Free Republic

On July 13, 2021, William English, PhD, made a summary of the latest National Firearms Survey (NFS) available to the public online. The survey uses the advanced techniques created with digital technology and the Internet to quantify numbers about firearms ownership, carry, and defensive use. Surveys for information on defensive gun uses (DGU) have been absent for most of a quarter-century. This is because of the difficulty and expense of conducting such surveys by telephone.Surveys about gun ownership have reached significantly different conclusions.Surveys about defensive uses of firearms have fallen into two camps. Most surveys have found large numbers of...

If you're lucky enough, you'll catch a glimpse of them while traveling along the Salt River or visiting Saguaro Lake. The Salt River wild horses offer visitors an awe inspiring view, one that's in danger of being erased. The beloved Salt River wild horses are being removed from the place they have called home for decades and may even face death, according to a notice from the Tonto National Forest. The forest service says it will begin removal of the more than 100 horses on Aug. 7, stating they are "unauthorized livestock" and therefore cannot be there. The removal will...

The government is robbing ranchers of their livelihood again, only this time the ranchers have broken no laws. The federal government – the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) now under the leadership of Harry Reid’s former top aide – closed down access to New Mexico ranchers’ land for the nonsensical reason that it was to protect the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse. Rancher Kit Laney, and a number of New Mexico Ranchers are all locked in a vicious battle with the federal government over land that the Feds are now claiming ownership of, land the Laney family has claims to...

Lawmakers Unveil Plan to Liberate Western Lands and Evict Feds Liberty-minded elected officials from Western states are coming together with citizens to take action in defense of the Constitution and the West.The New American 23 April 2014 With the now-infamous federal abuses against the Bundy ranching family and its supporters in Nevada helping to awaken a sleeping giant, liberty-minded elected officials from Western states are coming together with citizens to take action in defense of the Constitution and the West. Their mission: to wrest control over the vast expanses of land and wealth in the region that are unconstitutionally...

Not too long ago I wrote an article on whether any criticism of the pope is allowed or not. I really think that we need to go to the basics on papal infallibility which in my opinion is something that many Catholics and non Catholics are confused about. Many people in other words are not well catechized when it comes to a proper understanding of papal infallibility and that makes it difficult when a pope might say or do something rather strange to a Catholic. I think a good place to start is with Pope John Paul II. Blessed Pope...

When Kit Laney answered a knock on his door Saturday, law enforcement officers from the U.S. Forest Service handed him a piece of paper announcing his Diamond Bar Ranch in southwest New Mexico would be shut down Wednesday and his 300 head of cattle grazing there would be removed – one way or the other. Other Forest Service officials were busy nailing similar notices on fence posts along the highway and informing neighbors that after Feb. 11, they should not attempt to enter the Diamond Bar property. Laney was not surprised. He knew someday there would be an on-the-ground confrontation...

PORTLAND (AP) — The cash-strapped U.S. Forest Service can no longer afford to maintain many of its parks and has started ranking recreational sites, including campgrounds and trailheads, for possible closure. Oregon’s Deschutes and Winema national forests are among the first to go up for review, The Oregonian reported. Forest Service officials say the crunch is partly a result of President Bush’s Healthy Forest Initiative, a push to thin flammable Western forests, which has diverted money away from the upkeep of forest facilities. The Forest Service is also trying to sell offices and compounds that bustled during the logging...

Firefighters also were battling a 5,400-acre wildfire elsewhere in Eldorado National Forest in Amador County. The Power fire broke out Oct. 6 and had been contained at about 500 acres Tuesday, but flared up and spread wildly in high winds Wednesday. By Thursday evening, the blaze had charred 12,000 acres and was just 10 percent contained.

RENO, Nevada (AP) -- The Forest Service has been accused of misrepresenting forest conditions by using misleading photographs in a brochure that urges more logging to prevent wildfires in the Sierra Nevada. The pamphlet, created by a public relations firm, explains that fire risks have risen as the Sierra's forests have grown more dense the past century. Six small black-and-white photos spanning 80 years appear beside descriptions of how the "forests of the past" had fewer trees and less underbrush, making them less susceptible to fire. The 1909 photo shows an open, park-like forest with large trees spaced widely apart....

RANGERS AT WORK: Paul Ehrhardt (left) and fellow volunteer ranger Eric (last name withheld) repair a Forest Service cabin in Oregon's Willamette National Forest. Some object to rangers carrying weapons. ROBERT HARBISON - STAFF JUNCTION CITY, ORE. - The gray Jeep Cherokee with the large gold star on the door is just about ready to roll. Two men check the gear stowed in the back: tools, medical equipment, radios, GPS device, rappelling ropes, camera, gas mask, body armor, canisters of CS gas and pepper spray, thermos of coffee, and sandwiches. They're both wearing badges, and they both have semiautomatic...

Eco Logic06/15/2003 And your state, too... The Biodiversity-Socialist Movement in Pennsylvania By Dr. N. Charles Bolgiano Landowners and sportsmen in Pennsylvania are beginning to learn how devastating, threatening and costly the Biodiversity - Socialist movement in Pennsylvania has become. It is not only a serious threat to hunting sports, but goes much further, by threatening the very foundations on which this Nation was founded, namely, the 1st and 2nd Amendments of the Constitution, and the basic right to own property. Several years ago (1996-97) the State was paid a visit by Maurice Strong, a Canadian Socialist, and chief organizer of...