New West Network

Forrest Church: Theologian, Historian, Humanitarian
Sometime in 2003 Forrest Church wrote to me praising my book Spiritual Titanism. I was flattered by the compliments, especially his confession that I had convinced him that the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was worth rereading. I kept up e-mail contact until his death. I was especially keen on praising him for his amazing NPR interview with Terry Gross on October 27, 2008 and the good reviews that his books were receiving. Read full version at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/Church.htm  [more]

Recession rattles timber industry to its core
A few days ago, the Missoulian ran an article titled, "Battered and Boarded: Recession rattles timber industry to its core." It's interesting to note that all the economic reality contained in this article has been systematically ignored by Senator Jon Tester, his staff and those three or four conservation groups who actually support Tester's Mandated Logging Bill.  [more]

The Constitution, the University, and Free Speech
Habib Sadid, an award-winning engineering professor at ISU for 22 years, has been banned from campus and is facing dismissal. On October 23 a faculty appeal board released a report in which, by a vote of 4-1, it found insufficient evidence for Sadid’s termination. The case raises basic issues of the extent of the academic freedom. Read full version at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/sadid.htm  [more]

Vote for Wild Bison in Charity Contest
Today is the last day to cast a vote for Buffalo Field Campaign. In $25,000 contest.

Voting only takes a minute.

http://www.ilovechristiecookies.com/contest/form.asp  [more]

Not Yet the Mahatma: Gandhi in South Africa
Those who have seen the movie "Gandhi" will remember the dramatic scene where Gandhi is called a "kaffir" (the equivalent of our "N" word) and kicked off a South African train. Most people don't realize that Gandhi never included blacks or coloreds in his campaign for human rights during his 22 years in South Africa. Read the full version at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/GandhiSA.htm  [more]

Hunters Should Demand How-To-Use Bear Spray Demos
How is a hunter facing a charging grizzly supposed to use bear spray quickly and safely? State fish & game departments should be willing to do live demonstrations.  [more]

Should Hunter Who Killed Grizzly Bear Be Prosecuted?
The Wyoming hunter who shot a grizzly bear near Grand Teton National Park claimed self-defense. Authorities say the bear was not an immediate threat. You decide.  [more]

Grand Teton NP Maligns Hunter Accused of Illegal Grizzly Kill
Grand Teton National Park Press Release Mauls Hunter Accused of Killing Grizzly Bear In Self Defense  [more]

A critique of national parks as “America’s best idea”
Anyone who has been watching the epic Ken Burns six-part documentary on PBS entitled The National Parks: America's Best Idea cannot help but be swept up by the places captured by his camera. When I see Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, I want to drop everything and plan my next adventure, discovering new places I have never seen. When I see familiar video and old pictures from my beloved Yellowstone, a flood of pleasant memories overwhelms me. For evoking such responses in a well-traveled man like me, for doing so to a large number of people for whom the national parks is but a sketchy mystery, Ken Burns should be applauded for that alone.

Ken Burns does many things well both at the sweeping level as well as in minute points (for instance, one I quickly noticed was in not sharing the discredited story that the national park idea was dreamed up at Madison Junction in Yellowstone back in 1870). What I'm writing from hereafter shall be critical, but I don't want to take more away than I will in the following paragraphs. By all means, if you've never visited a national park, if you want a basic primer on the history, if you want to see beautiful things and be inspired, please take the time to watch this documentary. I can't imagine watching it and not wanting to visit some of these places, not wanting to know them more, and not having a greater sense of many of the complicated issues that surround the parks. It is worth at least some of your time.

My biggest problem with The National Parks: America's Best Idea, filmed by Burns but written by Dayton Duncan, is that we are left with a generally positive view of American history. Whether we are talking about the "national park" idea itself, the process by which national parks were "saved," or many of the characters involved - coming to mind right now are Teddy Roosevelt and John D. Rockefeller Jr. - I am afraid to say that I believe that the story is far bleaker. That we can be inspired still by these lands is less a testament to the so called "national park idea" so much as the accidental force of American history that allows them to be temporarily saved while everything else is ripped to shreds.  [more]

Desmond Tutu: Giant of South African Liberation
This is a second in a series of columns that I'm writing about a 6-week trip to Southern Africa. On September 2 I visited St. George's Cathedral, which was the beginning of a huge protest march 20 years ago. It marked the beginning of the end of apartheid in South Africa. Read the full version at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/TutuMandela.htm  [more]

The Preacher, the Congressman, and the Neo-Confederacy
South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). Many SCV members have come out against Abraham Lincoln, demoting him from the best of presidents to the worst. The John Wilkes Booth "camp," the term by which the SCV is organized, loves to leave Lincoln pennies with "heads up" in urinals. See full version at www.home.roadrunner.com/~nickgier/TwoWilsons.htm  [more]