Farm Bill fiasco grist for political mill

Vacation was a word rarely used in my house growing up. Like most parents in Eastern Washington during the 1900s, my mom and dad instilled the values of hard work from sunup to sundown. And when I co-wrote the script for the film “The Basket,” I showed the hardships endured by those generations before us to keep the family farm alive. Back then, as it is now, it often took the whole community to come together through back-breaking work, cooperation and even some help from the local banker to keep the business going and food on the table.

This type of work ethic is our regional legacy. It’s wha...