Flying dune buggy approved for production

One of the more unusual approaches to the flying car combines a dune buggy with a propeller and a big parachute. It’s odd, but that hasn’t kept the FAA in the US from approving it for production by issuing a Special Light Sport Aircraft airworthiness certificate. The flying buggy is called Maverick and Itec, the Florida company building it, calls it transportation for “frontier areas of the world”. It’s said to be a capable off-roader that is Department of Transportation-approved for road use and classified as a powered parachute for flight. With a few hours of training, anyone can learn to fly Maverick in the relatively simple powered parachute configuration using the steering wheel and gas pedal during flight. Floats can be attached to the car for river crossings. In addition to the missionary use it was designed for, several government agencies including law enforcement have expressed interest in the Maverick, Itec claims. Other potential users include ranchers, pipeline patrols and forest fire spotters...more

You just know that someday this will end up in cow country.

Want to see it in action? Watch this video:

Forget Radar, Now The Government Is X-Raying You As You Drive

If you have been feeling uneasy about having to be X-rayed by a Transportation Security Administration goon who can look under your clothes every time you fly, consider this: at least you can say no, and agree to be subjected to an old-fashioned full-body search. No opt-out for the latest in anti-terror technology though, with reports published in Forbes magazine and the Christian Science Monitor that the Homeland Security Department has purchased 500 mobil X-ray vans called ZBVs that can scan cars, trucks and homes without the drivers or residents even knowing that they’re being zapped. These vans, made by a Massachusetts company called American Science & Engineering, are fitted out with what are called Z Backscatter X-ray devices, which aim a powerful X-ray beam that reportedly has the capability of penetrating 14 inches of steel.

Energy, environment rules may roll back with new governor

Neither of New Mexico's gubernatorial candidates — Democrat Diane Denish and Republican Susana Martinez — are likely to put environmental issues quite as high on their agenda as Gov. Bill Richardson. They've already indicated they might overturn or weaken some environmental rules Richardson's administration has put in place, such as the pit rule for wastes from oil and gas production and the greenhouse gas emissions cap. A governor can do a lot to upend or change environmental rules and orders approved under a predecessor. She can appoint her own people to commissions, direct those commissions to revisit rules and direct staff to ignore existing rules. "There could be rollbacks of environmental regulations after the elections happen," said Jim Norton, director of the environmental protection division at the New Mexico Environment Department. On some environmental issues, such as a proposed cap on greenhouse gas emissions, Martinez and Denish appear to have a similar stance at first glance. But while both oppose a state greenhouse gas cap and trade rule — they do so for different reasons. Denish believes climate change is occurring, but that any effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must be global and national, not state-by-state. Martinez adheres to the climate change naysayer line, saying an emissions cap is anti-business, would increase taxes and isn't based on sound science...more

Feds delay Ariz. release of wolves

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is delaying the release of Mexican gray wolves in the Apache National Forest of Arizona until sometime next year. The federal agency and the Arizona Game and Fish Department had expected to release eight wolves in the next few weeks under a program that began reintroducing the animals into the wild along the Arizona-New Mexico border in 1998. But when it became clear there wasn't unanimous agreement on the release site, "we stepped back to re-evaluate where we were, what we knew, what had been accomplished, what hadn't been accomplished," Tom Buckley, a spokesman for the agency in Albuquerque, said Friday. "It just wasn't the right time for a successful release." Fish and Wildlife Southwest Regional Director Benjamin Tuggle decided this week to postpone the release, Buckley said. The agency has not set a new date except to say it will be in 2011...more

Wolves, Greater Yellowstone 'tribes' and property rights

From the Civil War until Earth Day, the states surrounding Yellowstone had a coherent culture, politics and economy. The glue holding this together was the use of natural resources. Water was to be dammed for mines and irrigation, trees cut for lumber and grass grazed by livestock. Big game exists to be enjoyed and hunted. Many hunters and the outfitting industry organize their lives around fall hunting, mainly for big game. Roughly half of this land is in federal and state ownership. The public lands not in parks were traditionally available for livestock grazing and big game hunting. For every person holding grazing permits on these public lands there were thousands holding a big game license. Together the ranching and hunting interests make a powerful and vocal constituency. The U.S. Biological Survey killed the last wolf in Yellowstone Park in 1927. A few years after Earth Day in 1970, a few individuals began studying, and others advocating, reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. In 1994, the environmental impact statement (EIS) on wolf reintroduction generated over 150,000 comments. The Wyoming Farm Bureau protested with a lawsuit and the Idaho state government opposed wolves' return. Demonstrating a shift in control, in 1995, 66 Canadian wolves were released in Yellowstone Park. While wolves account for only a low percent of total livestock losses, it is culturally huge, a bright marker of the transfer of control from the cowboy "tribe" to the Greens. In terms of population, wolf reintroduction has been a great success. It represents a shift of control from one "tribe" to another...more

This "shift in control" also affects hunters. Dr. Baden writes:

In Yellowstone Park, elk comprise up to nine-tenths of the winter diet of wolves, some 22 ungulates per wolf annually, twice that predicted by the EIS. During the 2004 hunting season, the elk permits issued by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for the hunting districts contiguous to Yellowstone Park dropped by 50 percent. The next year it went down to 100, less than one-twentieth the number issued in 1995. Wolves have expanded their range far beyond the park boundaries. Our place is 78 miles north of West Yellowstone, a park entrance, and wolves kill elk in the Cottonwood herd that winters on our and nearby ranches. Some big game outfitters claim that their business, often marginal at best, has been devastated by wolves.

Wife of Pickens buys NV ranch for horse sanctuary

Madeleine Pickens, the wife of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens, says she has bought a Nevada ranch to serve as a wild horse sanctuary. Pickens says she and U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials are discussing a pilot program calling for 1,000 mustangs now in short-term government-funded facilities to be sent to her Mustang Monument preserve. BLM officials say they're reviewing the plan and are encouraged after meeting with Pickens about the sanctuary in Elko County near the Utah border. If approved, the plan would mark the first time the government has released such a large number of mustangs to such a sanctuary. Pickens purchased the massive 14,000-acre Spruce Ranch about 70 miles east of Elko for an undisclosed price. AP

West Nile Virus Discovered in Texas Quail Population

Researchers with a conservation alliance based at Texas Tech have found a quail loaded with high levels of the antibody that fights West Nile virus. The small bird, known as a scaled or blue quail, was captured in Potter County by a team from Quail-Tech Alliance, a partnership between Texas Tech’s natural resources management department and Quail First, a Dallas-based non-profit quail conservation organization. “The high level of detectable antibody is indicative not only of a possible current infection, but to past viral exposure,” said Kristyn Urban, a doctoral research assistant from the university’s Institute of Environmental and Human Health. “The presence of antibodies to West Nile virus suggests that quail might show resistance to this virus or perhaps be another host to the life cycle of the virus.”...more

Sue Krentz

It's been two weeks since the wife of murdered rancher Rob Krentz was hit by a drunk driver, and for the first time her family spoke out. They told CBS 5 News Sue Krentz is making progress, but that its an uphill battle. Krentz was helping a friend cross the street after church on September 25, when police said a drunk driver came barreling down the road and hit her. Krentz was airlifted to a Tucson hospital where she had emergency pelvis surgery. Her family said she's been slowly recovering in the hospital ever since. Reporter Elizabeth Erwin talked with one of Krentz's sons Saturday. "She's doing pretty good. She's able to eat solid foods and she's breathing on her own. She's in a lot of pain, but she's going to be all right," he said. Krentz's family has really come together to help out. They said this time of year is very busy for the cattle industry, but relatives have stepped up to get the job done during this tough time. KPHO

How Toxic Grass Puts Animals to Sleep

Legend has it that five railroad surveyors killed by Indians in 1854 in New Mexico lost their lives because they unwittingly allowed their horses to graze on "sleepy grass" the night before. The next morning, under attack, they jumped on their horses to escape — but the animals were frozen in place. Without the means for a quick getaway, they were doomed. Whether true or apocryphal — the story is unverified — it could have happened, considering the toxic effects of sleepy grass, also known as robust needle grass, which commonly grows in many western states and causes animals who eat it to turn into living statues — or, if they consume too much of it, even die. "Native Americans are said to have fed a single seed to colicky babies to quiet them, and they — and ranchers — have fed small amounts to cattle to make them more sedate and easily managed when moving them from summer to winter ranges in the mountains," said Stan Faeth, professor of biology and head of the biology department at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Moreover, in a book called "Horse Tradin," by Ben K. Green, the author recounts "how he bought a horse from the Mescalero Apaches in the 1920's which seemed tame and broken, but later found it was unbroken and wild — but had been fed a small amount of sleepy grass," Faeth added...more

Stock show's reins will pass to Kroenke exec

The top executive at Stan Kroenke's Denver sports empire is resigning to take the reins of the National Western Stock Show, an annual showcase event for Colorado's agricultural industry. Paul Andrews will succeed Pat Grant as president and chief executive of the National Western effective Nov. 1, the organization announced Friday. Andrews will leave his post as executive vice president of Kroenke Sports Enterprises — owner of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Pepsi Center and other assets — on Oct 27. At National Western, Andrews will handle day-to-day operations and lead long-term planning for the 104-year-old event. In recent years, stock show officials have sought to move the event from its aging complex amid struggles with rising maintenance costs. They've said the existing site at Interstate 70 and Brighton Boulevard in northeast Denver is too constrictive. Andrews declined Friday to address whether there are still plans to move the event, which features rodeos, exhibits and vendors. In 2007, a year after attracting a record 730,000 visitors for its 100th anniversary, the National Western suffered its first financial loss in nearly two decades, losing $559,000. Since then, the event has posted gains of $184,000 in 2008, $63,000 in 2009 and $285,000 this year, according to a spokeswoman...more

The dirty business of shipping untagged cattle (Canada)

I had a long and sometimes emotional conversation yesterday with Saskatchewan rancher Ken Habermehl. He recently was cleared of any wrong doing in a hearing regarding the shipment of cattle to a community pasture in May 2009, where it was found upon arrival that seven animals did not have CFIA approved RFID ear tags. Habermehl maintains he checked all 200-plus head at his farm south of Outlook before about 10 trailer loads of animals were hauled 67 kms to pasture. And when the CFIA inspector – the Button Cop - found seven animals with no tags Habermehl did everything possible to re-tag those animals. He still ended up with a charge of failing to tag cattle and a potential $500 fine. It took nearly a year and a half of legwork that culminated in a one-day hearing in June, and then three more months of waiting for a ruling by the tribunal in late September that quashed the charge and fine. Habermehl and his witnesses, and apparently many other beef producers, maintain the approved RFID tags don’t stay in – they have a poor retention rate -- and livestock owners who do their best to make sure these permanent tags are properly installed in the ear, shouldn’t be penalized if they fall out either through normal animal activity, or in the congestion of transit...more

The Death Tax is killing family businesses

Whitman “Whit” Leverett was born just a few weeks ago, on September 26 — all of 20 inches and 8.2 lbs — and already his father Clayton is concerned about whether Whit will be able to keep the family’s fifth-generation, 150-year-old ranch. The Leverett family has twice felt the cut of the death tax. The family was forced to sell thousands of acres to pay the dreaded federal estate tax when Clayton’s grandmother died. When his father passed away even more land had to be put up for sale, employees were let go and Clayton was forced to take on a second job in construction to keep up the tax payments. Every death shrinks the business and makes it more difficult to keep it going. One more strike from the grim reaper and the IRS and the ranch likely will be sold. Whit’s future — and the future of ranchers and farmers across the country — stands in the balance...more

USDA crop report a shock to livestock industries

A drastic downgrade in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's expectations for this year's corn yield is "a complete game changer" for livestock producers, a beef industry economist said. The government on Oct. 8 projected a national corn yield of 12.7 billion bushels, down 4 percent from the September forecast and down 3 percent from last year's record production of 13.1 billion bushels. Soybean production is forecast at a record high 3.41 billion bushels, down 2 percent from September's prediction but up 1 percent from last year. Tighter grain supplies invariably mean skyrocketing input costs for livestock producers. That can turn a profit into a loss for many a rancher, lamented Gregg Doud, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's chief economist. "We've gone probably eight of the last nine months in this industry where everyone from the rancher to the retailer was making a little bit of money," Doud told the Capital Press. "Now that's probably not going to be the case any longer. The report pushed input costs up immediately. On Oct. 8, corn prices rose 30 cents to settle at $5.2825 a bushel; soybeans for November delivery rose 70 cents to $11.35 a bushel, and wheat for December delivery rose 60 cents to settle at $7.1925 a bushel...more

Animals and the Lone Star State

Normally when we think of the contributions animals have made in the development and settlement of Texas, ideas of their roles as beasts of burden come to mind. Of course, they were important in hauling, pulling, and plowing. In addition, animals were also important means of transportation in moving people and goods, and they were primary sources of food as well. However, some four-footed creatures played unique roles in political arenas in some parts of the state. West Texas was especially late in developing. Because of the absence of trees and minimal rainfall, that part of the state had difficulty in attracting residents. Consequently, the organization of county governments in that region was difficult to say the least. One of the prerequisites for organizing county governments was to present a petition to the state legislature with 150 signatures to support the request. Because many of those areas had nowhere near that many residents, they resorted to some rather creative methods to meet the requirements. In 1895 promoters for the establishment of Haskell County signed the names of their horses and dogs, and they invited travelers passing through the area to sign the petition as well. When the judge raised questions about the validity of some of the names on the petition, one supporter argued that the stipulation required 150 signatures, not necessarily names of residents. Technically he was correct, and the judge approved the petition. A local rancher involved in organizing Lubbock County signed up all the ranch hands he could find, as well as the names of several of their horses. Among the names appearing on a petition from Castro County were Billy, Jug, and Blue — all horses on the 7-Up Ranch. The name “Bill Burp” appeared on the Fisher County petition. Bill Burp was rancher Bob Simpson’s dog...more

No doubt they were still more accurate than our census.

Two Dead, 20 Wounded in Fights at Prisons in

Two simultaneous fights between members of the Los Aztecas and Los Mexicles gangs at two different prisons in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico’s murder capital, left at least two inmates dead and 17 others wounded, officials said, adding that three guards were also hurt. The fights broke out Saturday at the municipal jail in Ciudad Juarez and at the state prison in the northern border city. Two inmates were stabbed to death and 17 others were wounded in the fight at the state prison, officials said. Several of the inmates involved in the fight at the state prison were shot and three guards were hurt, officials said. Shots were fired at the municipal jail in Ciudad Juarez, located across the border from El Paso, Texas, but there were no reports of any injuries. Visiting family members, including small children, were initially caught in the crossfire but guards managed to evacuate them, officials said. The Los Aztecas gang, which is linked to the Juarez drug cartel, controls the prisons and 80 percent of the drug dealing in the border city, U.S. intelligence reports say...more

'Green' red tape said to hinder Border Patrol

The investigators found a mixed situation - in some places cooperation seems the rule, while in others both sides seem determined to butt heads. In one stark instance, the investigators said the Border Patrol has tried to get an east-west road built in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a sprawling desert park that spans 32 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. But the road request has been denied by the park superintendent, leaving the patrol agent-in-charge to struggle without the additional resource. "He told us that some of his area of operation could potentially reach operational-control status if there was an additional east-west road for patrolling certain areas within the monument," the investigators said. "Border Patrol requested an additional east-west road, but the land manager denied the request because the area is designated wilderness."...more

I really don't know why this is so shocking to folks.

Section 4(c)(PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN USES)of the Wilderness Act states:

...there shall be no commercial enterprise and no permanent road within any wilderness area designated by this Act...

and

...there shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area.

Now I'm no legal wizard, but if the law says "no permanent road" and "no temporary road", I don't believe it's rash to conclude there ain't gonna be any road in a Wilderness area.

The Economics of Drug Violence

Powerful monopoly suppliers need to control key zones so they can guarantee an army of contract employees. These "ants" carry the drugs over the U.S. border at a limited number of strategic points in small shipments. Without mafia-style terror, the cartel's domination along the route cannot be maintained. Mexican law enforcement has been courageous in trying to confront these monopolies, but firepower has not done the job. That's because this is an economic problem. Lower levels of violence in the U.S., despite widespread availability of drugs, and an improved picture in Colombia, where cocaine still flows, are best explained by competition and the smaller scale of the operators. It wasn't always that way in Colombia. In Mexico it could also change. To help Mexico deal with this "antitrust" problem, the U.S. has to recognize that competition in the narcotics sector is preferable to the monopolistic syndicates that threaten the state and could move north. But this would require greater flexibility from U.S. drug warriors. Some progress may be in the making on marijuana, and Mexicans will be watching the California ballot initiative that asks the electorate to approve the legalization of the ubiquitous weed. For sure, the U.S. market is robust, and "medical marijuana" looks like a way of legalizing without admitting to it. There is also the fact that the stuff seems to move around the country quite easily, demonstrating some tolerance on the part of U.S. law enforcement for the retail sector that distributes it. More competition in marijuana production and distribution in the U.S. would help beleaguered Mexico. As it stands now, the gangsters have good reason to pull out all the stops to get their marijuana across the border where the market is large, barriers to distribution are low and prohibition adds value. Profit margins are not huge but the sales volume is there. Mexican officials estimate that the marijuana business makes up more than half of the Mexican cartels' income. Legalizing grass in the U.S. would mean increased competition for Mexican exporters and lower profit margins, thereby depriving the monopolies of important income...more

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

Bits and pieces from the boot box

by Julie Carter

As short, funny stories fly through my life, I latch on to them and save them in a boot box to be shared with the world at some point. Boot boxes are the perfect place to store about everything.

Destination weddings

Missy and Randy planned to get married just as soon as she finished her Finance final at college. They had a "destination wedding" planned. Their destination was the local courthouse.

As they were leaving the courthouse, the deed done, signed and sealed, Randy told Missy she needed to drive, he was tired. New-wife dutiful, she obliged.

About a block away from the courthouse he said to her, "You know, I don't have a big old money tree like your daddy."

Missy slammed on the brakes bringing the pickup to an abrupt halt. "My God Randy, couldn't we have had this conversation about 10 minutes ago? I'm already married to you now."

Women get the last word in every argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument. Missy has proved that to Randy for 38 years now.

Happily ever after

Not long ago a Southern Belle barrel racer was given her Senior Association Gold Card for being 75-plus years old and still competing.

She thanked the committee for their recognition and told them how much she appreciated the gesture.

The association president assured her it was their pleasure. He mentioned how much they enjoyed seeing her and wished they could catch up with her a little more often.

She replied, "Hopefully I'm going to be able to go to more rodeos now, because last week I put my husband in a rest home."

The president nodded and thought, "This lady makes team ropers look human."

Turning blue

Cleverness abounds when it comes to cowboys. Team ropers, contrary to common misconception, are no exception.

Tim had "had it." Every time he went to a roping, someone stole his roping gloves out of the back of his pickup.

Standing before his washing machine, he dumped an entire bundle of new white cotton gloves into the tub along with a box of blue Rit dye.

Quite pleased with himself and this grand idea, he said, "Now I'll know immediately who's stealing my gloves."

Soon after, he called his girlfriend up and asked if she'd like to come along to a roping. He suggested she could sit in the grandstands where she could easily spot those who were wearing blue roping gloves. He'd appreciate her help and the information.

Situating herself with a good viewpoint, it wasn't long before she was nearly rolling off the bleacher seats with uncontrollable laughter. Everybody that rode in the arena was wearing blue roping gloves.

No one would admit to stealing his gloves, even when Tim waved around the empty box and pointed out everyone had on blue gloves.

Nope, no siree, didn't steal them, they told him with conviction. Bought them at the feed store right there locally. Didn't he know? Blue was the new fashion color.
Tim rode away muttering something about "I swear to Jesus, next time I'm dying them pink!"

The blue story wasn't over. Soon after the blue-glove roping, Tim called up his girlfriend in some distress. He didn't know that the blue dye would stay in his washer and he now had all blue shirts, all blue socks and all blue underwear.

In complete sympathy, sort of, she laughed and asked if there was any chance he thought someone was stealing his underwear? She suggested a Saturday night at the local honky tonk, checking to see who else might have blue underwear.

He was not as amused at the idea as she thought he should be.

Priorities

Reminiscing about his rodeo career, a handsome 40ish cowboy stated, "I started riding bareback horses and bulls when I was 15. I rode both until I turned 22. Quit the bulls because I was a little better at the horses. And besides, I didn't like waiting around after the bareback riding to ride a bull at 10 p.m. I had to get to the dance!"

Julie can be reached for comment at jcarter@ruidosonews.com.

ICE & Border Patrol officers vote "no-confidence" in current leadership

In recent months, labor organizations representing federal immigration agents have been among the most outspoken challengers of Obama's enforcement campaign. In June, the American Federation of Government Employees' National Council 118, which represents Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, issued a no-confidence vote for ICE Director John Morton, claiming he is promoting amnesty instead of enforcement because most ICE officers are unable to make immigration-related arrests on the streets, leading to "amnesty by policy." The National Border Patrol Council adopted a similar no-confidence resolution targeting Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar. Brandon Judd, union vice president and president of Local 2544 in Tucson, said this week that the Obama administration has purposefully understaffed remote areas and attempted to limit the number of undocumented immigrants captured in Arizona so that it can assert that illegal immigration is dropping because of improved enforcement. "The border is just as wide open in some areas as it's ever been," Judd said. "Yes, I do believe the administration wants as few arrests as they possibly can. If they can have fewer arrests, then they can say fewer people are crossing the border. This administration is desperate to say the border is secure." In a joint phone interview Friday, Morton and Aguilar bristled at claims that their enforcement campaigns are ineffective or designed to fail...more

Mexico: 48 Americans slain in first 6 months of 2010

Forty-eight Americans were killed in Mexico during the first six months of 2010 — a deadly pace that appears likely to exceed any previous year of homicides on record, according to the Houston Chronicle's analysis of the U.S. State Department's death registry. The tally doesn't include two Texans reported killed Sept. 30 in separate incidents in isolated areas of Tamaulipas. American killings in Mexico have risen steadily since 2007, when drug violence first began to rage out-of-control in border cities like Nuevo Laredo and Tijuana and later spread to Ciudad Juarez, currently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Most homicides this year occurred in border states, like Chihuahua and Baja California, the analysis of State Department data from mid-2002 to mid-2010 shows. Last year, 80 homicides of U.S. citizens were reported in Mexico, compared with 57 in 2008 and 35 in 2007. At least 13 Americans have been slain in Ciudad Juarez in 2010, including an employee of the U.S. Consulate, Lesley Enriquez, 35, and her husband, Arthur Redelfs, 34. Jorge Salcido, the Mexican husband of another consulate employee, was killed minutes before the others in a coordinated attack on their two cars. Three U.S. citizens — a bridegroom, his brother and his uncle, all from New Mexico — were reported by Mexican authorities to have been abducted during a May wedding at the El Señor de la Misericordia Catholic Church in Juarez. Their bodies were later found dumped in a pickup truck, but those three homicides do not appear to be included in the registry...more