December 6, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

To All,

     My gosh, someone has gone out and cloned Rod Wright. We're going to have to find out how to put in an order for a couple hundred thousand more just like him.

 

In other news,

 

Condor Pasa Update: Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire:

     Back in July of 2007, this poster noted to Fish & Game Commissioner Mike Sutton in a public hearing that, under the Endangered Species Act, public officials were personally liable for decisions made in the course of their duties that negatively impacted an endangered species.

 

    Commissioner Sutton's reaction to that factoid appeared to be one of incredulity, and surprise. This was, in retrospect, an interesting reaction in that in all likelihood DFG's legal beagles had been advising the Commission in their various executive sessions since December of 2006 as to the nature, liabilities and impacts of Wishtoyo et al, the lawsuit by the NRDC and others over the condor/lead bullet controversy.

 

    It is with this back-round information in mind that one turns to the recent announcement of a "deal" struck between the Department of Fish and Game and Plaintiffs in Wishtoyo that calls for the Department to promulgate formal regulations banning the use of lead ammunition for depredation permits and hunting of certain kinds of upland game in "condor country".

 

   Initially it is being presented that only rabbits and tree squirrels are being dragged into the controversy, in that condor restoration personnel have been training condors (apparently for reasons of economy to their program budgets) to forage rodent carrion when all the science points out the condors are primarily scavengers of large game and other mammalian carrion.

 

   Given the abrupt "about-face" on .22 rimfire inclusion that happened in December of 2007, though, bird hunters are not anywhere yet out of the woods for the foreseeable future.

 

   But one has to have back-round in the original requests by the various environmental groups to know that these requests included the ban of lead birdshot for all upland game hunting statewide, in addition to a statewide ban on all centerfire ammunition containing lead.

 

   As such, one can reasonably view the decision to "cave in" on expanding the lead bullet ban to shotgun loads before any scientific reports on the ban's efficacy have been received by the Fish & Game Commission as being in at least partly related to Commissioner's desire to alleviate the personal liability aspect well before scientific conclusions are tested in a court of law.

 

   Of course, the actions to cave in could be interpreted as a "reasonable" trade off by the Commission and the DFG if it could be established that Wishtoyo et al was going to be withdrawn (especially where plaintiff's did not realize reimbursement of their legal costs without having their case thoroughly cross-examined) with only part of the environmentalist dream realized.

 

    Given their past actions, however, something tells this poster that "pie in the sky, bye and bye" is not likely in this instance.

 

     What is more, the impact of a non-lead requirement in upland game hunting brings in special adverse impacts unique to shotgun shooting that could result in severe unintended consequences unless the Commission authorizes a very complete (and complex) EIR process just for this particular change in relation to shotgun ammunition.

 

    If such an EIR is not done, short-changed by certain Commission members more concerned with personal expediency, then it just could be that they will have literally jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Hopefully they will not do so. Stay tuned.

 

Links at:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-condors4-2008dec04,0,3916020.story

 

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1055663.html

 

http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/warszawski/story/1052806.html

 

 

Couldn't Happen To A Nicer Guy:

     The Chicago Tribune reported December 5th that an aide to Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) has been cooperating with Federal authorities to the point of wearing a wire while meeting with the Governor in his office.

 

     It seems that John Wyma, the former Chief of Staff for Blagojevich when Blagojevich was a Representative on Capitol Hill, had been swept up in corruption investigations over potentially illicit contributions made by a non-profit hospital in trying to get certain contracts. The hospital, Provena Health, had allegedly trying to get state approval for a heart program and somehow a $ 25,000 donation was made by a for-profit "wing" of Provena Health to Blagojevich's campaign war chest.

 

    The continuing Federal actions revolve around investigations into the kind of "pay to play" activities that have landed folks like Tony Rezko into the "hoosegow". Rezko was a long time financial supporter of President-Elect Barack Obama, who was recently convicted for fundraising activities.

 

   Blagojevich has had a long history of antigun activities, and his removal over practicing politics "The Chicago Way" should delight gunowners no end.

 

   But we should all be lighting votive candles for all those U.S. Attorneys-cum-political-appointees out there. That is because their current slate of activities involve how pretty much all of the top politicians in Illinois have used their offices to extract the maximum amount of campaign cash. This could theoretically go all the way to the top, which could be negated by what amounts to a "Black Friday"-style firing of all US attorneys sometime on or just after January 20, 2009.

 

   There is an example of this kind of patronage-style action. Bill Clinton famously let go the existing US attorney's upon his inauguration. If a President Obama likewise avails himself of the Clinton Option, it could just be that his bringing in of all the old Clinton hands into government is just an indication that his administration will be a return to 1993.

 

   It will be interesting to see Clintonistas battling Nancy Pelosi and her Eco-Terrorists in the House (Given the recent collapse of corn prices in the commodities markets, the folks at Orville Redenbacher should be "going long" on popcorn futures contracts in anticipation of the future cage matches between the House and the White House.). Whether Harry Reid is up to the task of being the "cooling saucer" in this tableau is anyone's guess. But it ought to be fun to watch, as long as the Eco-terrorists don't kill Obama's proposed public works projects by the Death of a Thousand Miles of Regulatory Red Tape (Those EIR's are such a pain in the neck, jobs or no jobs....). Stay tuned.

 

Links at:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-feds-blagojevich-05-dec05,0,3382775.story

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBcPiaRqqffg&refer=worldwide

 

 

 

Respectfully,

 

 

Anthony Canales

SFVMC-NRA