The Utah BLM appears to be going forward with the Dec. 19 sale of oil and gas leases, some of them in the vicinity of national parks, despite objections from environmentalist groups and at least nine Democratic senators.
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Bob Wire Has a Point (It's Under His Cowboy Hat)

I’ve been sharing the virtues of this magic powder with my audience for several years, sometimes even doing a short commercial between songs while the band plays behind me (“It’s like a thousand icy gnome fingers tickling your goodies”). I sometimes list Gold Bond on my posters as a “sponsor,” even though, to the best of my knowledge, they are unaware of my existence.

Two years ago I tried to change that with a letter to their marketing department. I mentioned my admiration and liberal use of their product, and asked if they would be interested in forging some kind of endorsement deal. Hell, a free case of Triple Medicated would have been fine, but I got no response.

So when I found myself in Chattanooga to visit Barb’s parents the week of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d seize the opportunity to get a little face time with the powers that be at Gold Bond Powder. [more]

Bob Wire Has a Point (It's Under His Cowboy Hat)

Between the overzealous security measures that must be applied to everyone in order to avoid the appearance of profiling, and the money-saving measures undertaken by poorly-run airlines desperate to show a profit, flying has become an ordeal to be endured, not the stimulating adventure it once was.

I’ll fly out of Missoula maybe once a year, and by the time I strap myself into my business class seat (which was designed for an anorexic midget), I’m surly and disgusted. But not to the point where I’d spring $7.00 for a Coors Light. [more]

Rugged Stuff

Toby Keith’s ’10 under 10’ list includes things like an official Toby Keith iPod Nano cover (“It's made of an ultra soft rubber material to protect your Nano, plus it wears the Official Toby Keith Fan Club logo and Toby Keith signature! Last few remaining at this closeout price!”), but Tracy Byrd’s list includes something I thought was worth calling a bit more attention to. [more]

Stumbling the Walk

Black Friday of course is the name given to the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally one of the biggest retail days of the year. It is the official start of the Christmas shopping season, supposedly, though it seems apparent that, like Christmas decorations, that frenzy is beginning before the Halloween junk is even stuffed back in the garage. Flyers advertising early “Black Friday” sales started two weeks ago. The chains are particularly desperate this year, especially with typical Christmas meccas like Circuit City bankrupt, and Best Buy issuing their own ominous rumblings. Money is tight everywhere, and the only people who will be surprised if more companies fail after the holiday fog clears will likely be the same ones who were surprised when the house of cards that is our American borrow-and-spend economy started to tumble in the first place! [more]

Rugged Stuff

So I downloaded Bob Wire's "Go Butte!" last night, and it brought back memories that haven't surfaced in decades. And as I pulled out the mental drawer labeled 'Butte' and shuffled through it, I found that the city with the Richest Hill on Earth has played a larger part in my life than I had realized. [more]

Contributions for and against California’s Proposition 8 reached $75.2 million, making it possibly the “costliest state ballot measure ever,” according to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune. And all the numbers aren’t in yet. [more]

Rugged Stuff

The Ruggs have been a Leanin’ Tree kind of family for a long, long time. And in addition to sending and receiving a truckload of Leanin’ Tree cards over the years, I have written in the past about the Leanin’ Tree Museum of Western Art. (In fact, watch this space for an updated article on ol’ Edward Trumble’s art collection.)

So when Twila Green, Leanin’ Tree's customer service manager, shot me an e-mail the other day about this season’s holiday cards, I thought I’d pass a little bit of the info on to y’all. [more]

Off in the shadowy halls of government offices, public lands have been stripped of key protections. When a bureaucrat somewhere in the system deems a proposal worthy, there's no worry-it will find a way to sail through the approval process. That's exactly what's taking place in the Helena National Forest in Montana. [more]

Bob Wire Has a Point (It's Under His Cowboy Hat)

Well, I finally got around to taking down the Christmas lights from the house last Saturday. I laid them all out in the driveway, then plugged them in and checked every bulb on each string. Then I carefully coiled them all up, sealed them in a plastic bag, and tossed them into the garbage.

I’ve been burned enough times to know that, when I put the lights back on the house in two weeks, half of the strings won’t light up. I could never see the point in replacing nine flimsy bulbs in a $3.00 string of crappy lights, so I always get mad, yank down the dead string, and replace it with a new $3.00 string. This year I figure I’ll just save myself the anguish and replace it all before I start. Hey, I’m happy to help boost the economy. Of China. [more]