(Note from SB: A great spontaneous reaction! It wasn't going to any paper that I know of so I couldn't resist forwarding it to my list in hopes you-all will broadcast it. Note from MM: This came from my husband after he got my email. thought you might get
a kick out of what he had to say.)

December 19, 2005

John Q. Oregon Citizen redmeatsurvivor@topothefoodchain.com

Rural, Oregon

Now you did it! I was just minding my own business, but I'm all riled up again.

If they would let me speak at the Oregon Bar Association, Mrs. Beck's views probably wouldn't be thought of as 'extreme.'

Am I a rancher? No, but I eat beef, and enjoy every mouthwatering bite, thank you very much.

Do I want my steak to come from Canada or Australia? Hell, no!

Do I want to be able to afford a rib steak once in a while? Dam_ right, and I want it homegrown, to boot.

I want to watch it getting nice and fat while grazing on the lush feed of Mt. Harris AND Forest Service allotments -- the perfect habitat for marbling my steak to perfection.

I'm sick and tired of reading the "extreme" opinions of the tree hugging, three-toed frog loving, lets make the world a world for wild animals only, PETA ["People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals"], The Nature Conservancy (misnomer), Sierra Club morons.

I'm tired of hearing them use the word "pittance" when referring to the price the ranchers pay for allotments.

Hell, [ranchers] should be getting paid for grazing.

Anyone with half a brain and eyes can clearly see the benefits to the land after cattle have grazed on it.

The morons probably don't want to step in poop while in the woods.

Oh, that's right; they don't go into the woods.

Wolves are not only coming -- they are already here.

I've seen one myself on a ranch near Ironside.

I couldn't see Hereford hair in its teeth, but you can bet it will have if that's what's available.

Last time I was at Scott and Janis' ranch, I wasn't counting, but I saw six or seven hundred cows, some antelope, and a few coyotes.

I know for a fact that not many critters will eat a coyote -- not even a coyote.

Antelope can run sixty miles an hour for short distances, long enough for sure to outrun a wolf.

That leaves ... let's see ... BEEF!

Never mind the heifer that the cougar took down. That one could have been neatly wrapped in white paper in our freezer.

Speaking of cougars, I will no longer purchase a cougar tag from ODFW [Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife].

Will I shoot one [cougar] if I see it? Dam_ right!

As you know, I love to hunt, but I'm almost embarrassed to tell anyone that I'm a hunter.

It's getting really hard to support an organization that is using the money I give it, against me. I must not be very bright. I am paying it to bring in animals that will eat the animals that I pay to hunt. That is, if I can draw a tag [by lottery] in the first place.

Not many ranchers will let me hunt on their property anymore, and I don't blame them.

After all, I support the ODFW by giving it application and tag fees every year. I will, however, continue to mend fences that I see down, and will continue to pick up garbage that the morons leave.

I was wondering if you could work some overtime so I can pay the outrageous tag fees to hunt in another state.

That way I can continue to hunt -- while not supporting the idiots at the ODFW. It will be good for ranchers.