Enough is Enough is Enoughr

Last year, the Federal government seized land, nearly 500,000 acres, in New Mexico for a National Monument. That land grab has hindered law enforcement’s ability to patrol the area, because nearly half of the land was set aside as wilderness. The "wilderness" designation closes off the area to vehicles, including police cars.  It also disallows most human uses, such as camping, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, etc.

The 2014 grab in New Mexico destroyed ranches that had been in families long before there was a National Park system or a U.S. Forest Service.  One of those ranches was established in 1883, when New Mexico was a territory, not a state. Hundreds, in not thousands, of ranching families are being squeezed off their land throughout the West.  By the way, the total amount of land grabbed by the Feds in 2014 was around 10 million (10,000,000) acres.

When Obama announced the grab in New Mexico, setting aside 498,815 acres of land as the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, he said, “I’m not finished." He added, “I am here to pick up a little bit of the slack because there is no time to waste to preserve precious resources and give a shot in the arm to local economies.”  What isn't said is that the acreage was nearly 1/4 of  the entire county of Dona Ana. Dona Ana supported a smaller size monument of around 60,000 acres, not nearly 500,000.  Make no mistake, this was an orchestrated grab by environmentalists, people who consider humans as an "invasive species."  It was pushed by the NM Wilderness Association, the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, and other environmental protection groups.

So, the other day, I posted on my FaceBook page an article, "Obama’s designation of monuments just another ‘land grab,’ Republicans say." In response to the posting, the following was stated, 

"Weren't these already public lands? I's not as though the government came in and took the land without compensation. What this does is protect these lands from unfettered development and preserves pristine open space. Far from a "land grab". God forbid every last square inch isn't developed and ruined."

So, in response, I need to ask, when is enough enough?   The Feds already owned & controlled 650 million acres of US land before this grab. That 650 million acres was about 30% of the country. Somehow, I don't think the claim of "every last square inch" is applicable.  

The United States has a total land area of nearly 2.3 billion acres (2,300,000,000). This grab now brings the total up to 910,000,000 (910 million acres),  This is nearly 40% (39.56%) of the nation, if my calculator is correct.  That's just the Feds.  No idea how much land is owned by the states.

So, tell me, when is enough enough?

The lands seized are state lands.  In their grabs, the Feds have seized family homes. They have displaced and destroyed working ranches. The Feds have confiscated and destroyed privately owned property all in the name of "society"....  Uhm...  isn't that what happened during the Russian Revolution?  

In addition to land grabs, the Feds are also trying to seize control over all of the nation's waters by way of the Federal Water Pollution Act of 1972 and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new Clean Water Rule.

In 2012, the Feds filed suit against the State of New Mexico, asserting claims for damages to groundwater in a natural resource damage case in New Mexico involving Chevron/Molycorp. The claim seeks for those damages to be awarded in the form of future water rights management.  In other words, the Feds are seeking control over New Mexico's water. Out here, water is a big, big deal. It affects water supplies for cities; it affects land use such as ranching. Out here, water is a precious commodity and it affects every decision made.

In 2014, the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) reared its ugly head again.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for clean water. However, the CWRA is another example of government overreach and how the Feds are kowtowing to the extremists. From an article published in "The Hill",

"More than 260 lawmakers, spanning both chambers and parties, have come out against the EPA’s action.

A group of 231 members of the House recently sent a letter to the EPA and the Army Corps asking them to withdraw the regulation. The group included almost the entire House Republican conference, as well as 19 Democrats.

“Although your agencies have maintained that the rule is narrow and clarifies CWA jurisdiction, it in face aggressively expands federal authority under the CWA while bypassing Congress and creating unnecessary ambiguity,” the lawmakers wrote."

You realize (I hope), if the government owns the land and controls the water, which it now does through another Presidential proclamation, it controls the people.  People cannot survive without food and water.  Do you really want government controlling it?

The Word on the Street Is....

Following are some statements heard out & about the week of April 15.


Steffanie B. "I blame animal rights groups. This is just a example of what happens when animal right asstwats get their way. Who is suffering but animals? Their unreasonable and outrageous demand were met, and you have a system that abuses innocent animals. The state never takes good care of anything."

BINGO!

"The State never takes good care of anything." that also includes people, yet more & more we are surrendering our rights to the government so it can take care of us. Bah! Humbug!

They don't want us having guns or dogs to defend ourselves with. They don't want us having animals for food. They don't want us having pets for companionship. The govt wants to own you, control you and have you dependent on them for EVERYTHING, including healthcare.  Hence Obamacare...

Since the inception of Obamacare, too many people with whom I am acquainted are not receiving proper medical attention, such as Joe. Joe has cancer. He had been notified that his doctor would order a needed hormone shot through the pharmacy for Joe to pick up and take it to the doctor. Joe expected it to be just another script cost and co-pay.

WRONG.

The problem is that the shot is a cancer TREATMENT and not a PRESCRIPTION, so the insurance won't pay for it written as a prescription. However, the hospital won't prepay for the it either because they aren't getting refunded for their cost, leaving Joe caught in the middle. As it is, Joe is getting billed for the shots and until the insurance provider and hospital figure it all out, he won't be reimbursed. He paid out of pocket for the first shot and the doctor paid for the second shot. Hopefully, it will be figured out before he needs his 3rd shot.

This is CANCER folks.  Cancer is a killer and Joe's is Stage 4.

Then, there's Mary.  Mary has breast cancer, which was diagnosed in January.  It took more than 6 months, post diagnosis, for her to get approval from the insurance provider to see an oncologist to begin treatment. By the time of her appointment with the oncologist, the cancer metastasized to her bones. What may have been curable is now terminal.

I find that totally unacceptable.

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Re: CA, the drought, and Moonbeam Brown's water restrictions...

“All in all, California farmers fallowed about 500,000 acres of land this year,” the Wall Street Journal reported in June 2014. “But here's the thing: much of this land could have been productive had the state stored up more water from wet years and not flushed 800,000 acre-feet into the San Francisco Bay last winter and an additional 445,000 acre-feet this spring to safeguard the endangered delta smelt.”

“That's enough for roughly three million households to live on and to irrigate 600,000 acres of land,” the WSJ reported.

According to the University of California-Davis, this represents the “greatest water loss ever seen” for California agriculture and resulted in the loss of 17,000 seasonal and part-time jobs.

“Does that make any sense?” Grove asked in the video. “Are these fish that valuable?

“Should we always put fish over humans?” Grove asked.

“So I have one more question to ask you,” Grove said. “What civilized society destroys its own food source for a three-inch fish?”

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That's all folks!

Trump Trumps RINOs on Illegal Immigration

While I don't particularly care for Trump, he makes a valid point about illegal aliens and crime, as illustrated just yesterday by the senseless murder of a young woman by an illegal alien (who'd already been deported 5 times) in San Francisco. 

The guy, who shot her, said he was "shooting at seals", a Federal offense for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the Marine Mammals Protection Act of 1974. Another Federal offense of which he is guilty is the possession of a firearm. Illegal aliens are not permitted to own or use guns in the USA because they are criminals and to compound this, the shooter has at least 7 prior felony convictions. Those are multiple violations of the Gun Control Act of 1968.

This isn't an isolated incident. It isn't the only one to occur. Other incidents, in which the illegal aliens were just sentenced in 2015, include the following. None of these are associated with terrorism. 

• July 2015 — Ever Olivos-Gutierrez, an illegal visa overstayer, was convicted of second degree murder in Colorado for the death he caused while driving intoxicated. It was the fourth time since 2000 he had been arrested for DUI, but there was no record of immigration authorities ever being notified. He was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. (Denver Channel 7, 2015)

• June 2015 — A Salvadoran, Mauricio Hernandez, convicted of rape and murder of the baby born to his victim was sentenced to 50 years in prison in Texas and faces deportation when he has served his sentence. (The Dallas Morning News, June 5, 2015)

• May 2015 — A Salvadoran, Julio C. Saravia, faces deportation following a prison sentence of 29 years for rape of a minor, to which he pled guilty in Virginia.

• May 2015 — Two Mexicans, Juan Hernandez-Sanchez and (FNU) Canela-Perez, pled guilty in Portland, Oregon and were sentenced to seven years in state prison for distribution of methamphetamines and heroin. (Oregonian, May 14, 2015)

• May 2015 — Zeng Liang Chen and Dong Biao Lin, illegal aliens from China, were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in New Jersey. (NJ.com, May 5, 2015)

• May 2015 —Bernabe Flores, a Mexican illegal alien, pled guilty to first-degree rape in California and was sentenced to eight years in prison. (Times-Herald Record, May 7, 2015)

• April 2015 — Victor Garzon-Alvarez, a Mexican illegal alien pled guilty and was sentenced in New Jersey to 14 years in prison for murder. (NJ.com, April 22, 2015)

• April 2015 — Sergio Quezada Lopez, a Mexican illegal alien who had been deported four times, was sentenced in Oregon to 15 years in prison for a heroin overdose death. His brother, Gerardo Chalke Lopez, also a previously deported alien, was earlier sentenced to 18 years in prison on the same charges. (Oregonian, April 29, 2015)

• April 2015 — Three illegal aliens, Uriel Ramirez-Perez, Darwin Zuniga-Rocha, and Eliseo Mateo Perez, pled guilty to first-degree sexual abuse (rape) in New York and were sentenced to time served in jail and will be deported. (Daily News, April 29, 2015)

• March 2015 — Javier Guerrero Molina, a Mexican illegal alien, was sentenced in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida to 10 years imprisonment for attempting to transport a minor to engage in sexual activity. Guerrero said he had entered the United States illegally in 1999 or 2000. (Dept. of Justice, Middle District of Florida, March 30, 2015)

• March 2015 — An Idaho judge sentenced Phuong Hoang Le, a Vietnamese illegal alien, to prison for 36 months. Le was convicted of possession of a stolen car and stolen credit card. The judge  commented, "Stealing cars and credit cards strike at the hearts of average middle class citizens." The prosecutor said that Le had 10 prior felony convictions, but that according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he is not likely to be deported because if Le were to be deported to Vietnam "he would be killed." (http://magicvalley.com/news/local/mini-cassia/ — March 25, 2015)

• March 2015 — Luis Daniel Cabrera-Guzman, a Mexican illegal alien, was sentenced in Kansas City to two years in federal prison for conspiracy to produce and distribute false and counterfeit identification documents that were sold to illegal aliens. He had previously been deported twice in 2009. Four other Mexican illegal aliens have pled guilty to the same conspiracy and await sentencing. (Kansas City infozine, March 25, 2015)

I am all in support of LEGAL immigration and I think our system needs reform. However, those who come here illegally need to be deported, regardless of their point of origin, and banished from the path to citizenship forever. If they aren't going to honor our laws, they don't need to be here. 

My grandparents and a couple of my aunts came here legally at a time when they could have been turned away at the gate. They walked from their villages in the Ukraine to Bremen, Germany there they arranged passage on a ship. They had nothing but they entered legally. That's the least other foreign nationals can do. 

R - E - S - P - E - C - T

Earlier today, I read something that someone had posted expressing their concern about the total lack of respect shown to Barack Obama. They assumed that the disrespect is because he's black and anyone who criticizes him is a racist. I'm paraphrasing the comment, but y'all get the gist.

Someone else has read that same comment and replied that the disrespect and lack of confidence in him isn't because he's black (actually & factually, he's a mulatto), but because he's inept.

Anyway, I kept thinking about the disrespect shown by Democrats to former Pres George W Bush, Obama's predecessor. Many took great pleasure in calling him all sorts of names. Disrespect was shown when he was depicted as a monkey and that led to a lot of people calling him a "chimp". That disrespect is evident on a website, Democratic Underground.

Now then, I was no great fan of George W. Bush, but I much preferred him to the other choices which were available at that time and I much prefer him to the man sitting in the office now.

Here's a shortened listing of what they are calling "nick names" for the former president. The full list can be found on the Democratic Underground.

Baby Bush, Bogus Potus, Boy George, Campaigner in Chief, Captain Cowboy, Cheney's Sock Puppet, Chimp in Chief, Commander-in-Thief, Curious George, Dubya, Dumbya, El Busho, El Shrubbo, Fearful Leader, Flubya, George The 2nd, Georgie, Gutless Wonder, Idiot-in-chief, Junior, King George, Miserable Failure, Moron-in-Chief, Not My President, Oaf Of Office, President Bobblehead, Shrub, Shrubbo, Shrubya, Thief in Chief, Too Stupid to be President, Unelected Moron, Village Idiot, Witless Wonder...

So, for those griping about the lack of respect shown to Obama, please ask yourself, did you use any of Bush's nicknames? Were you one of those same liberals who now seem to have forgotten how the last president was treated and now you are offended because it's a Democrat president?

Before you call others racist because they are critical of Mr. Obama, take a long hard look at the record of disrespect for the office set by liberals for eight years, when you tolerated all of sorts of vitriol against a sitting president. I guess it comes to prove the old adage; we do reap what we have sown, don't we.

More H$U$ Involvement in the USDA

Yesterday morning, this news item passed across my desk as I was drinking my morning coffee...

The USDA Wants Dog Breeder Accreditation  

I just about choked on my coffee and then I remembered...  "Hey! It's April 1....  It's April Fools Day! Surely this is a joke."

Sadly, it isn't a joke.

One would think that the USDA could find something else to whine about, right?  Well, they won't. They won't because the USDA & its APHIS section are populated by animal rights zealots, starting with the head, Tom Vilsack. His wife is a big supporter of HSUS. In addition, there's Sarah Conant, a HSUS litigator who went from her desk at HSUS right to a desk at APHIS, where she heads a newly formed "enforcement" division.

Sarah Conant

An obvious example of the HSUS-USDA connection can be found in the 2012 election. In Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, Steve King was challenged for his seat by Christie Vilsack, wife of Tom Vilsack, Obama’s Secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture. Campaign finance reports show that HSUS invested in Vilsack’s campaign to the tune of $500,000, almost their entire political war chest. Shortly thereafter, Vilsack began to obstruct efforts to resume horse processing, a key HSUS goal.

It doesn't stop there. Conant is the same individual who fined a Missiouri family $90,000 for selling bunnies.

You gotta ask yourself, should the USDA, which is charged with keeping our food supply safe, be hiring and working with HSUS people, who are committed to doing away with ALL animal use, including as food?

To me, that is beyond "conflict of interest".

This quote and other quotes in the article convinces me that H$U$ has its dirty fingers in this proposal,

Dr. Michael J. Blackwell, senior director of veterinary policy for the Humane Society of the United States, said the project could provide better oversight of the dog breeding industry, which he said has an unfortunate number of puppy mills with questionable-to-poor care standards.

“Given that we do still see quite a few puppy mills across the country, it is clear that there needs to be more attention given to ways of providing oversight, and an accreditation process would certainly be one way to do that,” he said.

Dr. Blackwell said it’s likely retailers would pressure breeders to participate in such a program, a result he hopes will come to pass.

“I think the public’s interests will probably drive that support for working only with accredited breeders,” he said.

When an AVMA article quotes an HSUS operative, it's pretty telling as to where this is coming from. And, it will be passed onto anyone who breeds. This will not be "voluntary" as they imply.

Tom Vilsack

Tom Vilsack needs to be removed as the head of the US Dept of Agriculture. He supports HSUS and its anti-animal ag views.  He has even stated that rural America is "Becoming less and less relevant.” Sec. Vilsack – December 2012 Farm Journal Sponsored Forum – Drovers

Secretary Vilsack has publicly stated his support for agreements and cooperation with a radical animal rights group, Humane Society of the US (HSUS) that is seeking to destroy American agriculture. 

“Now I know that there are not too many fans of the Humane Society in this room. But egg producers thought it was in their best interest to avoid fifty different referendums, fifty different sets of rules. So they sat down with folks and they reached common ground. After all, isn’t that what we’re asking our Congress to do? Isn’t that what we’re asking our political leaders to do? To sit down and make common cause? I think the egg producers have the right idea.” – Sec. Vilsack – Ag Wired Article

We need to ask questions and start DEMANDING answers.  

Why was a former HSUS employee hired by Secretary Vilsack to work at USDA?  

Why did HSUS spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in an attempt to get the wife of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture elected to Congress?  

Why is the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture an advocate for an unholy marriage between American animal (food & companion) producers and a radical animal rights group seeking to attack farmers, attack pet breeders, alter our food choices, and restrict our freedoms?

Don't forget "Meatless Monday" at the USDA.

Recommended Reading

A & N Research - Giving You the FACTS!  - Specifically,  USDA APHIS Watch

The Calvary Group, Has HSUS Hijacked the USDA

Protect the Harvest - Should the USDA Be Working with the USDA