Where the buffalo roam, so may brucellosis

Paying ranchers to let bison roam in areas typically used for cattle grazing — rather than killing the giant animals — could reduce the risk that the bison will transmit a bacterial disease to cows, ecologists say. Some 1,600 Yellowstone National Park bison were killed last winter to control the spread of brucellosis, a disease that causes miscarriages, weight loss and reduced milk production in cattle that inhale infected bison afterbirth or aborted fetuses. Brucellosis was widespread in cows in the 1800s, but cattle in most states are now free of the disease. No cases of bison-to-cattle transmission of brucellosis outside of captivity have ever been documented, according to the National Park Service, but they are periodically slaughtered as a precaution. Yellowstone's 4,000 bison typically stay in the Montana park's higher elevations, but they sometimes graze at lower levels near cattle-grazing areas if heavy snow or ice makes food scarce. Limited numbers are allowed to roam in those areas as part of the Interagency Bison Management Plan devised by government agencies including the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Montana Department of Livestock and the state's Fish Wildlife & Parks department. If too many bison leave the park and are found to have antibodies to brucellosis, they're killed....

Texas headed back into drought conditions

Longtime rancher Barbara Mazurek remembers watching her father fall into despair while trying to keep their Central Texas spread afloat during the state's worst drought in the 1950s. Now, looking across her parched ranch near the one where she grew up, those days don't seem so long ago. "It's beginning to look like that," the 72-year-old rancher said. "It was terrible. I remember that well." Despite hurricanes Dolly, Gustav and Ike soaking Texas in 2008, about 58 percent of the nation's second largest agricultural state is in some stage of drought, according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map, released Jan. 6. That's up from about 30 percent in mid-October. Parts of Central Texas and the Hill Country—about 4.2 percent of the state—are in exceptional drought, the most severe stage of dryness. Three months ago none of the state was that parched. Texas received an average of 24.6 inches of rain last year, the 31st driest year since 1884. That's 3.3 inches below the normal average of 27.9 inches. And conditions are expected to worsen before they improve....

Final U.S. Country-of-Origin Labeling Rule Draws Criticisms

Longtime supporters of U.S. regulations requiring meat and fresh produce to be labeled by country of origin say the government’s final rule on the matter doesn’t do enough to distinguish U.S. meat from competitors. The rule announced today allows U.S. meat produced in a domestic facility that also is processing imported animals to carry a multicountry designation. That blurs the distinction between U.S. and foreign meat, according to critics, especially ranchers in northern states who compete with Canadian cattle. They pushed for a U.S.-only label to spur consumer purchases. Country-of-origin labeling, also called COOL, “is supposed to let Americans know where their steaks come from, and to help American ranchers market their products,” said Senator Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, in an e-mailed statement. “It’s not supposed to be complicated or watered- down.” The labeling requirements will take effect March 16. They were originally passed as part of the 2002 farm bill and first took effect under an interim rule Sept. 30. Some lawmakers and consumer advocates have also criticized provisions in the rule that exempt mixed vegetables and many processed foods....

US beef producers hot over COOL flaws

For U.S. cattle producers, the concept of country-of-origin labeling seemed simple: Require all muscle cuts of beef to be labeled with their countries of origin, much like the labels affixed to televisions and furniture. That way, U.S. consumers could easily identify U.S. beef products, and buy them because of their reputation for safety and quality. As it turned out, it wasn’t that simple. Although country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for beef products was originally written into the 2002 Farm Bill, its implementation has been delayed six years because of continued arguments between ranchers and meat packers over how to interpret the law. Labeling for beef finally became “mandatory” last Sept. 30, and the Agriculture Department will begin enforcing its regulations beginning April 30. Yet the battle over country-of-origin labeling still rages. Bill Bullard, chief executive of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), said he is “definitely looking forward to the full implementation” of the labeling regulations, as spelled out, once again, in the 2008 Farm Bill. But he added that the USDA, under pressure from politically powerful meat packers, has undermined the intentions of Congress by writing interim rules that restrict the scope and power of the country-of-origin labeling. For example, Bullard said the USDA’s interim final rule for the labeling, issued Aug. 1, excludes any beef products that are cooked, smoked or cured. “The USDA is engaged in mischief in the rule-writing process. We are prepared to go back to Congress if they don’t do it properly,” Bullard said. “We’d ask Congress to amend the law to remove any discretion on the part of the USDA.”....

Outgoing ag secretary defends new labeling rules

The outgoing U.S. secretary of agriculture defended new country of origin labeling requirements, predicted improving conditions for producers and expressed optimism about agriculture's future during a visit Monday to San Antonio. On Monday, the department released details of the final country of origin labeling regulations that came from the new farm bill. The Food & Water Watch repeated its criticism of the regulation, saying “a massive loophole” governing processed foods will allow large quantities of meat products, frozen vegetables and nuts to be sold without a label saying where they were produced. But Schafer said the regulation struck a good balance between the needs of farmers, retailers, food safety interests and others in the production chain. Despite concerns raised by growers in Canada and Mexico, the regulations will comply with world trade agreements and should be given a chance to work, the secretary said....

Hard Times: “Child of Steens Mountain”

Child of Steens Mountain By Eileen O’Keeffe McVicker with Barbara J. Scott Oregon State University Press, 160 pages Child of Steens Mountain is Eileen O’Keeffe McVicker’s fascinating chronicle of her depression-era childhood on Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon and her adolescence spent in the nearby town of Burns. Her Irish immigrant father was a sheep rancher, and her story has a lot to teach readers about not just surviving, but getting the most out of life during hard times. Written with homey eloquence, it reads like a collection of a grandmother’s most memorable stories, and Barbara J. Scott, McVicker’s writing partner, has structured it into a compelling coming-of-age narrative. The small house in which the family of five lived lacked indoor plumbing, necessitating daily treks of a half-mile roundtrip to fill buckets with water from a mountain spring. When McVicker starts high school, she and her younger brother are sent to live in a cabin in town by themselves while their parents continued their ranch work. The kids have to run the household, feed themselves, do their homework, and arrive on time to school every day with no adult help....

Pam Minick was already a legend, but award makes it official

Pam Minick has done so much for cowboy and cowgirl culture that it would be hard to fit them all in this space. Fortunately, she’s been given a title that will sum them all up pretty nicely. From now on, Minick will be officially known as a Cowtown Legend. She will receive the award this weekend as part of the Western Heritage Trail Drive Celebration, a free event put on by Score a Goal in the Classroom on Saturday though Monday in downtown Fort Worth. That wasn’t her first or only foray into acting. She was part of the stunt team for the 1991 movie Necessary Roughness and played a TV reporter on the 2001 movie Cowboy Up. Minick is still on screen as the host for RFD-TVs The American Rancher. Minick got these parts because she is one of the best cowgirls to ever work on an arena floor. She was a Nevada High School Rodeo Barrel Racing Champion and the 1982 Women’s World Champion Breakaway calf roper. She is also known as one of the best rodeo commentators in the business. For her contributions to rodeo culture as a competitor and for all her other successes, Minick has been given several titles and awards, including Miss Rodeo America and induction into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2000. All of that had already made her a cowtown legend. But now we get to capitalize the title....

Wilderness bill moves forward in the Senate

In a rare Sunday session, the Senate advanced legislation that would set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness. Majority Democrats assembled more than enough votes to overcome GOP stalling tactics in an early showdown for the new Congress. Republicans complained that Democrats did not allow amendments on the massive bill, which calls for the largest expansion of wilderness protection in 25 years. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other Democrats said the bill — a holdover from last year — was carefully written and included measures sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats. By a 66-12 vote, with only 59 needed to limit debate, lawmakers agreed to clear away procedural hurdles despite partisan wrangling that had threatened pledges by leaders to work cooperatively as the new Obama administration takes office. Senate approval is expected later this week. Supporters hope the House will follow suit....

Freezing out the facts

The deaths are a sad reminder that cold weather, not warm weather, is the main killer of people, especially the elderly. Last year England had 25,300 elderly die due to cold weather, that was up on the previous year when 23,740 died from the cold. A spokesman for the National Pensioners Conventions says: “Since 1997, we have lost over 260,000 pensioners during the winter months because of cold-related illnesses...” I remember in 2003 that a particularly unusual heat wave hit France while many physicians were on their annual holiday. That summer France saw 14,802 people die from the heat. That got reported in the US. Now we read that cold has killed over a quarter of a million elderly people in just the UK alone in the last decade. The French heat wave from 2003 has not yet been repeated so those 14,802 deaths were in one year only. The UK sees that number of deaths EVERY year from cold plust around another 10,000 more. Did you see that reported in the US media? This is a far more tragic set of statistics but one the media in the US doesn’t find “sexy”. It doesn’t have that “global warming” angle to it that the media loves so much....

Obama climate czar has socialist ties

Until last week, Carol M. Browner, President-elect Barack Obama's pick as global warming czar, was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for "global governance" and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change. By Thursday, Mrs. Browner's name and biography had been removed from Socialist International's Web page, though a photo of her speaking June 30 to the group's congress in Greece was still available. Socialist International, an umbrella group for many of the world's social democratic political parties such as Britain's Labor Party, says it supports socialism and is harshly critical of U.S. policies. The group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, the organization's action arm on climate change, says the developed world must reduce consumption and commit to binding and punitive limits on greenhouse gas emissions....

The Dangers of Disputing Warming Orthodoxy

Those of us who refuse to accept calls from proponents of global warming for drastic restrictions on production often confront objections like this: You skeptics, blinded by fanatical devotion to the free market, ignore evidence. True enough, you can trot out a few scientists who agree with you. But the overwhelming majority of climate scientists view man-made global warming as a great threat to the world. The course of inaction you urge on us threatens the earth with disaster. Christopher Horner's excellent book provides a convincing response to this all-too-frequent complaint. But how can it do so? Will not an "anti-global-warming" book of necessity consist of an account of scientists who dissent from the consensus? If so, will it not fall victim to the difficulty raised in our imagined objection? The book will pick a few favored experts to back up a preconceived political agenda. Horner strikes at the root of this objection: it rests on a false premise. Contrary to what our objection assumes, there is in fact no consensus of scientists behind global-warming alarmism....

Decree gives park water right

The last day of 2008 also brought the end of Colorado’s longest-running water-rights contest. On Dec. 31, state water court Judge Stephen Patrick in Montrose signed a decree finalizing a water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The decision recognizes a year-round base flow of 300 cubic feet per second along with seasonal peak and shoulder flows, echoing the natural rise and fall of the river, depending on water availability. “This landmark ruling acknowledges that the Gunnison River offers recreational and natural resource benefits that deserve protection,” said Drew Peternell, director of Trout Unlimited’s Colorado Water Project. The park’s water right goes back to the 1933 establishment of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. But that water right was never quantified, and in 2003 the state Department of Natural Resources signed a controversial agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior that would have abrogated the park’s water, in effect making it available for other appropriation, including Front Range development. That agreement was challenged by a coalition of conservation groups, and in 2006 a federal court upheld the challenge and set aside the 2003 agreement. Last June, the conservation groups along with state and federal agencies, ranchers and water officials hammered out an agreement that provides for guaranteed minimal flows through the park.....

Veterinarians oppose brucellosis 'hot-zone'

A federal government plan to carve out the Yellowstone area as an animal disease "hot-zone" faces opposition from some state veterinarians, who worry the move would lower cattle industry safeguards. Creation of the zone would recognize Yellowstone as the last remaining region in the country where the disease brucellosis lingers. That could ease sanctions faced by some cattle producers when infections occur. State veterinarians from across the country had backed the idea last year at an annual convention in North Carolina. But several have since said their support hinges on stepped-up efforts to curb the disease in Yellowstone's wildlife - something they say hasn't yet occurred. "You can't address the root problem without addressing the wildlife populations that are infected," said Texas State Veterinarian Bob Hillman. "The wildlife populations know no boundaries ... At some point you increase the risk that transmission is going to occur."....

Merle Haggard sues Nashville's Green Train

Country legend Merle Haggard today filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court against the Nashville-based Green Train and its founder, Bob Wolf. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the alleged unauthorized use of Haggard’s name and forged signature to raise contributions for the organization, which promotes environmental concerns through a national musical train tour. The lawsuit, which has sparked a state investigation, alleged that the defendants have engaged in dishonest and illegal behavior, using substantial amounts of money for personal purposes. Wolf denies the allegations. Haggard’s lawsuit states that the Country Music Hall of Famer acted because such an association wrongly suggests that Haggard is involved with and condones the group’s conduct. Todd Kelley, director of the Tenessee Secretary of State’s Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming, said the Green Train has not registered with the Secretary of State's office or filed for an exemption, so fundraising would be in violation of the Charitable Solicitations Act. He said he will launch an investigation. This state division only has the power to assess civil penalties and cannot seek criminal charges....

Alpine farmers harvest snow

Cash strapped Alpine farmers are raking in a fortune harvesting snow and selling it to desperate ski slopes. Despite a freezing winter, snowfall levels at lower altitudes are down and Austrian resorts have had to buy in trailerloads of the stuff from higher up the mountains. In Austria the biggest "snow harvesters" are the owners of the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrassen AG (GroAG), a 40-mile stretch of road 8,200 feet above sea level which is Europe's highest Alpine crossing. GroAG spokesman Dietmar Schondorfer said: "Even if it doesn't snow, every day we have tonnes of snow dumped on the road by the wind, all we have to do is drive back and forward to scoop it up....

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

Unappreciated gifts come in all shapes

Julie Carter

In this season, just past the giving frenzy of December, there remain those things that were gifted with a subtle message.

The gift and message are not always appreciated with the same humorous sentiment with which they were given.

Ranch wives across the West are dutifully using their new Christmas double-bit axes to break ice on water troughs while the frozen January winds carry their muttered retorts to empty spaces.

Others are marveling over their new set of wire stretchers for fixing hot wire fences that came with an immediate demonstration on how to use them.

Then there is the new mop bucket, an upgrade complete with wheels.

One cowboy carefully counts the number of folks he plans to give a gift to and then purchases that same number of pairs of socks.

He buys equal amounts of small, medium and large and tells each recipient, "If they don't fit, trade them with someone."

Living dangerously or with a credible amount of stupidity - sometimes with cowboys it's hard to tell the difference - one such fellow gave his wife a new set of bathroom scales for Christmas.

Years later, she is still pointing out to him that perhaps he should use them himself as he has reached the appearance of someone about to give birth to twins.

Lex Graham, cartoonist and Western artist, offered his brand of humor with a drawing of a goofy-looking kid with his cap on sideways opening presents and his father talking to his mother saying "I got him that one - it's a job application."

Unappreciated gifts are not exclusive to Christmas. In fact, when cowboys are involved, the gifting continues in the form of joking fun throughout the year and paybacks become an ongoing effort working toward that moment that the recipient least expects it.

The United States Team Roping Championships (USTRC) has a 100,000-plus membership roster.

Their classification system handicaps ropers with a numbering system based on a collection of data on each one that creates a performance profile.

The object, always, is to provide everyone, regardless of age or ability, the fair and equal opportunity to compete.

Renumbering of ropers is an ongoing process and the ropers can find a new USTRC number card in their mailbox at any time.

Keeping in mind that the folks at the USTRC are cowboys and cowgirls first, the opportunity for a little practical joke didn't get by them.

Blonde Sally is ever alert to the possibility of get-evens from her friend and roper Jess.

It started a couple years ago when he gifted her with a bottle of Geritol.

A few months later, he worked some friends into the script and had them "secretly" reveal to Sally that Jess is a retired DEA agent and not unlikely to shoot somebody if necessary.

Dutiful in her job at the USTRC, Sally listed Jess' occupation as Disabled Elderly American, batting her eyelashes with an innocent "Isn't that what it stands for?" look.

Plotting for good get-evens is never ending and most recently, Jess opened his mail from the USTRC to see a new number card bumping him from a #4 to a #7.

While a bit of prestige comes with being such an elite roper as a #7, it also limits the roping options for the everyday amateur roper, and Jess was mortified at the possibility of never being welcome again at Mineral Wells.

He'd been set up. Sally called Jess' wife and had her retrieve the "real" numbering card that followed the joke card and requested a report of "reaction" to come.

When Jess called the USTRC office to plead his case, the crew, in fun, put him on hold, and indefinitely passed him from person to person.

Sally eventually assured him that contrary to his legendary view of himself, being a #1 in this case, was not the top of the list, but the very bottom.

Furthermore, giving him a #10 would have allowed him to think he was a real "hottie" among ropers, also not an option.

It was evident that the USTRC number was quickly becoming about ego, not about skill.

As a disclaimer, names have been changed to protect the guilty and the USTRC office staff and organization are completely blameless for any inference that the business is anything but credible. Find Julie through her website www.julie-carter.com .

It’s The Pitts: I Miss My Boots

Due to neuropathic problems with my feet I haven’t been able to wear my cowboy boots for awhile and it’s driving me crazy. I, like many people, took my boots for granted and now I feel so ashamed. Here are the ten things I liked most about my boots.

#10 Boots hide your socks: When you wear boots it doesn’t matter what color your socks are, or if they have holes in them, because no one can see them. I happen to own exactly one pair of black socks and the rest are white cotton socks from JC Penny, some of them dating back to my high school days. And many of them are holier than a Catholic cemetery.

#9 They aren’t flip flops: Have you ever tried to buckle a pair of spurs on to a pair of moccasins, sandals or flip flops? It would be easier to perform brain surgery while trying to stay on the hurricane deck of a Brahma bull.

#8 They are a status symbol: When you wear cowboy boots other people associate you with a higher class of people, like truck drivers and cow buyers. Whereas, if you wear soft shoes the general public might mistake you for a lowly investment banker, CEO of a failed Fortune 500 company or the Treasury Secretary.

#7 Cowboy boots are sexy: Given the choice, I am told that a woman will pick a man wearing Lucchese cowboy boots every time over some namby-pamby dude wearing the most expensive Italian loafers or wing tips. When I wore cowboy boots I walked with a swagger and had self confidence. I felt more manly, free and brave knowing I could survive any attack by an ankle biting Dachshund. And if I died after being bit by a rattler or munched on by a grizzly at least I’d be a hero and die with my boots on.

#6 They hide your feet and you don’t have to polish them: Or at least I never did! I ask you, is there anything uglier in the world than a person’s feet? The popping veins, ugly ankles and a gnarly big toe that is shaded by that long, crooked appendage next to it. I swear, most people’s feet are as appealing to the eye as a crooked hay stack.

#5 These boots are made for walking (and riding): not running, bowling, mowing the lawn or any one of a number of things that your wife is always harping at you to do. I’ve always found that boots provide the perfect excuse: “I’m sorry, I can’t go the beach because my boots don’t go with my Speedo,” or, “I’d love to go bike riding with you but wouldn’t you be embarrassed being seen with someone wearing a pair of bicycle shorts, skin tight shirt, dorky looking helmet and Tony Llamas? I thought so.”

#4 They are made from leather: I’ve always made my living off the cattle business and I was always proud to wear cowboy boots because they were made from the leather of American cattle. Oh sure, some expensive pairs of dress shoes are made from Italian leather, but they weren’t made in America, like every pair of cowboy boots I own. When was the last time you bought a pair of tennis shoes or house slippers that weren’t made in China?

#3 Your feet stay clean: I hate to admit this but I’ve always had a foot fetish. I never liked getting my feet real dirty. Cowboy boots keep out the dirt, rocks, stickers and squishy stuff that gets between your toes when wearing Nikes or Adidas. Anyone who has ever walked into a feedlot pen while wearing sandals knows what I mean.

#2 Boots make me taller: I am five feet ten inches tall in my bare feet and six feet four in my cowboy boots. Or, at least I feel like it. I’ve got a much loftier view of myself and the world in my boots than I do in a pair of soft shoes or slippers.

And the number one reason I prefer cowboy boots to other forms of footwear...

#1 You don’t have to tie them: And that’s a very big deal amongst fellow members of my social, economic and age demographic who many times can’t bend over to tie their shoes or, in some cases, can’t even see their feet to begin with.

Recession? Not for PETA and friends

In 2008, there appeared to be an increase in well-funded animal-rights activities directed at animal agriculture. Based on their research, the Animal Agriculture Alliance understands why. In 2007, the latest reporting period available for review, charitable donations to animal-rights groups rose 11 percent, providing activist groups with more funds to develop wide-ranging activities such as California’s Proposition 2, undercover video operations, legislative initiatives and legal actions. Donations to the extremist People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and its subsidiaries increased 11 percent.

The alliance research used a variety of sources including independent examinations of some groups’ Internal Revenue Service Form 990, which the IRS requires non-profits to file, and the 2008 Animal People Watchdog Report on 150 Animal Charities — the newspaper Animal People’s annual review of animal-charity budgets. Donations to Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal-rights activist group in the United States, remained about the same as 2006 when including its subsidiary organizations, the Fund for Animals and Doris Day Animal League.

On the international front, the World Society for Protection of Animals, a relatively moderate animal-rights group, increased its donations 80 percent, displacing PETA as the third-largest activist group targeting modern animal agriculture. However, in terms of assets, PETA and FSAP combined still can claim being the third-largest animal-rights groups with assets of $34.5 million. Additionally, UK-based Compassion in World Farming raised revenues 60 percent.

A very significant increase in charitable donations to an animal-rights group was to Acton, Calif.-based Animal Acres which increased donations 443 percent. Animal Acres was founded by Lorrie Bauston, a co-founder of the East Coast animal-rights group Farm Sanctuary. For all who value animal agriculture, this group warrants watching.

Total donations to the most significant domestic and international animal-rights groups reached nearly $330 million in 2007. This level of funding will only improve the ability of animal-rights groups worldwide to continue their multi-dimensional efforts, attacking animal agriculture and other animal-use businesses. Below is a comparison of 2007 and 2006 fundraising for some of the most notable activist groups’ funding.

Though revenue for groups with animal-rights and anti-animal agriculture programs was up in the low double-digits, total assets expanded 31 percent, due to conservative spending by the groups. Animal-rights behemoth HSUS had assets increase about 5 percent, slightly less than the S&P 500 gain of 6 percent for the year. However, the group still retains enough assets to fund itself for over two years and four months at its 2007 budget level.

“Much of this increased funding is attributed to donors who are not fully aware of the anti-animal use campaigns of many of these groups,” Alliance Executive Vice President Kay Johnson Smith said. “It’s unfortunate many portray themselves as mainstream and working to improve animal care, yet their funding is primarily spent on campaigns to ban or restrict essential uses of animals such as being raised for food or for research to find cures for diseases. Even worse, many of their campaigns demand changes that are actually harmful to animals’ overall health and well-being.”

The alliance encourages all potential donors to thoroughly evaluate the true goals and campaigns of all animal-rights groups before making a contribution. American farmers and ranchers work hard every day to provide consumers with wholesome products from humanely raised animals. Be sure your tax-deductible contributions are not going to groups working to eliminate your right to choose those products.

Not So Fast the Electric Cars, Buried Study Says

Contrary to popular belief, all useful information does not emanate exclusively from the United States. Likewise, governments other than ours can, on occasion, be as guilty as ours in suppressing useful information that is inconvenient for governments, not to mention advocates of and special pleaders for suspicious causes.

Thus it was that while Americans were busy holidaying, the Financial Times (FT) reported that the government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy was busily burying an inconvenient study – analyzing options for cleaner and more efficient mass-market cars -- commissioned by that very same government.

The study was conducted by Jean Syrota, a former French energy industry regulator.

According to Paul Betts and Song Jung-a of FT, the study “concludes that there is not much future in the much vaunted development of all electric-powered cars. Instead, it suggests that the traditional combustion engine powered by petrol, diesel, ethanol or new biofuels still offers the most realistic prospect of developing cleaner vehicles. Carbon emissions and fuel consumption could be cut by 30-40 per cent simply by improving the performance and efficiency of traditional engines and limiting the top speed to about 170km/hr [105 mph]....

“Overall, the Syrota report says that adapting and improving conventional engines could enhance their efficiency by an average of 50 per cent. It also argues that new-generation hybrid cars combining conventional engines with electric propulsion could provide an interesting future alternative.

“By combining electric batteries with conventional fuel-driven engines, cars could run on clean electricity for short urban trips while switching over to fuel on motorways. This would resolve one of the biggest problems facing all electric cars – the need to install costly battery recharging infrastructures. The report warns that the overall cost of an all-electric car remains unviable at around double that of a conventional vehicle.”

A single, buried French report cannot and should not curtail the development of electric cars. But it should be a cautionary note to all governments (California among them) rushing to embrace, with taxpayer money, the automobile panacea that could in reality never amount to more than a niche product with negligible impact on energy or transportation needs and considerable impact on consumer and taxpayer cost.

Not a week after FT reported on the buried French study, other news reports indicated that 14 U.S. companies had formed a coalition to seek $1 billion in U.S. government funding to develop batteries for electric cars. (You may have read that all free-market principles having now being discredited, the government will be responsible for all venture capital.)

That’s your money, as the ad slogan says. Call and let us know how far it gets your electric car across Route 66.

Feds have plan if Mexico drug violence spills over

If Mexican drug violence spills across the U.S. border, Homeland Security officials say they have a contingency plan to assist border areas that includes bringing in the military. "It's a common sense extension of our continued work with our state, local, and tribal partners in securing the southwest border," DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said Friday. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who described the contingency plan in an interview with The New York Times this week, said he ordered specific plans to be drawn up this summer as violence in Mexico continued to mount. The plan includes federal homeland security agents helping local authorities and maybe even military assistance from the Department of Defense, possibly including aircraft, armored vehicles and special teams to go to areas overwhelmed with violence, authorities said....