“Both Wordsworth and Thoreau knew that when the light of common day seemed no more than common it was because of something lacking in them, not because of something lacking in it, and what they asked for was eyes to see a universe they knew was worth seeing. For that reason theirs are the best of all attempts to describe what real awareness consists of…that the rare moment is not the moment when there is something worth looking at but the moment when we are capable of seeing it”.
From The Desert Year, by Joseph Wood Krutch, American Naturalist
“Once they are gone, the trees and the grasslands, the screaming waterfowl, the beavers, and the antelope, we can only remember them with longing. We are not god. We cannot make America over again as it was in the beginning, but we can come to what is left of our heritage with a patriot’s reverence”.
——-Anonymous
From Things Precious & Wild: A Book of Nature Quotations by John K. Terres
“I hereby reaffirm my oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor in defense of the principles of liberty enunciated in our Declaration of Independence, for which our forefathers spilled their blood. We will not let the Republic fall without a fight”.
A small part of An Oathkeeper’s Pledge, by Stewart Rhodes.
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?
*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.
