Stupid Is As Stupid Does: The Dangers that Stupid Humans Pose to Wildlife

The following story appeared on the AP (Associated Press) wire regarding ill-advised human interaction with wildlife in our National Parks.
My comment follows the article.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Tourist John Gleason crept through the grass, four small children close behind, inching toward a bull elk with antlers like small trees at the edge of a meadow in Yellowstone National Park.

"They're going to give me a heart attack," said Gleason's mother-in-law, Barbara Henry, as the group came within about a dozen yards of the massive animal.

The elk's ears then pricked up, and it eyed the children and Washington state man before leaping up a hillside. Other tourists — likewise ignoring rules to keep 25 yards from wildlife — picked up the pursuit, snapping pictures as they pressed forward and forced the animal into headlong retreat.

Record visitor numbers at the nation's first national park have transformed its annual summer rush into a sometimes dangerous frenzy, with selfie-taking tourists routinely breaking park rules and getting too close to Yellowstone's storied elk herds, grizzly bears, wolves and bison.

Law enforcement records obtained by The Associated Press suggest such problems are on the rise at the park, offering a stark illustration of the pressures facing some of America's most treasured lands as the National Park Service marks its 100th anniversary.

From Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Canyon of Arizona, major parks are grappling with illegal camping, vandalism, theft of resources, wildlife harassment and other visitor misbehavior, according to the records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In July alone, law enforcement rangers handled more than 11,000 incidents at the 10 most visited national parks.

In Yellowstone, rangers are recording more wildlife violations, more people treading on sensitive thermal areas and more camping in off-limit areas. The rule-breaking puts visitors in harm's way and can damage resources and displace wildlife, officials said.

Often the incidents go unaddressed, such as when Gleason and the children approached the bull elk with no park personnel around. Gleason said he was "maybe" too close but felt comfortable in the situation as an experienced hunter who's spent lots of time outdoors.

These transgressions add to rangers' growing workload that includes traffic violations, searches for missing hikers and pets running off-leash in parks.

"It's more like going to a carnival. If you look at the cumulative impacts, the trends are not good," said Susan Clark, a Yale University professor of wildlife ecology who has been conducting research in the Yellowstone area for 48 years. "The basic question is, 'What is the appropriate relationship with humans and nature?' We as a society have not been clear about what that ought to be, and so it's really, really messy and nasty."

Recent events at Yellowstone grabbed national headlines:

— A Canadian tourist who put a bison calf in his SUV hoping to save it, ending with wildlife workers euthanizing the animal when they could not reunite it with its herd.

— Three visitors from Asia cited on separate occasions for illegally collecting water from the park's thermal features.

— A Washington state man killed after leaving a designated boardwalk and falling into a near-boiling hot spring.

The flouting of park rules stems from disbelief among visitors that they will get hurt, said Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk. "I can't tell you how many times I have to talk to people and say, 'Step back. There's a dangerous animal,' and they look at me like I have three heads," he said.

Inconsistent record keeping, including a recent switch to a new criminal offenses reporting system, makes it difficult to identify trends that apply uniformly across the major parks.

But the records reviewed by the AP reveal the scope of visitor misbehavior is huge. In Yellowstone, administrators and outside observers including Clark say the park's problems have become more acute. That threatens its mission to manage its lands and wildlife "unimpaired" for future generations.

Beyond incidents that lead to citations are many more that result in warnings. More than 52,000 warnings were issued in 2015, up almost 20 percent from the year before.

Washington state resident Lisa Morrow's son was among the children Gleason led toward the elk. Despite safety advisories — and numerous examples of visitors getting gored by bison, mauled by bears and chased by elk — Morrow declared herself unafraid of the park's wildlife. She said she was eager to see a grizzly up close.

"I want to see one right there," Morrow said, pointing to a spot just feet away. "I'd throw it a cookie."

The top 10 parks by visitation collectively hosted almost 44 million people last year, according to National Park Service figures. That's a 26 percent increase from a decade earlier, or more than 9.1 million new visitors combined at Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the other national parks on the list.

Yellowstone boasts the most large, dangerous carnivores among those parks, but each has its risks. In Rocky Mountain National Park, it's elk that become more aggressive during mating season. In Yosemite, it's towering waterfalls where visitors insist on swimming near the edge. In the Grand Canyon it's squirrels habituated to humans and sometimes quick to bite an outstretched hand.

Wenk said the rise in popularity of social media complicates keeping visitors safe.

"You take a picture of yourself standing 10 feet in front of a bison, and all of a sudden a few hundred people see it, and it's reposted — at the same time we're telling everybody wildlife is dangerous," Wenk said. "They get incongruous messages and then it happens. They get too close, and the bison charges."

(Response)
These idiots--and that is a nice name--endanger not just themselves, but the animals as well. In defending themselves, their offspring or their territory, repeated aggression against humans will result in the animal being killed for fear of more attacks that result from human stupidity.
I'm sure most of these rules violators would think the killing justified, while at the same time ignoring the safety rules to get that perfect selfie that could end up in another animal death.
You just can't fix stupid, and the push for social media stardom only enhances the stupid and cancels out even the smallest inclination of safety. Oh what a moronic generation technology has created.

Early History of the US Navy

From The Wall Builders comes a bit of real US History. please read...

United States Navy

The U. S. Navy dates its origins back to 1775. It began with an August 26, 1775 instruction from Rhode Island to their representatives in the Continental Congress to call for the establishment of a navy, explaining that "every principle, Divine and human, require us to obey that great and fundamental Law of Nature -- self preservation -- until peace shall be restored upon constitutional principles."
The Continental Congress, not in session at that time, took up the issue when it returned and on October 13, 1775, the Continental Navy was created. By the end of the War for Independence, the Navy peaked at 31 ships and was disbanded when the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783.

This action, however, left American commercial ships in the Mediterranean unprotected. So in 1784, five Muslim nations began attacking American ships and killing and enslaving sailors. With no Navy to deter these terrorists, the United States government's only recourse was to make huge extortion payments to the terrorists in exchange for their promise to limit future attacks. President George Washington, infuriated by this policy, requested that Congress rebuild the Navy. Congress agreed and President John Adams executed that plan. President Thomas Jefferson then used the Navy to launch America's first war on Muslim terrorists, defeating them and ending their attacks against American citizens and interests.

Following this, the Navy slowly shrank in size until it numbered only 40 ships by the beginning of the Civil War (the Confederates had none). The War resulted in a naval build up on both sides, with several major naval battles. (Pictured on the right, is the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first encounter between ironclad armored ships.)

After the War, the Navy once again shrank, but during WWII, it was rebuilt. By the end of 1945, the U. S. Navy consisted of over 1,300 major combat ships (such as battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and submarines), 90,000 mine laying ships and landing craft, with over 3.3 million naval personnel.
Military cutbacks over the last six years have once again dramatically reduced the size of the Navy, which currently numbers only 275 ships and 330,000 active duty naval personnel, with 100,000 reserves.

The pattern is clear: when we dramatically cut the military, we invite outside attacks.
So today, while remembering the origins of the U. S. Navy, let's pray for all those that serve in that branch -- and indeed, for those who serve in all branches of our Armed Forces to keep Americans safe around the world!

The Hypocricy of Those Behind Supposed Equality

In the news today, according to the Houston Chronicle, a group called "White Lives Matter" has been labeled as a Hate Group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for promoting the fact that, along with Black Lives Matter, those of caucasian decent matter just as much. However, the group promotes peaceful interaction which is opposite of the Black Lives Matter movement who have endorsed violence to get their message across. This violence includes rioting, harassing people of other races, denying passage down a public sidewalk to elderly folks walking home, and the premediated murders of our police officers, amongst other things.  As their (BLM)activities have been well documented in the news, I will not go into any of that. If you read my blog regularly, you will know that I am not racist, and look only for truth amidst the chaotic sea of rhetoric on both sides of the aisle on any subject.
In my response, I posed a question to see just where true racism will rear its ugly head.
It will be interesting to see where it goes...

"So, along this line of thinking...
Our brothers and sisters of African decent have created a Black History Month, and other events that show the unique culture their anceastors came from. If I created a White History Month, to celebrate the history of causasion ancestory, I would NOT be given fair time and representation in the eyes of Americans of other races, but would instead be labeled a racist, bigot and other defamatory names; just because I am proud of my heritage, just like everyone else?
Isn't that called Hypocricy? What one celebrates, the others should, as well. You can't scream racism, then turn around and not give others a forum.
Here's a great thought...
How about we ALL celebrate being Americans? No colors, no agendas, not hatred for wrongs committed generations ago...just pride in being American. That we were ALL blessed to be born in the greatest country in the world, and that TOGETHER we can we can grow, as a nation, to be greater in every way. How about celebrating THAT?"

Pennsylvania Legislature Sued Over Prayers

From a story in today's Salt Lake Tribune, a group of atheists is suing the Pennsylvania State Legislature over prayers that are offered at the beginning of each days' business. Of course, they are horrified by the practice--which, by the way, has been in place [in Pennsylvania] since before the United States even existed, and are seeking to instill their will on the whole population of the State.

The following is my response to this ridiculous lawsuit:

"The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

These atheist groups fail to grasp that concept. And accordingly, they fail to grasp that, just because a prayer is offered, they by no means must participate, as the lawsuit claims. They do not have to bow their heads and follow along. They are all perfectly capable of leaving their heads up, keeping their eyes open, leaving their arms at their sides, and thinking about other things while any prayer or invocation is given before the Legislature. After all, acting respectfully is not a difficult task.

How difficult is it to respect the beliefs of others? Or, are they so caught up in their zeal to eliminate religion from the public square that the rights of others mean nothing to them?

The Constitution forbids the establishment of one single religion that is endorsed by the State. How is a belief in God the endorsement of a single religion? If the Federal Government took say, the Baptist religion and said, “This is the preferred religion,” then they (the atheists) would have a case. However, the offering of the invocation from various religions is NOT an endorsement of one religion.

These atheist groups need to stop trampling on the rights of the vast majority that believe in religion and put more effort into getting along with everyone. After all, the Freedom of Speech is not just about your opinion, but about also the opinions of everyone who disagrees with your position. If you can’t accept that everyone else has an equal voice, then I suggest you move to another country."

Our National Motto

60 Years as America's National Motto

On July 30, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation establishing "In God We Trust" as America's national motto. As religious rights of conscience continue to be attacked, this is a good time to remember our national motto and renew our efforts to defend our religious rights.
The idea of America as a Christian nation has often been scoffed at by modern academia, religious leaders, and others. However, past Americans have acknowledged that America is a Christian nation and that the rights of religious conscience should be protected.
The United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling declaring America to be a Christian nation, and hundreds of other American courts have acknowledged the same. In fact, Justice David Brewer, a member of that Court said:

"[I]n what sense can [America] be called a Christian nation? Not in the sense that Christianity is the established religion or that the people are in any manner compelled to support it. . . . Neither is it Christian in the sense that all its citizens are either in fact or name Christians. On the contrary, all religions have free scope within our borders. Numbers of our people profess other religions, and many reject all. Nor is it Christian in the sense that a profession of Christianity is a condition of holding office or otherwise engaging in public service, or essential to recognition either politically or socially. . . . Nevertheless, we constantly speak of this republic as a Christian nation – in fact, as the leading Christian nation of the world."

Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, when looking into what should be printed on the currency of the nation, acknowledged:

"No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition."

There are many reasons that America has long been seen as such an exceptional nation -- but those reasons are tied to the religious beliefs and the moral principles of the people that established America. On the anniversary of the national motto, it's appropriate to recognize these religious beliefs and moral principles.
As George Washington told the nation when he left the presidency:

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of man and citizens."