Erosion of Freedom
April 24, 2009 by MadOgre
Filed under Civil Rights, General
Erosion of Freedom: US Forest Service / Ashley National Forest: Motorized Travel Plans, Public Meeting held at Western Park. They started the meeting off by saying that they had identified 3 main usage problems, with the biggest being ATV-OHV use. So the answer to this, they are shutting down all OHV use save for on specifically designated trails… all use off these trails is absolutely prohibited, unless special permit is granted for such things as emergency, fire, or search and rescue. The viewpoint of the US Forest Service is that YOU shouldn’t be on there in the US Forest…. ATV’s (and they came out and said this) allow too much access to back wood areas. Not only did they restrict the trails you can use, but they also specified that you can only camp at specifically designated areas within 150 feet of the trail, and more than 100 feet from water.
My question is if they are funneling all ATV traffic into just a few specific paths – creating virtual OHV highways – when are they putting in the traffic lights? What’s funny – funny as in we all recognize the deception attempt is that they showed trails where “ATV’s had caused problems.” but they didn’t show where ATVs went… they showed tracks of where big 4×4 pickups went and tore things up. So instead of enforcing the law on those obviously breaking the laws, they are shutting it down for everyone.
After they explained their reasons for closing everything, they opened the floor to comments. Each comment was followed by them explaining why they know more about our mountain than we do. They used ownership language such as “Our Trail System” – not ours and in yours and mine, but “ours” as in The US Forest Service’s.
One girl mentioned that a trail that she had used all her life was closed at the start of hunting season last year and has remained closed since. She told of frequent and continual attempts to call for information which all remained unanswered. I kid you not, these guys responded with “call us”. This was such a joke, but they were serious. They meant that… like “call us – and fuck you very much.” That was the apparent attitude. Another lady mentioned always camping at a specific location way back off the trail… her family – and let me tell you, her family name goes back to the beginning of recorded history in this area – has camped there for ages since before there was a US Forest Service or an Ashley National Forest – The Feds response was to let them know where so they can look at the possibility of granting access to that area. The audacity of this is appalling. People used to have the right to go there into our mountain, and now we have to ask permission for privilege of going where they had been going for generations. The only erosion I see in the Ashley is our Freedom.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like ATV’s. They are noisy, and the riders are quite often oblivious to the disruption they are causing when someone is aiming a rifle at game and they ride right in front of you, busting your hunt. That happens all the time and every hunter I know has such a story. ATV’s are rude. However that doesn’t mean we ban all ATV’s off every trail that isn’t a designated Forest Freeway. The key word is Designated. Meaning that there are tons of old trails that people have been using forever that are not officially numbered and designated – all those trails are not illegal to use.
I’ve a proposal for the US Forest Service. The problem is not use, but unethical use. The Department of Wildlife addressed this problem the smart way. Shed Hunting is becoming popular… but some unethical hunters chase herds in the hope that this will cause some sheds to drops. The solution was a Shed Hunting Permit… available for free if you take the online course and there you go… you can now go hunt your sheds ethically. Brilliant solution… not a perfect solution but brilliant in that it addresses the problem. The US Forest Service’s solution to “the problem” is to funnel everyone into a traffic pattern that is easier to enforce and ticket. The goal here that they did not say is revenue generation, plain and simple. By putting everyone together, they can write more tickets and make more money than if everyone was dispersed because that would be too hard to monitor. It all comes down to the money… it always comes down to money.
Read the regulations HERE.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/ashley/projects/travel_management/index.shtml
All comments are due by June 1st and policy will be in effect by October 9th – right before Hunting Season. How convient for them… limit use and limit hunting. Oh – one more thing about the hunting… You can NOT go off the trail to retrieve game. No exceptions even for those mobility challenged. This is blatant discrimination against the disabled. The American Disability Act evidently means nothing to the US Forest Service… according to the US Forest Service guys, if you are disabled – you shouldn’t be hunting or enjoying the outdoors.
I so hope I get the chance to join the Utah State Legislature. Because I’m going to draft legislation that returns all of Utah State to the Utah State… The Feds can keep their military bases and ranges, and the rest of the State returns to Utah State Ownership. We can regulate our own forests.
(Of course I know that wont pass – but I want the message sent and heard)
Transparency, The Rearview Mirror, and the Not So Secret Service
April 23, 2009 by cmmiller
Filed under Civil Rights, General, Politics
President Obama built a campaign on the bedrock of change in Washington. No more lobbyists, no more pork, no more special interests, no more cronyism, no more Guantanamo, full transparency of government, looking to the future, and so on and so on. Well, he’s only fallen short on a few of these promises, but he is human you know. While I fully expected campaign promises to be broken, (promises are, after all, easy to make as a junior Senator from Illinois, but much more difficult to keep once in Washington) I never once in my wildest dreams believed that he could blunder so badly in the arena of foreign affairs and national security. No, I am not an intelligence specialist or a foreign affairs expert, but I am aware of what is going on in the world around me, and as I see it, President Obama has chosen to turn a blind eye to the reality of the world around us in favor of the Ivory Tower’s academic and idealistic view of the world.
Transparency, the idea that the government will make available and disclose all of its dealings and affairs is a noble idea. However, can this idea be taken too far, well, I’ll let you decide. In his decision to release Bush administration memos regarding the use water boarding and other intense interrogation methods on known terrorists, President Obama has proclaimed to the world that America has blundered in the past, it is now the beacon of morality and upstanding values. This in turn, is reinforced by the constant assertions by the administration that these tactics will never be used again. So, why did Obama feel the need to release these memos, in spite of the general outcry from the intelligence community and Obama’s own intelligence director, why not just exclaim to the world, as he has so often done recently, that America has been arrogant, wrong, and vile, but that we are changing our ways for the better and that we will once again lead the world with our Moral Compass? What did he gain from this action beside total coverage on every news channel that the CIA “tortured” some terrorists hundreds of times and an open playbook for terrorists on resisting interrogation techniques? Nothing, other that a further tarnished image abroad of the United States and a slap in the face of the Bush administration. However, this decision became a political boomerang when Obama’s own intelligence director said that intense interrogation techniques did produce significant information that helped the nation to fight terrorism. But then again, what does he know; he’s not the president.
This brings me to the next point. Obama has repeatedly proclaimed that he was not interested in looking back, but rather he wanted to look ahead. So why then has he repeatedly waffled on the issue of possibly prosecuting Bush administration officials for their role in the decision to use these techniques? Why did he say recently that it would be up to the Attorney General to make the decision to push forward with an investigation? Why did he suggest that a 9-11 type bi-partisan panel be arranged to look into the matter? Why hasn’t he roundly condemned the Spain for entertaining the possibility of seeking to charge six Bush administration officials with crimes against humanity? If this is looking forward, then Obama must be staring into the rearview mirror.
Is the Government our New Conscience?
April 23, 2009 by Guest Writer 1
Filed under Civil Rights, General
The Obama administration’s recent move to overturn the “conscience clause,” which allowed workers in the Health Care industry to decline providing abortion services and/or advice, should leave us wondering how long conservatives will have the freedom to disagree with any of the far left’s pet causes. In this new world the Obama administration is creating, pro-life doctors and nurses, and even Catholic hospitals may lose their jobs or face lawsuits if they are unwilling to provide abortion services.
Why is the government discriminating against the freedom of conscience of the pro-life health care employees? Unfortunately, there are many other providers willing to provide abortion services for women, so it is not very difficult for a woman to find somewhere else to go for an abortion.
But that is not good enough for the Obama administration and his liberal cheerleaders. Nothing short of a government that legislates all outward manifestations of conscience will satisfy. In other words, if you object to participating in something that goes against your conscience, that’s just tough. You can believe it privately, but you will be fired, sued, and perhaps someday jailed if you attempt to live consistently with your own beliefs. It starts here, with the abortion industry, in Obama’s first few months as president. How many of our other freedoms will we see taken away in the next four years? When will the American people finally stand up and say, “Enough?”
The hard earned tax-dollars of pro-life conservatives are already being used without their permission to pay for some abortions, thanks to Federal Medicaid policies that will pay for abortions in certain circumstances. Obama also lifted the restriction on federal funding for abortion-minded international organizations, so our tax-dollars are now paying to fund abortions out of the country.
The conscience clause is something we need to preserve the freedoms that have always been the foundation of our nation’s government. Interference in the personal convictions of the people in this nation will eventually lead to oppression similar to other countries where freedom isn’t even brought up in discussion. Will we eventually be a country where freedom is given lip service, but does not exist any longer?
Is the Obama Administration Threatened by The Media and Free Speech?
April 22, 2009 by Guest Writer 1
Filed under Civil Rights, General
Robert Gibbs has had a busy time since President Obama appointed him to the esteemed position as Press Secretary. The man at the mic has singled out three media personalities who have expressed dissent with Obama on his economic policies. Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santelli, and Jim Cramer have all been specifically addressed and that is just the beginning.
Rush Limbaugh was one of the first targets with Obama himself discouraging people from listening to him and other Talk Radio hosts. Limbaugh has been critical of the President’s policies which he feels will lead us to a large nanny state, socialism, and perhaps to Communism. He expressed a hope that Obama’s policies will fail and save America from the descent. Limbaugh’s turn of phrase has been misquoted time and again by the howling left who claim they never hoped Bush would fail. As if…
Rick Santelli made waves with his “Best Rant of the Year” that railed against the bailout of irresponsible homeowners. Gibbs gave Santelli the old one two with a statement that could be construed as a veiled threat.
Gibbs: “I’m not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives. But the America people are struggling every day to meet their mortgage.”
The statement begged to be asked a followup question, “What would you do if you knew where he lived?” Gibbs confessed he had quite a bit of fun at Santelli’s expense.
Jim Cramer from CNBC was also critical of the President’s economic policies calling them the greatest wealth destruction by any President. Gibbs shrugged his statement off with a slight insult on the lack of viewers for Cramer’s segment.
Recently, Obama has asked Bob Basso who portrays Thomas Paine on YouTube to visit the White House and discuss the “disturbing nature” of his videos. His request comes on the heels of the leaked DHS report about rightwing extremism which seems to describe the very actions taken by Dr. Basso himself. The Thomas Paine segments have been popular on shows like Glenn Beck and on rightwing blogs, but have touched the frustrations of Americans from all political backgrounds. Basso’s videos, most notably the “We the People Stimulus Package,”aided the grassroots movement and driving force behind the April 15th Tea Parties across the nation that drew hundreds of thousands to protest.
The DHS report on Right Wing Extremism was vague and encompasses many ideals that are held by average Americans. The references to extremists includes apprehension about the economy, dislike of economic policies, dislike of increased gun control, frustration over illegal immigration, the threat of communism and war, and of course the threat of returning and disgruntled veterans. In one of the first videos put out by Basso his Thomas Paine character touches on the frustrations of many of the same topics. These frustrations are deemed “paranoia” by the DHS and let us not forget it is all because we have a black president. You cannot have right wing paranoia without racism it seems.
President Obama has discouraged people from listening to the likes of Limbaugh and now has a report in hand that is vague enough to label any citizen, including Limbaugh, as an extremist. Perhaps it is just paranoia talking, but this situation has a slippery slope that concerns many Americans.
