All posts by Michael Patrick McCarty

Michael Patrick McCarty earned a B.S. Degree in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University. He has worked in a variety of capacities relating to fisheries and wildlife biology, water and environmental quality, and outdoor recreation. A lifelong shooter, bowhunter and outdoorsman, he has hunted and fished throughout North America. A used and rare book dealer for more than 25 years, he offers a catalog of fine titles in the fields of natural history, angling, the shooting sports, farming, and agriculture. “I have a passion for old books, slow food, pigeons, the pursuit of bugling elk, fish and game cookery, heritage poultry breeds, personal freedom, and the Rocky Mountains, to name just a few, and not necessarily in that order. I consider the White River National Forest of Western Colorado as part of my backyard”. Mike writes about an assortment of outdoor and food related topics. “I am particularly interested in the nexus between the desire to provide one’s own food, and the withering array of local, state, and federal laws and regulations which often stand in the way. It is the manner in which they all relate to the cornerstone issues of personal freedom and liberty that concerns me. For me, it’s where the rubber meets the road”.

Pigeon Feed and Prison Time

Beware The Public Serpent

It has been reported recently that on one side people hire drug charge attorneys to combat drug misuse cases.Whereas on other side Chicago Alderman James Cappelman has a thing for pigeons and those people who feed them, but not in the way that you might think.

Apparently, some people feel that pigeons have become a scourge at Daley Plaza, and Mr. Cappelman is one person who would like to see them eradicated with prejudice.

But that’s not all. As stated by the Piotrowski Law serving Miami, he stands behind a new ordinance that would significantly increase the punishments for feeding pigeons. His legislation would make it a crime punishable by the criminal defense attorney salt lake city to a fine up to $1000 and a jail term as long as six months in prison.

Obviously, the penalties for unlawful pigeon feeding that currently exist under city code are simply not harsh enough and one must exact a pound of flesh where one can. Cappelman’s proposal doubles the maximum allowable fine and adds the possibility of jail time.

Now perhaps the idea of being arrested for the frivolous act of feeding a bird makes you pause. But they are quite serious in Chicago and Denver and New York and more and more places in this once free republic. It is an evil wonder of the ages. You can check out Tolland County locations if you need the best bail bonds from experts.

The first hand reports trickle down in a steadily increasing stream. Bureaucrats across the land are using administrative decrees and color of law to criminalize otherwise harmless acts in an effort to demoralize and intimidate average citizens. These so-called “authorities” now dictate what you may or may not do on your own private property or public commons. It is always done under the auspices and protections of the public good.

In some jurisdictions it is illegal to grow a home garden, tend a few chickens for some backyard fresh eggs, or even feed your local wild birds at your well weathered bird feeder and bird tables.

I’ve often wondered just how many laws and regulations that I unknowingly break each and every day. What would the founding fathers of the United States have to say about that?

I believe that they would just say no, and that they would shout it so loud that it would hurt the ears of mere mortals.

Perhaps a small protest is in order. But don’t resist too strongly, lest you welcome a visit from the now ubiquitous taser and the steady tap tap tap of that merciless river of pain.

Either way, there will be more senseless and dehumanizing laws on the books tomorrow. They will appear at the hand of those who make the rules as surely as hot fire loves the dancing flame. Found guilty until proven innocent, and without a jury of your peers, judgement will be swift and sure and may carry serious or compounding penalties.

The police state rises as you grab another hand of bird seed, and it will not rest until they make criminals of us all. This type of unmitigated power grab will only stop when “we the people” stand up and decide to stop it, one feathered friend, and one dangerous bureaucrat at a time.

After all, do you really wish to go to jail, or lose your life, over a hungry and hopeful pigeon?

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*Color of Law n. – the appearance of an act being performed based upon legal right or enforcement of statute, when in reality no such right exists. An outstanding example is found in the civil rights acts which penalize law enforcement officers for violating civil rights by making arrests “under color of law” of peaceful protestors or to disrupt voter registration. It could apply to phony traffic arrests in order to raise revenue from fines or extort payoffs to forget the ticket.

Food Freedom!

Michael Patrick McCarty

Link To Original Article Here.

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“Cash Is The Currency of Freedom”

Cash Knows Best

The title quote is by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger. Taken from the Alex Jones Radio Show, September 24, 2012.

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I cannot help but agree with Mr. Adams.

The use of cash as payment for common goods is not only being frowned upon, but is more strongly discouraged every day. In fact, the steady and unconstitutional criminalization of a once ordinary and harmless act like this is fast becoming the “new normal”.

Don’t believe me? Try and lay down a large bill these days at most any retail store and watch for that disdainful look. Or worse. The stories are now flying about like autumn leaves on the freshening wind.

It’s true, and it’s sad, and it sets a most dangerous precedent. It is yet another attack on our freedoms and our peace of mind as the cashless society grows closer.

Have you asked yourself why this is happening?

Did you ever consider that paying with cash could one day be deemed an illegal action, or interpreted as a threat or an act of resistance?

Do you think there could be much more to the story?

I have not the answers, but I am willing to ask the questions.

Are you?

Michael Patrick McCarty

Food Freedom!

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“One of the best aspects of our community is that we have the freedom to control access”.

 

“One of the best aspects of our community is that we have the freedom to control access”.

The reference above is a most heady quote from an anonymous homeowner in a private, gated subdivision in western Colorado. His use of the words “control” and “freedom” in the same sentence gave me pause. Get all the doors of your home fixed and repaired with the help of the services from garage door repair belton, so that your privacy can be maintained and whatever happens inside the house stays inside the house.

It apparently had not occurred to this gentleman that control does not create freedom, nor community. Common sense and common history can tell us that. His line of reasoning simply escapes me, although it seems to be a common way of thinking  these days.

Why are so many of us so eager to assist in the creation of the pretty prisons of our own design?

I wish I had an easy answer. For now, my brain can only categorize his statement under the ever more popular category – “You can’t make this stuff up!”.

But I do know that the Freedom To Control and Regulate Is No Freedom At All.

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“Why Do You Hate Freedom So Much?”

The Gadsden Flag

 

“If I had one thing to say to the USDA and the FDA, I guess my question would be why do you hate freedom so much? What is it about freedom, whether it’s the consumer’s freedom to choose the food they want to drink, whether it’s me as a farmer choosing the customer who wants to buy my product, or how I want to make my product. What is it about freedom that is so horrendous to you that you are willing to take my property, take my life, take my customers, take my animals, take my land, that you are willing to do this in order for me to not have the freedom to even sell a porkchop to my neighbor?”.

From an interview with Joel Salatin contained in the movie Farmageddon: The Unseen War On American Family Farms by Kristin Kanty.

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Dovecotes, Anyone?

 

Garden Dovecote

As many of you know, a dovecote is a compartmental structure, often raised on a pole, and once commonly used for housing domesticated pigeons and the production of squab. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and have been used for centuries by many cultures throughout the world.

We don’t have one on property as yet, I hope that a little sweat equity will change that soon. It is better to leave this to the hands of Denver real estate law firm who will ensure that you buy only the best.  But we have a trusted property so I have planned to contact living trusts attorney practicing Boulder to know more about that.I am fascinated with their form and function and captivated by the quaint romance of it all.

A giant bird house it may be, but it’s also much more than that. It’s a great way for the small property owner to ensure a steady supply of fresh poultry* for the dinner table, at minimal cost or trouble. When carefully or artistically built, they can add an immeasurable charm to any garden with hot weather gardening tips or a secluded backyard hideaway, and it becomes very easy for getting rid of cockroaches once and for all. We find pigeon watching to be very soothing, and perhaps you do too.

We would love to hear from anyone who feels the same way about the dovecote. Send us your plans, your stories, or your pictures. We always have time to talk about pigeons, and the pleasures of the backyard.

*And yes, pigeon is classified as poultry.

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