Interior won’t fight ruling on nuclear site

The federal government has decided not to fight a court ruling that might allow the Skull Valley Goshute Indians to revive their plans to store reactor waste on their Tooele County reservation. Two months ago, U.S. District Judge David M. Ebel threw out a pair of U.S. Interior Department decisions that, in effect, led many Utahns to believe that the storage site plans were dead four years ago. Interior officials’ decision to pass up on an appeal by Friday’s deadline has angered Utah leaders, who had urged the agency to vigorously contest the ruling. With the feds’ inaction, the issues in dispute now return to the agency “for further consideration” in light of the judge’s ruling. A spokeswoman for Gov. Gary Herbert said he believes it is inappropriate to have high-level nuclear waste stored 50 miles from downtown Salt Lake City. Tim Vollmann, an attorney for the Goshutes, noted Ebel’s ruling repeatedly called Interior’s decisions “arbitrary and capricious” — that is “unlawful.” The decision not to fight the court’s determination, he said, signaled the Interior Department’s attorneys must have agreed an appeal was doomed...more

Feds Find Gunnison Sage Grouse Imperiled, But Deny Endangered Species Act Protection

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the Gunnison sage grouse warrants Endangered Species Act protection, but that listing is precluded by higher priority actions and lack of resources to finalize a listing rule. The grouse will now become a candidate species under the Act, offering it no formal protection. The decision continues an unfortunate trend by the Obama administration of failing to list species its own biologists have determined to be imperiled. “Here we go again,” said Mark Salvo, director of the Sagebrush Sea Campaign for WildEarth Guardians. “The government has now determined that greater sage grouse, Mono Basin sage grouse, the Columbia Basin population and now Gunnison sage grouse all warrant protection under the ESA, but hasn’t listed any of them.” The Fish and Wildlife Service previously decided that Gunnison sage grouse were not warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act in April 2006. However, upon further review, the agency agreed to promulgate a new listing decision today. Historic and current population trends and threats support listing the bird under the Act...Press Release

What Are Species Worth? Putting a Price on Biodiversity

We live in what is paradoxically a great age of discovery and also of mass extinction. Astonishing new species turn up daily, as new roads and new technologies penetrate formerly remote habitats. And species also vanish forever, at what scientists estimate to be 100 to 1,000 times the normal rate of extinction. Over the past few years, as I was working on a book about the history of species discovery, I often found myself coming back to a fundamental question: Why do species matter? That is, why should ordinary people care if scientists discover one species or pronounce the demise of another? It may seem too obvious to need asking. In certain limited contexts, people clearly do care. We will go to great lengths to protect a boutique species like the giant panda, for instance. We also thrill to the possibility of finding the slightest microbial hint of life in outer space, hardly blinking when the U.S. government spends $7 billion a year largely for that purpose. Meanwhile, we spend pennies exploring the alien life forms that are all around us here on Earth. Maybe it’s just human nature not to value — or even see — the thing that’s right in front of our faces. And maybe it’s also a failure of communication. We need to understand that our lives depend on species we have never heard of. That is, scientists may need to explain their work on a far more basic level — not “Why do species matter?” but “Is food important to you?” or “Do you want your children to have effective medicines when they get sick?” or even “Do you like to breathe?” None of these questions overstates the importance of species...more

Monarch Butterfly Migration to Mexico Begins

The monarch butterfly migration started this week, and thousands of the black and orange insects have started the journey to Mexico. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is the only species to migrate, as they find winters in the north too cold to survive. Other butterflies spend the winter as larvae or in hibernation. According to the Lincoln Courier on Monday, numerous monarchs were spotted throughout Illinois as they migrated. The butterflies have been spotted in other states including Kansas, reports say. “There must have been thousands,” Vern LaGesse, who works in Menard County, Illinous, told the Courier on Monday. “They were covering the stiff goldenrod flowers.” Some monarchs travel nearly 3,000 miles to their destination in central Mexico, resting on oyamel fir trees in mountainous forests, about two miles above sea level. The Forest Service says that the insects can migrate between 50 and 100 miles per day...more

Alert issued after 3 bitten by foxes

After three people were bitten by foxes suspected of being rabid this month, the Allegheny County Health Department issued an alert to all county residents to avoid the animals as well as raccoons. Two of the incidents were described as surprise attacks. A man from Plum was bitten by a fox as he was cutting brush in a wooded area near his home. A man from Monroeville was bitten while washing his car in the driveway. A man was scratched while breaking up a fight in his Forest Hills front yard between his dog and a fox. Because the foxes escaped, they couldn't be tested for rabies, so the victims are being treated with vaccines. A fourth fox was found dead on a Monroeville road and tested positive for rabies...more

Stimulus Waste? $3.4 million Turtle Tunnel and $554,763 for Forest Service Windows

Lynn R. Mitchell at the Washington Examiner picks just 8 projects to prove her point:

- The sidewalk to nowhere - $89,298: A small town in Oklahoma received stimulus money to replace a quarter-mile stretch of sidewalk that was replaced only five years ago. The sidewalk reportedly "led to a ditch."

- Studying and photographing ants - $1.9 million: Yes, that's right ... $1.9 million was given by the federal government to the California Academy of Sciences so they could send researchers to the Southwest Indian Ocean Islands and east Africa to "capture, photograph and analyze thousands of exotic ants." The information is to be used to catalog the thousands of ant species throughout the world. Helpful? For some people, yes, but should it qualify for tax money?

- Forest Service to replace windows in closed visitor center - $554,763: The visitor center at Mount St. Helens in Washington state was closed in 2007 and has no plans to reopen. However, the government designated half-a-million dollars of stimulus money to replace the windows, a prime example of misdirected funds. I know ... it's mind-boggling.

- Snowmaking and chairlifts for Mt. Snow, VT - $25 million: How does a ski resort qualify for federal help? Mt. Snow, the "gateway to Vermont," will use stimulus money to replace chairlifts, construct a 120-million-gallon storage pond for snowmaking, and install additional snowmaking guns. I have nothing against Vermont but we have ski resorts in Virginia that would probably like to have $25 million handed over for improvements.

- "Greening" of Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Va - $50.9 million: This is a building that cost several million dollars to build in the 1970s. The stimulus money will be used to replace windows and the heating/cooling system. No money, however, will be used on needs of individual tenants, and the building's largest tenant is not planning to return to the building after the green renovation.

- Scientist attempts to create joke machine - $712,883: Northwestern University researchers want to develop "machine-generated humor" with almost three-quarter of a million dollars of your tax money. That certainly is not funny to fiscally conservative taxpayers.

- Turtle tunnel - $3.4 million: Florida plans to build a 13-foot long tunnel under U.S. Highway 27 to provide safe passage for turtles and other animals to avoid squashed creatures in the roadway. By my estimate that's a cost of approximately $262,000 per foot of tunnel. Want to make bets on how many turtles miss the tunnel and still end up becoming speed bumps on the road?

- Smokers and smartphones - $497,893: Smokers in DC who want to quit may receive a smartphone so they can contact their “stop smoking” support group to prevent relapses, thanks to stimulus funds going to the American Legacy Foundation. That's half-a-million dollars from taxpayers to provide smartphones. I don't know about you but my old cell phone is just that ... old, battered, and still being used. It is a bit like a kick to head to know that my hard-earned tax dollars are being used for others to own smartphones.

Chainsaw Art

THE chainsaw seems an unlikely tool for making art. But along Route 1 in the upper-reaches of coastal Maine, Ray Murphy uses nothing else, taming the saw to create a host of sylvan inspired pieces—black bears, squirrels and eagles—and a scruffy fisherman with a pipe, a bestseller. So unlikely is the association between carving and the chainsaw that Murphy adamantly refers to himself as a sawyer. His tool of choice prevented him from entering a woodcarving exhibition a few decades ago. The grudge persists. Yet the chainsaw does well for Murphy; he’s sold thousands of pieces and puts on a live chainsaw art and entertainment show. The programme advertises numerous unrivalled feats, including sawing numbers one to 17 on a toothpick and the alphabet on a pencil. A few of these are recognised by "Ripley’s Believe it or Not", which granted Ray’s roadside trade some national notoriety. It seemed only natural that More Intelligent Life caught up with him over a can of Pepsi in his sawdust-encrusted shop...more

Song Of The Day #416

Ranch Radio will step out of it's normal venue this week. Put these in the category of "Just Cuz I Like'em".

Today's selection is What Did You Expect Me To Do? performed by Retta and The Smart Fellas.

You'll find the tune on her 9 track CD They Took the Stars Out of Heaven.

Group Protests Border Patrol Substation Site Opposition Wants Area Farther South

A group of Hidalgo County ranchers and other residents is protesting the proposed location of a Border Patrol substation near Animas, about 20 miles from the border, saying it would offer better protection if it was farther south. Residents submitted a 110-signature petition to the agency last week. The stations are aimed at stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants, human traffickers and drug smugglers. Agents starting their day at the Lordsburg headquarters must drive 75 miles to reach the border, a 90-minute drive at best, said Border Patrol agent in charge Chris Mangusing. So, he said, three hours of an eight- to 12-hour workday are eaten up simply traveling. Mangusing said the proposed substations, called forward operating bases, will serve as mini-headquarters, with living quarters for 16 agents, horse corrals, a fueling facility and a helipad. Agents will be stationed for short intervals, starting the workday closer to the border. Ranchers Levi Klump and Judy Keeler, who live nearby, are protesting. Both said they might get a personal advantage from having the substation nearby, possibly deterring traffic from their homes, but said they prefer a rejected BLM parcel seven miles north of the border. Klump said the BLM site is on a plain and would give agents a better view of surroundings. The BLM site also is near existing phone and utility lines. "Maybe, maybe, maybe the smugglers would stay away from my headquarters," he said. "But the real issue is the smuggling of humans and drugs from Mexico and into the United States. The more presence you have, the more the drug trafficking will be discouraged." Mangusing said there were environmental concerns about the BLM site, including its importance to wildlife...more

This just shows how the mere presence of federal land on the border is a hindrance to the Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies. Why do the drug cartels prefer Arizona over Texas? Because Arizona has millions of acres of federal lands along the border, including wilderness areas.

Napolitano to McCain: Yes, Mexican Cartels Pose Terror Threat to U.S.

Under questioning by Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) in the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded that Mexican drug cartels pose a terrorist threat to the United States.In 2009, the U.S. Justice Department declared in its annual National Drug Threat Assessment that the Mexican drug cartels were “the greatest organized crime threat to the United States,” but the U.S. State Department has not listed those cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.Napolitano’s concession that Mexican drug cartels pose a terrorist threat to the United States came while she was testifying beside FBI Director Robert Mueller who told McCain that violence on the Mexican side of the border increased the “national security threat” to the United States, an assessment Napolitano shared.“Would you agree that the violence in Mexico has dramatically escalated in, say, the last three or four years?” McCain asked.“Yes,” said Mueller.“And would you say that, then, increases the national security threat on the other side of our border?” asked McCain.“Yes,” said Mueller. When McCain asked Napolitano if she agree with that, Napolitano said, “I think that’s right...more 

Obama Tries to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet

Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone. Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages. The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally...more

Rope Afghanistan?

In a place where life can end abruptly or change forever in an instant, Arnold Norman is offering a belt buckle to the best soldier. Correction: the best roper soldier. Of all of Norman's missions as an agricultural adviser at a remote outpost in Afghanistan, organizing a roping competition would not have appeared anywhere. But Norman, 59, an avid team roper on weekends in Texas, discovered dozens of young American soldiers, and a few Afghans, who found swinging a rope at a dummy steer to be an unexpected salve for the stresses of combat and loneliness. "I thought it'd be kind of cool to have a little dummy-roping contest," said Norman, who lives outside Burleson. "It just kept getting bigger. I've probably got 50 guys signed up for it now." The contest is scheduled for Oct. 1 in the town of Baraki Barak, a couple of weeks after Norman returns from his leave. The best roper will get to take custom-made belt buckles home from deployment. Norman hears that the Stars & Stripes newspaper and Armed Forces Network might cover it...more

The Westerner

Due to some health issues I will be spending a limited amount of time in my wheelchair.

Which means, until I get my laptop working, a limited amount of time on The Westerner.

To top it all off, the email server for my isp is down, so no email for 3 days.

Stay tuned...no telling what will happen next.

Landowners oppose Oberstar, Clean Water Act

Oberstar, DFL-8th District and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, last April authored amendments to the 1972 Clean Water Act. The bill, America’s Commitment to Clean Water Act, attempts to correct two U.S. Supreme Court cases over jurisdiction over waters. The original bill gave federal jurisdiction over all “navigable” waters, while the Oberstar bill removes that word and defines federal jurisdiction “to all waters that are currently used, were used in the past, may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide,” says Don Parmeter, who is leading an effort to draft alternative legislation. “It’s a radical bill, we’ve been fighting it since 2007,” said Parmeter of the National Water and Conservation Alliance, of an earlier version of the Oberstar bill. “What this bill does, simply, is remove the term navigable from the federal water pollution control act of 1972 and replaces it with waters of the United States,” Parmeter said. “All interstate and international waters, including interstate and international wetlands, and all other waters, including intrastate which is all waters within the boundaries of the state” are included. That’s every wet spot,” he said. Parmeter said covered waters include lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes and natural ponds. “This is a very expansive federal authority bill,” he said. “This is not only a controlled waters bill but also a controlled land bill — everything within a watershed.”...more

Idaho lawmakers considering next step on wolves

A panel of Idaho state lawmakers met Thursday to review the legal and on-the-ground status of wolves in Idaho and discuss potential actions lawmakers could take next year. Gov. Butch Otter, Idaho state agency leaders, and all of Idaho’s members of Congress have panned a court decision putting wolves back on the endangered species list, and taken steps to urge federal official to resolve the situation.  Many of the state lawmakers at the meeting in Boise were unhappy with the current legal status of wolves, but uncertain of how they could respond. Representatives from the governor’s office and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) said they’re doing all they can to bring back state management of wolves. The governor’s attorney, David Hensley, said the state would send the draft of a new memorandum of agreement to the U.S. Department of the Interior to outline how the state would handle wolves until they are delisted. “One of the most frustrating aspects with this is that the problems really lie in federal law,” Hensley said. Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, said the state should look into adopting one of the tactics of the environmental groups challenging federal decisions. “Our legislative approach to try to address the wolf delisting again in there may be an opportunity for us to file federal suit against the government,” he said. Siddoway, a sheep rancher, said Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming all have more wolves than the 10 packs that were set as the threshold for being on the endangered list. “Now we’ve got packs up the ying-yang,” he said...more

California cougars: a conflict between man and beast

More than half of California is considered mountain lion territory, with some 5,000 of the big cats, also known as cougars, roaming free. Fast and powerful, they can leap 18 feet into a tree and take down a bull elk six times their weight. Of 53 mountain lions that have been trapped, tranquilized and collared, 19 have been killed by vehicles or shot, far more than have died from natural causes.

"The closer lions are to people, the more likely they're going to die," Vickers said. "Any interaction with humans, broadly speaking, will likely end up badly for the lion."

 The extent of cougar attacks on domestic animals is difficult to determine. But one measure is the number of lions legally killed under depredation permits issued by state wildlife managers. In the year ending Sept. 30, 2009, 103 lions were killed by permit. Relocation is considered too risky. Mountain lions have been killed for preying on livestock in California since the Spanish friars brought cattle to the missions. In 1907, the state Legislature approved a bounty for cougars.
But the bounty was abolished in 1963, and in 1990 voters approved Proposition 117, which outlawed sport hunting of mountain lions and designated them a "specially protected species."

 But they're far from endangered. It's estimated that the mountain lion population has doubled in California since the 1970s...more

Update: Slain Rancher's Wife Hit By Car

Sue Krentz, wife of slain rancher Robert Krentz, was hit by a vehicle driven by a suspected drunken driver in Douglas Saturday night, Douglas Police said. It happened at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday on the street in front of St. Luke's Catholic Church, an official said. Krentz was airlifted to University Medical Center in Tucson, police said. Family friends told CBS 5 News Krentz had emergency pelvis surgery last night. They said Krentz is awake and alert, but in a lot of pain...more

Slain rancher’s family faces a new tragedy: Widow hit by vehicleThe widow of slain Douglas-area rancher Robert Krentz has been injured by a suspected drunken driver in Douglas, authorities said. Sue Krentz was walking an 80-year-old friend across the street after church Saturday evening when the two were struck by a vehicle, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said. The driver, Ramon Parra Saucedo, 66, of Douglas, was charged with driving under the influence, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of endangerment, Dever said. Saucedo was held in the Cochise County Jail on a $5,000 bond, Dever said. The sheriff said Douglas police are handling the case. How much more can this family take?” Dever asked as he spoke of the recent suffering the Krentz family has endured. “It’s a bad time, and not just for the family, but the community, as well.”...

This message was on Facebook:

From the Krentz Family: "Susan is in critical but stable condition at UMC
(Tucson). She had lots of internal bleeding, broken pelvis and leg. We will
try to keep you posted. The family thanks you for your thoughts and
prayers." We will update this thread on her condition. Bless this woman and
give her strength.

The Disgrace of the Ruling Class

We now have confirmation that Barack Obama truly loves poor people. Because he is creating so many of them.
Check out Pete Ferrara's article at The American Spectator for a rundown on Obamanomics and recent political events.

NM cap and trade plan stirs debate

After driving more than 200 miles, Matt Hinkle of Roswell hobbled down the auditorium walkway to the front of the nearly empty room. He jostled the chairs around to make room for his crutches and then laid out his opposition to a pair of proposals aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico. "From what I can see," he told a panel of state regulators, "the public in the state of New Mexico doesn't have a clue. ... They are completely uninformed as to what's going on. Really, in the end, they're going to be the ones paying for it." The New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board is considering two proposals — one from an environmental group and the other from the state Environment Department. The state's plan calls for a regional cap-and-trade program, and New Energy Economy wants to limit the emissions of the state's largest polluters — coal-fired power plants and the oil and gas industry. While supporters say something needs to be done to combat climate change, critics are asking what cap and trade will end up costing New Mexico, a rural state where oil and gas contributes millions to state coffers, where small communities depend on mom-and-pop businesses and where a love for the land is shared by everyone from ranchers and environmentalists to Gov. Bill Richardson...more

States Try To Combat 'Funny Honey'

You might call them the Honey Police - beekeepers and honey producers ready to comb through North Carolina to nab unscrupulous sellers of sweet-but-bogus "funny honey." North Carolina is the latest state to create a standard that defines "pure honey" in a bid to curb the sale of products that have that label but are mostly corn syrup or other additives. Officials hope to enforce that standard with help from the 12,000 or so Tar Heel beekeepers. "The beekeepers tend to watch what's being sold, they watch the roadside stands and the farmer's markets," said John Ambrose, an entomologist and bee expert at North Carolina State University who sits on the newly created Honey Standards Board. Florida was the first state to adopt such standards in 2009. It's since been followed by California, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Similar efforts have been proposed in at least 12 other states, including North and South Dakota, the nation's largest producers of honey, together accounting for roughly one-third of U.S. output...more

Kelton's final book speaks with familiar voices

Elmer Kelton’s final book goes on sale Tuesday. “Texas Standoff” is the last chapter in the late writer’s Texas Rangers Series. It also marks the end of an era. For decades, Elmer gave us great books year after year, but this is his last. Elmer died a little more than a year ago at age 83, and no more unpublished manuscripts remain. I’m reading an advance copy of “Texas Standoff” and enjoying the journey. Like all of Elmer’s novels, it’s a good story, full of believable action, great characters and careful, honest descriptions of the old West. Always before, I’d race through a Kelton novel, caught up in the story, eager to see what happened next. This time, I’ve made myself slow down and enjoy the scenery. I’m barely a third of the way through the book, taking it easy, enjoying each sentence and page. Trying to make it last. Slowing down has helped me appreciate the wit and wisdom and words Elmer wove into his stories. He was a master of dialogue, making characters come alive through what they said...more

Champion, Hall of Famer, paved way for future cowgirl generations

There was no way for Dusek’s parent, West Texas ranchers John and Ruby Barron, to know they were saddle training a true trailblazer in what’s now the multimillion-dollar industry of women’s rodeo. Dusek will receive her profession’s top honor next month when she is inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth. The 79-year-old cowgirl, who still rides, is among five 2010 inductees. In the arena, Dusek was a masterful, determined competitor. She is an All Around Champion, having won 14 championships. A wooden display case in her living room holds the trophy belt buckles marking those world championships. Those achievements, perhaps, aren’t as significant as the role Dusek played in the formation of the Girls Rodeo Association on Feb. 28, 1948. It marked the beginning of what’s now the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. “We got tired of being cheated by the timers — everything,” Dusek said. “We decided to organize. “That was 1948.”...more

Fit to be fried

Calf fries are something between a tradition-rich delicacy and a dirty joke. They make cheeky menu items: "Great Balls of Fire" or "Rocky Mountain Oysters" - wink, wink. The simple fact is calf testicles are a byproduct of the ranching industry in Oklahoma, and historically, ranchers and cowboys couldn't afford to waste any parts. Even the, um, oysters. Cowboys made the best of whatever leftover parts they could snag on the range, hence dishes like "son-of-a-gun" stew (or its burlier name, "S.O.B. stew"). "Everything in the pot but the hair and the horns" - meaning sweetbreads, marrow gut from between the two stomachs, kidneys, heart, liver, brains and tongue. Cookbooks documenting cowboy cuisine say that originally, the testicles were thrown in the fire and used to heat branding irons until they were cooked through. Then they were skinned and eaten as is. Later, they figured out some parts are best dealt with deep fried. In Vinita, calf fries are no joke. The town proclaims itself the calf fry capital of the world, and it has yet to find a challenger to that title. At Vinita's annual "World's Largest Calf Fry Festival & Cook-off," they're dished up as part of a competition for serious bragging rights. They're served by the plate at the town's legendary Clanton's café...

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=370&articleid=20100926_39_D1_CUTLIN23914&allcom=1

Bayfield celebrates its heritage

Coinciding with the annual sheep migration from the mountains to the lowlands, Bayfield's annual Heritage Days festival takes the town back more than 100 years to a time when sheep herding was big business, a way of life that is disappearing. "There are only about three families that still have sheep that go to the mountains through Bayfield," Pine River Valley Heritage Society member Jim Frahm said. "One hundred years ago, there were a bunch of them. Thousands of heads of sheep went through every spring and every fall. ... It's not a big thing now, but it is to the people who do it." J. Paul Brown, an Ignacio rancher and a candidate for Colorado House District 59, acknowledged that most ranchers have made the switch from sheep to cattle or left the ranching business entirely. But for Brown, whose grandfather began raising sheep in the area in 1947, his sheep are a way of life he will not soon part with. "Sheep make a little bit more money, and it's a little bit more work, but we like sheep," he said. "It's just kind of part of the heritage of the whole valley." According to Mayor Rick Smith, the annual event helps remind Bayfield's current residents of the town's agrarian past. "The sheep were here, the ranchers were here," Smith said. "Heritage Days is about recognizing that and bringing people into the realization that this is our roots." In addition to a parade, live music, food, beer and all the usual trappings of a festival, Heritage Days sought to educate those attending. Live demonstrations of sheep shearing and wool spinning drew crowds at Joe Stephenson Park, and the Heritage Society's museum stayed open for much of the day...more

Song Of The Day #415

It's Swingin' Monday on Ranch Radio, where we bring you uptempo and swing music to get your heart started for the week.

There are all kinds of swing music. Today's selection would be generally referred to as "Old Time" music, but for our purposes we'll call it Appalachian Swing.

Here are The Crooked Jades performing Knoxville Rag from their 23 track CD Unfortunate Rake Vol.2.

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

The ultimate farmer

by Julie Carter

The realtor’s invention of the 40-acre ranch brought agriculture holdings to town, so to speak. Those that dreamed of being landowners, ranchers and yes, even farmers, gained a way to fulfill that fantasy.

On a recent trip, I learned the dream is alive and well.

A well-heeled couple walked through the door of the Southern Colorado tractor store and explained to the man at the counter that they were setting up a big farm and needed to buy some equipment.

Dutifully he walked them through all the sizes and styles of tractors available as well as the assorted attachments. The missus emphasized their requirement for the “heavy duty” stuff so it would hold up to the hard use they planned to give it.

The tractor she picked out had nine steps to get up in the cab -- one of those really big monsters.

They also bought discs, hay rakes, balers, blades, plows, harrows and everything else that the dealership offered, taking advantage of the ongoing special -- “Buy one, get 3 percent off the next one.” Can't be too cash conscious when you're going into farming.

The next day the couple invited the implement dealer down to see their farm and for him to bring the papers to sign for all the equipment. Jake arrived at what he assumed to be only the headquarters of the farming operation, not knowing for sure just how far toward the horizon the borders of this “big farm” went.

He looked around and the lady came out of the house, saying, “Come on, I'll show you around the farm.”

He walked with her to a brand new (still with the paper license plate) Grand Cherokee which had a trailer attached. He noticed the trailer had one 12-inch tire and one 18-inch tire on it.

She complained that the trailer was not pulling very well at all. Kindly, he explained what he thought the problem to be. But just as if she didn’t hear him, in her next sentence she declared that since she is obviously going to have to buy a new trailer, she might as well get a new pick-up too.

Rather than unhook the trailer, she suggested they just walk around the farm. The tractor dealer was a little taken aback in that he really didn’t plan on spending all day hiking to look at a farm. It was then he found out the farm was 58.2 acres.

So as not to discourage the sale he was making, he indeed walked around the farm, even managing to keep a straight face.

During this stroll around the farm, the lady asked, "What do you think we should raise on our farm?"

Jake’s thoughts were, "You couldn't raise hell with a jug of whiskey. This is nothing but a rock pile."

But he said nothing, just shrugged and maintained a blank look.

Before he departed, the couple set up a time with him to get some tractor driving lessons, since neither of them had ever been close to a tractor except the day they were at the implement dealership.

He secured permission from a guy he knew to use a vacant 80 acres for the tractor driving lessons. His plan was to put the tractor and driver square in the middle of it and let them practice. He also promised to replace any fences that might get torn up.

Later that same day, he saw the missus driving a new Ford King Ranch pickup. He assumed that she is now also a rancher.

Stay tuned next week for Part II of The Ultimate Farmer and watch this Green Acres duo put more money into circulation faster than a Wall Street bailout plan. You just can’t make this stuff up.

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@tularosa.net.

It's The Pitts: Halfway Home

by Lee Pitts


Statistics say that marriages where the husband goes on an annual trail drive are 20 times more apt to end in divorce. Okay, so I made that up. But I’m sure it’s true.

It has come to my attention that men who go straight home after spending a week “trail driving” with their buddies where they drink, cuss and tell dirty stories, are having a difficult time reentering polite society. I know one trail driver who went straight from a week of such debauchery to a dinner party with the parents of his fiancé. Suffice it to say that the wedding has been called off and the fiancee's parents have a restraining order against the poor schmuck.

I, myself, have never been on a trail drive. My friend Terrell invited me to go on one once but my wife, having heard what goes on at these things, wouldn’t let me go. Besides, as a writer I occasionally call upon my brain to function and I simply cannot risk the possibility of brain damage from spending an entire week trail driving while under the influence of my buddies.

Because many of my friends do go on these things I have decided to start a new charity which will purchase a home to be used as a halfway house where trail riders can go after their trail drive so that they might gradually reacclimatize themselves to normal living. Just like recently released pedophiles, I realize that people are not going to welcome such people into their neighborhoods, so I’ll buy a ranch way out in the country, with a ten thousand acre buffer zone, on which I might also run a few cows.

I envision an active rehabilitation program where the cowboys will be retaught things they forgot how to do after spending a week with their fellow heathens. Lost skills such as shaving and bathing regularly, using indoor plumbing, changing their underwear and using a knife and fork will be taught by clean and sober ex-trail riders.

I am told that on many trail drives the participants tell dirty stories endlessly, sing bawdy songs and recite cowboy poetry that would make a sailor blush. Therefore, intense therapy sessions on language skills will be emphasized at Lee’s Halfway House and Cattle Company, so that the trail drivers will get all the vile words out of their vocabulary before sitting down to dinner with momma and the young ones.

Speaking of flushing things from their system, my halfway house will offer a sober living environment in which substance abusers will enter a detox program, gradually replacing half their expensive whiskey consumption with cheaper beer. Realizing that many of these men have been on a liquid diet for an entire week, we will reintroduce both solid food and manners back slowly so as to not shock their system.

As we attempt to reintegrate our clients back into captivity, my staff and I will also address such problem areas as going outside to make water, riding one’s horse into living and eating areas, harassing and roping wildlife, betting large sums on trivial occurrences, playing cards all night and fist fighting.

In order to promote recovery and restore them to the men they once were, I recommend that for every week spent on a trail drive that each patient spend from one to six months in Lee’s Halfway House and Cattle Company. Because they might regress to their previous behavior, there will be a probationary period in which they will not be allowed to communicate with any trail driving buddies until next year. Still we must warn you, recidivism rates are high in dealing with this type of illness.

Thousands of men need your help today, so please, give generously. We think the $10,000 weekly cost per person of our halfway house will be picked up by Obamacare but until that happens, I beg you, Save a Cowboy! Send your cash, old clothes or cows to Lee’s Halfway House and Cattle Company. After all, someday you too may have a husband, relative or friend who will be afflicted with this dreaded malady.

Song Of The Day #414

Ranch Radio's Gospel tune today is from 1952 and is Hank Snow performing I Just Telephone Upstairs.

House Republicans Pledge to ‘Establish Operational Control of Border,’ But Say Nothing about Border Fence, Worksite Enforcement or Amnesty

While stating that the party would work to give the Border Patrol the “tools and authorities to establish operational control at the border,” the pledge does not mention any specific tools or authorities. Specifically, the word “fence” does not appear anywhere in the document. Nor is their reference to any other sort of structure the Republicans would favor erecting at the border. In a subsection titled, “Establish Operational Control of the Border,” the House Republicans say: “We must take action to secure our borders, and that action starts with enforcing our laws. We will ensure that the Border Patrol has the tools and authorities to establish operational control at the border and prohibit the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture from interfering with Border Patrol enforcement activities on federal lands. “...more

The whole "A Pledge To America" is a little on the wimpy side, but the section quoted above is important to us in the West.

The words "operational control of the border" are right out of H.R. 5016, which states:

On public lands of the United States, neither the Secretary of the Interior nor the Secretary of Agriculture may impede, prohibit, or restrict activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security to achieve operational control (as defined in section 2(b) of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (8 U.S.C. 1701 note; Public Law 109-367).

That is the bill introduced by Reps Bishop, King, Hastings and Smith. You can read more about it here, here, here, here and here.

Migrants experience deadly year crossing Arizona border

But the Guatemalan woman, who lives in Phoenix, knows those scenarios make little sense. The 13-year-old boy, Nelson Omar Chilel Lopez, would have called if he made it to safety. The coyotes would have demanded ransom if they were holding him. Lopez buries her face in her hands and weeps at the thought of a child she calls Omar becoming a statistic - one of a nearly record 236 corpses recovered so far this fiscal year along the Arizona-Sonora border. Coalición de Derechos Humanos (the Human Rights Coalition), which gathers data on border-crossing fatalities in Arizona, says the body count for fiscal 2010, which ends Sept. 30, is second-highest on record. Fiscal 2005 set the record, with 282 bodies recovered. We've passed the number of remains recovered last year," said Kat Rodriguez, coordinator for the non-profit organization, "and we still have a month to go. . . . This has been a horrid summer." The advocacy group gets data from medical examiners in Pima, Pinal, Cochise and Yuma counties, as well as other sources. Other immigrant-advocacy groups say fatalities appear to be increasing even as the number of illegal border crossers arrested has plummeted over the past five years. Using a formula based on the number of fatalities and arrests, No More Deaths, a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian aid to border crossers, describes the past year as the "most lethal" ever, up 30-fold since 1999...more

U.S. Education Secretary Vows to Make American Children 'Good Environmental Citizens'

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan vowed on Tuesday that his department would work to make American children into "good environmental citizens" through federally subsidized school programs beginning as early as kindergarten that teach children about climate change and prepare them "to contribute to the workforce through green jobs." “Right now, in the second decade of the 21st century, preparing our children to be good environmental citizens is some of the most important work any of us can do. It’s work that will serve future generations--and quite literally sustain our world,” Duncan said at the Education Department’s "Sustainability Education Summit: Citizenship and Pathways for a Green Economy." “This week’s sustainability summit represents the first time that the Department is taking a taking a leadership role in the work of educating the next generation of green citizens and preparing them to contribute to the workforce through green jobs,” said Duncan. “President Obama has made clean, renewable energy a priority because, as he says, it’s the best way to 'truly transform our economy, to protect our security, and save our planet.'...more

What needs savin' is our children from these nitwits.

Congressman Calls For Schools To ‘Promote The Agenda’ Of Climate Change, Population Limitation

Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) told CNSNews.com at a "Sustainability Education Summit" hosted by the U.S. Education Department on Tuesday that environmental education in schools can "promote the agenda" of climate change and population growth through the influence it has on children. “Like I keep saying over and over again, if you get young people invested in those ideas early on, that will result in those kinds of positive policy developments," Sarbanes told CNSNews.com. "So, whether it’s climate change, whether it’s population growth, whether it’s all these factors that impact the health of our world, raising that awareness early among young people is only going to promote the agenda.”...more

So public schools should "promote the agenda." At least Sarbanes is honest about it.

Anyone still think our public schools aren't political?

Calif. renewable energy rules likely to advance

A state agency is expected to approve regulations Thursday that could break an impasse in a long-sought goal to require utilities in California to obtain a third of their power from solar and other renewable sources by 2020. The vote by the California Air Resources Board is being watched closely by clean-tech companies, many of which have curtailed expansion of their operations in the state because of the regulatory deadlock. As they wait for a resolution, solar, wind and other alternative power companies say they have been unable to lay out business plans, court investors or attract customers. Many said they were considering focusing their efforts in other states or abroad, where clean-tech policies are more comprehensive. "We're competing against international companies that have strong policies in their home markets that give them a huge advantage now that they're exporting into other markets," said Kevin Smith, chief executive of SolarReserve, which develops renewable energy plants. "We find ourselves behind the curve compared to Europe and China."...more

Don't ya just love these guys?

They need the strong arm of the government and subsidies before they can invest or plan.

And they want us to be more like China.

I hope they all go belly up.

In the meantime, they need to learn the free market is like your bathroom scales.

P.J. O'Rourke explains in this video:

Dog Poop Powering Park Lamp in Boston-Area Park

It stinks and it's a hazard to walkers everywhere, but it turns out dog poop has a bright side. Dog poop is lighting a lantern at a Cambridge dog park as part of a months-long project that its creator, artist Matthew Mazzotta, hopes will get people thinking about not wasting waste. The "Park Spark" poop converter is actually two steel, 500-gallon oil tanks painted a golden yellow, connected by diagonal black piping and attached to an old gaslight-style street lantern at the Pacific Street Park. After the dogs do their business, signs on the tanks instruct owners to use biodegradable bags supplied on site to pick up the poop and deposit it into the left tank. People then turn a wheel to stir its insides, which contain waste and water. Microbes in the waste give off methane, an odorless gas that is fed through the tanks to the lamp and burned off. The park is small but has proven busy enough to ensure a steady supply of fuel...more

This is why they want "open space" in our cities. They will soon be filled with solar panels, windmills and poop converters.

Of course us ignorant rural types try to protect ourselves from the sun, and the wind...and the crap that flows our way from town.

Mont. woman squashes bear attack with zucchini

Police say a Montana woman fended off a bear attack with an unlikely weapon — a zucchini. Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli says a 200-pound black bear attacked one of the woman's dogs just after midnight Wednesday on the back porch of her home about 15 miles west of Missoula. When the woman, whom police did not name, tried to separate the animals, the bear bit her in the leg. Maricelli says the woman reached for the nearest object at hand on the porch's railing — a large zucchini that she had harvested from her garden. The woman flung the vegetable at the bear, striking it and forcing it to flee. Maricelli says the woman did not need medical attention. Wildlife officials were trying to locate the bear on Thursday. AP

I'm gonna tread a little more lightly around Sweet Sharon.

Song Of The Day #413

Ranch Radio will wrap up this week's look at 1964 with tunes from Buck Owens and the Willis Brothers. First up is I Don't Care followed by Give Me 40 Acres.

Wife Explains Life, Emotions Since Border Killing

But when cameras turn off and legislators go home, Sue Krentz still struggles to regain some sense of normalcy while living in a world of fear. Her husband was gunned down on their property by suspected illegal immigrants. "There's been over 400 people killed in Arizona by illegals, and why did this one galvanize the issue? Why did this one make such a public statement," asked Sue Krentz. Guilt isn't the emotion you'd expect to see playing out across Sue Krentz's face when she talks about her husband's death. "We'd never had anybody do anything until March 27," she said. Add disbelief, a heart-wrenching sadness and the never-ending confusion about what went wrong to the fear and guilt Sue Krentz feels. "We don't know what happened, all I know is it was a real disaster for us, you know," Krentz said. Border-crossers using the Krentz Ranch as part of their path into the U.S. is nothing new. It's so common, the Krentzes would typically help them, Sue said. "They'd (her family) bring them up to the house here and they'd feed them," she said. But Sue said that's all changed. "One time in eight days we had 500 border-crossers removed off the ranch. And they say, for every one they catch, two to three get away," she said. Now as she walks her property, she's painfully aware of what could happen. She said she knows life will never be the same on the Krentz Ranch...more

Over 200,000 People Leave Mexican Border City Due to Violence; 20,000 Homes Abandoned

Some 230,000 people have left Ciudad Juarez, a border city that has become Mexico’s murder capital, in the past three years as the death toll from a gang war topped 7,000, a non-governmental organization said in a new report. About 124,000 people, or 53.9 percent of the total, have sought safe haven in El Paso, Texas, which is just across the border, the Ciudad Juarez Citizens Security and Coexistence Observatory said. The rest have returned to their hometowns, mainly in Durango, Coahuila and Veracruz states, to get away from the drug-related violence. The two Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, or UACJ, professors used National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics, or INEGI, figures, as well as interviews with emigrants’ families, to come up with the population trend figures for the border city. Ciudad Juarez is the scene of a war for control of smuggling routes between the Juarez and Sinaloa drug cartels. The border city, where more than 2,000 people have been murdered this year, has been plagued by drug-related violence for years. More than 20,000 houses have been abandoned in the border city by people who feared they might become murder, extortion or kidnapping victims, Ciudad Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said...more

Heavily-armed agents raid Texas ranch with cartel links

The FBI raided an East Texas compound early Wednesday morning. Agents said the suspects have ties to drug cartels in Mexico and were trafficking drugs, assault rifles and prostitutes. The FBI used SWAT teams and heavy military equipment in the pre-dawn raid. They were worried about the potential firepower on the compound. They served what is called a "no-knock" warrant — basically went in unannounced and raided the ranch outside Henderson, Texas. Federal authorities believe the ring leader is a man named Victor Hernandez Jr. He lives on the ranch with his brothers and parents. Hernandez is said to have strong links to a violent Mexican drug cartel, and may be supplying them with assault rifles. They believe the clan also traffics in millions of dollars worth of drugs, specifically ICE or methamphetamine. In court documents released Wednesday, the FBI said the Hernandez clan "makes frequent trips to Mexico, taking with them a large number of weapons and then returning with large quantities of drugs."...more

Here is the KENS-TV video report:

Murkowski left in place as top committee Republican

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) will remain the ranking Republican on the Senate energy committee despite her running as a write-in candidate for reelection against GOP leadership wishes. In a 20-minute meeting Wednesday, Senate Republicans accepted Murkowski's resignation as vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. They selected Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.) to succeed her. But they declined to remove her from the post on the energy committee. GOP leaders have voiced strong displeasure with Murkowski running as a write-in after she lost the Republican primary last month to her conservative challenger, Joe Miller, and they were expected to remove her from the energy committee post, as well as from the conference leadership. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as the panel is formally known, won't be holding any substantive hearings for the remainder of this year...more

It's not the hearings folks are worried about. It's the potential for shenanigans during the lame duck session.

Murkowski has bills that have cleared the committee but have not been acted on by the full Senate. What kind of deals might she cut with the dem's just to get those last bills passed?

Groups want Forest Service to regulate snowmobiles just like other vehicles

A coalition of conservation groups is pushing to change U.S. Forest Service rules so the federal agency regulates snowmobiles on national forest lands in the same manner it treats other off-road vehicles. The groups, including six with interests in Teton County, are circulating a petition and are scheduled to meet with federal officials to ask that snowmobiles no longer be exempt from rules that regulate off-road vehicles. Snowmobiles were excluded from a 2005 rule, a move that contradicts a 1972 presidential order, the groups contend. As a result, national forests in snowbelt states and people who recreate there are being unfairly affected by snowmobiles, the groups say. The goal is not to eliminate snowmobiling, said Forrest McCarthy, public lands director with the Winter Wildlands Alliance in Jackson, but to control their use as envisioned by law to protect resources, skiers, snowshoers and hikers. A snowmobile advocacy group is opposed to the effort said Greg Mumm, executive director of the Blue Ribbon Coalition in Pocatello, Idaho. Adequate regulations exist to govern snowmobiles, he said. “This is just another effort on the part of extremists groups to take another bite at the apple to try and get closures, to exclude any kind of motorized use,” he said in a telephone interview. “We just don’t think it’s necessary at all to even consider this.”...more

No charges in Colorado's most destructive wildfire

Prosecutors said Wednesday they won't file criminal charges against the volunteer firefighter whose fire pit is believed to have started the most destructive blaze in Colorado's history. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said the applicable charge would be fourth-degree arson, but he didn't think prosecutors could prove the necessary element that the firefighter knowingly started the fire or acted recklessly. The U.S. Forest Service conducted its own investigation and will issue a report, Garnett said. But prosecutors said it "is not expected that these reports will provide significantly different evidence than that which has already been presented."...more

Deficit Hawks Threaten Ethanol's Future

Jim Sensenbrenner pays extra to cruise his pontoon boat across Pine Lake in southern Wisconsin. He's willing to hand over 30¢ more per gallon for gasoline free of ethanol, which he calls "a lousy fuel" that corrodes his two-stroke outboard engine. One boater's opinion might not matter, except that Sensenbrenner happens to be the top Republican on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. His ethanol aversion is a sign that the darling of alternative fuels is hitting a political wall. "People are worried about deficits, debt, and special-interest handouts," Sensenbrenner says. "Ethanol is all three." That sentiment is endangering the $27 billion industry that has grown up since federal support began under President Jimmy Carter amid the 1970s energy crisis. Today the U.S. offers a 45¢ per gallon tax credit to refiners that blend ethanol with gasoline. The government also requires gasoline makers to use a steadily increasing amount of the additive, and it imposes an import tariff to deter foreign competition...more

NY Times supports ban on antibiotics for livestock

Most of the antibiotics sold in the United States — 70 percent — go to the animals we eat, especially pigs and chickens. To speed up growth and to prevent the spread of disease in crowded conditions, growers put small amounts of antibiotics into animals’ daily feed. The result is nearly the same as if we were eating the antibiotics ourselves: an increase in antibiotic resistance in humans and the emergence of drug-resistant microbes. In a July letter to Congress, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that there is “a clear link between antibiotic use in animals and antibiotic resistance in humans.” Despite that warning, the regulatory agencies have been too slow and timid in their response. After more than a year of review, the Food and Drug Administration is preparing to issue an extremely modest set of guidelines, which merely recommend that agricultural producers use antibiotics only under veterinary supervision and only in cases of illness and emergency. We far prefer the approach taken by Representative Louise Slaughter, a Democrat of New York, who submitted a bill last year that would make those recommendations mandatory, while gradually phasing out the agricultural use of medically important antibiotics...more

Where's the Beef? Not in Argentina as Drought Drives Away Brazil's JBS

Argentines have lost their title as the world’s biggest beef eaters after the worst drought in 70 years and government export limits led ranchers to reduce the number of cattle on the Pampas. Consumption is slumping to 57.3 kilos (126 pounds) a year, the lowest since 1958 and below neighboring Uruguay, where each person consumes as much as 60 kilos annually, according to beef industry associations in the two countries. The decline in cattle numbers will “be even worse next year” because fewer calves were born during the two-year drought that ended in 2009, said Ricardo Buryaile, a rancher and congressman who heads the Agriculture and Livestock Committee in the Lower House. The reduced herd caused shipments from what was once the world’s biggest beef exporter to plunge about 50 percent this year, allowing Uruguay to pass it as a global supplier. The contraction is hurting meatpacker profits, leading Brazil’s JBS SA, the world’s biggest producer of the red meat, to consider selling plants in Argentina...more

Glacier National Park ranger refines poaching skills and eludes capture

Glacier National Park's Belly River is colorful country, so it is fitting that it was home to Joe Cosley, who made his fame not only as the park's first Belly River ranger but also as one of its most sought-after outlaws for poaching. Cosley, a Metis born of a French father and Algonquin mother in Canada, was in Montana by the age of 18. He built the first ranger station in the Belly in 1908 or 1909, and when the area was included in the new Glacier Park in 1910, he became its first park ranger. As a Forest Service ranger, he had been allowed to supplement his meager salary by hunting and trapping. But as a park ranger, he was strictly prohibited from doing so. Cosley openly defied the new rules, hauling his furs into Canada for sale. In 1911, he was fired for trapping at Upper Lake McDonald, but he returned to the Belly country and kept at it. But when, in 1914, Cosley was told he would be killed if caught again, he left and joined the Canadian army, where he distinguished himself in World War I. In 1919, Cosley returned to the Belly, resumed his poaching career and became famous for eluding park rangers. When Cosley was finally caught, convicted and sentenced, friends bailed him out. Cosley set off from West Glacier on snowshoes for a record return to the Belly River and his cache of furs. He beat the pursuit and returned to Canada to sell the furs. Cosley continued to trap and explore in Canada until he died in 1943...more

Judge reverses cowboy boot ban

A Lakeway municipal judge said he's reversed a ban on cowboy boots in the courtroom after an American-Statesman report on Saturday said an Austin lawyer was considering challenging the ban. "Since there has never been a problem with boots (or spurs) in my courtroom, I have reversed the cowboy boot ban, effective Saturday, September 18," Judge Kevin Madison wrote in an e-mail. "Attorneys, witnesses, and court litigants in the Great State of Texas can now breathe a sigh of relief. "I guess the adage 'Don't Mess with Texas' should be changed to 'Don't Mess with Texans' Cowboy Boots!' " Madison was referring to an outcry over the ban from lawyers across the state and from dozens of people who submitted online comments to the story as well as to a American-Statesman column Sunday on the matter. "Oh my goodness, you would have thought I was renaming the state ... New Jersey or something," Madison said Sunday in an interview. "You should have seen the stuff: 'Tar and feather him. Run him out on the rails.' " Lawyer George Lobb, who said he often wears dress cowboy boots — a common sartorial choice among Texas lawyers — and is scheduled to appear in a Lakeway court this week, had called the ban "absurd" and was considering challenging it...more

They need to give this judge the boot.

Song Of The Day #413

Ranch Radio brings you two more tunes from the 1964 charts: B.J. The DJ by Stonewall Jackson and The Cowboy In The Continental Suit by Marty Robbins.

Krentz Widow Speaks Out

"Well it's just been, "Groundhog Day." Every morning you've got to get up and relive it," said Sue Krentz. She clutched a tissue as she talked about her husband, rancher Rob Krentz. Sue could hardly say his name without breaking down. "Rob and I, we grew up together. We've just kind of always been together," she explained. But now Sue is facing life apart -- life without her rock, her husband, life without her best friend. "The emptiness, because Rob and I were such, maybe call us soul mates," she said. The soul mates were separated by a single act Sue said she'll never understand. "So, you know, I just don't know what happened," she said. She was in Phoenix helping her parents when she got the call from Rob's brother. "He said he couldn't find Rob and he'd been missing since about ten o'clock that morning," Sue said. By the time she got back to the home they'd shared for more than three decades, it was too late. Rob Krentz was killed on his own property, gunned down by suspected illegal immigrants. Sue has kept to herself for the past six months. "We still had to ship cattle. We had to get up and still pay the bills. You have to get up and just try to muddle through it," she said. She chose to grieve with her family and find a way to move forward before inviting cameras to see what life is like now. CBS 5 News was invited to walk the Krentz property. Our crew couldn't help but feel the void, the hole Rob's death carved here...more

I've written about human and drug traffickers, wilderness and wildlife areas, Border Patrol deployments and so on. But when you stop to consider the human suffering and loss involved here, all that is diminished and fades away.

God bless Sue Krentz and her family and all their future endeavors.

Environmentalists back on defense

Environmentalists are bracing for a fight that would have seemed preposterous after the 2008 elections: a move to limit the government’s ability to curb greenhouses gases and global warming. Even the proposal’s sponsor — a Democrat — cuts against the story line that predicted the Democratic takeover of Washington would finally lead to action on climate change. But the push by West Virginia Sen. John Rockefeller to restrict the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to force reductions in carbon dioxide emissions illustrates how dramatically the environmental community’s fortunes have fallen despite the rise of allies in the White House and Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has promised Rockefeller a fall floor vote on his plan to block EPA’s climate rules for two years. Green groups are monitoring that effort — and similar ones by Senate Republicans like Kit Bond of Missouri — in a constant struggle to stay one step ahead of agency opponents. Just last week, environmentalists and the Obama administration dodged a bullet when the Senate Appropriations Committee canceled a markup of EPA’s spending bill, in which agency foes could have the votes to cut off climate funds for at least one year...more

Unfreezing Arctic Assets

Imagine the Arctic in 2050 as a frigid version of Nevada—an empty landscape dotted with gleaming boom towns. Gas pipelines fan across the tundra, fueling fast-growing cities to the south like Calgary and Moscow, the coveted destinations for millions of global immigrants. It's a busy web for global commerce, as the world's ships advance each summer as the seasonal sea ice retreats, or even briefly disappears. Much of the planet's northern quarter of latitude, including the Arctic, is poised to undergo tremendous transformation over the next century. As a booming population increases the demand for the Earth's natural resources, and as lands closer to the equator face the prospect of rising water demand, droughts and other likely changes, the prominence of northern countries will rise along with their projected milder winters. Today, scientists studying oil and gas potential—and how shrinking summer sea ice might make it easier to access offshore deposits—are convincing governments and investors that the region has rising strategic value. Private companies have snapped up Canada's northernmost railroad and port of Churchill, bought $2.8 billion in Arctic offshore energy leases, and begun developing specialized tanker ships and platforms for offshore drilling in icy environments. This year, Russia and Norway resolved a four-decade-long boundary dispute in the Arctic Ocean, which could pave the way to more offshore development. Canada, Norway and Russia are bolstering their militaries with ice-strengthened patrol ships, frigates, attack submarines and fighter jets...more

Hillary Clinton: $50 Million - Wants Global Standards For Cookstoves

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Tuesday at a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. The goals of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves are multi-tiered. “First, a major applied research and development effort to improve design, lower costs and develop global industry standards for cookstoves”, Clinton said. “Second, a broad-based campaign to create a commercial market for clean stoves, including reducing trade barriers, promoting consumer awareness and boosting access to large scale carbon financing.” The U.S. is to fund $50 million over five years to provide clean cooking stoves to developing countries. Clinton says it’s in order to reduce deaths from smoke inhalation and fight climate change...more

Feds visit Lathrop to see eco-friendly farming

Two high-ranking officials in the Obama administration climbed aboard a tractor Tuesday to hear about gentle treatment of the land. Vegetable grower Dino Del Carlo played host to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and Bob Perciasepe, deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Del Carlo told them about conservation tillage, which involves sowing seeds through the previous crop's stubble and reducing the number of times a tractor runs through a field each season. They talked in a tomato field that had been harvested Sunday and was being prepared for another crop. It was a breezy afternoon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. "Even though there is dust that you can see, it is much less than it used to be," said Perciasepe, who is second in command to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. He and Merrigan, who works for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, had a lofty view from the cab of a John Deere 9530T, which did not move while they were on board...more

So why didn't the tractor move?

Was the weight too much?

Did the farmer not want to waste one drop of diesel on these dolts from DC?

Was the farmer told not to start or move the tractor while these two reps of the Obama Fedzilla were aboard?

Why go out in a field, climb aboard a tractor...and just sit there?

A Perk of Our Evolution: Pleasure in Pain of Chilies

Late summer is chili harvest time, when the entire state of New Mexico savors the perfume of roasting chilies, and across the country the delightful, painful fruit of plants of the genus Capsicum are being turned into salsa, hot sauce and grizzly bear repellent. Festivals abound, often featuring chili pepper-eating contests. “It’s fun,” as one chili pepper expert wrote, “sorta like a night out to watch someone being burned at the stake.” Some experts argue that we like chilies because they are good for us. They can help lower blood pressure, may have some antimicrobial effects, and they increase salivation, which is good if you eat a boring diet based on one bland staple crop like corn or rice. The pain of chilies can even kill other pain, a concept supported by recent research. How did this happen? The story of how chilies got their heat is pretty straightforward. A recent study suggested that capsaicin is an effective defense against a fungus that attacks chili seeds. In fact, experiments have shown that the same species of wild chili plant produces a lot of capsaicin in an environment where the fungus is likely to grow, and very little in drier areas where the fungus is not a danger...more

Desert town's dire puzzle

On a cool, crisp morning, Scott Kemp's battered white pickup truck was the only vehicle in sight along a long, narrow lane lined with desert daisies and curious cows on the eastern flanks of jagged, gray Mt. Whitney. The road streaked across the historic Lubken Ranch, a spread that Kemp and his three sisters inherited from their father, Sandy Kemp, after he died in 2004. Against a backdrop of rippling meadows and sagebrush rising up to the Sierra Nevada, the tall, lean cowboy shook his head and said, "It won't be easy leaving this ranch." The 759-acre spread, which has been in operation for more than a century, is for sale for $6.5 million, down from the original asking price of $20 million. The property has entertained inquiries from Google and the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, according to Beverly Hills real estate broker Crosby Doe, who likes to say "it would be like owning your own national park." ocals are wondering how development of the largest chunk of private property to be offered for sale in Inyo County in 50 years might affect this Eastern Sierra community of 2,200 people straddling California 395. Though Lone Pine is surrounded by open range, almost none is privately owned...more

Song Of The Day #412

Ranch Radio will continue it's look at 1964 with the #5 and #6 tunes of that year: Johnny Cash performing Understand Your Man and Roger Miller singing Dang Me.