-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 12:41 PM 10/20/97 -0400, Declan McCullagh wrote: ...

A Beehive in Their Bonnet by Declan McCullagh (declan@well.com)

John Caldeira's remark in a beekeeper's discussion area on Prodigy seemed innocuous enough: It described how to rid honeybees of parasites. "Two ounces of Mavrik mixed with one gallon of water and sprayed on the bottom boards of one's hives several times a year. It is reportedly very effective," Caldeira wrote.

Honey may attract flies, but this discussion about its production drew swarms of bureaucrats. The Texas Department of Agriculture charged Caldeira with violating a state law banning unapproved discussions of bee medicines and fined the 42-year-old hobbyist $600. A draft statement from the department complains that Caldeira was "criticizing regulations" and improbably argues that "the honey market in the U.S. could become depressed because of widespread concerns about its safety and due to Mr. Caldeira's suggestion that commercial beekeepers are using Mavrik in their hives."

Effectively conceding that Mr. Caldeira has more reputation- capital than they do. Gee, I wonder what an enterprising bee- keeper would need to do to keep these bureaucrats at bay? ;^) Suppose that instead of "Mavrik" the solution were instead the regular burning of hemp byproducts nearby? If nothing else, this would certainly lead to docile bees... JMR -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Freedom isn't Freeh. iQEPAwUBNEvklzUhsGSn1j2pAQGqqQfPV4xHkB2JIySmL7mdcNSbu9D79EVPeGPu lk448L9pQw6UgDQy6cIn6+xY4/0zwEGItf0gEPwkT7upTBKpoOJEIk7zlJPgw0H1 7WZZDARj1scqM7YVIIq5ce1c/3jMUfqTZ3HcXhxJ9rPtHmU4+PW5Y6uJisSE2fKY f3JrGhcfOfkdhGPSBNZTmtfwnBZRORXbv1aM+ibqgLcipWr7SrfyrLoE8VQr4pEd BJ7aBgoQK0cNw4f9vLcETTrPCrEsJqbRoFfl97apehp1zmSoKYn1AeriRK4qE0mD v7dY2sclypzpH59wF45mddMUO7uYdaZ7EzxDV3ll6qqEpA== =krnc -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----