Court orders new review for jaguar habitat

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision not to designate critical habitat and develop a recovery plan for the endangered jaguar was based on incorrect criteria, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. In a decision favoring environmentalists, U.S. District Judge John Roll said the agency did not use the best scientific evidence available in deciding that critical habitat for the jaguar was "not prudent." He also cited inconsistency with the Endangered Species Act's statutory mandate, Fish and Wildlife's own regulations and relevant case law in striking down the agency's decision. Roll ordered Fish and Wildlife to review his ruling and make a decision by Jan. 8 on designating critical habitat and preparing a recovery plan. The ruling is a victory for Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity...AP

Water pipeline plan takes shape

An ambitious plan to build a 560-mile-long pipeline to pump water from southwest Wyoming's Flaming Gorge Reservoir to southeast Wyoming and the Front Range in Colorado is moving forward. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said this week the agency is beginning work on an environmental impact statement that will analyze the impacts of the proposed regional water supply project. Army Corps project manager Rena Brand said the agency has scheduled public "scoping" meetings in Green River on April 14 and Laramie on April 16 to discuss the project. Colorado businessman Aaron Million has been quietly shopping the idea around for almost four years. The private water development group, Million Conservation Resource Group, has filed for permits to start the approval process. Million envisions building the pipeline -- which would draw water from intake points located on Flaming Gorge Reservoir and upstream on the Green River in Sweetwater County -- at an estimated cost of $4 billion...Caspar Star-Tribune

Top 10 Internet April Fool's Pranks & When Did April Fool's Day Begin?

Check out the top 10 here.

Get your history lesson here.

Song Of The Day #009

Dock "Curley" Williams was born in 1914 and raised on the family farm in Grady County Florida. He was the seventh son of a country fiddler who also was the son of a country fiddler. His band was first called The Santa Fe Trail Riders and they had shows on several different Georgia radio stations. His big break came in 1942 when he and his band were invited to join the cast of the Grand Ol' Opry, and the band's name was changed to The Georgia Peach Pickers. He cut his first record in 1945. While no relation to Hank Williams, Curley wrote the song, "Half As Much", which was a big hit for Hank.

The selection today is his Lou'siana Serenade, available on the Bear Family CD Half As Much.

Democrats Unveil Climate Bill

The debate on global warming and energy policy accelerated on Tuesday as two senior House Democrats unveiled a far-reaching bill to cap heat-trapping gases and quicken the country’s move away from dependence on coal and oil. But the bill leaves critical questions unanswered and has no Republican support. It is thus the beginning, not the end, of the debate in Congress on how to deal with two of President Obama’s priorities, climate change and energy. The draft measure, written by Representatives Henry A. Waxman of California and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, sets a slightly more ambitious goal for capping heat-trapping gases than Mr. Obama’s proposal. The bill requires that emissions be reduced 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while Mr. Obama’s plancalls for a 14 percent reduction by 2020. Both would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by roughly 80 percent by 2050. The Waxman-Markey bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, emerges at a time when many Americans, and their representatives in Congress, are wary of wide-ranging environmental legislation that could raise energy costs and potentially cripple industry. The bill, a version of a so-called cap-and-trade plan, also comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is about to exert regulatory authority over heat-trapping gases under the Clean Air Act...NY Times

I'm thinkin' no legislation will pass before the next congressional elections.

They'll sit back, let EPA take administrative action, and see how it plays out politically.

Then Big Industry will go to Congress, hat in hand and checkbook in tow, and ASK for legislation to get them out from under the onerous EPA reg's.

Congress will oblige and then pass legislation that screws the rest of us.

Earth population 'exceeds limits' - State Dept. Advisor

There are already too many people living on Planet Earth, according to one of most influential science advisors in the US government. Nina Fedoroff told the BBC One Planet programme that humans had exceeded the Earth's "limits of sustainability". Dr Fedoroff has been the science and technology advisor to the US secretary of state since 2007, initially working with Condoleezza Rice. Under the new Obama administration, she now advises Hillary Clinton. "We need to continue to decrease the growth rate of the global population; the planet can't support many more people," Dr Fedoroff said, stressing the need for humans to become much better at managing "wild lands", and in particular water supplies. Pressed on whether she thought the world population was simply too high, Dr Fedoroff replied: "There are probably already too many people on the planet."...BBC

States rebel against Washington

With revolutionary die-hards behind him, Mr. Pitts has fired a warning shot across the bow of the Washington establishment. As the writer of one of 28 state "sovereignty bills" – one even calls for outright dissolution of the Union if Washington doesn't rein itself in – Pitts is at the forefront of a states' rights revival, reasserting their say on everything from stem cell research to the Second Amendment. Just as California under President Bush asserted itself on issues ranging from gun control to medical marijuana, a motley cohort of states – from South Carolina to New Hampshire, from Washington State to Oklahoma – are presenting a foil for President Obama's national ambitions. And they're laying the groundwork for a political standoff over the 10th Amendment, which cedes all power not granted to Washington to the people...USA Today

Federal judge throws out cougar management lawsuit

A federal district court judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by several environmental groups that aimed to stop the USDA from assisting in Oregon's cougar management efforts. U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty dismissed the lawsuit Monday, March 30, because the six plaintiffs lacked legal standing to make the complaint. The groups initially filed suit in January 2008, claiming that USDA's Wildlife Services unit violated federal environmental law by helping the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife kill cougars. Oregon's final cougar management plan was developed in 2006 to reduce conflicts between people and the animals. The plan called for the state's cougar population to be maintained at above 3,000 cats. Because the current population tops 5,000, the plaintiffs opposed the plan, alleging that it would arbitrarily kill 40 percent of the state's cougars. In December 2008, a U.S. magistrate judge recommended that the case be dismissed, since the Oregon Department of of Fish and Wildlife would reduce cougar populations with or without the federal government's help. "The underlying injury in this action, the killing of cougars, has not been caused by defendants' actions," according to the recommendation. "Instead, plaintiffs' harm has been caused by the acts of a third party not before this court, ODFW." The plaintiffs objected to the recommendation, but Haggerty decided that it was based on correct legal reasoning and so dismissed the case...Capital Press

Mountain lion tranquilized after killing dog in Boulder

A mountain lion was tranquilized and relocated by the state Division of Wildlife after killing a small dog in Boulder's Highland Park neighborhood on Monday, according to Boulder police. The lion killed a "white, fluffy dog" outside 2318 Dennison St. at about 4 p.m., police said. Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said the lion, a 10-month-old male, was moved to a remote location. She said the lion had previously been tagged and is part of the division's Front Range mountain study. The lion will be "hazed" to give it a negative association with humans and its movements tracked, she said...Boulder Camera

We need to recruit these folks to "haze" some of our Congress Critters so as to give them a "negative association" with spending money, and then track their movement and their votes.

Vilsack hedges on single-agency food regulation, NAIS

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appeared to step back Tuesday from earlier comments endorsing the creation of a single food safety agency. Vilsack told a House agricultural appropriations subcommittee that it was premature to say how food regulation should be organized. Recent outbreaks and food recalls have forced the Obama administration to focus on food safety. Fifteen federal agencies have some responsibility for ensuring the safety of food. But the bulk of the responsibility is with the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service, which inspects meat, and the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates most other foods, and those agencies have competing philosophies, Vilsack said. He said the food safety system should focus on the riskiest products and eliminate "hazards before they have the opportunity to make anyone sick," rather than just try to contain outbreaks. The Bush administration wanted to focus meat inspections on the highest-risk products, but the plan was delayed amid criticism that the Agriculture Department had insufficient data to know which processors to target. Before it moves ahead with creating a mandatory animal identification system, the Obama administration also wants to allay the concerns of producers who oppose making any such system compulsory. Unless those objections are addressed, officials will get tied down chasing producers who are evading the program, Vilsack told the House subcommittee. An animal identification system is intended to allow investigators to quickly trace the sources of food-borne disease outbreaks. Vilsack stopped short of explicitly endorsing a mandatory identification program, though he said he is "supportive of the effort to make sure that we have an identification system that will allow us to prevent and/or mitigate problems." But many cattle producers and small-scale farmers strongly oppose a mandatory system. They cite such concerns as the cost, the potential for lawsuits arising from disease outbreaks, and the confidentiality of records. Some key lawmakers — including the chairwoman of the appropriations subcommittee, Connecticut Democrat Rosa DeLauro — are pressing the administration to set up a mandatory system anyway...Des Moines Register

HSUS offers reward in Colorado cow mutilations

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­mutilating cows in Southern Colorado. According to news reports, a ranch manager found one of his cows dead on March 24 at a ranch near Walsenburg. The cow's udder had been surgically removed. The animal had no other obvious injuries and there was no blood or ground disturbance around the cow’s body. On March 17, at a ranch 14 miles east of Trinidad on U.S. 350, a rancher found one of his cows dead near their feed tub with only his spinal column, head and legs left behind. On March 8--- near the Purgatoire River just west of Weston--a cow was found dead with her udder and reproductive organs surgically removed. "Those who abuse animals can be dangerous to people," said Holly Tarry, The HSUS' Colorado state director. "Americans have no tolerance for violence against the creatures who share our world."...Feedstuffs

Speaking of creatures, Holly better hope the guilty ones are of "our world", and not some Meat Eating Martian Marlboro Man who'd have her for lunch.

"Here's To You Mr. Jefferson" - Music Video

An interesting musical commentary, done to the tune of Mrs. Robinson.

"Shuttin' Detroit Down" - Music Video

I normally don't listen to Top 40 Country radio, so hadn't heard this song. Ran across it at NM Politico.

Looks like John Rich has a hit commenting on today's political shenanigans. Here's the video:


"Shuttin' Detroit Down" Lyric Video

Song Of The Day #008

After all these videos and fancy stuff, I'm gonna dip into my collection of old 78s.

The Sweet Violet Boys were actually The Prairie Ramblers. Like many artists of the time, they recorded under a different name when the material was considered risque. Bob Miller, the pianist in the group wrote There's A Man That Comes To Our House. He went so far as to publish the song under the pseudoname Trebor Rellim, or Robert Miller backwards. I also understand Patsy Montana left the studio when this or similar songs were recorded. Things were a wee bit different back then (mid-thirties).

Enjoy The Sweet Violet Boys recording of There's A Man That Comes To Our House, Columbia 37768.

Obama Signs Major Land Conservation Law

President Obama signed a massive lands package into law today, protecting more than two million acres as wilderness and creating a new national system to conserve land held by the Bureau of Land Management. At the signing ceremony Obama said, "This legislation guarantees that we will not take our forests, rivers, oceans, national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas for granted, but rather we will set them aside and guard their sanctity for everyone to share. That's something all Americans can support." The law also establishes the 26-million acre National Landscape Conservation System, which aims to protect the most environmentally and historically-significant lands controlled by the BLM. The new system, which encompasses 850 sites including the Canyons of Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado, Agua Fria National Monument in Arizona and Nevada's Black Rock Desert National Conservation Area, requires the agency to make conservation a priority when managing these areas...Washington Post

Here's a video of the signing ceremony:

Obama to sign lands bill before 5 days of comment

President Obama on Monday will sign the omnibus land conservation bill - yet again breaking his vow to allow five days for public comment before he affixes his signature to legislation. The bill passed the House on Wednesday, but the White House didn't post the measure for comments until Friday, leaving just two weekend days and parts of Friday and Monday for the public to register comments - short of the president's five-day pledge. The bill was posted for only several hours before the White House announced that Mr. Obama would sign it, indicating the president had made up his mind well before many comments could have been submitted...Washington Times

Lands bill includes federal wolf-kill compensation

A public lands bill signed Monday by President Barack Obama includes a program under which ranchers could get money from the federal government to compensate them for livestock killed by wolves. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming sponsored the so-called "Wolf Kill Bill," which authorizes the federal government to spend up to $1 million annually on the 5-year demonstration program. The money also would cover grants to states and Indian tribes to reduce the risk of livestock attacks, by erecting fences and improving grazing practices. Tester said money for the program would likely be split evenly between compensating ranchers and paying for ways to prevent wolf attacks...KPAX

National Landscape Conservation System Signed Into Law by President Obama

At a ceremony earlier today, President Obama signed into law legislation permanently establishing the National Landscape Conservation System, which will protect and restore the most scenic, ecologically and historically significant lands under the jurisdiction of the Burhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifeau of Land Management. The System, the first of its kind in 50 years, consists of National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic and Historic Trails and other protective designations totaling over 850 sites and 26 million acres. "This is an historic moment for our public lands. Future generations will look back at this day as one of the most important dates in American land conservation history," said William Meadows, President of The Wilderness Society. The National Landscape Conservation System contains areas of rich archaeological and cultural significance including Canyons of Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado, and Agua Fria National Monument in Arizona as well as vast wild areas such as Nevada's Black Rock Desert National Conservation Area and California's King Range National Conservation Area. The Conservation System protects critical habitat for fish and wildlife, provides access to world-class hunting and fishing, and offers challenging recreation for the self-guided adventurer. "These places tell the story of America -- they truly are the 'crown jewels' of the Bureau of Land Management's land. Now, thanks to a concerted effort by many people, their future is more secure. That's good news for everybody," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation...Press Release

Winds of Change Evident in U.S. Environmental Policy

Daniel Reifsnyder, a 25-year State Department veteran, knew even before President Obama was elected that U.S. environmental policy was going to change. So in early November, he called a couple of his Environmental Protection Agency counterparts about drafting documents to lay the groundwork for endorsing a treaty to curb global emissions of toxic mercury. By Feb. 20, the efforts of Reifsnyder and dozens of other rank-and-file federal employees had borne fruit: After the United States voiced support for the idea of a new, binding mercury treaty, the world community embraced it in Nairobi. The rapid policy reversal is just one of more than a dozen environmental initiatives the new administration has undertaken in its first two months. In nearly every case, the decisions were based on extensive analysis and documentation that rank-and-file employees had prepared over the past couple of years, often in the face of contrary-minded Bush administration officials. After years of chafing under political appointees who viewed stricter environmental regulation with skepticism, long-serving federal officials are seeing work that had been gathering dust for years translate quickly into action. After years of behind-the-scenes disputes with their superiors who favored regulatory restraint, many longtime federal workers are now what Cox calls "more in sync" with the new political hires running their agencies. This shift has helped produce broad policy reversals that encompass such issues as writing new regulations and prosecuting violators of old ones, with still more in the pipeline...Washington Post

Meet The New Boss

A president of the United States orders the chief executive officer of General Motors to resign. The same president is further ordering Chrysler to merge with Fiat, the Italian firm specializing in flimsy cardboard boxes on wheels. This new reality should send a chill down the spines of all Americans. The federal government has begun to run U.S. companies. President Obama said Monday, "my team will be working closely with GM to produce a better business plan." To that confident assertion he added these stern sentiments: "They must ask themselves: Have they consolidated enough unprofitable brands? Have they cleaned up their balance sheets, or are they still saddled with so much debt that they can't make future investments? Above all, have they created a credible model for how not only to survive, but to succeed in this competitive global market?"Imagine if it were not GM, but your own small business employing a handful of people. How would you like the country's highest-ranking elected officeholder telling you that he and "my team" know better than you about cleaning up your balance sheets and competing against your rivals? How would you like being ordered by the government to fire the person you hired as manager of your company?...IBD

Big business has been in cahoots with big government for years, and now they are seeing the result of their efforts. They sold their soul long ago and are now losing their autonomy to their "friend."

They should accept no federal dollars, declare bankruptcy, reorganize and work their way back.