Posts with the tag Hunting

NJ and NY Rednecks for Obama!

Guillermo — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:40:10 EST

Here you go, a rollicking song for everyone about American traditionalists (self reliance, independent thought, drink beer, shoot deer) who are stereotyped as Red State People, and how they, too, are supporting the change we need.

http://www.thestateworkers.com/audio/Rednecks%20Fore%20Obama.mp3

Made for and by NY/NJ Rednecks, the State Workers.

No trombones were injured during the recording of this work.

Parting Gifts for Losing Contestant Sarah Palin

HeinousJ — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:47:19 EDT

Sarah Palin - Don't Move or She'll Shoot

intankinated — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:46:46 EDT

Does this woman just have a burning desire to kill everything that moves? Creationism teaches that animals have no souls and that Man has dominion over the earth. Ok. However, Creationism also teaches that "dominion over the earth" means that Man is reponsible for taking care of the earth. Man is not to exploit or damage the very environment that the Almighty created.

Hello... McFly....I mean Sarah - you can't have it both ways.

Her hypocrisy is astonishing. I believe she's a sadist that just enjoys the pleasure of watching a living creature die. While I am not a hunter, I do believe there is a need for it - whether for food or animal population control. But I truly don't understand her pathological need to kill anything in her path and encourage so-called "pleasure hunting" in her home state.

Her record on the environment is atrocious as well. She may want to stop tauting the fact that her husband is part Native American, since Native American culture believes in taking only from the environment what is needed.

Below is from www.grizzlybay.org/SarahPalinInfoPage.htm

1) Palin offered a bounty of $150 for each left front leg of freshly killed wolves

2) Palin promotes aerial hunting of wolves even though Alaskans voted twice to ban it (VIDEO)

3) Palin used $400,000 of state money to fund a propaganda campaign in support of aerial hunting

4) Palin believes man-made global warming is a farce

5) Palin strongly supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

6) Palin is suing the federal government to prevent listing the polar bear as an endangered species

7) Palin is opposed to listing the unique Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species

Is anyone else as outraged as I am?

In Hope for Barack Obama to Read This.

Dan From MI — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:09:58 EDT

September 27, 2008 : In Hope for Barack Obama to Read This.

GREAT DEBATE!

( This tragedy is GLOBAL and is affecting many… )

This is in a way is A UNDERSTATMENT!

But the Word tragedy for the United States Middle class and Lower Class people is a Understatement. Barack Obama, You have my Family’s VOTE! Here in Michigan was once a Great Place to live! But for the Last 4 years it has come to having nothing to live for. Dreams have been lost for many and you are our hope to bring a Change!!!!

After watching the Debate last night I got to thinking of Josh a man in Iraq.

I seen his comment in a hunting/fishing community. Josh loves to hunt and fish and made a comment in the Shout Box that since he is in Iraq he would Love to see Many pictures of this years deer season here in the USA. That comment hit me hard and inspired me to gather other people to help on His simple request. Some times the simple things in life that are over looked mean the most!

It IS Time for Change!

Please help show this man (http://www.OurHuntingspace.com/joshw) putting his life on the line for us at least 10 seconds of support, a comment , email, Pictures of HOME.

Thank you Much Barack Obama for Thinking of the little guys that make the world turn. THIS IS A CHANGE .

Rocky Mourns!

♫Parodee♫ — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:27:56 EDT

Lipstick on a Carabou - How Can Pro-Life be so Bloody?

Irish Musician for Progressive Solutions — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:01:55 EDT

This is a disturbing article that I feel compelled to post everywhere I can. Not for the sensationalism of it but because it represents the hypocracy of Palin's pro-life stance. Palin-as-Hunter. There is no beauty in the taking of life, no matter what your stance on choice. I don't want my government representatives packing shotguns and advocating blood-letting. It's sick. Keep the rednecks in Alaska and let's please have some level-headed, non-violent progressive-thinking professionals at the helm in Washington!

http://www.tellingthoughts.com/us-politics/palin-the-predator

Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) On Sarah Palin

Charley James — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:38:34 EDT

The unfortunate thing about Eve Ensler is that she wrote a famous play about vaginas. That's enough for any Fundamentalist to write her off, but they are not her target. She is trying to reach other, ordinary hockey moms who think Sarah Palin is just like them – not.

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for The Vagina Monologues, wrote this about Palin:

Drill, Drill, Drill

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the Arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice.

Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which, for me, is part of one story connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming is melting of Arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and thus is a good example of how many babies abstinence makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library and has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well end up President of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands.

This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent.

I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

Eve Ensler

unfreaking believable

April the Boobear — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:15:15 EDT

Well to put on the list with the hundred other reasons why Palin is not my favorite person in the world is this...she supported the killing of wolves in Alaska to "control" the predator population. This consisted of shooting wolves from helicopters and even pulling 17 wolf cubs from a den and shooting them in the head. Hey, I knew she was a hunter and had little concern for wildlife (look at her stance on drilling in the wildlife preserves and taking polar bears off the endangered list) but this seems a bit too inhuman even for her.

Sarah Palin's Record on Alaska Native and Tribal Issues, by Teresa Germain

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:34:28 EDT

[I thought you might be interested in Palin's activities against Alaska Natives and tribal sovereignty issues. Feel free to share this information with all American Indians and/or Alaska Natives and others.]

author's email: mothert43@yahoo.com

1. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Fishing

Perhaps no issue is of greater importance to Alaska Native peoples as the right to hunt and fish according to ancient customary and traditional practices, and to carry on the subsistence way of life for future generations. Governor Sarah Palin has consistently opposed those rights.

Once in office, Governor Palin decided to continue litigation that seeks to overturn every subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska. (State of Alaska v. Norton, 3:05-cv-0158-HRH (D. Ak).)

In pressing this case, Palin decided against using the Attorney General (which usually handles State litigation) and instead continued
contracting with Senator Ted Stevens' brother-in-law's law firm (Birch, Horton, Bittner & Cherot).

The goal of Palin's law suit is to invalidate all the subsistence fishing regulations the federal government has issued to date to protect Native fishing, and to force the courts instead to take over the roll of setting subsistence regulations. Palin's law suit seeks to diminish subsistence fishing rights in order to expand sport and commercial fishing.

In May 2007, the federal court rejected the State's main challenge, holding that Congress in 1980 had expressly granted the U.S. Interior and Agriculture Departments the authority to regulate and protect Native and rural subsistence fishing activities in Alaska. (Decision entered May 15, 2007 (Dkt. No. 110).)

Notwithstanding this ruling, Palin continues to argue in the litigation that the federal subsistence protections are too broad, and should be narrowed to exclude vast areas from subsistence fishing, in favor of sport and commercial fishing. Palin opposes subsistence protections in marine waters, on many of the lands that Natives selected under their 1971 land claims settlement with the state and federal governments, and in many of the rivers where Alaska Natives customarily fish. (Alaska Complaint at 15-18.)

Palin also opposes subsistence fishing protections on Alaska Native federal allotments that were deeded to individuals purposely to foster Native subsistence activities. All these issues are now pending before the federal district court.

2. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Hunting

Palin has also sought to invalidate critical determinations the Federal Subsistence Board has made regarding customary and traditional uses of game, specifically to take hunting opportunities away from Native subsistence villagers and thereby enhance sport hunting. Palin's attack here on subsistence has focused on the Ahtna Indian people in Chistochina.

Although the federal district court has rejected Palin's challenge, she has carried on an appeal that was argued in August 2008. (State of Alaska v. Fleagle, No. 07-35723 (9th Cir.).)

In both hunting and fishing matters, Palin has continued uninterrupted the policies initiated by the former Governor Frank Murkowski Administration, challenging hunting and fishing protections that Native people depend upon for their subsistence way of life in order to enhance sport fishing and hunting opportunities. Palin's lawsuits are a direct attack on the core way of life of Native Tribes in rural Alaska.

3. Palin has attacked Alaska Tribal Sovereignty

Governor Palin opposes Alaska tribal sovereignty.
Given past court rulings affirming the federally recognized tribal status of Alaska Native villages, Palin does not technically challenge that status. But Palin argues that Alaska Tribes have no authority to act as sovereigns, despite their recognition.

So extreme is Palin on tribal sovereignty issues that she has sought to block tribes from exercising any authority whatsoever even over the welfare of Native children, adhering to a 2004 legal opinion issued by the former Murkowski Administration that no such jurisdiction exists (except when a state court transfers a matter to a tribal court).

Both the state courts and the federal courts have struck down Palin's policy of refusing to recognize the sovereign authority of Alaska Tribes to address issues involving Alaska Native children. Native Village of Tanana v. State of Alaska, 3AN-04-12194 CI (judgment entered Aug. 26, 2008) (Ak. Super. Ct.); Native Kaltag Tribal Council v. DHHS, No. 3:06-cv-00211- TMB (D. Ak.), pending on appeal No 08-35343 (9th Cir.)).

Nonetheless, Palin's policy of refusing to recognize Alaska tribal sovereignty remains unchanged.

4. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Languages

Palin has refused to accord proper respect to Alaska Native languages and voters by refusing to provide language assistance to Yup'ik speaking Alaska Native voters.

As a result, Palin was just ordered by a special three-judge panel of federal judges to provide various forms of voter assistance to Yup'ik voters residing in southwest Alaska. Nick v. Bethel, No. 3:07-cv- 0098-TMB (D. Ak.) (Order entered July 30, 2008).

Citing years of State neglect, Palin was ordered to provide trained poll workers who are bilingual in English and Yup'ik; sample ballots in written Yup'ik; a written Yup'ik glossary of election terms; consultation with local Tribes to ensure the accuracy of Yup'ik translations; a Yup'ik language coordinator; and pre-election and post-election reports to the court to track the State's efforts.

In sum, measured against some the rights that are most fundamental to Alaska Native Tribes - the subsistence way of life, tribal sovereignty and voting rights - Palin's record is a failure.

on Sarah Palin

Jonathan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:34:38 EDT

I will confess that I do find her frightening. Not only did she excite the GOP to actually (possibly) vote for McCain, but she seems to have charmed the press into quiet googly-eyed acquiescence. Having read something of her policies and beliefs, she is truly scary. She makes W seem centrist (though far from leftist). She is on the extreme kook wing of the GOP. Her denial of science, laid out in my previous post, makes her unqualified to begin with. Her cow-towing to the oil industry is very concerning: do we have another Cheney coming? And her radical stance on hunting reminds me of the John Birch society and worse.

Palin Promoted Hunting Wolves from Airplanes - It's an Alaska Thing

Bill Marjenhoff — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:30:50 EDT

In August, Alaska's voters defeated an initiative that would have banned hunting wolves from airplanes for sport. Gov. Palin organized a campaign against Measure 2 and funded it with $400,000 of state money. For most of us, the idea of zooming around in a private airplane over snowbound wilderness just for the chance to spot a terrified wild dog and blow it apart with a high-powered rifle is insane. But there's a whole culture out there in love with the idea. Palin did her part by playing the tired old Alaskan pioneer card, saying that lower-48 naysayers who dared to object to the idea of dive-bombing wildlife didn't "understand rural Alaska."

Alaska isn't really very hard to understand. It consists of a minority that loves the wilderness and an overwhelmingly Republican majority that wants to squeeze all the cash it can get out of the state before the oil dries up, the fish die out and the wildlife disappears. Nowhere else does the Republican formula of manipulating the suckers by playing on their silly hatreds and even sillier vanities play out more clearly than in Alaska.

More here:

http://www.alternet.org/election08/97207/sarah_palin%27s_big%2C_sleazy_safari/

Hypocrisy

EMC — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:48:19 EDT

People are whining that Palin is being attacked because she is a woman. They are playing the gender card.

The problem here is two-fold. One, as a staunch and vocal supporter of "AbstinenceOnly", she has a pregnant, out-of-wedlock teenager - so much for her value system...Second, and perhaps much more important, she wants everyone to leave her family and it's choices alone and private, YET WANTS TO OUTLAW EVERY OTHER WOMAN'S REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM!

This woman is NO Hilary Clinton (in many ways) and she has GOT TO GO!

animalemc@yahoo.com

Palin's Wolves

Dyan Kane — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:38:58 EDT

fKANESPEAK

A FORUM FOR EX-CHANGE

Monday, September 1, 2008 I received a letter from Natasha of the Care2 Campaign, regarding Alaska's annual Wolf Slaughter extravaganza. The letter and petition are printed below. Scroll down and go right to it, or allow me to vent first:

McCain's running mate shoots Moose with lead bullets. She eats Moose with her AIP-member, BP oilman hubbie and 4 (or is it 5?) children. She likes to get up close to the helpless animal 'til she sees the whites of the eyes. Then she pulls the trigger.

I guess there's not enough slaughtered meat in Alaska's wanna-be-free-from-the-United States supermarket shelves, for she also continues to OK the aerial "culling" of Alaska's mighty wolves, so her hundreds of thousands of Moose and Caribou won't be hunted and eaten by the (diminishing) wolf population, allowing Ms. NRA and associates to continue to bond. After all, why waste a good bottle of Gallo or a 12-pack of Bud on a measly package of store-bought beef? Or.... perhaps Ms. ex-beauty queen turned newscaster turned mayor turned governor knows the dirty secret most of us are kept in the dark about: alot of those poor cows are sick and "downed" right before their horrific slaughter, because factory farming is a disgusting, disease ridden - but BIG - business.

So she's turned Alaskan wolf slaughter into an art form. Here's how: she gives thumbs up for hunters to pack into airplanes. They circle and circle the wolf families for hours, exhausting them until they cannot run anymore. Then, amidst hi-fives and hoopla, they murder from above, leaving bloody wolf carcasses strewn in for thousands of miles in the virgin snow. The lead bullets used are poisoning hawks, falcons and other near-extinct birds who finish off the dead animals, thus killing THEM and causing THEIR extinction, too.

Lately, hunters have said, "hell with flying, I wanna get up close and personal, like our sexy governor does!". They and their hunter sons and daughters stake out wolf dens, (illegal, but so what? Who's monitering them?). They sneak up when the wolves are sleeping, place their rifle barrels right behind the head, and assassinate them - parents first, then the orphaned pups. Family values 101, GOP style.

But wait, there's more: Ms. Governor Woman, no wuss, has decreed that Polar Bears should not be categorized as endangered. (In FACT, because the ice up there is melting so fast, Polar Bears have nothing to float on after swimming for miles, so they tire, then drown.) This allows no excuse for BP Oil not to drill in Anwar, despite years of calls, petitions, and letters from WE THE PEOPLE (in the lower 48, the nation that Alaska wants to be free of), saying, pleading, hell, SCREAMING "NO!!". Palin is a life long hunter and member of the NRA. What can we expect? She's against abortion of human fetuses, (and would surely turn Roe v. Wade around in a heartbeat, if given the chance) but animals aren't thought to have spirits or souls like humans. (How do WE know that for sure??) So to Ms. Palin, killing wild animals and their pups doesn't count as a sin, right? As abortion does, I mean. Besides, killing unarmed, innocent, animals and their pups is damn fun!! Hell, the family that spills, kills and grills together......And all that untapped OIL...mmmm, mmmm, good!

The republicans think they can throw a woman at it's evangelical base. For the confused, insulted, enraged democrats, they think WE think Palin is Clinton, and Clinton is Palin - I mean, we all look alike in a pants suit, don't we?

Are evangelicals THAT stupid to buy that crap? Are women, red or blue, going to take that?

The Republicans are DESPERATELY betting on it.

This last minute "shock & awe" Palin debacle has revealed more about McCain's "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality than anything he can ever say or do ever again.

I pray that more hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods reign down on the RNC and the GOP campaign, where ever and whenever they convene, right up until November 4th, so we'll all be spared the gut-wrenching spectacle of lil Georgie and Johnnie playing patty-cake behind their star spangled lectern. I think I'd actually return to a church, any church, if God did us all THAT one favor.

Let's say a prayer for the spirits and the souls of all the slaughtered animals killed in the name of human consumption and protein-fortified energy. God, let those angry animal spirits and souls enter us, and give us enough thrust to finally wipe ourselves off the face of your once-beautiful planet!!

Wanna do something for the wolves??? Read on, cut and paste, and sign the petition below:
***********************************************************************************
A letter I received from the CARE2Campaign:

Dear Dyan,

Thank you so much for speaking out and signing our petition to urge Congress to end aerial hunting of wolves. Your signatures are working – there are over 125 co-sponsors of the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act in Congress now!

But as we are making progress in Congress, there is unfortunately some sad news to report. Last week, Alaska voters defeated a ballot initiative that would have ended the state's brutal aerial hunting program. This news, on top of the recent brutal and illegal killing of 14 wolf pups shows how much we still need to do to protect our wildlife.

That is why we need your help. As we prepare for another bloody aerial hunting season in Alaska, we must redouble our efforts to pass the PAW Act. Please spread the word and help us end aerial hunting of wolves forever – ask three friends to sign our petition today!

Now more than ever we need to ensure that this important bill gets passed. Just weeks ago, state wildlife agency personnel staked out a known wolf denning site -- a practice that is illegal under Alaska law -- and, using helicopters, they gunned down 14 adult wolves from the air, part of an effort to boost caribou populations in Southwest Alaska.

When they landed, they found the 14 helpless pups in the nearby dens -- just weeks old -- and methodically shot each one in the head. 28 wolves gunned down in all.

Please ask three friends to join you in signing our petition to Congress today: http://go.care2.com/e/9Ep3/VyLs/AGY89

You can use our tell-a-friend tool to send your friends a message, or copy the sample message below and send a personal email to all the wildlife lovers you know:

Sample email:

Hi -

Alaska is the only state in the nation where trophy hunters can gun down wolves from airplanes or chase wolves to exhaustion and then shoot them from the ground.

As recently as July, state wildlife agency personnel in Alaska staked out a known wolf denning site -- a practice that is illegal under Alaska law -- and, using helicopters, gunned down 14 adult wolves from the air. When they landed, they found the 14 helpless pups in the nearby dens -- just weeks old -- and methodically shot each one in the head. 28 wolves gunned down in all.

Alaska's state officials continue to let brutal aerial hunting happen by exploiting a loophole in federal law. When this year's hunting season begins, hundreds of wolves could be killed yet again.

Please join me in signing this petition to urge Congress to close the loopholes and end aerial hunting of wolves: http://go.care2.com/e/9Ep4/VyLs/AGY89

Wolf opponents in Idaho and Wyoming are eager to follow Alaska's cruel example. Hundreds of wolves could be killed in the Northern Rockies if these states get their way.

Please sign the petition to save America's wolves and end aerial hunting: http://go.care2.com/e/9Ep4/VyLs/AGY89

Thanks!

Natasha
Thank you for helping us spread the word to save wolves,

Natasha
Care2 Campaign Team Posted by DYRO ENTERTAINMENT at 9:33 AM 0 comments

Barack's Day

Jim Hurley — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:12:24 EDT

Here is how Barack spends his time when he gets a day off. I am including some information about his everyday activities as well.

Check it out you will be amazed -

Barack Should Get Some Camo and Hunt Pheasants in S.D.

Todd Epp — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:02:53 EDT

Barack Obama is honest about not being a hunter and fisherman.

From his website:

Barack Obama did not grow up hunting and fishing, but he recognizes the great conservation legacy of America’s hunters and anglers and has great respect for the passion that hunters and anglers have for their sport. Were it not for America’s hunters and anglers, including the great icons like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold, our nation would not have the tradition of sound game management, a system of ethical, science-based game laws and an extensive public lands estate on which to pursue the sport. Obama recognizes that we must forge a broad coalition if we are to address the great conservation challenges we face. America’s hunters and anglers are a key constituency that must take an active role and have a powerful voice in this coalition.

I have a modest proposal. Barack should come to South Dakota for the pheasant opener. South Dakota's best and favorite outdoorsman, Tony Dean, could take him on an honest to goodness pheasant hunt with some of his buddies. And let me make my pitch now, Tony: Pick me, pick me!

Besides being a great photo shoot, Barack could learn first hand about one of the most hallowed of midwestern and rural rights--the hunt with friends. From Tony, besides getting good hunting advice and good company, he'd also get a first hand education about conservation issues, CRP, global warming, and wildlife management.

More importantly, he'd have fun.

I want to see Barack in camo this fall in South Dakota. It would do his image good and further help him understand what makes "regular" people tick. Plus, if "Barry the Bomber" can hit three pointers on the hardwoods, he can nail rooster pheasants in South Dakota's cornfields.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, hunting, outdoors, Tony Dean, 2008 election, South Dakota

American Hunters and Shooters Association Endorses Obama

Chris Blask — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:15:15 EDT

HI folks!

Another example of Senator Obama's ability to unite America.

http://www.huntersandshooters.com/index.php

AHSA Endorses Obama Obama: He "gets it"

Today, as President of the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), I announced our endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Because the gun issue has recently become a factor in the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania, I want to share the remarks I made today:

As a gun rights organization we have not come to this decision lightly. We were formed two years ago because our research shows that millions of gun owners wanted a change. They not only wanted an organization that would protect their gun rights but an organization that was also committed to the protection of their communities as well as the protection of our lands. We reached out to the Obama campaign several weeks ago to offer our support and approval as was reported by Paul Bedard of US News and World Report. We believe recent attacks on Senator Obama's stand on the 2nd Amendment and his commitment to our hunting and shooting heritage are unfair and American Hunters and Shooters Association is stepping up to set the record straight.

Senator Obama has clearly demonstrated his commitment to the 2nd Amendment by his vote in support of the Vitter amendment to HR 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill of 2007. This amendment prevents the Government from confiscating guns in a time of crisis or emergency. Imagine how the citizens felt during Hurricane Katrina when government agents kicked in doors to confiscate law abiding citizens' guns at a time when they needed them the most. We know Senator Obama "gets it." To say that he is an elitist is patently ridiculous. To hunters and shooters everywhere, Senator Obama's vote demonstrated a fundamental understanding of the meaning of the 2nd Amendment which means he recognizes the individual right of all citizens to keep and bear arms. Senator Clinton, on the hand, failed to grasp the importance of this critical issue to hunters and shooters and voted against this Amendment. She turned her back on America's gun owners. In addition, Senator Obama's commitment to conservation and protection of our natural resources and access to public lands demonstrates to us his commitment to America's hunting and shooting heritage. Senator Obama will be a strong and authentic voice for America's hunters and shooters and it is with great pleasure that we endorse his candidacy.

Ray Schoenke
Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Isn't Crown Royal more of an elitist drink?

LuAnn in Indiana — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:47:41 EDT

Just to make you smile! I was thinking today, that if we chose which candidate was the elitist on their chose of drink.......................................Hillary would WIN Hands down.

BE SURE EVERYONE WATCHES THE ABC debate WEDNESDAY NIGHT. BARACK SHOULD SHINE ABOVE HILLARY, NO MATTER WHAT SHE THROWS AT HIM. I AM SURE WE WILL HEAR THE WORD "BITTER" AT LEAST ONCE.

I FOUND IT INTERESTING WHILE WATCING MSNBC TONIGHT, THAT SEVERAL OF THE HOSTS WERE COMMENTING ON HILLARY MOST LIKELY NOT RECEIVING THE GORE SUPPORT AFTER REFERING TO HIM AS AN ELITIST.

I ENJOYED THE CLIPS ALSO OF BARACK CALLING HER ANNIE OAKLY AND JOKING ABOUT HER BEING IN A "DUCK BLIND".

I NEVER USED TO THINK SHE WAS SO PHONY, BUT WATCHING HER THROUGH THIS ELECTION JUST ILLUSTRATES WHAT A TRUE FAKE SHE CAN BE.

HE HAS SUCH A SPECIAL AND ACTUALLY "CUTE" WAY OF TAKING A LITTLE SWING AT HER AND NOT COME OFF LOOKING LIKE HE IS ATTACKING HER.

This is "Hillarious"

John From Cape Cod. Ma — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:54:32 EDT

Cheney Challenges Hillary to Hunting Contest

Posted April 13, 2008 | 11:06 AM (EST)

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One day after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton professed an abiding affection for guns and hunting, her love of firearms came under attack from another sometime hunter in Washington.

Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, Vice President Dick Cheney said that a hunting contest between him and the New York senator was "the only way" to determine whether Sen. Clinton's tales of her gun prowess were for real.

"To be frank, Hillary Clinton's stories about her adventures with guns don't exactly pass the smell test," the vice president told host Tim Russert. "If she really wants to show that she knows how to handle a rifle, there's an easy way to do that: meet me in the woods."

While some in the Clinton campaign expressed concern about their candidate accepting Mr. Cheney's challenge, the idea of a hunting contest got the ringing endorsement of one member of her inner circle, former president Bill Clinton.

"Dick Cheney and Hillary in the woods with guns?" President Clinton said at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. "Boy, I like the sound of that."

But shortly after the vice president issued his challenge, Sen. Clinton seemed to back off from her earlier claims of hunting experience, saying that she had "misspoke" about her hunting exploits as a child.

"I fired a gun once, but I didn't like it, and I didn't recoil," she said.

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com. He is the host of "Countdown to '08" at the 92nd Street Y on Tuesday, May 13 at 8 PM with his special guests Calvin Trillin (The New Yorker), Susie Essman (HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Jonathan Alter (Newsweek, MSNBC). For tickets, go to 92y.org

The Downstream Environmentalist

Jon C — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:12:37 EDT

I'm a bit of an odd duck around these parts. Though I have lived and attended college in urban Chicago, I find my greatest sense of peace and purpose in the outdoors, perhaps from growing up in rural South Dakota. Here I am supporting a firm gun-control candidate, though I own two shotguns and am an enthusiastic, if regrettably infrequent, waterfowl and upland bird hunter. Far from a straight-ticket Democrat, I am more likely to vote a mixed ticket based on my observations and understanding of the candidates themselves.

I'm also passionate about conservation and matters of the environment though I stop short at labeling myself an environmentalist. Perhaps "Downstream Environmentalist" would be a more appropriate term. You see, on environmental issues, "upstream" matters get most of the press.

"Upstream" issues issues are those which are perceived as broad, sweeping issues with global ramifications. Issues like alternative energy, carbon-based emissions, matters affecting the worlds oceans are all big issues and are certainly worthy of being addressed. Truth is, though, I live my life downstream. Like many Americans, I find everyday life maintains a certain distance from these "upstream" issues. I may care about the outcomes on an intellectual level, but find actionables which I might take on those subjects to be small and inconsequential. The idealist in me says that's a cop-out. The pragmatist in me says that I should spend my time in my circle of influence. After all, I live, work, and play downstream.

Other examples of a "Downstream Environmentalist" might include:

An angler on the Great Lakes who is concerned about a deadly disease with potential wide-spread effects on fish populations throughout North America.

A lakefront property owner who is concerned with the premature aging and nutrient pollution his own body of water due to runoff from a local factory farm.

A western farmer who is concerned that a water-rights dispute upstream of the creek that provides irrigation to his crops may, at best, affect his families income or, at worst, send him further along the road towards bankruptcy.

As I was watching a video yesterday of Barack adressing a group in small-town Nevada yesterday, I realized that one of the significant things that draws me to the candidacy of Barack Obama is his ability to connect and articulate the downstream issues to the upstream ones. While we may have seen candidates in the past who leveraged those issues to win votes in a district, Barack connects those issues in a close and meaningful way to his audience. This is a tremendous asset in his campaign in rural "Red" states.

For years, self-labeled environmentalists have written those voters off as ignorant or uncaring of the global issues affecting the environment. Democrats have wholly avoided environmental issues in those states for fear of alienation and an inability to connect with these voters on their level while Republicans have scored big in these states with photo-ops engaged in every-day activities like hunting, fishing, and attending rural church picnics.

I hope Senator Obama continues to connect the macro with the everyday micro when it comes to environmental issues. If he does, I think he may just uncover a gold mine of passionate "Downstream Environmentalists" who have traditionally voted Republican that will be vocal and uncompromising in their support for his candidacy.

Hare splitting? Romney vs. Vick

sarge — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:35:43 EDT

When I was about 14 years old I took the 10-shot semi-automatic pellet shooting CO2 pistol we kept in our front hall closet and went rabbit hunting in a nearby field where I killed my first, and last, cottontail. When I approached the little scamp after miraculously hitting it in the abdomen just above it's hind legs, it was still alive, breathing hard, and in apparent terror and agony. To end it's misery, I aimed the handgun at its head and from just a few inches away, pulled the trigger, driving a pellet into the temple. The fuzzy beast continued to quiver and kick even as blood seeped out of it's brain, so I shot it in the head again, but it was still moving, so I shot it again, and then again, and again. Then I walked away, stunned by my barbaric behavior.

The Honorable Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts Governor and leading Republican presidential candidate, a few months ago at a stump speech in New Hampshire, claimed to be "a hunter pretty much all my life", and, following statements by his campaign that appeared to contradict the remark, later clarified at a press conference, "I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. Small varmints, if you will".

Meanwhile, in Virginia, NFL quarterback, former Virginia Tech football star, #1 draft pick and reigning public enemy number one Michael Vick was apparently running a dogfighting operation that allegedly included the merciless killing of pit bulls who failed to measure up in the ring. This revelation prompted West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd to stand on the Senate floor and passionately decry the behavior as "barbaric (long pause), barbaric (long pause), barbaric (longer pause), BARBARIC!"

My purpose is not to equate rabbit hunting with dog fighting, or disparage Mitt Romney, or vindicate Michael Vick (or maybe it is a bit of all three). Obviously, rabbits aren't dogs, and hunting rabbit is legal and dog fighting is not, but if dog fighting were legal, as is the case in some parts of the world, would it be any less barbaric? More importantly, why would a candidate, if not fabricate, at a minimum embellish his hunting credentials on the resume attached to an application for the job of President of the United States? Setting aside the question of whether a person could possibly undertake a task less dignified than a campaign for president, what does it say about a constituency for which a candidate feels compelled to bolster presidential qualifications by touting a fondness (presumably for the fun of it), for killing small, furry, defenseless mammals?

Again, rabbit hunting isn't on a par with dogfighting, but is it virtuous? I don't see the enormous chasm. The Michael Vick story is shocking and sickening, yet Governor Romney, in an effort to define his political and ideological leanings to persuade people to favor him as a candidate, boasts of hunting rabbit not just as an adolescent, but "pretty much" his entire life. Along the continuum of perfect virtue to absolute evil, where do rabbit shooting and dogfighting fall? Surely they aren't on opposite ends. Does a tortured rabbit suffer less than a tortured canine? Are dogs superior? If so, in what way? I've had both dogs and rabbits as pets, and I recommend, especially where children are present, an Australian dwarf lop over a pit bull. Fighting and killing dogs for the purpose of entertainment and recreation and sport is not the same thing as shooting rabbits for the purpose of entertainment and recreation and sport, but are they really so far apart? If the former is barbaric, how can the latter be noble? Is electrocuting a vicious pit bull with cold blooded indifference, as is alleged in the dogfighting scandal, tremendously different than getting a thrill from tearing apart thumper with a .22?

From a philosophical standpoint, I can't avoid the conclusion that either Mitt Romney's alleged rabbit hunting is at least to some degree dishonorable, or Michael Vick's dogfighting hobby is not so heinous as to warrant a prison sentence and/or banishment from the NFL.