Filed under: Daily life in the Wild West | Tags: Arctic, Bald Eagle, birds, Chicken McNugget, dogs, Eagles, Foothills, Golden Eagle, Migrate, moles, Montana, Mountains, Neighbors, Puppy, snow, Weather, Whitetail deer, Wild Turkey
After a recent Arctic blast which brought temperatures of -23 F. to Montana, we’re now having amazingly mild weather for January. We’ve got temps in the 40′s by day and 20′s by night. On the downside, we’re not seeing many eagles near our house in the foothills. We’re assuming that, since there’s so little snow in the mountains, they have no need to migrate to lower ground to find food. We do see the occasional bald eagle fly up and down the river, and every so often, a golden eagle appears (then it’s time to bring in our little dogs…they would be a Chicken McNugget to a big eagle).
I have 22 whitetail deer who come by every afternoon for a snack, along with 7 wild turkeys and an assortment of birds….they’re my favorite neighbors. The dogs are having a blast, digging holes in search of moles. The ‘girls’ are going on 10 years old, and they still have the energy of a puppy.
Our firewood is almost gone, and more is on the way. Gotta’ be ready for the next big blast, right? All in all, we love a Montana winter!
Filed under: What the heck is going on? | Tags: accountability, Government, HB1804, illegal, immigration, Oklahoma, pet over-population, tough love, undocumented worker
Oklahoma has passed a law (HB 1804) which I hope that many other states, including mine, will adopt. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-09-immigcover_N.htm
IT is a tough love kind of approach, and I like it. It brings accountability into the illegal alien situation…something that’s been missing for oh so long. Frankly, accountability is missing in so many areas these days.
I am not against legal immigration, however, I AM in the camp that is tired of the illegal alien situation. I don’t feel pressured to be politically-correct by sugar-coating the term into something like “undocumented worker.” Call it what it is: ILLEGAL. If I do something that is illegal, breaking a law, will I be pitied and coddled by the government, with no accountability?? I’m sure I will not.
And, yes, I do realize that many of these illegals may be coming to the U.S. because of poor conditions in their countries. While I am sympathetic, I do not believe that providing endless resources for them should be the taxpayers’ burden. I also don’t believe that poor conditions should be an excuse for their breaking our laws….it is NOT okay to sneak across our borders…it is illegal.
Consider this: I am an animal lover and am very sympathetic to the plight of pet over-population and homelessness….however, I have enough sense to know that I simply cannot afford to adopt EVERY homeless animal. Yes, it breaks my heart, but I must consider that I cannot deplete all of my finances and send my household (and my family & pets) into ruin, in order to adopt every homeless animal who shows up on my doorstep. It is a tragic situation, but it can only be fixed using logic and proper planning (a whole other topic altogether), not by applying a band-aid. Just as I cannot afford to adopt every homeless pet, the U.S. cannot afford to do something very similar.
Amnesty? NO. It didn’t work before, so why should we think it would work if done again. Don’t repeat the same mistake and expect a different outcome. Let’s fix the problem.
