tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57486042024-03-19T02:47:43.992-06:00 THE WESTERNERIssues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.comBlogger40316125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-3044998233816989712024-03-18T12:32:00.005-06:002024-03-18T12:32:53.573-06:00Holy cow! Jr. Market Steer Grand Champion sells for $1 million, ties record<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTDhlVz2q1MTuFIbD-vtacGUtk3qPEeFs9ig-f-1SuoySpSTLug5ZrDjJEopYNWP5_XwAuPoSlV8F8K6lA4B8jLSpsrKt9X6ayR1k_Fxs-oLx354WodG79cuE3TTCKf_ORQ_Y6rMXFBthMNCXOuQgqoRGtSb3YtiSBxNPUTx54wXtjuyfrfRaPw/s720/ratio3x2_720.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTDhlVz2q1MTuFIbD-vtacGUtk3qPEeFs9ig-f-1SuoySpSTLug5ZrDjJEopYNWP5_XwAuPoSlV8F8K6lA4B8jLSpsrKt9X6ayR1k_Fxs-oLx354WodG79cuE3TTCKf_ORQ_Y6rMXFBthMNCXOuQgqoRGtSb3YtiSBxNPUTx54wXtjuyfrfRaPw/w156-h104/ratio3x2_720.webp" width="156" /></a></div>The 2024 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Jr. Market Steer brought out the big bucks!<p></p><p class="sc-bczRLJ dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 hxNyjp itaLjB">This
year’s champion, a Simmental raised by Blaize Benson of San Angelo,
Texas, sold for $1 million, tying a HLSR record. The donors for the sale
were Barbra and Don Jordan, Laura and Steve McNear and Chris and Lisa
Cunningham. <br /></p><p class="sc-bczRLJ dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 hxNyjp itaLjB">...Blaize
and his family have shown at the Rodeo every year since 2017, except for
2020. Chelsie Benson, Blaize’s mother, said this achievement will have a
lasting impact on her son.</p><p class="sc-bczRLJ dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 hxNyjp itaLjB">“He
works really hard, and we’ve done this since he was eight. It doesn’t
go this way very often; I know this is a core memory that he’ll have
forever.”...<a href="https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/03/17/holy-cow-jr-market-steer-grand-champion-sells-for-1-million-ties-record/">more</a></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-66355184413360480872024-03-18T04:47:00.003-06:002024-03-18T04:53:41.101-06:00Beloved bullfighter and clown Leon Coffee announces retirement from Houston Rodeo<><>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefF-q_9p5SkGnciXAtGuvJzZcBcnlmOOs2w_sWZlrfOrnk2WF_mlOjzlVZSsgodpac6sl7FESZDXlTaspE8kODTa_Q9w5fx3a9y7XSx0ZCRiqDjPwwtgoUsLiBeBkNf6xh0HQnc0KUnSfJPxS7BbEVfSukwA0Ntp83okKL57oVVhuJPL24qUiOA/s668/2024-03-18_04-42-09.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="668" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefF-q_9p5SkGnciXAtGuvJzZcBcnlmOOs2w_sWZlrfOrnk2WF_mlOjzlVZSsgodpac6sl7FESZDXlTaspE8kODTa_Q9w5fx3a9y7XSx0ZCRiqDjPwwtgoUsLiBeBkNf6xh0HQnc0KUnSfJPxS7BbEVfSukwA0Ntp83okKL57oVVhuJPL24qUiOA/w200-h93/2024-03-18_04-42-09.png" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The time has come for the end of a staple at RodeoHouston. Beloved rodeo clown and barrel man Leon Coffee has announced his retirement.
Coffee, the cherished clown and ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee, is set to hang up the face paint and his signature barrel at the end of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-p-marginBottom-regular,32px); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The bullfighting clown has painted his face for decades and got big laughs at rodeos nationwide. But despite the makeup and the silly costume, being a rodeo clown is no funny business.</span></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-p-marginBottom-regular,32px); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">"I'm the barrel man. I'm an island in a sea of sharks," said Coffee. "I've got to be out-of-the-way and ready to get in the way if needed."</span></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-p-marginBottom-regular,32px); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">"I don't fear those bulls. I have a healthy respect for their ability to hurt me," said Coffee. "But I also have a very healthy respect for my ability to get around them. You're looking at that bull, and you're going, okay, it's a big game of tag, let's see who's going to get there first. You know, those bulls run 40 miles an hour, and the fastest man in the world can only run 30. And I ain't him," Coffee said in a 2022 interview with ABC13.</span></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-p-marginBottom-regular,32px); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Coffee's talent didn't just stop at the Houston Rodeo. He performed at nearly 30 to 45 rodeos every year.</span></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-p-marginBottom-regular,32px); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">"Simply put, Leon Coffee is the heart of the rodeo; he dedicated his life to protecting cowboys first as a bullfighter, then as a barrel man."</span></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Coffee will take his final crawl and bow at RodeoHouston on Sunday but says it won't be his last rodeo. He says you will see him at the rodeo each year from now on...<a href="https://abc13.com/rodeohouston-who-is-leon-coffee-clown-houston-livestock-show-and-rodeo/14532851/">more</a></span></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><><><><><><><></span></b></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">See the interview below where he gives the actual reason for his retirement. Also see the expression on his face when the crowd gave him a standing ovation.</span></b></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I got to meet and visit with Coffee the year that Jim Dewey Brown had him here for the NMSU rodeo. What a great experience that was.</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://abc13.com/community-events/legendary-bullfighter-rodeo-clown-leon-coffee-announces-retirement/14532851/"><b>https://abc13.com/community-events/legendary-bullfighter-rodeo-clown-leon-coffee-announces-retirement/14532851/</b></a></span></span></p><p class="EkqkG nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: var(--articleBody-body-lastChild-marginBottom,0); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><div><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://abc13.com/video/embed/?pid=14538394" width="640"></iframe></span></b><p> </p><p><br /></p></div></div>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-11886594847018924192024-03-16T07:17:00.005-06:002024-03-16T07:17:58.194-06:00Methane: the tricky hunt for hidden emissions - why does agriculture's contribution remain so elusive?<p> </p><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 insmih" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb"><b class="sc-ed73b9f2-0 jhhdRT"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b class="sc-ed73b9f2-0 jhhdRT"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVl4yqKBT7s-jPIdvAs__nPAWhjTDupFwDOfXwEQojOxCwmMRzI9kLwIfrhfnOg1W-R-N-HY-Zk9SEa0bitorm_OjQY3XDvfEOJTpOk2WpRnYeHTGWeUcPqIdbrvCYJuzwPAGGBvljkbxG97CWg7F2E1xZHQTlJeOwyYdTXfB0M11S2EsecfhQw/s800/p0hgx5b6.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVl4yqKBT7s-jPIdvAs__nPAWhjTDupFwDOfXwEQojOxCwmMRzI9kLwIfrhfnOg1W-R-N-HY-Zk9SEa0bitorm_OjQY3XDvfEOJTpOk2WpRnYeHTGWeUcPqIdbrvCYJuzwPAGGBvljkbxG97CWg7F2E1xZHQTlJeOwyYdTXfB0M11S2EsecfhQw/w172-h97/p0hgx5b6.jpg.webp" width="172" /></a></b></div><b class="sc-ed73b9f2-0 jhhdRT">A new satellite will measure global methane emissions, but why does agriculture's contribution remain so elusive?</b><p></p></section><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 insmih" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb">The team behind the world's most advanced methane-monitoring satellite, <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://www.methanesat.org/" target="_blank">MethaneSat</a>,
are keen on metaphors about cleaning. "About the size of a washing
machine," was how environmental scientist Steven Wofsy, described the
orbiting object at a press conference ahead of its launch. "Like a
push-broom," was his phrase for its capacity to scan the surface of the
Earth.</p><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 insmih" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb">The metaphors are apt. Methane is a particularly dirty greenhouse gas, driving about <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/methane/" target="_blank">30% of the heating</a>
the planet has experienced so far. It breaks down in the atmosphere in
just 12 years, which is much sooner than the centuries taken by CO2 –
but it is also around <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/video/whats-deal-methane" target="_blank">80 times more powerful</a> over a 20-year time span...</p></section><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 insmih" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb">With <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/methane/#:~:text=and%20human%20activities.-,An%20estimated%2060%25%20of%20today%27s%20methane%20emissions%20are%20the%20result,being%20the%20largest%20natural%20source." target="_blank">60%</a> of global methane emissions coming from human activities, reductions are essential to reaching the world's climate change <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01639-y" target="_blank">targets</a>. Equally, if not addressed in a timely way, it could contribute to the passing of dangerous <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68110310" target="_self">tipping points</a> that lead to rapid and irreversible change around the globe. </p></section><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 insmih" data-component="text-block"><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb">MethaneSat
aims to help by providing an independent source of methane monitoring,
with a primary focus on methane leaked from oil and gas fields – such as
the recent, months-long <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68166298" target="_self">mega leak in Kazakhstan</a>, which resulted in the release of 127,000 tonnes of the potent gas.
By supplementing existing satellite data with even more precise
measurements, MethaneSat hopes to provide a near-comprehensive view of
global leaks...<a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240306-agricultural-methane-is-a-climate-action-blind-spot">more</a></p><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb" style="text-align: center;"><b><><><><><><><><><><><></b></p><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb" style="text-align: center;"><b>And of course, the primary focus is on ag</b></p><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 insmih" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: grid; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; gap: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 728px;"><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-family: "BBC Reith Serif", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Yet the oil and gas industry is also far from the only source of human-caused methane emissions. Agriculture is in fact the largest human source of methane emissions, according to the International Energy Agency, at almost 40%. Energy is in second at<a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/methane-tracker-data-explorer" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> around 37%</a>, and waste in third.</i></p></section><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 insmih" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: grid; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; gap: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 728px;"><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-family: "BBC Reith Serif", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Within agriculture, flooded <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/methane-emissions-are-driving-climate-change-heres-how-reduce-them" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">rice fields account for 8%</a> of total human-linked emissions, but belches and manure from livestock are the biggest contributors, with cattle the biggest single offenders. In California, the non-profit coalition Climate Trace found that one single cattle <a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18082023/californias-top-methane-emitter-is-cattle-feedlot/" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">feedlot</a> produced more methane than the state's biggest oil and gas fields.</i></p><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-family: "BBC Reith Serif", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.36px;"><i>According to Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, a biogeochemical scientist at National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand, who is leading MethaneSat's agricultural research, that capacity will only increase in relation to agriculture too. The new satellite's ability to map methane at a precision of 2 ppb (parts per billion) means it will be the first satellite well suited to measuring agricultural emissions, she says. "That number might not mean a lot to your readers, but to me it is the same precision I could get from an instrument on the ground – which is extraordinary."</i></span></p><p class="sc-e1853509-0 bmLndb" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-family: "BBC Reith Serif", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.36px;"><i><span style="letter-spacing: -0.36px;">...Conversely, agriculture's methane output is more elusive. Aerial remote sensing measurements, such as those taken from aircraft or drones, can capture methane leaks, says Aaron Davitt, principal analyst on remote sensing for the non-profit </span><a class="sc-8fed6dee-0 gPEPzk" href="https://watttime.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #202224; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.36px; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">WattTime</a><span style="letter-spacing: -0.36px;">, but these technologies can only be deployed in limited regions for limited amounts of time.</span></i></span></p></section></section></section>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-45480343952134717332024-03-16T07:16:00.000-06:002024-03-16T07:16:01.812-06:00Mexican Military Incursions On US Soil Worry Border Agents<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DckGym55hNztFQGdBDp6-Twz9NFHk5wY7WEcrOyprc5-jQi2jjDzp9z0NQGJdTMpAtkliXydPvnnt8S1EUx5tCub6dH5P6WIWdD_9opcYLYcuVk2gZc79R3kJVhlObC02OWHYyD4EMD_5vV86ew2wIgtAX3weaPqwE6-PPpNKmul-hHlqnkwpw/s787/2024-03-16_07-13-22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="787" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DckGym55hNztFQGdBDp6-Twz9NFHk5wY7WEcrOyprc5-jQi2jjDzp9z0NQGJdTMpAtkliXydPvnnt8S1EUx5tCub6dH5P6WIWdD_9opcYLYcuVk2gZc79R3kJVhlObC02OWHYyD4EMD_5vV86ew2wIgtAX3weaPqwE6-PPpNKmul-hHlqnkwpw/s320/2024-03-16_07-13-22.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Pensum, "Times New Roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;">Just before 8:30 a.m. Jan. 26, two figures dressed in camouflage and carrying military assault rifles crossed an international border, making their way on foot through the quiet desert terrain, unaware that they were under the constant watch of authorities in the country they had just entered.</span><p></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Pensum, "Times New Roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;">Within minutes a border patrol agent confronted the two men. Weapons were drawn. Asked for identification, the two men provided their names — which didn't correspond with the names on their uniforms. After a brief, tense standoff, the two men retreated back across the border just as reinforcements were arriving.</span></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: var(--subbuzz-text-body-fontfamily); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--subbuzz-text-body-size-lineheight); margin-bottom: var(--subbuzz-paragraph-size-margin-bottom); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--subbuzz-adjacent-paragraph-margin-top); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">...The armed incursion occurred on <a data-uri="57b30546fa84eeb7ff50a7e666abf3de" href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahloewentheil/travelers-share-favorite-customs-abroad-gd" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: var(--subbuzz-text-body-link-decoration-default); transition: color 0.15s ease 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">United States</a> soil, outside Sasabe, Ariz., just north of the U.S.–Mexico border. Drug dealers and migrants use a large wildlife preserve to the east and the empty desert to the west of Sasabe as trafficking corridors.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: var(--subbuzz-text-body-fontfamily); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--subbuzz-text-body-size-lineheight); margin-bottom: var(--subbuzz-paragraph-size-margin-bottom); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--subbuzz-adjacent-paragraph-margin-top); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Both Mexican and U.S. border agents have crossed over the border in this area, pursuing suspects. But according to officials familiar with the situation, border crossings by members of either military are rare. In a January letter to the head of Customs and Border Protection about the incident, Sen. Tom Coburn asked if the agency has "concerns that some members of the Mexican Military could be providing security and/or intelligence to Drug Trafficking Organizations." The Sinaloa Cartel, widely considered one of the world's most powerful drug syndicates, operates along the Sasabe stretch of the border...<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/johnstanton/alleged-mexican-military-incursion-into-arizona-may-point-to">more</a></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: var(--subbuzz-text-body-fontfamily); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--subbuzz-text-body-size-lineheight); margin-bottom: var(--subbuzz-paragraph-size-margin-bottom); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--subbuzz-adjacent-paragraph-margin-top); padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><><><><><><><><><><></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: var(--subbuzz-text-body-fontfamily); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--subbuzz-text-body-size-lineheight); margin-bottom: var(--subbuzz-paragraph-size-margin-bottom); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--subbuzz-adjacent-paragraph-margin-top); padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>But who were they, really?</b></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: var(--subbuzz-text-body-fontfamily); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--subbuzz-text-body-size-lineheight); margin-bottom: var(--subbuzz-paragraph-size-margin-bottom); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Olaya said the two men identified themselves as members of the Mexican military's 80th Battalion. But the names they gave didn't match the names on their uniforms. Additionally, the men informed Olaya "that they had been pursing [sic] three subjects that were seen in the area." The incident report does not indicate that the video surveillance system had seen any other individuals in the area.</i></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: var(--subbuzz-text-body-fontfamily); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--subbuzz-text-body-size-lineheight); margin-bottom: var(--subbuzz-paragraph-size-margin-bottom); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--subbuzz-adjacent-paragraph-margin-top); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>By this time, according to the incident report, officials at the border patrol were trying to contact Mexican military officials. "At approximately 0926 Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (SBPA) George Serrano … was contacted and apprised of the situation. SBPA Serrano attempted to make contact with the headquarters of SEDENA 45th Military Zone," which covers the area around Sasabe. "A voice message was left at the office," the incident report says.</i></p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: var(--subbuzz-text-body-fontfamily); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--subbuzz-text-body-size-lineheight); margin-bottom: var(--subbuzz-paragraph-size-margin-bottom); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--subbuzz-adjacent-paragraph-margin-top); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Two minutes later, "both Mexican Military personnel turned southbound after they saw other [Border Patrol] units westbound toward BPA Olaya." Within seven minutes, the two men had crossed back into Mexico.</i></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-134430416237833912024-03-16T06:55:00.000-06:002024-03-16T06:55:25.339-06:00Did US reverse-engineer alien spacecraft? And other Pentagon report takeaways <p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5l8IAMB0HWqb322RPPTQeTT7rgXLmCOtY4Wk9O0n2lr5I7-uPPOwgY-LIHC1gnnixHiVdaNwHLcoKw4ePwk3_UR8pH_FoPMU4iizryp9ynpdfC-9W5p5cH40MhjdyDv-YPG6BPeeWLZpAY9hMlqGjkmgPhOGNbzEqYFmeNoPP4p5Yi-_BTlKKLw/s300/pent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5l8IAMB0HWqb322RPPTQeTT7rgXLmCOtY4Wk9O0n2lr5I7-uPPOwgY-LIHC1gnnixHiVdaNwHLcoKw4ePwk3_UR8pH_FoPMU4iizryp9ynpdfC-9W5p5cH40MhjdyDv-YPG6BPeeWLZpAY9hMlqGjkmgPhOGNbzEqYFmeNoPP4p5Yi-_BTlKKLw/w156-h87/pent.jpg" width="156" /></a></div>A long-awaited Pentagon report on unidentified anomalous phenomena
(UAP) concluded Friday that there is no evidence the U.S. has
reverse-engineered alien spacecraft and rebutted claims that Washington
is hiding off-world technology or extraterrestrial biological material.<p></p>
<p>The first volume of an investigation from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), called the Historical Record Report, <a data-id="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4519018-pentagon-report-ufos-alien-visits/" data-type="URL" href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4519018-pentagon-report-ufos-alien-visits/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">debunks claims of</a> alien or unexplainable UAP, more commonly known as UFOs.</p><p>It also attributes the persistence that the U.S. is hiding
extraterrestrial material to a culture fascinated by aliens, a community
trying to prove there is secret alien technology, the misidentification
of common objects or other defense technology, and general distrust in
the federal government...<a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4519306-pentagon-ufo-report-key-takeaways/">more <br /></a></p><p><a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4519306-pentagon-ufo-report-key-takeaways/"> </a></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-19102984297136697132024-03-12T11:18:00.000-06:002024-03-12T11:18:06.769-06:00Fury in Germany as 120k trees in fairytale forest felled to make way for wind farm<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSSPYKaXqpzskkGQ8BNOYleyMHCkVlqXf8w3YrEeXgOqJfXwj_suCBgwjRaEBfxw2t8K_tEB95MjYQav19e2YQgkfmRzaYKexm3DzY0ZYnHVfKsFEsQCDi6sbdgOHkXzKh4ViNhC3__c44eOcABJTU3jhVu8HcT9y0GLYMGMT2yfvxqwCpvyAYw/s265/grimm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="190" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSSPYKaXqpzskkGQ8BNOYleyMHCkVlqXf8w3YrEeXgOqJfXwj_suCBgwjRaEBfxw2t8K_tEB95MjYQav19e2YQgkfmRzaYKexm3DzY0ZYnHVfKsFEsQCDi6sbdgOHkXzKh4ViNhC3__c44eOcABJTU3jhVu8HcT9y0GLYMGMT2yfvxqwCpvyAYw/w111-h156/grimm.jpg" width="111" /></a></div>Conservationists in Germany are incensed as 120,000 trees in an
ancient forest have started to be felled in order to make way for a wind
farm.<p></p><p>The forest in Sababurg, Reinhardswald, which is in the
central German state of Hesse, is said to be an inspiration for the
Brothers Grimm mythical tales, but now it’s being destroyed to
facilitate the country’s latest green energy project.</p><p>The site of
the tree-toppling is next to the famous Sleeping Beauty Castle, which
takes its name due to its fairytale architecture and its proximity to
the mystical forest.</p><p> However, now the castle will be in close proximity to a field of wind turbines...<a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1875454/Germany-wind-farm-Sababurg-forest">more</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><><><><><><><><> </b> <br /></p><p><b>This is almost funny. Why? Because the real fairytale is the program of the enviros.</b><br /></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-24135557194841886672024-03-12T11:16:00.003-06:002024-03-12T11:16:51.652-06:00NAFBF Applauds SEC for Sparing Farms from Wall Street Rules <p> </p><p class="voa-body-copy"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubIhki1pDaZoz_41RSsrmUNJ60dNdKcZJo7ojEZpKacNYA1g2nW-SwFIqQ5cR1BWN4_6t6yiVwuMBcuia-iQMLBdvFP8jn6OrMZsttl88UrReNUCuT_vnHztK5dQirNut_7J99APm1p3EE537e2cZr4x-NHDmiNY3jlVbzrtJgskkz8A_pHH-Pw/s280/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="280" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiubIhki1pDaZoz_41RSsrmUNJ60dNdKcZJo7ojEZpKacNYA1g2nW-SwFIqQ5cR1BWN4_6t6yiVwuMBcuia-iQMLBdvFP8jn6OrMZsttl88UrReNUCuT_vnHztK5dQirNut_7J99APm1p3EE537e2cZr4x-NHDmiNY3jlVbzrtJgskkz8A_pHH-Pw/w163-h105/Untitled.png" width="163" /></a></div>The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
responded to American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) concerns and
affirmed that regulations intended for Wall Street should not extend to
America’s family farms. The SEC voted today on its final climate
disclosure rule and removed the Scope 3 reporting requirement, which
would have required public companies to report the greenhouse gas
emissions of their supply chain.<p></p><p class="voa-body-copy">Since the
rule was first proposed two years ago, AFBF led the charge for the
removal of Scope 3. Farm Bureau members sent almost 20,000 messages to
the SEC and Capitol Hill, sharing their perspectives of how Scope 3
reporting would affect their farms. </p><p class="voa-body-copy">“AFBF
thanks SEC Chair Gary Gensler and his staff for their diligence in
researching the unintended consequences of an overreaching Scope 3
requirement,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Farmers are committed
to protecting the natural resources they’ve been entrusted with, and
they continue to advance climate-smart agriculture, but they cannot
afford to hire compliance officers just to handle SEC reporting
requirements. This is especially true for small farms that would have
likely been squeezed out of the supply chain...<a href="https://www.fb.org/news-release/afbf-applauds-sec-for-sparing-farms-from-wall-street-rules">more</a></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-10168583587808780862024-03-09T15:46:00.002-07:002024-03-09T15:46:40.921-07:00Dead Body Used to Withdraw Cash at U.S. Bank, Say Police <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVmjH5hyL5tH4VDWIPIj1UuoVjqa7dQml1SZo5KFTg3WBWTdRWsp0aGChEVQaorJObnbmd00sYeqEfKsSgpj5QsPRq2SNKVSZljWvsHqt7Ch1QXxkodGgbwaJeQnZxz_dTUdOappWs7M6tbq3kFlmrnRbtDb6ZynFBgH1fYR-AKXut-fNv_1Bww/s264/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="264" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVmjH5hyL5tH4VDWIPIj1UuoVjqa7dQml1SZo5KFTg3WBWTdRWsp0aGChEVQaorJObnbmd00sYeqEfKsSgpj5QsPRq2SNKVSZljWvsHqt7Ch1QXxkodGgbwaJeQnZxz_dTUdOappWs7M6tbq3kFlmrnRbtDb6ZynFBgH1fYR-AKXut-fNv_1Bww/w147-h107/download.jpg" width="147" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Police say two women just used their roommate’s dead body to withdraw cash from the deceased victim’s U.S. Bank account.</span></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Karen Casbohm and Loreen Feralo allegedly found their 80 year-old roommate Douglas Layman dead in their house on Monday and decided to drive his body to the bank, <a href="https://fox8.com/news/women-take-dead-man-to-bank-for-withdrawal-police/" rel="noopener" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #f70d28; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">reports</a> Fox 8 News in Cleveland, Ohio.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Authorities say the pair propped Layman in the front seat of their car and went to the bank’s drive through, knowing that the lender would allow the withdrawal upon seeing Layman in the vehicle.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 29px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">After successfully executing a $900 withdrawal, the pair allegedly dropped Layman’s body off at a nearby hospital...<a href="https://dailyhodl.com/2024/03/08/dead-body-used-to-withdraw-cash-at-u-s-bank-say-police-heres-a-look-at-the-allegations/">more</a></span></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-84012143828024281262024-03-07T19:43:00.003-07:002024-03-07T19:43:41.188-07:00John Kerry mocked as ‘climate clown’ for suggesting world would ‘feel better’ about Ukraine war if Russia cut emissions <p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cERX5Y17Se788BrjblHLs4s7oW5WfvBbSBt9n-b8UpcecQMV_NKXPSRMrCT2532AJyfHaZMoGeU5BMTQ-CtJoBpd22pr9Bo0FGS_XSOx79AXCroTr1N2qlPF1xTH7x65WVrZQOchpKMyQirUA1240iw2JiHKwALmQ3LPREt3gfB375UmbbVRpw/s1536/2021-comments-included-disappointment-russia-77864855.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1536" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cERX5Y17Se788BrjblHLs4s7oW5WfvBbSBt9n-b8UpcecQMV_NKXPSRMrCT2532AJyfHaZMoGeU5BMTQ-CtJoBpd22pr9Bo0FGS_XSOx79AXCroTr1N2qlPF1xTH7x65WVrZQOchpKMyQirUA1240iw2JiHKwALmQ3LPREt3gfB375UmbbVRpw/w151-h85/2021-comments-included-disappointment-russia-77864855.webp" width="151" /></a></div>President Biden’s outgoing climate czar, John Kerry, one of the most
powerful and esteemed figures in Washington, made jaws drop this week
when he suggested that the world might “feel better” about the ongoing <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/06/us-news/ny-sen-chuck-schumer-bringing-ukrainian-soldier-andrii-chevozorov-to-state-of-the-union-to-push-for-aid-vote/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">bloodshed caused by Russia in Ukraine </a>if Moscow cut its emissions.<p></p>
<p>“Russia is one of the largest emitters in the world. If Russia wanted
to show good faith, they could go out and announce what their
reductions are going to be and make a greater effort to reduce
emissions,” Kerry, 80, said during a foreign press briefing in
Washington, DC, on Tuesday, his penultimate day on the job before
leaving to assist Biden’s re-election campaign and teach at Yale
University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs.</p>
<p>“Maybe that would open up the door for people to feel better about what Russia is choosing to do at this point in time.”...<a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/07/us-news/john-kerry-ripped-for-suggesting-world-may-feel-better-about-ukraine-war-if-russia-cut-emissions/">more</a></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-81236861938791468972024-03-07T18:13:00.001-07:002024-03-07T18:13:52.072-07:00Kentucky resolution would defy EPA fossil fuel regs like ‘sanctuary cities’ do for immigration<p>Republicans in the Kentucky House are <a href="https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/hjr121.html">proposing a resolution</a> that would create “a sanctuary state” for fossil fuel-powered generators.</p>
<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6CXB5sPujGARnbiCUqndsTK8WYslUWeTSV5xq_hazGTwzOdad-ffo7m31p3cAKEvDfy6kEmnD-HTWg_gGaPnVLLON6OfeWNgU0NbfPJd1Whn6TRTn_2Hu9S8SHhW_9wwzoovSLSRGkr7D6NBqDGgDUOBsa89NJ6OyOBEcJWJydOT6Q5b8rbMvg/s300/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6CXB5sPujGARnbiCUqndsTK8WYslUWeTSV5xq_hazGTwzOdad-ffo7m31p3cAKEvDfy6kEmnD-HTWg_gGaPnVLLON6OfeWNgU0NbfPJd1Whn6TRTn_2Hu9S8SHhW_9wwzoovSLSRGkr7D6NBqDGgDUOBsa89NJ6OyOBEcJWJydOT6Q5b8rbMvg/w150-h84/Untitled.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>The resolution, which was assigned to a committee Wednesday, appears to be <a href="https://cis.org/Map-Sanctuary-Cities-Counties-and-States">modeled after the concept</a> of “sanctuary cities,” which are local jurisdictions that have agreed not to comply with federal immigration regulations.<p></p>
<p>The resolution aims to exempt Kentucky from EPA regulations regarding
coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. Permitting for such
facilities would be done by the state, and Kentucky agencies would be
prohibited from collecting fines or penalties for violations of federal
regulations related to fossil fuel-fired power plants.</p>
<p>According to the Energy Information Administration, nearly 92% of
Kentucky’s electricity generation is powered by fossil fuels.
Hydroelectric accounted for 7% of the total generation, and renewable
energy provided 1%.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/kentucky-resolution-would-defy-epa-fossil-fuel-regs-sanctuary-cities-do">LINK </a><br /></p><p> </p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-61091190114226472762024-03-07T14:37:00.004-07:002024-03-07T14:42:11.434-07:00Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgPQwEyk-7LA5-0BA11k5oUp518hwzbot1z9Kt-OFtr7bNABWq7E9u8evbIZVSR_c5BrMPvs9LxNA7gmQh_gpwxmMsDGcQo8_Vz6fdtclDKm5PB-AzCJcW_u8s00LfH1VM0QF2itTJHz8DKzfdNJfgP3xAhdLVOGyqysiT3QfhReW4CKgCqhrnQ/s1158/2024-03-07_14-35-19.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1158" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgPQwEyk-7LA5-0BA11k5oUp518hwzbot1z9Kt-OFtr7bNABWq7E9u8evbIZVSR_c5BrMPvs9LxNA7gmQh_gpwxmMsDGcQo8_Vz6fdtclDKm5PB-AzCJcW_u8s00LfH1VM0QF2itTJHz8DKzfdNJfgP3xAhdLVOGyqysiT3QfhReW4CKgCqhrnQ/s320/2024-03-07_14-35-19.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid.</span><p></p><p><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In Georgia, demand for industrial power is surging to record highs, with the projection of new electricity use for the next decade now 17 times what it was only recently. Arizona Public Service, the largest utility in that state, is also struggling to keep up, projecting it will be out of transmission capacity before the end of the decade absent major upgrades.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a;">...The </span><a href="https://gridstrategiesllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/National-Load-Growth-Report-2023.pdf" style="border-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">soaring demand</a><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> is touching off a scramble to try to squeeze more juice out of an </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/11/08/power-grid-blackouts-texas/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5" style="border-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">aging power grid</a><span style="color: #2a2a2a;"> while pushing commercial customers to go to extraordinary lengths to lock down energy sources, such as building their own power plants.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">...The situation is sparking battles across the nation over who will pay for new power supplies, with regulators worrying that residential ratepayers could be stuck with the bill for costly upgrades. It also threatens to stifle the transition to cleaner energy, as utility executives lobby to delay the retirement of fossil fuel plants and bring more online. The power crunch imperils their ability to supply the energy that will be needed to charge the millions of electric cars and household appliances required to meet state and federal climate goals.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">...It is all happening at the same time the energy transition is steering large numbers of Americans to rely on the power grid to fuel vehicles, heat pumps, induction stoves and all manner of other household appliances that previously ran on fossil fuels. A huge amount of clean energy is also needed to create the green hydrogen championed by the White House, as developers rush to build plants that can produce the powerful zero-emissions fuel, lured by generous federal subsidies.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Planners are increasingly concerned that the grid won’t be green enough or powerful enough to meet these demands.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Already, soaring power consumption is delaying coal plant closures in </span><a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-06-16/evergy-slashes-its-plans-to-expand-renewable-energy-and-proposes-more-natural-gas" style="border-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">Kansas</a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">, </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nebraska-coal-fired-power-plant-latest-delay-closure-2022-08-19/#:~:text=The%20board%20of%20directors%20for,citing%20concerns%20about%20energy%20shortages." style="border-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">Nebraska</a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">, </span><a href="https://www.wpr.org/economy/utilities-say-wisconsin-coal-plants-will-operate-longer-due-covid-19-supply-constraints" style="border-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">Wisconsin</a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> and </span><a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2023/10/report-finds-dominion-and-santee-cooper-are-falling-short-customers-south#:~:text=In%20their%20more%20recently%20filed,burning%20well%20into%20the%20future." style="border-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">South Carolina</a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">...</span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">more</a></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-84966563100575882642024-03-06T13:16:00.000-07:002024-03-06T13:16:00.940-07:00Program to bring more women into wildland firefighting kicks off in Cibola National Forest<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1gaxB207-rYYA7Em_UZWx6XB9_HGKmzFS9j2X0mC0cL8FBj-Zi5Cqz3PevKsf5SyLTqDhHEXyv0f9eGUnVtj8gv3w4L5QmbbXYA_8dQmMXT1YoVM1lsjs05XOFO4h2QpAyPdyz1QMIY9VOUWD7kH6mgr7SYumJcLNZxStVWxcnxH7UjGN0g21Q/s300/65dd059d0ed94.image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="300" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1gaxB207-rYYA7Em_UZWx6XB9_HGKmzFS9j2X0mC0cL8FBj-Zi5Cqz3PevKsf5SyLTqDhHEXyv0f9eGUnVtj8gv3w4L5QmbbXYA_8dQmMXT1YoVM1lsjs05XOFO4h2QpAyPdyz1QMIY9VOUWD7kH6mgr7SYumJcLNZxStVWxcnxH7UjGN0g21Q/w200-h125/65dd059d0ed94.image.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">A four-day Women in Wildland Fire Camp will kick off Friday in the Cibola National Forest. Attendees will get hands-on training to become seasonal wildland firefighters as well as online training in advance of the field days. After completing the program, participants can become certified firefighters.</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">The long-running program has several camps in the Southwest, including in the Carson and Santa Fe national forests and Arizona’s Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino and Tonto national forests. The program has been around for over a decade, according to Brad Tausan, a district fire management officer for the Sandia Ranger District.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">“For participants, the intentional inclusion of women signals a safe space to learn and be among peers, encouraging people to explore a career in wildland fire management and natural resources that may be underrepresented in the workforce,” Tausan said...<a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/news/program-to-bring-more-women-into-wildland-firefighting-kicks-off-in-cibola-national-forest/article_e71778c8-d81a-11ee-9e2e-13c21e767e64.html">more</a></span></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-47740580807017955382024-03-06T12:29:00.000-07:002024-03-06T12:29:06.721-07:00Ex-BLM employee’s $10.7K fraud scheme included person flight to NM<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOz4x_iMMqfgd989enTAKpUY4BVF6hYfRNdiyDC5wgR1fLsx8kj2pjcIhzLT47TtAA5dt25olZwU1WW-Jx7cPgiN4TGYpITQYedUjRmjjF0RXFI85WStvByna7MA3bO4AL-CEVviaKudccufJpFjm9lElovXGuMBNs775Q5nv_l2ij_I4pN_s5dw/s311/cropped-Pin%CC%83on-Post-Logo.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="72" data-original-width="311" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOz4x_iMMqfgd989enTAKpUY4BVF6hYfRNdiyDC5wgR1fLsx8kj2pjcIhzLT47TtAA5dt25olZwU1WW-Jx7cPgiN4TGYpITQYedUjRmjjF0RXFI85WStvByna7MA3bO4AL-CEVviaKudccufJpFjm9lElovXGuMBNs775Q5nv_l2ij_I4pN_s5dw/s1600/cropped-Pin%CC%83on-Post-Logo.webp" width="311" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Adrian Anthony Aragon, a 52-year-old from Butte, Montana, and a former employee at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), acknowledged his involvement in a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/ex-bureau-land-management-employee-admits-stealing-forging-and-cashing-government-checks" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #28ac87; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">scheme</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">in which he illicitly acquired $10,700 from government resources, utilizing a colleague’s forged signature for personal gains.</span><p></p><div class="pinon-content" id="pinon-563470057" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As an administrative assistant at BLM, Aragon had access to official financial tools, including a government travel card and a purchase card, which were meant strictly for work-related expenses. </p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The indictment in the case said Aragon used the government cards to pay for $2,500 in pottery, a $622 personal flight to New Mexico and cash withdrawals. The government alleged he attempted additional cash withdrawals and also tried to rent a car using the government card while on personal vacation. Aragon tried to cover his tracks by doctoring the statement on the card for the pottery and the flight, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” <a href="https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/former-blm-employee-admits-stealing-10700-in-government-money/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #28ac87; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">wrote</a> the <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Daily Montanan...<a href="https://pinonpost.com/ex-blm-employees-10-7k-fraud-scheme-included-person-flight-to-nm/">more</a></em></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-63160536501739645202024-03-06T12:14:00.004-07:002024-03-06T12:14:33.765-07:00Mexican gray wolf numbers are on the rise in New Mexico<div class="subscriber-preview" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Fira Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvbEZ-Ag12BsLLvIppfpH99yUHBxhXeC6ycMNGrpSN30ABejpxw_lVRU_ZIgoPo1p4RgjZVrL8RBr2TtuKt4tix-DYk0JMcWU2KZUXKzMPk7FqyJM4KxAtBrClt4YZ90NJnJFcAxO8vm4xOaj5gFc3xv9xfdMe1kVK3L0wArxcpRt_oRqwX_eNg/s540/000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="540" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvbEZ-Ag12BsLLvIppfpH99yUHBxhXeC6ycMNGrpSN30ABejpxw_lVRU_ZIgoPo1p4RgjZVrL8RBr2TtuKt4tix-DYk0JMcWU2KZUXKzMPk7FqyJM4KxAtBrClt4YZ90NJnJFcAxO8vm4xOaj5gFc3xv9xfdMe1kVK3L0wArxcpRt_oRqwX_eNg/w140-h93/000.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>Mexican gray wolf numbers are on the rise in New Mexico, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement.<p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">The annual Mexican gray wolf census found at least 257 of the endangered wolves in New Mexico and Arizona, up 15 from the previous year. The count shows a 6% increase in the number of Mexican gray wolves living in the Southwest.</p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Fira Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.7em; margin: 0px 0px 24px;">There were 113 wolves in Arizona and 144 in New Mexico. In New Mexico, researchers found 36 wolf packs and 15 breeding pairs.</p></div><div class="tncms-region hidden-print" id="tncms-region-article_instory_top" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Fira Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div class="tncms-block top-breakout" id="tncms-block-3009988" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="tnt-ads-container text-center " style="box-sizing: border-box; min-height: 1px; text-align: center !important;"></div></div></div><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">“In the aggregate, the 2023 data points out that Mexican wolf recovery has come a long way since the first release,” said Jim deVos, Arizona Game and Fish Department Mexican wolf coordinator...<a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/news/how-many-mexican-gray-wolves-call-new-mexico-home/article_b5f77984-db2e-11ee-9fb3-bf07a4ea13af.html#1">more</a></span></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-76664701292733127842024-03-06T11:26:00.000-07:002024-03-06T11:26:05.211-07:00Red Bluff Round-Up cancels Cowgirls Breakaway Roping Competition<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy6RsrlQVzNiwEMJMq9tM-npNpyCEbyEI8vRNCLTPs4_PTRAVW3-LTeYrfAd4dARzAPh50FZmO_HS-NOiy7NVcRFCRuBPFaIKwKoNp98VVUECz5rqxmgp2uxMYpIkteCj86MJOncyG8VGOe03AtmngColSV9EZSxCu1vOjgpYVTAU9ZL6Dz-87Q/s919/853bd73d-8bbf-4d78-b559-5a696b704303-Breakawaycancelledheadline.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="919" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy6RsrlQVzNiwEMJMq9tM-npNpyCEbyEI8vRNCLTPs4_PTRAVW3-LTeYrfAd4dARzAPh50FZmO_HS-NOiy7NVcRFCRuBPFaIKwKoNp98VVUECz5rqxmgp2uxMYpIkteCj86MJOncyG8VGOe03AtmngColSV9EZSxCu1vOjgpYVTAU9ZL6Dz-87Q/w200-h108/853bd73d-8bbf-4d78-b559-5a696b704303-Breakawaycancelledheadline.webp" width="200" /></a> <span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px;">The Red Bluff Round-Up is canceling their Cowgirls Breakaway Roping event. Now, community members are asking them to reconsider.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin: 26px 0px;">In 2018, the Red Bluff Round-Up was one of the first California rodeos to bring breakaway roping events up to the professional level. This led a surge of rodeos across the state to do the same, and now members of the local rodeo community are worried it will be the first to get rid of it.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin: 26px 0px;">“In 2018, women traveled from all over to be able to rope at that rodeo," says Kaeley Owen. "In thanks for supporting them, they came to support the Round-Up and I think that that needs to be reciprocated."</p><p> ...<span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px;">The posts allege the cancellation was due to conflict between the Women's Professional Rodeo Association and one of the directors on the Red Bluff Roundup board over how much the payout for the breakaway roping competition should be. When reached for comment, the WPRA says they are working with the Roundup to resolve the issue and will release a statement on their response after a meeting later this week.</span> </p><p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px;">Stacy says the Roundup Board of Directors are convening a special meeting on Wednesday, March 6th, to discuss the issue again, and possibly revote on it.</span> ..<a href="https://krcrtv.com/news/local/red-bluff-round-up-cancels-cowgirls-breakaway-roping-competition">more</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://krcrtv.com/news/local/red-bluff-round-up-cancels-cowgirls-breakaway-roping-competition"><br /></a></div><a href="https://krcrtv.com/news/local/red-bluff-round-up-cancels-cowgirls-breakaway-roping-competition"><br />e </a> <p></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-82421902835732860242024-03-06T11:06:00.001-07:002024-03-07T13:04:57.232-07:00Ranch Radio Song of the Day<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Can you swing the boogie? Cecil Campbell and his Tennessee Ramblers sure think so with their Swingin' tune Midnight Boogie (1946).</span></p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/gDdEr-pmqT4?si=9b0FLYet2in3nzgY"> https://youtu.be/gDdEr-pmqT4?si=9b0FLYet2in3nzgY</a></p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gDdEr-pmqT4?si=9b0FLYet2in3nzgY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-84322773444728754852024-03-05T12:49:00.003-07:002024-03-05T12:49:54.958-07:00Covid Showed Us Who Really Rules America<p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Kzy-gHq2_Gvps4zutWh5e6xTfdGehDYo2s6XjBcp8haqxG11QX-zoxO3fP0XtwOTwA12IikF7-xza8zQCwxeTz_e-CfMxHFX439hN1yFMMsoCI8laEFt1RpQXz-CIVjjhyphenhyphen4RG1A-MIGrmIcEjHl-IAqTnlcopl2Nwj2eSCvhk6dg_HzdxiVCRQ/s650/faucimar.png.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="650" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Kzy-gHq2_Gvps4zutWh5e6xTfdGehDYo2s6XjBcp8haqxG11QX-zoxO3fP0XtwOTwA12IikF7-xza8zQCwxeTz_e-CfMxHFX439hN1yFMMsoCI8laEFt1RpQXz-CIVjjhyphenhyphen4RG1A-MIGrmIcEjHl-IAqTnlcopl2Nwj2eSCvhk6dg_HzdxiVCRQ/w150-h113/faucimar.png.webp" width="150" /></a></div>Ryan McMaken<p></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em;">This month marks the fourth anniversary of one of the most disastrous assaults on human rights in American history. It was on March 16, 2020 that the President Trump <a href="https://www.justice.gov/doj/page/file/1258511/download" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #00426b;">issued "guidelines"</a> for "15 days to slow the spread" which stated that "Governors of states with evidence of community transmission should close schools in affected and surrounding areas." The administration instructed all members of the public to "listen to and follow the directions of your state and local authorities."</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 1.25em 0px;">It was at this time that an American president, for the first time in American history, introduced the idea that it was possible—and perfectly legal—for government institutions to "close down" the economy by forcibly shutting countless businesses, schools, and churches. Trump stated repeatedly in press conferences that it was up to government officials to decide "if we open up." It quickly became standard procedure for health bureaucrats, governors, and media figures to casually speak of "closing the economy" or "opening up" as if we were talking about a coffee shop deciding on closing time.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 1.25em 0px;">Meanwhile, across the country, local law enforcement officers willingly worked to arrest or harass business owners, worshipers at church, and soccer moms at the park, and anyone else with the temerity to venture outdoors for activities not approved by the ruling class. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 1.25em 0px;">The small minority of Americans that remained committed to human rights and private property soon discovered how powerless they really are. Many dissenters were dismayed by a lack of action from the courts, and how elected officials were apparently unwilling or unable to rein in the vast new powers of "health" officials. Was there nothing that could limit the state's power? This was confusing for many people because many have been (and remain) enamored of the idea that written constitutions limit state power when it matters most. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 1.25em 0px;">Many dissenters learned a valuable lesson from the experience, however: during the Covid Panic of 2020 and 2021, it became abundantly clear how little constitutional government and the so-called "rule of law" actually limit a regime's power in times of perceived emergency. It is during emergencies, in fact, when we learn who<em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box;"> really</em> holds political power, and how ineffective are constitutional measures designed to limit it.</p><h4 style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 66 107/var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 1.5em 0px 0.5em;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit;">True Power Is Revealed by Emergencies </span></h4><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em;">As the Covid Panic revealed to us, the real, de facto ruling class is the executive state which effortlessly ruled by decree during the covid crisis. This ruling clique—an oligarchy of governors, academic "experts," media billionaires, and countless nameless and faceless unelected bureaucrats—has illustrated in recent years how irrelevant elected lawmakers can be to the use of political power.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em;">...These scholars recognized that political power in times of emergencies falls back on individual <em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box;">persons</em> who are unconcerned with abstract limits on their power. This is fundamentally at odds with the abstractions of the constitutionalists who imagine that the written law will somehow restrain the very real ruling class in these periods. Put another way: the regime is not a neutral collection of institutions seeking to carry out some idea of constitutional government. Rather, the regime is composed of individuals who are motivated to exercise power to the fullest extent possible. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: #3b82f680; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Myriad Pro", san-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://mises.org/mises-wire/covid-showed-us-who-really-rules-america">READ ENTIRE POST</a></b></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-1260576201313265252024-03-04T13:44:00.001-07:002024-03-04T13:44:14.424-07:00Biden administration ADMITS illegal migrant secret flying program that has transported over 320,000 has national security 'vulnerabilities'<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuY9DxPUDo_lLcbHEJmInvS0dMNNG8ocyE6k499a-z0c6FgLPLpXxus4V-GX4a96IFtAl_0mXlc5HDepCcyWKnn0qS_BZHbZLqJaKQUPHT3-pesBX_732rXq5a1PCXnzFNXP2Nt0swso8GisMJHe4iEVEuEaGpBX0cn0OC4MJ5oaue9GWTd248w/s550/2024-03-04_13-41-57.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="550" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuY9DxPUDo_lLcbHEJmInvS0dMNNG8ocyE6k499a-z0c6FgLPLpXxus4V-GX4a96IFtAl_0mXlc5HDepCcyWKnn0qS_BZHbZLqJaKQUPHT3-pesBX_732rXq5a1PCXnzFNXP2Nt0swso8GisMJHe4iEVEuEaGpBX0cn0OC4MJ5oaue9GWTd248w/w121-h81/2024-03-04_13-41-57.png" width="121" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px;">Lawyers for President</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px;"> </span><span data-track-module="internal-body-link" style="font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1em !important; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/joe-biden/index.html" id="mol-d1067cd0-da56-11ee-a353-d764120fd5f2" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">Joe Biden</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px;">'s immigration agencies admit disclosing locations of secret migrant flights would open up potential vulnerabilities.</span><p></p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">Customs and Border Protection refuses to disclose information about a program last year secretly chartering flights of thousands of undocumented immigrants from foreign airports directly to U.S. cities.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">This means that while record numbers of migrants were flowing over the southern border last year, the Biden <span data-track-module="internal-body-link" style="font-size: 1em !important; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/white-house/index.html" id="mol-d11f0de0-da56-11ee-a353-d764120fd5f2" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">White House</a></span> was also directly transporting them into the country despite them holding no legal status.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">Use of a cell phone app has allowed for the near undetected air import of 320,000 <span data-track-module="internal-body-link" style="font-size: 1em !important; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/aliens/index.html" id="mol-d118cc50-da56-11ee-a353-d764120fd5f2" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">aliens</a></span> with no legal rights to enter the United States.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">It comes off the back of <span data-track-module="internal-body-link" style="font-size: 1em !important; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10724219/Biden-administration-RESUMES-secret-charter-flights-migrants-Southern-border.html" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">controversy over a 2022 transportation program</a></span> where the administration took heat for <span data-track-module="internal-body-link" style="font-size: 1em !important; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10826917/Feds-using-secret-charter-flights-relocate-migrants-cities-US.html" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">using taxpayers money to overnight flights of migrants</a></span> throughout the country. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, <a class="class" href="https://cis.org/Bensman/Government-Admission-Biden-Parole-Flights-Create-Security-Vulnerabilities-US-Airports" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="color: #003580; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the Center for Immigration Studies found</a> Biden's CBP approved the secretive flights that transported hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from foreign countries into at least 43 different American airports from January through December 2023.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">The program was part of Biden's expansion of the CBP One app, which kicked off at the start of last year.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">Migrants were able, under Biden's expansion, to apply for asylum using a cell phone app – called CBP One – from their home countries. But the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) notes that the transportation of these migrants directly to the U.S. is one of the lesser known uses of this application.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">Aliens who cannot legally enter the U.S. use CBP One to apply for travel authorization and temporary humanitarian release from those airports.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="background-color: white; font-family: graphik, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; min-height: 0px; padding: 0px;">Under this parole release, migrants are able to remain in the U.S. for two years without obtaining legal status and meanwhile are eligible for work authorization in the country...<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13155765/biden-illegal-migrant-flying-program-national-security-vulnerability.html">more</a></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-5226245657220276792024-03-04T13:23:00.001-07:002024-03-07T13:06:21.659-07:00Hooves & Horns<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRde1vAPNAO74G_wkU1sHAHMbfMX4RMNkMb8wgY4dH1OfOxPk3OAW9Z0VB-Bj3anN1Kl0l4i7h24hitBxBkGeM7AtdXhezISetdH118wxWY6twqmr4q8ohsFFQNQl7rfQxgnaP3v5BNoHpscvRfaobIItmu15P0S5CmvXPbvPLo_ZHR4beIcHjw/s540/431017998_711904927793016_1900345140832580373_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="502" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRde1vAPNAO74G_wkU1sHAHMbfMX4RMNkMb8wgY4dH1OfOxPk3OAW9Z0VB-Bj3anN1Kl0l4i7h24hitBxBkGeM7AtdXhezISetdH118wxWY6twqmr4q8ohsFFQNQl7rfQxgnaP3v5BNoHpscvRfaobIItmu15P0S5CmvXPbvPLo_ZHR4beIcHjw/w371-h400/431017998_711904927793016_1900345140832580373_n.jpg" width="371" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-1260200000284160162024-03-03T20:47:00.001-07:002024-03-03T23:15:16.541-07:00DuBois column - Designations and access again<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFrDYqn8_IY2d_onMF0KyWPf53fo-qMFEQdFuk8z9nIBBS7ZHfNjpu8_41AMSk27z5lxeEZW5voQIaqCAP_v59oQKOC-BBwNvlDYyYSpOagH0noDkqp_kPQoyJM0nexb9uKizvedHTc8-dsRVu9yffrZzYHZ-8skce_zk6YVMjiqQMXA0OMgVcw/s595/dubois%20photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="595" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFrDYqn8_IY2d_onMF0KyWPf53fo-qMFEQdFuk8z9nIBBS7ZHfNjpu8_41AMSk27z5lxeEZW5voQIaqCAP_v59oQKOC-BBwNvlDYyYSpOagH0noDkqp_kPQoyJM0nexb9uKizvedHTc8-dsRVu9yffrZzYHZ-8skce_zk6YVMjiqQMXA0OMgVcw/s320/dubois%20photo.PNG" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Designations
and access…again<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The ink hadn’t dried on last month’s column when the BLM had
to go and prove me…right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I had written of the various land use designations such as
wilderness and national monument and how they were acts of exclusion. Beware, I
wrote, of any politician or other official who argued they were necessary to
guarantee your access, where I said just the opposite would be the case, that
you would have less access than before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
let’s turn to the BLM and the Sonoran Desert National Monument. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This national monument was proclaimed in 2001
by Bill Clinton and contains </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">485,791 acres of BLM-managed federal lands in
Maricopa and Pinal counties.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is the relevance of all this to my thesis that these land
use designations will result in less access?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="gntarbp" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The BLM has just proposed an amendment to its resource
management plan for the monument to reduce the share of land where recreational
target shooting is allowed from about 90% to roughly 1%. Currently, target
shooting is permitted on 435,700 acres of the monument, but the amendment would
reduce that area to 5,295 of its 486,400 acres.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="gntarbp" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Pre-national monument designation, target shooting was
authorized on 435,700 acres. Post-national monument designation, target
shooting will be allowed on 5,295 acres. Pre-designation, 9o percent of the
area was available for target shooting. Post-designation approximately 1
percent is available.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="gntarbp" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">I would say that is a pretty stark comparison of before and
after.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="gntarbp" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 10.5pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Endangered species at 50<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="gntarbp" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has turned 50 and several of
the federal agencies are out celebrating this and touting the accomplishments
resulting from passage of the act.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="gntarbp" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 10.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: #303030; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">However, Jonathan H. Adler has some questions about that. Adler
is a professor of law and the director of the Coleman P. Burke Center for
Environmental Law at Case Western Reserve University. In a paper, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Tarnished Gold: The Endangered Species
Act at 50, </span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Adler summarizes some of his findings and conclusions:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In terms of the Act's failure to conserve species, here are a
few salient points discussed in the paper.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The ESA's stated purpose is to "conserve" those
species listed as endangered or threatened, and expressly defines conservation
of species as bringing populations to the point at which the Act's protections
are no longer necessary. Thus, looking at the Act's success (or failure) to
recover species is evaluating the Act on its own terms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since Congress enacted the ESA, the number of species listed as
threatened or endangered has steadily grown. As of October 2023, there were
2,388 listed animal and plant species, 1,690 of which are present in the United
States.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since 1973, only 127 species—only 5 percent of listed
species—have been delisted. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, 32 were
delisted because they went extinct and 22 were erroneously listed in the first
place. Thus only 73 of the delistings are classified by the FWS as recoveries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of the 73 species listed as recovered, 12 are foreign species,
which lie outside of the U.S. government's regulatory jurisdiction, some
species were (de)listed more than once (e.g. three separate domestic
populations of Humpback whales were listed and delisted separately), and 20 are
plants, which are not subject to the same degree of regulatory protection as
are endangered animals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of the domestic animal species delisted, several are listed as
ESA success stories that either should not have been listed in the first place,
or that recovered for reasons other than the ESA' regulatory interventions
(e.g. due to exogenous factors or direct acquisition of habitat). Indeed, it is
not clear there is a single ESA recovery that can be credited to the ESA's
regulation of habitat on private land.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Not a glowing report on the ESA.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Until next time, be a nuisance to the devil and don’t forget
to check that cinch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Frank DuBois was the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to
2003, is the author of a blog: The Westerner (</span></i><a href="http://www.thewesterner.blogspot.com/"><i><span style="background: white; color: blue; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">www.thewesterner.blogspot.com</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">) and is the founder
of The DuBois Rodeo Scholarship and The DuBois Western Heritage Foundation</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-14343353807995870272024-03-03T20:45:00.002-07:002024-03-03T23:09:57.907-07:00Hundreds of thousands of fall-run chinook salmon have reportedly died following their release into the Klamath River.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu1QeG5DW8HQcZ39yG-rgSZh7jVJh6ZMgJtzFPeAoRi70SygZ0-9swjiw8Ktnv1Y9VHArYFvyE_CjmW-yjjj7SY1Z1e3kZkP5H64Y8ut3PM5INp2xpgduiqnVP37IirbVPCDwUE3l9MiX7v2TtEpsRwJ7LpWfw4FvFiXiQjHHhEB9u07d4d3Ttw/s1024/af9de94f-dcba-4448-866b-99e530afa6ff-large16x9_krcrdam.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu1QeG5DW8HQcZ39yG-rgSZh7jVJh6ZMgJtzFPeAoRi70SygZ0-9swjiw8Ktnv1Y9VHArYFvyE_CjmW-yjjj7SY1Z1e3kZkP5H64Y8ut3PM5INp2xpgduiqnVP37IirbVPCDwUE3l9MiX7v2TtEpsRwJ7LpWfw4FvFiXiQjHHhEB9u07d4d3Ttw/w166-h94/af9de94f-dcba-4448-866b-99e530afa6ff-large16x9_krcrdam.webp" width="166" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px;">Hundreds of thousands of fall-run chinook salmon have reportedly died following their release into the Klamath River.</span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin: 26px 0px;"><a class="themeColorForLinks" href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CNRA/bulletins/38e6537" style="color: #1b89ff; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CNRA/bulletins/38e6537">The California Department of Fish and Wildlife</a> says that, on Monday, they released roughly 830,000 fall-run Chinook salmon into Fall Creek, which feeds into the Klamath River. Those fish traveled south, past the Iron Gate Dam, where they began to die off in large droves.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #121212; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; margin: 26px 0px;">Upon analysis, the CDFW says the deaths were caused by <a class="themeColorForLinks" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9289892/#:~:text=Abstract,especially%20in%20spring%2D%2Fgroundwater." style="color: #1b89ff; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9289892/#:~:text=Abstract,especially%20in%20spring%2D%2Fgroundwater.">gas bubble disease</a>, which occurs when fish experience a drastic change in pressure. The CDFW believes the fish contracted the disease while passing through the Iron Gate Dam's tunnel which, the agency claims, is "old infrastructure" that is set to be<a class="themeColorForLinks" href="https://krcrtv.com/news/local/deconstruction-of-klamath-river-dam-underway" style="color: #1b89ff; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://krcrtv.com/news/local/deconstruction-of-klamath-river-dam-underway"> deconstructed later this year.</a>..<a href="https://krcrtv.com/news/local/hundreds-of-thousands-of-fish-found-dead-in-klamath-river">more</a></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-20093961163966716752024-03-03T20:45:00.001-07:002024-03-03T20:45:29.555-07:00A top Colorado farming region is running out of water, must retire land to avoid well shutdown<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzWPlk2-2eYtQsmG4wI83X-MKR6n4XyUTSXVBE2yDFe0cq27fS-B9udhZG30t6UhLKVdX3Z6sexFkddq4rU8a7M_DuYucaezOT-urZi4egTHZGz2y2gAyqS0zLjbmZbpDlX1urWu77UKBvssn4Yz2GgZnUQvwYVqWI2j18PVz04MNpuCQ0WnGfw/s534/BB1jfKQh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="534" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzWPlk2-2eYtQsmG4wI83X-MKR6n4XyUTSXVBE2yDFe0cq27fS-B9udhZG30t6UhLKVdX3Z6sexFkddq4rU8a7M_DuYucaezOT-urZi4egTHZGz2y2gAyqS0zLjbmZbpDlX1urWu77UKBvssn4Yz2GgZnUQvwYVqWI2j18PVz04MNpuCQ0WnGfw/w200-h129/BB1jfKQh.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>For decades, farmers in the Republican River basin have pumped water
from the underground Ogallala Aquifer to grow wheat, beans, corn,
potatoes, and feed for cattle and hogs. But the water is running out.
Flows in the Republican River system are shrinking as the aquifer
depletes, making it harder for Colorado to send enough water downstream
to the east to fulfill its agreements with Kansas and Nebraska.<p></p><p>To meet its obligations, Colorado is legally required to stop irrigating
25,000 acres in the southern part of the basin by the end of 2029 —
more than a quarter of all irrigated acreage in that area. If the
mandate is not met, state water officials say they will turn off wells
for all 540,000 irrigated acres in the broader swath of the state that’s
in the river basin, a move that would devastate the region’s economy
and way of life.</p><p>Groundwater from the aquifer makes irrigated farming possible across a large part of Colorado’s Eastern Plains that <a data-t="{"n":"destination","t":13,"b":1,"c.t":7}" href="http://republicanriver.org/the-states/state-of-colorado" target="_blank">spans about 7,000 square miles</a>
across eight counties — an area the size of New Jersey. In 2022, the
counties produced more than $2.6 billion worth of agricultural products,
according to <a data-t="{"n":"destination","t":13,"b":1,"c.t":7}" href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2022/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_County_Level/Colorado/st08_2_001_001.pdf" target="_blank">the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s farm census</a>.</p><p>The state has made some progress, but even if it meets the 25,000-acre goal, the aquifer’s water level is still declining...<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/a-top-colorado-farming-region-is-running-out-of-water-must-retire-land-to-avoid-well-shutdown/ar-BB1jfIgA">more</a> <br /></p><p> <br /></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-7000528329271215752024-03-03T20:44:00.000-07:002024-03-03T20:44:31.692-07:00Chinese gangs are behind THOUSANDS of illegal weed farms across the US - sparking fears that CCP could become new cannabis kingpins<p> </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNLwxVveWpxd47T8k7cIl-mIaKWqwHopsTg3wq_qL4lwsYYryTh6eNMHiEKz9Wt0t2JX-9XJ9U-U-CzUK2-ikfEGH_KsHVy64xm0y823ndlx1oKJuNq-fgXiqjPOccuMGBRdw9AI1uwrFbm0NYu4dZZlphXtPSYUlBT1bFQuCrZ6OEv5BpN2zRA/s1010/2024-03-03_20-31-05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="1010" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNLwxVveWpxd47T8k7cIl-mIaKWqwHopsTg3wq_qL4lwsYYryTh6eNMHiEKz9Wt0t2JX-9XJ9U-U-CzUK2-ikfEGH_KsHVy64xm0y823ndlx1oKJuNq-fgXiqjPOccuMGBRdw9AI1uwrFbm0NYu4dZZlphXtPSYUlBT1bFQuCrZ6OEv5BpN2zRA/s320/2024-03-03_20-31-05.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Worker at an illegal New Mexico weed farm that was shut down </div><br />Chinese gangs have set up thousands of
illicit weed farms across the US as they begin to challenge Mexican
cartels for supremacy as America's cannabis kingpins.<p></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Authorities in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/oklahoma/index.html" id="mol-bc1fa900-d749-11ee-9031-3f051c2f3152" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Oklahoma</a></span>, <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/oregon/index.html" id="mol-bc1fd010-d749-11ee-9031-3f051c2f3152" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Oregon</a></span>, <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/california/index.html" id="mol-bc1e2260-d749-11ee-9031-3f051c2f3152" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">California</a></span>, New <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/mexico/index.html" id="mol-bc1f81f0-d749-11ee-9031-3f051c2f3152" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Mexico</a></span> and <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/maine/index.html" id="mol-bc1f5ae0-d749-11ee-9031-3f051c2f3152" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Maine</a></span> have all been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms, with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
spread is seemingly uncontainable, with police in Penobscot County,
Maine, last week arresting three Chinese nationals at a weed farm and
seizing 40 pounds of the drug alongside $4,700 in cash.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">It is thought to be one of around 270
illegal weed farms worth more than $4billion that have sprung up across
the state since it legalized the drug in 2020.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Local law enforcement has carried out multiple busts already this year. <br /></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Meanwhile, around 2,000 'suspicious' marijuana plants in Oklahoma have been linked to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/china/index.html" id="mol-bc1ebea0-d749-11ee-9031-3f051c2f3152" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">China</a></span>, accounting for two thirds of weed farms under surveillance, state narcotics police told <a class="class" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/illicit-cannabis-china-00086125" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Politico</a>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Earlier
this month, a Chinese ringleader was sentenced to life in prison after
pleading guilty to fatally shooting four people at an illegal medical
marijuana operation in Oklahoma.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Mexican
cartels have long dominated the market for illegal weed in the US, but
officials are now warning that Chinese funding for such operations is
skyrocketing...<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13142343/Chinese-gangs-THOUSANDS-illegal-weed-farms-sparking-fears-CCP-new-cannabis-kingpins.html">more</a></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-29122657298601956232024-03-02T19:42:00.000-07:002024-03-02T19:42:15.258-07:00now they call it...<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNgQ7A27ZQfa6WMxmyTmmun8F0KLpdUlvBuHAX1FRtrkzEuwvXxg2Y5BqddetpRne1KehVVwFbL__K4hpJkASLk9Zhmd0iq7N13BjGpotEORNLMzw3wg-BIbLF5ktOZdVH1wh3JgJN_O7NeAwfDQlrG696vsvY9LA46DKFEsdSEABMukHzsBZFQ/s743/430744760_10221905053049349_2807769257528007391_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="639" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNgQ7A27ZQfa6WMxmyTmmun8F0KLpdUlvBuHAX1FRtrkzEuwvXxg2Y5BqddetpRne1KehVVwFbL__K4hpJkASLk9Zhmd0iq7N13BjGpotEORNLMzw3wg-BIbLF5ktOZdVH1wh3JgJN_O7NeAwfDQlrG696vsvY9LA46DKFEsdSEABMukHzsBZFQ/s320/430744760_10221905053049349_2807769257528007391_n.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5748604.post-90534453607400918632024-03-02T18:58:00.002-07:002024-03-02T19:47:30.698-07:00Here’s why Americans drive on the right and the UK drives on the left<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUBmTLuU-RHBqUfKixy3RJfDt6i1H7rus4cpscO9sUxPd9zsnC7gZaEcw3-CEmNlpOjfuK_-fFKYM7TlNw0Yh6fIbqSX9FrtkobdUnKaKTr7l1qUVYN1_uMzKeCdc_BfM4sQVgoGIZ-LUWKPoUy76-TrqJUZ5buMfueEFtI1ePolnWPPd3uu0Ig/s1015/conestoga-wagon-copy.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="1015" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYUBmTLuU-RHBqUfKixy3RJfDt6i1H7rus4cpscO9sUxPd9zsnC7gZaEcw3-CEmNlpOjfuK_-fFKYM7TlNw0Yh6fIbqSX9FrtkobdUnKaKTr7l1qUVYN1_uMzKeCdc_BfM4sQVgoGIZ-LUWKPoUy76-TrqJUZ5buMfueEFtI1ePolnWPPd3uu0Ig/s320/conestoga-wagon-copy.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br />...<span face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">These big wagons, with their tall, arched cloth roofs, became icons of
America’s westward expansion as they carried the belongings of pioneers from
the east out to the frontier. Back in the early 1700s, though, western
Pennsylvania was the distant frontier.</span><p></p>
<p class="paragraph" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clt8wf9yc0000356hij6yh70o@published" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--theme-paragraph__font-size--from-small); left: calc(-543px + 50vw); line-height: var(--theme-paragraph__line-height--from-small); margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; max-width: 676px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">Conestoga wagons were developed by local carpenters and
blacksmiths to carry goods, including farm produce and items bartered from
Native Americans, to markets in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was, at the time,
one of the biggest cities in the colonies. The wagon driver could ride one of
the horses or sit on a “lazy board” that slid out of the side of the wagon. But
when more active control was needed, he walked alongside the horses, pulling
levers and ropes. “He would give the verbal command, ‘Gee’, ‘Haul,’ or
whatever, and they would hear that,” Stehman said. “He would also maybe tug on
this (leather ‘jerk line’) once or twice.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clt4u1um1000o3b6hael0u4g7@published" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--theme-paragraph__font-size--from-small); left: calc(-543px + 50vw); line-height: var(--theme-paragraph__line-height--from-small); margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; max-width: 676px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">I imagined myself walking down a long dusty trail leading
a team of horses pulling this blue-painted wagon. I’m right-handed, like most
people. For just that reason, Conestoga wagons had the controls on the left
side, close to the wagon driver’s right hand. That meant the driver was toward
the middle of the road and the wagon to the right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clt357qbe000c3b6he5dwp5eu@published" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--theme-paragraph__font-size--from-small); left: calc(-543px + 50vw); line-height: var(--theme-paragraph__line-height--from-small); margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; max-width: 676px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">Eventually, there was so much trade and traffic between
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia that America’s first major
highway was created. The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road opened in
1795. Among the rules written into its charter, according the book “Ways of the
World ” by M.G. Lay, was that all traffic had to stay to the right — just like
the Conestoga wagons did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" data-analytics-observe="off" data-article-gutter="true" data-component-name="paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clt37c47q000e3b6hvg3yp2bp@published" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: var(--theme-paragraph__font-size--from-small); left: calc(-543px + 50vw); line-height: var(--theme-paragraph__line-height--from-small); margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; max-width: 676px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="letter-spacing: 0.3pt;">In 1804, New York became the first state to dictate
traffic stay to the right on all roads and highways...<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/02/business/why-americans-drive-on-the-right-and-the-british-on-the-left/index.html?bt_ts=1709424706170&utm_term=170942470616805ed70273ec6&utm_medium=email&bt_ee=iF2gbilP%2BEhugWSDRYhmPwNrWjgfy%2B1cDycR%2BIFAYeJhTIRaaaBfuuJ3sSCZMY8n&utm_source=cnn_In+Case+You+Missed+It+-+ICYMI&bt_alias=eyJ1c2VySWQiOiAiODk0MjE5YmYtNmM4Yi00ZmQwLThlOTAtN2M5ZmQ1NGE1MTMwIn0%3D">more</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="letter-spacing: 0.3pt;"> </span></p>
<picture class="image__picture" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; display: contents; height: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; width: 100%;"><source height="1628" media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/gettyimages-3347716.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source><source height="1628" media="(min-width: 960px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/gettyimages-3347716.jpg?q=w_1015,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source><source height="1628" media="(min-width: 480px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/gettyimages-3347716.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<picture class="image__picture" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; display: contents; height: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; width: 100%;"><source height="1500" media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/conestoga-wagon-copy.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source><source height="1500" media="(min-width: 960px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/conestoga-wagon-copy.jpg?q=w_1015,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source><source height="1500" media="(min-width: 480px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/conestoga-wagon-copy.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source></picture></picture><div class="image image__hide-placeholder image--eq-extra-small image--eq-small" data-breakpoints="{"image--eq-extra-small": 115, "image--eq-small": 300}" data-component-name="image" data-editable="settings" data-image-variation="image" data-name="conestoga_wagon-copy.jpg" data-observe-resizes="" data-original-height="1500" data-original-ratio="0.75" data-original-width="2000" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/image/instances/clt7s4tey00023b6hj34flfv2@published" data-url="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/conestoga-wagon-copy.jpg?c=original" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-bottom: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 32px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; width: 748.13px;"><div class="image__container" data-breakpoints="{"image--eq-extra-small": 115, "image--eq-small": 300, "image--show-credits": 596}" data-image-variation="image" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; margin-bottom: auto; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><picture class="image__picture" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; display: contents; height: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; width: 100%;"><source height="1500" media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/conestoga-wagon-copy.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source><source height="1500" media="(min-width: 960px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/conestoga-wagon-copy.jpg?q=w_1015,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source><source height="1500" media="(min-width: 480px)" srcset="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/conestoga-wagon-copy.jpg?q=w_1160,c_fill/f_webp" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: cnn_sans_display, helveticaneue, Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" type="image/webp" width="2000"></source></picture></div></div>Frank DuBoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078935296275462544noreply@blogger.com0