I am a hunter. It is quite simply a very large part of who I am. I do not have to defend my actions, although some radical groups, like PETA, would call me a heartless beast. Human beings are by our very nature, predators. I am a predator. To me, there is nothing that beats the thrill of putting in the long hours of preparation, scouting my area, placing tree stands, spending long hours sitting in those stands, and finally, matching wits with a whitetail as my plan comes together. The whitetailed deer and the wild turkeys which I hunt are much better suited to this game than I. The fact is, they usually win. When I finally close the deal and harvest a nice deer or turkey, I get a swelling of emotions, adrenaline, and excitement, and sadness (I believe that most hunters will back me up on that, there is an element of sadness when I harvest a beautiful animal like a whitetail, it is all part of that mixture of emotions, and I am glad it is there) that a nearly overcomes me for a few moments. I am, at that moment, in touch with all other human beings who have ever experienced that, in touch with God who created it all for us, and in touch with my "inner man", what ever that means (you only know it when you feel it). Hunting also provides my family with delicious and healthy meat (much healthier than beef) which we enjoy throughout the year.
Some groups, like PETA, are daily doing battle trying to take these rights away from me. Fortunately, in the most recent polls, 78% of Americans support legal hunting. But the very vocal anti-hunting groups claim that I am some sort of caveman or monster for wanting to kill a wild animal get a lot of attention and spend a lot of money trying to paint me as a villain. I believe most of them are well meaning people. The animal rights activists just don't know, or choose to ignore the facts. They love fluffy little animals and would never harm a fly (just ask President Obama what PETA thinks about flies). The fact is, they can't see past their emotions to look at what hunters REALLY are...conservationists. That is right, hunters do more than ANYONE else to protect and care for wild animals! Let's look at some facts...
In the 19th century, as Americans opened up the frontier of the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, market hunting (that is wide spread killing of anything and everything for the selling of hides) took a huge toll on the game populations. Large game species disappeared from much of their original habitat. Buffalo, elk, cougars, bears, deer, turkeys, and the like, which once roamed through much of the midwest and southeast, were hunted out of those areas. Market hunting is NOT the same as conservation hunting. Today, hunters are one of the most vital cogs in the machinery of the conservation movement. Founding fathers of the modern conservation movement such as Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold (all avid hunters and sportsmen) worked diligently in the early 20th century to change the face of hunting. The ugly practice of market hunting finally vanished and the sport of hunting took center stage as a conservation tool. It was the dollars spent by hunters that reintroduced deer, turkey, (and elk in some areas) to their original home range. Today, there are more deer and turkey in most of their original home range than ever before!
Yet, having too many deer is no small problem either. There simply aren't enough natural predators out there to keep deer numbers in check. Nationally, deer cause more than 1 billion dollars annually in farm crop damage. Deer-car accidents kill about 100 people in the U.S. each year and cause more than 1 billion dollars in property damage. In fact, deer kill more people in the U.S. each year than sharks, alligators, bears, or rattlesnakes! Imagine how much those numbers would go up if hunters were not helping to reduce the numbers to manageable levels.
Hunters give resource managers an important tool in managing the game populations that might exceed the carrying capacity of their habitat and threaten the well being of their species, other species or, in some cases, damage human health or safety. In the process of killing a select few of the herd or flock, hunters play the role of improving the overall quality of life for the rest of the animals. Hunting reduces interspecies competition for food, water, and shelter, lessening stress and mortality among the remaining animals.
Hunters also are the key component in the government being able to allocate large parcels of land to be used for conservation and wildlife management. Each year more than $200 million in hunter's federal excise tax money goes to state agencies to support their wildlife management programs. Since 1934, over $700 million dollars collected through Duck Stamp sales has gone to help the government buy and set aside over 5.2 million acres (8,100 square miles) of habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System. That is over 8,000 square miles of wild land that will go undeveloped and provide refuge for all manner of wildlife, thanks to hunters.
In recent years, hunters have developed programs that provide a lot of food for the homeless and prisons as well. Programs have been put in place in most states where hunters can donate their deer meat to organizations which distribute it to those who need it most. Because of this successful program, tons upon tons of nutritious protein have helped millions of people who sorely needed it.
As I stated at the beginning, I am a predator and I don't have to apologize for it. But I did feel compelled to share some numbers to enlighten those who might be on the fence about hunting. Consider it meat for thought.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Peace in the Middle East...shhhyeah, right!
I got the sense during the recent Presidential election some of the younger, perhaps more naive voters thought that the rest of the world hated the U.S. because of President Bush. I heard rumblings that if Obama was elected President, his worldwide popularity would help save America's ever slipping standing in worldwide opinion. It is understandable that some of the younger generation might have gotten caught up in the mania that followed the charismatic personality of Obama as he traveled the country and the world and foresaw a rosy future where America would climb back to her lofty perch as the darling of the world.
What they failed to realize is that America has never really had as lofty a perch in the worldwide esteem as they were led to believe. As Islam continues its rapid expansion, Muslims have dispersed themselves into the far reaches of the globe. Muslims now make up significant minorities (and in many areas, majorities) in much of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. And while by no means am I trying to tie all Muslim people to terrorists groups (that would be absurd), it is a fact that terrorist groups are spreading around the world as well. It was just reported on CNN today how terrorists are actively recruiting AMERICANS even as I write this. While most followers of Islam are not radical terrorists and would never think of stooping to those levels, it is a fact that many Muslims do resent the U.S. government's long standing relationship with and support of the nation of Israel.
Many people lose sight of the real crux of this situation. Believe what you will of the Bible, but don't ever discount the Biblical genesis of this whole Middle Eastern maelstrom. After all is said and done, no matter what politicians try to do to smooth things over, chances are, it ain't gonna happen! There are no feuds like family feuds, just watch a couple episodes of Jerry Springer if you don't believe me. The whole situation in the Middle East boils down simply to a family squabble over the "old home place". Father Abraham is a major patriarch of all of the "big 3" religions and all three see Jeruselem as the epicenter of the universe. Judaism and Christianity sprang from Abraham's son Isaac (who was a product of Abraham and his wife, Sarah), and Islam traces its roots back to Ishmael (a product of Abraham and his concubine, Hagar). When you get the decendants of Isaac and Ishmael (brotha's from a different motha') together, both claiming their homeland, you have the makings of a humdinger of a Jerry Springer episode.
The only way to get terrorists off our back is for America to turn its back on one of our only friends in a very hostile (and economically vital) part of the world. And since that is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN (at least it shouldn't happen), we are going to have to deal with the threat of terrorism and the stigma of large portions of the world not viewing us in a very favorable light for a very long time...no matter who is President.
What they failed to realize is that America has never really had as lofty a perch in the worldwide esteem as they were led to believe. As Islam continues its rapid expansion, Muslims have dispersed themselves into the far reaches of the globe. Muslims now make up significant minorities (and in many areas, majorities) in much of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. And while by no means am I trying to tie all Muslim people to terrorists groups (that would be absurd), it is a fact that terrorist groups are spreading around the world as well. It was just reported on CNN today how terrorists are actively recruiting AMERICANS even as I write this. While most followers of Islam are not radical terrorists and would never think of stooping to those levels, it is a fact that many Muslims do resent the U.S. government's long standing relationship with and support of the nation of Israel.
Many people lose sight of the real crux of this situation. Believe what you will of the Bible, but don't ever discount the Biblical genesis of this whole Middle Eastern maelstrom. After all is said and done, no matter what politicians try to do to smooth things over, chances are, it ain't gonna happen! There are no feuds like family feuds, just watch a couple episodes of Jerry Springer if you don't believe me. The whole situation in the Middle East boils down simply to a family squabble over the "old home place". Father Abraham is a major patriarch of all of the "big 3" religions and all three see Jeruselem as the epicenter of the universe. Judaism and Christianity sprang from Abraham's son Isaac (who was a product of Abraham and his wife, Sarah), and Islam traces its roots back to Ishmael (a product of Abraham and his concubine, Hagar). When you get the decendants of Isaac and Ishmael (brotha's from a different motha') together, both claiming their homeland, you have the makings of a humdinger of a Jerry Springer episode.
The only way to get terrorists off our back is for America to turn its back on one of our only friends in a very hostile (and economically vital) part of the world. And since that is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN (at least it shouldn't happen), we are going to have to deal with the threat of terrorism and the stigma of large portions of the world not viewing us in a very favorable light for a very long time...no matter who is President.
Friday, July 17, 2009
The problem with "No Child Left Behind"---and my solution.
As with most legislation, I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt that the No Child Left Behind law was well intentioned. That being said, hear this from an insider's (teacher's) point of view...the whole thing stinks out loud!
Schools are now held accountable for their students' test scores and every school is expected to achieve at the same level (eventually). The bar is set at essentially the same level for every kid in America, regardless of starting point, socio-economic background, family status, academic ability, academic history, etc.
Imagine you run a chain of dog training facilities across the country. You have a facility in 10 different states and in all different types of towns and cities. You have well qualified staff to train the animals in all your facilities. Each of your facilities is equally equipped. However, some of your facilities are in nice suburban places full of McMansions and shiny happy people with shiny happy pets that have been pampered and cared for since birth. Some of your facilities are located in the country where lots of folks have dogs, but there hasn't been a whole lot of pampering, more like a lot of squirrel chasing and mud wallowing. And some of your facilities are located in urban centers where dogs are kept in small places and rarely go outside. Now imagine the government passes a law that says every dog that comes through your facility has to master the very same series of tests in the very same amount of time. Any facility that does not meet the criteria will be taken over by the government. Do you really think that each of those dogs is going to get from point A to point Z at the same pace given their various backgrounds?
This is essentially what our public schools are now facing. Get all your kids from point A to point Z be the end of the year or else. Here is the problem. In most schools 60 to 70 percent of the kids will easily get to point Z mostly because they didn't have to start all the way back at point A. But what about the other 30 to 40 percent of the kids who are either at point A or can't even SEE point A at the beginning of the year. Those kids (for hundreds of different reasons) have so much farther to go to get to point Z that it is ridiculous to expect it of them.
Let's face it, the government apparently expects our public schools to prepare 100 percent of our students for college. Are 100% of our students capable of succeeding in college? Are 100% of our students even interested in going to college? Sure, those 60 to 70 percent I mentioned are probably ready to give college a go. What about the other 30 to 40 percent? Maybe, with a lot of hard work, dilligence, and creativity, we could get some of them ready for college too, but all of them? Come on now!
One thing our education system needs is a really quality option for some of those 30 to 40 percent of our students who are probably never going to be "college material" for any one of hundreds of reasons. Let's get these kids interested and excited about something that they can actually see themselves succeeding in down the line...and let's provide these opportunities for them early in their educational process. I think even the Middle School grades would benefit tremendously from such an approach. I hesitate to use the word "trade school", but really, that is what it would amount to. Let's put these kids into life application style studies. They will see a point to school, finally. They will not get so lost in the shuffle. They will not be expected to jump through the same hoops as everyone else when they see no point in it at all.
That is step one of my plan. Step two hits testing. Our current testing is broken! Again, it goes back to the point about getting all students to jump through the same hoop at the same pace. What we need to do to hold schools accountable for our children's education is INDIVIDUALIZE our testing system. Instead of judging a school by its student body as a whole, let's make sure that every student is progressing at the proper pace. This solves the whole point A to point Z problem. If a student comes in at the beginning of the year at point A, fine, let's work on getting him to point D or E. Then next year he can start off at point D or E, and let's try to get him to point H or I, and so on. If students are progressing at an adequate pace, then the school is doing its job. Funnelling every student down the same path and expecting all of them to arrive at the same destination at the same time is setting us all up for failure.
Schools are now held accountable for their students' test scores and every school is expected to achieve at the same level (eventually). The bar is set at essentially the same level for every kid in America, regardless of starting point, socio-economic background, family status, academic ability, academic history, etc.
Imagine you run a chain of dog training facilities across the country. You have a facility in 10 different states and in all different types of towns and cities. You have well qualified staff to train the animals in all your facilities. Each of your facilities is equally equipped. However, some of your facilities are in nice suburban places full of McMansions and shiny happy people with shiny happy pets that have been pampered and cared for since birth. Some of your facilities are located in the country where lots of folks have dogs, but there hasn't been a whole lot of pampering, more like a lot of squirrel chasing and mud wallowing. And some of your facilities are located in urban centers where dogs are kept in small places and rarely go outside. Now imagine the government passes a law that says every dog that comes through your facility has to master the very same series of tests in the very same amount of time. Any facility that does not meet the criteria will be taken over by the government. Do you really think that each of those dogs is going to get from point A to point Z at the same pace given their various backgrounds?
This is essentially what our public schools are now facing. Get all your kids from point A to point Z be the end of the year or else. Here is the problem. In most schools 60 to 70 percent of the kids will easily get to point Z mostly because they didn't have to start all the way back at point A. But what about the other 30 to 40 percent of the kids who are either at point A or can't even SEE point A at the beginning of the year. Those kids (for hundreds of different reasons) have so much farther to go to get to point Z that it is ridiculous to expect it of them.
Let's face it, the government apparently expects our public schools to prepare 100 percent of our students for college. Are 100% of our students capable of succeeding in college? Are 100% of our students even interested in going to college? Sure, those 60 to 70 percent I mentioned are probably ready to give college a go. What about the other 30 to 40 percent? Maybe, with a lot of hard work, dilligence, and creativity, we could get some of them ready for college too, but all of them? Come on now!
One thing our education system needs is a really quality option for some of those 30 to 40 percent of our students who are probably never going to be "college material" for any one of hundreds of reasons. Let's get these kids interested and excited about something that they can actually see themselves succeeding in down the line...and let's provide these opportunities for them early in their educational process. I think even the Middle School grades would benefit tremendously from such an approach. I hesitate to use the word "trade school", but really, that is what it would amount to. Let's put these kids into life application style studies. They will see a point to school, finally. They will not get so lost in the shuffle. They will not be expected to jump through the same hoops as everyone else when they see no point in it at all.
That is step one of my plan. Step two hits testing. Our current testing is broken! Again, it goes back to the point about getting all students to jump through the same hoop at the same pace. What we need to do to hold schools accountable for our children's education is INDIVIDUALIZE our testing system. Instead of judging a school by its student body as a whole, let's make sure that every student is progressing at the proper pace. This solves the whole point A to point Z problem. If a student comes in at the beginning of the year at point A, fine, let's work on getting him to point D or E. Then next year he can start off at point D or E, and let's try to get him to point H or I, and so on. If students are progressing at an adequate pace, then the school is doing its job. Funnelling every student down the same path and expecting all of them to arrive at the same destination at the same time is setting us all up for failure.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
"The Game" is the same, but not the coverage.
Politics is a dirty game. It always has been and it always will be. The fact is, things really haven't changed much, but we have a hard time seeing that. The game has not changed but what has changed is the COVERAGE of the game. What the heck am I talking about?...let me try to explain.
Bill Clinton messed around in the White House with an intern and got impeached over it (albeit, not convicted). This happened in the 1990's...too bad for Bill Clinton. If it had happened 25 or 30 years earlier, we would have NEVER EVEN HEARD ABOUT IT! Unfortunately for Bill, he took office in the age of the 24 hour a day cable news coverage era. His little "faux pas" (and subsequent denial of the event) is plastered all over our TV screens by the news, pundits, and late night comedians non-stop for months and it nearly ruined, and certainly tainted, his legacy
George Bush got Congress to approve a war with Iraq by using information that proves to be "iffy" at best. Over the next several years, the news organizations, pundits, and comedians had a field day with President Bush and eventually drove him out of office as a laughing stock.
The fact is, lots of Presidents have screwed around in the White House over the years, the press just looked the other way. Lots of people knew about it, but it never hit the airwaves. Never once did Walter Cronkite report about Jack Kennedy getting a bit of nookie. That kind of thing just was NOT reported.
Another fact is, and this often gets overlooked (but I am a history teacher, I know things), wars are NEVER POPULAR! There have always been plenty of people who have thought that our reasons for going to war were questionable at best, or dubious at worst. Name any war America has ever fought and I will assure you that a HUGE chunk of our nation's population at the time were dead set against it. There were no shortage of Loyalists (Torries) in the Revolutionary War. Even WWII (after Pearl Harbor), people were climbing out of the woodwork claiming that FDR (who also had plenty of affairs, by the way) had baited Japan into attacking us by placing them under the oil embargo.
The difference is, we now live in an age where we are bombarded with several 24 hour a day news networks trying to stay afloat in the ratings war. There are no taboos anymore when reporting news.
What's more, each news network has a line up of political commentators, many of whom are far out to the left or right on the political spectrum. Their job is to say sensational things to rally the nuts who are that far out with them, and worse, to infuriate the nuts on the other far end.
All this leads us to a world which we perceive to be going to hell in a handbasket, when in reality, we have really always been in the handbasket, CNN just wasn't there to cover it.
Bill Clinton messed around in the White House with an intern and got impeached over it (albeit, not convicted). This happened in the 1990's...too bad for Bill Clinton. If it had happened 25 or 30 years earlier, we would have NEVER EVEN HEARD ABOUT IT! Unfortunately for Bill, he took office in the age of the 24 hour a day cable news coverage era. His little "faux pas" (and subsequent denial of the event) is plastered all over our TV screens by the news, pundits, and late night comedians non-stop for months and it nearly ruined, and certainly tainted, his legacy
George Bush got Congress to approve a war with Iraq by using information that proves to be "iffy" at best. Over the next several years, the news organizations, pundits, and comedians had a field day with President Bush and eventually drove him out of office as a laughing stock.
The fact is, lots of Presidents have screwed around in the White House over the years, the press just looked the other way. Lots of people knew about it, but it never hit the airwaves. Never once did Walter Cronkite report about Jack Kennedy getting a bit of nookie. That kind of thing just was NOT reported.
Another fact is, and this often gets overlooked (but I am a history teacher, I know things), wars are NEVER POPULAR! There have always been plenty of people who have thought that our reasons for going to war were questionable at best, or dubious at worst. Name any war America has ever fought and I will assure you that a HUGE chunk of our nation's population at the time were dead set against it. There were no shortage of Loyalists (Torries) in the Revolutionary War. Even WWII (after Pearl Harbor), people were climbing out of the woodwork claiming that FDR (who also had plenty of affairs, by the way) had baited Japan into attacking us by placing them under the oil embargo.
The difference is, we now live in an age where we are bombarded with several 24 hour a day news networks trying to stay afloat in the ratings war. There are no taboos anymore when reporting news.
What's more, each news network has a line up of political commentators, many of whom are far out to the left or right on the political spectrum. Their job is to say sensational things to rally the nuts who are that far out with them, and worse, to infuriate the nuts on the other far end.
All this leads us to a world which we perceive to be going to hell in a handbasket, when in reality, we have really always been in the handbasket, CNN just wasn't there to cover it.
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