Proof that the bad apples definitely don’t fall far from the tree. From Native News OnLine:
On a momentous day for Tribal Nations, Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY), the House Republican Conference Chairwoman, stated that the successful litigation by tribes and environmentalists to return the grizzly bear in Greater Yellowstone to the Endangered Species ACT (ESA) “was not based on science or facts” but motivated by plaintiffs “intent on destroying our Western way of life.”
One of the largest tribal-plaintiff alliances in recent memory prevailed in the landmark case, Crow Tribe et al v. Zinke last September, when US District Judge Dana Christensen ruled in favor of the tribes and environmental groups after finding that the Trump Administration’s US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had failed to abide by the ESA and exceeded its authority in attempting to remove federal protections from the grizzly. Tuesday, USFWS officially returned federal protections to the grizzly.
Removing protections from the bear, revered as sacred to a multitude of tribes, would have left the grizzly vulnerable to high-dollar trophy hunts and lifted leasing restrictions on some 34,375 square miles. Extractive industry, livestock and logging interests are among those desirous of capitalizing on the area, a region comprised of tribal treaty, reserved rights and ceded lands.
“If this wasn’t Liz Cheney and the era of the Trump administration, you might be rendered speechless by the insensitivity and mendacity of the statement.” said Tom Rodgers, a senior adviser to the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council (RMTLC)) who testified at May’s congressional hearing on the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act. HR 2532, introduced by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva, was inspired by the grizzly treaty signed by over 200 tribal nation.
“So, in striving to protect our culture, our religious and spiritual freedoms, our sovereignty and our treaty rights—all of which are encapsulated in the grizzly issue—we are ‘destroying’ Cheney’s idea of the ‘Western way of life’?” questioned Rodgers. “I would remind the Congresswoman that at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition an estimated 10,000 grizzly bears roamed from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast. That was all Indian Country. Now there are fewer than 2,000 grizzly bears and our people live in Third World conditions on meager reservations in the poorest counties in the US. Does she really want to talk about ‘destroying’ a ‘way of life’?” asked Rodgers. [...]
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On this date at Daily Kos in 2003—Suicides an in issue in Iraq:
Let's face facts. Iraq is a physically, mentally and socially hostile place. Supplies are frequently short, the soldiers feel trapped and the enemy is getting better, not worse.
All it takes for a 19-year-old to get jumpy is a letter from his gf that she has a new boyfriend. Colleges have a problem dealing with this, so does the Army. Iraq could be a very easy place to lose hope.
This is the kind of story which rarely makes the papers with any impact. But it indicates that some soldiers are coming under intense emotional pressure.
I think it indicates our Army in Iraq is not a happy one. And that has implications beyond their mere emotional state. If they don't believe in the mission, they may get killed.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: They tried to sneak another debate past me, but Ian Reifowitz caught 'em. Next, he further explored the roots of Trump's racist rhetoric in Limbaugh’s own racism. Impeachment inquiry initiated! Trump readies to break the law with acting DNI pick.
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