New West Network

Headscarves, Secularism, and Religious Freedom
General American tolerance of the hijab stands in contrast to French intolerance. A 2004 law prohibiting the wearing of hijab in France's public schools was passed by a vote of 494-36 in National Assembly. Turkey's radical secularists have also been undermining the liberal foundations of their modern nation by taking an unreasonable view of the Muslim headscarf. Read full version at http://www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/hijab.htm.  [more]

The Myth of the More Logging Silver Bullet
Earlier in the week, a timber industry-friendly economist from the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, claimed that Montana’s timber industry will face tough times unless we cut down more of our national forests. While this argument is often trotted out by industry supporters, let's look at the current economic reality.  [more]

Wild Bison:  BFC Update from the Field 8/7/08
* Update: IBMP Partners Meet in Montana; Bison Hunt Same as Last Year; Quarantine Disguised as Restoration; DOL Kills Again
* Bonnie Raitt Benefit Tickets Still Available!
* COMMENT! Lousy Land Deal for Wild Buffalo
* Join BFC for WoodCut Week August 28 - September 3
* Last Words
* Kill Tally  [more]

Yellowstone buffalo: Borders, migration, and the privileged lords
The map on the left, courtesy of Buffalo Field Campaign, shows bison herds and migrations inside of and outside of Yellowstone National Park. All the problems with and all the inspiration we have of buffalo herds must take these migrations into account.

Humans have an issue with migration because the variance in movement often comes against boundaries that humans have set up. Many Americans have trouble with the migration of people, especially from Mexico, who are often escaping the economic boundaries placed on their own existence by global trade policies - many of them promoted by American politicians. Boundaries create boundaries, and the consequences of the boundaries often create unexpected movements. In 1872, Congress set aside Yellowstone National Park, with boundaries that have not changed a great deal since then. No one could communicate with the animals those boundaries, but each animal has had its movement impacted by those boundaries and others.

Bison, in particular, are bound by the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park, by the movements of its visitors, of its vehicles, but they are also bound by other policy considerations. They are bound by those who control lands both public and private. They are prevented from moving by those who put the values of livestock industry interests ahead of their movements -just as the park boundary prevents those interests from moving cattle and other livestock. They are physically prevented by park rangers and agents from Montana's Department of Livestock, who make sure that bison stay out of Montana. Yet, the boundaries also set up the terms of migration. Because bison need to move by the boundaries of winter, of the need to eat, they move. They move across boundaries.

In that context, some of the bounded entities within the boundary of the United States, groups with very conflicting missions, have been thrust together to manage the movements of bison and to determine their fate. The bounded partners created a new bounding document--one called adaptive because presumably the boundaries can shift, though how and why is a mystery - called the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). With that, the lords of the border - the ICE of Yellowstone - enforce a reality on buffalo, who continue to roam as they must.

And, what a mess it has been! More bison were killed last winter (1,613) than at any time since the 19th century. More than half the herds in Yellowstone from the previous fall are now dead, some killed because they could not move away from the winter. Now, the partners of the IBMP have been meeting the past couple days here in Bozeman to consider the parameters of their torture and death, to determine the appropriate ways to implement the plan without ever considering whether the border that has been set up makes any sense at all.  [more]

Barack Obama is Right about the Surge
The McCain campaign is running ads slamming Obama for his position on the surge, which McCain claims has been a great success in a justified war, but which Obama correctly describes as a "tactical victory imposed upon a huge strategic blunder." See full version at http://www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/Surge.htm.  [more]

By Jove, I think he’s got it!
I ate a lot of cinnamon rolls today and the extra cinnamon must have reelectrified some long dormant brain cells. I grabbed a calculator and discovered a wonderful way to pay off the National Debt. See it at http://problembear.wordpress.com 

Former State Senator Fred Thomas Verbally Assaults FS Ranger following illegal OHV Use
From the man who brought all Montanans higher utility bills through de-regulation, comes this account of illegal motorized wrecreation and verbal assaults directed at a Forest Service ranger. With political leaders like these, it's no wonder that parts of the Bitterroot Valley are still the Last Best Place for Tearin' It Up.  [more]

Palousians Raise $35,000 for Pakistani Schools
The people of the Palouse have raised $35,000 for schools and clinics in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the final count after bringing Greg Mortenson to Moscow, Idaho on April 4. After a failed attempt to climb K-2 in Northern Pakistan, a dazed Mortenson stumbled into a small village where his life was saved. He has now dedicated his life to helping people there and in Afghanistan. See the full column at http://www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/3CupsTea.htm.  [more]

Warning to GOP: Don’t Mess with Medicare
Some Republican Senators were running scared for the July 9th Senate vote reversing cuts to Medicare. On June 26th the Democrats did not the get the 60 votes necessary to stop a filibuster, so Senator Ted Kennedy left his sickbed for the second vote. As it turned out, the heat applied to the Republicans made Kennedy's presence unnecessary. A total of nine GOP senators switched their votes to provide a 69-30 veto-proof majority. On July 15 the House and Senate overrode President Bush's veto by votes of 383-41 and 70-26 respectively.  [more]

Tiny Denmark Leads the World in Wind Power
When in Denmark for my first sabbatical in 1978-79, I was following the news about a hippie commune in Tvind that was selling excess electricity from its home-made windmill. The Tvind windmillers solved basic problems with rotor composition that had stumped other engineers. The hippies at Tvind were instrumental in making Denmark the world's leading exporting of wind turbines. See full version and pictures at http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/wind.htm.  [more]

Wild Bison:  BFC Update from the Field 7/10/08
Hunters and wildlife enthusiasts BEWARE ... Montana livestock interests are setting their sites on GYE elk now, and they could begin to suffer the same fate as wild bison if we don't stop it before it starts. Help stop this mad cowboy disease - take action for wild bison and elk. Plus, Montana plans exact same buffalo hunt, Bonnie Raitt buffalo benefit tickets available for her Big Sky performance; a new "Buffalo Blend" benefit coffee is out; and Montana has "Let Buffalo Roam" license plates that can be had by folks across the nation.  [more]