Bears? You Better Shape Up!

There it was in the esteemed New York Times. “New Jersey Man Shoots Uninvited Guest, a 500-Pound Bear.”

“Mr. Flynn's wife was cooking pork chops when she noticed a bear on her stone porch and scared it off by making noise… A short time later, another bear came to the front door, sniffing along the screen. Afraid that the bear would enter his house, Mr. Flynn shot it with a shotgun… On May 23, another West Milford man was hospitalized after trying to defend his dog from a 150-pound female bear that had wandered into his yard with her cub… Sergeant Coscia said homeowners who see a bear on their property should scare it off by making loud noises with pots and pans or garbage can lids. ”We are also recommending not to take the shooting of a bear into your own hands," Bradley Campbell, commissioner of the State Department of Environmental Protection, said last night, “It's enormously important for those in bear country to avoid any behaviors that would unwittingly invite the bears into the community.”

So even back East it is our fault. Out west the Feds introduce wolves and grizzly bears and then proceed to tell people to change their lifestyle from keeping dogs to wearing bells when walking, to not camping when menstruating, to not going into certain areas at certain times and not going out of your home at certain times. The urban voters of western states like California vote in non-management mandates and no-kill policies for cougars and other states reduce bear hunting and bear hunters by claiming bear bait stations are “unfair” and bear hunting with dogs is “inhumane.” Similarly an urban enclave like New Jersey reintroduces bears to diversify the environment and provide bear hunting by using sport hunting funds and personnel and then the “humane” urban residents prevent any control or harvest of the bears under any circumstances. All the while the bears and wolves and cougars multiply, spread, cause damage to homeowners, pet owners, campers, ranchers, rural and urban residents, wildlife, and even kill and maim humans. A few observations are in order.

First, the ONLY thing that is our fault is electing politicians with the guts of a minnow to allow these radical groups to disrupt our society like this.

Second, if this insane policy of allowing dangerous animals like these to proliferate, occupy areas where people are going about their daily lives, and become more and more “tame” so that they form a growing danger to us and our children is allowed to continue, it would be better to advocate the elimination of wild places everywhere and turn state and Federal animal management over to taxpayer-paid killers to eradicate these predators.

Third, have you ever asked yourself why you are responsible if your dog bites someone but the bureaucrats responsible for wildlife, or the University professors who justify these non-management schemes, or the politicians hiding under their golden desks and the environmental/animal rights outfits driving this train are NOT responsible when one of these unmanaged critters kills your daughter or your son, much less your dog or calf or sheep? This was definitely NOT what the US Constitution had in mind when signed on 17 September 1787.

Fourth, why are these government employees always telling us we shouldn't shoot one of these animals when it threatens us or our family or our property? Places like New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Washington, DC already “infringe” big time on citizen rights to bear arms in defiance of the 2nd Amendment. But when it comes to these coddled predators, western bureaucrats in California and Federal bureaucrats everywhere join them by cautioning us not to shoot one of these animals unless our child lies mangled in their mouth and we can later prove it. I should say something sarcastic here but I will only observe that public employees saying these things should be fired.

Fifth, do you pay taxes to have some public employee tell you and your children animal rights fairy tales? Banging pots and pans, puffing yourself up, not running, not looking them in the eye all invite a percentage of dangerous reactions that may result in the loss of your life or the life of another. Are any of these predators or their purported “benefits” worth one human life? Public employees spewing such misinformation should be fired. However, just like the reintroduction, and anti-gun rhetoric, and dangerously silly advice THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING THEM THERE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THEM ARE NOT HELD RESPONSIBLE!

Sixth, who are these bureaucrats, professors, politicians and their environmental/animal rights supporters to drastically alter our way of life? Don't cook pork chops or have a dog that must go outside. Don't ranch “there.” Don't camp here. Don't hunt over there. Don't eat outside. Don't build homes there. Don't drive on that road. Don't build a cabin there. Don't feed hummingbirds or indeed any birds. Don't carry candy. Don't leave small children unattended. Don't let youngsters go off on their own as they grow up. Don't ride your horse there. Don't walk your dog here or hunt with a dog there. Don't do these things or anything that will “cause” an attack. If an attack happens it is “your fault.” Hunters, fishermen and other outdoors users have stood by while state fish and wildlife agencies have become little more than waiters (hoping for tips) to Federal bureaucrats and environmental/animal rights radicals. Rural residents have watched these same radicals manipulate every imaginable legal loophole (and some unimaginable ones too) while politicians of every stripe and urban voting groups foist this intolerable situation upon us. Federal bureaucrats have skimmed promotions and bonuses by concentrating and expanding new Federal authorities. Professors have provided “science” that while defying logic is presented as “expert” and therefore unquestionable. This has created grants, status, and tenure.

“We the People” formed a government under our Constitution to, among other things, “insure domestic Tranquility” and “promote the general Welfare” and “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”. I leave it to you to step back and ask yourself if this is what the government we formed is doing with these predators today.

The real aim of all these bureaucrats, professors, politicians, and their radical sleep partners is to fully control your lives, absorb your property rights, justify more government land acquisition, and ultimately regain all the power which our Constitution was meant to diffuse and disburse to the lowest levels where citizens could keep it from causing harm and eventually enslaving us. The bad guys, who would control us just like all subjects have been controlled throughout history, are slowly succeeding. So keep your kid on a leash, get rid of the dog, tie bells and a pot to your belt, sell your place to well-intentioned outfits like the Nature Conservancy or the Park Service, and don't forget to get rid of your gun and to practice “puffing up” and you will be OK. Do a good job and some politician might give you a good job or even get your kid some preference at some school or put you at the head of the line for an apartment in the city. Sound familiar?