Cowboy Common Sense

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Fed) met in Jackson Hole on August 28-29. Annually a bunch of egghead economists try to impress us with their knowledge of how to direct monetary policy. They promise us free Bubble-Up and free Rainbow-Stew because of their smarts. This year they had competition. The American Principles Project hosted the First Annual Jackson Hole Summit entitled “Central Banks: The Problem or The Solution”. You can watch replays on website JacksonHoleSummit.org. It was held at Hotel Terra in Teton Village and at Diamond Cross Ranch in Buffalo Valley. This cowboy had the privilege of…

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I think we need to go ‘back from nature’. I know, I know. The saying is supposed to be ‘back to nature.’ But I propose that ‘natural’ isn’t always better than how man can alter the environment to improve it. Nature doesn’t necessarily know best. Take the current drought in California. I was recently in conversation with a man who farms 35,000 acres in California. He has spent thousands over the past year drilling new wells because the aquifer has dropped. He said, “The real problem isn’t drought. It is that environmentalists won’t let us build any more dams. So…

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There are those who advocate the elimination of elk feedgrounds, including the National Elk Refuge. I call that ideology foolishly impractical. I challenged them to submit their plan. In response, they delivered a research paper to me entitled “What Happens When Elk Feeding Ends”. In this treatise their main claim is that since many other places throughout the west have viable elk herds without artificial feeding, then northwest Wyoming can do the same. This is not a valid argument or comparison for the following reasons; 1) Our harsh winters are much worse than any other elk area. 2) No area…

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As they escorted the young man out of our worship service, I immediately thought, “What if he goes to his car and returns with a gun? We are sitting ducks!” It was obvious the man was not ‘all there’, having some kind of mental illness. He could be upset that he wasn’t allowed “to preach to the people” as he had expressed an intention of doing. Revenge was a possibility. I looked at all possible means of defense. Nothing more formidable than a hymn book or bible was at hand. I sweated out the last 15 minutes of the service.…

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