Dana Blankenhorn

A New and Better Future

Think of this as Volume 17, Number 26 of the newsletter I have written weekly since March, 1997. Enjoy.

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Living as we do in the now, we often fail to appreciate how the future is changing before us.

I know the future isn't what it seemed to be when I was young. Technology moves through the path of least resistance, and in my lifetime that has meant Moore's Law. Extending the exponential gains in computing power made possible by silicon into other areas of technology – wired and wireless networks, aluminum and optical drives – has transformed us in many ways without seeming to change society all that much.

I currently drive a little four-door hatchback that, in many ways, isn't much different than the Jeep wagon my dad took to California in 1970. (I inherited it durng my college years, and thank god fashion has made so much progress since the mid-1970s.) I live in a house that has stood since 1923, the year my mom was born, and looks from the outside just as it did then.

People Make Urban Wildlife Dangerous

by Robin Blankenhorn

Quick question, did you hear about the family in Michigan? The ones suing the state because they wanted to keep the deer that they raised from a fawn? The family who started a petition that received over 16,000 signatures so that they could keep their wild deer? Ever heard of that family?

Well I did, a month ago when the case was first going into court. I agreed with the state, not the family. Yes, the story is very heart-warming. A family takes in a baby fawn after its mother was killed by a car. They are somehow able to keep it alive for years and in the meantime fall in love. They even name it Lilly.

What they, and anyone who agrees with them, do not know is that humans are very poor substitutes for a mother the same species.

Did you know that deer eat plants that are toxic to them? In small doses and with other plants as well. Scientists have found that they actually do need these toxins for certain bodily functions. This information has only come to light in the past few years. Fawns only learn this information from their mothers. Obviously this family thinks that they are providing a good home for the deer, but they also made a decision to never let it lead a normal life.

They took that path a long time ago, well after the deer had turned two years old. At that point in deer biology, yearlings would be on their own, in their own territory, and getting ready to become mothers or fathers themselves.

Sorry for the rant. It just boggles my mind whenever I see stories like this. I do not get that feel good feeling that others might, nor do I agree with this sort of practice.

My View on Urban Wildlife

Think of this as Volume 17, Number 25 of the newsletter I have written weekly since March, 1997. Enjoy.

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For the last few weeks, and possibly for some time to come, my daughter Robin (right) has been treating us all to pieces on her chosen field of study, Urban Wildlife policy, and what to do about it.

Her interest was piqued by her studies at Texas A&M Kingsville, in range and wildlife studies, with an emphasis on wildlife.

She said her professors considered this a new field, an important field, but admitted there really aren't many jobs yet in the field because much of the fieldwork has not yet been done.

Here's what I think.

In Defense of Legal Hunting

by Robin Blankenhorn

Have you ever read an article that profiles hunters and wondered why they only want to have the trophies?

It is always interesting to me to read these news stories because they are some of the easiest for me to see the author putting their own spin on.

It becomes even more clear when you read the comment sections of these particular stories. All anyone talks about is why it is disgusting that hunters only go for the pretty or biggest deer and leave the meat. Today I read just such a story Excuse me while I laugh my head off at the ignorance in the world.

This is one of those rare instances where I can be thankful that I decided to go to a college in Texas. It seemed like every year when some hunting season came around I would have to be on the look-out for wet spots. Many of my fellow students and teachers would almost be salivating at the mere thought of hunting.

Not for the sport, but for the stories, camaraderie with friends, and more importantly the meat. I can not tell you how many different recipes I heard over the years but suffice to say they all sounded good.

The Reality-Based Community Gets Unhinged in NSA "Scandal"

For the last decade liberals have proclaimed ourselves to be the “reality-based community.” The idea, starting with the Iraq War, was that conservatives were seeing monsters under the bed, that they were ignoring real threats, and that this attitude was leading us to disaster.

It did. Iraq was a disaster. Katrina was a disaster. The Great Shitpile, meant to cover it all up, caused the Great Recession, another disaster. For Republicans, the ultimate disaster was President Obama, and their denialism has continued from the day of his election to today.

But if Democrats are to be useful, if we're to become a true governing majority, we can't take our eyes off the ball of reality. With the so-called NSA Scandal, we have.

Secrecy vs. Anarchy

Think of this as Volume 17, Number 24 of the newsletter I have written weekly since March, 1997. Enjoy.

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I have a new friend, an anarchist.

He's a veteran political activist of the left-wing type, but hearing him talk about current events sounds a lot like hearing a Tea Party activist rail against ObamaCare.

The essence of the radical case, during every political crisis, is always that institutions can't be trusted, even democratic institutions. Democracy doesn't work, they cry, it works against the people's real interests, which these activists are privileged to know because, well, they're their interests.

Technology Advances Wildlife Science, Or What Observers Fail To See

by Robin Blankenhorn 

Have you ever read the heart warming stories of wild animals being returned to their natural habitat? I know I have, not only because they make me feel all warm inside, but it also helps to restore thoughts that humanity might still exist.

However next time you see a story like this, take the time to read the comments that others have posted. See a pattern? Almost every last one is about the collar now around the neck, or some bright tag that hangs on its ear like an earring.

Every time I see comments like this I know that those people did not take the time to either think about science or even the rules of hunting in that state.

One of the best examples that I ever saw was back in early April on the website DailyMail. 

The Human Art of the Con

Think of this as Volume 17, Number 23 of the newsletter I have written weekly since March, 1997. Enjoy.

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One of the strangest lies I hear is that some con artist or other acted “inhumanly” toward their victims.

 In fact, the con may be the most human act there is. Because it is based on the one thing that most separates us from other animals, story-telling.

 Civilization begins with story-telling. Whether it's in cave paintings or the words grandparents give grandchildren, indicating a past before the kids' own births that was different from the present day, it's story-telling that defines us as human.

 A con man is telling a story. And the first person they tell that story to is themselves. They are their own first “victim,” and their most important one.

Seven Pillars of Wildlife Management

 by Robin Blankenhorn

Whenever I read the online news site, The Wildlife News, I feel sometimes as if the whole wildlife system is falling apart at the seams.

There always seems to be stories about people finding carcasses of dead wildlife, how some are taking advantage of the system, or even what we are told is false. Reading stuff like this makes me wonder if it really was a good idea for me to even think about getting the degree that I got. Or even if I should continue on this career path that I have chosen. It took an hour long walk and much deep thought for me to realize that while those on that website probably know what they are talking about, the majority do not.

Like everything else in the country wildlife is governed by a set of rules, or rather principles. These are the guiding factors that influence and dictate what direction wildlife personnel will take. It is not long, nor is it hard to memorize, but they are there and if this is your field of choice you need to know them.