Federal funding for western Oregon counties comes to an end
Politics
Posted inJuly 21, 2008: A fractured party
A fractured party
The Republican Party, struggling with infighting and lacking a coherent vision may find new life — or self-destruction — in the West’s green politics
Posted inJuly 21, 2008: A fractured party
The debate that won’t happen
For a Westerner, this year’s presidential campaign has been both exciting and disappointing. There was excitement when Sen. Barack Obama and the entire Clinton family were stumping in Wyoming; who could ever have imagined that Democratic presidential candidates would be battling for convention delegates in a state that no Democrat has carried in 44 years? […]
Posted inJuly 21, 2008: A fractured party
‘Si, se puede’
Activist continues to inspire after 50 years
Posted inGoat
Utah ultra-conservatives kill a RINO
In what may be a sign of things to come, one of the country’s most conservative congressmen recently lost an election – to an even more conservative upstart. Despite being out-fundraised four to one, first-time office-seeker Jason Chaffetz defeated six-term U.S. House member Chris Cannon by 20 percentage points in Utah’s June 24 Republican primary. […]
Posted inGoat
Wanted: Dead or Mostly Dead
“The common understanding of the term ‘live’ is, quite simply, ‘not dead.’” It may sound like something out of a Monty Python movie, but the above is actually a portion of the plaintiff’s argument in a U.S. Court of Appeals case decided last month in the Ninth Circuit. Environmentalists had issued a challenge to salvage […]
Posted inArticles
Primer 6: Immigration
To get a glimpse of the complexity of the issues surrounding immigration in the United States, one need only watch the peculiar dances of this year’s presidential candidates, and the way a few of them stumbled and lost the beat and fell to the ground at the end. Somewhere, somehow, someone in the ranks of […]
Posted inGoat
Democratic? National Convention comes to Denver
The 2008 Democratic National Convention is looming – and the recurring questions about free speech, public spaces and national security are on the minds of freedom-loving people everywhere. Not surprisingly, those who plan to protest at the Democratic National Convention next month will most likely be confined to a fenced in “designated protest zone.” This […]
Posted inJune 23, 2008: Peace on the Klamath
Survival and the fittest
What is an ultramarathon, anyway? Any race longer than 26.2 miles, the length of a traditional marathon. On ultramarathon-induced vomiting “Yes, that happens. Yes, it’s hard. But, it’s extreme. I mean, that’s the point.” Major wins in 2007 Western States Endurance Run (her third victory); Tour de Mont Blanc 100-miler (set new women’s course record); […]
Posted inArticles
Who you calling terrorist?
The Cold War was hot when I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s. It affected our domestic discourse because politicians so often sought to discredit their opponents as “Communist sympathizers” or “comsymps,” people “soft on Communism,” “just a little bit pink” or outright “pinkos.” Something as basic as the integration of public facilities […]
Posted inOctober 13, 2008: Back to the future
Battleground!
No matter who wins in November, one thing is certain about this year’s election: the Interior West has finally arrived. For the last 40 years, campaigns generally flew right over the eight states in the interior. Their sparse populations, relative handful of electoral votes and status as Republican strongholds meant they just weren’t worth fighting […]
Posted inJune 9, 2008: Why the West needs Mythic Cowboys
Warp, weft and Wal-Mart
Name Marie Begay Age Late 60s Vocation Traditional hand-weaving Number of sheep owned 80 Where Marie gets her wool Most of her wool comes from her own sheep, though she trades wool with family members to broaden her color choices. Yarn needed for a typical rug Marie’s rugs approach “tapestry” quality, running 50 to 60 […]
Posted inJune 9, 2008: Why the West needs Mythic Cowboys
The latest trend in name-calling
The Cold War was actually rather heated when I was growing up in the 1950s and ’60s. America was more or less “at war” with the Communists as a matter of foreign policy. It affected our domestic discourse because politicians so often sought to discredit their opponents as “Communist sympathizers” or “comsymps” — “soft on […]
Posted inArticles
Primer 5: Wildlife
Wild animals are as much a part of the American West’s mystique and grandeur as its mountains, canyons and plains. Nowhere else in the United States can you encounter wolves, grizzlies, buffalo, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, golden and bald eagles, condors, mountain goats, and moose, wandering more or less at will across a varied landscape. […]
Posted inMay 26, 2008: On Cancer’s Trail
Population’s Paul Revere?
NAME Frosty Wooldridge AGE 61 KNOWN FOR His e-mails, blogs, letters and books about overpopulation, and by extension, immigration. HE SAYS “You can ignore reality, but at some point reality will not ignore you. In the U.S., we’re now on track to add 100 million people in the next 30 years. We can bring about […]
Posted inMay 26, 2008: On Cancer’s Trail
Green and mean
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund builds on anti-Pombo election strategy
Posted inWotr
Democrats could play the donkey card in Denver
It’s been said that burros, beans and brawn won the West. Now, organizers of the Democratic National Convention are weighing whether iconic images of the Old West should be used to market the event in Denver this summer. The debate is not without significance. Democrats, who have been unable to gain a foothold in Southern […]
Posted inApril 28, 2008: Pillaging the Past
Keeper of the wildlife
NAME Les Bighorn AGE 47 HOMETOWN Poplar, Montana TRAINING Attended the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena, Montana, and is now working toward a degree in history. HE SAYS “An elder once told me that when an animal comes to you instead of running or flying away as you approach it, they are telling you […]
Posted inApril 14, 2008: Taking to the Trees
A Montana rancher stands his ground against subdivision
Name Vernon Gliko Age 86 Hometown Belt, Montana Occupation Farmer/rancher He Says “They were friendly people back then. Everybody was trying to help everybody because they were in the same situation. Well, now, you know, you may not even know your neighbor.” Biggest change in his lifetime Transition from using horses to tractors Known for […]