Getting to Know Our Government

Hello! Today’s post is going to be about our wonderful, free government, however it’s only going to be about one tiny twig of the tree of our government and our world in the US. The sources that I will be using today for our research can be found here. Now, this article has changed since I first came upon it in April. It is altered regularly and has new questions answered and old answers changed to match whatever the operator, Tom Gorey, may feel.

So to begin, this first article is the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program (WHB program) myths and facts page, though it just covers myths. I think that based on the myths presented, that the BLM wants the Public to derive their own versions of the truth, which in my ever humble opinion is the truly wrong direction to go in because I think that we can all assume that bad things tend to happen when the human mind is left to its own devices. That said, lets see what the BLM does want us to think: In a nutshell, that nature cannot regulate itself in the wild horses (which I will not preach about on this day); That the government does not condone sending wild horses or burros to slaughter… (sure); That wild horses and burros that are not adopted during an adoption event are not held in holding pens (you try your own research. Let me know what you find on this); That the BLM definitely has not confiscated over 20 million acres of federal land which has been set aside specifically for wild horses and burros (hmm, I thought that it was closer to 34 million acres for the equines… interesting); That the BLM is not trying to kill the wild horses and burros; That the BLM is not removing horses/ burros from the range to make room for cattle to graze… (hmph okay); That gathers by helicopter is in fact the most humane method that the BLM has to “gather” the wild horses and burros from their rangelands and take to adoption events; Back to myth number one, that wild horses and burros cannot regulate their own numbers if left alone… hmm; That the BLM does not over estimate the number of wild equines on the range; That the BLM, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is doing just fine (in 2008); That wild horses/ burros are not native to America… hmm okay; That there were not 2 million wild equines roaming the land at the beginning of the last century; that the BLM is, principally but not necessarily, acting in the best interest of the welfare of the animals left in their charges only when the animals are found on Wild Horse Ranges (Which I know is confusing, and I am still trying to figure out the language of some documents); and finally that the BLM is not required to find forage that compares with the forage that is found by the various wildlife for the wild horses that they share the rangelands with.

I know that this is a lot for one three-page document from the BLM. I know that this article is going to be permeated with biased because of my other research from non-BLM sources, that everyone is trying to cover their butts and make sure that they show their intentions to standing up for their missions. While I have made my decision on the opaque intentions of the BLM, I will not try to cloud your own judgement, so here is my challenge to you all: Lets go on this journey together. Do your own research on the BLM, show me the 46,000 equines that are supposed to be on the range, but are instead stuck in holding pens in the Midwest. Tell me your take on what you think is actually happening to these national icons. If you need help or want to let me know of your progress, please feel free to find this page on Facebook here or fill out my contact form to send me an email 🙂

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!