Obama’s War Continues as He Attacks Family Farms/Ranches

The Des Moines Star Register’s coverage featured some significant passages from the letter:

“After having additional time to review the Proposed Rule and compare the proposed changes to existing statutory law, regulations, and the Department’s existing interpretive documents, we believe initial concerns were well-founded. As a result of these concerns, we request the Department withdraw the Proposed Rule in its entirety,” the Senators state in a letter to Secretary Solis. “It is puzzling why the Department would suddenly propose changes to existing regulations, particularly considering the advancements in farm equipment and adoption of technologies that have improved operator safety in the last 35 years.” Not really, those are government employees and even they think they should do something for their paycheck. Sad thing is, their job is to increase the size and control of government over your lives by taking away your freedom over your own children.

The statement from the group said “until recently, farms jointly owned and operated by multiple family members had discretion over the responsibilities they gave their children on the farm. But the proposed rule change would do away with that freedom and extend the parental exemption to farms owned solely by a parent. It is common in rural America for siblings to jointly own and operate farms and for extended family and neighbors to participate in agriculture production. With this rule change, the government is proposing to tell farmers and ranchers: We know what’s best for your children, and what they should and should not be doing.” Hitler did the same thing. Read the history of how he came to power, the comparison with today's political climate will scare the hell out of you!

The note cited the fact that the Labor Secretary was using statistics from 13 years ago. This outdated information regarding accidents in rural settings was flawed and did not reflect the latest safety innovations that have come to the farming world.

Despite the 18,000 comments and Congressional opposition, the regulations appear to be moving ahead as Solis has planned. Local farm communities are quite concerned that this. Here is one of the dozens of local news stories highlighting the problems this will create: So, it does not matter what the people want...the only thing that matters is what the government (Obama) wants for the people.

Yesterday, Secretary Solis testified before a Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, and Pensions. Ms. Solis’ comments on the restrictions on family farms were brief, only stating that her department was open to hearing comments on the new regulations.

It should also be noted that today is the anniversary of the death of State Farming in the former Soviet Union.

On this day back in 1989, the USSR’s Communist party leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced that Central Farming was not working. This was underscored by the fact that his country was forced to import tons of staples like wheat and meat. Mr. Gorbachev sounded like a Free Market Capitalist when he told the Soviets:

“The essence of economic change in the countryside should be in granting farmers broad opportunities for displaying independence, enterprise, and initiative.”

Farmers would be granted the opportunity to be independent, enterprising and succeed or fail based on their own initiative. An interesting concept. One that should be implemented across America!

Must see video about the increasing Wolf population

Wolf Overpopulation

Wolf overpopulation is dramatically damaging and even eliminating entire populations of Moose, Rocky Mountain Elk and other large ungulate populations. Wolf predation is erasing decades of effort and hundreds of millions invested in rebuilding healthy big game populations.

Ill-advised experimentation and anti-management philosophy continues to be pushed by extreme animal rights and anti-sportsmen special interest groups. This war on the west threatens big game herds, proactive state wildlife management, use of renewable wildlife resources and the western way of life. Our success ensures that delicate wildlife populations are restored to healthy levels.

Our combined effort is needed to make sure that these giants of the forest are not lost for generations to come in our wilderness areas. We must act now to protect our future. Help us win this battle by signing our petition.

Go to http://biggameforever.org/

....

Obama Attacks American Farm Families

Farm kids band from working

 The Obama department of labor is attacking the core of America, farm families!

AAmerica was built by farmers and their families. Farming/ranching skills and passions are still passed down to the younger generation. Farm kids are raised with a respect for animals that develops by farming/ranching cores they are required to do. They witness birth, they see death and understand that at times, life is not fair. They see crops come up from their care and labor. They also know  heartache, as they watch the destruction of a rain or hail storm just before harvest. They delight in seeing the new born calves, sheep or baby pigs running and playing together. They remember those cold days drying off a baby and making sure it has a start in life. They also remember the sun coming up only to reveal their pet cow having it’s baby eaten by a coyote as it was born or a pack of town dogs ripping the belles out of the sheep flock. They understand life and death. They understand life is not fair but with hard work, life has many rewards. Farm kids have a real understanding of the commitment it takes to produce a health living thing. A quality that should be held in the highest regard and promoted in a civil society. 

 All families should work together as a team and farm/ranch families do just this on a daily bases. Ranch kids help each day with the care of crops and animals. They understand that those living things depend on them, depend on those kids to perform their job duties. Farm kids feed and water livestock each day before school. They clean pens, they shovel crap and mud, they work in snow, freezing cold and scorching heat. They do this because it is their way of life, how they contribute. to the family and how they earn respect as an individual. Farm kids work alongside their mother and father in the fields and orchards from a very young age. They drive tractors when they can just hold down a clutch (yes, not very many automatic transmissions on farm equipment). They spend their summers working, shoveling, picking, hoeing weeds, driving, riding, branding and doctoring. They also find time to jump in the stream, river or irrigation ditch to cool off,swim and play a game of tag with other farm kids. Those children have grown to be some of the greatest leaders in our nation! A heritage and way of life we most protect!

Sadly, this life style is in stark contrast to the Obama family, currently occupying the white house.

But why are federal agencies, led by President Obama appointees, intent on taking steps that will undermine and ultimately destroy our nation's agricultural heartland, our families?

It's no secret that liberals hold fatty, high-carbohydrate dairy and corn products directly responsible for our nation's obesity rates (funny, don’t see over weight farm kids).  They blame farting cows for a depleted ozone layer and consider ranching as a form of animal abuse. PETA, the American Humane Society and other animal rights organization demonize our rural lifestyle as an uncaring barbaric form of environmental exploitation. The urban schools teach and promote this same misconception to the gullible “city dwellers”.  Yet the government's attack on farm/ranch families by effectively banning farm kids from working on their own farms goes beyond outrageous. The intent can only be viewed as a full frontal attack on America.

Under new standards being advocated by the Obama Labor Department, youths under the age of eighteen would be prohibited from working in hay lofts, giving shots, caring for baby animals, and being in the vicinity of animals whose behavior may be "unpredictable."  So, the federal government under the direction of Obama would destroy one of Americas greatest treasures, the farm/ranch family.

Ask yourself, why?

Does Obama think that the mother and father of those farm/ranch kids are incapable of caring for and protecting their own children? Does the government think it has the right to interfere in a family’s lifestyle? Is there a hidden place in the constitution that gives the government such a power?

Lose our farm families and where would your food come from? 
Where would urban people go to get food? Do they understand that food is raised/produced, and does not magically appear on the super market shelves?

Or, does the government want to totally control the food production and distribution? Thank about that one!

For me, I remember the old Hank Jr song, “a country boy can survive”

City Dwellers, beware of what you vote for in 2012!

If you would like to express your opinion at the Mad American Club, please add your comment below the blog post;

Thanks!

Defense of Marriage Act

The letter below from Senator Merkley is in reply to my  letter of opposition to him. Although he is incorrect and foolish on his stance, I respect that he had the fortitude to reply to me, even understanding that it was a form letter.

Dear Bruce,

 

Thank you for contacting me to share your views about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). While we may disagree on this issue, please know that I respect your opinion and appreciate the opportunity to share my perspective.

Equal rights for every American is one of our most cherished constitutional principles, one that our nation is continually striving to meet  For this reason, I believe that committed same-sex couples should have the same basic rights that heterosexual couples do. This is where the Senator goes astray. What he believes is not what the law and the constitution says. If same sex couple wish to live together that is there decision. But, marriage and the benefits of such a relationship should not be granted to them. Marriage is between a man and a woman. This is Gods design and has been excepted all of history. Should liberals promote such a watering down of the institution of marriage? Why should the definition be changed to benefit couples that are engaged in an immoral act? They are not in an equal relationship as, heterosexual couples, that is simply impossible, as defined in all of nature. It’s the male/female thing. Male animals and female animals may gather together and even segregate at times, but not for sex.     DOMA prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and permits states to refuse recognition of such marriages performed in other states. NO state should be legalizing same sex marriage. Gays can be treated as a person with an illness and extended compassion but no one has the right to legitimize their behavior. Where would this line of thought stop? What would be wrong with child sex? Rape? Murder? Stealing? Are we not denying people from doing what they wish, even what they believe they have the freedom to do? What about unmarried couples (straight or gay) living together, why are they discriminated against? Is all that’s standing in the way…a piece of paper? Why have marriage at all? Doesn’t that just discriminate against all unmarried couples? WHAT IS MARRIGE? I think that is the one question and one that needs to stay unchanged. Marriage is a legal union between and man and woman. Gays want something like that? Then let them call their union a…coupling.     In other words, the act strips couples legally married in five states of their marital rights, such as Social Security, health care, and even the right to visit each other in the hospital.  This form of discrimination undermines our constitutional values.  Every American, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, is entitled to full equality under the law. Two men living together do not have the same responsibilities as a man/woman and never will. Do not compare apples to oranges. Do not patronize or insult me! Gay men have the same rights as unmarried straight men. Gay men do not have a female reproductive organ. They (gay men or gay women) can have sex all day long with each other but they will make no babies, no new human life. Their relationship is not the same as heterosexuals couples and should not have the same rights or share the definition!

 

Thank you, again, for sharing your thoughts with me.  Even when we reach opposite conclusions, I appreciate that we can communicate our views. I hope you will continue to keep me informed about the issues that matter most to you.   Yep, count on it

 

Sincerely,

Jeffrey A. Merkley
United States Senator

Respect for Horses

Below is a long overdue, common sense letter and approach to the government attack on the horse industry. I could go on for hours about this subject but this letter sums it if much better than my rant.
Read it and understand that we all love our horses, that is why we want the best for them!

To: The AHA Board of Directors and Executive Committee

From: The APAHA Board of Directors

Dear Friends,

The Arabian Professional and Amateur Horsemen's Association voted, with unanimous approval, to thank the AHA Board for continuing your support for the re-opening of the equine terminal marketplace, and to join with the AHA in support of the reinstatement of equine processing in the United States. While we appreciate that this subject can be a sensitive one to those who are not intimately involved in the horse industry, there is no question that it is an integral component for the continuation of the horse's survival into the 21^st century, as well as to any and all breed associations.

The simple fact of the matter is that for the horse to continue to survive and contribute to mankind, as it has done for the last 5000 years, the equine terminal marketplace must be reestablished in the United States. Equine slaughter for rendering and consumption is a necessity in the equine livestock industry, in order to allow horses at the bottom of the pyramid a humane, dignified, and contributing end. The bold words are the important points of this referendum, not the emotionally exploited ones of slaughter, rendering, or human consumption. Without a terminal marketplace, horses today are left trying to survive, for the first time ever, after their usefulness as a work-mate to man has passed. Regardless of whether you like the idea of equine slaughter, the vast, documented increase in equine suffering throughout the US since the close of the slaughter houses should be enough in and of itself for all people who truly care about horses to stand up and demand that those of us who have invested our lives in horses be the ones responsible for making the decisions about the marketplace that surrounds them.

Some people were affronted when the AHA stepped up last year to support the reopening of the equine processing plants. We contend that as breeders and current caretakers of the world's oldest breed of horse, we have an obligation to our Arabian horses to support the reopening as well. It affects breeders and the breed in a singularly unassailable way; simply, that the free and low price market for the “pet quality” horses, if you will, is simply no longer available. The bottom tier of every breed and breeder's marketplace, that for family riding horses, has been eaten up by the “rehoming” of over 300,000 horses since 2007, many of whom have huge medical issues, training issues, psychological issues, and on and on. Often, the people who take on these horses are novice horse lovers whose heart-strings have been played by emotional, fact-less advertising paid for by lobbying groups that never invest in shelters and rehoming at all. Once saddled with an adopted horse that by contract cannot be sold or bred, these horse lovers find the difficulty of dealing with the myriad of issues draining financially and mentally. Needless to say, these experiences are not good at building repeat, long-term business for the horse industry.

We spoke recently with four different breed associations in order to research registrations since the ban, and discovered that every one is down by over one third in new registrations from 2006 to 2010. Quarter Horse registrations dropped from 150,000 in 2006 to less than 90,000 last year. Paints fell from 39,357 in 2006 to 17,835 in 2010. The Morgan Horse Association registered 3461 horses in 2006, with only 1835 in 2010. We are all aware of our own registration decline, from 10,311 in 2006 to 6660 in 2010. All these breeds weathered a similar economic downturn in the ‘80's without this kind of drop in registrations, and rebounded accordingly, the difference being that when economically strapped owners could no longer afford feed for their horses, they had a way to reduce numbers until the economy changed, after which their breeding business could rebound.

By reopening the equine processing plants, we are simply restoring to horse owners and breeders the option that all other livestock breeders and owners have, and that horse owners and breeders had until the last four years. We will still retain the option to care for our horses after their usefulness is done, and we will still retain the option to rescue horses from the terminal marketplace. And people will still have the option to make horse meat available to some of the 25,000 people on earth per day who are dying of starvation, allowing horses a chance to give back and be useful to humans, as they have done for centuries, even after they have passed.

There are issues to address, certainly, and many different options available to improve the terminal marketplace, among them mobile slaughter units and live web monitoring of plants. As horsemen, breeders, and horse lovers, we are the ones responsible for dealing with these issues, making sure that the terminal marketplace becomes ever more humane, with a quick and dignified passing, without undue stress, and where the horse can go on to be useful to man after his demise, just as he has been for the last 5000 years. This is not a job for politicians, lobbyists and animal rights people to define; it's a job for us, so that the horse that has brought so much to our lives will survive and evolve to bring much needed help to the people coming after us.

In closing, APAHA would again like to commend the board of AHA for joining horse-industry leaders in the fight to protect the future of the Arabian horse breed and the horse in general.

Sincerely,

The Arabian Professional and Amateur Horsemen's Association Board of Directors

Where we went wrong!

Balance in Gods view

People in Washington are always talking about having a balanced approach to everything.

Being from a small town in Colorado, I must agree with the approach below! 

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day.
 
He inquired, "Where have you been?"
 
God smiled deeply and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."
 
Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"
 
"It's a planet," replied God, and I've put life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a place to test Balance."
 
"Balance?" inquired Michael, "I'm still confused."
 
God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over here I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things."
 
God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."
 
The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said, "What's that one?"
 
"That's Colorado, the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful Mountains and Prairies, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, and the plains." Then God Said, "This is Colorado, the center of America... The people of Colorado are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to travel the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, carriers of peace, and producers of good things."
 
Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then asked, "But what about balance, God? You said there would be balance."
 
God smiled, "I will create Washington, D.C. Wait till you see the idiots I put there."

I would vote for a dog before voting for Obama!

IN RESPONSE TO THE EMAILS CONCERNING MY DOG...

Please be advised I am sick and tired of receiving questions about my

dog who mauled six illegal aliens wearing Obama tee shirts, four stupid

Democrats wearing Pelosi tee shirts, two rappers, nine teenagers with

pants hanging down past their cracks, eight customer service desk

people speaking in broken English, three flag burners, and a Pakistani

taxi driver. 

FOR THE LAST TIME...THE DOG IS NOT FOR SALE !!! 

 

Obituary, today common sense died!

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this blog post on. If not, join the majority and do nothing

Post your comments below and have a great weekend!
...