Song Of The Day #292

Ranch Radio brings you some early Gene Autry who, like so many in the late 20's and early 30's, got his start by mimicking the singing and yodeling of Jimmie Rodgers. Autry did it better than most and here he is performing Birmingham Daddy.

The tune is available on his 23 track CD Gene Autry: Blues Singer, 1929-1931.

You'll note in the photo he strikes a pose very much like Jimmie Rodgers.

Burglary suspect may have info in Krentz killing

There are new details in the search for the person responsible for killing Cochise County rancher Robert Krentz. Cochise County Sheriff's Deputies are looking for Alejandro Chavez-Vasquez in connection with a series of burglaries. Cochise County officials say he may have information about the death of Krentz. Chavez-Vasquez is neither a suspect nor a person of interest in the case at this time. Robert Krentz was found dead last month on his ranch near Douglas. Investigators say the killer was likely a drug cartel scout and ran back into Mexico after shooting Krentz. Anyone with information about Chavez-Vasquez is asked to call the Cochise County Sheriff's Office at 520-432-9500 or 1-800-362-0812. You can also call 9-1-1 or 88-Crime. KOLD

Arizona gov. calls for more border protection

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer again called for more troops along the state's border with Mexico on Thursday, two days before a deadline for her to approve or strike down the nation's toughest legislation on illegal immigration. The Republican governor ordered a reallocation of state National Guard and law enforcement resources and called on the federal government to deploy National Guard troops as hundreds of Hispanics protested the bill at the State Capitol complex. Part of the plan requires approval from the federal government, including funding for an additional 250 National Guard troops to support anti-drug measures on the border. Brewer said the price tag is too high for the cash-strapped state to cover. Brewer's border security plan follows others released by Arizona politicians over the past two weeks in the wake of the death last month of a rancher on his property in southeastern Arizona. Authorities believe he was killed by an illegal border crosser...more

Senate Republicans Move to Bar NEPA Analysis of Climate Change Impacts

Republican senators introduced legislation today that would block White House efforts to require federal agencies to consider climate change in environmental analyses of proposed projects. The bill says the National Environmental Policy Act should not be used to document, predict or mitigate the climate effects of specific federal actions. Under the measure, NEPA reviews could not consider the greenhouse gas emissions of a proposed federal project nor climate change effects as related to the proposal's design, environmental impacts, or mitigation or adaptation measures. The measure comes after the White House in February issued draft guidance (pdf) that will require federal agencies to consider greenhouse gas emissions and climate change when carrying out NEPA reviews. The White House Council on Environmental Quality, or CEQ, is accepting public comment on the proposal through May 24. The senators say assessing the climate change impacts of individual projects would provide no meaningful information for the public but instead would encourage more bureaucratic delays and litigation "designed to change NEPA into a global warming prevention statute." They claim the guidance could block road construction, delay domestic energy production and hurt job creation, while their bill would ensure federal agencies won't engage in "costly, and ultimately useless" reviews...more

Go here to view the NEPA Certainty Act.

New front in animal rights war

A recent legal dispute between the University of South Dakota and an animal rights group represents a new front to the battle between scientists and animal rights groups: state open records laws. Specifically, activists have turned to state open records laws to obtain information about biomedical research happening at state institutions. "In addition to the federal [Freedom of Information Act], animal rights groups are also using state open records laws," Frankie Trull, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, told The Scientist. "[Animal rights activists] have done this all over the country." The fear, said Trull, is that activists will distribute information in a way that invites violence or harassment of scientists who conduct animal research. "The question is, 'What are you going to do with the information?'" she asked. "If the intention on receiving the information was pure, there wouldn't be a problem at all. But if the information about you or your research is FOIAed and you get some threatening emails, it's not so good anymore." Although open records laws vary widely from state to state, most allow for the release of information held at state agencies and institutions...more

Song Of The Day #291

This morning Ranch Radio brings you some early Tommy Sands. Yes, take a look, THAT Tommy Sands. The movie and recording star who was married to Nancy Sinatra.

While born in Chicago, he was raised in Louisiana and taught himself to play the guitar at 7, and by 8 he had his first gig performing twice a week on radio station KWKH (the Louisiana Hayride station). At 15 he had a recording contract with RCA. His big break came in 1957 when he got the part of a rock singer on the Kraft Television Theater.

But he got started as a hillbilly singer and we've got two of his earliest recordings for you: A Dime and a Dollar and I Know About Bees. Both are on his 28 track CD Early Hillbilly and Rockabilly Days.

Napolitano cites actions since death of Robert Krentz

According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Arizona’s former governor, there are 100 additional Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agencies in the San Bernardino Valley near where Krentz was shot. She also deployed Customs and Border Protection helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles...more

How many of those 100 additional BP agents have been in the San Bernardino Wildlife Refuge or any of the designated Wilderness areas along the border? How many of those helicopters have flown over or landed in any of these areas? Have the fixed-wing aircraft been utilized over these areas?

They just don't get it.

Here's my previous post (January) on aircraft and wilderness areas.

Bingaman, Raptors & Wilderness

Oops. We should have told you. That was the admission Friday of Holloman Air Force Base officials following Thursday's night window-rattling, wall-shaking sonic booms in the Las Cruces area. The aerial exercise involved "a number of" F-22 Raptors, according to Holloman officials. "We had hoped to provide everyone with as much advanced notice as possible," Holloman spokesman Arlen Ponder said. "However, we realize our information didn't make it as far as we had hoped." In the future "... as much advanced notice as possible" will be given. That would be a good idea, Las Cruces police said. "Central Dispatch said they easily received more than 200 calls," Thursday night, police spokesman Dan Trujillo said...According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a sonic boom "is a sound resembling an explosion produced when a shock wave formed at the nose of an aircraft traveling at supersonic speed reaches the ground -- called also sonic bang." Bang, indeed. "I almost jumped out of my chair when I heard the first one," said Julie Delgado, a Las Cruces homemaker. "I didn't know what it was, and it sounded so close. I went outside to see if I could find out what was happening and all of my neighbors were out there, too, asking the same thing. It scared us pretty good." Trujillo said reports of as many as three sonic booms came from all areas of the city and as far away as Radium Springs, about 20 miles north of Las Cruces...The aircraft will conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground training in airspace designated by the FAA...

So now you know why Jeff Bingaman has the following language in his wilderness bill:

(e) Military Overflights- Nothing in this section restricts or precludes--
(1) low-level overflights of military aircraft over the wilderness areas designated by subsection (a), including military overflights that can be seen or heard within the wilderness areas;
(2) flight testing and evaluation; or
(3) the designation or creation of new units of special use airspace, or the establishment of military flight training routes, over the wilderness areas.

In other words, according to Senator Bingaman, it's ok to have low-flying military aircraft and sonic booms in wilderness areas that cause people to "jump out of their chair" and results in "more than 200 calls" to the police.

But campers, don't you dare drive your vehicle or camper into the wilderness. And hunters, don't you dare drive your vehicle in to scout for or remove game. Border patrol, forget about using vehicles or mechanical equipment to track or intercept illegal immigrants or drug traffickers. After all, those things would ruin someone's wilderness experience.

Low-flying military aircraft and "sound resembling an explosion" are ok, everyone else either walk in or stay out.

That's a Bingaman wilderness area.

Arizona Sheriff Says Cops Are Being Killed by Illegal Aliens; Joins Call for U.S. Troops at Border

Law enforcement officials from the Arizona counties hardest hit by illegal immigration say they want U.S. troops to help secure the border, to prevent the deaths of more officers at the hands of criminals who enter the country illegally. “We’ve had numerous officers that have been killed by illegal immigrants in Arizona,” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Monday at a Capitol Hill news conference. “And that shouldn’t happen one time.” Babeu said the violence in Arizona has reached “epidemic proportions” and must be stopped. “In just one patrol area, we’ve had 64 pursuits -- failure to yield for an officer -- in one month,” Babeu said. “That’s out of control.” The recent murder of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz, who was shot to death last month on his own property, apparently by an illegal alien, also has fueled public outrage...more

Why ranchers fear for their safety, and what lawmakers want

Tuesday, Arizona Cattle Growers Association members and ranchers from across the state painted a picture of crime gone wild on the lands they depend on for their livelihood. In memory of slain rancher Robert Krentz, they named their proposal ROB (Restore Our Border). Association spokesperson Patrick Bray said Wednesday the meeting with the Senate Appropriations Committee went well and the speakers who told their experiences were well-received. State Sen. Russell Pearce was one who listened to the stories of families afraid to go out after dark, of cattle found slaughtered and partially eaten, of beloved pets and ranch dogs shot, of thousands of dollars in destroyed fences; and numerous home burglaries and invasions. “I was personally taken aback by the stories of our ranchers who live in fear every day of their lives. All across this state the stories are similar,” Pearce said in an interview. “People just didn’t know how bad it was.”...more

Wilderness On The Border? (9 Articles On Mexican Border Violence)

Border Patrol Prevented From Securing U.S. Under the current administration of President Barack Obama, national security and public safety are taking a backseat to so-called environmental preservation, a policy that led to the recent murder of an Arizona rancher. The U.S. Interior Department prohibits routine patrols and operations conducted by Border Patrol agents along the Mexican border on roads labeled “land managed.” The Mexican national entered the U.S. through the 2,300-acre San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge and subsequently escaped through it after gunning down rancher Robert Krentz a few weeks ago, according to the report. For years, Border Patrol agents have been prohibited by the U.S. Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service from actively patrolling such areas because it threatens natural resources, according to GOP members of the Natural Resources Committee Republicans. House National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Bishop (R-UT) announced that Republican Committee staff have confirmed with both Border Patrol and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the criminal who killed Arizona Rancher Robert Krentz both entered and exited the U.S. through federal land on the San Bernardino Wildlife Refuge...

Justice Department Reports 60 Percent Increase in Number of Drug-Smuggling Tunnels at U.S.-Mexican Border The number of tunnels being used to smuggle illegal drugs across the Southwestern border grew by more than half from 2008 to 2009, according to a March 25 report from the National Drug Intelligence Center. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents stationed along U.S.-Mexico border discovered 26 illegal tunnels – a 60 percent increase over the 16 tunnels that authorities discovered in 2008. Most of the subterranean routes were discovered in Arizona, with 20 found in the “Tucson Sector” – a 262-mile long section of the border from the New Mexico state line to Yuma County, Ariz., the NDIC reported in its 2010 annual drug assessment...

Is Hemet the first skirmish? Our neighbors in Hemet have made the national news again following the burning of a trailer at a Police Department firing range. This comes after three attacks on the Hemet/San Jacinto Gang Task Force and the torching of city code-enforcement trucks in March, days after a threat to burn a police car. As of this writing it has not been determined if the latest incident is linked to the other four. One thing for sure, attacking cops is a trademark of Mexican gangs. Back in November, Adrian Rios, 17, was shot, allegedly by Jose Manuel Campos, 18, at Campo's home in Hemet. It is further alleged that Campos butchered Rios and burned his body in the backyard with the help of his 17-year-old sweetie. Kinda sounds Mexican gangish. If he did it, perhaps he was taking a page from the thugs operating in Mexico. Or perhaps there is a link to a Mexican gang operating here and the attacks are a warning. Remember, Campos and his girlfriend fled to Mexico whereupon Hemet police, federal marshals, a fugitive task force and Mexican federal police began hunting them down. It has been stated that they had help evading authorities. Slightly more than a month later the attacks began on the Hemet police. Coincidence or not, when you look at what's going on ---- an Arizona rancher murdered on his border property by an illegal immigrant, a Texas sheriff urging citizens to arm themselves in preparation for war, and reports that the drug cartels are using vehicles disguised as Border Patrol cars ---- it is clear the war is here...

Gunmen abduct 6 from Mexican hotels near Texas More than 20 gunmen burst into a Holiday Inn and another hotel in the northern city of Monterrey on Wednesday and abducted at least six people, a prosecutor said. Nuevo León state Attorney General Alejandro Garza y Garza said that 20 to 30 gunmen abducted four guests and a receptionist from the Holiday Inn, then went to the nearby Hotel Mision, where they abducted a receptionist, he said. Local media reported that the gunmen hijacked several trucks and used them to block streets near the hotels during the raid...

Senators call for scrapping 'virtual fence' Two senators said Tuesday it's time to consider ending a contract for a "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border, contending it doesn't stop illegal immigration. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., even suggested an old-fashioned, real fence may work better than the electronic one designed by Boeing Co. "We're counting on you to give us a direct assessment and take action to either terminate the contract or take from it what may work," Lieberman told Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin. Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said at a hearing on border security: "The best answer to this continuing crisis and continued flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. is to go back to the old-style fences, double- and triple-tiered, and layered." The virtual fence is a network of cameras, ground sensors and radars designed to let a small number of dispatchers watch the border on a computer monitor, zoom in with cameras to see people crossing, and decide whether to send Border Patrol agents to the scene...

Virtual Fence Integration 'a Complete Failure,' Bersin Says During a Senate hearing on border security Tuesday, the new commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) declared that the goal of constructing a fully integrated virtual fence as originally envisioned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not possible at present. CBP chief Alan Bersin told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that building the complete system for the Secure Border Initiative-Network (SBInet), as originally envisioned, was not possible in the near future. "What has not worked is the total integration of technology from each of the areas along the border into an overall system that would permit a central monitoring and control--that technology integration at the very broadest level has been the complete failure the committee described," Bersin stated. However, in its first 23-mile block along the Arizona border with Mexico, SBInet has provided some capabilities that fulfill the goal of using a combination of video and radar to detect incursions into the United States from Mexico, Bersin added. As such, an option being considered by the Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in her review of the system is to use pieces of the system but not in the fully integrated fashion originally imagined...

Public invited to testify at border violence hearing State lawmakers are inviting area residents to attend and testify at a special hearing in McAllen to address recent drug violence south of the border. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, April 29th at the McAllen Convention Center. Texas State Rep. Veronica Gonzales (D-McAllen) told Action 4 News that local, state and federal law enforcement officials are expected to testify. But Gonzales said the public is welcome to come listen and add their own testimony. Drug cartel violence has left dozens dead on the Mexican side of the border since February. Mexican authorities blame a bitter fight between former allies the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. Gonzales is chair of the House Border & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, which is co-sponsoring the hearing. She said the violence in Mexico is making daily headlines and Texas state lawmakers will meet again in January 2011 but want to gather information to address the issue appropriately...

Ariz. Sens. McCain, Kyl call for Guard on border After the shooting death of a rancher, Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain once again called Monday for National Guard troops to be deployed along Arizona's border with Mexico. The request for 3,000 troops was part of a 10-point plan that also includes hiring 3,000 more Customs and Border Protection agents for Arizona, building new fences along the border and increasing aerial surveillance. The Arizona senators, both Republicans, said in a conference call with reporters that they would introduce federal legislation to implement their plan. Gov. Jan Brewer requested a year ago that President Barack Obama deploy National Guard troops along the border. The senators supported her request at the time, but the Obama administration has not acted. The latest proposal followed the death last month of rancher Rob Krentz on his land north of Douglas. Authorities believe he was fatally shot by an illegal immigrant possibly connected to a drug smuggling cartel. "While we have the nation's attention, it's important that we strike now and we get these suggestions implemented now, because I really feel the window of opportunity will close very quickly," said Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, whose office is investigating the killing...

Border panel: Money now Members of the Congressional Border Caucus are asking the Appropriations Committee for more than $500 million in federal money to combat narcotics and organized crime along the U.S.-Mexico border. The members sent a letter to U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Friday in which they requested that the Appropriations Committee include the funding as it drafts the fiscal year 2010 emergency supplemental spending measure. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a Border Caucus member and contributor to the letter, said he is optimistic that the Border Caucus will get the funding it has requested from the Appropriations Committee and actually has "two shots" at the money...

Is the current budget being spent in a way that provides for the most effective and efficient border security program? Are existing personnel appropriately deployed and given the equipment they need to carry out their mission? Have current impediments to effective enforcement, such as land-use designations, been addressed and resolved?

Forget it. These political "leaders" are running for cover. Throw money at it and hope it sticks until November.

Notice this is an "emergency" appropriation. That means they don't have to take the money away from some existing program. Just pile it on an already huge deficit.

Is this a serious look at addressing our border security problems? Certainly not. These "leaders" view it as just another opportunity to bring federal $$ to their district.

This tactic has politically worked in the past. We'll find out in less than 7 months if it continues to work.

White House Will Not Say Where It Gets Its Meat

First Lady Michelle Obama is on a laudable food crusade in America -- promoting the healthful benefits of fresh, local and sustainably grown nutrition, including produce raised in the world's most famous vegetable garden: that photogenic patch of organic land on the White House South Lawn. But her office does not want you to know what the Obamas had for dinner last night. Soon after the inauguration, The New York Times gushed that "the White House gets fresh fruits and vegetables from farms in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey," and that Michelle Obama had served organic wine at her first big White House meal, a governors' dinner in February, 2009. And she planted that garden heard 'round the world. Suggested by Alice Waters, the plot consists of raised beds of rich soil amended with official White House compost, crab meal, lime and local sand, instead of commercial fertilizer, and ladybugs and praying mantises in lieu of pesticides. There are even two beehives that produce organic honey for the Obamas, their staff and guests. And so, when I wrote to the White House to inquire about the meat, dairy and eggs that are served up on site -- and how much of it is produced in industrial-style concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs, or factory farms) -- I thought they would be pleased to share the information...more

So why won't they say? Is it because a huge chunk passes through a CAFO, or is it because they don't eat meat at all?

As for the "official White House compost", it's served up to the public on a daily basis.

Vilsack helps dedicate $464 million USDA facility

U.S. Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack led a delegation of Iowa congressional members from both parties Monday at the dedication of the final component of the $464 million National Centers for Animal Health in Ames. Jointly serving the U.S. livestock industry from a single campus, the center provides laboratories, offices and space for administration and animals, consolidating three USDA units that previously operated separately in Ames. The consolidated units include the National Animal Disease Center (operated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service), the National Veterinary Services Laboratory and the Center for Veterinary Biologics (operated by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service). The ceremony took place in the atrium of the 500,000-square-foot NCAH Consolidated Laboratory and administrative facilities, completed in April 2009...more

The bureaucrats seem to be doing fine, don't they.

Head out to your pasture tomorrow and just watch as your animals grow healthier, thanks to the deep thinkers in DC and politicians in Iowa.

Wolf controversy polarizes wildlife groups

The controversy over wolf management in Greater Yellowstone is polarizing conservation groups that might normally work together to protect the region’s wildlife. The rift recently manifested itself in a series of letters and statements in which the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation expressed frustration with Defenders of Wildlife and the Western Wildlife Conservancy, and vice versa. In the letters, the groups accuse each other of misrepresenting elk population data to serve their own political ends. The groups further accuse each other of using the wolf controversy to spur donations from supporters. The hard-line approach comes as outfitters in Wyoming continue to organize rallies that call for wolf hunts because, they say, the predators have killed too many elk and moose in the state. Conservation groups and outfitters say the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, in particular, has moved toward tougher language against wolves in recent years. “The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, they’re getting some pressure from their members big-time,” said B.J. Hill, a Kelly outfitter who has helped organize some of the wolf rallies. “It’s definitely coming from people like me. They’re also looking at the data. It’s starting to show ... that these populations are falling. We outfitters are pro-wildlife. We like some predators. It’s about management. [The environmental groups] have got to quit suing and help us out.”...more

Congressman proposes condemnation ban to help Piñon expand

A Colorado congressman is trying to help the Army get training land in Las Animas County by banning the service from seizing it. GOP Rep. Mike Coffman’s HR5067, introduced Tuesday, would forbid the use of condemnation for expansion of Fort Carson’s Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site. By doing that, the bill would set in stone the Army’s pledge that it won’t seize land to add 100,000 acres to the 235,000-acre training site near Trinidad. But the measure, by allaying land-seizure fears, could also avert an all-out expansion ban that Congress has placed on the project annually as part of the Pentagon budget bill, a Coffman spokesman said. “We must respect the private property rights of those who own ranch lands in the proposed 100,000 acre expansion area,” Coffman, of Aurora, said in a statement. “They should neither have to fear that the government will take their land nor the worry that government, at any level, will restrict their rights by making it difficult for them to sell or lease their land to the U.S. Army should they choose to do so.” But even if a law passes banning condemnation proceedings, opponents to the expansion say they won’t shrink from the fight. “There’s no way to acquire that much land without condemning somebody,” said Piñon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition President Lon Robertson of Kim, a nearby town. Robertson said opponents will still seek a funding ban for the fiscal year that starts Oct.1, using a tried-and-true argument. “They have enough land already,” he said...more

Robertson is right. As I've posted before:


"The Base Structure Report(pdf) for FY 2008 contains the land profile for the Department of Defense. The introduction to the report states, "The Depart of Defense remains one of the world's largest 'landlords' with a physical plant consisting of more than 545,700 facilities (buildings, structures and linear structures) located on more than 5400 sites, on approximately 30 million acres."

The land profile further refines that to 29.8 million acres owned or controlled by DOD. More than 98% of the land is in the US, with the Army managing 52% and the Air Force 33%.

29.8 million acres equals 46,562.5 square miles. How do you put that in perspective? Let's try this: Of the Thirteen Original Colonies, six of them (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire & Massachusetts) would fit into the land mass controlled by DOD, with 8359 square miles or 5.3 million acres left over. In other words, you could add another New Jersey.

29.8 million acres and they don't have enough land to practice? They may have a turf problem or a setting of priorities problem, but they don't have a lack of land problem."

Colorado River water policy faces an age of limits

Change comes hard to Western water policy. The Prior Appropriation Doctrine, interstate compacts, groundwater law, the "law of the river" -- all of these seem set in stone in the minds of the region's policymakers. Of course, the West's rivers aren't bound by such a static existence. Indeed, they are changing in fundamental ways, opening a wide chasm between our water policy and our water sources. This is particularly true for the Colorado River Basin. Climate scientists are predicting a 10-to-30 percent reduction in flow for the Colorado -- a stark contrast to the rosy assumptions that underlay the Colorado River Compact when it was signed 88 years ago. It is time for a new era in water management. The first step requires dispensing with the absurd notion that infinite growth can take place in a region with severely constrained resources. The second step is to realize that agriculture, which uses the lion's share of the river, is going to take a big hit. Many of the crops grown in the basin are low value, such as hay, or are commodity crops that are already over-produced in the United States. And the third step requires improving the quality of the water by forcing all polluters to clean up their mess. That includes agriculture, mining and municipalities with inadequate urban treatment. These changes will not be easy -- it's like prescribing a root canal for an entire region without offering nitrous oxide. But the longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to make the transition to a policy that meets the reasonable needs of cities, a service economy and the age of limits...more

Pickens wants Texas agency to nix water plan

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens wants a court to derail state approval of a water management plan that he claims would take $10 million off the value of his groundwater rights in the Texas Panhandle. Pickens' attorney, Marty Jones, said Tuesday that the oilman filed a lawsuit against the Texas Water Development Board last month. The suit came after the board endorsed a plan that Pickens claims will take as many as 18,000 acre feet of water a year from the Ogallala Aquifer under land belonging to him and another rancher. One acre foot equals about 326,000 gallons. The lawsuit says the combined plans of three groundwater conservation districts in the Panhandle management area will devalue Mesa Water LP's rights and those of a nearby rancher. Pickens, who has been trying for years to sell water from the Panhandle to thirsty cities to the south, wants a Travis County court to declare the plan unreasonable. That would force the districts to revise their proposals. The Texas Attorney General's Office, which is representing the water board, filed a response to Pickens' suit denying each claim...more

He needs the money so his wife can build a wild horse refuge.

Oklahoma anglers find dead alligator

Terry Walser of Edmond was crappie fishing with some friends Saturday on Broken Bow Lake when they came upon a startling discovery: a dead alligator. State wildlife officials think the alligator — which had been shot twice in the side with a high-powered rifle — is the same one they have received numerous reports about for several years at the lake. Fishermen even reported two or three years ago that an alligator in the lake acted very aggressively toward them, said Mike Virgin, chief of law enforcement in southeastern Oklahoma for the Wildlife Department. "They said it looked bigger than a bass boat, hissing and acting like it was going to ram their boat,” Virgin said. "I bet this was the perpetrator.” The alligator found by Walser in the Otter Creek area of Broken Bow Lake appeared to have been dead a few days, Virgin said. It measured 11½ feet long. "That’s a big alligator,” he said...more

Joe's Boot Shop calf roping set

The 6th Annual Joe’s Boot Shop Calf Roping will be held Thursday, April 22nd through Sunday, April 25th, at the Curry County Events Center. Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s events are open to the public, Sunday afternoon’s events will require a $10 ticket. The Annual Joe’s Boot Shop Calf Roping is now considered to the largest in the nation. This year, the event promises to be even bigger and better! The four-day program includes roping competitions for all skill levels; two match events; the double muggin’; a dummy ropin’; foot races; a chuck wagon cook-off; a Desert Cruzers Classic Car show and People’s Choice contest; a New Mexico High School Rodeo and pie auction; a chuck wagon breakfast, a cowboy church service, and many other surprises! Highlights of Sunday’s events include: The Joe’s Boot Shop and ARIAT Boots Open Roping, where 10 National Finals Rodeo veterans are among the 90 ropers already entered, Monty Lewis, Ryan Jarrett, Blair Burk, Doug Pharr, Hunter Herrin, Clint Cooper and Jerome Schneeberger are among the featured ropers in the Open field, as are Josh Peek, Cade Swor and Stran Smith. The Open Roping is slated to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 25th, with $500 fees and $10,000 added money, and a prize Stran Smith Ultimate Saddle from Cactus Saddlery...more

Flat cat in a sack: Cautionary tale about felines

I've always believed that cats are an acquired taste. No, no, PETA people, don't get me wrong, when I say "taste" I am not talking about eating the poor things, as they do in some protein-deficient places. I am only saying that some people grow to love felines, while other people put them in the same category as the vermin they chase. Mark Twain and my Grandmother, two of my idols, grew to love cats, while Julius Caesar, Napolean Bonaparte and Benito Mussolini are said to have hated the furry creatures. Which I think speaks well of them. The cats I mean, not the dictators. In Tudor times cats were burned as symbols of heresy, they are said to bring bad luck, and those who've read the entire book say that cats are not mentioned once in the Bible. As for me, I can take or leave them, but I get really irritated at cat lovers who insist that cats are smarter than dogs. When was the last time you saw a Siamese herd a flock of sheep or sniff out a victim trapped underneath rubble? The cats of Mrs. Flickenfloss were composed of two regiments, the inside and the outside cats. Loafer was an outside cat. Don't let his lack of access mislead you, Loafer was loved as much as any inside cat by Cat Woman, he just refused to go indoors. Loafer was what some people call a "feral" cat, although Mister Flickenfloss had other, less complimentary, names for the cat who was always underfoot. On a monthly trip to the Flickenfloss ranch the liquid supplement salesman had just finished filling up the tubs for the cattle and was on his way out the gate when he saw a cat zip across the road...more

Song Of The Day #290

Ranch Radio will continue with its "early" series, as I enjoy finding out how these artists sounded when they first went into a recording studio. We have two selections by Jim Reeves today. The first Chicken Hearted, was recorded in 1950. The second, Beating On The Ding Dong, is from 1954 and is one I'll bet he wished he had never recorded...for several reasons.

His stuff is widely available.