163205766_55c42270b7_m.thumbnail.jpgSanford Bishop, aka the Dixie Cup Democrat, is a name that’s been leaked for Secretary of Agriculture. A conservative Dem, Rep. Bishop is very well-liked by Georgia’s Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss.

Granted he voted for the Bankruptcy Bill, pushed in slightly better terms for farmers, fought against some not-so-great privatization schemes of agricultural loans, but on the deep downside Bishop voted proudly and unprogressively for the Iraq War and for cutting corporate tax rates. He also supports Big Farming and massive use of petro-chemical fertilizers.  Ugh.

But there’s a slight whiff of scandal that could dampen the fervor for his appointment: In 2002, Bishop was questioned by airport security. On a flight from Washington to Atlanta, Bishop used a plastic cup as his personal WC when the lines for the bathroom looked too long. Bishop was detained and questioned after landing because the place he picked to pee–the section between the cockpit and first-class–is considered a secure area in the post 9/11 world.  More importantly, like what did he do with his bodily fluids–hand them to an attendant to dump? Do it himself? And did he wash up afterward?

Though his record doesn’t indicate Bishop is pro-organic, pro-sustainable farming, maybe his firsthand encounter with bio waste will inspire him to work with farmers to subsidize turning cow patties into fuel to power farms and nearby homes, providing their electricity, heat and hot water.  The biomethane from cow dung can also fuel cars, with 15 cows creating enough goop to run a converted biometh-mobile about 250-300 miles.