class who have few rights or recourse .

With some notable exceptions, the Democratic & Republican Parties in Washington and Jackson, have ignored their constituents and betrayed their duties by both their inaction and their bogus reform plans that are little more than thinly veiled amnesty.

The Mississippi Constitution Party has been consistently on the right side on immigration for 15 years. If you want to send a message to the Democrats and Republicans who ignore their constituents on immigration, please consider voting for and supporting Les Riley for Ag Commissioner and other Constitution Party candidates in the Nov. 2007 General Election.

For more information, please contact the Mississippi Constitution Party at (662)-308-8391 or www.constitutionpartyms.com Or you can go to my web site : www.RileyForAgriculture.comPaid for by Les Riley for Ag Commissioner

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Miss CP - Stop Using Tax Dollars for Muslim Religion !

5. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

Mississippi Constitution Party Demands :

Stop Using Mississippi Tax Dollars to Promote Muslim Religion !

Wed. Sept. 5, 2007 AD

Thomas Jefferson, in the Virginia Declaration of Religious Liberty said “To require a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he himself disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.“

After years of having their Christian heritage, symbols, and traditions pushed out of the public square by Marxist lawyers in the ACLU & their allies in the judiciary, Mississippians are now being forced to pay for black Muslim propaganda & mythology. According to their web site, the “International Museum of Muslim Culture” http://www.muslimmuseum.org receives funding from — among others : The City of Jackson; Hinds County; Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau; the Mississippi Arts Commission; and the Mississippi Division of Tourism.

These agencies are funded with tax dollars. Imagine the “Separation of Church & State” outcry if a “Mississippi Southern Baptist Evangelism Museum” received taxpayer money.

In our society, the owners, supporters and free-will financial backers of this Muslim Museum are welcome to believe whatever historical fantasies and religious blasphemies that they chose. They are free to try and convince others of the merits of their position. They are not, however, free to force the Christian majority in the state to pay for it.

Beyond this, in a time when Mississippi’s young people are sent to the far reaches of the world to bleed and die in the name of fighting Islamic terrorism, it is unconscionable for the state of Mississippi to be funding a museum that promotes the religion that is the foundation of this terrorism. Mosques and Islamic Centers have repeatedly been found to have ties to terrorists.

Even if this not the case, the great Southerner, Richard Weaver warned us that “Ideas have Consequences”.

Therefore, the Mississippi Constitution Party calls on the Mississippi Legislature to immediately cut off any & all taxpayer funds to this religious organization, and Mississippi citizens to hold them accountable — at the ballot box & in the courts — if they do not.

P. Leslie Riley, Jr.

Mississippi Constitution Party Chairman &
Candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture

www.RileyForAgriculture.com

lesriley@bellsouth.net

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Small Farms - Cornerstone of Liberty ?

5. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

“Agriculture… is the first in utility, and ought to be the first in respect.” –Thomas Jefferson to David Williams, 1803. ME 10:429   

While THE bottom line foundation for America’s freedom and prosperity was Christianity & the family ( in that order) one of the major foundations this country was built upon was the family farm. With it’s demise, came the decline of much of our cultural stability & the vibrancy of our small town life. Jefferson warned against this with statements like :

“I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe.” –Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. Papers 12:442

One of the things that I have proposed is using the Ag Commissioner’s office to secure private funding for a Small Farm Research & Education Center in Mississippi. Modeled after the Missouri Small Farms Research Center, but funded w/o using taxpayer money.

The AgriCenter International just outside Memphis, TN is an example of how Privately funded Ag research help farmers as well as be a boost more general economic & community development. However, whereas the Agricenter mostly focuses on commodity agriculture — which is the backbone of the economies of many Mississippi communities , we would like to see an effort to find enterprises that will help more families and young people get into farming on a small, but profitable scale as well.

The Riley for Agriculture campaign would like to see Mississippi dedicate the attention to helping families make a full time living off small farms again that we put into recruiting large out-of-state companies.

For what we have in mind, check out the web site of the Missouri Alternatives Center
http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/

Particularly helpful is there alphabetical listing of small farm enterprises with various articles on each ( here). There are several hundred headings & each with practical information. The site brags “On these links you will be able to find information on everything you want to raise or grow — from Asparagus to Watermelons, and Aquaculture to Worms!” and they do not exagerrate.

Profitable, sustainable family farms are the lifeblood of small towns and a cornerstone of freedoom. We need an ag department whose aim is to help Mississippi farms ( of all sizes) thrive again.

Les Riley

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Farm Numbers Dwindling ? THEY DON’T HAVE TO !

5. September 2007 by P. Leslie Riley.

This is about five years old, but still relevant today. It is good editorial originally published in Small Farm Today :

http://www.smallfarmtoday.com/Ridge/2002/JanFeb.asp

FROM THE RIDGE: Farm Numbers Dwindling?They Don’t Have To.
Editorial from the January/February 2002 issue of Small Farm Today^® magazine.

Agriculture does not need a subsidy system. Agriculture needs to be able to make a profit, just as any other business in our society does. Unfortunately, when the universities and other farm bureaucracies do not use our tax dollars to offer another way to farm—like sustainable-type farming—then the farmers listen to the corporations’ seductive talk.

Worldwide, farmers grow enough food to give everyone a 3,000-4,000 calorie diet. That is enough to get everybody fat! In other words, we are already growing enough food to feed the world! Not everybody gets their share, however, because of the governments of some countries. Transportation and politics prevent food distribution, not food quantity.

The standard argument against sustainable and organic farming methods claims they cannot be done on a large scale and millions will starve. This is a flat lie. Although less than 1% of ag research dollars are spent on organic practices, research from seven state universities and two private research stations on a total of 154 growing seasons for different crops in different parts of the country on both rain-fed and irrigated land, showed that organic production yielded 95% of crops grown under traditional high-input conditions.

Since only 0.8% of all AM-FM radio stations in the U.S. report farm news, and weekly/daily newspapers had a 62% decline in farm writers, consumers are frequently misled on farm issues of great importance to them and their families.

Now I am going to scare you a little (well, it scares me). In the U.S., less than 1% of all imported food is inspected. The consolidation of agriculture puts all our food resources in the hands of a few large corporations. Genetic suicide of monoculture systems make the conventional agricultural system extremely vulnerable to agriterrorism acts on our food supply.

In contrast, a sustainable-type farming system based on local food production gives safety to our food system and adds invigorating growth to the rural community through more jobs, more businesses, and more money staying in the local economy.

If you are a consumer or businessman in a rural economy, the farm situation affects you directly (even in a big city, you are indirectly affected). A recent study of the economics of farming in southeast Minnesota showed:

In southeast Minnesota, 8,436 farms sold $866 million of farm products in 1997, and spent $947 million producing them. This was a net loss of $80 million. The 8,436 farm families had a net income of about $15,000. This was from government payments, rental income, and custom service work, not from producing crops or livestock. (This figure does not include off-farm income.) In contrast, a manager at a fast food restaurant can make $30,000 per year and have no capital investment in the business.

Farmers in the study spent $400 million per year purchasing inputs and credit from distant suppliers. Very little of this money built wealth for local families and businesses. Couple this with the fact that one-quarter of the region’s farmland is absentee-owned. Both lending institutions and farm marketing channels are increasingly owned by distant corporate owners who have no commitment to more investment in the region, since their attention has turned to global markets.

The southeast Minnesota residents spent $506 million buying food, almost all from food products outside the state—only $2 million was bought directly from farmers in the region. This means $800 million each year flows out of the agricultural region. This is 10% of all household income earned by the regions 303,000 residents. Almost none of this money builds wealth in our neighborhoods.

Finding Food in Farm Country: The Economics of Food and Farming in Southeast Minnesota is online at http://www.crcworks.org/ff.pdf. Contact the Community Design Center—the report’s owners—at 507-467-3446.