Some "McLintock!" Trivia

Some John Wayne/McLintock! trivia for you on a Sunday afternoon.

From IMDb:

John Wayne insisted that the role of the weak, insipid Governor be called "Cuthbert H. Humphrey", with the intention that he be seen as a parody of liberal Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, whom Wayne intensely disliked.

Above, former Vice President and Senator Hubert H. Humphrey.

Above, Robert Lowery as Gov. Cuthbert H. Humphrey in McLintock!

Made It To Gallup and Back

Well, I made it to Gallup, New Mexico to pick up some dinner rolls for tonight's dinner at Martin Link's) and other things at Albertson's. I even managed to get some 35 amp fuses for the Jeep a few doors away at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

It has been snow showering all morning, but the snow melts as soon as it hits the ground. It occasionally lightly snowed on the way to Gallup. But when I got off the freeway and started heading to the market on Historic Route 66, it began to snow heavily at times.

But, as in Jamestown, the snow didn't last long and it melted as soon as it hit the ground. It is just too warm out for snow to last. The snow we had early this morning has already melted.

We'll see what it's like when we gallop back to Gallup for tonight's dinner.

For your enjoyment:

It's Started

Just as the National Weather Service forecast, snow has reached New Mexico this morning.

Here's a couple of back yard shots:

Four Corners To Get Snow

Above, home a year ago today. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

"A storm bringing snow to the Four Corners states Sunday will also shift heavy rain and some thunderstorms into the south-central U.S. and mid-Mississippi River Valley into Monday."

                                                                                                - National Weather Service, 2/22/20

It has been raining pretty much all day and evening. Tonight, it is expected to change into snow showers around 2:00 in the morning.

This will be interesting. Our monthly dinner at Gallup historian Martin Link's is tomorrow night and I have to pick up some dinner rolls. Hopefully, there will be a respite in precipitation so I can drive into Gallup to get them and back. 

The Four Corners area is in need of precipitation as it has been below normal for quite some time.

The National Weather Service forecast:

Tonight

Rain showers before 2am, then snow showers likely. Low around 31. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday

Snow showers likely before 11am, then scattered rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. West wind 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

New Sculpture Planned For Lincoln Library and Museum

Above, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the highlights of my 2016 trip into the midwest U.S. was a visit to Springfield, Illinois. I was in Springfield on Election Day and watched the election night coverage in a RV park there.

Springfield was the home of President Abraham Lincoln and where he is now buried. It is also home to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum.

Above, the Lincoln family greets visitors in the museum's main lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A new sculpture is planned, titled "Beacon of Endurance".

According to the Journal Star:

Abraham Lincoln was a master at using words to motivate and inspire. 

Now his words will be part of a new sculpture honoring the 16th president at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum announced Wednesday, Lincoln’s 211th birthday. 

An advisory panel will help the presidential library and the sculptor decide which words the sculpture will include. The public also will have a chance to share ideas through social media, according to ALPLM officials. 

“Beacon of Endurance” was designed by B.J. Krivanek of the Chicago firm Krivanek+Breaux/Art+Design. When completed, the obelisk will stand at the museum’s southeast corner, at the intersection of Jefferson and Seventh streets. The sculpture is 24 feet, 10 inches tall and slightly tilted “to suggest human and constitutional traumas and vulnerabilities,” Krivanek said, in a press release. 

The bottom, where Lincoln quotes will be inscribed, will weather and rust over time. 

Above that, in impervious stainless steel, will be individual words about Lincoln’s character and principles.

To read more, go here. 

Eisenhower Library Gets A Makeover

Above, the Place of Meditation is the final resting place of the President,
 First Lady, and their first-born son, Doud. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A little over three years ago, I stopped in and stayed overnight in Abilene, Kansas.

Abilene is the boyhood home and presidential library of our 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Above, the statue of Gen. Eisenhower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Eisenhower Presidential Library campus includes his boyhood home, burial site and museum. The entire campus has recently been reopened after being renovated.

According to KSN.com:

ABILENE, Kan. (KSNW) – The story of President Dwight D. Eisenhower began in Kansas. Now, 200,000 people a year visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in the neighborhood where he grew up in Abilene.

Over the years, an entire campus has grown up around the family home. It recently reopened after a renovation project. The makeover includes interactive displays and the flexibility to rotate exhibits. 

“It gives us the opportunity to be a little bit more flexible with the artifacts,” said Dawn Hammatt, the director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. “We can rotate our artifacts more simply and that will give the visitors a different experience when they come.” 

With upgrades in technology, visitors can now choose the time and place they want to learn more about the Kansas president.

When I visited the museum, it seemed more focused on Eisenhower the general, rather than as president.

To read more, go here.

Bloomberg Echoes Dictator Fidel Castro On Gun-grabbing

Above, yours truly in Havana, Cuba's Plaza de la Revolución last spring. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

Michael Bloomberg may have been cut down to size (pun intended) during the Democrat debate the other night, but he is still a threat. Don't count him out just yet.

He has already caused Second Amendment trouble in some states (such as New Mexico and Virginia) by financing gun-grabbing Democrat victories in 2018.

His stands on the guns and the Second Amendment echos those of Fidel Castro and Townhall.com has an article pointing that out. As a matter of fact, much of this can also be said of the other Democrats running for president. These days, there's no such thing as a "moderate" Democrat.

Townhall begins the article with:

“.. It’s the job of law enforcement to have guns and to decide when to shoot. You just do not want the average (U.S.) citizen carrying a gun…”-Michael Bloomberg, Jan. 4, 2020  

“Guns? What for?...to fight the government? The Cuban people don’t need guns nowadays.” -Fidel Castro during his very first speech upon entering Havana Jan. 8, 1959 

Jack Wilson, the “average U.S. citizen” that inspired Michael Bloomberg’s Castroite declaration, saved the lives of countless fellow “deplorables” when he expertly whacked—with one perfect shot—a murderous criminal at West Freeway Church of Christ in the famous Texas Church shooting in White Settlement, Texas, on December 29th.  

Shortly, Texas Gov. Abbott honored the citizen-hero Jack Wilson with his state’s highest civilian honor, the “Governor’s Medal of Courage”:   

"So many lives were saved because of Jack Wilson's quick action, his calmness under pressure, and above all else his courage and his willingness to risk his own life to save the lives of others," Abbott said during the ceremony. "Only God knows who is alive today because of Jack Wilson."

To read more, go here. 

6 Best Day Trips from Tokyo During the Olympics

Above, a visit to Mount Fuji is at the top of Tokyo Cheapo's list. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is unknown to me just how many readers of this blog are planning to attend the Olympics this summer in Tokyo, but the suggestions for some day trips out of Tokyo can apply to all tourists.

Tokyo Cheapo has a list of six best day trips from Tokyo during the Olympics.

They begin it with:

Whether you’re coincidently in town during the Olympics or coming over to cheer on your country, your visit during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games is going to be a summer you’ll never forget. While there’s always plenty of excitement buzzing through the streets, sometimes, to recharge, you need to escape the city—even if just for a day. 

Luckily, Tokyo is surrounded by some of the most incredible day-trip opportunities, many of which are available in tidy package deals that not only save time on the organization side, but usually save you money too. From the majestic Mt. Fuji to the verdant valleys of Nikko, the Ghibli Museum to Gunma’s bountiful fruit farms, get out of the city and in touch with a different side of Japan. 

To make your choice easier, here’s a round-up of some of the best day trips you can take during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

To read more, go here. 

Rain/Snow (Maybe) Today and Tomorrow

Above, storm clouds over the mesas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It looks like we're in for some rain and possibly some snow showers today and tomorrow.

It was raining yesterday in Southern California, so it figures that the storm front would be heading our way.

From the National Weather Service:

Today

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. High near 47. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Rain showers before 11pm, then rain and snow showers likely between 11pm and 2am, then snow showers likely after 2am. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 30. Southwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday

Snow showers likely before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 38. West wind 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Safely Viewing National Parks Wildlife

Above, a bull elk in Trailer Village at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Most of our national parks became such due to their unique geography such as rock formations, volcanic activity, history, plant life and other factors.

The added dividend of each park are seeing the animals who inhabit them. Wildlife comes in all sizes and species. But all should be observed safely for visitors' protection as well as theirs.

Travel Awaits has some tips on safely viewing wildlife in our national parks.

They begin with:

America’s national parks are filled with wonderful wildlife. Bald eagles soar overhead, and prairie dogs burrow underground. Grizzlies lumber through lush green meadows, and herds of bison can cause traffic jams. When encountering one of these amazing creatures, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment. But national parks are not petting zoos, and the wildlife is wild. Follow these tips to properly observe the wildlife and keep yourself (and the animals) safe as you share our national parks.

To read more, go here. 

Democrats' Socialism Strategy Is A Loser In Texas

The Democrat Party is lurching ever further to the left and embracing socialism. The numbskulls who are running for their party's presidential nomination, along with congressional candidates, seem to think socialism is the key to power in Texas.

They have a big shock coming if they do.

Richard Greene has an excellent opinion piece on this in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

He begins it with:

All the speculation about Tarrant County and Texas transforming to Democratic control is nonsense, and some prominent leaders of the party on the left have recently and fearfully declared why that’s not going to happen. 

As voters approach primary elections a week from Tuesday, Democrats should think about their choices. 

If their candidate wins because he or she is clinging to the coattails of polling favorite and self-described socialist Bernie Sanders, then that “winner” will be easy pickings for the Republican alternatives on the November ballot. 

That may be true of any local Democrat seeking state or federal office no matter which of the presidential contenders they may be aligned with among the entire field. 

As long as the far-left policies that have dominated the presidential contest continue to develop to more and more extreme positions, those seeking to join the Texas Legislature or the Texas delegation in the U. S. Congress who embrace those policies will all lose.

And, Greene has some juicy tidbits of quotes from some prominent Democrats:

The legendary master of knowing the public mind who steered Bill Clinton from Arkansas obscurity into two terms in the White House, James Carville, has lately shown up in the national media sounding the alarm. 

“This party needs to wake up and talk about things that are relevant to people,” Carville cried out in his MSNBC appearance. “We can’t act like this is going well.” 

He was clearly frustrated that Elizabeth Warren had “decided to chase Bernie’s left tail all over the country” – a reference to the self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders, who’s appealing to crowds cheering for free stuff. 

When Sanders responded by calling Carville a “hack,” his comeback was to say, “at least I’m not a communist.” 

Then there is long-time NBC Democratic partisan Chris Matthews analyzing the results of the New Hampshire debate. “The issue of that campaign, it is that word, socialism. … Some people like it, younger people like it. … I’ve seen what socialism is like, I don’t like it. OK, it’s not only not free, it doesn’t frickin’ work.”

To read more, go here.

Missile Launch Notices

Above, the two missile launch notices on the Jamestown community bulletin board. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday, while heading down to the Flying J for our morning coffee gathering at Denny's I spotted a couple of notices on the community bulletin board.

I stopped and took a look. They were notices that there will be missile launches taking place and that Cibola National Forest (which is behind our community) will be totally closed during the launch windows (a launch took place yesterday morning around 6:30, according to a neighbor). The next launch window begins on February 26. The national forest is in the flight paths of the missiles.

Usually, when missile launches take place in New Mexico, they launch from White Sands Missile Range and/or from a launch area in Fort Wingate (yes, there's a missile facility still in operation at Fort Wingate). 

ATF Trying To Facilitate National Gun Registration

Above, completing the paperwork for my purchase of my Winchester 84 at Ron Peterson Firearms. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This certainly isn't good news.

It appears the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms wants to start a national gun registry which, as we all know, is a big step for eventual gun confiscation.

According to Gun Owners of America:

The ATF has issued new rules that will alter the format for Form 4473’s and make it easier to create a national gun registry.

Here’s what we know. ATF agents have used annual inspections to electronically record the contents of Form 4473’s being kept by federal gun dealers.  

We also know that a software company exhibiting its wares at the Shot Show in Las Vegas has crafted a system where ATF can take the contents of all the dealer’s Bound Book entries (which contain all of the buyer’s personal information and gun information which is on a Form 4473) by simply capturing them on a thumb drive. 

We know that billionaire “Midget Mike” Bloomberg has made Universal Background Checks/National Gun Registries the centerpiece of his $2 BILLION campaign for the presidency — presumably because, if everyone with a gun has a 4473, then everyone with a gun will be in the national gun registry being compiled by ATF, using its copies of 4473’s.  

The movie, Red Dawn, shows how the 4473 form can be used as a backdoor gun registry. In the movie, a Cuban commander orders an officer to obtain the 4473s from the sporting goods store, so the invading forces know who owns firearms. 

The "fit will hit the shan" should this be implemented.

To read more (and have access to important links), go here. 

Daryl Gates Must Be Spinning In His Grave

Lunatics! This is the current LAPD Chief of Police?! Daryl Gates must be spinning in his grave!



#SanctuaryCitiesAreCriminal

Legendary and Toho Announce "Godzilla vs. Kong" Partnerships

Godzilla and Kong fans will be salivating in joyous anticipation over the goodies that will be issued to fill their collection shelves with Godzilla vs. Kong movie tie-in products.

License Global reported:

Ahead of the November release of “Godzilla vs. Kong,” Legendary Pictures and Toho have announced a slate of licensees that will deliver an offering of merchandise and experiences to fans. 

Playmates has been named master toy partner, with forthcoming products themed to “Godzilla vs. Kong,” as well as additional product lines inspired by Legendary and Warner Bros.’s Monsterverse and Classic Toho Monsters. 

Also teaming up with the film is global manufacturer of licensed apparel and accessories Bioworld; designer and manufacturer of costumes, Rubies; pop culture consumer product company Funko; interactive live-action adventure escape room producer 60Out and virtual reality content studio The Virtual Reality Company (VRC).

To read more, go here.

Checking Out The New Electric Box

Above, the Jeep, power box pole and the GOCO Beast Barn. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After driving around our community and the new Mesa Ridge Ranch subdivision, I drove the Jeep into Barking Spider Acre to check out the new electric box that was installed last month for electric power to the GOCO Beast Barn.

Above, the new electrical box for the GOCO Beast Barn. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Prior to today, there was either too much snow on the ground, too muddy to walk and drive on (or both) to check out the box.

We have been enjoying temperatures in the 50s this week. It is 54° outside now. The ground was dry enough to walk on today.

Above, the meter and the electrical box for the house. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The electricians with Knight Electic added a separate box for the Beast Barn's outlets and connected that box to the existing one. From the pole (where the electric boxes are), the electricians trenched about 120' to the GOCO Beast Barn for the wiring (in PVC piping).

Above, between the Jeep and the pole, the trenched ground is
shown leading to the GOCO Beast Barn. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While I was at the power pole, I looked at the utility access road that is behind the property along the community power lines. it looks passable for the Jeep to take an exploring jaunt.

Above, looking west, the utility road along the power lines. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the utility road goes upslope behind my property. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

"Elvis: That's The Way It Is" Set For Theatrical Release

Above, a display of Elvis Presley's jumpsuits on display at Graceland. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It hardly seems possible that 1970 was 50 years ago. But it was.

During that year, Elvis Presley got back on stage at the International Hotel in Las Vegas after a decade of movies he grew to despise doing.

A documentary of Elvis's return to live performances was chronicled in the MGM documentary, Elvis: That's The Way It Is. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the release of that documentary, it will be released in selected theaters.

According to Variety:

Trafalgar Releasing has set a re-release for the concert documentary “Elvis: That’s the Way It Is” for April 22 in 14 countries, Variety has learned exclusively. 

The event will mark the 50th anniversary of the film’s original release by MGM. Most of the remastered footage was shot at the International Hotel in Las Vegas with songs including “Love Me Tender,” “Sweet Caroline,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Suspicious Minds.” 

The 1970 concerts in the film were part of Presley’s first tour in more than a decade. The film was directed by Denis Sanders. 

Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing, said, “It’s been 50 years since this career changing documentary about The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was released, yet the lasting legacy of Elvis Presley and his music can be seen more clearly than ever in film, music and culture.”

To read more, go here.

Tokyo Cheapo: How To Save Money At The Tokyo Skytree

Above, the Tokyo Skytree at night. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Tokyo Skytree is one of Tokyo's top tourist attractions. Small wonder, the views from the observation decks are spectacular.

I visited the Skytree five years ago and enjoyed it. The lines to the ticket windows weren't bad at the time. 

Above, the Skytree ticket windows. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tokyo Cheapo has posted an article on how to save money when visiting the Skytree.

They begin with:

We generally recommend free, less-crowded alternatives to Tokyo Skytree, but since the cheapo tribe has spoken and it seems y’all are going anyway, we thought we’d put together a list of tips and tricks that you can use to save money at the super-tall tourist attraction. One could say we’ve reached new heights with this article (we can’t promise not to be punny, but you should keep reading anyway). 

You’ve probably heard that Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in the world, built like a pagoda, and all sorts of other stories. Parts of these are true. Firstly, it is the tallest structure in Japan, currently, at 634m. It’s the second-highest in the world, falling short of the 829.8m Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai—but since the Middle Eastern building is technically classed as a skyscraper, Tokyo Skytree wins the title of the world’s tallest tower. Now you know. And yes, it was built using the same principle as pagodas; relying on a central pole to keep everything nice and stable. 

Despite the massive crowds that suggest the contrary, Skytree’s primary use is that of a broadcasting tower. It beams out both TV signal and radio waves for national broadcaster NHK, as well as TV Asahi, TV Tokyo, and a number of other channels. Until Skytree officially opened in 2012, the 332.9m Tokyo Tower was the main structure in the business of transmission.

Above, a view from the Skytree observation deck. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Japan Rail Pass To Be Available For Sale Online This Summer

Above, a Shinkansen train arrives in Atami Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During several trips to Japan, I have made good use out of the Japan Rail Pass and saved a lot of money in doing so.

Up to now, the only way to buy the Japan Rail Pass is for people to go to an authorized travel agent in their home countries.

Now, it has been announced that this coming summer, people can buy their Japan Rail Pass online.

According to SoraNews 24:

There are several reasons Japan has been booming in popularity as a travel destination over the past decade, and a big one is the Japan Rail Pass. Offered by Japan Railways Group (a.k.a. JR), Japan’s largest rail operator, the pass is only available to visitors from abroad, and provides travelers with unlimited use of nearly any JR train in the country, including all but the very fastest classes of the Shinkansen bullet train, for periods of one, two, or three weeks. 

But while the JR Pass is an incredible value for those with wide-range travel ambitions in Japan, the purchase process has long been a bit of a hassle. For many years, the pass could only be purchased outside of Japan and through an intermediary such as a designated travel agency or airline. More recently, the option to purchase the pass at select train stations in Japan has been offered, but with the penalty of being roughly 10 percent more expensive than if purchased outside Japan. 

Those hassles will be disappearing, though, as this week Japan Rail Group announced that it will begin selling the Japan Rail Pass online come summer.

To read more, go here. 

Kyoto Now Missing Tourists

Above, Kyoto during the "good ol' days" of overtourism. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The city of Kyoto, Japan had been struggling with overtourism for the past several years. But since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the city isn't complaining about it anymore. They're now hurting from undertourism.

Japan Today reported:

Tokyo - Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto is one of the country’s best-preserved areas, boasting a whopping 17 UNESCO world heritage sites that draw thousands of tourists to its historic streets year after year. 

In fact, there have been so many visitors to the city in recent years that the area has been struggling with issues related to overtourism. However, following the coronavirus outbreak last month, which prompted the Chinese government to place restrictions on outbound overseas group tours, the city is now facing a problem on the opposite end of the spectrum — a drop in tourists so dramatic that local shop owners say they haven’t seen anything like it in 30 years. 

With Kyoto being one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists, who make up the largest contingent of foreign visitors to Japan, the restriction on travel is hitting businesses hard, and as the number of coronavirus cases in Japan continues to rise, a large number of locals and other international tourists are also avoiding travel, which is compounding the problem. 

In order to tackle the issue, merchants around the Ukyo and Nishikyo wards in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district have begun a new advertising campaign to encourage tourists to visit the area. The slogan for the campaign is “Suitemasu Arashiyama“, which translates to “Empty Arashiyama“, and there are four images that have been produced for the promotion, each one showing a popular tourist spot in the area.

To read more, go here. 

Retain Sen. Martha McSally

The Hollywood Left and other radical liberal groups are spending money to un-seat Arizona U.S. Senator Martha McSally.

We need to counter them to keep Arizona red. Her opponent is no moderate and would support Bernie Sanders for president if nominated. I have already contributed to her campaign.

About Martha McSally:

Before she was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in January 2019, Martha previously represented Arizona’s second congressional district for four years in the United States House of Representatives. Martha serves on the following Senate Committees: Armed Services; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Energy and Natural Resources; Indian Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. 

Prior to serving in Congress, Senator McSally served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 2010 as a full Colonel. During her 26-year military career, she deployed six times to the Middle East and Afghanistan, flying 325 combat hours and earning a Bronze Star and six air medals. She broke barriers for women and girls everywhere — becoming not only the first woman in U.S. history to fly a fighter jet in combat— but the first woman to command a fighter squadron in combat in United States history.

To access Sen. Martha McSally's campaign website, go here. 

Trump Comes To Bakersfield To Rescue Parched San Joaquin Valley Farmers

Several years ago, while on the road up and down the San Joaquin Valley of California, I saw miles upon miles of parched farmland with signs put up by farmers protesting the state's mismanagement of the water supply. The signs that accompany this blog post were typical of the signs I saw.

Of course, there was a drought at the time, but the mismanagement by the state government, fully controlled by Democrats, on top of no new water storage and distribution projects, effectively shut off the water supply to the farmers in the valley. No new water projects have been built since 1979 in California. Billions of gallons of water is flowing into the Pacific Ocean instead of being stored in the state because there are no facilities built to store it.

Instead of building water infrastructure, the state wasted billions on a ridiculous "bullet train to nowhere". Idiotic regulations on ponds, streams and other bodies of water on private farm property hurt the farmers as well.

Today, in Bakersfield, President Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to help the farmers of the San Joaquin Valley.

From The Hill:

President Trump on Wednesday signed an order in California to re-engineer the state’s water plans, completing a campaign promise to funnel water from the north to a thirsty agriculture industry and growing population further south. 

The ceremonial order comes after the Department of the Interior late last year reversed its opinion on scientific findings that for a decade extended endangered species protections to various types of fish — a review that had been spurred by the order from Trump.  

Trump said the changes to the “outdated scientific research and biological opinions” would now help direct “as much water as possible, which will be a magnificent amount, a massive amount of water for the use of California farmers and ranchers.”

"It would be different if you had a drought," Trump added of restrictions. "You don't have a drought. You have tremendous amounts of water." 

“A major obstacle to providing water for the region's farmers has now been totally eliminated by the federal government,” Trump said Wednesday in Bakersfield, Calif., flanked by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as well as Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who helped shepherd the changes to the state’s water policy. 

Trump's order comes as the state has taken several steps to deal with the water scarcity that has lasted for decades.

Naturally, the leftists (mainly Governor Newsom and Attorney General Becerra) will be fighting Trump and the farmers.

To read more, go here.

Yellowstone To Feel Impact of Coronavirus

Above, tourists at one of Yellowstone's hot springs. Photo by Arman Vaquer.

The outbreak of the coronavirus in China will impact tourist numbers this year in Yellowstone National Park.

About a quarter of all foreign visitors to Yellowstone come from China, according to a recent survey.

The Wyoming News wrote:

POWELL — Whether or not novel coronavirus itself makes its way to Wyoming, experts say businesses across the greater Yellowstone ecosystem will feel the effects of a lack of Chinese visitors. 

The Chinese government has imposed mandatory quarantines in parts of the country while the U.S. government has greatly restricted travelers from China to limit the spread of the new virus. 

Chinese tour groups are 100% suspended right now, said Brian Riley, a Wyoming tourism professional who has been marketing Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park tours to Chinese visitors for the past several years. 

“Most of China is like a ghost town right now,” Riley said. “I can’t see [the tourism industry] recovering before summer.” 

According to Yellowstone’s most recent Visitor Use Survey, about a quarter of all foreign visitors coming to the park are from China. Riley, owner of Old Hands Holdings in Jackson, said between 350,000 to 400,000 Chinese visitors travel to the greater Yellowstone ecosystem each year.

To read more, go here. 

Choose Your National Park RV Carefully

Above, The Beast in the campsite I found online in Yosemite National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since my 2015 Winnebago Minnie Winnie 22R ("The Beast") is 23' long, I have had no difficulty in finding a national park campsite that would accommodate it.

Back in 2016, I used an online reservation site to reserve a campsite in Yosemite National Park. It included a map of the open campsites along with aerial photos of each and I picked one that looked like it would fit my motorhome. Sure enough, when I arrived months later, it fit just right.

But there are others who have larger rigs and that makes finding a campsite large and long enough to allow a big Class A, C or trailer to fit.

National Parks Traveler has an article on this common RV conundrum.

They wrote (in part):

The rustic accommodations of national park campsites get us closer to nature than private campgrounds outside the park. But opting for that primitive experience often puts RVers like you and me in the middle of that classic Goldilocks conundrum. Without good planning, we just don’t know if a campground can easily accommodate our home on wheels. I can’t count the number of times we have spent an entire afternoon jumping from one open site to another, trying each one on for size until we found the one that fits just right – if we were lucky enough to find one at all. 

As the owner of a medium-sized fifth wheel, I’m always slightly envious when I see truck campers, vans, and small motorhomes tucked away in a cozy gem of a campsite that could never accommodate my rig. The truth is, bigger is not always better when it comes to RVing in national parks. The smaller your rig, the more campsite choices you have, including some amazing backcountry campsites where large rigs would never tread. 

It’s often said that the best RV type for national parks is a unit that’s 30-feet long or less, including the tow (or towed) vehicle. I agree, since the short, narrow parking aprons in most national park campgrounds make navigation difficult in anything bigger. That’s not to say your 40-foot motorhome won’t ever be able to camp in national parks, it just means that you’ll need to work harder to find a great campsite.

To read more, go here. 

How The Left Brought Down The Boy Scouts

Above, yours truly with the Boy Scout Handbook I used in the 1960s.

The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy. The Left has finally brought down the Boy Scouts.

How did they do it?

Rush Limbaugh today explains (bold highlights mine):

RUSH: The Boy Scouts are going out of business, and it’s because they’ve been – ah, yes. Here we go. “Boy Scouts of America Files for Bankruptcy After Sex Abuse Lawsuits.” I think what jogged my memory on this, here’s Bloomberg, who has been as unsympathetic to pregnant women as you can find, as unsympathetic. He’s literally told pregnant women who’ve worked for him to kill it if they want to keep the job and not go on some kind of leave and maybe not get the job back. And there has been other forms or types abuse of women for which he settled and then made them sign NDAs. 

So it’s blatant hypocrisy once again and it reminded me I had this story. “Boy Scouts of America Files for Bankruptcy After Sex Abuse Lawsuits.” Now, let’s walk back in time a little. It wasn’t that long ago that the Boy Scouts did not permit open homosexuality within the organization. And, of course, this made them a target. Now, during all those years, the Boy Scouts of America was never hit with sex abuse lawsuits. There were not rampant reports of Boy Scout masters abusing the members, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, you just didn’t hear about it. 

And then one day — and it’s 20 years ago or so, maybe, 15 years ago — the Boy Scouts of America began to be accused of being bigoted, unfair, intolerant because they wouldn’t allow homosexuality and homosexual members, homosexual scoutmasters and so forth. And they relented. They buckled to the pressure. Now, the Boy Scouts of America has always been an organization, you could take it back to its founding, it was, among many other things, it was an organization that taught survival skills. It basically taught young people, boys, how to be men. Merit badges, all that. 

The whole achievement-based methodology for getting new awards, self-reliance, rugged individualism, working together, all of these great traits. My maternal grandfather was intimately involved in the Boy Scouts. Rex Tillerson was intimately involved in the Boy Scouts. A lot of great Americans have been involved in the Boy Scouts. Then when the demand went up that they end their discriminatory policies against homosexuality, there were some people that said, “Well, that’s the end of the Boy Scouts.” 

Because people feared that it was really just a clandestine effort to compromise the whole organization much like the Catholic Church. So what does the story say here? “The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Tuesday after decades of sexual abuse claims within one of the country’s largest youth organizations. The petition, filed in Delaware bankruptcy court, halts the hundreds of lawsuits the BSA is facing that allege sexual misconduct by people within the 110-year-old organization over the years.” 

CALLER: I got a question for you. I’m curious your thoughts about this attack on the Boy Scouts. What youth organization do you think will be next after the Boy Scouts? There’s a lot of got a youth organizations out there, and who do you think will be attacked next? 

RUSH: Well, it’s hard to say. You just have to keep a sharp eye and to see which one becomes the next target. It’s hard to predict. Depends on the size. It depends on how offensive leftist activist groups think the organization is. It just… I’ll tell you what you have to do. The question really is… When it happens, that’s when you have to stand up and oppose it. That’s when you have to stand up. That’s when you have to stand up and say, “No, we’re not discriminatory. 

“No, we’re not unfair. No, we are not being mean. No, we are not exclusionary. We have a certain set of values. We have enforced them since the beginning of time in the organization. We’re not gonna change ’em.” That’s what you have to do when you’re attacked as an organization. If you don’t — if you buckle and say, “Okay. We don’t want the hassle, we don’t want the negative publicity, come on in” — you can count your days. 

Because the objective is to corrupt your organization. That’s what the left does. The left is going to corrupt anything that stands for what have been considered to be traditional American values. That’s their purpose — and they do it, and they go after religion, they go after God, they go after any number of things they consider ideological opponents.

I totally agree with Rush. It was the actions of the chicken-sh*t leaders of the Boy Scouts who kowtowed to the Left that brought the organization to the state it's in today.

To read more, go here.

Original "King Kong" Coming To Theaters March 15

Above, King Kong squares off against a tyrannosaurus rex in 1933. RKO General photo.

The original King Kong (1933) hasn't been in theaters since 1956 (when I was two years old). But all that is going to change when the great ape is presented on the big screen next month.

From Comicbook.com:

When it comes to movie monsters, it doesn't get much bigger, figuratively or literally, than King Kong, with the 1933 original film returning to theaters nationwide on Sunday, March 15th, marking the film's first theatrical screenings since 1956. Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies is hosting the event on behalf of the TCM Big Screen Classics series, which will also include A League of Their Own, Airplane!, Psycho, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. You can head to Fathom Events' official website to learn more about the screenings, which will be featured in more than 600 theaters. 

The site describes the film, "Traveling to an uncharted South Pacific island with an adventurer following tales of a God-Ape, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) is captured by the island's natives to serve as a human sacrifice to Kong. But when Kong, a giant ape, sees Darrow, it is overcome with love — and eventually captured by the adventurers. Taken to New York and put on display, Kong breaks free and pursues Darrow through New York in one of the most famous scenes ever filmed."  

The upcoming event is sure to excite fans of the monstrous ape, but, luckily, fans won't have to wait much longer to see the character grace the big screen again, as he will take center stage later this year when Godzilla vs. Kong hits theaters on November 11th.

To read more, go here. 

A Respite From Precipitation Until Friday Night

Above, a the top of Maverick Road in Mesa Ridge Ranch today. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tonight, I watched another pre-Stagecoach John Wayne movie (finishing up Disc 4) from The John Wayne Collection, The Trail Beyond (1934) which co-starred Noah Beery, Senior and Junior, over a foot-long B.M.T. sandwich from Subway.

While watching, I noticed a truck passing by twice with a flatbed carrying a large green shed. It was almost as big as the G.O.C.O. Beast Barn. It appears that one of my neighbors bought it and the driver was having some difficulty in locating the house to deliver it to.

It is a good thing it's being delivered now as we'll be getting showers Friday night and then the possibility of snow showers Saturday.

The latest forecast from the National Weather Service:

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 54. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 47. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 28. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 52.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Saturday

Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday Night

A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Breezy.

Gun Ban Fails In Virginia Senate

Second Amendment constitutional rights were upheld in a stunning victory in Virginia.

The Blaze reported:

Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's all-in push to ban the sale of assault weapons was rejected in the state's Senate after moderate Democrats joined Republican colleagues to sink the initiative Monday.

Cheers erupted in the committee room packed with gun supporters as senators voted to put the bill on hold for a year so that the state's crime commission could study the issue, the Associated Press reported. 

Four Democrats decided to vote with Republicans on the issue, rejecting legislation that aimed to outlaw new sales of some semiautomatic firearms, such as the AR-15 rifle, and require current owners of such firearms to register with the government within the year. The bill would also have criminalized the possession of magazines that hold more than 12 rounds.

To read more, go here.