January 6, 2005

"...I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail

    Yes I would, if I could, I surely would

    I'd rather be a hammer than a nail

    Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would..."

 

                -Partial lyrics from the song,

                 "El Condor Pasa", by Simon

                 and Garfunkel

 

 

To All,

     It is said that one would strenuously prefer that El Condor se pasa. Just ask certain residents of Woodland Hills, California, who collectively have experienced the misfortune of having turkey vultures (a much smaller bird) roosting over their freshly detailed "Beemers" and Mercedes during the annual migration.

 

 

Contemplations On The Tree of Woe:

     The ongoing controversy over condors and a proposed ban on most forms of ammunition in California will only accelerate the public's consideration of the proposal's potentially adverse effects.

 

     For those familiar with environmental takings, the California Condor is the next candidate most likely as not to adversely affect inhabitants of the Fruited Plain for the sake of Preservationist theology.

 

    On the other hand, the California Condor itself is hardly as inspiring a symbol as other, more cuddly critters populating the landscape. It's young look like, well, plucked buzzards when compared to mountain lion kittens or roly-poly grizzly bear cubs (Of course, it is with the adult versions of these two top-o'-the-food-chain predators that the more adverse affects of environmentalist wishful thinking comes into play.).

 

    And as for niches, the condor was created (those who reject intelligent design would say that they evolved) for the sole purpose of cleaning up Smilodon's leavings at the Pleistocene Smorgasbord. Given that condors are no where near as competitive on the scavenging scene as coyotes, crows, or even Moveon.org volunteers, it could be that the only way to keep them fed with low-cost offal is to relocate all condor refuges to the protected perches directly above Sacramento's Capitol.

 

     But make no mistake about what is to come when the California Fish and Game Commission ultimately decides to hear the Center for Biological Diversity's petition to ban ammunition. Environmental advocates will use the condor's "Moore-ian" intelligence, "Grandma Yetta"-like fecundity, and need for three-dimensional Liebensraum to do what hordes of Brady Bunchers, Millions of Mommies, and Legions of Green Peacers have failed to do to this day. Hunting and shooting as we know it will be adversely impacted in ways that can only result in fewer participants in the field and a direct reduction of funds dedicated to wildlife programs nationwide.

 

     The Natural Resources Defense Council has already begun it's side of the public comment process. In an email alert to those on it's mailing list, it is calling for comments in support of a ban on lead-based ammunition in California. As such, it would behoove the shooting public in California to write the Fish and Game Commission in opposition to a ban predicated upon only 5 condor deaths since 1967 objectively attributed to lead. More objective evidence is needed before lead bullets, and not other conditions in the environment, are proven to be the pre-eminent threat to the current population of bred-in-captivity condors from surviving release in the wild. Interested parties can write to:

 

            Robert Treanor, Executive Director

            California Fish & Game Commission

            1416 Ninth Street

            P.O. Box 944209

            Sacramento, CA  94244-2090

 

            Phone #  (916) 653-4899

 

            FAX # (916) 653-5040

 

            Email at: rtreanor@dfg.ca.gov

                            or

                          fgc@dfg.ca.gov

 

 

Relevant Story data can be found at:

http://hoppermountain.fws.gov/cacondor/Pophistory.html

 

 

Fuzzy Logic:

     It seems that city living is once again proving to have deleterious effects on the mental capabilities of certain elected officials.

 

     In Chicago, Mayor Richard Daley is attempting to make being the Amazing Kreskin a prerequisite for an Illinois State Police Permit to sell firearms to the Thick Crust Pizza Crowd. If Daley gets his way with the Legislature, firearms dealers would be liable if they sold firearms "knowingly" to criminals (even if they passed the backround check mandated by the Federal and State governments). Daley is even trying to impose liability in that firearms dealers "should have known" that the buyer was going to use the firearm criminally, should the firearm become involved in a local crime.

 

     In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council have passed a package of laws in an attempt to look good to the New York Times. New rules include raising the age of purchasing long guns to 21, a ban on selling more than one long gun (rifle or shotgun) to an individual within 90 days of the previous sale, and a ban on out-of-state dealers selling more than one gun within 30 days to persons outside of New York where the gun somehow ended up in New York (Something tells this poster that States such as Texas, Georgia, Florida, and a host of others are not going to take it kindly in having the King of the Blue States usurp their prerogatives over their own turf. This is how civil wars get started.).

 

     In both cities, one sees a continuation of the already discredited policies of trying to make certain individuals liable for the criminal actions of others. Should the same rule be applied to any other product (cars, baseball bats, Taco Bell's Burrito Supreme), Americans would be S.O.L. on a lifestyle that has taken generations to establish.

 

     Clearly there is a small "upside" to these recent attempts at gun bans in the bluest of the Blue Cities. The approximate 13 million people (the collective populations of New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco) now are wearing the largest "kick me" sign this side of the Laker's starting lineup. No criminal in his or her right mind would choose to carry off their profession in a town like Dallas, Salt Lake City, or Phoenix when they could more safely ply their trade against unarmed victims in more "worker-friendly" locales. If one practices a little discretion in one's vacation planning, exponential levels of risk can be avoided.

 

     Of course, sympathy for  the residents of these select cities is tempered with the realization that the circumstances they are in are self-inflicted. Perhaps, with time and a bit more "education", the wounds to the body of individual rights caused by these city slickers can be made to heal. But that will require a later day, and the wholesale change in the top echelons of civic leadership.

 

 

Stories may be found at:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/05gun.html

 

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-bc-
ny--council-guns0105jan05,0,5320104.story?
coll=ny-region-apnewyork

 

 

 

Comedy Central:

     Move over, John Stewart. 

 

     In the ongoing competition to foist ever more ludicrous entertainment on the masses, readers are presented with the latest piece by Keith Olbermann at the MSNBC.com website.

 

      Olbermann's comments highlight the fact that certain Congressmen, Senators, and even media commentators are going to record, for posterity's sake, their pique that they cannot blame voting irregularities in Democrat-run voting precincts in Ohio on Republicans. They are going to demonstrate their displeasure by using a "parliamentary maneuver" to force Congressional debate on whether Ohio properly selected it's Presidential Electors or not.

 

     What is more, it seems that California's very own Babs Boxer may be the Senatorial Stooge that will join John Conyers in this quixotic attempt to delay, by two hours, the moment when Congress going to determine whether the results of the Electoral College are going to be accepted or not (Hmmm, the Speaker of the House is a Republican, and the Senate Majority Leader is a Republican, so what could the possible result be??????).

 

     Remember, this is similar to the scene in 2001 when certain Congressional members tried to keep Florida's electors from being recognized. In that case, said tantrum lasted about the time it took for the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus to voice their objections one by one to accepting the results of the plurality. Otherwise, it had no practical effect other than delaying the Congress from doing something useful, such as addressing Social Security reform or providing for domestic energy independence.

 

     Still, it seems that certain Way-Left activists are pinning their hopes in this one last attempt to challenge the moon and the tides of the electoral process. These Pacifica types have somehow convinced themselves that they can achieve victory through procedural means, rather than by an expression of the will of (this time) popular as well as Electoral College majority.

 

    Now, there are those out there who may be sympathetic to the plight of the Loony Left. But most likely they have no familial responsibilities, nor have children to think of protecting should the Left's fit become violent. As such, the situation calls for the liberal application of the extra-large-sized butterfly net until such time as the Republic is made safe for democracy. And the sooner these Pacifica types can be safely ensconced making wicker baskets and clay bunnies, the better.

 

Story source may be found at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240