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Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty: Giving hunters — and human beings — a bad name... 
(Hat-tip Nick Baumann @ MoJo)"T-Paw" is taking a well-deserved drubbing from the outdoor community for not bothering to track down a wounded deer he shot on the opening day of Minnesota's firearm deer season. A headline on deerhuntingchat.com calls the possible '12 presidential contender a "slob hunter" for wounding a deer on Nov. 7th and then leaving for a Republican fundraiser in Iowa before the animal could be found. One contributor wrote: "What kind of slob hunter goes out opening morning and shoots a deer knowing full well you won't have time to retrieve it or tend to it? One whose presidential ambitions override his hunting ethics, that's what kind." After the governor shot the deer from more than 200 yards away (a long shot that would only be ethically taken by a well-seasoned hunter, which Pawlenty is not), he and his brother Dan went to the spot where they last saw the animal. Finding blood but no deer, they returned to base camp for breakfast and to consider their next move. Due in Iowa that night for a fundraiser, Pawlenty left, and there has been no sign of the animal since. As the Deer Hunting Guide says: "A responsible hunter, who is also an ethical hunter, will be prepared to spend hours trailing a wounded deer; even come back the next day if needed. You must make every effort to retrieve a wounded animal. It's the right ethical thing to do." P.S. WTF, T-Paw? Everyone knows that real hunters gun down wolves from helicopters. That, or they shoot their friends in the face pen-raised quail. Tags: asshole, hunting, loathsome people, tim pawlenty
From: Chicago
Mood:  Pyew
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 • First off, birthday wishes (belated and otherwise) to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) electragiselle, fengi, livsmama, pacotelic, photogfrog, matrexius and theamaranth. • Haven't been feeling up to doing any serious cooking lately, but I did manage to make some absolutely knockout venison burgers (panned in butter, worcestershire & minced garlic) and cabbage/pepper salad on Halloween. Madame then topped it off perfectly with a homemade pumpkin pie. Feels good to be getting my appetite back. Can't wait to get back into the kitchen. • Speaking of appetites, somebody better hide the god-damned Butterfingers before I inhale them all. Shit's like heroin. • Speaking of treats, my ever-amazing dad gave me this magnificent creation as a get-well gift, and I've been going absolutely nuts with it - apples, pears, kiwis, bananas, berries, veggies - you name it. Nectar of the gods, I tellya. And my local fruit & veggie place has a daily "very ripe" cart with all kinds of stuff priced dimes on the dollar... perfect for juicing on a budget like mine. • Met with my new internist today ( great guy, for a change), and he put me through a full exam, top to bottom. So far, we know there's still a significant amount of blood in my urine, and my white blood cell count is still off the charts. I'm awaiting additional results, but it appears we're looking not only at renal lithiasis (with possible pyelonephritis and/or hydronephrosis, but an extremely stubborn staph epidermidis infection (most likely from the the stent and/or the unsanitary hospital conditions), cholelithiasis and steatohepatitis... I know, right? Next step is a full renal exam by my (new) nephrologist on Wednesday, then - if worse comes to worst - a hepatologist (and/or liver CT scan) referral. I tellya, I'm really getting sick of this shit (no pun intended). • Quick consumer note: If you're thinking about using Carbonite for online back-up, forget it. It's a steaming bowl of suck. Slow, clumsy and unreliable (not to mention the piss-poor "customer service"). • And finally, a couple of recent family pics under the cut - one of my daughter in her "Candy Rapper" Halloween costume and — fair warning — one of me n' my son with the massive (230-pound) whitetail buck he shot a few weeks back: ( Clicky )Tags: friends, halloween, hunting, medicine
From: Chicago
Mood:  Groggy
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• Found a wallet with $260+ in it at the vegetable market last night. Talk about a moral tug of war (i.e., considering my current economic slump, that cash would've come in mighty handy)... After thinking it over for an eternity hour or so, I finally decided to call the owner and return it to her. Glad I did. She was 75+ years old, and apparently, the money was the remainder of her monthly Social Security check. She hugged me and started crying, which immediately made me ashamed that I'd even considered keeping it. • No booze since August 25th. Feels kinda nice, actually... and I don't miss it half as much as I thought I would. • The CEO of my health insurance company makes $24.3M a fuckin' year. I'm keeping this fact in mind as I await the impending tsunami of non-covered expenses and co-pays associated with my kidney problems... Battle's not even half over, either, as I'm still crippled by fatigue, fever, chills, aches, etc. Madame thinks it's the flu, but I'm thinking the god-damned infection is back. I had blood/urine taken this morning, and am scheduled to see Chicago's premier nephrologist next week (thanks in part to a keen suggestion by vyrdolak). Wish me luck. • Speaking of kidneys (and my new, decidedly bland, "kidney-friendly" diet), I'm sure gonna miss stuff like this. (Yes, I fully intend on cheating once in awhile.) • Speaking of food, If any of my fellow Chicagoans would like to sample some venison and/or bear meat, drop me an e-mail (jblaque at gmail) and we'll set up a time for you to pick some up. Your choice of burger or chops (or a little bit of both), while supplies last. • On a related note, my son & I have made a pact never to hunt bear again (even a "nuisance" bear like the one he killed). It was a ghastly, heart-wrenching affair, and both of us were horrified and guilt-ridden afterward. I can't even bring myself to posting a photo. Another life lesson learned. For both of us. The good news - if there is any - is that A) the brute no longer poses a threat to my friend's kids or pets, and B) none of the animal went to waste. What meat we couldn't bring home, we donated to a local food bank in Wisconsin. My buddy's picking up the tab to have the hide made into a rug for my son, but to be honest, we don't think we can display the thing in the house without evoking the whole experience every time we look at it. • Again with the fuckin' "Check Engine" light. This, after two repairs (one covered under warranty and one that sapped me for $300). WTF? • My daughter decided to tweeze her eyebrows this weekend. The results were pretty much what you'd expect from an 11-year-old with no idea what she's doing. I don't know how many times I can tell her that they'll grow back before she'll believe me. :/ • Apropos of nothing: Ken Nordine's Word Jazz is a steaming bowl of suck. I'm witholding my annual donation to Chicago Public Radio until they boot the old fart off the air. Gah. Enough pissing and moaning for one evening, I suppose... g'night. Tags: family values, fatherhood, food, friends, hunting, kidney stones
From: Chicago
Mood:  Contemplative
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For those of you that did do much to help Casey win the Victoria's Secret "Love My Body" contest, I bring bad news — and yet more proof that people suck...  From Casey's journal: "I didn't win the Victoria's Secret contest.
Because of the tampering they changed things. An uninvolved group of judges were given the top 50 entries in a random order, they picked two winners, and I was not one of them. I got a call from a lady from Victoria's Secret saying that the people who were actually involved in the contest were inspired by my story and saw that people were voting for me fairly, so they've given me a $500 gift card.
Thank you. But $500 does not make up for the fact that several forums call me Cancer Bitch and think I should die. $500 does not make up for the fact that I just dealt with months of drama and humiliation because I decided on a whim that entering a contest couldn't hurt." If I were Casey, I'd order $500 worth of their cheesy crap, douse it with lighter fluid, torch it on my front lawn and post the video on YouTube. But that's just me. If you have a moment, you can drop Casey a note of support by commenting here. P.S. The father-son trip (broken into two separate weekends, in fact) was a bigger success than either of us could have imagined, and although I'm admittedly in a wretched physical state as I type this (doctor's office first thing tomorrow), it was worth every minute. Full update and photos to follow soon. Thanks again for all your calls, texts and e-mails. You guys are terrific. Tags: cancer, family values, friends, hunting, kidney stones, loathsome people, thank you
From: Home
Mood:  Drained
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The wholesale slaughter of the gray wolf is now back in full swing, thanks to Obama's decision to continue Bush's irresponsible environmental policies... 
(Hat-tip Chris in Paris)What a disappointment and waste of years of recovery efforts by the federal government. After being on the endangered species list for years (and with wolf populations slowly coming back), it's all gone, quicker than you can say "special interest." At least Obama can wrap up those critical rancher votes which he covets so much, eh? Melanie Stein, a Sierra Club spokeswoman, said that the wolf populations "are just on the cusp of recovery and that we are almost there." But she says the hunts represent "a step backward and away from recovery" of the wolf populations.
Defenders of Wildlife, one of several groups urging the court to stop the hunt, detailed the ecological role of the wolves on its web site.
"In what is known as the cascade effect, wolves are exerting influence over a multitude of species within the park's ecosystem. Elk, wary of the reintroduced top predator, have altered their grazing behavior... With less grazing pressure from elk, streambed vegetation such as willow and aspen is regenerating after decades of overbrowsing. As the trees are restored, they create better habitat for native birds and fish, beaver and other species..." More good reading on the topic — from a former Montana hunting guide, no less — right here. Tags: animals, barack obama, disgrace, dumb americans, endangered species, environment, greed, hunting, wildlife, wolves
From: Chicago
Mood: Pyew
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Fans of the critically endangered right whale had plenty to celebrate this Mother's Day, as the sea-moms gave birth to a record 39 calves over the Spring...  The New England Aquarium reports that the birth surge breaks the old record of 31, and shows much improvement from 2000, when only one calf was born. Each birthing season is critically important because right whales number fewer than 400, and are among the most endangered species of marine life in the world. Having a calf is no easy task for the 50-foot-long whales, who give birth off the Florida and Georgia coasts. The moms travel nearly 1,000 miles down the East Coast to warmer waters for their babies, who weigh roughly 2,400 pounds at birth. And the moms can lose up to 30,000 pounds in the first year they are nursing. And because females do not become sexually mature until ten years of age (and give birth to a single calf after a yearlong pregnancy), populations grow slowly. Right whales were named by whalers who identified them as the "right" whale to kill on a hunt, highly valued for their plentiful oil and baleen, which were used for corsets, buggy whips, and other contrivances. Because of their thick blubber, right whales also float accommodatingly after they have been killed. Populations of these whales were hunted to the brink of extinction during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The species was finally granted full, international protection in 1949, but despite almost 60 years of protection, recovery has been questionable. Only in the past 15 years is there evidence of a population recovery in the Southern Hemisphere, and it is still not known if the species will survive at all in the Northern Hemisphere. Although not presently hunted, current conservation problems include collisions with ships, conflicts with fishing activities, pollution, habitat destruction and oil drilling. Tags: ecology, environment, extinction, greed, hunting, marine life, whales, whaling
From: Chicago
Mood:  Uncertain
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And the award goes to...  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who took a big step backwards in the history of American wildlife conservation with the stroke of a pen, moving the gray wolf from under the protection of the Endangered Species Act and squarely into the crosshairs of hunters, ranchers and special interest groups across the Northern Rockies. This asshole's decision to allow the Bush's last-minute delisting rule for wolves to take effect risks a tremendous loss for the 30-year legacy of recovering wild wolves in the region. The rule, effective as of May 4th, allows the majority of the region's estimated 1,600 wolves to be killed, once again putting their survival as a species in peril. The rule takes effect even as new pups are being born throughout the region, making them easy targets for those who want them shot, trapped and poisoned. All the reasons why this delisting plan was a bad idea when the Bush administration proposed it in January 2009 still stand today. The rule allows all but 300 of the 1,300 wolves in Idaho and Montana to be killed. It also eliminates protections for wolves in northern Utah and eastern portions of Washington and Oregon. Idaho, which hosts the area's largest wolf population, has already publically announced plans to kill more than half of its wolf population within the year after federal protections are lifted. It is beyond comprehension and without precedent that we find ourselves in this situation; with a wildlife population that has only just been declared "recovered" now facing a possible loss of over half of their numbers. No one would have dreamed of "managing" the bald eagle so aggressively as soon as it came off the Endangered Species Act, yet for purely political reasons, wolves in the Northern Rockies face the possibility of the eradication of the majority of their population soon after losing federal protections. Salazar should not have allowed this rule to take effect without engaging in a clear and transparent public consultation process. Instead, he made the surprise decision to move forward without considering current science, and without ensuring that appropriate state wolf management plans are in place to ensure a sustainable wolf population after delisting. In fact, Salazar rejected offers from groups in the region and around the country to work with him to find the right way to delist wolves in the region. Delisting under these conditions casts aside the decades of work, expense and stakeholder participation that went towards building a viable wolf population in the region. Hundreds of scientists have formally spoken out against the delisting rule, noting that the rule ignores contemporary scientific research on what constitutes a recovered wolf population, and allows wolf populations to be reduced to the point where they could not achieve the natural genetic connectivity deemed by scientists to be essential to the species' long-term survival in the region. Most recently, scientists with the Society for Conservation Biology wrote a letter to Salazar urging him to reconsider publishing the rule based on unresolved scientific issues regarding the genetic health and connectivity of the regional wolf population. Sadly, none of this was considered by Salazar, whose rushed decision is especially disappointing given President Obama's statements emphasizing the need to restore scientific integrity in the administration of the Endangered Species Act. Just three days before Salazar's announcement that he would delist the Northern Rockies wolf, President Obama pledged in a memorandum to "restore the scientific process to its rightful place at the heart of the Endangered Species Act." This pledge was not upheld by the administration in going forward with delisting the Northern Rockies wolf, a process which should have included in-depth consultation and a full scientific review. And it's a potential tragedy that could have easily been avoided. Click here now to give Obama a kick in the ass for allowing
this idiot Salazar to call open season on the gray wolf.Tags: asshole, barack obama, ecology, endangered species, environment, hunting, wolves
From: Chicago
Mood: Pyew
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The Russian government has announced a complete ban on hunting “whitecoat” harp seal pups — the first step in an agreement to end the killing of all baby seals in Russia after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin condemned the practice as a "bloody business."  Rules allowing a six-week window for hunters to target pups after their coats start turning from snow white to gray will be amended to protect all harp seals less than a year old, according Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev, adding that Russia's harp seal population has dropped by a third in the past decade as thawing Arctic ice shrinks their breeding grounds and hunting takes its toll. Said Professor Aleksey Yablokov of Russian Academy of Science: "This is a real biological catastrophe. At the current rate, in a few years the seal could become a rarity in the White Sea." "This is a bloody business that should have been banned long ago," Putin told ministers at a meeting last month, the state-run paper Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported. In the White Sea breeding grounds, pups are born at the end of February and beginning of March and spend about three weeks on the ice before they take to the water. Hunters traditionally club the pups to death before they're two weeks old to avoid damaging their snow-white coats, which are used in the fur industry. The skinned remains of the pup corpses are usually dumped into the sea or simply left to rot on the ice. Putin acknowledged the importance of the hunting industry in the region and said that he would require the government to compensate incomes of the White Sea people in connection with the ban on hunting. "This is one of their means of existence. Therefore, simply banning is inadequate. A system of support measures must be worked out to secure employment and income of those who live and work there," said Putin. News of the agreement is sure to infuriate Norwegian sealing interests (the same bastards that burn unsold seal pelts to keep market prices in check) who were prepared to subsidize 80% of the Russian hunt in the hope of propping up the industry which is in a worldwide free fall. European opposition to commercial sealing has already resulted in national bans on all seal products in Belgium, Slovenia and The Netherlands, and the European Commission has adopted a proposal to ban the trade in seal products altogether. Note to Canada & Norway: Tick-tock, motherfuckers.P.S. Still lots of work to do, and you can lend a hand. Tags: animal cruelty, animals, environment, greed, hunting, marine life, sea shepherd, seal hunt
From: Chicago
Mood:  Never Give Up
Now Playing: 'Closing Time' - Leonard Cohen
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...and burn their black hearts out —  Humane Society International's Rebecca Aldworth writes: I have just returned from the shores of Hay Island, Nova Scotia, where the annual hunt for grey seals was scheduled to start. There, instead of bearing witness to sealers beating defenseless seal pups to death with wooden bats, I stood amidst a spectacular nursery, alive with protective, nurturing mothers and their babies.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the government of Nova Scotia announced last week that they were authorizing another grey seal kill. But yesterday, seal processing plants told seal hunters that they would not buy the skins of the baby grey seals, and the sealers stayed home [...] buyers are now unwilling to purchase grey seal pelts because global markets are evaporating. With the pending ban on seal product trade in the European Union... this is the beginning of the end of the commercial seal slaughter. [...]
The grey seal pups are likely safe for now, but in just a few weeks, the true target of the world's largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals — the harp seals — will be killed by the hundreds of thousands... Still, just as with the grey seals, there is hope for the harp seals. Not only is the demand for seal products drying up; the boycott of Canadian seafood products is costing the Canadian seafood industry far more than the seal hunt brings in... Sadly, this is just the beginning of the commercial seal hunting season in Canada... The boycott of Canadian seafood is making an impact. To date, over 3,500 restaurants and grocery stores have joined the Humane Society's Protect Seals campaign, including Whole Foods Markets, Ted's Montana Grill, Legal Sea Foods, Publix Supermarkets, Trader Joe's, Oceanaire Seafood Room, Earth Fare, WinCo Foods and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafes. Canadian fur officials are also blaming the European Union's proposed ban on a poor showing for Nunavut seal skins so far this year. None of the 10,000 Nunavut seal pelts that went up for auction this month had sold at the first auction of this year at Fur Harvesters Auction Inc.'s auction house in North Bay, Ontario. "The entire collection remains unsold," said Fur Harvesters Auction CEO Mark Downey, adding that the auction house will have to slash prices on the seal skins. "We're looking at probably a 50% price reduction to get the thing started again," he said. Learn more (and get involved) here and here.Tags: animal cruelty, ecology, environment, greed, hunting, marine life, seal hunt
From: Chicago
Mood: Break Their Backs
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Time to fill the freezer for winter. See you in a few days.But I'll leave you with a question before I go... Why is multi-millionaire John Sidney McCain III, who recently hiked the Grand Canyon with his son - and has been actively, physically campaigning across the nation virtually every day for the last 18 months - entitled to an annual, tax-free $58,000 "disability pension" based on his "limited body movements"? One has to wonder how long it takes you Joe The Plumber to take home 58 big ones (after taxes)... and how much you Joe The Plumber pays in federal income taxes every year to help fund this Big Government Waste. The real irony, of course, being McCain's disgraceful voting record on his fellow veterans' affairs and benefits. Not to mention his "strident support" for "welfare reform." Tags: friends, hunting, john mccain, meat, phony soldiers, support our troops, taxpayer money
From: Texas-Bound
Mood:  Last-Minute Packing
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Temporarily, anyway... I'll take it.  The federal government plans to withdraw a rule that removed wolves in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of Utah, Oregon and Washington from the endangered species list. If U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula agrees, a lawsuit filed by environmentalists will end, and federal biologists will get a chance to rewrite the plan to meet objections the judge made. Molloy's preliminary injunction July 17th temporarily relisted wolves and put a halt to plans in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to open hunting seasons on the animals. Since that decision, the estimated 2,000 wolves in the Northern Rockies have been under federal management. Ed Bangs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's top wolf manager, acknowledged the Bush administration has failed to explain why it was confident it could delist wolves without endangering the species again. Before the agency can issue a new rule, it must address Molloy's concerns, Bangs said. "There's going to be a thorough, fine-toothed comb going through it to decide what we can do better," Bangs said. The Natural Resources Defense Council and 11 other wolf advocacy groups demonstrated they would likely win the case on the merits of their arguments, Molloy said in his July opinion. Molloy made that decision based on the wolf advocates' claim that wolves in Yellowstone National Park were not genetically mixing with other wolf populations, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said was necessary. If the wolves don't interbreed throughout the region, that could leave isolated and genetically threatened enclaves, not a sustainable population. Malloy also criticized Wyoming's plan, which left 90% of the state open for wolf killing year-round. But the judge said the Montana and Idaho wolf plans were good enough to protect wolves at least as well as the federal rules in place when the wolves were delisted. Idaho estimated it had a spring wolf population of 1,063 and, before Molloy's ruling, had authorized a hunting season that would have allowed the killing of up to 428 of them. Bangs said shortly after the July decision that he was confident he could change the judge's mind on the genetics issue. But Wyoming's determination to let wolves be killed in much of the state was an issue that was harder to defend. "Hopefully they'll go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan that better protects wolves," said Earthjustice attorney Doug Honnold, who had filed the lawsuit on behalf of environmentalists. The war over the wolves isn't over by any stretch of the imagination, but it sure feels good to win a battle once in a while. Tags: animals, bush legacy, endangered species, esa, hunting, wolves
From: Chicago
Mood:  Encouraged
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(Hat-tip Anchorage Daily News)State wildlife biologists killed 14 wolf pups as part of a predator control program to help bolster the caribou herd on the Alaska Peninsula. The 4- to 5-week-old pups were caught at two den sites as biologists were shooting adult wolves from a helicopter near Cold Bay, about 600 miles southwest of Anchorage. Biologists shot and killed 14 adult wolves, including the mothers of the pups, bringing the total slaughter to 28. “As we got on the calving grounds, we took adults and in the course of taking adults we found there were pups,” said Doug Larsen, director of the state Division of Wildlife Conservation by phone from Juneau. “The issue then was do we leave the pups to fend for themselves and starve or do we dispatch them... our feeling was that it was most humane to dispatch them.” Each pup was shot in the head. Larsen justified the pup killings as part of a plan to halt a “precipitous decline” in the Southern Alaska Peninsula Caribou herd, which has declined from an estimated 4,100 animals to only 600 in the past six years. “Nobody likes to go out and kill critters, particularly when they’re young of the year,” Larsen said. “But when you have a specific objective and that’s the way to achieve that objective, sometimes you have to do things that you don’t like.” The department won the approval of the Alaska Board of Game to shoot wolves from a helicopter on the herd’s spring calving grounds in March. While there was no specific talk about killing pups, Larsen said “there was never any intent to do anything out of sorts with what the board was expecting.” The dens were on state land, just outside the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Had the dens been on federal land, “we wouldn’t have been in position to go in there,” Larsen added. The state issued a press release about the removal of wolves on June 27th, but it made no mention of killing pups, only that “wolves from three packs were shot from a helicopter by Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff.” Omitting the pup killings “wasn’t an attempt to hide anything, by any means,” Larsen said. Longtime Alaska wolf biologist Gordon Haber, who is often critical of the department’s wolf control programs, brought the pup killings to the attention of the media through his Web site, alaskawolves.org, and said that the department purposely didn’t publicize the pup killings because they feared public backlash. “They understood how strongly most people would react at the thought of state employees helicoptering to a couple of natal dens and, after killing the adult wolves, grabbing 14 frightened young pups and one-by-one blowing their brains out with a pistol,” wrote Haber in his blog. This marked the first time Department of Fish and Game personnel have actively participated in a state predator control program in 15 years. Prior to the action taken on the southern Alaska Peninsula, the state’s predator control plan included an army of private pilot/gunner teams shooting wolves from the air or ground in five different parts of the state, including three Interior regions, to help boost caribou and moose populations. Almost 800 wolves have been killed in the last four years. On August 26th, Alaskan voters will have the opportunity to pass a ballot measure banning the practice of airborne culling of free-ranging wolves, grizzly bears and wolverines. You can learn more (and lend a hand) here. Tags: animals, environment, greed, hunting, wolves
From: Chicago
Mood:  Bastards
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(Hat-tip Craig Medred)Alaskan state wildlife officials believe they have "saved" more than 1,400 moose or nearly 3,000 caribou — or some combination thereof — with a winter program to kill wolves from aircraft, although the wolf kill remains far below what the state wanted. Pilot-gunner teams have taken 124 wolves to date, according to Bruce Bartley, spokesman for the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation. The goal was 455 to 670 wolves. Still, the kill, which is ongoing, is more than the 97 wolves gunners took last year. The program runs as long as conditions allow or until state biologists decide wolf-kill quotas have been met. The kill has been low this year because of a March that lacked the fresh snow and good light needed for optimum hunting conditions. The exact number of moose or caribou saved by thinning wolf populations is hard to determine. Fish and Game's ungulate survival calculations are based on an average consumption of approximately 12 moose or 24 caribou per wolf per year. A kill of 124 wolves would thus translate to 1,488 moose or 2,976 caribou or some combination thereof. Studies conducted by noted biologist Rolf Peterson from Michigan Technological University found that the Kenai wolves killed, on average, one moose every 4.7 days. Long a subject of fear and loathing in North America, wolves were exterminated in most of the Lower 48 in the last century. They hung on only in the far north forests of Minnesota until American attitudes changed, and a program was begun to restore the animals to their traditional range. Wolves have since spread from Minnesota into nearby Midwestern states, and a reintroduction program initiated in Yellowstone National Park has helped wolves to re-establish old hunting grounds in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. Meanwhile, the animals have become a wildlife-viewing icon for nature lovers everywhere: Aerial wolf control in Alaska remains highly controversial, and grassroots efforts to stop it continue. Alaska voters have twice approved initiatives to stop the hunts, and another is slated to go on the ballot later this year. In March, Superior Court Judge William F. Morse invalidated the aerial killing of wolves in several small areas of the state while issuing a ruling upholding the predator control program. Later that month, the "shortfalls" identified by Morse were "fixed" and the programs reactivated, according to Cathie Harms, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. # # #Bottom line: The State of Alaska - led by the nose by special interest groups (i.e. wealthy trophy hunters) - continues to indiscriminantly "cull" a natural, predatory species to artificially inflate a more commercially valuable one. Fuckin' despicable. Tags: alaska, environment, hunting, wolves
From: Chicago
Mood: Tragic
Now Playing: 'Coyotes' - Richard Thompson
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An update from the crew of the Sea Shepherd as they face off against the annual Canadian seal "hunt":  "The last two weeks have certainly proved to be interesting for Sea Shepherd as we continue to oppose the Canadian seal slaughter. In two weeks, we have been rammed twice by a Coast Guard ship, kept under survellience by a Coast Guard plane, and assaulted by an angry mob in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Apparently, the Canadian government and the sealers do not want us to expose this slaughter for what it is: the largest marine mammal slaughter in the world." The following are eyewitness accounts from volunteer crewmembers onboard the (SSCS vessel) Farley Mowat. (The very witnessing of these events is considered illegal by the Canadian government): "...Upon approach we saw two small aluminum boats carrying two men each darting from ice floe to ice floe searching for baby seals. It seemed they had a system... carelessly firing upon the unsuspecting babies, their only goal to find and maim the infants. We witnessed two victims, meters from the ship writhing in agony, hot blood spilling onto the ice and heard their cries as they continued to suffer for a good long time awaiting the small boats to arrive and fulfill their doom... the babies, still alive, turn their heads to the approaching man with a club... What I saw today I will never forget, their cries will fill my thoughts and torture my soul. I can say I am truly embarrassed to be of the same race as these cowards and ashamed to be a Canadian today." -Shannon Mann, Canada
"Nothing prepared me for this... I watched in horror and disgust as two murderers clammered from their small boat, club in hand, and smashed in the skull of a baby harp seal... my memories are fuzzy with blood, abuse and worst of all the cries of seals as they are brutally killed. We will do whatever we can to expose this unnecessary, disgusting slaughter of life. Canada can not continue to censor its dirty secret any longer." -Laura Dakin UK
"...I see two men lifting a seal impaled through the neck onto a sealing boat... the seal was still moving. There was lots of ice covered with blood everywhere. There was a larger boat that the smaller boats were dropping off the seals to be skinned, one of the crew of the boat got up to wave smuggly at us. They were skinning them and throwing the seal carcasses back overboard. They call it a seal hunt but I don't think walking up to a stationary seal and smashing its head in is hunting, it is an act of pure cruelty. No wonder they don't want the rest of the world to see what is happening." -Daniel Bishop, England
"It is untrue to say that killing these seals is being done humanely. Today we have seen sealers shooting the baby seals to wound them so they can't flee, beating them with wooden clubs then killing them by cutting the arteries under their flippers. The seals die slowly and in pain. It is a horrible thing to see." -Dr. Merryn Redenbach, Australia
"... I looked through the port hole and saw red patches of blood on the ice and I knew the seal hunt had begun. On the deck I immediately saw a small boat and two men who stopped on a little piece of ice in order to slaughter an innocent baby harp seal... The hunters carried a hakapik and bashed the seal's head. Some of the seals were still alive when they were delivered back to the sealing ship where they were finally skinned." - Anne Fourier, France< Anything you can give — even if it's just a few bucks — to help Captain Watson and his crew expose these miserable, greedy bastards and their crimes against nature would be appreciated. There's plenty of other ways to get involved, too. Too bad it's illegal to hunt the "hunters," for I'd be surely be among the first in line for a license... Me, my trusty .22-250, a Louisville Slugger and a well-honed skinning knife. Let the games begin. ☺ Tags: captain paul watson, disgrace, ecology, environment, hunting, marine life, sea shepherd, seal hunt, seal slaughter, seals
From: Chicago
Mood:  Hateful
Now Playing: 'The Crusher' - The Novas
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 Just received this e-mail correspondence from "Anonymous": Regarding the photo of the children with the dead turkey in your blog, it's disgusting. In case you haven't noticed, we are living in the 21st century and no longer need to go out and spill the blood of animals in order to eat. This Thanksgiving, millions of civilized people went to the grocery store to by [sic] their family's turkey without having to teach their children that's it OK to slaughter wild animals. This is disgusting..." And since my e-mail reply bounced (color me shocked)... ( here ya go, sport... )Tags: animal cruelty, dumb americans, factory farming, hunting, meat, tamaulipas, turkey
From: Chicago
Mood:  Troll Bait
Now Playing: 'Alice's Restaurant' - Arlo Guthrie
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(Hat-tip James Randerson) 
"Beware the beast, man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among
God's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed... Let him not breed
in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours..."
- Dr. Zaius, Planet of the ApesSri Lanka's slender loris has been seen just four times since 1937. Miss Waldron's red colobus monkey was not found in an exhaustive six-year study ending in 1999, and there have been no definite sightings since. Vietnam's golden-headed langur and the Hainan gibbon in China both number in the mere dozens. These are the primate species on the last edge of extinction and - according to a report commissioned by three leading conservation charities - scores of others of our closest relatives are poised to suffer the same fate. The report names the top 25 species most in need of help, but concludes that 114 primate species are also close to extinction.  The 25 species most at risk include two of our genetically-closest great ape cousins, the Cross River gorilla of Cameroon and Nigeria and the Sumatran orang-utan. The document was compiled by 60 leading primatologists from the world conservation union, the International Primatological Society, and lists 11 species from Asia, seven from Africa, four from Madagascar and three from South America. "You could fit all the surviving members of these 25 species in a single football stadium... hat's how few of them remain on Earth today," said Conservation International president Russell Mittermeier. "The situation is worst in Asia, where tropical forest destruction and the hunting and trading of monkeys puts many species at terrible risk. Even newly-discovered species are severely threatened from loss of habitat and could soon disappear."  "Overall the problems are increasing," said Eckhard Heymann from the German Primate Centre in Goettingen, one of the report's authors, citing threats such as habitat loss due to logging for timber and/or oil and mineral extraction, plus rampant bushmeat hunting. The two issues are directly related because roads cut through tropical forests for logging trucks help give bushmeat hunters easier routes to wildlife. Yet another threat is widespread habitat destruction to make space for biofuel plantations such as oil palm. While developed economies around the world are pledging to use more "sustainable energy sources," the domino effect on tropical wildlife is devastating. "It is creating a huge market and now, in several countries, politicians are thinking of converting tropical forest areas to palm plantations," Heymann said. The oil palm industry particularly affects orang-utan populations. Although they still number in the low thousands, they are disappearing at a faster rate than any other primate species on the planet.  Among the most critically endangered species in the world: Madagascar• Greater bamboo lemur ( Prolemur simus) • White-collared lemur ( Eulemur albocollaris) • Sahamalaza Peninsula sportive lemur ( Lepilemur sahamalazensis) • Silky sifaka ( Propithecus candidus) Nigeria, Cameroon• Cross River gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla diehli) Ivory Coast, Ghana• Miss Waldron's red colobus ( Procolobus badius) Roloway monkey ( Cercopithecus diana roloway) Tanzania• Rondo dwarf galago ( Galagoides rondoensis) • Kipunji ( Rungwecebus kipunji) Kenya• Tana River red colobus ( Procolobus rufomitratus) Equatorial Guinea• Pennant's red colobus ( Procolobus pennantii pennantii) Colombia, Venezuela• Variegated spider monkey ( Ateles hybridus) Colombia, Ecuador• Brown-headed spider monkey ( Ateles fusciceps) Peru• Peruvian yellow-tailed woolly monkey ( Oreonax flavicauda) Bangladesh, India, Burma• Western Hoolock gibbon ( Hoolock hoolock) Sri Lanka• Horton Plains slender loris ( Loris tardigradus nycticeboides) • Western purple-faced langur ( Semnopithecus vetulus nestor) Indonesia• Pig-tailed langur ( Simias concolor) • Sumatran orang-utan ( Pongo abelii) • Siau Island tarsier ( Tarsius sp.) Vietnam• Delacour's langur ( Trachypithecus delacouri) • Golden-headed langur ( Trachypithecus poliocephalus poliocephalus) • Grey-shanked douc ( Pygathrix cinerea) • Tonkin snub-nosed monkey ( Rhinopithecus avunculus) China• Hainan black-crested gibbon ( Nomascus hainanus) (x-posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) environment) Tags: alternative energy, animals, bushmeat, climate change, deforestation, ecology, environment, extinction, hunting, monkeys, overpopulation, poaching, pollution
From: Chicago
Mood:  Do Something
Now Playing: 'Some Velvet Morning' - Nancy Sinatra
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 Well, nobody got shot in the face this time, but " Dozin' Dick" Cheney still managed to fire up a controversy Monday when he went hunting at a private club that hangs the Confederate flag. A Daily News photographer captured the 3-by-5 foot Dixie flag affixed to a door in the garage of the Clove Valley Gun and Rod Club in upstate Union Vale, N.Y. Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said, "No one in our office was aware there was such a flag. The vice president did not see a flag, nor did anyone on his staff traveling with him in New York." The Daily News photographer who took the picture, Howard Simmons, said "the flag was plainly visible in the strong sunlight streaming toward the garage."  The Daily News reports that officials with the Clove Valley Rod & Gun Club belligerently refused to respond to the controversy: Club officials threatened a reporter with arrest when he sought comment. The Confederate flag has historically been used by Republican operatives to galvanize conservative activists. While Cheney's office says it did not see the flag, it has yet to condemn the club for displaying it. Tags: confederate flag, dick cheney, hunting, republican scum
From: Chicago
Mood: amused
Now Playing: 'Bend Down Low' - Gregory Isaacs
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 Gunmen in Cyprus shot 52 endangered, migrating red-footed falcons simply for target practice, according to bird conservation officials on the Mediterranean island. Calling it the "one of the worst cases of illegal bird killings ever reported in Europe," Birdlife Cyprus manager Martin Hellicar said farmers found 46 of the pellet-riddled birds lying in a tight cluster on a citrus farm west of the coastal resort of Limassol. Another six birds were found shot but still clinging on to life. Hellicar said exacerbating the killings was the fact that the red-footed falcon was recently re-classified from "vulnerable" to "globally near-threatened," adding "Globally near-threatened is as bad as it gets." The red-footed falcon is a colonial species that nests and migrates in groups, and is strictly protected in the EU due to its severe declines in its main breeding range in recent decades.  The shooters appeared to be practiced marksmen, as only 52 spent cartridges were found in the area. The recovered cartridges were of the skeet type used in clay pigeon shooting competitions. The slaughter took place in the most important migration stop-over area on the island for thousands of birds that is also a notorious poachers' paradise. "Anti-poaching action has plainly failed to materialize, resulting in illegal shooters becoming increasingly bold," said Hellicar, adding, “Friday’s massacre should have been prevented by the SBA Police, but we believe it is the product of the unacceptably lax state of affairs in the area as a whole.” Although almost all the peninsula is a protected reserve, a narrow coastal strip along the west is open for hunting of turtle dove and quail from early September to mid-October. But the real draw for many hunters is not the meager numbers of this legal quarry but the huge numbers of bee-eaters and yellow wagtails, protected species under both Cyprus and EU law. “Under the circumstances, the hunting area in operation today should be shut down immediately and indefinitely,” said BirdLife Cyprus researcher Mike Miltiadous. Send your thoughts to: Ambassador Andreas Kakouris
Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus
2211 R. St. NW, Washington, DC 20008
Tel: (202) 462-5772 Fax: (202) 483-6710
consular@cyprusembassy.netTags: animals, cyprus, ecology, environment, habitat loss, hunting, poaching, wildlife
From: Chicago
Mood: Pissed
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(Hat-tip Katharine Mieszkowski)In Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, an oasis of open grasslands and oak savanna in central California, California condor No. 245 spent her last moments in the wild. In late July, biologists captured the giant bird and took her to the Los Angeles County Zoo, where a blood sample revealed that she suffered from severe lead poisoning. No. 245 had one of the highest blood lead levels that biologists had ever seen in a California condor, registering 10 times the amount of lead that requires treatment in the bird and 56 times the amount that calls for treatment in a human child. Despite receiving emergency chelation therapy, which aims to speed the body's expulsion of the heavy metal, Condor No. 245 languished in the zoo, expressing little interest in the carcasses of rats and rabbits provided by zookeepers. On Aug. 15, she died. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 30 condors have died from lead poisoning in the past 10 years, an alarming figure, given that the condors have clawed their way back from near extinction in the '80s. "Lead stops peristalsis - the automated swallowing response - in condors, and inhibits all their digestive functions," says ornithologist Gary Langham, director of bird conservation for Audubon California. "That is a really slow and difficult way to die." Biologists have pinpointed the condors' fatal exposure to fragments of lead ammunition lodged in the remains of an animal carcass. After gutting game like wild pigs and deer, and taking the parts they want, hunters leave the remaining viscera or "gut pile" in the woods. California condors, the largest land-based bird in North America, are "obligate scavengers," meaning that despite the birds' intimidating appearance, they cannot kill. The condor, a giant vulture, can only feed on the carrion that other killers have left, making them "nature's garbage disposal," as one hunter puts it. Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society, a nonprofit group that works to preserve the birds, says, "I don't think we have any hope of condors sustaining themselves in the wild without a complete switch from lead to nonlead ammunition." That sounds like a simple solution. But a California bill proposing just that faces stiff opposition from the National Rifle Association and a host of Republican lawmakers in the state. Along with hunting groups like Gun Owners of California, they argue that efforts to restrict hunters' use of lead bullets in the condors' range are nothing less than the first shots in a battle to ban hunting in California altogether. The fate of the bill currently rests with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a prospect that has conservationists worried... ( Read the rest )You can register your support for AB 821, the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act, at http://www.savethecondor.com/bill.html, and by visiting http://projectgutpile.org/. Tags: animals, california condors, ecology, environment, extinction, hunting, lead poisoning
From: Chicago
Mood: Spread The Word
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 (Hat-tip Kos)This is a perfect example of why - even though I'm a gun owner (and occasional hunter) - I will never be an NRA member: At the moment, it's illegal to hunt Polar bears in the United States. However, in some parts of Canada, wealthy US hunters pay $30,000 or more for a guided hunt to get their chance at killing this endangered animal. During the 1970s, these bears were hunted down to a few thousand. Their numbers made a comeback during the 80s and early 90s, but in 1994, the U.S. passed legislation to allow American hunters to import Polar bears killed in Canada for the first time since 1972. Since the change took effect, at least 838 polar bear permits have been issued, with sixty-three additional applications pending this year. Fortunately, the bears have found a friend in Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI). A measure by Reed to prevent trophy hunters from killing polar bears abroad and bringing their heads and hides back to the United States was recently approved by a key Senate panel. Reed agrees that the bears are rapidly becoming an endangered species, and that global warming has made the bears - marine mammals who depend on sea ice for survival - even more vulnerable. "We cannot regulate hunting in other nations, but we can help stop the slaughter of these animals by not allowing polar bear imports into the United States," Reed said in a statement. "With the increased threat of global warming, it is essential that we take action to protect these animals." So, a senator introduces a bill to block import of trophies taken from an endangered species fighting loss of habit and changing climate - an animal that is already protected in the United States. Seems fairly reasonable, yes? Now, let's go to the NRA for their traditional, "slippery slope" response: "Legislation in Congress, backed by extreme animal rights groups, would end the process that allows U.S. hunters to import polar bears they sport-hunted in Canada back to the U.S. While few hunters ever have the opportunity to pursue polar bears, all sportsmen must have their voices heard in this critical matter because this is simply one more step in the anti-hunting lobby's effort to incrementally ban all hunting. If they are allowed to prevail regarding the emotional ban on polar bear imports, they will move on to more commonly-hunted game."And here you thought those poor drowning bear cubs were sad. Mean old Senator Reed is denying folks the pleasure of killing these bears before they're gone. Polar bears today. Quail tomorrow. Pretty soon, it'll be illegal to shoot old lawyers in the face. Too bad the NRA doesn't have the same sensible attitude as some of the polar bear hunters: "Fulcher, who just received his permit to import the 29-year-old male polar bear he killed last year, agreed: "Stopping hunting is not going to bring their habitat back. It's gone anyway. Global warming is happening, but it's from urbanization - not hunting."See? They're going do die anyway, so why not shoot them and get some fun out of it? Tags: extinction, global warming, greed, hunting, nra, polar bears
From: Chicago
Mood:  Assholes
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 Ah, Mitt Romney... the GOP answer to those flip-flopping lapdogs Guiliani & McCain... Showing that his willingness to pander to the Republican base isn't limited to abortion and gay rights, Mitt is now working on the gun vote. Perhaps feeling that his 7-month old "lifetime" membership in the NRA isn't quite enough, he's been telling audiences lately about his "lifelong" experience as a hunter... the latest example of a Republican presidential aspirant willing to say anything to reach the Oval Office. In a question-and-answer session in Keene, N.H., Romney spoke of his experience with hunting in a manner that suggested a close affiliation with the sport. "I purchased a gun when I was a young man. I've been a hunter pretty much all my life," he said. Ah, but as it turns out, old rough n' tumble Mitt has gone hunting all of twice in his entire life, once as a 15-year-old, when he hunted rabbits with his cousins, and just last year, when he shot pen-raised quail on a fenced game preserve in Georgia. (So, as Americablog points out, even when Romney does hunt, he opts for the most unsportmanlike method, which we actual hunters call " canned hunts"... you know, the kind of "hunting" that the Bush-regulated Interior Department helps foster so exotic/imported animals can be shot and stuffed by millionaire trophy collectors for their dens.) During a 1994 U.S. Senate campaign, Romney positioned himself as a moderate outsider, warning special interest groups to stay out of the race and saying he supported the Brady gun control law and a ban on assault-style rifles. "That's not going to make me the hero of the NRA," he told the Boston Herald at the time. "I don't line up with a lot of special interest groups." It's a theme he carried into his 2002 gubernatorial campaign. At the time, Romney pledged to do nothing to change the state's firearms statutes. "We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts. I support them. I won't chip away at them. I believe they protect us and provide for our safety," he said. True to his word, Romney went on to sign one of the toughest assault weapons laws in the country. Just an idea here, but maybe we should take up a collection and send Romney out out for a little hunting practice with... oh, I dunno... Dick Cheney? :) Tags: '08 elections, hunting, lapdog, mitt romney, republican implosion
From: Chicago
Mood: Amused
Now Playing: 'Im A Believer' - The Monkees
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 Thank you, Australia. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Thank you, South Africa. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Thank you, Blair... ... Cheney notwithstanding. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Thank you, remaining sense of humor. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Thank you, South Dakota. At least for the time being. Alabama, maybe not so much. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  No child left behind. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Unfortunate. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Yes, it’s real. And it’s still airing on late-night Chicago cable after all these years. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  World’s Hottest Pepper* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And finally –  Tags: canned hunts, cfl light bulbs, cheney, cool links, crime, hot peppers, hunting, moo & oink, poaching, pretty girls, tom tomorrow, tony blair
From: Chicago
Mood:  Mildly Encouraged
Now Playing: 'Leaving Las Vegas' - Sheryl Crow
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Meet Lady – the Toad-Sucking Dog. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Marry me, Randi. Seriously. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Uncle Buck’s Halloween Flick Pics… * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  I wanna be like Mike. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ann Coulter: “The Worst Person in The World"... And trailing only by an Adams’ apple…  Katherine Harris’s evil, marginally more intelligent stepsister. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Rest in peace, little soldier. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * These glutes are made for walking… * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ode to the King of All Monsters… …plus a (WTF?) Portugese Godzilla Numa Numa? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Instant Halloween Costumes – free!* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Teach your children well. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And finally –  Happily. Ever. After. Tags: ann coulter, bush, cool links, disgrace, godzilla, hunting, keith olbermann, mike malloy, monsters, pretty girls
Mood:  Waiting
Now Playing: "Godzilla" - Blue Oyster Cult
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 Worst. Fetish. Ever. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dont'tchya just love hunting season? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Tree hugger," my fuckin' ass. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Recipe of the Month * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Support Our Troops, Chapter Seven... ...and please, pay no attention to the turncoats. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Speaking of troops, I'm starting to really like this dude... Whattya think - Clinton-Murtha '08? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Little Drummer Boy's got nothin' on this... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hey, Mr. Peanut - eat your god-damned heart out. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Lemme me get this straight... you're addicted to what? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Cock-a-doodle done... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * You just know U..S. military recruitment is way down when... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Born in the USA. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * An enormous collection of fascinating, alphabetically-sorted facts. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I'll bet you thought the internets couldn't possibly get any better after the Numa Numa guy, didn't you?* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tat O' The Month:  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Dope definitely kills. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Becky is donating half her liver to her brother. This is her blog. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And finally -  Liquid Inferno. Tags: cool links, environment, gross, hunting, lip balm addiction, murtha, pretty girls
Mood:  Puckered
Now Playing: "Tiny Steps" - Elvis Costello
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 The Gay-Detecting Fruit Machine. ... not to be overshadowed by "The Best Thai Transvestite Kickboxing Film Ever." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The sooner, the fuckin' better. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Dick n' Don's Cabal* * * * * * * * * * * * * * Michael Curtiss's Guide to Safe Shitting. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Courtney Cox vs. Father Time. Place your bets. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Can you find 75 bands in this image? I sure as shit can't. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Iraq - Land of the Entreprenuer! * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Lest you think that John McCain would make a viable choice in '08... Guess again. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Big game pellet gun hunting. This is definitely not your father's Daisy BB rifle. Yikes. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Yet another reason to hate people. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * God bless Texas. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Just in time for Christmas: Johnny Ryan's Comic Book Holocaust II... And speaking of Christmas... surely one of you generous souls will put this under the tree for me this year... right? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 18 Tricks to Teach Your Body * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Toon O' The Week:  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Simpsons Body Count* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  The Drunkard's Guide to Poker. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Eine spezielle Festlichkeit für die Damen... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Gotta love those wacky Chinese... What - you need more proof? * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  The Hawkins catalogue has more than 800 cool toys, gifts, gadgets and curiosities for all ages. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Um, thanks anyway, asshole. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A bug in your ear... literally!* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Fuckin' Ouch * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The "What Is It?" Blog * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Allied aerial photos of Auschwitz * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And finally:  P.S. Remember boys & girls... smoking kills!Tags: cheney, cool links, hunting, john mccain, ouch, poker, rumsfeld, weapons
Mood:  Back To Real Life
Now Playing: "American Pie" - Don McLean
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 I gotta do this once before I die. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This is really fucked up. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Countdown to Kong. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * From the "Bright Ideas for a New America" file: House Armed Services Chair Duncan Hunter wants to spend 8 billion dollars to build a 2000-mile fence along the U.S./Mexico border. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  This is Jessica. Visit her (& her friends) here. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A wonderful collection of historical photos here. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Badly-named snacks* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hindsight is 20/20... ..so long as it's someone else's hind. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  I dunno, I just liked it for some reason. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * How much caffeine would it take to kill you? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Karl Rove: Then & Now * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Sports, girls and booze, courtesy of Uncle Buck. Can't say I care for his taste in football team, but the rest is pretty good. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Speaking of football, Chicago's unlikely orgasm continues. This can't possily last a whole lot longer. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Hangin' Out with Darhan Singh * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Pick a keyword: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I don't care what anyone says, I like French people. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  Fuckin' pussy. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And finally - speaking of pussy dramatic photojournalism -  Another reason to appreciate the French. Tags: cool links, food, hunting, karl rove, king kong, ouch, pretty girls
Mood:  I Love You, Man
Now Playing: "Hummingbird" - BB King
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Random thoughts, gripes and other nonsense... After five long months of hibernation in this Midwestern icebox hell, I’m finally taking a well-deserved vacation. Me n’ Li’l Vomit are heading south to hunt and fish in South America. It’s a turning point trip for us; he’s growing up quick and the natural parting of ways between a boy and his old man are decidedly in the works. Used to be he’d leap at the chance to wet a line with me or go to the fights at the Aragon... now, he’d much rather hang with his miscreant pals or burrow in his room chatting up giggly, freckle-faced little girls on the phone half the night (and shit, who could blame him?). It’s like staring into a bittersweet mirror... My little pisser is growing up just like me. Man, getting’ old ain’t easy when you’re young at heart... ( And On We Go... )Tags: cats, fatherhood, fishing, hunting, terry schiavo
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Ah, the crisp, cool autumn days... the peaceful serenity of the Great Outdoors... Yes, kiddies -- it's hunting season again! PRINEVILLE, OR - Cops say an unIDed 12-year-old boy fatally shot his father, 36-year-old Travis Greif, as the two hunted in the Ochoco National Forest. The incident happened when Greif and the boy were standing next to each other on a ridge in the Prairie Hill area of the Ochoco Mountains. The pair spotted a buck and raised their guns. The boy's gun discharged, shooting the father in the head at point- blank range. Greif died instantly. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FLINTSTONE, MD - 35-year-old Stamos Courpas was fatally shot by a hunting companion, and two other hunters survived shootings in separate accidents over the weekend, say Maryland Natural Resources Police. Courpas died after fellow hunter Charles Lepovetski mistook his movements for a bird and shot him. Cpl. Ken Turner said Courpas wasn't wearing fluorescent orange clothing, which isn't required by law while turkey hunting. In the second incident, Eddie C. Graham, 52, was shot by 69-year-old Robert Glaco while rabbit hunting in Charles County. And on Sunday, 63-year-old Joseph R. Medell, was shot while quail hunting by Charles D. Russell Jr., 60, who was charged with negligent hunting. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * UPHAM, IN - Authorities say 58-year-old Gene Nermoe was killed in an accidental shooting while hunting ten miles north of Granville. Sherriff Marvin Sola says Nermoe was struck in the chest by a stray bullet, and died at the scene. An investigation is underway. In a separate incident, an unIDed teenage girl was injured on Friday by a bullet that ricocheted off a tree. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN - Montgomery County Police Officer Luther Blanton is said to be recovering after a weekend hunting accident in which he fell 18 feet from his tree stand. Blanton, 54, dragged himself up a ravine by his fingertips after his knee was shattered in the fall. Apparently, he was attaching his safety strap from a climbing tree stand when it slid down the tree. ObBonus: Blanton also serves as an Indiana Department of Natural Resources *hunting safety instructor*. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MADRAS, OR - 33-year-old Isidro Olivera-Zapien was arrested on misdemeanor assault and negligence charges in a hunting accident that seriously wounded fellow hunter Sean Vaughan, 23, who was shot in the abdomen. Olivera-Zapien was being held in the Crook County Jail in lieu of $7,500 bail. He faces accusations of negligent wounding and fourth-degree assault. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * REXBURG - A hunting accident has killed 54-year-old Kip Leavitt, who was shot by a member of his own hunting party. Investigators say the group was pushing through the brush when one of the hunters fired three shots at a deer, not knowing Leavitt was near the target. The deer was hit two times. While the hunters were processing the deer, they noticed Leavitt had not returned. They went to look for him and discovered he had been hit with a slug from the shotgun. Leavitt was not wearing hunter orange clothing. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MONTICELLO, MS - 43-year-old Rudy Walker was killed when he apparently fell from a tree stand while bow hunting with a friend, said Lawrence County Sheriff Joel Thames. Preliminary reports indicate that Walker was alone at the time of the accident. The friend discovered Walker's body at the base of the tree with the stand and called for assistance. Walker was on his knees and slumped over, with his head lodged against a root. An autopsy report revealed that Walker landed on his head, snapping vertebrae that severed his spinal cord. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And finally... STEAMBOAT, OR - 20-year-old Tyrell McCool is in stable condition after he was accidentally shot by a friend while hunting near Steamboat. McCool,was driving a vehicle with three other hunters when a quail flew across the road around 9:40 a.m., according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. McCool stopped the vehicle so they could pursue the bird, and a passenger in the back, 20-year-old Rodger Akins, started to hand forward a 20-gauge shotgun. As he did, the gun fired, hitting McCool in the upper left shoulder. McCool was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene and is expected to recover. Cheers! Nature Boy (II) "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein Tags: hunting
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