Beware the wolf who bites back

The Minnesota House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow wolf hunting and trapping in Minnesota. A state Senate bill also has been approved in its originating committee, apparently has widespread support and full Senate approval is expected. According to news reports, farmers and hunting groups favor the plan while animal rights and conservation groups oppose it. If the bill clears the legislative process, its final stop would be on the desk of Gov. Mark Dayton, who could either sign it into law or veto it. Now, look at the handsome fellow in the photograph. How do you think he would look with his leg -- broken and bloody -- in a trap, or with his head half blown off by a bullet from a high-powered rifle? The adorable fellow shown here smiling at you is cousin Arcady. He really is a sweet guy when you get to know him. Do you really want wolf hunting and absolutely barbaric trapping in Minnesota?

An interlude from the "ages of man"

My mind is not ready for Part 2 of 2 regarding the "ages of man," but my fingers cannot stay away from the keyboard. I often think everything I am resides within my fingers: They type, they hold pens and pencils, they pull triggers, they grip the hand of another or squeeze the body of another, they feed me .... well, you get the picture. Maybe. But, what I actually am saying is that my memory, my intelligence, reside in my fingers. They can spell words and know things my mind has forgotten. Anyway ....

My fingers always are ready. This is not the case with my mind. My mind, for a variety of reasons, is in some manner of time warp at the moment.

Mind/Manner/Moment .... hmmmm. There is a song there, or a poem .... Maybe-e-e-e.

We will add another "M" to the list, this one for Minnesota. The liberal, progressive governor of Minnesota probably will permit the renewal of hunting and trapping wolves in Minnesota. I thought liberals/progressives were supposed to be the environmentalists among us, and conservatives, like me, were the ones who wish to destroy the natural world for the sake of building another shopping mall and mega-parking lot.

Guess again, folks. These questions always revolve more around monetary greed and personal advantages than they do around political philosophies.

Apparently, the bill is sailing through the legislative process with widespread support. It appears to me most members of both political parties in Minnesota are witless fools. Well, I guess that really is no surprise. Anyway, I am "mad as hell" about this hunting/trapping plan, to borrow a line from a film, and I hope enough other people will be angry enough to contact the governor and tell him to kill the bill that would kill the wolves.

For the record, I once was a very prolific, avid, efficient hunter. I quit for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was that it became too easy. Why do anything that is easy? (If a human being is not bright enough to successfully hunt a poor, dumb deer or duck, then I hope he is not employed in any position which requires more intelligence and skill than is needed for digging ditches.) And, to be honest, killing anything when it is not necessary literally began to sicken me. It comes down to a matter of determining when necessary is necessary.

I am not quite anti-hunting yet or anti-meat eating yet, but it would not surprise me if I reach those points someday. I can tolerate hunting as long as the hunter eats what he shoots. I doubt many would be willing to eat roast wolf for their Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

By the way, hunting and gun ownership are two very separate issues for me. I might march in an anti-wolf hunting demonstration or in any anti-hunting demonstration, but I live with a belief in the philosophy of Thomas Jefferson regarding firearms: "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."