Now that LOON got me stirred up about the BLM, their MISmanagement of the wild horses and buroos in the western states is a topic for discussion. In all fairness to the government agencies embroiled with the wild horses, it's my opinion that it's another case of uninformed, yet well meaning public outcry dictating some of the regulations the FEDS have to enforce.

A 1966 question of US Forest Service range management personnel for the truth about wild horses in Wyoming got me this answer. "Most of the horses in our area are some old worn out nags the ranchers don't have the heart to shoot so they turn 'em loose. Some of them are tough enough to survive and some even have new colts and we have a "herd of wild mustangs". The public sees them running loose out in the sagebrush and claim they're a national treasure that MUST BE PRESERVED."
"Some ranchers kept them around for the guides and outfitters who wanted them for bear bait. Actually, all they are is a drain on the rapidly diminishing habitat suitable for other wildlife and the cattle allowed to be grazed on public property."

Rusty's note: While it was still legal to harvest grizzlies in Wyoming in the early 1950s, my dad hunted in the corridor area between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The guide would turn lose an old plug that looked too weak to live through the winter and let it graze out into an opening in a big meadow (some folks up there call a meadow a park). When the horse got to about the right distance from the blind the guide shot it and let it fall in its tracks. On moonlit nights the hunters would sit up in the blind and watch for the big bears. Dad's bunch never got a shot. It seemed the bruins knew when the men returned to camp because they'd eat up a horse carcass in about three nights without ever being seen.

In recent years, the Bureau of Land Management — BLM— has been rounding up these wild mustangs and burros and selling them to individuals for pets who have to sign a claim that they'll not sell them for slaughter. It seems I read where several "horse lovers" (including BLM employees who had bought these horses under assumed names), were charged with illegally selling the horses to slaughter houses.

The sad thing about this program, if my information is correct, it that its administration costs a whole lot more of our tax money than it returns, therefore is a big waste of money just to pamper some bleeding hearts.

What's your idea about this?

Many thanks to all of you who asked about us and sent needed and cherished emails and blog suggestions the past couple weeks. When we dropped off the 47 month old buzzsaw (grandson) in Plano two weeks ago we were over half way to Charlotte's mom's place. Her mom loaned me her hoopy to drive to visit kinfolks on my side. We had good visits, got some story ideas and had a safe trip. I just don't like to advertize being gone from home. Thanks again. Rusty

BLM suicide ripples across West
By TODD WILKINSON


You have probably never heard of Marlene Braun. But I hope, after reading this, you don’t forget her.
Braun worked for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management at one of the newest and least conspicuous national monuments in the country.

She was 46 years old when she committed suicide in May, taking her own life following a rocky professional relationship with her BLM boss.

As chief overseer of the 250,000-acre Carrizo Plain National Monument in California, Braun enraged ranching interests by questioning the primacy of cows on the open public range.

Carrizo Plain, designated by Bill Clinton in the 11th hour of his presidency, was carved out of the high desert primarily as a wildlife refuge to replenish and bolster native animal and plant populations that had fallen into decline after a century of public land livestock grazing. For more accusing the BUSH ADMINISTRATION requiring LOCKSTEP KISSINGUP rather than doing what's right click

http://www.billingsnews.com... target='_blank'>HERE

I have personal stories about stuff like this,RUSTY

HOW MANY MORE GOVERNMENT PEOPLE WILL DIE for not sucking up?

BIRDDOG sent us this tip ; You
July 01, 2005
Someone's been putting sharks into a lake in central Texas.

Before anyone gets alarmed, the fish in question are three-foot-long Atlantic sharpnose sharks (search), which pose little threat to humans. They are, however, seriously out of their element.

On the night of Aug. 20, amateur fisherman Jet Smith dropped 10 jug lines — fishing lines trailing from free-floating buoys — into Medina Lake (search), a man-made body of water about 20 miles west of San Antonio.

The next morning, he pulled in one catfish — and something else.

"I walked up with that thing and [my wife] said, 'That sure is a skinny catfish,'" Smith told the San Antonio Express-News. "I said, 'It's not a catfish. It's a shark.'"

The shark had bitten down on the live perch Smith had baited the line with, but was dead by the time he brought it up.

"I've been fishing in this lake for eight years," Smith told the Bandera (Texas) Bulletin. "I've never seen anything like this. It was probably placed here."

On Monday, James Price pulled a second shark out of Medina Lake.

Thanks to Out There reader Dawn P FOR MORE CHECK .http://www.foxnews.com/stor... target='_blank'>HERE

Due to my not having access to my VICAD email account recently, it's been impossible for me to check any emails addressed that way. We should be back in touch next week. Hope nobody has been slighted. Thanks to those of you who've helped me the last couple weeks. RUSTY

Anyone who buys a $64 Super Combo hunting and fishing license by Dec. 31 will be automatically entered for a chance to win one of 10 $1,000 gift cards donated by Academy Sports and Outdoors, plus a $60 Texas State Parks Pass donated by Toyota.

A total of 10 drawings will be held every two weeks until the end of December, and everyone who buys a Super Combo will be entered in all subsequent drawings. This means the earlier a person buys, the better their chances.

To learn more check http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us... target='_blank'>HERE

RUSTY HERE: The following story By Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, August 15, 2005; Page A03 indicates that W's WIZARDS are manipulating the recreational value of public visits to the nation's national forests. By down playing that value, some feel they're trying to justify more timber cutting to suck up to their sawmill buddies at the expense of the recreational visitors. I'm not saying that is altogether bad. Remember that the folks who worked in the woods like Captain D's dad and sawmill folks have to make a living too. I'm sure David can wade in here with some statistics about the economic downturn those folks have suffered in the last few years.

Forest Service officials have scaled back their assessment of how much recreation on national forest land contributes to the American economy, concluding that these activities generate just a tenth of what the Clinton administration estimated.

Under President Clinton, the Forest Service projected that by 2000, recreation in U.S. forests would contribute nearly $111 billion to the nation's annual gross domestic product, or GDP. Bush administration officials, by contrast, have determined that in 2002 these activities generated about $11 billion.

Joel Holtrop, deputy chief of the National Forest System, said the revised numbers may spur the administration to shift some of its recreation dollars within the system but will not prompt it to downgrade activities such as hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching. http://www.washingtonpost.c... target='_blank'>HERE

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS?

HEY FOLKS. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS ONE. IT HAS A HAPPY ENDING, MANY DON'T. A FRIEND SENT IT.
Subject: Footsteps On-line >
>Also remember even if you just talk to your friends and don't talk to strangers if you're in a public chat
room, everyone can see what everyone else is typing.
Child predators are real and the internet has made easy prey of our children. And don't be fooled!
Children are not the only ones in danger. Adults are in just as much danger and sometimes have a false
sense of security because of being an "adult".
Children/Teens and Chat Rooms
Footsteps On-line
Shannon could hear the footsteps behind her as she walked toward home. The thought of being followed made her heart beat faster. "You're being silly," she told herself, "no one is following you." To be safe, she began to walk faster, but the footsteps
kept up with her pace. She was afraid to look back and she was glad she was almost home. Shannon said a quick prayer, "God please get me home safe." She saw the porch light burning and she leaned against the door for a moment, relieved to be in the safety of her home.
She glanced out the window to see if anyone was there. The sidewalk was empty. After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:
ByAngel213: Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!
GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?
ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!
GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! ! They look like bees. LOL
GoTo123: What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.
GoTo123: Did you pitch?
ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home.
I don't want them mad at me. Bye!
GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye
Meanwhile.. GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far:
Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985, Age: 13,
State where she lived: North Carolina,
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her
favorite number 7 was printed on! her jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him all this in the
conversations they had on-line. He had enough information to find her now.
Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ball park that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from
walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child.
Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so over-protective.
By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her. Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It
was then that the memory came back! . She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely. He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the fear she had felt.
After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she
smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her. Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks
to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car. Now he had to wait.
He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room. "Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa.
"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you." Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything?
She had never seen him before today!
"Do you know who I am, Shannon?" the man asked. "No," Shannon answered.
"I am a! police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."
I Don't know of any Police Depts. that do this, and a civilian could get arrested for it, even if their
intention is good. But the message is clear.
Shannon was s tunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14 and he lives in Michigan!"
The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon, there are people
on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to find kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect
kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous
it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough
about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. Your name, the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze."
Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan?"
He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?" She nodded.
"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there
on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson
from this and won't do it again.
Tell others about this so they will be safe too!
RUSTY HERE AGAIN: I know a lady who felt a strong urge to check her 12 y.o. daughter's emails and saved chat messages. She was appalled to read both sides of them. It scared her enough she clamped down on her daughter's internet usage.
What tips can you give our readers about these things?

George W. was out jogging one morning along the parkway when he tripped, fell over the bridge railing and landed in the creek below.
Before the Secret Service guys could get to him, three kids, who were fishing, pulled him out of the water. He was so grateful he offered the kids whatever they wanted.
The first kid said, "I want to go to Disneyland."
George said, "No problem. I'll take you there on Air Force One".
The second kid said, "I want a new pair of Nike Air Jordan's."
George said, "I'll get them for you and even have Michael sign them!"
The third kid said, "I want a motorized wheelchair with a built-in
TV and stereo headset!!"
Bush is a little perplexed by this and says, "But you don't look like you are handicapped."
The kid says, "I will be after my dad finds out I saved your *** from drowning!"
WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO YOUR KID HERE?

What makes a person an "ENVIRONMENTALIST"? All these self proclaimed "environmentalists" have joined forces to stymie lots of various projects around the world. Is one a trained individual who studied all aspects of land management, wildlife management, ecology and symbiotic relationships or is it just some yayhoo who has some feelings about "the environment"? I think to be one and to try to set oneself up as "an expert" or "an activist" they ought to have a little bit of training rather than someone bankrolling them because they don't have the testosterone (for political or other reasons) to make a stand themselves.

This reminds me of an old guy who was attending a public meeting to discuss potential game law and hunting season changes. Everything the wildlife department biologists mentioned was met with opposition from him. Finally, one of his neighbors got fed up and asked him, "What makes you so all fired smart about game management." "Why, I've hunted nearly all over the world." (Rusty's note: hunting something is a world of difference from doing all the hard work of trying to manage populations where your grandkids will have something to hunt.) Anyway, his neighbor told him, "Well, I've been flushing a toilet for sixty years but that don't make me no plumber."

To Kill an American

You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is... so they would know when they found one. (Good on ya, mate!!!!)

An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek.

An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan.

An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.

The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need.

When the Soviet army overran Afghanistan 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

Americans welcome the best, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome the least.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. I've been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted
the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world.

But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

Author unknown

A sign, depecting a grazing bull moose, advertizing a Canadian restaurant which serves wild game meat says: THERE'S A PLACE FOR ALL GOD'S CREATURES, RIGHT NEXT TO THE MASHED POTATOES.

A reader said: I was thinking the other day that If I hear of one more "REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER" abducting and hurting a child I think my head is going to explode. It seems that the REGISTRATION sytem is NOT WORKING. WHY are these people getting out of jail? Shock treatment should be applied to them until all they can do is walk in a circle and drool.

READER: Thanks for the question. The reason most of them are running around loose is because they haven't bothered the child or grand child of a BIG ENOUGH BIGWIG yet. Maybe when that happens maybe someone will make that coveted popping sound and raise enough stink some of these liberal laws will be change. If they let all those priests off why should they impose any worse penalty on other offenders? Those church officials in positions to have done something about all that malarkey, besides move them to another parish, should have been emasculated along with the priests. Maybe emasculation before ordanation would stop some of it. It might cut down on some of the orphans too.

WHAT DO YOU FOLKS RECOMMEND?

A cedar tree at our place has a hole in a main branch about six feet off the ground. Yesterday there were five similar sized shed snake skins stuck on the bark of the tree. Two of them were headed downhill with the tail tips barely out of the hole. We couldn't tell if the other three had been shed lower on the tree trunk or had come loose just to get snagged by the bark. have any of you folks ever seen anything similar to this? I've found BIG snake sheds in cabinet drawers and dangling from walls under houses.

What is CAFTA going to do for the common middle class American Family other than cost them their livelihoods because their companies ship all their jobs to Central America now rather just to Mexico? As far as I'm concerned stockholders DON'T have to always make a profit and CEO and other overpaid turkeys DON'T have to receive big bonuses that would feed hundreds or thousands of families for a year or two.
Those people remind me of all the extravagance and money that Sadam Hussain was rolling in and all his people were as poor as church mice. What kind of a "LEADERSHIP" is that?

A reader said: One down and three to go! I see the jerk charged with Capital Murder has plead guilty. How many of these gang punks are left in Victoria?
I hope the other three charged in the same case get justice also. I
just wonder when the people of Victoria are going to stand up and
take this town back from thugs like this?

Bill Seeger sent a couple pix of what looked like the back end of a porcupine with a pit bull body. That dumb dog must have thousands of quills in it. For a copy of the pix hit the CONTACT RUSTY link on this page.

The first paragraph on the ANWR.ORG web page says: "As domestic oil production continued its decline, the U.S. imported 58% of its petroleum needs in 2004. These oil imports cost more than $150 billion and robbed tens of thousands of steady, high-paying jobs from American workers." To see the entire web page clickhttp://www.anwr.org/case.ht... target='_blank'>HERE

Old Rusty hunted and fished on oil leases all his early life. There was a smell of oil and the noise from the old one lung LUFKIN "poppin' Johnnies" but it didn't seem to bother the wildlife any. In the winter we'd close the doors and catch cottontails right out of the engine houses. The Alaskan oil fields are claimed to be some of the cleanest you can find according to the above web page.

What is your opinion about drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge? Should we stop paying high prices to all the ****** countries when we have plenty of oil and gas reserves right here in North America? Let's hear from you.

It's heart warming to get emails from our readers; specially after posting blogs that stir up no comments. Billy suggested posting some of these to give you something to smile, and think, about. COWS:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington, and they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them all a cow.

CONSTITUTION
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we
just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's
worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.

TEN COMMANDMENTS
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse!
You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery"
and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and
politicians!
It creates a hostile work environment!

And Last but not least.....
George Carlin said it best about Martha Stewart ..
"Boy, I feel a lot safer now that she's behind bars. O.J. Simpson and
Kobe Bryant are still walking around; Osama Bin Laden too, but they take
the one woman in America willing to cook, clean, and work in the yard,
and haul her off to jail."
These are amusing yet the truth is almost sickening. Your comments?
Thanks Bill, you just gave me an idea. Make it known that every illegal muslim we find in the US will have to walk around with a pig on a leash every where they go. And, they have to keep it in their home.
Shouldn't that work?

I've co-taught with hunter education instructors who stressed, "I don't care what I'm doing in the woods during hunting season, I'm wearing orange. You never know when some idiot will mistake you for game and nail your butt." There was a case where a duck hunter was going down a canal during deer season. He wasn't wearing orange and got nailed for a deer.
Personally, if I'm just cutting firewood, I'm wearing orange. The shooter may be far enough away that he can't hear your chainsaw or can't see all of you.
The other thing is being beyond the target in line with the shot.
What do you say about this?

It's been several years since I've taught hunter safety in Texas. Back then the wearing of hunter orange was NOT required. When I questioned someone from the Victoria TP&WD office he got plumb indignant. "It ain't necessary because nearly everybody hunts on private leases." From my perspective, it doesn't make a hoot if you're on a private lease or not, if someone blows your happy butt away you're just as dead. Does EVERYONE ALWAYS STAY IN THEIR BLINDS AS LATE AS THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO? Misidentification of the target was one of the leading causes of accidental shootings. Most states require at least 400 square inches of hunter orange to be visible while hunting.
What do you think about this?

What do you do when you catch someone trespassing on your private property or on your high dollar hunting lease?

RONNIE GENZER is our neighbor. He brought us some fine looking wild hog meat. The ribs were even cut up and had a spice rub on them. The ribs were about one third done when the gas bottle ran dry (sorry CJ, I hate fighting charcoal). My wife hustled myself and the grandson to Edna to get a full bottle. The new bottle was installed and the ribs were sizzling. I went elsewhere for a few minutes and smelled paint burning. "Oh, !!!"
My little squirt bottle didn't begin to touch the blaze. The broiler cart was pulled out from under the breezeway into the yard. One house fire is enough for anybody. Fearing a real flame up, I just barely cracked the lid and slammed it immediately due to that reddish yellow flame licking my belt buckle. Being careful not to splatter burning grease out of the drip pan, the garden hose, in measured spurts, shot up through the back vents finally cooled and extinguished the scary blaze. The ashy ends of the well done ribs looked more like they were lying in the desert than in a grille. Had a ham sandwich for supper.
When our son heard the story he replied, "There was too much fat on them. You can NEVER leave pork unattended on a grille."
Besides feeling very blessed to have not had any worse results, I really feel dumb.
Have any of you had similar experiences?