NEWWEST.NET Exclusive

UPDATE: At the end of the article, I've posted a release I received on 11-26-08 from UFA.--Bill Schneider

Rumors of financial troubles at large outdoor retailers, including Sportsman's Warehouse, have been swirling around for months. Now, it looks like "America's Premier Outfitter" has become "North America's Premier Outfitter." The largest outdoor retailer in the New West is being purchased by Calgary-based UFA Co-operative Lld.

And it looks like UFA has the cash to do it. On its website, UFA describes itself as "a progressive, multi-billion dollar organization committed to serving rural communities." 

[more]

THE CONFESSIONS OF A REGULAR NUT

I'm not a gun nut. I'm a regular nut who owns guns, but only to hunt, not to defend my home and family, join the militia or fight the forces of tyranny.

Gun nuts don't scare or intimidate me. Instead, I'm learning a few things from them. You can, too. 

[more]

Election '08

The sweeping Democratic victory across much of the West has state Republican Parties in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and even Idaho questioning their leadership and direction. In Colorado, some predictable sniping at the tactics of the party leadership is accompanied by a deeper argument over whether the party should turn to the right, as Tom Tancredo is urging, or move to the center, reports the Denver Post. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Northwest, Republicans are facing population trends (i.e. in-migration and urbanization) that look grim indeed, reports Floyd McKay at Crosscut. Oregon now has no statewide officeholders from the GOP for the first time ever. In Idaho, Republicans remain in firm control and the state party considers Tuesday to have been a fine day.giving some pause on both sides of the aisles.  

FIRST AND ONLY ON NEWWEST.NET

If you've been following the Cooper Firearms story (202 comments so far), you might be wondering who was telling the truth. Did Cabela's and Sportsman's Warehouse cancel orders following the controversy, as I originally reported--or not, as the representatives of the mega-retailers claim.

Well, I finally tracked down Dan Cooper this morning, and we had a little chat--and the answer is: Everybody is telling the truth. 

[more]

NO CANCELED ORDERS

My special Wild Bill column on Monday covered the statements and campaign contributions made Dan Cooper, president and co-founder of Cooper Firearms in support of President-elect Barack Obama. As his statements caused a firestorm of criticism from his customers on gun websites and blogs, Cooper resigned from the company and said he was worried about the future of his company because two of his biggest retail accounts, Cabela's and Sportsman's Warehouse, had canceled their orders.

Which turned out to not be true. 

[more]

PERFECT PLACE FOR BLUE TIDE TO QUICKLY MAKE ITS MARK

On January 5, 2001, with George W. Bush's moving van parked at the back door of the White House, President Bill Clinton signed his now-infamous Roadless Rule. With a stroke of his pen and without the approval of Congress, Clinton protected almost one-third of our national forests, 58.5 million acres, from road building.

The incoming Bush administration immediately reversed the rule, but a judge rapidly reversed the reversal. Ever since, the Roadless Rule has been a tennis ball, back and forth, on and off, mired in a ridiculous succession of administrative rules and court cases, making it hard to decide who's ahead in the game. As I write this, to emphasize the folly, two judges have made opposing rulings, one spiking the Roadless Rule, one re-affirming its validity.

So I say, let's end the tennis match and make the Roadless Rule the law of the land. 

[more]