Boethius’ Ghost

I think that one of the most misunderstood things in American society might be Wildlife Conservation. I was having a conversation with a really good-hearted lady the other day, who loves animals, and didn’t know that without hunters and their money we would not have many of those animals. It is hunters and fishermen who demanded Conservation. It’s their money through the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 who primarily pay for it too. At one point, areas of the country didn’t even have a turkey or a deer left to watch or photograph. Reintroduction of turkey’s started in the 1950’s and wasn’t even complete until the 1990’s. How does this work? The American Wildlife Conservation model works on a couple of principles. Those who care the most about a thing, fund it. Anytime someone purchases a gun, ammunition, or archery equipment, they are paying an additional tax that goes directly to Conservation. The other principle is scientific management. Modern game laws use science to evaluate population levels and determine how many animals can be removed from a population without damaging the overall numbers of the population. That’s why it’s hunters, not animal activists, who detest poachers the most. Hunters are also the ones who rebalance the ecosystem. Anywhere humans live, prey animals such as deer tend to outbreed sustainable population numbers. It’s because their natural predators aren’t omnipresent to keep the numbers in check. This leads to mass starvation in winter and disease running rampant through populations. If you want to save the deer herds, you literally must do the job of the wolf. Nature doesn’t just “balance itself out”, all of earth is a garden. Anytime numbers get out of balance, catastrophes happen to reset it. The goal of modern conservation is to prevent catastrophic rebalancing. The natives who lived on this continent before it became America knew that. They used to set wildfires and let everything burn. Nowadays conservation departments in some areas do the same thing through controlled burns. These burns remove built up deadfall and undergrowth, allowing certain tree species that require fire to thrive and protecting human infrastructure. The Pittman-Robertson Act also makes it Law that State hunting and fishing license fees cannot be diverted to other pots of money in a State. This isn’t like when a State charges tolls on a road and then uses that money for something else besides fixing a road. If you love animals and hate hunting or fishing, the most effective investment to protect wildlife that you can possibly make would be to purchase licenses for both and then just stay home. In a similar manner to how you can’t just confiscate the wealth of the top 1% of billionaires and run the country for more than a couple of days, there is no group of rich anti-hunting animal rights activists that could collectively pool their money and replace the dollars that each and every sportsman contributes. We are the ones who ensure fish are restocked, rare species such as the Hellbender salamander are protected, deer and elk graze the prairies and yes, that wolves roam their natural habitat. Protected species and endangered species are also primarily determined and supported through these exact same efforts.

Actual adults vote for Republicans. That statement may anger you, but I’ll say it again; those with a level of discernment beyond that of a child vote for Republicans. I don’t do a massive amount of politics on here, or truthfully, in real life. I have no love for politicians, they are merely a necessary evil. Why the statement? Actual adults understand a few things… The current Democratic Party refuses to accept the science of biology, stymy the flow of illegal aliens, identity voters through ID, recognize your Right to firearms (as outlined in the 2nd Amendment), and reject the ideas of Karl Marx as incongruent with the Constitution. They play games on the State level to block those who seek to reveal corruption and fraud. They literally named a law after Nick Shirley to prevent others like him from revealing massive scams in their State like he did in Minnesota. These are not the actions of rational adults, but rather emotional, power-hungry children who seek to upend our Nation as long as they personally benefit. I am under no delusion that Republicans will deliver everything I want. They have been tepid at best the past two years. I’m also no Trump sycophantic. Many of his positions would have been considered middle-ground in the 1990’s Democratic Party. He and the Party he leads have managed to deliver a few victories in areas that matter. The southern border is the most secure that it’s been in my lifetime. The NFA is currently starving for oxygen. Some common sense has been applied to preventing men from parading as women to crush their athletic dreams and act as government endorsed voyeurs in bathrooms. Trump is bombastic and publicly treats the Office of the Presidency as a celebrity position. Behind the scenes, it’s clearly different. I highly approve of some of the moves he’s made and shake my head in frustration at others. Trump is not on the ballot this election. Who is? Local representatives and managers, many House Representatives and some Senators; for some of you Mayor or County Sheriff. These are the people whose decisions will truly impact your life regardless of what the man who is not up for reelection does. Rational adults vote for the representation that doesn’t promise to steal what you have, give it to noncitizens, take away your right to self-defense, upend our founding documents, and allow the replacement of equal justice with Sharia law. The current Democratic Party endorses ideas that indoctrinate your children into ideas that prevent you from ever having grandchildren. They support that which will literally end your family line; they gain power and you lose your legacy. At this point in time, that rational option is by and large the Republican Party. Will Republicans likely fail to live up to all of their campaign promises? Beyond a doubt. A mature adult knows that and yet understands the opposite choice is guaranteed destruction. Naïve children make choices on emotions, “the feels”, promises of free stuff and believing that politicians won’t disappoint them. Rational adults stoically weigh the options based on projected course and values. The Iran war will not immediately end no matter which way you vote. Gas prices also don’t turn on a dime. No matter who you choose, inflation will not immediately disappear and Congress will spend money. I have my gripes, as do you. They are valid. National suicide is not the answer. Until the Democrats produce another JFK like option, eschew their current values and platform, you must do your job as a rational adult and block them at the voting booth and in the public square. Anything less is puerile.