From The Baltimore Sun:

Congress has barred labeling Asian catfish from Vietnam as catfish because imports of it are cutting into sales of more expensive U.S. catfish grown in large man-made ponds in parts of the South. Instead, importers, restaurants and grocery stores will have to use a name such as ‘basa.’

Yes, the ban is only temporary — it ends when the budget expires Sept. 30, 2002 — but nevertheless it stinks of protectionism. Of course, calling catfish basa will probably have the effect of turning a cheap bottom-feeder into ritzy snobgob — for $40 a plate, some enterprising 5-star restaurant will serve it salted on a bed of pecan pilaf, with caper relish and an arugala and crushed mint salad.

[Nostalgic aside: When I was a kid, my parents snacked on chopped liver (spread on Ritz crackers), and it cost them, like, $2 for a one-pound tub of the stuff. Now, through the clever combo of niche marketing and an appeal to elitist impulses, companies with French names are selling the same paste — called chicken liver p