Riding Herd “The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it.” – JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL
December 15, 2020 • www.aaalivestock.com
Volume 62 • No. 12
Us Versus Them BY LEE PITTS
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versus the East anymore, the big divide that currently exists in this country suggests that if there is ever another Civil War it will be between urbanites and ruralites.
Heaven help us!
The Big Divide
Trump’s supposed loss was not my biggest takeaway following the 2020 elections. The real story is that for rural residents the next four years are going to be even worse than you can possibly imagine. For 20 years now, as a result of the Bush-Gore election that started us down this polarized path, we have classified our political differences by the color of the state you live in. Red was Republican and conservative and blue was Democratic and liberal. If you looked at the electoral map from 20 years ago you would have noticed a solid swath of red through the South, the Mountain West, (with the exception of New Mexico) and it was safe to say that the political war was a regional conflict. Up until election night 2020, this is how I viewed the country, the east, where the rules were made, versus the west. I could even envision that someday when westerners finally got fed up with being treated as a poor stepchild that a second Civil War might occur in this country. But something happened on election night 2020 that clearly showed that it wasn’t the West
A study by political scientists at Washington University in St. Louis, clearly identifies the sides in the upcoming battle for the heart and soul of our country. In their analysis, Andrew Reeves and Bryant J. Moy, used Gallup survey data between 2003-18, to find that the things that divide us aren’t easily identified by geography or by soldiers wearing either red or blue uniforms, but in how close people live to a big city. According to the U.S. Census, urban areas make up only 3% of the entire land mass of this country but are home to 80% of our population. Looking at it another way, 97% of our country’s land mass is rural but
NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING
s this story is being written (Thanksgiving) I don’t know whether Sleepy Joe Biden and his band of socialists has retaken the swamp or not. (Or is it a sewer?) I also don’t know about the state of the Senate but if Georgia uses the same programmable voting machines they used to elect Sleepy Joe and Commie Kamala, it’s possible the Democrats will control both the legislative and executive branches of government.
ample, in the 2016 presidential election, 10 of the 13 most urban states voted for Hillary Clinton while 12 of the 14 most rural states voted for Trump. The urbanization of our country hasn’t just happened overnight, rather it has been a steady progression ever since the Pilgrims landed. During our relatively short history, the U.S. has transformed from a predominantly rural, agricultural nation into an urbanized, industrial one. For example, in 1790, only one out of every 20 only 19.3% of our population Americans lived in urban areas but this ratio had dramatically lives there. Do the math! The Census identifies two changed to one out of four by types of urban spheres: “Urban 1870, one out of two by 1920, areas” are those metropolitan two out of three in the 1960s, areas with more than 50,000 and four out of five in the 2000s. Do you see the trend here? residents and “urban clusters” have between 2,500 and less than 50,000 people. Generally A Deep and speaking, those who work in Widening Chasm In writing this story I was rural areas produce stuff like food, energy and forest prod- surprised by many other demoucts whereas those who live in graphic facts of life such as... Did you know that the westurban areas and urban clusters for the most part are engaged in ern U.S., not the east coast, is secondary jobs like government the most urbanized part of the and services. People in rural ar- country? That’s because its popeas live with and are sustained ulation is more heavily centered by nature while those who live in large urban areas like LA, San in urban areas are surrounded Francisco, Portland and Seattle by concrete valleys, asphalt jun- that are connected by urban gles and artificial surroundings. clusters up and down the coast Urban areas have large migrant with comparatively few folks livpopulations while rural areas ing out in the hinterlands, like are more monochrome. And farmers and ranchers. According to Professors here’s where the real problem comes in: cities and suburbs Reeves and Moy, “Just four vote Democratic while rural U.S. states have a rural majority areas vote Republican. For excontinued on page two
The best way to predict your future is to create it.
There Is No RevenueNeutral Carbon Dioxide Tax BY H. STERLING BURNETT / CLIMATE CHANGE WEEKLEY
Each time politically influential elites propose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions to fight climate change, economists and other analysts demonstrate such a tax will impose far more harm on society than the climate harms the tax is intended to avoid. As a result, Congress has repeatedly rejected attempts to impose a carbon dioxide tax, even passing resolutions putting a majority of the body on record as opposing it. Despite that clear opposition, Joe Biden is raising anew the specter of a carbon dioxide tax. Biden is a climate change true believer, stating repeatedly human fossil fuel use is undeniably causing catastrophic climate change that poses an “existential threat” to human existence. The names Biden has floated for his Cabinet picks and key appointees, such as Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, Anthony Blinken as Secretary of State, and former Secretary of State John Kerry as a special envoy on climate, reflect his commitment to imposing drastic policies to fight climate change. As with fanatics and zealots throughout his-
tory, the fact that data indicate Biden and his prospective appointees are wrong and climate change, though occurring, is not catastrophic, does nothing to dissuade them from their blind faith that anthropogenic climate change must be stopped at all costs. Nor are Biden and his allies—multimillionaires with multiple homes, multiple cars, yachts, and private jets—apparently bothered by the fact their lifestyles don’t reflect their purported fear that large carbon footprints are dooming the world. There is a fundamental disconnect between their professed fear of a climate change disaster and how they live their lives. Climate hypocrisy is the modus operandi of those expected to populate a Biden administration. The carbon dioxide tax is foremost among the policies Biden and company have embraced to fight climate change. While professing the carbon tax is meant to fight climate change, in reality it is simply another way for elites to accrue more power for themselves, exerting ever-greater control over the lives of the common folk—the hoi polloi, Joe and Jane Sixpack, whom they disdain. After all, these common people, who stubbornly cling to their God, guns, pickup trucks and SUVs, air conditioning, and on-demand electric power, are destroying the planet. Biden and company say, “Trust us. We’re from the government, and we know best how you should live.” Polls consistently show a majority of the public, although concerned about climate change, oppose paying more for their electricity and gasoline in an effort to fight it. Accordcontinued on page four
by LEE PITTS
MakeBelieve Land
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s your guide I’d like to welcome you on this tour of make-believe authoritarian figures. Please keep your hands and heads inside the bus as danger lurks around every curve.” “Hey,” said one rubber-necker, “is that Santa Claus taking a knee over there?” “No, that’s Uncle Sam. Admittedly, both show a striking resemblance and they are both authoritarian figures who make big promises. Santa and Sam may say that if you’re a good boy or girl you’ll be rewarded with all kinds of free goodies but I speak from experience when I say that all you’re going to get from them is underwear and tee shirts. Uncle Sam looks a lot like Santa because as a government employee he’s put on a lot of extra flab. But when you see his sign that says, “Uncle Sam Wants you!” don’t fall for it. He just wants your money. Notice that in Sam’s other hand he’s holding a sign that says, “Will work for food.” Don’t fall for that trick either. Don’t encourage the phony glutton by putting any money in his tip jar.” “Quick, look out the lefthand side of the bus and you’ll catch a rare glimpse of the Tooth Fairy. Getting to see the Fairy is a very rare occurrence ever since he got a stiff prison sentence for dealing in ivory, even if it came from screaming little kids, not elephants in Africa.” “Hey look,” said an excited tourist. “Isn’t that Smokey Bear over by that burnt out log?” “Yes it is and I’m surprised you can recognize him with his nicotine stained teeth and fingers. Smokey has been trying to kick the smoking habit for years and has tried everything from the patch to hypnotism. One shrink suggested Smokey let himself go to pot because of the lie he’s been telling for years that, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.” It turns out that chainsaws, thinning crews, clear cuts and cows can too. Smokey’s worsening condition should serve as a warn-
continued on page four