Life in the West Amid Covid and Controversy -- Oct. 5, 2020

News In The West

Fall on Blue Mountain:  Photo Courtesy Blanding City

~~November Election: Think Before You Vote  

by Janet Wilcox       

With just a few months until the elections, it behooves all of us to dig a little deeper for facts, as we determine for whom to vote in all levels of government. It’s a time to evaluate our core values, philosophies and freedoms, then then seek candidates we can trust to promote and protect those eternal truths. The future of the United States could turn sour for all if “extreme” socialists are elected who do not believe in these values.  Please research and query every candidate before you vote.  Rather than criticizing how candidates deliver their messages or believing other superficial data, we should evaluate their political philosophy and past actions.  

      Those who live in less populated states should be also be concerned about protecting the Electoral College which ensures that each state is equally represented in Congress; otherwise we are controlled by the East and West Coast extremes.  All of us should also vote for those who will curtail excess Federal spending, instead of looking at more ways to spiral the debt ever more into the abyss. (This includes not voting for those who support using our hard earned Social Security Insurance to pay for foolish whims.) The National debt is now over $26.7 TRILLION!  Consider who the foreign countries are who may bail the USA out of that fiscal quagmire!  Citizens who value peace, security, and individual rights must elect those who will support our military, law enforcement, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  Don’t take your right to vote lightly; the future of all Americans depends on far-sighted and judicious voters.  

~~Stiles: Fast Forward to 2045 -- What Election 2020 Triggered

--From 2045…REMEMBERING THE 2020 ELECTION …by Jim Stiles • September 30, 2020 

“I am very cautious of people who are absolutely right, especially when they are vehemently so.”  –Michael Palin NOTE: This story is not intended to be prophecy, projection, or prediction; nor is it offered as a warning or a celebration of “things to come.” It’s merely idle speculation on my part, based on trends I see happening in America, for better or worse. And 34 days from now, give or take a month or two to count the mail in ballots, we’ll all know if at least part of this tall tale was accurate, or total bullfeathers. And now, on to the Future, as I look back at the distant past…J.Stiles

~~The Long Walk to Socialism: 

This video shares the unfiltered stories of the harsh struggles of the Navajo Nation. These raw experiences reveal the individuals, families, and communities torn thin by socialistic government programs and waste.

~~Indigenous People and Land Grant Universities.  High Country News Investigates

~~Governor Herbert:  An Anti -Masker at Heart?  

~~Excerpt from Billionaire Wilderness :  By Justin Farrell 

"Billionaire Wilderness offers an unprecedented look inside the world of the ultra-wealthy, focused on their increasingly significant relationship to the natural world. More specifically, it shows how the ultra-wealthy use nature to resolve key predicaments in their lives. Along the way, it reveals the surprising ways in which nature and wealth intersect in America, and the swelling impact of these relationships on the nation’s social and environmental landscapes."  Canyon Zephyr

~~The Slovenly Wilderness: The Least Consequential Election …by Stacy Young

"As regular readers of this column know, it is a deep and abiding frustration of mine that serious consideration of the material conditions of modern America is consistently avoided in favor of lazy identitarian demagoguery. This criticism applies not just to our political industry, but also to the news media, the arts, corporate marketing, and the way we “choose” to spend our own individual attention on social media, and it is an imbalance that not only distracts us from the root causes of things but divides us along relatively superficial categorical lines. . ."

~~Census Count Still Not Complete on the Navajo Reservation 

by Kate Groetzinger

~~ Phil Lyman, State Legislature, Call's Out Court Corruption   Recorded Interview

         (The Bad News is that this case has drug on forever!)

~~ Meet Supreme Court Nominee  Amy C. Barrett

~~ High Speed Internet Coming to San Juan County Reservation Schools  by Kate Groetzinger

~~ Western Senators Push Bill to Control Wild Fire Risk 

~~ Reflections of the past: Trials and Travails of Park Ranger John Wetherill at Navajo National Monument by Harvey Leake/ The Canyon Zephyr

~~ Operation Firewood Blesses Navajo Reservation

~~  Wildfires: Creating a Defensible Space Around Your Home

Utah has had a record 1,300+ wildfires this year, over 1,000 of which have been human-caused. When recreating outdoors this fall, pay attention to federal, state, and local guidelines and warnings, always completely put out your campfires, and leave our lands better than you found them. If you live close to at-risk landscapes, take a few minutes and learn what you can do to protect your home.

~~ Political Polarization Taking Over Lives  Pollution of our dysfunctional political dialogue

~~ BLM Director Nominee Under Attack by Green Machine

~~What Does Kamala Harris Stand For? And What Should We Fear?

~~ Chad Booth's County Seat Funding in Jeopardy  Zac Podmore article 

                             Sunset Over Bears Ears -- Photo by David Homedew