Archive for the ‘Economics’ Category

Flyfishing Colorado, one cool DVD

March 6, 2008

NEW DVD FROM THE COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE A BIG HIT WITH FLY FISHERS

Fly fishers dreaming of the days ahead on Colorado lakes and streams can amplify their visions by immersing themselves in “Fly Fishing Colorado”, a new feature-length DVD from the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW).

More than two years in the making, “Fly Fishing Colorado” takes viewers on a year-round tour of fly fishing adventures spanning the entire state, from the loftiest reaches of alpine lakes to warm-water reservoirs, and all points in between. Anglers will get a first-hand look at the best fly fishing that Colorado has to offer, as seen through the lenses of DOW’s revamped video production unit.

Fly fishers can scroll through the pages of a weathered journal to find finicky trout rising to dry flies, or high-speed wipers ripping line from screaming reels. Experience the thrill of catching all three native trout species against a backdrop of spectacular high-mountain scenery. Share the underwater haunts of northern pike, and take a ride on a jet boat for a lazy drift down a gentle river.

The journal also reveals when and where to find a multitude of the famous, and the not-so-well-known insect hatches that occur on major rivers and backcountry streams. Be in the right place at the right time to find trout rising to green drake, blue-winged olive, red quill and pale morning dun mayflies. 

Explore the stages of the Mother’s Day caddis hatch from start to finish, and discover the importance of widespread and prolific summer caddis hatches. And travel to mountain park reservoirs for famous still-water hatches and trophy-sized trout. Be there for the action when kokanee salmon, brown trout, and native mountain whitefish make spawning runs up golden corridors of rivers cloaked in the dazzling colors of autumn in the Rocky Mountains.

The journal also is packed with fly fishing instruction for anglers of all skill levels. There are techniques for fishing nymphs, dry flies, and streamers. Proven fly patterns are listed for all events.

“Fly Fishing Colorado” is a useful tool for anglers making plans and scheduling trips to coincide with fly fishing events that they simply must not miss. Viewers may play the entire movie (113 minutes) or select only the scenes that they want to see. An innovative menu allows the user to quickly navigate the monthly pages and all the highlights of the journal.

The DVD is also designed to recruit anglers. Anglers spend nearly $1.5 billion dollars a year in Colorado which is considered to be one of the premier fly fishing destinations in the world. Showing anglers what the state has to offer will help add to Colorado’s prestigious fly fishing reputation. Additional anglers in Colorado will mean more dollars for local economies, more license dollars for wildlife management and the continuation of the conservation ethic.  

“Fly Fishing Colorado” is available for $22.00 at DOW service centers and at wildlife.state.co.us/wildlifestore/ , and coming soon to fly shops and sporting goods retailers.

Additional Information: For a copy of the cover art please contact Tyler Baskfield.
For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

It’s a Communist plot by God!

March 5, 2008

Or perhaps, just another conspiracy theory..?

BY Charley Reese

(Date of publication unknown)– — – Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don’t set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don’t control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 235 million – are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Don’t you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O’Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.

O’neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts – of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can’t think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it’s because they want them in Lebanon.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses – provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

This article was first published by the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper

Found here

I didn’t write this peice but it needs to be read and understood by every voter in America. It may not speak of current events but it speaks clearly to us all who is responsible for what goes on in our nation. It is time we acted to fix the problem.

SOURCE:  http://amcon.proboards99.com/index.cgi?board=basic&action=display&thread=347

Interesting..? I can’t wait for the hate emails, and commentary to begin! 🙂

Fidel Castro retires

February 19, 2008

After nearly 50 years in power, Fidel effectively hands the reins to his younger brother, Raúl Castro.
By Sara Miller Llana | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the February 20, 2008 edition

E-mail Print Letter to the Editor Republish del.icio.us digg

Mexico City – For the first time in nearly half a century, Fidel Castro has stepped down as president of Cuba.

The announcement caps a year and a half of limbo and speculation since Mr. Castro fell ill and temporarily ceded power to his younger brother, Raúl Castro.

“I will not aspire to nor accept – I repeat, I will not aspire to nor accept – the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief,” read a letter that appeared early Tuesday morning in the Community Party daily Granma.

It is a pivotal moment in the island nation’s history. Castro rose to power on New Year’s Day in 1959, and quickly became a nemesis of the United States as he turned Cuba into a communist country. Throughout the cold war – and since – US presidents have attempted to topple him with no success. Many Cubans have no memory of anyone other than Castro as the head of state. Even when he handed temporary power to his brother in July 2006, there was an expectation that he would return.

“It’s a very big moment; he has governed the country for half of its independent life,” says Philip Peters, a Cuba expert and vice president of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.

But beyond the symbolic nature of the move, the impact that his resignation will have on the country remains unclear. Many expected a resignation announcement this weekend, when the new National Assembly meets to choose the country’s new leadership. Castro won a parliamentary seat during elections in January, and will likely be elected to the 31-member Council of State.

Unclear how much will change

Still, many experts say that little will change so long as Castro is alive. “It’s not clear what his continuing hovering presence means for the country,” says Dennis Hays, former official of the Cuban-American National Foundation, an organization dedicated to replacing Castro’s regime with a market-based government. “No one wants to make a move while the ‘jefe’ [boss] is still alive…. If the Cuban government moves in any way that repudiates the ways of [Castro], it undermines the whole legitimacy of the power structure.”

The letter signed by Castro on Tuesday was ambiguous about who would succeed him. Mr. Peters says that the orthodox members of Cuba’s Communist Party could push for Raúl Castro to continue leading the country, since Raúl hails from the older generation of those who fought in the revolution. But Fidel has hinted at the capabilities of the younger generation, too. Carlos Lage, the council’s vice president, could also be a contender. In any case, Peters says that a form of collective leadership will likely emerge, no matter who carries the title.

“I think the most notable thing is that [Castro] is leaving on his own terms,” says Peters. “He is retiring. It was neither invasion, nor covert operations, nor the embargo nor the tightening of sanctions, nor President Bush’s policies that have pushed him out. It is an orderly constitutional succession.”

That, he says, will instill confidence in the populace.

Economic reforms ahead?

But Mr. Hays says the atmosphere could change. Raúl Castro has hinted at economic reforms in the past 18 months. He has said that some of the country’s prohibitions are excessive and some state enterprises dysfunctional. It is unclear at what pace, and how deep, economic reforms could take place under new leadership. “But people are expecting something to change,” says Hays. “And they want things to happen quickly. If [the new leadership] doesn’t show progress, it could be a difficult path.”

Mr. Bush spoke Tuesday about Castro’s announcement from Rwanda, during his five-country trip to Africa. “The international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for democracy,” said Bush. “Eventually, this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections – and I mean free, and I mean fair – not these kind of staged elections that the Castro brothers try to foist off as true democracy.”

But no one expects any change in terms of the political system. “They have put economic reform on the agenda,” says Peters. “The whole drama of this year is going to be whether they deliver or disappoint.”

SOURCE: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0220/p01s04-woam.html

Obama’s International Socialist Connections « No Compromise When it Comes to Being Right!

February 18, 2008

Obama’s International Socialist Connections « No Compromise When it Comes to Being Right!

And here is yet another reason not to vote for Obama.

Can we get a libertarian for Obama? « Bricks

February 17, 2008

Can we get a libertarian for Obama? « Bricks
Obama is anti Second Amendment.
Obama thinks he can talk our way out of terrorism.
Has Obama seen a tax that he didn’t like?
Obama attends a racist church.
This Conservative Libertarian refuses to vote for anyone like that.

Hasta la vista

February 15, 2008

In recent days, hard evidence has shown that illegal aliens in Arizona are “self-deporting” in droves, with many thousands more planning to leave soon. Mexican officials in Arizona are being inundated with requests for documents that will let them enroll their children in Mexican schools and return to Mexico without paying taxes on their furniture and other belongings. The mass exodus is in response to a new Arizona law that makes it nearly impossible for illegals to hold a job in the state, which boasts the highest number of illegals in its workforce—a whopping 12 percent. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has gotten in on the fun, of course, establishing a hotline for citizens to report those who hire illegals. Additionally, authority has been given to local law enforcement by Customs and Border Protection for the enforcement of federal immigration law, which should prove valuable. The new law goes into effect on 1 March. Who needs amnesty when simple law enforcement will do?

Source: Patriot Post

Warfront with Jihadistan: Justice served

February 15, 2008

From: The Patriot Post

“You can run, but you can’t hide.” So said President Ronald Reagan to terrorists nearly 20 years ago. This week, one jihadi who had been running was finally found, and let’s just say he won’t be in the terror business anymore. Senior Hizballah planner and operative Imad Mugniyah, wanted for more than 25 years, was killed Tuesday in Damascus by a car bomb, a fitting end for the man who pioneered vehicle bombings as an act of terror. Mugniyah was behind some of the most significant acts of terrorist violence ever perpetrated against Americans, including the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, and the 1985 murder of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem during an airline hijacking. However, he had virtually disappeared since the early 1990s. Syrian, Iranian and Hizballah spokesmen immediately blamed Israel and the United States for the car bomb, a charge Israel promptly denied. The authors of this bombing will likely never be known, but the end result is the same: justice served at long last to a terrorist with the blood of hundreds on his hands.

Turning to the ongoing terrorist threat, two documents recently recovered by U.S. forces in Iraq offer insight into the current state of mind of al-Qa’ida in Iraq: gloom and doom. Citing the sweeping changes that have taken place since the U.S. troop surge began, one captured document’s author laments, “[T]he Islamic State of Iraq is faced with an extraordinary crisis, especially in al-Anbar.” Patriot readers will no doubt remember that just 18 months ago the Marines’ top intelligence officer judged that “there is almost nothing the U.S. military can do to improve the political and social situation [in Anbar].” While these documents represent the views of only two individuals, the enemy’s own words are the clearest possible indication of what effect the surge and the Sunni Awakening have had in Iraq, no matter how many times Harry Reid (D-nial) and Nancy Pelosi (D-featist) tell us it isn’t so.

“The gains [in Iraq] have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure! The troops have succeeded. God bless them. We owe them the greatest debt of gratitude, the sacrifice, their patriotism, and for their courage, and to their families as well. This is a disaster, and we cannot perpetuate it.” —House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who, uh, supports the troops, God bless them!

Finally, justice for 9/11 may be served. On Monday, the Pentagon formally charged six jihadi suspects held at Guantanamo Bay with murder and war crimes related to the September 11th attacks, with Pentagon officials saying they will seek the death penalty should the suspects be convicted. Among the six is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, suspected mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann, legal adviser to the U.S. military-tribunal system, said of the 169 charges to be brought against the suspects, “These charges allege a long-term, highly sophisticated, organized plan by al-Qa’ida to attack the United States of America.” The other five jihadis include Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged 20th hijacker; Ramzi Binalshibh, liaison between the hijackers and al-Qa’ida; Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali (a.k.a. Ammar al-Baluchi), a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and lieutenant for operations; Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, one of al-Baluchi’s assistants; and Waleed bin Attash, who selected and trained some of the 9/11 hijackers. Needless to say, they are as fine a group as any to kick off the first capital trial under the military’s tribunal system.

Of course, the usual cadre of leftists, pacifists and dimwits (but we repeat ourselves) started howling that the indicted jihadis had been tortured and denied due process. We are not entirely clear on how making the Pentagon jump though years of legal hoops and modify its tribunal rules is not due process. As for torture, waterboarding may or may not be torture, but that has no bearing on the jihadis’ involvement in 9/11. We may soon see the Jihadi 6 sent to meet their 72 virgins.

Last week, we reported that the city of Berkeley, California, had resolved that the United States Marine Corps was not welcome to continue recruiting there. If they continued, it would be as “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.” It seems that news raised the ire of many a patriotic American, forcing the city council to reconsider—now they will not send their hateful letter to the USMC. Not only that, but they issued a statement saying they “deeply respect and support” the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. Something makes us doubt their sincerity. Maybe it’s the fact that the angry anti-war group Code Pink still has a special parking space reserved outside the recruiting office.

In Congress, Rep. John Campbell (R-CA) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) responded by introducing the Semper Fi Act, which would strip Berkeley of all federal earmarks for fiscal year 2008, instead giving the money to the United States Marines for recruiting.

Apparently, the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, hadn’t seen this news as he ordered 200 members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines to turn around and leave rather than engage in urban-patrol exercises in the downtown area. Despite the fact that Toledo police knew about the exercise days in advance and the Marines have held exercises there before, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner (yes, that’s his real name) “asked them to leave because they frighten people,” according to a spokesman. “I wish they would have told us this four hours ago,” Staff Sgt. Andre Davis said. Indeed, the aborted exercise—busing the Marines from Grand Rapids, Michigan—cost roughly $10,000.

Ohrah!

Shock Doctrine: Part I « Publius2012’s Weblog

February 15, 2008

Shock Doctrine: Part I « Publius2012’s Weblog

This seems to be an exercise in historical rhetoric. Often using two unrelated things to hitch a point together somewhere else. Example: Noting that the actions of the C.I.A. went against the U.C.M.J. (Publius called it the “army’s” when in fact it governs all the services.) The C.I.A. is not a part of the military, sorry about that.

Then he calls out the Chicago School of Economics for abuses that were carried out in Brazil..? If he actualy knew anything about what is taught in Social Economics he would know better than to spout such nonsense.

He speaks about American mining operations in South America as if the businesses did nothing for the local population. Schools must not matter, nor fresh running water and sewer systems. Just to name a few.

Utopia will never happen, period. Free Markets do however offer the best hope for mankind to get near that state.

Ron Paul got only five percent

February 14, 2008

“Republican Party candidate Ron Paul got only five percent of the votes [Super] Tuesday for his message of less government, lower taxes and following the Constitution. The American people have spoken. Five percent of the voters are for freedom, and 95 percent are for free stuff.” —Argus Hamilton
from Patriot Post
~snip~

I have commented on Ron Paul enough elsewhere on this blog. However, isn’t the above quotation a bit frightening?

PHOTOS OF HOFER RAINBOWS

February 14, 2008

Here are links to file photos of Hofer Rainbow trout. Simple copy and paste. Also below is photo caption information. Please, credit photos to Colorado Division of Wildlife.

http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3800.JPG
This is a cross between a Hofer rainbow trout and a strain of rainbow that the DOW has used for many years. The Hofer cross rainbows grow more quickly than the traditional rainbows. This fish, hatchery raised for brood stock, is about 18 months old.

http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3801.jpg
George Schisler is an aquatic researcher for the Colorado Division of Wildlife and has been doing whirling disease research since the mid 1990s. He’s holding a Hofer cross rainbow trout that is about 18 months old. This fish was raised in a hatchery. But in the wild Hofer cross rainbows grow more quickly than traditional rainbow strains.

http://dnr.state.co.us/imagedb/images/3802.jpg
These are hatchery raised rainbow trout that are 8 months old. On the right are Hofer rainbows that are about 8 inches long; the other fish are traditional rainbow strains. The Hofer rainbows grow faster in the hatchery and in the wild than traditional rainbow strains.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

CONT.
DOW SEES NEW STRAIN OF WHIRLING-DISEASE RESISTANT RAINBOW TROUT HATCH IN WILD

For the first time since whirling disease decimated most naturally reproducing rainbow trout populations throughout Colorado more than a decade ago, new strains of rainbows have reproduced naturally in the Gunnison River and in ponds located along the Frying Pan River near Basalt.

Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists are hopeful that the successful natural reproduction will lead to re-establishing wild, self-sustaining rainbow trout populations in Colorado where whirling disease has precluded wild rainbow trout recovery efforts. The fish, a cross of the Hofer rainbow trout and other rainbow strains that are used for stocking, appear to be resistant to whirling disease.

The fish were “young of the year”, and hatched in May 2007. They were captured in October when DOW aquatic researchers conducted electro-fishing operations in the two areas.

“They were plump, colorful fish, they looked good,” said Barry Nehring, an aquatic researcher for the DOW in Montrose who has been working on whirling disease since 1994. “This is indicative that we’ve had successful reproduction.”

Several of the fish were then sent for genetic testing to a laboratory in Boulder that verified the fish were offspring of Hofer-cross rainbows stocked in the river and the ponds in 2004 and 2005.

Hofer cross fingerlings were also stocked in the upper Colorado River near Kremmling in 2006 but researchers did not find any young fish there in 2007. Biologists said that fish grow more slowly in the Colorado River because the water is very cold. Consequently, researchers speculate that Hofer crosses stocked there might not yet have reached sexual maturity. They’ll look for young fish again this fall.

The Gunnison River is lower in elevation, water temperatures are warmer and it is renowned for producing large trout. Brown trout – which are resistant to whirling disease – thrive in the river. The ponds on the Frying Pan River also provide relatively warm water.

George Schisler, another DOW aquatic research scientist, is hopeful that the next positive milestone will come in late 2008. “The fish need to make it to age one and beyond, so we’ll see this fall,” Schisler said.

But judging from research conducted on the Hofer strain, scientists are confident that the fish will survive and continue to reproduce.

Whirling disease is caused by a microscopic parasite that passes through the fish’s skin. The organism attacks the cartilage of young fish and distorts the spine. The affected fish move in a whirling motion, basically swimming in circles when excited or when trying to escape predation. This type of behavior greatly reduces their ability to survive in the wild.

The disease was found in Colorado in the mid-1990s and it devastated most wild rainbow trout populations throughout the state.

During a whirling disease seminar in 2002 in Denver, a German scientist delivered a research report about a rainbow strain that was resistant to whirling disease. The Hofer rainbow trout was raised in a German hatchery. The DOW moved quickly to determine if the fish could survive in Colorado. Early in 2003, DOW researchers worked with the University of California at Davis to import the eggs and start a brood stock at the Fish Research Hatchery near Fort Collins. The fish were exposed to the disease and then dissected to see how many parasite spores had developed.

Schisler said researchers were stunned by what they saw. Spore counts in Colorado River Rainbows – which have been used for stocking by the DOW for years – exposed to the disease could reach 4,000,000 per fish. The highest count in the Hofers reached only about 3,000 and did not affect the fish.

DOW aquatics staff then started crossing the Hofers with existing rainbow stock and conducting more tests. Not only were the new strains of fish resistant to the disease, they also grew faster than traditional stocker strains. Hofers grew to catchable size – about 10 inches – in about 14 months, four months faster than the other rainbow trout strains.

In 2004 fingerlings of the new cross strains were first released into the Gunnison River. They were first released into the Frying Pan River ponds in 2005 and into the Colorado River in 2006.

Some catchable-size crosses were also stocked in two reservoirs near Berthoud in the spring of 2006. The fish continued to grow in the reservoirs and anglers were successful in catching them.

Mark Jones, aquatic research leader for the DOW, said Colorado leads the nation in the whirling disease war.

“No other state has conducted more research into identifying real solutions to the whirling disease problem,” Jones said. “We could tell this was a good thing from the start.”

Based on the extensive research, the DOW hatcheries are expanding production of the various crosses. In 2008 more than 1 million sub-catchable and catchable fish of the Hofer crosses are planned to be stocked in lakes and rivers throughout Colorado.

Research to examine the resistance of the Hofer crosses to whirling disease and their ability to survive in the wild is ongoing.

# # #

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.