Grackles

Pardon me today for venturing into an area better handled by a nature show host, but I would like to take this time to mention one of those birds that we love to hate...and maybe kind'a love too: the Boat-Tailed Grackle.  Grackles are those big, annoying black birds that hang around by the hundreds, covering courthouse lawns, filling beautiful trees with their annoying black bodies, and filling the air for blocks around with their oh, so irritating cackling, screeching, and chirping that goes on almost non-stop until it is time for owls and other creatures of the night to go on the hunt.  But this morning I saw a grackle doing something both entertaining for me, and practical for the bird.

I stopped Friday morning at Home Depot, and as I parked my vehicle, I saw a grackle feeding itself by walking up to the front of a recently parked vehicle, taking aim, and jumping about two feet off the ground to reach freshly killed insects stuck in the grill of said vehicle.  I have to concede that as irritating as grackles are, they are also very smart and enterprising birds.  These birds are definitely at home in the urban environment, from their numbers, obviously surviving and thriving even though we humans have tried to thin their numbers over the years.  And I have actually come to enjoy these birds sometimes, but that was not always the case.

As a youngster I wanted to have a yard full of cardinals, blue jays, bunting, sparrows, mockingbirds, ANYTHING but GRACKLES.  Beside the noise and the fact that grackles took up valuable space in my local ecosystem, these birds often kept other birds at bay.  I lived at a house that had a fairly wooded backyard, and a big, beautiful magnolia tree in the front yard.  And the birds...well, just grackles, you guessed it!  So I spent several years nursing a grudge against those awful, noisy blackbirds, but...then I moved to Surfside Beach.  That is where I gained a little more respect for these little pests. 

I was a permanent resident of Surfside Beach for just over a year, and it was there that the true cleverness of the grackle was revealed to me.  My next-door neighbor, a life-long beach bum and a one-time nationally ranked surfer, had actually made friends with a certain grackle who seemed to be the grand-daddy of all the grackles that hung around our house.  My surfer friend had, in fact, taught this particular grackle to come knock, I mean, peck on the door, at which time my neighbor would let the bird into his home.  The bird had learned a number of vocal and sign commands, and would do certain simple tricks at my neighbor's command.  The bird would eat at my friend's table, take food from his hands, and even try to say a couple of words, though these I thought were understandable by other grackles only.  Possibly my friend could understand the bird's talk, too, because he "expanded his mind" several decades ago on some substance or another, and kept it from contracting over the years since then with liberal applications of cannabis.  The bird would also fly to my friend and land on his hand or his shoulder, depending on the signal.  This bird was so much fun to watch that I had to yield my more or less hatred of these birds to some degree, actually gained a bit of respect and liking for these birds.

The pleasure was from watching that old grackle perform his tricks.  The respect was not only for same, but also for the way these birds had not only adapted to the beach, but thrived in the that ecosystem, though they were competing with other birds and animals specifically designed for such an environment.  The grackles jumped right in with the sea gulls and crabs when it came to catching fresh food or scavenging among the gifts offered by each passing tide.  And like the sea gulls, grackles often bore lasting memories of getting too close to something with teeth that was floating just below the sea's surface: they often had only one leg, the other having been bitten off by those creatures unknown.  It turns out that grackles are quite resourceful birds, no matter where they are found.  Unfortunately where they are found includes all of Texas, even way out in the sand and tumble weeds.  No, grackles will never be my favorite bird, but I have come to realize they are rather smart little critters, very resourceful, and sometimes fun to watch.  Well, I hope this little view of bird-life has been a little entertaining, and I appreciate your indulgence in letting me do a nature show in today's blog.

Today in Texas - 1836

Today in 1836, before the sun had risen over the former Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Mexican Army led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had killed all the Texican defenders barricaded behind its walls.  As one witness said, the silence was profound and deafening after the battle ended.  Santa Anna himself stood by as the few survivors were allowed to gather their belongings and begin the long trek east.  Mrs. Dickinson, the lately widowed wife of one of the defenders, and her entourage were likely nearly to Austin by the time a huge funeral pyre was set ablaze by Don Francisco Antonio Ruiz, the Alcalde of San Antonio.  All the bodies of the dead Texicans were incinerated in the huge fire.  The Alcalde stated that there were one hundred and eighty-two Anglo-Americans placed in the fire.  The dozen or so Mexicans who were among the Alamo defenders were allowed Catholic burials by Santa Anna. 

The Battle of the Alamo lasted less than one hour after the Mexican Army charged the mission for the third and final time.  Once the walls and doors were breached, vicious hand-to-hand fighting commenced.  The choreography of that final combat was outlined with the bodies of the fallen soldiers as the Texicans retreated further and further inside the Alamo compound.  By the time Colonel Jim Bowie and his slave were killed in Bowie's bedroom, all the Texicans and at least 600 Mexican soldiers lay dead on the floors of the one-time Spanish mission. 

Today we honor the dead heroes, whose sacrifice at the Alamo made possible the Texas victory at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.  Most of the heroes of the Alamo were common men.  Today when we think of the Battle of the Alamo we usually remember just four people: William Barrett Travis, Jim Bowie, David (Davy) Crockett, and of course, the evil Santa Anna.  But I would like to take this time to honor all the dead equally, as the three most famous defenders would not have held the Alamo for even one hour without those other, nearly forgotten, citizen soldiers.

I would also like to honor the Mexican soldiers who fell that day.  They, too, were mostly ordinary men who were selected by Destiny to meet their fate hundreds of miles from their homes back in Mexico proper.  These men, every bit as brave as the Texicans, obeyed their orders without question and followed their commanders into Eternity that morning.  You see, the Mexican troops, for the most part, were armed with obsolete muskets that the Mexican government had purchased from Napoleon.  These weapons were smooth-bore weapons with an effective range of about three hundred yards.  They were intended to be fired into a standing opponent massed in ranks directly in front of the charging force.  By contrast, most of the defenders were armed with rifled muskets that were capable of accurate fire at over seven hundred yards.  The first two or three hundred Mexican soldiers never got within a hundred yards of the Alamo before they were cut down by Texas forces.  A little known aside regarding the Mexican Army was that many of the soldiers' wives and other relatives had followed them from across the Rio Grande into Texas and then continued with them for the three hundred or so miles from El Paso to San Antonio.   Those women were there and watched as their husbands were sacrificed in the service of their country.  How very sad must have been that terrible sight and the mourning that followed.  I do not believe it is unpatriotic to acknowledge the bravery of the Mexican soldiers nor to sympathize with the widows and families of those brave men even as we honor our own heroes.

In all likelihood the Battle of the Alamo would not have taken place at all if Fate had not decreed the meeting of two arrogant men so long ago in 1836.  For one, Jim Bowie had been sent by General Sam Houston to the Alamo with express and specific orders to destroy the useful buildings and then bring the provisions and artillery back to Houston's forces in East Texas.  Instead, Bowie decided that the Alamo could be defended.  He disobeyed Houston's direct orders and fortified the Alamo.  Second, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, himself a very arrogant man, decided that he needed to prove a point to the Texicans by killing all the Alamo defenders and destroying the mission compound.  By the time Santa Anna ordered the breaching of the Alamo walls, he knew that neither the doomed men in the Alamo nor the fort itself were very important to the outcome of the rebellion. 

General Santa Anna could have ended the Texas Revolution in just a few weeks by simply bypassing the Alamo, leaving a couple of hundred of his soldiers to wait out the starving Texicans, and continuing on to meet and destroy Houston's forces that were then in training near Fort Velasco.  But Santa Anna opted to force the battle.   His own generals counseled against the March 6th attack, as they knew the cost of taking the fortified mission would be much too dear for the little advantage to be gained.  Santa Anna knew what the cost would be as well, but chose to sacrifice his men rather than wait a few days and simply starve out the Texas soldiers.  But the die was cast, the Alamo was attacked, and today in 1836 one of the most famous battles of all time was fought, and was etched forever into history.   The Battle of the Alamo paved the way for the creation of the Republic of Texas, and ten years later, the great State of Texas. 

Remember The Alamo!  And God bless Texas!

 

Officer Padron's Killer Gets Death Penalty

The killer of Officer Jaime Padron, deservedly received the death penalty in Austin last week.  As is my habit, I will not mention the killer's name here, as I choose not to dignify him by extending that courtesy.  Officer Padron was one of the most respected members of the Austin Police Department, but even more, he was one of those rare officers that had earned the respect of many Austin residents as well.  On the day of his death, he was attempting to treat his killer with respect and dignity, but the killer instead chose to attack the officer.  Unfortunately, the killer used the physical attack as a ruse to pull out a pistol and shoot Officer Padron.  With the officer disabled, the killer then PRESSED THE BARREL OF HIS PISTOL TO JAIME'S NECK AND PULLED THE TRIGGER AGAIN.  The medical examiner proved that the barrel was pressed into the officer's skin.  Jaime Padron at that point was no longer able to protect himself and had only minutes more to live.

In what has to be one of the most unselfish acts of bravery and love of their fellow man, several unarmed Wal-Mart employees tackled the killer and disarmed him, at deadly risk to their own lives.  Jaime Padron's last act as a police officer was to summon aid for himself and for the men holding the killer.  Police responded immediately, as did paramedics, but by then the officer had passed away.  I once again commend those brave citizens who came to this officer's aid and captured the armed killer, holding him until other officers arrived.  The community of police officers and of Austin residents lost a true hero that day, but also gained some heroes.

Jaime Padron was not just a well respected police officer.  He was also former corrections officer, and before that, a hero who served our nation in Iraq.  He was a brave man, but not just brave.  He was concerned for his fellow man, enough so to volunteer to serve in that faraway land, daily risking his life for all of us.  But not only that, he was well respected by his soldier comrades, going out of his way to help his fellow soldiers and be a friend to them.  Art Acevedo, the Chief of Police, said of Jaime Padron, “He wasn’t just taken from us, the Austin Police Department and his law enforcement colleagues. He was taken from this community.”

So I commend the jury in Austin who were strong enough to weigh the evidence, including the defense from "left field" that the killer was addicted to Xanax, tried to "wean" himself from the addiction, and that because of the effects of the drug AND the effects of the withdrawal from the drug, the killer just could not stop himself from concealing a pistol, going to his local Wal-Mart store and creating a disturbance so that police would be summoned to the store.  He just could not stop himself from killing the first police officer that showed up.  The jury may have sympathized with the killer and his supposed diminished emotional state, but they did not buy into the idea that the killer had no control over his actions.  The defense was ludicrous.  And it did not work.  I know, you can't blame a lawyer for trying...that is his job.

So now the killer is off to prison.  He will of course go to death row, will have an automatic appeal paid for by the state.  He may be a resident of death row for a long time before the sentence is carried out.  He has already had two years longer to live than he allowed Officer Padron.  Sometimes the justice system seems to let the people down, but sometimes it works like it is supposed to.  In this case the killer is awaiting the reward due him for his deed.  The death of this killer will not bring the good officer back, but it will certainly keep this particular man from ever killing anyone (other than fellow prisoners) ever again.  The family and friends of Officer Jaime Padron will go on grieving their loss, whether the killer lives or dies.  May the Good Shepherd continue to comfort all these people as they carry one without Jaime in their lives.

I Love A Good Conspiracy...And EVERYTHING Is A Conspiracy, Isn't it?

I enjoy a conspiracy theory as much as the next conspiracy theorist lover.  In fact, I coined a word to meet my literary and grammatical need - conspiratorialist, one who subscribes to one or more conspiracy theories.  By the way, I do not mean this in the negative vein in any way, because I, too, am a conspriatorialist.  I subscribe to a number of conspiracy theories.  And I also subscribe to the maxim that a truly good conspiracy CAN'T be proven.  It therefore remains only a "theory," but a GOOD one!

Like I said, I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but these days it seems that almost nothing that happens "just happens."  An event, whether great or small, occurs somewhere in the world, and seems to MOST of us just to be that, an event that happened.  But really "we" (those who are not "conspiratorialists" concerning the event in question - in other words, the "dupes") are being tricked or manipulated by the members of the "conspiracy."  Fortunately, I am not a dupe regarding EVERY conspiracy,  In fact, though I do not subscribe to every conspiracy that comes along, I am very smart concerning those conspiracy theories to which I subscribe.  I am sure most of you are, too.  After all, there are not that many dupes in the world...at least that is my theory.

Some events have been labeled "conspiracies" since the very day they occured, while other events only became "conspiracies" months, years, or even DECADES after they happened.  Before we realized that these events were actually conspiracies, we were all dupes!  An example of an event that has "always" been recognized as a conspiracy is the JFK assassination.  Everyone in his or her right mind knows that one was a conspiracy; therefore, we all entertain the conspiracy theory that John F. Kennedy was shot by not one, but two or three gunmen, and that Lee Harvey Oswald was just a patsy for "them," whoever they were.  In fact, THEY were the people that wanted President Kennedy dead!  But for conspiratorialists, defining who they were has been a task that has taken over fifty years to complete.  Not only that, but each set of conspiratorialists have come up with their own lists of who "they" were, and each set of conspiratorialists can "prove" that their conspiracy theory about JFK's assassination is the right one!

Then there are the events that "just happen," or at least that is what the dupes of the world believe.  For instance, Watergate, the downfall of Richard M. (Tricky Dick) Nixon, was one of those things that just happened.  No doubts, no conspiracies...it just HAPPENED.  The space shuttle disasters were both very sad and brought a great pall over the nation on two separate occasions, but these terrible accidents were just tragedies...they just happened.  So, no conspiracies, right?  Wrong, these days even the most obvious happenstances somehow ferment into conspiracies with vintage (of both kinds!).

One of my favorite "I could watch this a million times" movies is "The Abyss;" you know, the movie about a group of underwater oil wildcatters who encounter submarine aliens while the world teeters on the brink of both nuclear war and total annihilation.  During that movie, the character called "Hippie" says about the situation, "This must be a conspiracy," to which he receives the reply, "Oh, Hippie, you think everything is a conspiracy."  Hippie then says, "Everything IS!"  Well, maybe not everything is a conspiracy, but many things do somehow seem to evolve into conspiracies with time.  As a very conscientious conspiratorialist, I exercise a great deal of discrimination as to what conspiracy theories I lean toward.  After all, I do not want to be dupe if I can possibly help it.  All we have to do is be smarter than the conspirators!

Unfortunately, it turns out that it is very difficult NOT to be a dupe, after all.  I just found out that the Watergate break-in, what I believed to be a simple act of political sabotage that backfired for Nixon, was in fact a much deeper conspiracy involving who knows who all for all kinds of unknown, but diabolical, reasons.  I did not have time to delve into that one.  Suffice to say, however, that I am a dupe when it comes to Watergate.  How silly of me to believe that Nixon and his associates merely pulled off a burglary of the opposition's headquarters to gain political advantage.  My bad!  In another tragic event, John Belushi died of a drug overdose, right?  Nope, wrong again.  He was actually involved in some deeper political business  and was "suicided."  But, alas, I was a dupe in that one, too.  Need something a little more recent?  Okay, it turns out the terrible Sandy Hook school shootings were not perpetrated by a lone, crazy guy.  Not only that, there are now several different conspiracy theories ranging from multiple shooters to (yes, of course) the "Government" controlling the shooter and allowing these murders to occur as a "false flag incident."  Man, I hate to be a dupe.

I think back to "The Abyss."  Hippie said "everything IS a conspiracy."  Maybe he was right.  It does seem like we in America today, and people all across the world for that matter, are ready to label any event we cannot understand as a conspiracy, and then we are free to adopt whichever conspiracy theory most closely matches our own view of what happened, who did it, and who is covering it all.  Actually, I find that I expend several calories per day pouring over the various conspiracy theories to which I subscribe, and to the new information and new documents that seem to come out of the woodwork with maddening regularity.  As a conscientious conspiratorialist, I do try to keep up to date with the changing conspiracy landscape.  But I sometimes wonder, too, when something will finally happen that really is what it is, just a simple, honest to goodness incident.  On the other hand, how boring would that be? Why be bored, when there is a good conspiracy theory to believe in?  And I love a conspiracy theory just as much as the next guy...really.  No conspiracy here!

Harold Simmons's Legacy?

Harold Simmons, the Texas billionaire so lauded over the years for his success as a "self-made man," passed away December 28th, last.  I offer my sympathy to his wife and family at their loss.  I wish there was a way to write about Mr. Simmons without offending his family, but there just is not.  Mr. Simmons chose to make the largest part of his fortune by "managing hazardous waste" around the nation, and with international operations as well.  So many people expended many words in eulogy with regard to Mr. Simmons and his legacy.  Articles were written extolling his business "savvy" and his rise from a humble pharmacy owner to one of the richest men in the world.

But what exactly is Mr. Simmons's legacy to us, the people, particularly the people of Texas?  This great, self-made man started out in an admirable fashion, I have to admit.  Being born into a relatively poor family, he managed to save a few thousand dollars, plus borrow another $95,000 dollars to start a pharmacy.  Mr. Simmons clearly had business "savvy" because he grew his one pharmacy into a large chain which later sold for several million dollars.  Nothing wrong here, and I have to give him credit where credit is due.  But what happened to his conscience along the way, I have to wonder.  He embodied the very spirit of capitalism, the fulfillment of the American dream, rags to riches, as they say.

Mr. Simmons had already created a legacy that would have made any family proud.  But that was not good enough; he was not rich enough.  And he was a great entrepreneur, as we have already seen.  So with his millions, he bought a series of banks and watched his millions grow.  He developed the technique known as the leveraged buyout and gained a great reputation as a corporate raider.  Mr. Simmons was no "dummy" when it came to politics, either.  He donated huge sums to conservative political action committees (PACs) as well as making large contributions to conservative politicians, mostly Republican, but some Democrats, too.  In fact, Mr. Simmons found himself in difficulty for violating campaign donation limits on several occasions.  His "buy-up" of several Texas legislators earned him a fine of a whopping $6,400.  Ouch, I'm sure.  Thus far Mr. Simmons's legacy was somewhat checkered, but still he could be viewed as a self-made man, an inspiration for young and ambitious capitalists. 

Still looking to add to his billions, Mr. Simmons delved into an area of the economy at which most people would have turned up their noses, literally.  Mr. Simmons saw the potential in buying hazardous waste.  Whoa, I do no mean buying it, I mean letting people pay him to dump their hazardous waste at his dump grounds.  Thus was born Waste Control Specialists.  Having complete disregard for the people effected by the potential dangers of hazardous waste leaking into the ground and contaminating the water supply for those already in constant water shortage, Mr. Simmons moved ahead with his plan to build a hazardous waste disposal site in West Texas, incredibly right on top of the Ogallala Aquifer!  Mr. Simmons went ahead with construction plans even though his company was not licensed for nuclear waste at the time.  Well, that was no mystery, since he had already greased the right legislative wheels.  I am sure there was little doubt that the site would be licensed.  In fact the license was issued over state scientists' objections, but that is water under the bridge now.

No disrespect to Ms. Simmons and the Simmons children, but it is always incredulous to me that someone like Harold Simmons, a "make his millions...er, BILLIONS, everyone else be damned" kind of guy, is praised as a fine example of the ultimate American entrepreneur, and his "legacy" is enshrined by the paid-off politicians and other "leaders" who trip over their lips praising this man.  His legacy?  At least two waste sites in Texas (including the WCS site outside Andrews) that are already showing indications that radiation is leaking from the permanent man-made "barriers" and the natural geological formations that offered "permanent" materials containment.  Remember, three Texas scientists produced a study that showed the Andrews WCS site "was built over an unstable and unsound" clay formation.  When the Texas Committee on Environmental Quality ruled for WCS, these scientists immediately resigned from that agency in protest.  Now waste is being trucked into Texas by the trainload, as well as by tractor-trailer rigs, from approximately thirty-six states so far, and I am sure that number will grow.

Those swooning over the philanthropies of Mr. Simmons will no doubt overlook the origins of their donations.  Simmons millions were spread through numerous civic organizations, political action committees, worthy causes all over this nation and around the globe.  Mr. Simmons even donated $5 million to Oprah Winfrey's girls' school in Africa.  The causes and donation are too numerous to list here.  But it is better that the recipients of the Simmons fortune don't examine too closely the source of their endowments.  They might find the money glows in the dark, and that the people near WCS sites are reaping what Mr. Simmons sowed, in the form of contaminated land and soon-to-be undrinkable water.

Yes, Harold Simmons, the self-made billionaire, truly leaves us a great and large legacy.  He has literally shaped the West Texas desert for centuries to come.  He has truly left his mark upon this land, a mark that will render a large chunk of the Chihuahua Desert unfit for man or beast for time indeterminate.   Thank you, Mr. Simmons.  Your legacy will live on.
 

When Two Conspiracy Theories Collide

As an informed American (okay, I TRY to stay informed) I have to say that I like my conspiracy theories (CTs) as much as the next guy, assuming of course that the next guy is not a spy.  I personally subscribe to a number of CTs myself, including that the attacks of 9/11/01 were less than surprise terrorist attacks, but I digress.  A very popular CT that has waxed and waned ( I love being able to work this phrase into my blog) in popularity since July 20, 1969 is that Neil Armstrong did not walk on the moon at all.  Yes, I have known many people over the years that went to their graves swearing over their dead bodies that "that there moon landin' was a hokes!" (Some of my friends of that era were not good spellers.)  Even today some of my friends and many people I do not know believe that man never set foot on the moon. 

I have watched CT documentaries in which "experts" of one science or another "proved" that the moon landings were faked.  Some of these experts are quite convincing.  For instance, pictures of the astronauts standing on the moon and illuminated by the sun.  But experts examined these photos and found that there were two or more shadows at different angles, meaning TWO OR MORE sources of light.  Other experts noticed that certain objects fell with the velocity of objects falling on the earth rather than the six times reduced gravity of the moon.  Adding to this CT was the fact that NASA maintained a full mock-up of the moon landing sight in the Nevada desert.  So, given all of these factors, there is certainly at least some degree of evidence that the moon landing was indeed a hoax.

But...

Another popular CT is that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin DID in fact walk on the moon, but while there were met by aliens who served notice to the astronauts, and by extension the president of the United States, that moon walks were to cease!  Sounds far-fetched, yes?  In fact, former NASA personnel have made sworn statements to the effect that NASA officials censored radio communications from the astronauts informing Mission Control of the fact that several alien space craft were visible on the moon.  Video taken by other astronauts in outer space show objects that clearly are not "space junk" orbiting with the astronauts because some of these objects are seen to suddenly change speed and direction while the space ship continues in orbit.  Other former NASA employees have spirited documents out of NASA which indicate that aliens have indeed made contact with astronauts and with political officials here in the United States.  One document is purportedly a treaty signed between President Eisenhower and "spacemen" that called on the United States and the aliens NOT to fire on each other whenever they should encounter each other in the skies over America.

Yes, I like a good conspiracy theory as well as the next guy, but what is the conscientious conspiracy theorist supposed to do when two such hallowed CTs collide?  If Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did not walk on the moon, but instead took a stroll in the sands somewhere west of Las Vegas, how could they have been warned off the moon by powerful aliens?  And if the moon landing was a hoax, how could astronauts have seen several alien space craft parked in the dust of the Sea of Tranquility?  It would seem that if one of these CTs is true, than by definition the other COULD NOT be true.  We can't have it both ways.  Were "little green men" seen on the moon, or were the astronauts walking in full space regalia in the deserts somewhere in the Southwest? 

It would seem that when two CTs collide, that is, when one conspiracy theory discredits another, the "conspiratoralists" would abandon the discredited one and begin supporting the "proven" one.  But in fact what happens is that neither set of conspiracy theorists will abandon their pet theory.  In such a case, the conspiracy theorists instead develop even more complicated components to "explain" the new twists in the theory in question.  So the proponents of the "no moon walk" conspiracy are not discouraged from their theory one iota when they learn that men actually DID walk on the moon but were warned off by aliens.  They are not discouraged because it is obvious to them, as should be to all of us, that the aliens are in conspiracy with NASA to cover up the fact that men did not walk on the moon! 

On the other hand, the "aliens on the moon" conspiracy theorists, upon learning that experts had "proven" that the moon landing was a hoax, did not give up their pet theory, either.  These conspiratoralists had their own set of heroes.  These heroes were former NASA staffers and even former astronauts who provided sworn affidavits that they had personal knowledge that aliens were in fact on the moon, that the flying saucer really did crash near Roswell in 1947, and that documents exist to prove all of the above.  In their favor as well are NASA's own videos that do in fact appear to show alien space craft following our own space ships, and even video footage of two alien craft apparently engaging each other in a game of laser tag, only using real weapons grade laser or some other equally fatal energy ray.  What do these conspiracy theorists say about the "no moon walk" theorists?  You guessed it.  The "no walkers" are actually NASA workers or even CIA "dis-information" specialists who are out to take attention away from the fact that American astronauts did not really land on the moon at all.

So now I am torn between believing that the moon walk did not really take place, or that aliens are alive and thriving on the surface of the moon.  The good news is that I do not really have to choose one theory over the other.  I can take the middle ground and believe 1) the moon walk never happened; and 2) aliens have "ordered" humans who DID walk on the moon never to come back!  Actually, there is a third choice.  I can believe that man neither walked on the moon nor did man ever make contact with space aliens.  But that would fly in the face of expert testimony and formerly secret documents which prove both theories.  Who knows WHAT to believe anymore?

While I ponder these things, I sit back in my easy chair while Bigfoot proof-reads my writings.  Bigfeet, you know, are actually descendants of a race of humanoids that crash-landed on earth thousands of years ago and have inhabited the backwoods of North America and the great heights of the Himalayas since then.  While, as everyone knows, Bigfeet prefer their privacy (mainly because people keep making dumb fake movies about them), the occasional Sasquatch does appear at my humble abode to offer spelling help and grammar critique of my blogging.  Not that I follow their advice, mind you.  I get lots of good advice and criticism from the guys over at the NSA, as they are reading my blog as well.  I need all the help I can get because of the noise from the Predators and Reapers constantly circling overhead.  I am not worried about these drones.  They are unarmed....I think. But maybe that is what the Government WANTS me to think.  You know what? I think this is all a CONSPIRACY!!     





 

You Don't Mess With Mother Nature - Just Ask Glen Taylor And David Hall, Former Scoutmasters

When visiting the state parks and national parks the best rule of thumb is "Don't Mess With Mother Nature!"  Much of the nation was outraged last October 11th when scoutmasters leading a Utah scout troop through Goblin State Park decided to show off by knocking over a "balanced rock" formation.  The two men then proceeded to push over the formation, estimated by park rangers to have been about 170 MILLION years old.  One or both men may have attempted to topple the formation, but Glen Taylor succeeded in destroying it while David Hall recorded the act on a video camera.

In a further display of "not smart" the men posted their exploits on Facebook.  Viewers of the film as well as persons in the park reported the criminal mischief to park authorities.  What followed were days of outrage in which people and government officials demanded an accounting from these two men for their disturbing lack of leadership and the extremely poor examples they set for their charges.  A few days later both men were drummed out of the Boy Scouts of America, and scout leaders across the nation were admonished to review scout precepts known as the "Leave No Trace" principles.  These principles are common-sense rules about hiking and camping that assure scouts will leave nature at least as clean as they found it, and that they will leave as little trace as is realistically possible at their campsites.

Since October, 2013 some of the furor has died down and the ex-scoutmasters faded from view.  But this past week the Emery County, Utah District Attorney has filed felony charges against both men.  The actual charge is criminal mischief, and since it involved destruction of natural formations in a state park, the offense became a felony.  And really, there is no way to put a price on the damage that was done.  The rock formation was irreplaceable and therefore priceless.  Yes, there are similar formations in this park and in other natural areas around the nation, but the stupid and reckless action of people like Mr. Taylor and Mr. Hall must be punished so that the remaining national treasures of this kind can be protected for all of us and our future generations to enjoy.

Mr. Taylor and Mr. Hall have been summoned to appear in Utah state court in March, where they will be arraigned.  The district attorney, David Blackwell, decided it was necessary to file felony charges in this case and I agree with him.  On the other hand, Mr. Blackwell is not particularly interested in seeing either man receive the most severe penalty possible in this case, five years in prison and a five thousand dollar fine.  He has expressed to both men that he would be open to plea bargains that might keep the men out of prison, or at least shorten their terms.  Neither man has yet been indicted, and both have the right to plead not guilty and force the state to prove its case.  Unfortunately, Mr. Hall made the district attorney's job 100 percent easier by posting the evidence in a public domain.  Both men would do well to listen to Mr. Blackwell and plead to the deal he offers.  But, the bigger hope is that those who in the future may be tempted to destroy our nation's natural treasures will think about not only the penalty should they be caught, but also about the untold damage they will do, damage that can never be repaired.