Looking ahead...

[Rick]

Rick ya ought to keep close tabs on that buck!

Been bumping him within 100yds of the same spot since he was a little six. Don't really mind that it's off limits to me during the season, as moving him is something I look forward to along that stretch. Right after he popped out this year, a lame coyote with a hopping gait went out the other way from very nearby. Neat little coincidence.

[Ericdc]

"What do you think all the Russia investigation of Trump is? The losers are pissed, so they demand something. So there is a great big show of doing nothing while appearing to do something. There is nothing they can do, but that would give them a headache, so the big show of doing something that in the end is nothing. All those Obamacare repeals when Obama was President. Big show and now when they have no choice but to do something, they crap their pants because they have spent a lifetime mastering the art of appearing to do a lot while having to do nothing at all."

Damn good analogy Spinner!!!!!

Yea they're all pretty much the same. I converted to libertarian haha.

The Libertarians are the ultimate in the look busy, do nothing. While the philosophy has a fairly large following, they almost never win anything. I left them decades ago when I realized all that L stood for was loser.

What's so frustrating is that if the libertarians would run in the Democrat and Republican primaries, they could win and have a real positive impact as a few high profile examples have done. Instead it is the party of has-been's and never-will-be's. They exemplify the great skill of every backseat driver that is afraid to take the wheel.

They've tried and the establishment rejected them. Like Ron Paul and his son Rand. We'll see, but republicans have become democrat-lite on most issues, especially spending.
I think they'll continue to build the party especially among younger folks.

So far the R's are really crapping their pants with the excellent opportunity they have to make changes

That's my point. Very, very few have done what Rand and Ron Paul have done. Yet look at the influence just those two have had. Now imagine if even 10 more had run in Republican primaries and won seats. Of course the establishment will reject them. You must defeat them. You have to win elections and not build a party of young folks that waste their time and energy on a bunch of losers. The Paul's showed the path to making a difference.

Most of the past libertarian party candidates have showed the path to being spoilers and electing Democrat-heavy instead of Democrat-lite. The practical result being of moving things even further in the opposite direction that they desire.

They really do need to start looking ahead and not be obsessed with labels.

Run as a libertarian in the Republican or Democrat primaries where they will actual win a meaningful number of elections and be able to influence the nation in a positive direction. Just think what 5 Rand Paul's in the Senate and 25 Ron Paul's in the House could have done. We'd have a balanced budget most likely. We'd have far less stupid laws and regulations. We wouldn't have the small decentralized government we should, but we'd be vastly better than we are today.

I heard the exact same thing 25 years ago when I called myself a libertarian. They've been on this failed path for well over a quarter century. But they'll get to it tomorrow

The establishment has no desire to change. It will take a pitchfork up their asses and a big part of that is well qualified, articulate small government/libertarian types running in the primaries putting the fear of losing their cushy positions into them. It won't take a lot and they will be hated. The establishment won't just reject them. They will spit venom at them and do whatever it takes to destroy them. This is politics. This isn't preaching to the choir. This is trying to defeat organized criminal enterprises that have 10's of billions if not 100's of billions of dollars per year of graft and corruption to protect.

But if you just want to go around and make speeches to adoring audience of young libertarians. Be a minor celebrity, smoke some weed, maybe bang some young hottie fans, ... Then that is the libertarian party that has existed for generations and produced nothing but a perpetual look busy and do nothing political movement.

It really disappoints me because I see such potential and while I do not consider myself a libertarian over all, I agree with a large fraction of what most libertarians do. They could be a powerful positive influence. They just have to decide they want to win elections and that requires running in the Democrat and Republican primaries like the Paul's. You will still be rejected, but you cannot be ignored as they are now.

Back when republican meant something there wasn't probably as many folks looking for an alternative either. Lots of conservatives are looking for an alternative now.


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[SpinnerMan]

Back when republican meant something there wasn't probably as many folks looking for an alternative either. Lots of conservatives are looking for an alternative now.

When was that? It has stood for a mixed bag of things over the years. While generally, it has been more right than wrong, it has and will remain a coalition of different interests. What did Lincoln stand for? Not exactly a small decentralized government guy with a weak federal government and with a weak President. Teddy Roosevelt was President as a Republican and then later ran as a Progressive. Not a libertarian or conservative as we define them today. Reagan was such a powerful influence that few forget what it stood for prior.

Our system is such that the two major parties will never stand for anything. This is really generally a good thing.

The sincere libertarians just need to accept the reality of the math of our system. You want to win, it requires TWO wins. Running on the libertarian ticket gets you the first win, but assures you of losing the second. It will be extremely rare for a particular philosophy to hold the majority. Most will be lucky to attract 1/3rd support in terms of being the first choice. Even if the libertarians get the support of 33 out of 100 voters, they still lose the general election nearly every time. Even if the district slants 60/40 to the right. They still lose 40/33 to the left. But if they run in the Republican primary, they win 33/27 in a two-way race even if they get no other support at all. They then go on to win the general election 60/40. With good qualified candidates, they will often be able to win with much lower support in less favorable districts.

And if they do that at every level of government, they have quite a significant representation at the federal level, in a large fraction of the states, and many local governments. And now they have credibility, influence, and start getting real results.

And the Republican party starts to stand more for what we would like than they currently do. They have no choice. They need to get a majority to move legislation, and that means concessions to the libertarians. And when the results are positive, they get more support and its not just a fad that independent freedom loving young people go through in their youth before realizing it is a dead end.

[Ericdc]

If they can't get healthcare right, they won't get anything right.


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[SpinnerMan]

If they can't get healthcare right, they won't get anything right.

I've lived in Chicagoland for too long and have worked for the federal government for too long. I don't expect them to get anything right.

And to some degree, I'm fine with that. Nobody gets things right the first or 10th time when it is complex, and this is wickedly complex, which is why it was insane to believe Obama would not screw it up. When you know you are going to screw up, you don't put all your eggs in one f'ing basket.

What I am not fine with is the lies. The fake Obamacare repeals. How many of them did they pass? If they weren't frauds, they would simply have passed the last one exactly as they had previously when Obama vetoed it and sent it to the President that will sign it. They are not serious about anything but their next election.

[aunt betty]

The retired guys guys at the RC airplane club. (CCRCC)
You need to get an airplane and go meet them and listen to the whine when they're not flying. They're mostly all retired state of Illinois people. I find it quite comical to listen to their woes and health-care anxieties.

[SpinnerMan]

i will keep on keeping on waiting to hear the first yodel of a speck in early october

Specks are on my bucket list. After going snow goose hunting in the spring quite a few times and seeing so many without being able to take any, they are definitely one bird that I get very jealous when I see all the specks you all shoot in other parts of the country. They are extremely rare sights around here.

[SpinnerMan]

well I hope you get one this go around

I'm flirting with the idea of a trip focused on specks. I'm already set with a buddy to go to Saginaw Bay for Old Squaw. I have enough vacation I can manage another trip, but this damn working for a living. Fall can be a problem for me. Last year I had to travel for work in October, November, and December. That can make planning a trip out of town tough and doesn't exactly help hunting locally. I currently have work trips in late September and mid October this fall. September is after early goose and October is the week before our duck season opens. So good so far, but I'll have to wait and see before I make plans.

[Rick]

Just be patient, the best mid-continent speck hunting is moving your way.

[Ericdc]

Just be patient, the best mid-continent speck hunting is moving your way.

Haha.


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[Rick]

When I moved here in the '80s, the Klondike Volunteer Fire Department bldg was said by biologists to be the statistical center of the greatest concentration of wintering whitefronts on the continent - and the Klondike area darn sure looked the part.

Things change...

[Ericdc]

When I moved here in the '80s, the Klondike Volunteer Fire Department bldg was said by biologists to be the statistical center of the greatest concentration of wintering whitefronts on the continent - and the Klondike area darn sure looked the part.

Things change...

Agricultural changes?


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[SpinnerMan]

Just be patient, the best mid-continent speck hunting is moving your way.

Given that I've seen one single with Canadas where I work and one flock fly over my house in the spring, I'm probably going to be waiting a long time.

[Rick]

Agricultural changes?

Little doubt in part, that and crazy heavy gun pressure. But as Larry points out, shortened bird migrations are a world wide phenomenon. Can't fix it, just do our best with what's left as long as we have it.

[Ericdc]

Little doubt in part, that and crazy heavy gun pressure. But as Larry points out, shortened bird migrations are a world wide phenomenon. Can't fix it, just do our best with what's left as long as we have it.

Yea pressure would seem to be #1 to me.


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[aunt betty]

If you sit in that same spot we did every day of the season for ten or fifteen years you'll get a shot at some specks. (maybe)
Hunted there a long time and when we started seeing eagles was when the snows and specks started appearing but only for a day or two and they're gone.

[SpinnerMan]

If you sit in that same spot we did every day of the season for ten or fifteen years you'll get a shot at some specks. (maybe)
Hunted there a long time and when we started seeing eagles was when the snows and specks started appearing but only for a day or two and they're gone.

I'm a patient man, but not that patient.

[Ericdc]

I heard Arkansas possibly went to 4 specks/man/day but I don't know if that happened or not

5. White-Fronted Geese
Council Recommendations: The Mississippi Flyway Council recommended that the number of segments available for non-Canada geese should be increased from 3 to 4 for the Mississippi Flyway.

The Pacific Flyway Council recommended allowing a 3-segment split hunting season for white-fronted geese in the Northeast Zone of California.

Service Response: We agree with the Mississippi Flyway Council's request to increase the number of segments available for non-Canada geese from 3 to 4 for the Mississippi Flyway. Increasing the number of segments for other geese (snow geese, white-fronted geese, and brant) will allow States flexibility to open and/or close all goose seasons on the same date. Since the numbers of white-fronted geese present in the Mississippi Flyway in September are low, we expect no impacts from this change.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... egulations


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[Ericdc]

Wonder if they heard 4 segments ?




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[aunt betty]

If you sit in that same spot we did every day of the season for ten or fifteen years you'll get a shot at some specks. (maybe)
Hunted there a long time and when we started seeing eagles was when the snows and specks started appearing but only for a day or two and they're gone.

I'm a patient man, but not that patient.

I'm going there this evening to set trotlines for catfish.
Should I punish the world and post a picture...better wait until I got a fish or two.
When you're hobbit-size it makes fish look yuge in pictures.

[Rick]

The bluewings are here! They're way early on a year we moved to push it back as late as we could, oh no!

Was surprised to move biggest swarm of summering teal I've ever seen this morning - until they swung back by me and showed themselves to be a knot of low flying woodies.

[Ericdc]

The bluewings are here! They're way early on a year we moved to push it back as late as we could, oh no!

Was surprised to move biggest swarm of summering teal I've ever seen this morning - until they swung back by me and showed themselves to be a knot of low flying woodies.

Lots of young fledging birds? I know they don't fly too high when they just learning.


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[SpinnerMan]

Arkansas stayed at 3 and 74 days

California is 10 and 107

If I wanted to target specks with the best chance of success---either NE Arkansas or Northern California

NOT SW Louisiana

SW Louisiana is far too far and I'd have to drive through NE Arkansas to get there. SW Illinois has some as well. Not prime, but it is in-state for me.

If I do ever get down that way, it would be for the late season ducks and hopes of something different like mottleds or whistlers with geese as an afternoon option.