Senate confirms EchoHawk as next Bureau of Indian Affairs leader

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Larry EchoHawk as the next head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Born in Wyoming, EchoHawk is a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. He is a former state attorney general of Idaho. EchoHawk's nomination was confirmed by the Senate late Tuesday without a roll call vote. Last week, as his nomination moved out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on a voice vote, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sent word that he wanted to be recorded in opposition. Supporters had pushed for a quick confirmation of EchoHawk. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate committee, had noted the post has been empty for more than four of the last eight years. Citing the challenges facing the agency, Dorgan described that record as ""shameful.'' EchoHawk's title will be assistant Interior secretary of Indian Affairs...TulsaWorld

New Push By Casinos On for Eminent Domain in Atlantic City

A former Atlantic City mayor who is now a state senator is joining several casino executives in calling for aggressive use of eminent domain to seize vacant buildings and land to clear the way for new development in this struggling seaside gambling resort. At an East Coast gambling conference Tuesday, State Sen. Jim Whelan, the former mayor, said eminent domain - in which private property owners are required to sell their real estate for a public purpose - is the best way for Atlantic City to weather the economic downturn. The heads of two casino companies with projects under way in town also called for the use of eminent domain to remove blight just blocks from the casinos...AP

Eminent domain is by it's very nature "aggressive." It forces you to bow down and be subservient to the state. Eminent domain comes from the Latin term dominium eminens, which means Supreme Lordship. For our purposes you can go back to 1066, when William The Conqueror seized all the land in England.

Although he maintained absolute power over the land, he granted fiefs to landholders who served as stewards, paying fees and providing military services.

Sound familiar? It was from this system that the right of condemnation developed. This English common law was brought to America. During the debates on the constitution, Thomas Jefferson wanted to get rid of all vestiges of feudalism, and proposed allodial ownership of land. Allodial is:

Allodial title is a concept in some systems of property law. It describes a situation where real property (land, buildings and fixtures) is owned free and clear of any encumbrances, including liens, mortgages and tax obligations. Allodial title is inalienable, in that it cannot be taken by any operation of law for any reason whatsoever. In common legal use, allodial title is used to distinguish absolute ownership of land by individuals from feudal ownership, where property ownership is dependent on relationship to a lord or the sovereign. Webster's first dictionary (1825 ed) says allodium is "land which is absolute property of the owner, real estate held in absolute independence, without being subject to any rent, service, or acknowledgement to a superior. It is thus opposed to feud."

If Jefferson had carried the day, not only could they not condemn your land, they could not tax it either. But along came the moderate on this issue, James Madison, whose compromise was the 5th amendment. They kept the English common law of the sovereign-steward concept, but insisted on compensation. So when they come to take your property, you will know the remnants of the feudal system gave them the authority. Your little fiefdom has just been taken back by William The Conqueror.

Also note in the article the casinos want property condemned several blocks away. In other words, if you don't like your neighbor, just sic William The Conqueror on him.

Obama’s Proposed Increased Fuel Efficiency Will Cost Extra $1,300 Per Vehicle

President Barack Obama outlined Tuesday the nation's first comprehensive effort to curb vehicle emissions while cutting dependence on imported oil, calling the plan an historic turning point toward a "clean-energy economy." While the new fuel and emission standards for cars and trucks will save billions of barrels of oil, they are expected to cost consumers an extra $1,300 per vehicle by the time the plan is complete in 2016. Obama said the fuel cost savings would offset the higher price of vehicles in three years. While requiring that vehicle carbon dioxide emissions be reduced by about one-third by the target date, the plan requires the auto industry to be building vehicles that average 35.5 miles per gallon. The plan also would effectively end a feud between automakers and statehouses over emission standards - with the states coming out on top but the automakers getting the single national standard they've been seeking and more time to make the changes...AP

Even if you accept this as good public policy, the federales always underestimate costs and overestimate benefits. So expect to pay more and receive less.

Proposed Mileage Standards Would Kill More Americans than Iraq War

The Obama administration’s proposed mileage standards that will be announced today may kill more Americans at a faster rate than the Iraq War — his signature issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama’s standards will require automakers to meet a 35 miles-per-gallon standard by 2016 — four years earlier than the same standard imposed by the Energy Security and Independence Act of 2007. As discussed in my new book “Green Hell,” the only way for carmakers to meet these standards is to make smaller, lighter and deadlier cars. The National Academy of Sciences has linked mileage standards with about 2,000 deaths per year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that every 100-pound reduction in the weight of small cars increases annual traffic fatalities by as much as 715. The Natural Resources Defense Council said that the 35 MPG standard would save about one million gallons of gas per day. So how does that savings balance against the 2,000 fatalities per year that the National Academy of Sciences says are caused by those same lighter cars? For the sake of being utilitarian, let’s generously assume that the mileage standards reduced the price of gasoline by $1. That would translate to daily savings of $1 million. Is that savings worth killing more than five people per day, plus other non-fatal injuries and property damage?...CNSNews

Climate-bill foes likely to seize on CBO's scoring

Congress' chief scorekeeper says the global warming bill moving through Congress will either be scored as a major tax increase or a massive expansion of the federal government - and either one could give opponents substantial ammunition to complicate Democrats' efforts to pass a bill. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in a letter sent last week to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, said Democrats' approach of creating allowances for emitting greenhouse gases requires developing from scratch a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Whether the allowances are sold, as President Obama wants, and scored as a tax increase, or given away, as House Democratic leaders have suggested, and scored as "cash grants" to businesses, opponents are lining up to use CBO's conclusions as ammunition in the public relations battle over the bill...WTimes

Yellowstone workers kill problem wolf that chased folks

Yellowstone National Park wildlife officials say they have killed a wolf that chased people on bicycles and motorcycles on several occasions. The action taken today against the yearling male is the first time wildlife managers have been forced to kill a wolf since the animals were reintroduced in Yellowstone in 1995-96. Previous attempts to haze it away from park facilities were unsuccessful. Wildlife managers said the wolf had lost its fear of people, showing up in the Old Faithful area frequently, and posed a safety risk to park visitors. Officials said the wolf has probably been fed by people. AP

Pinon Canyon expansion in the news

For an excellent audio report on the recent events surrounding this controversy, including interview with the various parties involved, go here.

Environmentalists threaten livestock industry in state

If there was any doubt the livestock industry is in a fight for its life, the events of recent weeks surely erased such thoughts. In Eastern Oregon, Grant County ranchers had heard for months that environmental groups were planning to seek new injunctions on Malheur National Forest grazing allotments. Rumor became reality in early April when the Oregon Natural Desert Association, Western Watershed Project and the Center for Biological Diversity asked a federal judge to halt grazing on six allotments, contending federal land managers have failed to prevent cattle grazing from harming endangered fish. The new injunction would affect 17 ranchers and an estimated 250,000 acres of land. The environmentalists filed their request just as ranchers were preparing for a new grazing season, one now in limbo. It also came just as the ranchers' legal defense group, the Five Rivers Grazing Permittees, had worked with forest officials to craft a plan for drastically reduced grazing on two allotments environmentalists successfully targeted last year. Attorneys for the ranchers in mid-April asked the federal court to accept the plan and allow some grazing to resume on the Murderers Creek and Lower Middle Fork grazing allotments. Judge Ancer Haggerty, who granted the injunction on the two allotments in May 2008, is expected to consider both the grazing proposal and the request to bar grazing on the additional six allotments at a hearing in June. Rural communities are watching with concern as events unfold...East Oregonian

Oklahoma hosts Children’s Cowboy Festival

One of America’s greatest family friendly festivals is back at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Museum will be celebrating the 19th Annual Chuck Wagon Gathering & Children’s Cowboy Festival presented by Dogwood Foundation, May 23 and 24, 2009. Children can participate in numerous outdoor activities including pony rides, rope making, bandana designing, horseshoe pitchin’, leather crafting and many more. Stagecoach and covered wagon rides around the festival grounds are a family favorite. The food is fantastic as ten chuck wagon crews cook such delicious fare as stew, brisket, sourdough biscuits, beans, cobblers and rice pudding for visitors to sample. Demonstration recipes are free to the audience and cookbooks are available for purchase at The Museum Store wagon. Western musical entertainment is scheduled on two separate stages. Don Edwards will be on stage Saturday, May 23. Edwards’ career as a balladeer, guitarist and composer has spanned more than three decades, enriching audiences with his authentic Western music and his extensive knowledge of cowboy lore. He played the role of Smokey, Robert Redford’s best friend, in the “Horse Whisperer” film. Red Steagall, who will perform Sunday, May 24, has performed at the Chuck Wagon event since 1991. The official Cowboy Poet of Texas is a master songwriter, recording artist, author, actor, radio personality and rancher. His career spans more than 25 years of performances at rodeos, major fairs, poetry gatherings and worldwide tours...Press Release

Song Of The Day #042

Running late this morning. Our third Hank of the week is Hank Thompson (1925-2007). He was born Henry William Thompson in Waco, Texas. He sold over 60 million records and his band, The Brazos Valley Boys, was voted the #1 Country and Western band 14 years in a row. He has been inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Thompson's music is widely availabe; you might want to start with his Vintage Collection.

He had a series of hits based on nursery rhymes. Here's one of them: Rub-Adub-Dub

Influencing Congress: Defenders’ Effective Offense

It’s a deceptively simple political strategy but it works for the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife. Rather than trying to elect dozens of friendly lawmakers, it’s been concentrating its money on just a few high-profile races and flooding them with money and volunteers. It was this strategy in 2006 that allowed the group to help defeat Richard W. Pombo, the California Republican who at the time chaired the House Natural Resources Committee. Armed with $60,000 worth of polling that suggested Pombo was vulnerable, the group spent $1.7 million through two political funds and fielded canvassers across his district with the message that Pombo was “America’s No. 1 wildlife villain” for helping developers, miners, and the oil and gas industry. A Web site called PomboInTheirPocket.org posted more information. Pombo lost to Democrat Jerry McNerney by 13,000 votes. The Washington-based wildlife group, founded in 1947 primarily to fight fur trapping, still mainly focuses on the welfare of predators such as wolves and coyotes. And it’s become an example of a shift in the direction of advocacy groups away from general issue campaigns and toward targeted efforts against individual politicians, while at the same time shielding the identity of political contributors. This new wave of groups, organized under section 501(c)4 of the tax code as “ideological education” groups, spent nearly $200 million in the 2007-2008 election cycle, more than each party’s congressional campaign committees, according to a study by the Campaign Finance Institute, an academic research group affiliated with George Washington University. The Defenders in 2006 were involved in 26 races...CQ

Obama's EPA clears 42 of 48 new mountaintop removal mining permits

The Obama administration has cleared more than three-dozen new mountaintop removal permits for issuance by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, drawing quick criticism from environmental groups who had hoped the new president would halt the controversial practice. In a surprise announcement Friday, Rep. Nick J. Rahall said 42 of the 48 permits already examined by the U.S. Environmental Protection had been approved by EPA for issuance by the corps. The West Virginia Democrat is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the federal strip mining law, and represents a district that includes most of the state's southern coal counties. Rahall said officials from the EPA told him their review so far has objected to only six of the 48 Clean Water Act permits the Corps of Engineers had proposed to issue. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson had announced in March that her staff was taking a closer look at those permits because of concerns that mountaintop removal was burying streams and damaging downstream water quality. Carl Pope, director of the Sierra Club environmental group, said Friday's announcement by Rahall raises questions about whether Jackson and EPA are up to the task...wvgazette

DOJ nominee's industry experience a worry for some

The corporate background of President Obama's pick for the nation's top environmental litigator has spurred concerns that she is ill-suited to lead the office charged with tackling corporate polluters. Obama announced plans earlier this week to nominate Ignacia Moreno, counsel of corporate environmental programs at General Electric Corp., to serve as assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. If confirmed by the Senate, Moreno would take the helm of the office tasked with enforcing environmental laws and defending federal regulations in lawsuits. But environmental groups fear that Moreno's tenure as a corporate attorney makes her a poor choice to lead the nation's environmental litigation efforts. "The question is: Is she the best possible person for that job, given the sensitive nature of that position?" said Frank O'Donnell, president of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch. "It seems as if she has spent maybe more time defending polluters than prosecuting them." Prior to joining GE in 2006, Moreno worked at the Washington law firm Spriggs & Hollingsworth, where she specialized in environmental and mass tort litigation. She also worked for DOJ during the Clinton administration, serving as special assistant and principal counsel to the assistant attorney general for the environment division. She began her career at Hogan & Hartson LLP, where she practiced with the firm's environmental and litigation groups. "There's a huge amount of concern circulating through the environmental community" about Moreno's nomination, said Alex Matthiessen, president of the New York-based environmental group Riverkeeper...NYTimes

Bush Administration Left a 'Mess,' Interior Secretary Says

Romano: Your former Republican colleagues in the Senate are blocking David Hayes, your pick to be deputy secretary. What's happening with that? Salazar: There was a mess that was left here by the prior administration, and it essentially revolves around a perspective around here that the laws were to be skirted, and the consequence of that is that we're dealing with many decisions that have had to be revisited. It's in the context of cleaning up the mess and bringing about . . . a new direction that there has been a swing back by some in the Republican Party. . . . The unfortunate legacy of the Bush administration is at the political level, there were ethical lapses and illegal activity that occurred that created a blemish on this department probably like no other . . . when you have deputy secretaries who have been sent to prison, when you have criminal conduct that essentially has taken place in MMS. Romano: Are you reconsidering the Utah leases in light of the fact that they have thrown up these barriers to Hayes's confirmation? Salazar: No. I am reconsidering the leases in the context of my decision, but not because of whatever it is that is going on in the Senate today. I made the determination that I was going to pull back on those leases and basically call a timeout so that I could review what had happened and make a decision on how to move forward...WPost

Ritter to sign bill to block Pinon Canyon expansion

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said Saturday he will sign a bill to prevent the Army from buying or leasing land in southeast Colorado for a military training site. Ritter told The Pueblo Chieftain the bill is a safety net for farmers and ranchers who fear an Army takeover of their land. "It may not be the last discussion we have on Pinon Canyon, but it's important to put this safety net in place," he said. Ritter told the newspaper Saturday he will sign the bill as soon as the paperwork is ready. The bill bars the sale of land from the Colorado State Land Board for Army expansion. About 20 percent of the land the Army wants to use is owned by the land board. The Army has said it needs to expand its training site near La Junta, about 140 miles southeast of Denver, to accommodate new weapons, tactics and soldiers. The Army's plan, announced more than three years ago, immediately drew the ire of landowners and congressional representatives who have fought the expansion, saying it would hurt the area's agriculture economy and permanently damage the land. The original plan was to increase the 238,000-acre site by about 414,000 acres...AP

"It may not be the last discussion we have on Pinon Canyon..."

Are those weasel words from Governor Ritter? Let's hope not.

Pinon Canyon: Coffman Irked by Ritter Bill Signing

U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) issued a statement today in response to Governor Bill Ritter´s announcement, last Saturday, to the Pueblo Chieftain that he intends to sign House Bill 1317 into law. House Bill 1317 would bar the U.S. Army from either buying or leasing any property owned by the Colorado Land Board. The purpose of the legislation is designed to stop the U.S. Army from acquiring 100,000 acres of land in southeastern Colorado that is adjacent to the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS). The Colorado Land Board has sections of land throughout the area that the Army wants to lease or purchase. " I´m a combat veteran with five overseas deployments, four of which have taken me to the Middle East, and I fully understand the Army´s need for this scaled down request. Today, the Governor sent a clear message to the U.S. Army that he doesn´t want them in Colorado and I think that the Department of Defense will respond accordingly," Coffman said. Coffman has served in both the U.S. Army and in the Marine Corps and now sits on the House Armed Services Committee...American Chronicle

Governor Ritter In The Line of Fire

Governor Bill Ritter's decision to make it harder for the army to expand the Pinon Canyon Manuever Site is not sitting well with Republicans. He has yet to sign the bill into law but his public support for prohibiting the sale of state land and option of blocking the sale of private land is drawing harsh criticism. GOP leaders believe discussion of the ban has already prompted the army to shift its training focus elsewhere. They cite the redirection of $17 million in federal funds to Louisiana and the decision to not create a 3,500-soldier infantry brigade at Fort Carson as reasons why the governor's impending signature is already hurting the state. "This bill is a job-killer and a slap in the face to our service men and women, who dedicate their lives for our country," said Glenn. The governor has also drawn criticism from Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn, who says Fort Carson is a financial powerhouse for the entire state to the tune of $1.64 billion...News Channel 13

Remember just four years ago when both Senators from Colo. were Republican? Both seats are now filled by Democrats and you can see one of the reasons why. Republicans who care more about federal dollars and federal jobs than they do about individuals, families and small businesses are deservedly being retired.

Who's minding the forest?

While the Obama administration has been consumed with problems tied to the country's economic woes, it's left our national forests largely in the hands of appointees from the previous administration. Unless the White House sends a clear signal to its agencies to change course, we could be living with the consequences for a long time. Although the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the country's 193 million acres of national forests, is now headed by former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, he's insufficient company. About half of the agency's top posts remain unfilled, while other personnel in place, including the chief of the Forest Service, were hand-picked by the last administration. Similar vacancies exist at the Department of Justice, where the Senate has not yet confirmed an assistant attorney general responsible for litigation on environmental issues. Still minding the store are some of the same allies of the timber industry who failed to defend - and ultimately sought to replace - the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, the popular Clinton-era policy that protects roughly 60 million acres of undeveloped national forests from road-building and other industry incursion. For example, in early July, the Justice Department must answer a complaint filed by environmentalists in Idaho challenging the Bush administration's decision to toss out the original roadless policy and replace it with a voluntary, state-by-state rulemaking. It's also going to settle on what legal argument to make before a Wyoming federal district court judge who has twice struck down the roadless rule. A separate decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could also affect the measure's fate...Modesto Bee

Simpson optimistic about wilderness bill

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, gave an upbeat assessment Sunday about the chances his Boulder-White Clouds wilderness bill has in the current session of Congress. "I firmly believe it will be in the next lands bill," he said. Simpson, who was the original sponsor of the legislation, called the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act (CIEDRA), made his comments during the Idaho Conservation League's annual Wild Idaho conference at Redfish Lake over the weekend. Simpson has been attending the ICL conference for about a decade. This year, Simpson was joined at the Wild Idaho conference by his colleague in the U.S. House of Representatives, first-term Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho. Simpson and Minnick have reintroduced CIEDRA into Congress as co-sponsors. It seems likely that having a Democrat as a co-sponsor in the Democrat-controlled Congress may give the wilderness legislation better momentum, an observation the two legislators noted. So far, the new Congress has been more wilderness-friendly than previous ones, having already approved a package of land bills that designated just over 2.1 million acres of new wilderness across the country, including 517,000 acres in Idaho's Owyhee County...Idaho Mtn. Express

President Obama Invests in Connecting Children with Nature

President Obama’s fiscal 2010 budget proposal at the Department of Interior contains an historic $50 million in new investments to connect children and families to the great outdoors. The budget targets $30 million for educating young hunters and anglers, as well as $20 million in new funding for Youth Careers in Nature. This DOI initiative, dubbed the 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps, will bolster environmental education, recreation, and service programs throughout the Department, and engage thousands of youth in the outdoors. Kevin Coyle, Vice President for Education and Training at the National Wildlife Federation, said: “President Obama’s budget makes a bold and necessary investment to connect today’s children with the great outdoors...Fly Rod + Reel