Good News Days
Recently there have been numerous stories on the “good news” scale – a court case won, a federal ruling or a new proposed law that works for agriculture or a Department of the Interior press release that doesn’t ruin your day. Those days are kind of like the days when someone finds your lost dog – the one you liked.
Don’t you think we’ve become somewhat of a negative society, where we’re so used to turning on both the local and national evening news, only to hear negative stories? And if it isn’t negative news, then somebody is doing something wrong. While 10 people are doing something, 100 other people will tell you why it is wrong. Sometimes the elderly dwell on it, but the younger generation just tunes it out, which leaves them uninformed about important issues of which they need to be aware. Social media like Facebook is a great example – most of the writings are positive, and I like that.
Here at the Roundup, we like to get good news, and we think you, the readers, deserve it, whether you’re out in a blizzard or, in recent days, out in the country where Wyoming has never looked better at this time of year. As the saying goes, “Wyoming has its best hat on.” Enjoy it – green grass, lots of water and high livestock prices. Some say, “Don’t talk about it, you’ll jinx us,” but bad news will happen anyway, we’ve just got to manage it.
One of the stories that caught our eye last week was the one about the judge who ruled in favor of public lands ranchers with grazing permits on the Pike and San Isabel National Forests in Colorado. The ever-present foe of public lands grazing, Western Watersheds Project had appealed the grazing permit renewals of some 13 permittees, but the ranchers, along with county commissioners, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and the U.S. Forest Service, stood tall together and won the case. While it didn’t happen in Wyoming, it will help us in the future, and any day we win a case against Western Watersheds Project is good – no, it’s great.
Another story that is kind of an “I told you so” story is the one about the Government Accountability Office (they have to be the most overworked people in government) and their recently released study on horse welfare. What did you all say when they closed the horse slaughter plants? Well, it has proven true, and the 63-page study states some facts, the most important being that horse welfare has declined, and you said that would happen. The report also says there is an increase in abandonments and neglect, a lowered price for older horses and that horses are traveling farther to slaughter facilities outside of the U.S., where other country’s laws and regulations don’t even come close to our American standards. While the GAO’s recommendations to fix the issues are more regulations, it does open the door for your comments again.
Being positive is always more fun and, as the saying goes, “A positive attitude may not solve all of your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” We here at the Roundup hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend.
Dennis
