Three wolf haters in one picture! President Obama, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, and “Cowboy” Ken Salazar.

**Disclaimer** What follows is not representative of Patricia or even the WE VOW group. It is my opinion and mine alone. 

Each day I am coming more and more to the conclusion that the man occupying the White House is not the same man that I thought I voted for.

Am I talking about drone strikes? No, I really don’t care if our CIA or Air Force takes out the jihadists hell bent on killing us because we don’t buy into their “party like it’s 699″ philosophy. I also do not have any sympathy for people that call for the death of a young girl that was gang raped by thugs because she is “impure.” I also am not too keen on being sympathetic to those that ram airplanes into buildings or blow up schools because girls are being educated which apparently is a big taboo in that “culture.” Do I like civilians being killed? Of course not, but our enemies sure don’t have a problem with it.

Am I talking about the IRS “scandal?” Hell no! I still cannot see what is wrong with giving extra scrutiny to groups that whine and complain about taxes and are essentially anti-government. I would think the IRS would be derelict in their duties if they didn’t give them extra scrutiny left or right.

Am I angry about the NSA “spying” program where they have access to phone and internet records? Again no. I really don’t care if the NSA sees that I texted my wife a couple of times to bitch about my job or to ask what we are having for supper. I also don’t care if the NSA sees that I spend too much time on Facebook bitching about things when I should be working. Ok, I am guilty of occasionally taking a gander at a naked woman or two on the internet in my time, but I don’t think the NSA cares unless Pat Robertson is now running that agency . As far as I am concerned snoop away as long as it doesn’t get too cozy.

Am I angry about “Obamacare?” Hell no. I think that it is a great first step toward joining the rest of the civilized world. Hopefully universal healthcare is next.

Am I angry about the “gun control” that Obama is pushing for. Again, hell no! Gun nuts make me sick. I don’t have a problem with people reasonably owning guns, I just have a problem with guns owning people as is the case on our culture. And there is that “well regulated militia” thing that the gun nuts seem to always omit when they preach their worship for the Second Amendment.

So what am I angry about regarding the Obama Administration? Well, this is a wildlife site so I think you can guess where I am going with this. When Barack Obama was elected President in 2008, I was skeptical about some things in his platform, but I was also ecstatic that after the eight long nightmare years of the Bush Administration we finally had a true “Progressive” in the White House once again. I had high hopes for the future of our wildlife and wild lands and completely expected Obama to nominate an Interior Secretary in the mold of Bruce Babbitt from the Clinton Administration. My hopes got even higher when rumors started circulating that he was seriously considering Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona for the post. Grijalva is a longtime champion for wildlife and wild lands so things were looking up indeed. Imagine my shock when Obama chose a freaking RANCHER, Ken Salazar, as Interior Secretary. You know the guy that showed up at the press conference where his nomination was announced in a freaking cowboy hat! This was my first inkling that something was not right with this administration when it came to the environment and wildlife. Salazar proceeded to adopt the vast majority of Bush Administration Interior policies and promptly delisted the gray wolf from the Endangered Species list in the Northern Rocky Mountain states. This led to the wolf hating states of Idaho and Montana immediately initiating wolf killing seasons in 2009. The killing was stopped when a federal judge put the wolf back on the ESA list.

Not to be deterred, scheming Republicans and “Democrats” like Jon Tester of Montana (also a rancher) decided to try to find a way around the court ruling by slipping a “rider” into a must pass budget bill in 2011 that would remove wolves in Montana and Idaho from the ESA list and authorize all but a token population of 150 to be killed. Our president signed this bill including the “rider” thus spiting right in the face of one of the groups that supported him the most vigorously. This was supposedly done to save the seat of the fake “Democrat” Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, because the only way to get elected in these states is to show how much more you hate wolves than your opponent. Idaho and Montana soon picked up right where they left off and implemented even more extreme killing seasons. Salazar and Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe then made a secret deal with another wolf hating state, Wyoming, that allows for wolves to be killed by any method, at anytime, in 80 percent of that state. The rest of the state, near Yellowstone National Park, would have a “quota.” The killing in these states have led to the death of well over a thousand wolves including numerous radio collared wolves from Yellowstone.

Then to add insult to injury in late 2011, Salazar announced that gray wolves in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan were to be removed from the ESA list at the beginning of 2012. And to the shock of no one Wisconsin and Minnesota initiated plans for killing seasons immediately. In the case of Wisconsin legislation was introduced the same day that wolves were officially delisted. This led to over a 500 Great Lakes wolves being killed in Wisconsin and Minnesota at the end of 2012. This does not include the hundreds killed by the Wildlife Services assassins. Michigan jumped on the wolf killing bandwagon in 2013 and want to start their slaughter in the fall.

The above is bad enough right? But it is not the end. Even after all of the disappointments the Obama Administration delivered in terms of wolves and other environmental issues, he again garnered the support of environmentalists and wildlife advocates, such as myself, because the alternative was unfathomable. I also held out hope that with reelection and the rumored resignation of “Cowboy” Ken Salazar, Obama would have learned his lesson and nominated a much more reasonable Interior Secretary that would put a stop to the insanity that Salazar caused and Obama allowed to happen. Even though Rep. Grijalva again had massive support from environmentalists and wildlife advocates, Obama again ignored us and nominated former banking executive and CEO of outdoor retailer REI, Sally Jewell. I figured that at least she wasn’t a rancher and seemed to be a reasonable choice for the position. Apparently I was wrong.

Not content spitting in the faces of environmental advocates for the past four years, the Obama Administration announced yesterday that all remaining protections for the gray wolf are to be removed in the United States with the exception of the severely endangered Mexican Gray Wolves in Arizona and New Mexico. How generous.

Thank you President Obama for spitting in the face of those that supported you once again. I ask, what did we do to make you hate us so much? Better yet, why do you hate wolves so much? Are you trying to pander to the yokels in the West and places like Northern Wisconsin that would never support you anyway? I didn’t vote for this, and I doubt the millions of others that voted for you did either. You won’t stand up to the Teahadist bullies that attack you each and every day, but you have no problem offending those that worked hard to get you elected? Why is that? The gray wolf is not “recovered.” Not even close. So why is the federal government washing their hands and turning over their “management” to the states knowing full well that the states are already waging and all out war against this species.

If you are like me and outraged at this administration please let them know.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

Then contact the Department of Interior and let them know what you think about their war against wolves:

Mailing Address:
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240

Phone: (202) 208-3100
E-Mail: feedback@ios.doi.gov
Web: Feedback form

We need to remind President Obama WHY we voted for him and make it very clear that we did not vote for this.

And while I am not a big fan of internet petitions because they are dubious at best for being effective this one is legitimate in my view. Please sign:

Protect America’s Wolves!