tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post4055095548594425685..comments2024-03-28T05:47:44.752-05:00Comments on RIFLES AT DAWN: Quintessentially MadisonTim Morrisseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00457723301178870851noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-71247891163079483782011-07-15T12:20:55.484-05:002011-07-15T12:20:55.484-05:00I agree with the other anonymous commentator about...I agree with the other anonymous commentator about Dad's contibutions to this blog. I don't mind thoughtful conservative voices like Steve's, but Dad's posts drag your blog into a more predictable, less interesting arena. On the other hand, it's not that big a deal to me. Maybe having a blog means putting up with not-always-relevant comments from the peanut gallery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-47936172120021081172011-07-14T11:53:58.896-05:002011-07-14T11:53:58.896-05:00Colonel,
That photo reminded me of one taken by t...Colonel,<br /><br />That photo reminded me of one taken by the U.S. Biological Survey of dead prairie dogs arranged to spell out "U. S. Biological Survey". It was mentioned in a book by Randal O'Toole in an essay concerning the conflicting environmental aims of different federal agencies. I wrote about it here: <a href="http://www.thetowncrank.com/Home/tabid/153/EntryId/269/Default.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.thetowncrank.com/Home/tabid/153/EntryId/269/Default.aspx</a><br /><br />From O'Toole's book:<br /><br />"When the Endangered Species Act was passed, one of the first species listed as endangered was the black-footed ferret, which the Fish and Wildlife Service caled 'the rarest mammal in North America.' It was endangered because it depended entirely on prairie dogs for both food and -- because it lived in abandoned prairie dog dens -- shelter. The Fish and Wildlife Service was fully aware of the ferret's dependence on prairie dogs, yet for more than a decade after passage of the Endangered Species Act, the agency continued to poison thousands of prairie dogs each year. As a result, the ferret nearly went extinct."<br /><br />The whole government could be placed under the direction of a new Department: The Department of Unintended Consequences.<br /><br />The Town Crank<br />NeenahSteve Erbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05065643506800242801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-40626686226906303292011-07-14T09:11:27.488-05:002011-07-14T09:11:27.488-05:00Jill ... I guess the stuff is kind of green. The v...Jill ... I guess the stuff is kind of green. The version of the W.C. Fields tale I heard has him wielding a golf club as he chased the neighbor's swans.<br /><br />Another version has him shooting them. Imagine ol' Dukenfeld, fueled by a quart of gin, plinking birds with a firearm. Scary. The whole thing may be apocryphal, but it is a good story.<br /><br />NYC recently undertook a similar de-goosing project with the stated intention of making the skies safer for airliners. History suggests there's something to that concern. <br /><br />But mostly the birds, grossly overfed by goose-huggers armed with stale bread (leftovers went to harbor botulism or feed the rats), had become a nuisance and a health hazard. You couldn't walk through any park without buttering your soles with their extrusions. You certainly would not want to give free rein to a toddler in those areas.<br /><br />The removals raised a lot of honking from the goose lobby, but the improvement in the parks experieice is considerable.Hieronymous Knickerbockerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17595084830114588686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-61392082610823520812011-07-13T19:23:24.197-05:002011-07-13T19:23:24.197-05:00W.C. Fields obviously wasn't talking about gee...W.C. Fields obviously wasn't talking about geese. They DO shit green, which makes their fowl droppings (pun intended) tricky for park-goers to avoid.Ordinary Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05967266466238236424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-573188106264061392.post-16875882701074811872011-07-13T09:51:47.174-05:002011-07-13T09:51:47.174-05:00For a moment, I thought your pic was memorializing...For a moment, I thought your pic was memorializing Lefties.<br /><br />Lotsa similarities: herd, shit-all-over-anything, noisy and intrusive, .......Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.com