In a previous post I highlighted the ongoing debate over the new Farm Bill, which looks to become law soon.

The Farm Bill effects not just farmers but also those who rely on Food Stamps, now known as S.N.A.P. (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program).

The Agricultural Act of 2014 cuts $23 billion:

• $8 billion over 10 years from S.N.A.P., 
  
• $4 billion from the conservation program, and 
  
• $19 billion in the long-loathed subsidies in favor of an increased crop insurance program.  
  

As the NYT notes, it's a far cry from perfect:  

• The crop insurance still amounts to an outsized subsidy, as notes the Environmental Working Group.  
  
• Thankfully, $8 billion in S.N.A.P. cuts is less than the $40 billion sought by House Republicans.  
  
• States who passed animal rights laws are not superseded by the bill, NPR further notes.
  
• Politico notes further specific winners and losers.

The $500 billion legislation had already been delayed two years, and given this is the least productive Congress in U.S. history, many are amazed anything at all passed.

As with all politics and legislation, there is much compromising with the negotiations.  The longterm unemployed lost out on the recent budget negotiations, and now some of the poorest Americans are no longer receiving needed subsidies.

May we not continue to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, favoring instead a greater distribution of credit and cuts.

Our first visitor came to Kaua'i on a medical conference.  We visited Laura's family when Emily and I were in Minnesota last August.  Her husband, Dave, was my youth pastor growing up in Wilmington, DE.  Laura and I took the dogs for an epic exploration of Waimea Canyon - check it out!

Had a grand hike up Sleeping Giant (Nounou) Mountain with incredible views of the East shore.  

Another view of Wai'ale'ale and the Wailua Homesteads, further on the trail.

After about two miles we made it to the top.

With some spectacular views of the East Shore!

We had to share the picnic area near the top with this dude.  These "king toads" are quite big and plentiful but harmless.

Emily and I decided to take the dogs, Uila (WEE-la) and Koa (KO-a), up the Moalepe Trail up near us between the Wailua Homesteads and Kapahi.  After passing by some pastures on a gradual ascent along a washed out dirt road, we got up into the foothills for some incredible views of Sleeping Giant, bits of the ocean and Kaua'i's central mountain, Waiale'ale (which was covered in clouds, as usual).  

The trail is 2.5 miles and you may catch the quarter-mile markers beginning around 2 if you keep an eye out.  There is a sign marking the end of the trail at a bridge with a cool grotto area.  I strongly recommend continuing on the Kuilau Trail up around the grotto area to a breath-taking lookout about 100 yards beyond the sign.  

A half mile further (so 3 miles out) is a picnic area with a near-360 view, open grassy area big enough for a football game or frisbee, and simple picnic pavilion.  If you stay on the trail you will end up at the Keahua Arboretum, another possible starting point that is not as far (you would be taking the Kuilau Trail to the picnic area).

Getting There: This is an East Side hike up behind Kapa'a.  Take Olohena Road all the way until it ends with Waipouli Road.  You will see the dirt road clearly marked beyond the metal the gate. 

What to Bring: Bring at least a quart of water, especially on a hot day.  Sun protection is recommended as lots of the hike in the beginning is exposed.  The trail is rated as moderate with gradual gains and descent; very few steep sections.  A few muddy spots but overall not bad at all (for Kaua'i!).  Trail can be slippery at points but most of the time it is wide enough for a vehicle.  We saw cyclists and horseback riders in addition to hikers - dogs did fine and great one for them!

This month we are staying in a lovely little cottage with an open veranda/deck area between the bedroom and kitchen/living area.  Here are some of the sights we've since arriving!

Just north of Kapa'a Town is a wonderful beach along the road called Kealia.  The name means "salt land" in Hawaiian and allegedly there used to be a lot of salt flats here for harvesting.  

Kealia Stream flows into the ocean on the south side of the beach.  There is a smaller beach to the south with lots of driftwood and what looks like an unofficial dirt parking lot.  On the north side of the stream is the main beach, complete with lifeguards on duty and about a mile of pristine beach sheltered on either side with small green hills.

I took a paddle board upstream for about a mile.  The water meandered through open pasture land with views of neighboring mountains.  There was very little shade and not a whole lot to see, but it was quite peaceful and I did not see anyone else.  I finally had to turn around about a mile in when I hit a logjam, literally.  I could have portaged around through grass and mud, but I figured I would save that for another day.  I guess the river goes a little further before becoming unnavigable by board or boat.

On a future date, Emily and I plan to explore the Kapaa Bike Path.

Note: The title for this post comes from the website of the same name.  Please visit this site for further background information and the latest updates.

You may have heard of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), but did you know Kauai is ground-zero for GMO testing?  Over the past 150 years, Kauai's lush land (a'ina) has been used for sugar cane production and later ranching.  Now much of the land in the south and west has been sold to big agricultural companies, including subsidiaries of DOW chemical, Dupont, Monsanto, Syngenta and others.  These companies are using the year-round growing season and perennial rainfall to do GMO-testing and its companion chemicals, the pesticides used to kill everything but the GMO product.  It is estimated that 98% of restricted-use pesticides (RUPs) on Kauai come from just five companies, and worldwide six companies control 70 percent of pesticide use.  Even more disheartening, there are several reported instances of how these chemicals have been sprayed and resulted in entire communities being sickened, including an entire school evacuation:

In a bitter and dramatic fight, the people of Kauai finally got an ordinance passed (960, formerly Bill 2491) in November 2013 that will go into effect in August 2014.  The ordinance is not considered drastic by many:

HOWEVER, today a law suit was filed by Dupont, Syngenta and DOW Chemical against the County of Kaua'i over Ordinance 960.  

Please visit StopPoisoningParadise.org for further information and how you can get involved in protecting

I am about to finish book two of George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire, known as A Game of Thrones on HBO, the name of the first book in what is to be a seven-book series . . . kind of like Harry Potter, but rated R, if not NC-17.

Each chapter in the books is written from the vantage point of a particular character.  The reader returns to these characters throughout the book, but do not be fooled into thinking any character, and I mean ANY character, is safe or central enough to the plot that s/he won't be killed off.  In fact, as I was told before even diving into the series, if you like a character, that character will probably die and perhaps in a quite horrific death.  Hence, I think I will now start referring to the series as "A Game of Bones."

In light of the fact there is no main character and any protagonist could and does die, the question must be asked, Why read this series?  There are a number of reasons, including:

• an epic fantasy world that rivals if not surpasses Tolkien's Middle Earth in its scope and ancient lore (if not languages)
  
• an adult version of Harry Potter with all of the sex, gore, greed and politics one would expect of adults (I'll also add the scene descriptions do not go on forever like Tolkien nor do the descriptions of food and merriment, like Brian Jacques' Redwall series.)
• an interesting postmodern account where each person's limited perspective often only gives the reader pieces to put together of what is happening
• magic plays a periphery part; the story is more about compelling characters caught up in world-changing events.  But don't be fooled: there is magic, to be sure.

All of these reasons coupled with good writing make for an entertaining treat.  Listening to it on audiobook with Roy Dotrice's world record-breaking voices makes it even better, especially with all of the driving and WOOFing I've been doing lately.  

That said, I'm compelled to continue and complete the series (once the final two books are finished) not simply to find out how it all ends, but because I think Martin is onto something grandeur than we readers - much less our characters - can foresee.  Looking at the titles of the books so far:

1. A Game of Thrones
   
2. A Clash of Kings
   
3. A Storm of Swords
   
4. A Feast for Crows
   
5. A Dance of Dragons
   
6. The Winds of Winter (planned)
   
7. A Dream of Spring (planned; formerly A Time for Wolves)
   

Now I've only read through Book Two, but looking at these titles and considering the series' overall title, A Song of Ice and Fire, I think Martin is peeling back the layers one by one.  Without giving away too much, there seems to be icy threats from the north and fire-y threats from the south/west that come into larger and larger play as the course of events move on.  People are focused largely on a throne in the Seven Kingdoms, but the world is a much larger place than any of them realize.  Events are beyond their control.  They scheme, they fight, they create, they destroy, they live, they die.  They do what they will in a world that seems almost indifferent to them at times.  And ultimately their purpose in life plays a much smaller and different role than they had expected.  Catastrophic chance as well as cold calculation constantly collide, and some survive while others die.  Nothing is for certain, not even the change in seasons.  The story is ruthless, painful, threatens to undue all kinds of meaning or storytelling (at least in the traditional sense).  And yet it is captivating all the same, because, arguably, it is more "real" than most fiction in how it portrays the whims and wills of life with all of its meaning and mystery.  

More writers have been brought in to help finish the series. The added scenes in the television series flesh out the characters and add tantalizing revelations that our limited narrated view does not see or reveal in the books.  Martin wants to write other tales within the Song of Ice and Fire universe.  I'm impressed so far with his Magnum Opus.  The challenge will be to continue to care about characters whose fate and fortune are so very mortal at times, even as their lives soar on the winds of the majestic and the mundane.

This was my first real hike in Kaua'i, and I couldn't ask for more spectacular weather and views!  I must have seen at least ten helicopter tours, and I can guarantee I was paying a lot less to see some gorgeous scenery.

Getting There: You will find the trail about a mile from the  main Hanalei Bridge.  From Princeville, take a left immediately after crossing the main bridge.  From Hanalei, it is the last right just before crossing the bridge to go up to Princeville.  Drive about one mile, and you will see a dirt parking lot on your left.  Across the road to the right is the trail head.  

Trail Itself: The first mile can be quite muddy, but push on for some great views.  There are some ground netting early on that helps with mud and slippery slopes.  About a mile up and there is the first lookout at a power line tower.  Another mile up (the mud has decreased, but you still need to watch your footing) and there is an even better near 360-degree view of the Hanalei Bay and surrounding valley.  You could easily stop here, having climbed 1,250 feet, but I went on a very narrow trail that followed the ridge line up and down slippery slopes with ropes until I reached the tallest point marked by a tall evergreen (about 4 miles up, 8 miles round trip I estimate). There were about two more peaks I could see beyond where I went (see below), but I was satisfied (and out of water!). 

What to Bring: At least 2 quarts water to make it to the top, sunscreen, hat/sunglasses, good shoes that can handle mud, hiking stick or other gear for steep ascents, gloves to protect your hands on the ropes if you go beyond the initial two miles, lightweight long pants to protect from brush. Most of the time you are going in and out of shade.  

My legs burned several days after this hike; perhaps a day recovery if you only did the initial two miles (what's on the map).  I would only take dogs on the first mile or so, when the trail is wider, but if you're going in the rainy months (late Nov - early Mar) be prepared for plenty of mud early on.

It is the new year, and with it come all of the end-of-year summations, highlights and stories.  I was amused if not horrified to read that even less Republicans believe in evolution compared to four years ago, down to 43%.  

After reading the classics Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone and Sam Harris' The End of Faith, I wonder if people identify their religious beliefs not on scientific reasoning but community connections.  Our increased individualistic society is only made worse by internet companies that keep us in what Eli Pariser calls a Filter Bubble.  Yet finding common cause on the internet can create and support shared common values, of the religious or areligious type.

Community is key to believing.  We are influenced by those around us and the sites we visit.  Diversity is important not only to 'keep things interesting,' but also to ensure we do not become stagnant in our beliefs.  If we want to share our beliefs, be they secular or spiritual, it is better to do so through relationship rather than pure reason.