Yogi Bear may have been smarter than the average, but Ranger Smith had it right. Don't feed the bears. As a Montana game warden put it: human feeding "can lead to problems later and ultimately mean the animal has to be put down." A similar event had a Utah ranger upset, saying: "when you have a bear that becomes unafraid of humans, that's not a good thing."
comment posted at 11:19 AM on Sep-17-08
comment posted at 4:08 PM on Sep-17-08

This has not been a good week for woman of color blogging. About two weeks ago, Black Femi Power, a well-read woman of color blogger, resigned her blog in protest to an incident wherein Amanda Marcotte, a notable white feminist blogger, was accused of appropriating BFP's ideas. On the heels of the controversy that had reverberations in the feminist blogosphere which are far from forgotten, Marcotte is releasing and promoting a new book, with a new cover to replace the old one after outcries that it was racist.
comment posted at 12:28 PM on Apr-23-08

As the Supreme Court ponders the Second Amendment, The New England Journal of Medicine weighs in once, twice, three times.
comment posted at 11:30 AM on Apr-4-08

Members of the Montana legislature (out of session) appear to be attempting to force the Supreme Court's hand in a fairly landmark gun-control case, Heller v. DC. Through an extra-session resolution, they are invoking contract law, by stating that the contract between the Montana people, through our Constitution, and the Federal Government will be ... ? ... if the Heller case is decided 'incorrectly'. What is at issue is one of the SCOTUS' seminal opportunities to rule concerning collective rights versus individual rights for firearm possession.
comment posted at 5:42 PM on Feb-21-08
comment posted at 5:47 PM on Feb-21-08

Robin Prosser was a former concert pianist and systems analyst who suffered from an autoimmune disease similar to lupus for over 20 years. The disease left her in constant pain and made her allergic to most pharmaceutical painkillers. Only medical marijuana brought her relief, but last spring the DEA seized her medicine. Unable to cope with the chronic pain any longer, she committed suicide on October 18th. [Via Andrew Sullivan.]
comment posted at 12:56 PM on Oct-29-07

Behind Enemy Lines With a Suburban Counterterrorist "In fact, it's distinctly possible that Rossmiller, alone at her computer, has a better track record than the Justice Department. "
comment posted at 7:20 AM on Oct-24-07

Bill O'Reilly got word that Jet Blue was sponsoring the YearlyKos convention. He sent a camera crew to confront the CEO of JetBlue, asking why they were supporting radicals. He has spent the week comparing DailyKos to the KKK and Nazi websites. He spent the majority of his radio and TV shows discussing this "hate" site. He said the right-wing equivalent of Kos was Fred Phelps. Jetblue caved and apologized. Has someone ever misunderstood a website this bad?
comment posted at 12:15 PM on Jul-20-07

Blog like it's the end of the world! via The Zombie Apocalypse
comment posted at 6:20 PM on Jun-13-07

Awesome: Gore "emphasizing the nonpartisan nature of the climate change threat," and his movie, An Inconvenient Truth netting a Best Documentary Oscar. Not so awesome.
comment posted at 5:08 PM on Feb-26-07
comment posted at 5:17 PM on Feb-26-07
comment posted at 5:21 PM on Feb-26-07

An editor at Outdoor Life for nearly 30 years and member of the NRA for 40, Jim Zumbo is a lifelong advocate of outdoorsmanship, hunting and gun ownership in print and on television. Last week, Zumbo left a comment on his Outdoor Life blog commenting on the rising popularity of assault rifles for hunting calling them "terrorist weapons" and suggesting they should be banned from hunting use. Three days later, Zumbo's lifelong career is all but over, having lost all his product sponsorships, was publicly disavowed by the NRA, and his show was canceled. With the 2008 election season starting and a Congress now controlled by the party supporting greater restrictions on assault weapons, Zumbo may be the first sign of a zero-tolerance conservative constituency.
comment posted at 8:20 AM on Feb-26-07
comment posted at 9:44 AM on Feb-26-07
comment posted at 12:42 PM on Feb-26-07
comment posted at 2:04 PM on Feb-26-07

The Montana Senate just abolished the death penalty! No link yet, since it passed just minutes ago. But, Hooray!
comment posted at 3:28 PM on Feb-23-07
comment posted at 3:38 PM on Feb-23-07
comment posted at 3:40 PM on Feb-23-07
comment posted at 3:49 PM on Feb-23-07

Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in their Homes. Photo essay by Kyle Cassidy.
comment posted at 10:45 AM on Feb-8-07
comment posted at 11:49 AM on Feb-8-07
comment posted at 12:46 PM on Feb-8-07
comment posted at 9:55 AM on Feb-9-07

Pompous Ass Words is a site dedicated to identifying words that shouldn't be used, on the grounds that doing so makes you sound like a pompous ass. With humorous citations and links to examples of pompous word usage by the media.
comment posted at 3:36 PM on Jan-28-07

Eliminationism in America. A ten-part series by David Neiwert. [More inside.]
comment posted at 12:10 PM on Jan-24-07
comment posted at 1:46 PM on Jan-24-07

Hey guys, Embryo here. I was just checking out dordo3's video response to tracheattack02's video response to sweathervest's video response to vaultingat's video response to shurpanet's video response to Kitty113's video response to tracheattack's video response to vaultingat's video response to dordo3's video response to Ben takes a photo of himself everyday -- and it was awesome. It was just awesome. I've given it a 5-star rating. And I've watched other video responses to video responses to video responses to video responses to video responses to video responses to video responses to video responses to video responses to Ben takes a photo of himself everyday, and they just weren't worth a hobo nickel, nevermind an FPP. They were just stupid. This one was awesome. So, uh, check it out. (First link is the last link, as previously featured)
comment posted at 12:07 PM on Dec-29-06

Newsfilter: RUMMY QUITS!! Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld resigns.
comment posted at 10:32 AM on Nov-8-06

On November 7th, Americans have much to decide. While the two major parties joust for control of the Senate and House, many a ballot initiative does not recieve the scutiny required. Consider Oregon's Rainy Day Amendment, Arizona's HOPE Amendment, California's Protect Our Homes Initiative or Idaho's Proposition 2. Examine the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in Maine and Proposal 6 in Michigan - weigh them against three bills in Montana. [more inside]
comment posted at 8:32 AM on Nov-6-06

Anti-Hippie Action League
comment posted at 2:09 PM on Feb-28-06

Gore in '08? Several weeks ago, former Vice President Al Gore told the Associated Press that he “had no plans to seek the Presidency in 2008.” His words were eerily reminiscent of a quote from another former Vice President, Richard Nixon, who told the same Associated Press in November of 1965 that he “had no plans to seek the Presidency in 1968.”
comment posted at 2:28 PM on Feb-22-06
comment posted at 4:14 PM on Feb-22-06

Tomorrow Stan "Tookie" Williams founder of the Crips gang is scheduled to die. Many feel that Tookie has turned has life around, he's written books about his life, and has had his story made into a movie and even been nominated for the Nobel Prize Some say he deserves clemency others do not this morning Tookie was denied an appeal to the California Supreme Court and is waiting on a federal appeal. Which begs the question Should Tookie Die?
comment posted at 11:36 AM on Dec-12-05

Vandals in suits and bow-ties burned down an Oakland liquor store last night, apparently the same vandals who smashed cases and displays last Wednesday. The police and store owners have suggested they have ties to a local community of Black Muslims. Both stores attacked belonged to the Yemini American Grocery Association and were targeted because they were selling alcohol. Said one store owner: "They asked us if we were Muslim. When we said 'yes,' one of them said that good Muslims shouldn't be poisoning the community with alcohol, or something like that."
comment posted at 4:41 PM on Nov-28-05
comment posted at 5:01 PM on Nov-28-05
comment posted at 5:14 PM on Nov-28-05
comment posted at 5:16 PM on Nov-28-05
comment posted at 5:18 PM on Nov-28-05

What products were made with vermiculite from the mine in Libby? Much of the Libby vermiculite was used to produce attic insulation products, often sold under the brand name Zonolite. Vermiculite was commonly sold in gardening and hardware stores. It was used as a soil amendment (conditioner to improve soil quality), fertilizer carrier, and it was an ingredient in many potting soil mixes. Vermiculite was also used in fireproofing materials, gypsum wallboard, and as a lightweight aggregate in construction materials. It's asbestos. Nightline is on it. And it's in millions of homes. Bush falters, concern grows, story explodes.
comment posted at 8:36 AM on Nov-17-05
comment posted at 8:42 AM on Nov-17-05
comment posted at 9:21 AM on Nov-17-05
comment posted at 10:20 AM on Nov-17-05
comment posted at 12:09 PM on Nov-18-05

The hunting of American Bison got a renewal today. The first hunt of the buffalo, in 15 years, began with a Belgrade, MT, boy killing a bull with 4 shots, shortly after the hunt began. The 15 year hiatus on hunting Bison in Montana was contentious, if not downright nasty, but that's over now. Montana has allowed Bison hunting outside Yellowstone park, and it's been a media show. Of course, this really pisses some folks off, to which hunters claim, "It's like the hunter's become the hunted". The mountain west of the US has become a battle ground of flowing ideas, with man against nature, and man against man. The Endangered Species Act, the very thing that has lead us to this event, is under siege. People begin to notice when critters die. Welcome to Bison Hunt, 101.
comment posted at 4:36 PM on Nov-16-05
comment posted at 5:03 PM on Nov-16-05

The US Fed wants the Yellowstone Grizzly Bears taken off the list of threatened species. (No, not those Grizzlies, heh.) Through very serious recovery efforts the Grizzly bear population in the area around Yellowstone National Park is being considered "recovered", such that they can be removed from the protection of the endangered species act. Some fear that this move doesn't address the issue of where the bears actually live, though it needs to be pointed out that hunting and killing bears in the Park is prohibited. Some are celebrating this as a great move by the DoI. Some of America's friends overseas don't appear to be any too happy about this. The proposal only covers those bears in and around Yellowstone, but the Grizzly recovery in other areas remains slowed by illegal killing, and stupidity. Can we call this a success for the Endangered Species Act? Or is the ESA itself endangered? Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without the headcase who blames environmentalists for keeping him from baiting the bears.
comment posted at 3:47 PM on Nov-15-05
comment posted at 4:01 PM on Nov-15-05
comment posted at 2:40 PM on Nov-16-05