Welcome to the Montana BLM

I call this file "tidbits", updated 01/16/2003 for year 2002
As a Whistle Blower, I help keep BLM mgrs in Montana "honest"
just my way of saying "Thanks!" (see start.html for details)
If it wasn't for folks like BLM DSD Janet Singer, you probably wouldn't be here

Look for more "tidbits" in 2002; and until the BLM puts its' Montana Dakotas
house in order, revealing bits of insider information will continue
to become public knowledge.

*Due to the continual increase in this record
I have curtailed this file to more recent "tidbits"
and in other areas of the web pages I will be archieve'ing
items such as previous smt calendars and the 1998 Employee
Survey slides for example; if you need something that is
archieved -- just email me for a copy

For all previous "tidbit" entries (such as Ethics violations
Funds Diversions, Discrimination, Articles written by former BLM'ers etc.)
click these links (Large Files!)... WhistleBlower 2000
WhistleBlower 2001
This file - WhistleBlower 2002

Look below - New entries, added weekly - since 5/1999 to current ...Enjoy!

*The old web page (http://www.mcn.net/~gferren) is no longer being maintained.

As 2001 ends...The Interior Internet (Indian Trust) Fiasco stands out...
Employees in the trenches are looking forward to big changes in the coming year...
(or hoping for big changes)...time will tell
I'm skeptical that any "changes" will net result in progress or good management.

Coming...Montana BLM 2001, the Year in Review!

In the News:
Horse Adoption Program Challenged
Property Owners, Feds Face Off
Wyoming Energy Commission Should be Dumped
Montana CoalBed Natural Gas Alliance - CBM will Benefit State
Heard on the Hill (Politics)
Polarization of American Political Parties

(Posted 12/27/2001)

Welcome to 2002!

Reporting since 1998!...review tidbig01.html and tidbig02.html for 2000, and 2001
past links are for reference, for those of you that may need the articles for research

In the News:
2000's Wildfires Spark Preventive Approach

A True Accounting May Be Coming for Half a Million Native Americans
Dept of the Interior - Indian Trust Assets Management
No Trust, No Progress

Office of Indian Affairs - Energy Summit
Montana's Environmental Policy - Ban Moon Rising
Northern Plains Resource Council (MT)
State's OK of Mine Plan Stirs Opposition (Rock Creek - MT)
Sierra Nevada Protection Upheld
Forest Plan May See Some Changes (Sierra Nevada)

Unfamiliar Turf: Saving the Environment
A Test for All Westerners
Moffat Stirs US Land Debate (Public Lands)
Planted Lynx Fur in Habitat Survey Upsets Legislators
Plan to Revive Everglades Brings Renewed Dispute
Huge Holiday Crowds Trouble Dune Park

(Posted 01/01/2002)

In the News:
A Pay Raise
Energy Drillers Flush with Success
High Salinity (Powder River - CBM)
Irrigator Expects Damage
Interior's Failure to Issue Trust Benefit Payments
Computer Shutdown Rattles Interior
Computer Shutdown Has Interior Working in Old-Fashioned Way
EPA Gags a Critic
Whose Custom and Culture is Worth Preserving (Moffat)
Environmental Fight Looms in Wyoming
Cody Candidate for Interior Post Draws Fire
Mining Company Gets Protection in Legislation Pushed by Daschle
New Security for Oregon Irrigation System (Klammath)
Sierra Club Seeks Gov't Compliance
Suit Claims Feds Skirt Law on Alternative Fuels

(Posted 01/05/2002)

In the News:
US NE States Mull Clean Air Lawsuit Verses Bush Admin
White House Warned on Easing Clean Air Rules
Judge's Order Halts Montana Logging Plan

Cobell v Norton ...Interior Gave Court "inaccurate, incomplete" Reports (see Press Releases)
Interior Halts Indian Payments
Interior Dept - Slate article
National Parks Offline
Fighting for Water to Save a Once-Lush Mexican Delta (Colorado River)
EPA Tests "Crude, Limited"

(Posted 01/09/2002)

In the News:
Report on Drilling for Gas Set for Release (CBM - Powder River Basin)
Subsidizing Madness in Washington DC (CBM)
Water from Drilling Has Beneficial Uses (CBM)
Methane to Their Madness
McInnis Eyes Chair of Resources Panel
Protecting Indian Trust Records Creates Suspicious Roadblock
International Year of the Mountain
Interior's Silence on Corps Plan Questioned
Nevada Nuclear Waste Site Chosen
Employees to be Informative, Courteous, and Clean (Forest Service)
Wilderness Above, a Mine Below and a Furor (Rock Creek - MT)

Bush Gets Union Allies in Arctic Drilling Drive (ANWR)
Interior:Drilling Won't Violate Polar Bear Pact
Norton Insists Arctic Drilling Safe

Interior continues to blow smoke up the Judge's butt...
It's as simple as disconnecting the Network cable from the computer...
Court:Interior Hasn't Acted to Fix Net Problems
Alert Preceded Indian Trust Hacker Breach
Ruling Deals Setback to Norton
Government Officials Meet with Native Americans over Mismanagement
Indian Trust (Indianz.com)
Interior's Internet Said Not Fixed
Lack of Internet Access Hinders Park Operations
Indian Trust Press Releases/Editorials

Another Summit for Park Chief (NPS)
Group Growls Over Lynx Flap
Mine in Wilderness Approved After 14 Years (Rock Creek - MT)
Racism Clouds Oregon Water Wars (Klammath)
Bills that We Should Be Watching For
For Montana's Governor, Accident's Echoes Linger
Conflict of Interest for Christine Todd Whitman ? (EPA Attempts to Muzzle Whistle Blower)
Underground Fires Menace Land and Climate (Coal Mines)
White House Relaxes Rules on Protection of Wetlands
Ambrose Will Aid Milltown Cleanup (Mine Waste Cleanup - MT)

(Posted 01/14/2002 appended 01/19/2002)

Gavin Frost once challenged me to a battle of wits...
but I had to tell him I couldn't fight a defenseless opponent ;>)

In the News:
Poisoning Feared at Nation's Largest Lead Smelter
Residents Press Their Call for Buyout (Lead)
100 Families Leaving Tainted Town...
Bush Calls for More Mining...

A Rush to Fill (Civil Service) Jobs...
Diversity Management Deserves a Closer Inspection (Reverse Discrimination)

Bitter Debate Over Handling of Dead Trees
BLM Report Backs Wells in Breaks
Federal Analysis on Monument Drilling (Missouri Breaks)
Gas Drilling Company Says La Plata's Rules Too Tough (CO)

Average Federal Exec Bonuses Topped $11,000
Report on Executive Benefits May Further Demoralize Postal Service

Free Speech Center Registry
Interior Seeks Wildlife Funds
Park Service Lifts Gag Order on Ranger (Yellowstone Natl Park)
Protecting the Polar Bears
Silent on Wetlands
Federation Joins Suit Over Access (Public Lands - WY)
BLM Ordered to Consider Environmental Alternatives in Red Desert (WY)

Support a good cause - volunteer your computer's idle processor cycles
Put Your PC to Work - Anthrax Research Program

(Posted 01/23/2002)

In the News:
*for the RAC member that stated "Recreationists Don't Pay for Anything"...(OHV meetings)
$535 Billion Spent on Recreation in 1999

Breaks Mgmt Meeting Jan 29th - 30th
Final Version of Dam Initiative Ready (Init 145)
Hearing on MPC Sale...
Helena Lawmaker Critizes MPC Stipulation - PSC Needs More Details
Environmentalists Take Aim at Bush Record
Greed in America - Get Ready for Volatile Gas Prices
Indians to Be Paid for Grazing Rights

Big Farms get the most $$$...
More Subsidy Money Going to Fewer Farms

The Joke Continues...(Interior/Internet)
Offline Interior Dept
Receivership Weighed for Indian Trust Funds

Lawyers Argue About Logging...
Recovery Plan Should Focus on Home Safety
Mining Interests, Residents at Odds (Rock Creek - MT)
Bambe, FS Ranger - Snowmobile Booster ?
NPRC Plan Garners Wide Support (Scroll to read)
Colorado Plays Role in Push to Increase Funding for Parks
A Move to Tie Bonuses to Executives' Performance (Gov't Mgrs)

Bush May Create Monument in Southern Utah
Gov Wants Utah Land Protected
Governor of Utah...Seeks Scenic Area Designation
San Rafael May Become Monument

Norton Enjoys Speech from Afar
Norton Skips State of the Union
Norton Weathers Stormy 1st Year

Whistleblowers Often Pay a Big Price
Environmental Group's Agenda is Questioned

Federal Plan for Water in Klammath Basin...
Klamath Plan Backs Irrigation

Senate OKs Bush's Wildlife Pick
BLM Makes No Headway in Wild Horse Slayings
Durango New Home for Hotshot Crew
Keep Public Business Public

Civil Rights Act of 1997

(Posted 01/27/2002 appended 01/30/2002)

Super Bowl Sunday!

Inside the BLM:
Employees are discussing the rumor of a changing of BLM State Directors...
and a reconnection to the Internet by mid-month
not everyone thinks the state director shuffle will accomplish much (positive) change
and it's about time for another "Employee Survey"
The US Attorney's office in conjunction with the Federal District Court
are doing their best to see that my civil suit never makes it to a jury
With approx. (200) lbs of documentation as evidence, a lot of contradictory testimony
by folks like Janet Singer and Tim Murphy...I can understand why!
But, it isn't over until I say it's over...I will have Justice!

In the News:
Activists Say U.S. Yields to Ranchers,Miners in Transferring BLM Official
Norton Attempts to Appease Indians with More Money to Fix Mismanaged Indian Trust Funds
Due to Failure of (Norton) Indian Trust Program, Interior Dept is still Off-line

Coal Methane Development Exploratory (WY)
Methane to Their Madness

Colorado Dunes Closer to Park Status
Baca Ranch Purchase Paves Way for New Park

Interior Pushes Private Conservation
Bush Seeks $100M for Land Conservation
Norton Plans $100M Land Fund

Park Service Delays Report on Snowmobiling
Mammoth Rail Project Gets OK
Civil Servants Listen for Another Bush Applause Line
Even After Personal Financial Sacrifice - Dump the Deal is in Debt (MT - Energy Dereg)
Energy Deregulation - aka GREED!
Bush to Seek Deep Cuts in Domestic Programs - $5T Budget Surplus Squandered
Does Germany Condone Kidnapping of American Children?

BLM Land Swap (MT - Dillon)
US Bureau of Prisons - Prisoner Locator
Bush to Seek Deep Cuts...
A Place to Share, Debate, and Discuss - Federal Soup

Klammath Water Cutoff ...
Scientific Report Roils A Salmon War (Klammath)
Scientists Critical of Klammath Water Ban

Experts Criticize MPC Portfolio

(Posted 02/03/2002 appended 02/04/2002)

In the News:
Agency by Agency - 2003 Budget
President Bush Unveils Budget
How the Departments Fare Under the Bush Budget

Bush Proposes Charter Forests
Deal Struck In Montana Logging Plan
Bitterroot Logging Salvage Resolved
Plan Would Let Forest Homes Burn

Fee Demo Case Has National Stakes
Group Battles Grazing Permits...

Net Still Out at Interior
Indian Trust - Latest Press Releases
Norton Adamant Her Trust Plan a Good Strategy
Judge Criticizes Norton
Norton Request Invites Judge's Wrath
Norton Says Trust Reform to Cost Hundreds of Millions
Norton Defends New Indian Trust Fund Bureau
Norton Scheduled to Testify Feb 13th
Norton Plan for Indian Trusts Meets With Skepticism on Hill
Norton Eyes New System
Norton a Target in Indian Trust Funds Case

EPA Official Disputed Energy Panel's '01 Report
Games Not Green Enough for Some
Olympics - Disputed Land Swap

Professional Ethics and Wrongful Discharge
Freedom of Speech for ...And Other Government Employees
Amendments to the WhistleBlower Protection Act
US Congress on the Internet
Find Out Which Companies are Hiring Foreign Workers

Wyoming Official Gets Federal Minerals Post
Judge Rejects Bush Pick for Civil Rights Agency
No WhistleBlower Protections for Airport Baggage Screeners
Bush a "Windshield Rancher"

Environmentalist's Eye Martz Meeting (MT)
Pilots Push to Open Airstrip Beartooth WMA (MT)
MPC - Secret Contract Terms, Competition Missing from Power Portfolio (MT)
Open Public Process Dying in Montana - Secret Deals and Public Exclusion

US Military to Guard Columbia Oil Pipeline
Worries Over Oil Exploration in Utah

Lead Mining on Public Land (Missouri)
Drill Methane With Care

(Posted 02/10/2002)

Valentine's Day! (remember, she puts up with YOU!)

In the News:
Beating Around the Bush
Bush OK's Ozark Lead Exploration
Cat Litter Mine Permit Moves Forward
Memo Heats Up Utah Drilling Debate
EPA Gives Billions to Nonprofits
Debunking Lynxgate


How Much is Too Much ? $400M-600M for a non-existant ALMRS, $600M on Indian Trust with another $200M
in the works, $65M for Internet "Security"...another excuse to fund new computers...
Interior Will Spend $65 Million Restoring Internet Service
Interior to Resume Payments (Indian Trust)
Interior to Issue Checks to Tribes...
Tribe Checks Issued for Oil Leases
Norton to Testify

High Country News 02/04/2002
It's High Noon and Past Time for Cows to Take a Powder

Federal Employees News Digest
The Federalist

GOP Delivers on Energy Promises (MT)
A Modest Proposal for What Ails Montana

Smoke & Mirrors ? or worse...
House Battles Over Campaign Finance

Gilding the Lily...or frankly, bull *hit...
Jobs Built to Last, Uncle Sam Employer of Choice

(Posted 02/13/2002)

In the News:
NBC News - Indian Trust
Norton Claims Progress With Accounts
Norton Admits Some Indian Trust Records No Longer Exist
Norton Defends Trust Management
Norton Testifies on Indian Trust Fund
Sec. Norton Seeks Extension in Case
Sec. Norton Piecing Trust Together

Court Nullifies Tongass Logging Permits
Landowners Air Complaints Over CoalBed Methane Drilling (WY/MT)
Forest Service Proposes Exploration (Lead mining - MO)
Senate Passes $45B Farm Bill Limiting Subsidies
Tepid Response To Bush Climate Plan

Drilling Debate Over Ozark Forest
Colorado Firm Plans Mineral Rights Auction (MT)
Mine Waste Contamination (MT)
New Thoughts on Wolf Recovery
Sometimes Crying Wolf is a Good Thing

"In 1555, Nostradamus wrote: 'Come the millennium, month 12, in the home of greatest power,
the village idiot will come forth to be acclaimed the leader.'"

(Posted 02/17/2002 appended 02/18/2002)

With the pending shakeup of BLM State Directors, also noted is the
soon to be announced retirement of Montana's State Director, Matt Millenbach
while some State Directors are going to be "encouraged" to move on or out
Millenbach's retirement looks like just his time to hang-it-up...
but Watch your backsides BLM Employees, and get ready for a rough ride!
Singer, Lonnie, and company will be looking to restore their power base to previous heights

In the News:
Land Board Approves Settlement for Coal Swap (Otter Creek)
Agencies Coal Bed Report Offers 5 Possible Policies
How to Comment on the Draft CBM Environmental Analysis (MT)
Coal Bed Methane - Montana DEQ

WildFire Prevention Program Criticized (NIFC/Forest Service)
EPA and Energy Department War Over Clean Air Rules

BLM Will Improve Loma-Vimy Road (MT - Travel Plan)
Northern Plains Resource Council Press Releases

Transcripts from Norton Testimony in Indian Trust Case
Indian Trust - Transcripts

PSC Asks MPC for Secret Bid Info
Montana's Governor Martz - Terrorist ?

(Posted 02/20/2002)

In the News:
Indian Trust Case Judge Feels "Duped"
Judge Grills Sec. Norton's Lawyer
Judge Says Officials Duped Court
Norton Says Enron Didn't Court Her
Norton Touts "New Environmentalism"
The Closing of a Map Store (Interior)

Four Dances Tower Rankles Former Land-Owner (BLM - MT)
Court Asked for Halt to Gas Leasing (CBM - MT - NPRC)


Abuse kids...Kill a kid and get a year...State sanctioned child abuse...How many more must Die?
Guilty Plea in Boot-Camp Homicide
Lieberman Rips Bush on Environment
ACLU Sues Agents in Drug Raid (CO)
Group Takes Allard to Task Over Environmental Record (CO)
Anthrax Suspect ID'd
Oracle of A New World Disorder
Cheney & GAO on National Review Online
White House Girds for Protracted Fight

(Posted 02/22/2002)

"All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war
is the shortest and surest means to accomplish it. This is the first axiom of the science."
Tocqueville

After what was submitted to the Federal District Court in Billings
only one conclusion can be drawn, the US Attorney's Office called in a favor
with the help of a Magistrate Judge the cover up continues...my $10M Civil Suit has been dismissed
Until those that do evil are held accountable, I will be here ;>)
Singer, Stoebe, Friez, Lonnie, etc.; I'll be watching and listening
I have time, and a lot of documentation (EEOC/MSPB/etc.) to scan and post

In the News:
White House Won't Tax Corporations for Superfund Cleanup
Bush Proposing to Shift Burden of Toxic Cleanups to Taxpayers
Dems Play Up Their "Green" Card

FY2001 Report to Congress on Federal Government Security Reform
Yet Another Bad Grade for Government Security

Bush May Scale Back Alaska Drilling Plan
Bush, Democrats Face Off on Energy
Oil Exploration On Hold Near Park
Judge Overturns "Critical Habitat" of 2 Species

Background on Indian Trust Fund Suit
Trust Fund Has Created A Century of Problems for Indians
Trust Fund Suit Alleges Problems

Silencing Dissent Near Ground Zero


Hey, the truth hurts...but Martz Sucks!
Martz Refuses to Meet with Environmental Groups
Opinion: Public Entitled to Complete Power Records
Senate Leader Rips Martz "Slush Fund"

(Posted 02/24/2002)

Chism's Law of Completion:
The amount of time required to complete a government project is precisely equal to
the length of time already spent on it.

"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water", Sir Winston Churchill

In the News:
More Help Sought for Those Who Blow Whistle

Top GOP Donors in Energy Industry Met Cheney Panel
A Glimpse at Cheney's Energy Efforts
Oil Executives Lobbied on Drilling

EPA Veteran Resigns Over Pollution Policy
Nev County Denies Permit for Mine
Methane Water Talks Focus on Tongue River (MT)
Calif Residents Protest River Plan
Libby Officially Superfund Site (MT)

Watchdog Takes on Lawmakers "527" Groups
Wearing Orange, Seeing Red (US Supreme Court)
Helena, DC in Dire Need of Political Reform (Martz - MT)
Patriotism Bill Stirs Ire in Senate (CO)

The Killers of Daniel Pearl..."The National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistan's Sovereignty"
This group needs to be exterminated, wiped from the face of this Earth forever!

(Posted 03/02/2002)

My Civil case was dismissed because a requested amendment to name Gale Norton specifically
was not a rewritten copy of the original filing...rather than attach the amendment to the original
the very "wise" Montana Senior Federal Judge dismissed the whole thing...someone clue this guy in to the fact
that it is not the job of a Judge to place obstructions in the path of Justice
What a pain in the a**, now I have to file with the Federal Court of Appeals over this lastest
attempt to coverup the illegal activities of several government employees
rather than deal with the situation, more endruns will occur and more taxpayer money will be wasted.

In the News:
Bush & the Enron Connection
Freedom From the Press (Bush)
Bush Curbs Release of Data (Environmental)
Schaeffer Resignation Letter (EPA)
Judge Sets Timetable for Cheney
Government Accountability Project
Project on Government Oversight

Cooperation Necessary in Solution (Indian Trust)
Interior's Shabby Mess (Indian Trust)
Time to End Government Mishandling (Indian Trust)
Cooperation...(Gale Norton)
Clinton Era Official Approved Tribe's Status...

Timber Companies Threaten to Sue Feds
USFS Closure Suspicious (MT)

Feds Deny Mine for Cat Litter Company (BLM - NV)
Interior Probe Finds Bad Judgement
Jack Morrow Hills (WY)
Grizzley Advocates Concerned about Proposed Land Sale (Plum Creek - MT)

Time to Level Playing Field (CBM - MT)
Insurance Company, Big Farms, Benefit from Peanut Buyout ($1.2 Billion)
Text of Mountain Massacre Letter (UT)
How Osama Bin Laden Got Away

(Posted 03/04/2002)

Hot off the press's
Martha Hahn, BLM State Director Oregon resigned today, effective March 8th.
Hahn was given a "directed reassignment" by the Interior Dept, which she declined
And so it begins...(see above)
For those of you that don't know...a "directed reassignment" is our government Agencies way of exiling employees
to Siberia...usually to "promote the efficiency of the service" ...in other words to keep you quiet if you know too much
or to get you out of the way, to demoralize you, to let you know who is "boss"
if you fight a "directed reassignment", it's likely you will end up like I did...minus a Civil Service career
A lot of folks have too much to lose; retirement, effect on family, etc. and just take it, marking time
until they can retire or find a new job

And you thought Civil Servants worked for you (the public) ;>)
when in truth they work for petty tyrants (managers) that run their own little kingdoms

Speaking of Employee Surveys...Hey Conrad (Burns), why didn't Interior do anything to address
the problems identified in the Surveys, especially after we motivated you to take this question to Babbitt
could it be that Interior, like Babbitt, just blew you off as inconsequential?

In the News:
Judge: Energy Records Must Be Released
OPM Chief Gets Credit for Frank Talk to Union Audience
White House,Hill Democrats at Odds
Some Facts Clear in the War of Spin Over ANWR

File this under A Republican Concept of "Progress"...
Bush Proposes Welfare Change - Participants Could Be Paid Less than Minimum Wage

(Posted 03/06/2002)

"Never kick a cow chip on a hot day." Will Rogers

In the News:
Army Corps Chief's Ouster Prompts Outrage on Capitol Hill
Corps of Engineers Civilian Chief Ousted
Members of Congress Rally Around Ousted Corps Chief

Bending for Steel
Controversy Amid VOA Anniversary
EPA Chief Says Pollution Will Probably Stay Unsettled Until Related Case is Decided
Whitman Assailed on Lawsuit Comment

Democrat's Energy Provision Harms Water, Activists Say
Enron Linked to Federal Reserve Board...
Flawed Lynx Study Leads to Reform
Is Alaska (ANWR) Drilling a Smokescreen ?
Baucus Offers Amendment to Protect Rocky Mountain Front from Drilling
Bush Administration Official in Palm Beach Love Nest!

Inside the Afgan War Machine - Robert Young Pelton

Our CIA funded the Taliban thru Pakistan's Secret Service equilivant and there have been indications
that Musharraf's own people participated in Pearl's murder....
Musharraf Says Pearl "Over Inquisitive"

Do We Need Bills on Patriotism? (CO)
Don't Keep Secrets (PSC - MT)
BLM Horse, Burro Auction (M. Krause)

"When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or person,
don't be surprised when they learn their lesson." WR

(Posted 03/10/2002)

In the News:
Video War (Scroll - Norton)
Arctic Drilling Debate Includes Jobs
Arctic Drilling Issue Draws Fire

Influence of Industry on Rules Agency Questioned
Lawmakers Blast EPA's Whitman...
Forest Sale Teaches a Sad Lesson (Plum Creek - MT)
Lots of Talk, Precious Little Walk
Immigration Inaction

Witness to World of Defiant Enemies
Ex-Official to Develop Water Plans in Middle East (Babbitt)
Enron Money
DEQ, Plan for Water Released in Gas Drilling (CBM - MT)
Montana...Major Role in Energy Security, Burns

Wyoming Cries Foul Over Montana Stamp
Voluntary Complicity

(Posted 03/14/2002)

80 degrees in Alabama!

In the News:
Ashcroft Personnel Moves Irk Career Justice Lawyers
Oil Seeking Thumper Trucks Could Soon Pound Monument (CO)
CBM & Bison (MT)
Power Plant Waivers Set for Hearing (WY)
On the Public Lands, Energy Production is King (BLM)
Senate Rejects Plan to Require More Use of Renewable Energy
Life Beyond the Law (Mexico)

(Posted 03/17/2002)

"Though we are not now that strength which in old days moved Earth and Heaven,
that which we are, we are; one equal temper of heroic hearts made weak by time and fate
but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield." Tennyson's "Ulysses"

In the News:
Interior Slow in Paying Royalty Checks to Indians
Dogged Lawyer Vies for Indians (Indian Trust)

Indian Trust - Latest Press Releases

Protect ?...like they did the Indian Trust Fund ;>)...just think Anshultz Drilling...
Interior to Protect Sacred Indian Lands
US Pledges to Protect Sacred Lands

River Study Stirs Up Concerns (CO)
EPA Will Ease Coal Plant Rules
BLM to Ease Oil, Gas Access
Groups Oppose Coal Bed Ponds (WY)
Klammath Tribes May Get Land Back (Klammath - Water)
Landowners Air Concerns over Mine Plan (Bull MTN - MT)
GOP Seeks to Curb Monument Creation
McInnis,Udall Feud Over Wilderness Area (CO)
Is That A Lawmaker in Your Pocket ?...
US Acts to Shrink Endangered Species Habitats
Industry Proposes Drilling in Roadless Area (WY)

Tribe Sees Role in Development of Otter Creek Coal (MT)
McGrath Asks Interior Sect to Allow Otter Creek Transfer

A Term to remember ..."Constructive Discharge", may be helpful to know when you go up against a corrupt Agency
Administration to Raid Gov't Retirement Funds
Barking Sands Worse Than the Bite
A Warning - An Experience in Billings MT

(Posted 03/20/2002 appended 03/21/2002)

In the News:
Good Samaritans who Clean Up Mine Sites ?
Energy Dept Says It Tried to Engage Green Groups
In Twist, Idahoans Fight Toxic Cleanup
Study Ranking Utility Polluters Aims to Sway Emissions Debate
Far East Energy Corp (CBM - China)

Employment Law Central - Constructive Discharge
Fifth Circuit - Constructive Discharge
What is Constructive Discharge ?

Public Access - Under Attack in Colorado

Indian Trust - Latest Press Releases
Contempt Sanctions Sought Vs Norton
McInnis Names Names as Fur Flies Over Lynx
Environmentalists Come Out Losers in Senate's Energy Bill
Group Ranks Most Endangered Parks
Opposition Revived Over Scaled-Down Mining Plan
A Fight to Protect Home on the Range
Norton (scroll)

Operation Clambake - The Inner Secrets of Scientology
Church of Scientology Vs Google

(Posted 03/24/2002 appended 03/25/2002)

Rick Dickman, MSO, has a serious illness...Hope you are doing better soon Rick.

In the News:

Like a gaggle of chattering monkeys, wisdom comes down from on-high...
Supreme Court OK's Using Evictions in Public Housing to Fight Drugs

A Word to the Wise for Interior Secretary Norton (Indian Trust)

Energy Contacts Disclosed
Consumer Groups, Environmentalists Left Out
Environment before Profits (Golden Sunlight Mine - MT)
Bush Turns BLM into Energy Machine
Smithsonian Handout: Arctic Drilling
WOTR, Talkback Forum
Yellowstone to Leave Elk Herds Alone (NPS - Interior)
Environmentalists, Military Clash Over Training in Desert
Solutia Signs Agreement with EPA (Monsanto - Pollution)

How IBM Helped Automate the Nazi Death Machine
Two Top Al Qaeda Leaders Spotted
Encountering the Taliban
USA Patriot Registration (spoof)

(Posted 03/27/2002)

Hope you all had a very good Easter!

In the News:
Bush Energy Order Wording Mirrors Oil Lobby's Proposal
Where There's a Pipe, There's Smoke
Activists Asked for Energy Meetings

Former BLM Director Lists Off Problems with Coal Bed Methane
Conflict Seen Over Coal Bed Methane

Oil Drilling May Harm ANWR, Say Gov't Biologists
Report:Arctic Refuge Drilling Risky
Study:Drilling Threatens Wildlife

California Dunes May Be Reopened to Off-Road Vehicles
Fed Plan Would Reopen Recreation Area
Fire Risk Smoldering in Forests
Environmentalists Sue Forest Service

Cabinet Secretaries to Crank Open A Canal (Klammath)
Norton to Release Needed Water

US Penalized by Judge in Indian Trust Case
INS Action Ruled a Violation of Whistle-Blower Protections
At Interior & Energy, Getting Ready for Outsourcing Reviews
Environment before Profits (Golden Sunlight Mine - MT)
US Withdraws Mine Clearance (Rock Creek - MT)

Encountering the Taliban

(Posted 03/31/2002)

US Dept of the Interior to Change Policy...Promises No more Retaliation!
Montana BLM Turns Over a New (Personnel) Leaf

When they took the Fourth Amendment, I was quiet because I didn't deal drugs.
When they took the Fifth Amendment, I was quiet because I was innocent.
When they took the Second Amendment, I was quiet because I didn't own a gun.
Now they've taken the First Amendment and I can't say anything.

In the News:
Interior Eyes Police Overhaul
Interior's Net Debacle Appears Far from Over
US is Penalized by Judge in Indian Trust Fund Case
US - Navajo Ruling Could Be Overturned
Indians Protest Over Klammath Basin
Political Appointees & "Burrowing" (Interior - GAO)
Otter Creek Transfer Should Move Forward
The Revenue Games People (Like Enron) Play

(Posted 04/01/2002 appended 04/02/2002)

Our condolences go out to Jennifer French

In the News:
They All Had the Salad, With Oil on the Side

Interior Department Internet Access Still Limited 04/04/2002
Interior's Internet Remains Disrupted
Internet Still Offline at Interior

A Tortoise-Cattle Debate
Desert Area Shut to Sheild Tortoise

US Touts Coal-Bed Methane Development
Methane Analysis Debated
Campbell Officials See Bias in Methane Coalition
Coalbed Gas Fires Up Energy Debate
Coal-bed Methane Touted As Key to Hiking Energy Production

MT Evans User Fee Facing Challenge
Braking Development in the Breaks
US to Juggle Books to Avoid Debt Default
Use of Civil Service Retirement Funds to Widen Debt-Limit Fight
The Dead Rat on Campaign Finance Reform's Kitchen Floor
Most Far-Reaching Gag Order in 1st Amendment History ?
Environmentalists Fear Loss of US Farm Data
Judge Denies Proposal for Road in Wilderness (MT)

Team 555 Shaped a New Way of War
Information About Jihad...

(Posted 04/07/2002)

In the News:
Bush Will Overhaul Northwest Forest Plan

Conrad Burns really Blows Smoke on this one..."surface of the moon"...What BS!
Drill ANWR - Conrad Burns
Interior "Revises" ANWR Drilling Report, Was No Good to Drill - Now Drilling is AOK
GOP May Not Vote on Arctic Drilling
Warnings on Drilling Reversed
Senate to Decide Arctic Oil Debate

Lone Star Justice (Norton - Indian Trust)
Past, Present Interior Officials on Hook (Indian Trust)

Fees,Fie Foes Fume (Fees to Access Your Public Lands)
Yellowstone's Damaged Resource - Trust
Glitter in That Litter (BLM - NV)
LA Agency Quota System Discarded (Diversity in all it's glory)
Ski Resorts Profit on Cheap US Land

More News:
Coal Prospects Have Eastern Montana Excited
Plans for Coal Tracts in Early Stages
Time to Work on Otter Creek Development
Signed Sealed Delivered, Montana Owns Otter Creek Coal

Burns Continues to Back Drilling in ANWR
Ban on Pollution Credit Swaps Voided
Environmentalists Had 48 Hours to Comment to Energy Dept (Cheney - Energy Policy)
Democrats Assail Shift in Superfund Cleanup
New Superfund Tax ? EPA to Study
McInnis's Demand Ignites Creation of Wildfire Council

Gov't Credit Cards Used at Casino (Interior)
Gov't Employees Misused Credit Cards

Group Proposes Buy-Out of Grazing Permits
Lawmakers Embrace "Stealth PAC's" (Campaign Finance Reform)
Political Analysis, Terrorism, News

(Posted 04/09/2002 appended 04/11/2002)

Aden Seidlitz is leaving MCFO for a Field Office mgr position in Richfield Utah, looks like
he finally got a chance to bail-out of Montana BLM...people are smiling ;>)

We are interested in the pending interaction between the acting Montana BLM State Director,
Sherry Barnett, and folks like Singer, Moltzen, Friez, Lonnie, etc.

In the News:

The real question is who stands to make the most money from drilling ANWR...
Does Arctic Refuge Video Break Law ? (Norton - ANWR)
Interior Secretary Accused by Markey
The Arctic Refuge - Battle to Save A Wilderness
ANWR Video Sparks Outcry
Alaska Drilling Backers Dangle Deals for Votes
Senate GOP Wins Time on Arctic Drilling Plan

Democrats Assail Shift in Superfund Cleanup
Fire in the Cold (scroll)
Indian Money Mismanagement Highlighted (Indian Trust)
Israel Defense Forces Homepage
US Prison Population Reaches New High

BLM May Close Grazing Area (WY - Scroll)
BLM:Drought Could Close Grazing Area
Prices Will Halt CBM Boom...
Gun Powder on the Mountains (WFLC)
Klammath Farmers Look to Better Future
On the Rise:Monitoring (Govt) Employees' Web Habits

(Posted 04/14/2002 appended 04/16/2002)

Then a man said: Speak to us of Expectations.
He then said: If a man does not see or hear the waters of the Jordan,
then he should not taste the pomegranate or ply his wares in an open market.
If a man would not labour in the salt and rock quarries then he should not accept of the Earth
that which he refuses to give of himself.
Such a man would expect a pear of a peach tree.
Such a man would expect a stone to lay an egg.
Such a man would expect Sears to assemble a lawnmower. -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit"

In the News:
Is That A Lawmaker in Your Pocket...Breakdown of ANWR Vote
Senate Defeats Arctic Exploration
A Stinging Repudiation for Bush...(ANWR)
Arctic Drilling Deal Fails in Senate
Arctic Drilling Plan Fails in Senate
Senate Rejects Drilling for Oil in Arctic
GOP Pushes for Arctic Oil Drilling
Alaska Drilling Supporters...
GOP Seeks to Boost Support for Drilling

Search for Oil Targets Rockies
Gov't Speeds Up Rockies Drill Study

Indian Trust Records Move Blocked
Wyoming Native Named BLM Chief of Staff
Comment Period on Methane Report Extended
Ranch Sues Methane Developer

Stopping All Livestock Grazing...
Conservationists Sue Over Logging (BLM - Nevada)
More Than 100 Landowners Sue Dupont (BLM - ID)
Gov't Owns More Vehicles Than Hertz
Taking the Earth's Temperature

BlastMapper - Map the Effects of a Nuclear Blast on Your Neighborhood
Political Analysis, Terrorism

(Posted 04/20/2002)

Rick D., we are thinking about you...hang in there guy!

In the News:
Court to Look at Tribal Lands Issue
Lost Trust, Billions Go Un-Counted
Memo Rips Indian Land Use Payments
Indian Trust Web Site
Climate Scientist Ousted
Battle Over Drilling Shifting to Rockies
Both Sides of ANWR
Better Plan for Forests Urged
EPA Meeting is Called a Raid
Snake River Outfitters Worried About Access

Strange Allies in Energy Policy Fight (Baca)
Bush Shrugs Off Gore's Green Rebuke
Debate Begins on Use of Monument Lands
Local Input Pushed for US Monuments

Anschutz Drops Plans to Drill in Weatherman Draw (MT)
Oil Company Won't Drill at Sacred Site
Oil Company Drops Indian Plans
Sacred Sites Preserved...

EPA Ombudsman Resigns in Protest over Transfer
Interior Officials Have Links to Energy Industry
Did Exxon Mobile Get Bush to Oust the Global Warming Chief?

Rascal Urges Congress to Tackle Social Security
Help Fight Forest Fees (Recreation Fee Program)

...would you encourage your son/daughter to consider a Civil Service career ?...
Effort to Entice College Graduates Into Government Service

btw...what do we really know about Kofi Annan...
Kofi Annan's Astonishing Facts

(Posted 04/22/2002 appended 04/24/2002)

In the News:
Court to Look at Tribal Lands Issue
Lost Trust, Billions Go Un-Counted
Memo Rips Indian Land Use Payments
Indian Trust Web Site
Climate Scientist Ousted
Battle Over Drilling Shifting to Rockies
Both Sides of ANWR
Better Plan for Forests Urged
EPA Meeting is Called a Raid
Snake River Outfitters Worried About Access

Strange Allies in Energy Policy Fight (Baca)
Bush Shrugs Off Gore's Green Rebuke
Debate Begins on Use of Monument Lands
Local Input Pushed for US Monuments

Anschutz Drops Plans to Drill in Weatherman Draw (MT)
Oil Company Won't Drill at Sacred Site
Oil Company Drops Indian Plans
Sacred Sites Preserved...

EPA Ombudsman Resigns in Protest over Transfer
Interior Officials Have Links to Energy Industry
Did Exxon Mobile Get Bush to Oust the Global Warming Chief?

Rascal Urges Congress to Tackle Social Security
Help Fight Forest Fees (Recreation Fee Program)

...would you encourage your son/daughter to consider a Civil Service career ?...
Effort to Entice College Graduates Into Government Service

btw...what do we really know about Kofi Annan...
Kofi Annan's Astonishing Facts

(Posted 04/22/2002 appended 04/24/2002)

Rick Dickman was a good man, he will be missed.

In the News:
Interior Official Challenges EPA Report on Energy Site
Memo Shows Influence of Lobbyist
Lobbyist Sent Cheney Energy Letter
EPA Would Allow Mine Dumping in Waterways
Feds Tout Local Environmental Plans
Catch the Spirit of the Bush Administration - Voluntears

Methane Bonding to Get More Costly (BLM)
Combined Methane Plans Urged (MT - WY)
Anschutz Gives Oil Leases in Montana to Nonprofit
Senate Energy Bill Backs Alaska Gas Pipeline

BIA Official Denies Setting Up Shady Deal
Budget Deficit for '02 May Top $100 Billion
Canyon Flooding Could Restore Beaches
Forest Road Request Irks Developers Foes
Political Humor - Adult Language

(Posted 04/27/2002)

Many attended Rick's funeral
"his love of life, humor and compassion will be missed dearly"

Sherry Barnett, Acting State Director for BLM Montana Dakotas is in town...
there is a vacancy announcement out on State Directors..so far; ID, MT, NM, and Eastern States
the announcement includes the provision that the rest of the State Directors can be filled from the announcement
but unless changes are made at the Associate State Director level, and below, most won't notice a change in their work life

In the News:
Indian Tribe Accuses US Official (Interior)
Indian Trust: Cobell Vs Babbitt (Norton)

Interior Dept Mulls Relaxing Mining Rules
Lobbyist's Wish List Sought (Energy Dept)
Sometimes the Honorable Thing is to Walk Away (Dale Bosworth)

Board:Methane Parcels Wrongly Leased (CBM - WY)
Coal Bed Methane Plan Has Setback
US Board Kills BLM Methane Lease Approvals
Ruling Could Delay Wyoming Gas Exploration
Agencies Split on Methane Study (BLM - WY, MT)

Martin's Cove, Federal Land Sale to Mormon Church (BLM - WY)
Coal Bed Selenium Worries Game Officials (WY)
Plan Doesn't Offer Protection (San Rafael Swell)
Monument Designation Valid (San Rafael Swell)
Enviros, ORV Users Clash (San Rafael Swell)
Oil Firms Said to Prop Up Gas Prices
IT Jobs in Government
Fisheries Scientists Should Tell the Truth About Salmon

(Posted 05/01/2002)

Spiderman...excellent Movie!

In the News:
EPA Reaction to CBM Analysis Studied
Wyoming CBM Ruling May Set Precedent (NPRC)
Marathon Buys More CBM Land

Report: Interior Hampered Watchdog (Indian Trust)
Interior Officials Said to Hamper Indian Trust Oversight

Suit Challenges Mexican Commerce Plan
Bush's Marriage Proposal
Tribes Attorney Rips Zortman Plan (MT - Mine cleanup)
Martz Asks for Help on Water Project (Interior)
Consumers Want PSC to Void Contracts (Energy - MT)

(Posted 05/05/2002)

In the News:
Interior Chief Speaks to Mine Graduates (Norton)
Interior Snubs Colorado (Snubs Public) Meets Behind Closed Doors with Oil & Gas Executives
Feds, Oil Group to Meet in Denver Amid Drill Fight...Public Not Invited (Interior)
Energy Firms Permit Revoked (waste water)
Interior Dept Can't Shake System Woes


Big Brother is (still) Watching...
Bureau of Reclamation Employee Charged - Internet Surfing...


As I said last year...there is no energy shortage...do the math...pony up more Millions and suddenly the lights come on...
Documents Show that Enron Manipulated Calif "Energy" Crisis
Enron's Scar on South America (Natural Gas Pipeline)
Ex-Cheney Aid Subpoenaed (Energy)

EPA Ombudsman's Letter of Resignation
Judge Keeps Klammath Water for Farms
Judge Turns Down Attempt to Block Klammath Diversion


The Foxes are in the hen house...
Arctic Drilling (ANWR) May Get Second Chance in Congress

(Posted 05/07/2002)

In the News:
Interior Dept Faulted on Sept 11 Response
Report Critical of Interior Dept

Interior Systems Face Renewed Shutdown
Judge Rejects Easing of Mine-Waste Rules
Lands Group Contradicts Lawmaker (Utah Land Exchange)
Panel Will Study Lease Buy-Outs (Grazing)
Senators Decry Wildfire Readiness
Federal Authorities Suppress Wolf Research Report (Elk - Yellowstone NP)
Bush Pick for EPA Top Cop Criticized
Environmental, Energy Groups Have Their Say (Interior)

Mass Grave is Discovered at Tora Bora

(Posted 05/09/2002)

Mother's Day 2002!

In the News:
Interior's Griles Retreats from EPA Study Interagency Squabble (CBM)
Ruling on Dumping of Mine Waste Stuns Coal Industry
Judge Rejects Private Road Thru Wilderness (MT - Mining)
Norton Critics Barking Up Wrong Tree on Forest Issue
Bush Wins Civil Rights Panel Ruling
Seminole Tribal Dispute Escalates

NO FEAR BILL NOW BEFORE BUSH AWAITING HIS SIGNATURE ON MEASURE
The No FEAR, or Notification and Federal Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act,
which has been passed by both houses of Congress, is now before President Bush for his signature.
Under the legislation, agencies would be held accountable for discrimination or retaliation against their employees.
The measure, approved 412-to-0 by the House last October, also would force agencies to pay for settlements or judgments
against them in whistleblower and discrimination cases. Currently such payments come out of a government-wide general fund.
The Senate passed the bill as well. "This is a major step in our fight to end the insidious practice of discrimination and retaliation
in our nation's federal workforce," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who sponsored the bill with House Judiciary Committee
Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. In addition, the No FEAR Act requires agencies to send an annual report to Congress listing
the number of discrimination cases brought against the agency, the disposition of those cases and the number of agency
employees disciplined. Agencies would be required to notify workers about relevant discrimination and whistleblower protection laws.
Sensenbrenner said the legislation stemmed from allegations of Environmental Protection Agency scientists last year that they
had been the targets of reprisals after questioning agency policies.

More in the News:
Energy Battle Over Rockies Methane
Interior Systems Face Renewed Shutdown (Govt Computer News)
Cubin Opposes Land Sale to Mormons
Interior Entry into EPA Case Criticized (Tom Fulton - Interior)
Homes Scarce in Boomtown (CBM)
Report Rips Cutbacks in Wilderness Funds
Wilderness Rangers Thinned
EPA to Clean Asbestos in Montana
Race Discrimination Upheld in Michigan Law School Admissions ("Diversity")

(Posted 05/12/2002 appended 05/14/2002)

Time to take a few days off...BBQ & Beer in Mobile!

In the News:
Sue Ellen Wooldridge (Interior)
Treasury Will Move Money Around to Pay Government's Bills
Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism

(Posted 05/15/2002)

The Montana Republican Party will be holding our annual political convention on June 21st-23rd in Helena.
We are pleased to announce that along with other exciting programs, former Governor and current RNC Chairman Marc Racicot
will be attending, as well as Secretary of Interior, Gale Norton.
Norton, Racicot to Attend GOP Convention (MT)

BUSH SIGNS BILL REQUIRING AGENCIES TO PAY DISCRIMINATION SUITS FROM OWN BUDGET
President Bush signed a bill Wednesday requiring federal agencies to pay the settlement costs for discrimination
or whistleblower cases from their own budgets. The legislation is called No FEAR, an acronym for Notification
and Federal Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act. "By holding accountable those who insist upon discriminating
against others, the federal government will become a role model for civil rights, and not civil rights violations,"
said House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a sponsor of the bill. Under the law,
agencies must pay for settlements or judgments against them in whistleblower and discrimination cases.
Currently, such payments are made from a general, government-wide fund. The measure also requires that employees
be notified of their rights under anti-discrimination laws, and requires agencies to report annually to Congress
on how many discrimination cases were brought against them, what happened in those cases
and whether any employees were disciplined.

In the News:
Court's Indian Trust Fund Monitor Assailed
More Untapped Oil in Alaska

As Methane Drilling Grows, So Does BLM
Gas Wells Too Close to Homes...
Study Aims to Assist Ranchers
WY Drilling Project Gets Failing Grade from EPA (CBM)

Be Stewards of Our Land
The Name Might Be Green, But...

Gallatin National Forest Travel Plan
Wilderness Protection Not Advised for Tongass National Forest

BLM Says Off-Roaders Causing Damage Near Jackson
Restoring the West, Goat by Goat
Wild Horses May Get Birth Control (MT)

Texas Appeals Court Allows Libel Suit Over Satirical Story to Proceed

(Posted 05/22/02)

Happy Birthday to me (tomorrow)

In the News:
Latest on Indian Trust Press Releases
Owens Appointees to Land Boards Upheld (BLM RAC's CO)
BIA Official Fired Amid Probes of Influence Peddling
Key Indian Affairs Official Told to Quit, Sources Say
9 Cut from Fire Duty for Safety Violations (Forest Service)
Interior Official's Memo Raises Conflict Issue

CoalBed Consolidation Hits Wyoming
Methane Methods Studied

EPA Reports Decline in Pollution
Mines, Power Plants Are Nation's Biggest Polluters
Signs of Thaw in a Desert of Snow
Executive:Big Coal Swayed Bush
SW Oregon Land to Reopen for Miners
Mining Ban Cancellation in Siskiyous Draws Protests

Rehberg's Breaks Bill Not Needed
Rehberg Bill Seeks to Aid Ranchers in Breaks

Coleen Rowley's Memo to FBI Director Robert Mueller
Who Let the Terrorists Succeed?
Pearl Video (click on shopping-nice.com)Graphic Violence

(Posted 05/29/2002)

In the News:
Wanted: More Bush Governors
Bush's Decision on Oil Angers Californians
Buying Back Offshore Oil Leases...
California Seeks Oil Drilling Block

Rabble Rousers Blasted (BLM - NV)
Indians Sue Over Cattle Grazing (BLM - NV)
Judge Denies Tribes Attempt to Block Cattle Auction (BLM - NV)
Tribe, Activists Sue Government
Tribe Sues in Land Management Row
Nevada Rancher Monthly
Federal Land Sale: Everything Must Go! (Editorial - NV)
Judge Rejects Nevada Tribe's Effort to Block BLM Cattle Sale

Firefighters Said to Have Disregarded Rules
Firefighters on Thirty Mile Fire Suspended

Can the FBI Punish the 9/11 Whistle Blower ?
Interior Reconnects to the Internet (05/21/02)
Judge Sides with Interior on Stored Trust File's Safety
Interior Dept Designates Trails

(Posted 06/02/2002)

Inside the BLM: News:

Montana's Acting BLM State Director is causing Singer & company some grief...which is a good thing!
Aden Seidlitz had his going-away party last Friday (Miles City BLM)...another one bites the dust!
The new Miles City FO mgr, McIlnay, seems to be happy just coasting to retirement...has found his niche
Montana BLM is getting reamed over the CBM EIS...the EPA blasted the document (and we reported that
the document was flawed from the get go...go back and look at tidbits in 2000/2001)
The Republican agenda is shaking up Interior and BLM, currently there are vacancies for (7) BLM State Directors
Rumor is that both the Hamilton's (former Montana BLM State Director & wife) are on their way out (finally!)
In general, throughout the BLM especially, morale is at a new low...more and more employees are just coasting
until they can get out, move on, or retire. Not a good situation for the "health" of our public lands

MORE INTEREST IN GOVERNMENT WORK FROM YOUNG PEOPLE, STUDY SAYS

The Council for Excellence in Government, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improvement of government performance,
has released a study showing that young people display an increased interest in working for the federal government.
The poll, conducted by the Hart-Teeter polling firm, shows a 5 percent increase over the last five years, from 35 to 40 percent,
of people who take a favorable view of government work. Those polled were between the ages of 18 and 30.
While a majority still would prefer working in the private sector, the gap has narrowed.
Respondents cited a number of factors casting public service in a more favorable light, with parents topping the list
and young people already in government registering second. Sixty-two percent of respondents, however,
said nobody had ever asked them to consider government work.
The study showed that young federal employees are evenly split in their view of government service,
an apparent show of dissatisfaction that could indicate future retention problems in the federal workforce.

To ease the government's debt crisis, Treasury has suspended investment of federal employees' money
in the Thrift Savings Plan's G Fund and the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
The Bush administration wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling by $750 billion in order to eliminate the need to tap
the federal employee retirement funds. But members of Congress have resisted, worried that a vote to raise the debt ceiling
would hurt them politically.

In the News:
US Sees Big Impacts from Warming
Climate Changing:US Says in Report
Climate Action Report 2002 (EPA)

Oregon Community Challenges Feds
Supreme Court Agrees to Consider Damage Awards to Navajo Nation (Interior)
Clean Up Methane Plans (BLM - MT/WY)
Review Faults 11 Firefighters at Cascades (Thirty Mile Fire)
A Narrow View of Federal Power (11th Amendment - Sovereign Immunity)
Latest Indian Trust Press Releases - Plaintiff's Motion Contempt of Court 06/04/02

Bush Dismisses EPA Report on Climate Change

Tribes Plan to Improve Trust Fund Management
Norton Drops US Plan for Trust Revamp
Norton Accepts Proposals on Indian Trust Reorganization
Tribes Seek Better Money Management
Indian Sacred Sites Rules Eyed

Methane Drillers to Build 3 Small Power Plants for Wells (CBM - WY)
Feds Reject Water Flow Plan Meant to Aid Fish
Lawsuits Could Alter Management Plan (Forest Service)
West's Water Woes
Dave Hadden Montana Wilderness Association
Talking Points - Ashcroft

(Posted 06/04/2002 appended 06/05/2002)

One less of the "good guys" left to offset the Singers, Stoebes, Lonnies, Friezs, etc.

>----- Forwarded by Diane Friez/MTSO/MT/BLM/DOI on 06/07/02 12:16 PM ----- >
06/06/02 12:47 Subject: Rick Dickman
To the entire BLM staff all over the United States.
The Rick Dickman family would like to thank each and every one of you for the overwhelming support you gave Rick and us
all throughout his courageous struggle and determination to get well. We so appreciated your cards of support, your video's, your prayers
and your gifts of flowers, posters, food and love given from your hearts during his long battle.
By your kindness and support you helped to keep him fighting as long as he possibly could. We will be forever thankful for that support.
Rick was an inspiration to us all. He showed us how to graciously respect and listen to others. He took pride in giving credit to others for their
accomplishments and never would take credit for someone else's work. He was so proud of working with each and every one of you
and respected your thoughts and encouraged your views. My wish for each of you, as I have been blessed to do, is to pass on the gentle kindness
Rick gave to you by being kind to others. He took his job and assignments very seriously and always was looking at the whole picture
and how the individual pieces would fit together. What a dedicated and special guy he was. As Leslie Cone, Rick's boss from Denver told me.
"Rick was a man of his word." He was honest and straight forward and always came through for every task that he was asked to do.
He, like us all, loved to be patted on the back and told how important he was for whatever project he was working on.
As I went through his personal belongings from the office I was overwhelmed by all the awards and personal get well wishes he received
from all over the United States. What an awesome fellow Rick was. So genuine and likable. Rick loved his mid-life crisis sebring convertible and
showed it off wherever he went. He deserved that car and I'm proud to say I finally got "Griz" license plates for it.
He was so dedicated to his hometown football team the Missoula Grizzly's. He always told me the Billings Gazette was so biased towards the
Bozeman Bobcats. We had so many Sunday football family parties. He always needed to get his honey-do lists done on Saturday because Sunday
from 11am on was football. He would try and help with the laundry that day as long as I sorted it and it didn't take too much time away from the TV.
You could hear him all over the house if the Griz got a touchdown. When Rick received his new assignment to become the "Branch Chief of Records"
for the Montana State Office he was so proud. He wanted pictures for his office and made me go all over town to help him pick out just the right ones.
I remember telling him that he had to be sure and tell all the staff how good of a job they were doing and how much he appreciated them.
I also told him a little cash award was one way of thanking you all. I am so sorry he didn't have enough time to really show how important
you all were to the BLM. He told me though how great the staff was. He made a point of going to each and every one of you each morning
and asking how you each were doing. I'm sure you all can still hear his somewhat "loud" but infectious laugh.
We all could learn to be more genuine and to relax and enjoy life as Rick did. Rick loved life to the fullest and I'm so glad and honored to have been
able to share so much with him. Our time together, no matter how short I may think it was, will always be special because we lived it like there was
no tomorrow. My husband was my best friend and I love him and miss him so much. My wish for you all is to enjoy and treasure what you have
each and every day and spend precious time with your loved ones. Attached is a Web site Rick's nephew Dave Highness put together in memory
of Rick and his Mom. It shows in the pictures even the "hippy" ones who Rick was and how he shared his gifts of kindness and love to his family.
We want to pass that on to each and every one of you.
Rick

Thank You, Sheri Dickman

In the News:
Bush Environmental Plans Challenged
Methane Still Vital to Feds (Interior to Energy Industry)
Most of 8,000 CBM Comments Negative (BLM - MT)
Washingtonian Magazine Gives Interior Chief Good Review
Martin's Cove Land Sale (BLM to Mormon Church)

(Posted 06/09/2002)

Moltzen returns to the Forest Service...after her tenure as a female version of Tom Lonnie...
there is rumor, and hope, that Sherry Barnett will become the new MT State Director...
which should spell the end for Singer, Lonnie, Moorhouse, Friez and a few others

Roberta Moltzen To: MT ND Org ALL 06/07/02 04:37
It is with VERY mixed emotions that I must tell y'all that I have accepted a job with the Forest Service in Atlanta, GA.
It's Deputy Regional Forester for Resources. The effective date is July 28th and we'll begin our drive to Atlanta the following week.
I've talked with Deputy Director Fran Cherry. Last week he asked me if I'd be interested in being the Acting State Director when Sherry
left at the end of June, so I wanted to let him know quickly, so he can figure out "Plan B." He said he'd let us know soon what the new plan is.
It has been an honor to have had the opportunity to work with y'all the past 2+ years. MT/Daks is an incredible bunch of folks--
dedicated and hard working and fun. I will miss y'all verrrrrrrrry much. And I promise to behead any FS person who ever says anything rude
or arrogant about the BLM!! (And if I try to recruit you, it's NOT because I think the FS is "better,"
but because I think the FS NEEDS people like you to help them!!)

In the News:
Dept of Political Security
Dispute Over CA Offshore Oil
Fed's Reject Bid to Stop Drilling (Norton - CA Offshore Oil)
Feeling a DRAFT - Administration & Coal Fired Power Plants
Regulators to Discuss CBM Studies (BLM - MT)
Fortification Creek Wilderness Study Area (CBM)
Eric Altman - Body of Secrets
Fire's Harsh Necessities (CO)
When Rural Values are Gone, They're Gone
Alabama Family Gets Land Back (BLM -1964)
Climate Change - Humor ;>)

(Posted 06/11/2002)

Aden Seidlitz To: MT ND Org ALL 06/11/02 04:48 Subject: Good Bye
Before I head towards Utah, I wanted to say good-bye and wish all of you the best.
I have enjoyed working in the MT/DAK's organization these past ten years and will miss you.
Take care of yourselves and keep up the good work!
If you are ever in the Richfield area, drop in for a visit. THX!

In the News:
Permanent User Fees in the Pipeline (Public Land Access)
Critics Blast Park Fees (No Fee Coalition)

Coalbed Methane Boom
Interior Official Distances Self from Methane Studies (Rebecca Watson)
Interior's Conflicting Interests

EPA Proposes Relaxing Utility Pollution Rules
EPA Proposes Relaxing Rules on Air Pollution
Civil Rights Agency Retaliated Against Worker, EEOC Rules
Democrats Question Need to Amend Breaks Monument

Hayman Turns South
Colorado Fires Redefine Life on the Edge
Smokey the Businessman

Christopher Swain, Columbia Swimmer

(Posted 06/13/2002)

In the News:
Hayman Fire - Estimate $52 Million Cost
Hayman's Huge Cost
Government Burns Through Wildfire Funds
Woodland Mess Isn't Nature's Way

The Coal Bed Methane Capital of Colorado
Foreign Visa's...

(Posted 06/16/2002)

In the News:
Feds Want Trust Fund Monitor Ousted (Interior - Indian Trust)
Interior Lashes Out at Court Official
End of Indian Money Monitor Sought
Tribal Recognition Hot Issue for Interior
Tribal Leader Seeks US Investment

Judge Again Denies Coal Permits
Nevada Agency Reviewing Land Swap Deal (BLM)
Calif. Gov't Looks for Oil Leases
Dark Heart of the American Dream
House Quietly Passes Mormon Land Deal
Alaska, No Longer So Frigid, Starts to Crack, Burn, and Sag
Two State Trails Join National Program (Interior - CO)

Islamic Block, Christian Right Team Up to Lobby UN Against Human Rights for Women and Children
Just One Word - Plastic!
It's Cheaper to Send Welfare "Clients" Somewhere Else

(Posted 06/18/2002)

In the News:
What's Gale Norton Trying to Hide ?
BLM Closes Coal Bed Methane Meeting in Billings MT
Hansen Uses Committee Position to Push Through Martin's Cove Land Deal

Good Thing They Found Someone to Blame
EPA Says Toxic Sludge is Good for Fish ???

Indian Conference Discusses Trust Reform
Indians:Gov't Reforms Too Vague

Federal Agency to Take a Second Look at Nevada Land Deal
Editorial: A Smelly Land-Swap Agreement
Senators Introduce Bill to Develop Vegas-Area Federal Land
Ranchers Seek Congressional Probe Into Cattle Seizure
Despite Threats, Seized Nevada Cattle Hauled Away Peacefully

National Geographic - Lewis & Clark
Power Deregulation Fueled Pollution
Prophecy and Paranoia
The American Prospect
Code of Quiet - Government Reprisal Against Whistle Blowers

Arab News - Saudi Arabia
Babel:Arabic
Jihad
Bin Laden, Alneda Message Board
Al-Qa'idah - Recent Announcements by Al-Qaida
Searching for Answers Behind the Terror

Methane and Ethics (Interior - BLM)
Environmentalists Put Allard on "Dirty Dozen" List
Feds Drop Action in Lynx Killing
Protect Firefighters' Lives
Study: Warmer Climate, Sicker Earth

(Posted 06/22/2002 appended 06/23/2002)

RIDGE DEFENDS PLAN TO WAIVE SOME CIVIL SERVICE PROTECTIONS
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has defended the White House plan to waive civil-service status for some federal employees
in the proposed Homeland Security Department. The possible need to have greater latitude in reassigning workers could necessitate
this, he told Congress Thursday. "The President will request for the department significant flexibility in hiring processes, compensation
systems and practices, and performance management to recruit, retain and develop a motivated, high-performance and accountable
work force," Ridge testified. Some 160,000 employees would be merged from dozens of agencies into the proposed department.
Many of them are protected civil-service workers, and the Bush administration wants the protections waived.
The proposed department should have flexibility in hiring and compensation practices, said Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.,
as Ridge appeared before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. But Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.,
said later there is considerable opposition to circumventing civil-service laws and the provision will not go far.
It would allow the secretary of Homeland Security and director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to replace existing
civil service regulations with a merit-based management system.

In the News:
House Panel Approves Interior's $19.7 Billion Spending Bill
Methane Lease Case Confuses...(BLM - WY)
Public Land - Special Management Areas

Senators to Subpoena White House
Jeffords Seeks White House Documents (Coal)

Study: Humans Overtaxing the Earth
Can You Hear Us Now
Tiny Tribe's Clash Stretches 67 Acres Across the Nation

(Posted 06/25/2002)

BLM News:

Al Pierson is leaving WY (BLM Wyoming State Director - see farewell note below).
HRM in WO is also going to be shaken up. Warren Johnson, the HRM chief, has been de-throned,
and assigned to be the BLM EEO chief until he retires next month. Marilyn Johnson from the NTC, has been "encouraged" into the acting HRM chief job
maybe she's been given an agenda to "FIX IT!!!" She turned it down when Cherry asked her, then was called by Clarke, and the "request"
was re-phrased. Word is that the same "direction" from higher up happened to Bob Abbey from Nevada, and also Pierson from Wyoming.
Sherry Barnett is done with her acting (state director) job in MT, and will be returning to the WO.
Many in BLM Billings SO are rooting for her to get the permanent job...and many are praying she doesn't get it.
...Lonnie and Singer, and their cronies praying to be relieved from "Scary Sherry"!!
Kinda like the BLM employees praying that they'll be rid of Lonnie and Singer!!
(...see clip from Al Pierson's "The Winds of Change" below)

Al Pierson
It is with very mixed emotions that I announce to you a change in the Wyoming BLM Leadership. I have agreed to an assignment
as the Assistant Director, Minerals, Realty, and Resource Protection, (AD-300), a position that I will fill for about 9 months.
Following that I will come out to Denver as a Special Assistant working on energy policy and related issues for another 12 months.
Upon completion of that assignment, I plan to retire sometime about March or April, 2004.
I don't have an exact reporting date as of now, but am planning on mid to late July.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your friendship, outstanding professionalism and dedicated support for the
nearly eight years that I have been your State Director.

The fire management situation in MC is grim...no leadership..inexperience...emphasis on personal loyalty..all of the features that make working
fire for the BLM dangerous. Some folks, who are in the know, think it'll be a miracle if these inept don't kill someone this summer

The BLM closed the CBM meeting in Billings MT to the press. Trudie Olson said the reason was that the BLM wanted the participants to be able
to speak freely. BS! With Lonnie, et al, there, no one would feel free to speak...having the press, or public, there might actually have freed the air a bit.

(Posted 06/26/2002)

In the News:
Senate OK's $2 Billion to Fight Next Year's Wildfires
Did Politics Put a Match to West's Wild Lands?
Money to Fight Fires Running Low

Tribal Leaders Press for Commission (Indian Trust)

Civil Servants Report Less Job Satisfaction
BIA,HIS Workers Charged in Fraud

Crow Sign Important Methane Gas Pact
Ranchers: Methane Water Killing Trees
DEQ Plans Standard Rules for CBM Water
Marathon Oil Exceeds Lease Limits in Wyoming
Irrigators Ask State to Limit Coalbed Salinity in Rivers

As Trees Die, Some Cite the Climate
Interior Releases $16 Million to Counties (PILT)
Panel Boosts Interior's Role in Everglades Restoration

(Posted 06/28/2002)

Have a great 4th of July!

BROOKINGS STUDY FINDS LOW MORALE IN CIVIL SERVICE
Federal government workers are reporting less job satisfaction and motivation, according to a report released Thursday
by the Brookings Institution. With the exception of the Defense Department, where there is an increased sense of mission
since the onset of the war on terrorism, federal workers are more likely than one year ago to see themselves in dead-end
jobs with little ability to contribute to their organization's goals. Paul Light, Brookings' Director of the Center for
Public Service and the report's author, cited the Bush administration's request for a lower civilian federal pay raise,
and the emphasis on outsourcing government work, as factors for the low morale.
The report also reveals that many federal workers feel they are not provided adequate tools
to do their job well, and that the government fails to distinguish between different levels of performance.
Moreover, the federal workforce lacks the confidence and respect of the public, which tends to view its
members as motivated by security, salary and benefits.

In the News:
Colorado Wildfires
Scramble for Wildfire Supervisors
The Nation's Other Slow Burn

The Oldest Living Thing...(BLM CA)
Latest - Indian Trust

Poll:Americans Willing to Give Up Constitutional Rights
Housing Bumping Cattle off West's Ranches

(Posted 07/03/2002)

Back from a holiday in Arkansas...and ready to Bring You More!!

The US Attorneys office is still trying to keep my $10 Million Civil Complaint out of Court
so far, the Complaint has been dismissed for the syntax of the Amendment naming Gale Norton
the US Court of Appeals will have to decide if the Complaint should be sent back to Federal District Court

In the News:
Auditors:Companies Need Cleanup Rules (Interior Dept)
GAO, Alaska Spar Over Oil Cleanup

Aquifers Refill Faster Than Expected (CBM - WY)
Trust Account Report Angers Indians - Interior Says Cost to Fix Indian Trust is $2.5 Billion
Feds Round Up Nevada Wild Horses (BLM - NV)

(Posted 07/09/2002)

In the News:
Bush Reassures Federal Employees
Panel Neuters Government Scientists - Endangered Species Act (Interior)

Report:US Oceans Threatened
North Slope Cleanup Not Guaranteed

Forest Service Blames Environmentalists for Fires
Forest Service Says Environmentalists Stalled Fire Prevention Programs
House Panel Adds Cash to Fight Fires - Additional $700 Million

Former Federal Workers Charged in Credit Card, Kickback Case

Crow Methane Deal
Latest on Indian Trust Case
Indians Would Get Less Info with Bill (Indian Trust)
Trust Reform on Minds of Tribal Leaders

(Posted 07/14/2002)

JOB SECURITY, AGENCY FUNDING SAID REASONS FOR LOW WORKFORCE MORALE
National Treasury Employees' Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley has said a new report showing declining morale
among the federal workforce underscores her repeated calls to provide federal agencies and their employees with sufficient resources.
"Federal employees want to do good work, and have shown repeatedly they are capable of it, Kelley said, "but they can do only so much
with the limited resources provided to them by Congress and the administration." The continuing disparity between public and private sector
pay is another problem, she said. Kelley was referring to a newly released study by the Washington-based Brookings Institution showing
decreased satisfaction with their jobs among federal workers. The report was based on pre- and post-Sept. 11 interviews of a random sample
of federal employees under the direction of Brookings' Center for Public Service. It showed that the proportion of federal workers
who identified themselves as "very satisfied" with their jobs had dropped six percentage points in the past year, to 43 percent.
The number who said they "personally contribute a great deal" to accomplishing their agency's mission declined by 11 percentage points,
to 45 percent.

In the News:
Work for Government ? College Students Say No

Bill Would Reduce Review of Indian Royalties (Indian Trust)
American Indians Get Accounting Win
Someday We Will Restore Our Klammath Homeland

House Conservatives Block Public Lands Spending Bill
Conservatives Fight Public Lands Bill (Interior)
Public Lands Spending Bill Blocked ($19.8 Billion Interior Budget)

EPA Looks at New Water Cleanup Rule
EPA Mulls New Water Cleanup Rule
EPA Told to Restore Whistle-Blowers Duties

One of Montana BLM's "hatchet" men is still in business I see... (Montana Program below)
Moorhouse is used to ax Whistle Blowers and other employees that stand up to the Montana BLM managers
Montana Program Rewards Ranchers
Ranchers Get Incentives to Preserve (BLM MT)

Republicans Blame Environmentalists for Forest Fires
Wildfires Burn Up Agency's Budget (Forest Service)
Tomorrows Fire Prevention Money Being Used to Fight Todays Fires
Western Senators Press Bush for Wildfire Funds
Wildfires, Drought Also Hit Wildlife

Wis Farmers Bale Out Colorado (BLM)
Rep Hansen Blocks Water Delivery Plan (Everglades)
AK's Ice Vanishing at Accelerated Rate
House Supports Offshore Drilling Ban (Interior - CA)

Northern Plains Resource Council (MT)
Utilities Spend $500K to Fight I-145 (MT)
WY Judge Bars Access to Old Trail (Public Lands Access)
MT Budget Crisis

(Posted 07/18/2002)

In the News:
Melting AK Glaciers Making Biggest Contribution to Sea Level Change
State Board Will Be Asked to Set Limits on Methane Well Salinity
County Officials Miffed at Methane Group

(Posted 07/21/2002)

COLLEGE STUDENTS LESS LIKELY TO SEEK FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT
More than 75 percent of college juniors and seniors say they would not consider a career in the federal government,
according to a national poll released Tuesday. "The students view the federal government as an old-fashioned, bureaucratic
and politicized work atmosphere that puts policies and procedures ahead of people," said Mark Penn,
the pollster who directed a survey of 1,022 college seniors and juniors across the country last month by Penn, Schoen
and Berland Associates Inc. Seventy-five percent had a favorable opinion of careers in the federal government and 65 percent
held that view of the military. Still, just 23 percent said they would pursue government service, and only 4 percent said they would
opt for the military. The results appear to be affected, in part, by the government's cumbersome and lengthy hiring process.
To get these workers, the government must limber up its hiring process, federal recruiters say.
Sixty-nine percent of those polled said they were unwilling to wait more than four weeks for a job offer.
The federal government also continues to have a reputation as a boring, old-fashioned and uncaring employer.
Stuffy, inflexible and outmoded working practices were the main reasons cited as to why few of them would go on
to take a job in the civil service, said Penn.

In the News:
Interior Dept.: Land Undervalued (Utah Land Swap)
BLM Revisits Environmental Impact Report (CBM - Powder River Basin)

The BIA Distrust Fund
Indian Trust - Latest Press Releases
Methane Partnership Will Benefit Crow (CBM - MT)

Montanans File $54 Million Claim Against USFS
How the West Was Reclaimed (Interior)
Taking the Earth's Temperature


Members of the Hall of Shame...
Corporate Scandal Trading Cards
Diogenes Was On to Something
Bring Back Justice

(Posted 07/23/2002)

In the News:
Bush Administrations Attempt to Change Posse Comitatus Act

Everglades Project Revamped (Interior)
More Than Lines on a Map (Interior - Rights of Way)
Methane Leases in the Powder River Basin (Court Decision)
CBM Project Near Hanna Target of Suit (WY)
Board Will Mull CBM Saline Limits (CBM - MT)

Federal Personnel Policy Changes
Federal Pay Raise Near House Passage
A Look at Hiring Practices at US Nuclear Power Plants

"Mandatory" Madness Grips Our Legal System
Sacrificing Poor Women
How Arab Men Treat American Women

Power Giants Declare War on Peoples Power Initiative (I-145 MT)

Gov't Will Lease NV Geothermal Energy Sites (Interior - NV)
Reid Asks BLM to Stop Using Outside Workers (Land Swap)
Nevada Tests Its Geothermal Potential
Norton Says Daschle Will Waive Environmental Laws

Candidates Say Public Access Bill Was Wrong (Public Lands Access - WY)

What do you think about this next one ?
Secret Service Suspends Agent For Islam Slur
Shopping Lists & Terrorists

AMERIKA Drug Dog Used to Terrorize SD Elementary School Students

(Posted 07/28/2002)

NTEU HEAD CALLS EEO CHANGES THREAT TO EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
Proposed changes by the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) could adversely affect the ability of federal employees
to resolve discrimination claims, according to National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley.
The steps that EEOC Chairwoman Cari Dominguez is calling for would give federal employees fewer rights than private sector workers,
Kelley said at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday morning. Another consequence could be eliminating information-gathering
opportunities in the administrative process. This would put a substantial burden on employees who would have to go to court
"to obtain discovery of even the most basic information" with which to pursue a discrimination claim, Kelley stated.
Critics of this move have faulted Dominguez for going forward without consulting federal employee representatives,
Congress or other EEOC commissioners. Although most cases that go before the EEOC are settled during the investigation process
or before a hearing, Kelley said the Dominguez proposals would "all but eliminate" agencies' incentive to settle.

In the News:
In MidYear Score Card Assessment, Some Agencies Miss the Mark

Resource Council Seeks Ban on New CBM Leases (NPRC - MT)
Major Changes Made to Phillips CBM Water Plan
CBM Regulation

Suit:Drug Dog Terrorized Young Students
The Anatomy of Fire
Latest Indian Trust Press Release


Terrorism
Afgan Heroin Trade Booming
Terrorist Web Site/Al Qaeda/Jihad
Iran's Nuclear Power Plant Poses Test for U.S.
Al-Qaeda's New Hideouts

Hall of Shame...
What Some of America's Best Zoos Do With Unwanted Animals

(Posted 07/30/2002)

In the News:
Groups Snub Interior Secretary (Norton)

Indian Trust Supervisor Resigns Under Pressure (Interior - Norton)
Interior Official Tells of Ouster
Top Interior Official Resigns
Formal Request for Investigation (Indian Trust - Norton)
Indian Leaders Won't Back Down
Tribes Sue Over Cheap Cleanup (MT)
Bureau of Recreation Opposes Tribes Bid for Water

BLM Makes Plea for Flexibility in CBM Leases
Lack of Demand Weakens Price for Coalbed Methane
EIS Writer Accused of Conflicts

Fighting Wildfire With Buckets of Bucks
World Heads for Warmest Year Yet

Another Blow to Our Republic's Foundation

Hall of Shame...
Capitalism in Crisis
Touch Montana

(Posted 08/01/2002)

My Computer has been down, but I'm baaccckkkk!!

In the News:

Agency's...yeah, right!
Agency's Probe Clears Norton in Indian Trust Case
Indian Funds Reform Faulted
Latest Indian Trust News
Report Blasts Interior Department
Killing the Messenger (Interior)
Ouster of Indian Affairs Trustee Seen as Setback

BLM - Comments on Missouri Breaks

State OKs Bozeman Drilling (CBM)
Gallatin County Delays Gas Wells
CBM Concerns Prompt Meeting

Utah Drought Hurts Ranchers, Farmers (Forest Service)
Counties Want Forest Service to Slow Down on Use Plan (Bighorn Nat'l Forest)

US Judge Says Hand Over Energy Task Force Records
White House Told to Turn Over More Data on Energy Panel
The Knowing Polluter - the US Government
EPA Seeks Leeway in Rules About Dirty Water
Widespread Water Violations Decried
Wild Reads...EPA, etc
Exxon Mobil ...Busted!
Internal White House Memos...humor

Fast Track is the Wrong Track...
Income Redistribution, GOP Style
Spoils Go to the Affluent...
Before Sept 11th, the Secret History

Environmentalists Must Bear Some of the Blame...

(Posted 08/11/2002)

HUD AND EEOC SUED OVER WORKER EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES
A federal class-action lawsuit is challenging preferences for women and minorities employed at the Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, charges HUD and the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)-which encouraged and approved HUD's affirmative action
plan-with intentional race and sex discrimination in violation of the Constitution's equal protection guarantee.
The plaintiffs are HUD employee Dennis Worth and a class of similarly situated federal employees.
They are asking the court to end the preferences at HUD, as well as the EEOC's encouragement and approval of
such preferences throughout the federal government. The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Individual Rights
"The basis of the lawsuit is HUD's mechanical use of goals and preferences to remedy even slight disparities in minority
and female representation in its workforce, without any evidence that such disparities are the result of discrimination,"
said Curt Levey, CIR's director of legal and public affairs.

In the News:
Agencies Look Into Outsourcing Thousands of Jobs

Wildfire in the West:Culprits:Drought & Money
Firefighting Brings Harm to Forests
Firefighting Costs Sap Funds for Public Lands

New Oil Exploration OK'd in Canyon of Ancients
Eco-Groups Decry Oil,Gas Search
Coal-Bed Methane
Proposed Gas Field Development, Lewis & Clark Nat'l Forest

Asian Brown Cloud Poses Global Threat
Cry for the Dry West
Environmentalists Cite Nibbling
Finger-Pointing Rages

The DOE is DOA (energy)
Possible Misconduct in Power Trades

Paddlers Upset Landowner Blocking Public Access
Panel Will Oversee Idaho Mining Cleanup
Our Water is At Risk, Climate Study Finds (Canada)
Water's Flow from Private Hands

Hall of Shame...
Touch America Loss Becomes Executive Gain
Staring Debt in the Face
Utilities Put Up Nearly $1 Million to Fight Dam Initiative (I-145)

UN WhistleBlower Wins Claim
Lewis & Clark; Stop Celebrating...

(Posted 08/15/2002 appended 08/17/2002)

From too much love of living,
From hope and fear set free,
We thank with brief thanksgiving,
Whatever gods may be,
That no life lives forever,
That dead men rise up never,
That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea.
Swinburne

In the News:

Funny...nobody said anything when public land worth hundreds of $millions (coal) was given to Montana
to buy-out a foreign interest ($10 million) gold mine project in Yellowstone Park...
US Ignored Appraisers in Land Deal With Utah

Groups Sue Over Oil,Gas Search
A World Without Water
Senate Race Marred by Mud (Norton)
Relief for Ranchers

Ranchers Complain About Prairie Dogs (Norton - SD)

(Posted 08/20/2002)

BLM Montana:
Employees view the *problems within the BLM as "endemic and pervasive", "disheartening" and
only correctable with a long and evolutionary process; as more than just high level management
position changes can effect (SD's). "Nothing real will happen if left to BLM's management"...

No new State Director for Montana Dakotas BLM yet, Tom Lonnie is acting State Director
Singer will be ASD in Sept.; the worst are still running the show.
*problems ranging from land management policy to the employee/management relationship

No word yet on Employee Surveys...see past results scroll down for past surveys

In the News:
BLM Agent Seeks Safety for Talking (Utah Land Swap)
Cannon Fodder (Utah Land Swap)
Use of Grazing Permits Under Attack

US Fire Policy Isn't Cutting It
Where Fire and Money Meet
Bush Unveils "Healthy Forests" Plan
Bush Will Back New Forest Laws
Bush Proposes Easing Logging Rules
Overgrown Forests Require Preventive Measures (Norton)
Forest Plan Fuels Debate
Dry West

Panels Will Focus on CBM
Wyoming Balks at CBM Plan
Oil Drilling Blocked at Colorado Site

Who Owns Water?
Buy Dams Initiative a Right (MT)

Terrorism:
Nidal & Saddam

Hall of Shame...
State Allows EPA to Censor Mill Town Dam Report
Martz: Ban Logging Appeals
Banning the Public from Mgt Level Meetings of Education Officials (MT)

(Posted 08/23/2002)

BLM Montana:

The US Court of Appeals is reviewing the Civil suit against Gale Norton/Interior/BLM ($10 Million) and
the Montana Dakotas BLM has been required by the EEOC to provide additional information on the issue of
it's policy of directed reassignments/age & sex discrimination against males over 40, in the class action
EEO complaint, originally killed by an administrative judge. I'm smiling ;>), bet Singer and company are NOT! ;>)

In the News:
Experts Disagree on Forest Management
Thin Forests to Prevent Fire, Bush Says
USFS Chief Links Rules to Health of Forests
Analysts:Forest Plan a Battle Bush Can Win
Forest Service "Misplaced" $215 Million
13 Senators Propose Forest Cleaning Plan

Plans Signed for Forests,Grasslands
Martz, Loggers Pleased with Forest Plan
How to Get Busted for "Arboricide" in California

Hall of Shame...
Police Rebuff Bush Protesters
6.6 Million in American's Prison System

(Posted 08/25/2002)

AGENCIES CONTINUE LOOKING INTO OUTSOURCING THOUSANDS OF JOBS
A number of federal agencies are devising outsourcing plans, including the Department off Defense (DoD),
the Interior Department, the Energy Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A recent Bush administration report
said DoD is conducting ongoing studies on outsourcing 30,000 jobs this year, the Interior Department is considering 3,345 jobs,
the Energy Department over 1,000 jobs and the IRS may decide to compete 3,273 jobs.
"Competitive sourcing" projects underway at agencies primarily stem from orders by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
to review 5 percent of "commercial" jobs this fiscal year and 10 percent in FY 2003. Ultimately, almost one in four federal jobs
across the government would be reviewed for outsourcing under the initiative.
But last month, the House approved an amendment to an FY 2003 spending bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va.,
that would prohibit the administration from using "any numerical goal, target or quota" when running outsourcing competitions.
A similar Senate amendment appears likely to be appeared after the August recess.

Mont. Group Says Tactic Fueled Blaze Mark Matthews
Special to The Washington Post August 5, 2002
A $54 million lawsuit filed against the U.S. Forest Service by residents of the Bitterroot Valley
who lost houses and other property during the fires of 2000 may hamper firefighters' future efforts to save woodland homes,
say some fire officials. The Backfire 2000 Group, which sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, says that backfires,
purposely set to knock down the wildfires, instead destroyed property.
Officials across the West fear a successful suit could remove backfires and ...
Holding the Forest Service Accountable

In the News:
Forest Plan Misses Point
Our Forest System is Broken
President Bush's Forest Plan is Half Right
Sierra Club Says Timber Program Losing Millions
Smokey the Businessman

Arches National Park Cleared for Oil Exploration
Utah Drilling Critics Cite Bush Florida Favor

Methane Drillers Favored in Court (CBM - MT)

City Offers Farmers Money for Water (Water - CA)
A Review of "Water Wars"

A Fair Settlement ?...(Federal Land Offer - Indian Tribe - NV)

A Good example of contract or outsourced government work...
Airport Screeners Raised Rates for Feds

State of the Economy
Too Much Supply, Too Little Demand

Hall of Shame...

Do some research & see who Bush senior pardon'ed...
Bush Seeks Secrecy for Pardon Discussion(s)
Asarco Liable for More Than $500 Million in Cleanup Bills
US Correctional Population at Record High
States Sued (by Drug Companies) for Pushing Cheaper (Generic) Drugs Via Medicaid

(Posted 08/27/2002)

Labor Day weekend and the End of Summer 2002

In the News:
Bush Seeks Emergency Wildfire Fund
Bush Initiative Would Cut Red Tape...(Norton)
Bush Asks Congress for Forest Fire Funds
A Modest Forest Proposal
Fight Fire with Logging?
Rehberg's Plan for Forests:Logging Without Laws

Utah ORV Suit Revived
Drilling Plan Questioned in Utah
Drilling Ban Extended to Gas,Oil Wells (MT)
Golden Sunlight Mine Appeals Judges Cleanup Order (MT)
Assaults Increase on Parks Workers

Budget Surplus Shrinks 60% in only 5 Months
Report:Senate Panel Faults FBI

Feds OK Calif. Desert Water Deal (Interior)
Feds OK Plan to Tap Colorado Water
Interior Moves Forward with Geospatial One-Stop
Animosity Flowing in WA Water Dispute

Guard Fired for Flag Patch on Uniform

One of the sheep gets tired of waiting...
A Bad Day at DIA

The most likely place in the US to get shot...by the police...Denver Colorado
Kin:Brother "lost,scared"

Human Resources Information & News

Hall of Shame:
Laurel Trustees Shut the Door on Public
Single-Sex Classes...hey, isn't this what the Taliban & other Muslim fanatics do ??
The Montana Village Idiot Speaks (Martz on Fire/Logging)

(Posted 09/01/2002)

"So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spue you out of my mouth" ,Revelation (3:16)

Owning An Administrative Judge ...$82K to $125K a year; beating one...priceless ;>)

ASSAULTS ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ON RISE, ACCORDING TO PEER STUDY
A newly released report by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has found that assaults
on federal employees working in national parks, national forests and other public lands increased-in some cases,
dramatically-last year. The group found that the number of incidents involving threats and physical violence to
Forest Service employees more than doubled. Among Fish and Wildlife Service workers, the number increased
by 22 percent. The number of incidents involving Park Service rangers, PEER reported, increased by more than
900 percent. Attacks against Bureau of Land Management employees increased by 4 percent.
At times, federal employees were targets of people who objected to the government's policies regarding
the public lands in their areas. Other times, park employees were singled out for helping the U.S. Border Patrol
look for drug traffickers and illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexican border.
In August, a young park ranger working at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona was shot to death
while helping border officials track a Mexican fugitive. Park rangers tend to be assaulted more frequently per capita
than any other federal law enforcement officials. The U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police
has asked Interior Secretary Gale Norton to commission an FBI study on why so many workers have been attacked.

In the News:
Report:Most Whistle-Blowers Need Shields
Report:Most Whistle-Blowers Lacking Adequate Protections

How a Bush Appointee Manipulated Farm Subsidies (Agriculture)

New Wildfire Plan Watchdog Has Unorthodox Views (Interior)
Logging Not the Answer to Wildfires Residents Say
Only Rain Can Prevent Forest Fires
Thinning Didn't Stop Nature's Rampage

Many Critics, Few Backers of Motorized Travel Plan (MT)
Native Tribes Seek Clout on Nontribal Lands
Federal Asset Sales - Auctions

Asarco, etc.; Montana News

The Judiciary and Terrorism
Tax Cuts and the Economy

(Posted 09/04/2002)

NEW REPORT SAYS MANY FEDERAL WHISTLEBLOWERS STILL FACE RETALIATION
A number of employees who expose workplace wrongdoing face some form of retaliation, and many still lack
the legal right to protect themselves, according to a report released Sunday by a whistleblowers advocates organization.
About half of the whistleblowers responding to a survey by the nonprofit National Whistleblower Center in Washington
said they were fired after reporting unlawful conduct. Most of the others said they faced on-the-job harassment or unfair
discipline. The report recommends that Congress pass legislation to protect all government and private sector
whistleblowers from reprisals in the same way existing laws shield from retaliation those who report discrimination
based on race or sex. "The survey shows that people who blow the whistle perceive they are being discriminated against,
" said Stephen Kohn, the center's board chairman. The unscientific survey of both government and private sector
whistleblowers was based on a random sample of 200 cases reported to the group this year.
A patchwork of more than a dozen federal laws now allows whistleblowers to fight employer reprisals in certain cases,
such as airline safety and nuclear power plant violations. An amendment to the homeland security bill pending in Congress
would protect from retaliation potential whistleblowers in the proposed new agency.
The Bush administration opposes it as an unnecessary restriction on personnel policies.

In the News:
Bush Aims to Thin Forests,but Which?
Bush Admin:Speed Up Fire Prevention
Norton Seeks 'Happy Medium' on Forests
Forest Service 'Cooked Books'...
Martz Briefed on Forest Health (Forest Service - MT)
Senators Tackle Drought,Wildfires
Senators Want $5B Drought Aid

Tribe Sues to Stop Water Transfers (CA)
Border Land Swap Meets Opposition (BLM)

FedNews Online

(Posted 09/09/2002)

For the federal budget, the outlook has moved from black to red ink.
Projections of a decade of surpluses of $5.6 trillion have been replaced with estimates of a return to sizable deficits
over the next several years. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the deficit for this budget year,
which ends Sept. 30, will hit $157 billion, ending four straight years of surpluses.

In the News:
Senate OK's $6 Billion Drought Aid
Senate Defies Bush on Drought Aid
Forest Fires Prompt a Policy Showdown
Idaho Town Preserves Timber Culture
Lawmakers Eye Forest Restrictions

Monitor Wells Will be Drilled (CBM - BLM WY)
Latest on Indian Trust Case
Fragmented Lands Hard to Manage (State Lands - WY)

No Bad Guys, No Story
Things We Lost in the Fire

Norton Says Pipeline Panel Isn't Needed (Interior - Trans AK Pipeline)
Seperate Forest Policies
USFS Urges Repeal of '93 Appeals Law
Plan Would Speed Forest Thinning
Landowner Closes Trail (Public Access - MT)
BLM, Gas Drillers to Monitor CBM Wells (Groundwater - BLM WY)

(Posted 09/11/2002 appended 09/12/2002)

Senator Conrad Burns Montana eNewsletter

This week the Drought Assistance Amendment
I have been working on with Max Baucus was added to the Interior
Appropriations Bill with a vote of 79/16. The bipartisan legislation would provide $5 billion in assistance for producers
in drought stricken states like Montana. This is a first step in our battle to get this legislation passed, which would aid
many rural communities from the drought that is affecting Montana and the rest of the nation.
A final vote on the Interior Appropriations Bill is tentatively scheduled for next week, and once passed,
it will go to a joint House-Senate conference committee. I am committed to seeing this legislation all the way
to the President’s desk.

Forest Management Policy
Recently the president unveiled a comprehensive common sense forest plan in response to the devastation caused
in recent years due to catastrophic wildfires. This plan would restore forest health and help to prevent these fires
from becoming the recurring theme of our summers in the west. President Bush called on Secretaries Ann Veneman
from the Department of Agriculture and Gale Norton from the Department of Interior to work with Congress to develop
legislation to address this forest crisis. 190 million acres of public land have been put at risk for fire in 2002 alone,
which doesn't account for the fires suffered in 2000 and 2001.
I am pleased the Secretaries took the reins and immediately went before the House Resources committee with their
proposals. I am also pleased my colleague Senator Larry Craig from Idaho introduced an amendment to the Interior
Appropriations bill for FY2003, based upon the administration proposal. This would expedite forest health and
fuels reduction, aiding immensely in the prevention of fire in future years. I fully support both President Bush's
and Senator Craig's efforts, and I will continue to fight for sensible forest management policy.

In the News:
Norton Says Pipeline Panel Isn't Needed (AK)
Bill Would Streamline AK Natgas Pipeline

BLM, Gas Drillers to Monitor Wells
New EPA Official Tours Basin (CBM)

Separate Forest Policies
Plan Would Speed Forest Thinning
USFS Urges Repeal of '93 Appeals Law

Landowner Closes Trail Over Dispute (Public Land Access - MT 09/12/02)

New Respect for Government Yields Few Potential Recruits
PEER

Summer of 2002 Hottest Since 1930s

(Posted 09/16/2002)

Interior Secretary May Appeal Ruling
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said she may appeal a judge's decision holding her in contempt of court
for failing to fix her department's mismanagement of hundreds of millions of dollars of royalties from Indian land.

In the News:
Norton Held in Contempt (Indian Trust)
Federal Judge Holds Norton in Contempt for Failing to Fix Indian Trust
Norton in Contempt for Failing to Fix Indian Trust
Indian Trust - Contempt Leveled Against Norton/Interior
Indian Trust Talks Grind to A Halt Again

A Better Plan for the Forests
Appeals Court Blocks Galatin Logging
White River Forest Plan Generates Protest (CO)
Montana Forests Rise Anew From Gray Ash
Drought,Wildfire Targeted
South's Timber Glut Could Lower Costs

BLM Defends Methane EIS Procedure
New Location for CBM Hearing in Miles City (Sept 26th)

Coal Seam Fire May Thwart Land Swap (BLM WY)
BLM to Halt Most Grazing (BLM CO)
Weather Helps Predict Fire Behavior (BLM NV)

NM Rancher Sets Example for Feds (Interior)
Ranching for Ecology
Battle Brews Over Rio Grande Water

Same Sex Schools Plan Comes Under Fire
Faster Isn't Better (Public Meetings)

Historic Ban Slapped on Bottom-Fishing Off West Coast
West Coast Trawling Banned

Hot Zone Lab in Hamilton Montana

Hall of Shame...
HHS Seeks Science Advice to Match Bush Views
Forced Water Drinking, or How to Kill a 4 Year Old

(Posted 09/17/2002)

In the News:
Norton Justly Reprimanded
Cobell V Norton, Memorandum Opinion
Interior's Norton Cited for Contempt in Trust Suit

Interior Secretary Points to Tribal Business Success
Norton Addresses Tribal Summit

Experts Say High Altitude Forests Don't Need Thinning
Mormons May Be Able to Lease Sacred Site (Martin's Cove - WY)
Two Groups Comment on Timber Salvage (MT)
Bush Has a Cabinet Full of Wealth (Fat Cats)

Hall of Shame
Bush Orders Faster Environmental Reviews
Report:Calif Blackouts Were Preventable
How Saddam Happened
US Had 12 Warnings of Jet Attacks

(Posted 09/19/2002)

In the News:
Norton Convicted of Civil Contempt
Secretary Norton is Cited for Contempt

BLM to Release Ferrets 09/20/2002 MT
Montana Voters Need Specific's from Candidates

Hall of Shame...
"Wartime" Censorship is Alive & Well

The Rape'ing of America ...or how to bend over the Public in Montana...
Big Business Against I145 (Dam Initiative)

Cold Comfort for Norton...(Indian Trust)
Norton Pushes ANWR Access

BLM Seizes Cattle of Western Shoshone Ranchers in Nevada
Feds Seize Cattle of Nevada Ranchers
Western Shoshone Ranchers Fear BLM Cattle Seizure

Coal Bed Methane - High Country News

State of the Economy:
1.2 Million Jobs Lost Last Year

This Scares the Hell Out of the Judicial System! (REAL JUSTICE?)

State of the Planet:
Oceans' Woes Growing Deeper, New Panel Finds

(Posted 09/22/2002 appended 09/23/2002)

In the News:
Norton Pushes ANWR Access
Indian Trust Fund Ailing for Too Long
Lawyer Says USAID Cut Job in Retaliation (WhistleBlower)

Bush Plan to Speed Up Logging Bogs Down
Gridlock Hinders Drought, Fire Bill

Agreement Settles Conflict Over Canyons
Oil Exploration Agreement Reached

Feds Seize Cattle of Nevada Ranchers
BLM Suspends Cattle Roundup in Northeast Nevada

Off-Roaders Say BLM Site Should Stay Open (MT)

State of the Economy:
Census:US Poverty Up, Income Down
Montana Considers Buying Dams

(Posted 09/25/2002)

In the News:

More Corruption in the Bush Administration and the Interior Dept...
Officials Lobbying Ties Decried (Griles - Interior)
Interior Removes Scientists Comments to EPA (Snowmobiles)

Troubled Waters (Klammath)
Water Officials Dislike Storage Plan (Interior - Mojave)
Drought Bill Fails with GOP
Martin's Cove Sale to LDS Dead

Ruling to Get Speedy Review (CBM - MT)
Interior Official Gets Close Look at Coalbed Gas Issues

EPA Ombudsman Could Gain More Power with Senate Vote

Terrorism...or How we Gave Iraq Anthrax to Use ...
A Little US-Iraqi History
I Spy


Hall of Shame...
Touch America
Group Against I145 Will Appeal Ruling (Dams - MT)

Welcome to Amerika...
Dress Codes Tailored for Learning
Student Asked to Leave School (MT)

The (Montana) Village Idiot Speaks Again...
Martz Speaks...

Perhaps No US Stream Unpolluted
Off-Roaders, Neighbors Can Coexist
Should the 17th Amendment Be Repealed?
Economy Sinking Deeper as War Talk Gains Intensity
The Killer Bug

(Posted 09/26/2002)

The Move is over...I'm now in Helena, MT!

20/20:This Friday's "Give Me A Break" is about an another accounting scandal...
The accounting at an institution is so lax, employees used investors' money to buy engagement rings,
Elvis photos, women's lingerie, jewelry, escort services, and breast implants.
The "investors" in this case are you, because the "company" is the defense department.
It happened because of the defense department's ludicrous policy of giving out credit cards to almost anyone.
The idea was to make government purchases more efficient, but an application form the government uses says if an employee
would rather not have a credit check (if they have a horrendous credit record), that's no problem .
They can just check "box B" and Bank of America is "not authorized" to check their credit rating.
The employee can still get a government credit card.
Don't you wish your employer would let you do that?
Confronted about an employee who spent $400 of your money on a designer briefcase from the Coach store,
Ernest Valdes, of the Navy, said, "she probably made an honest mistake and happened to be at Nordstrom's and purchased that bag.
I think she'll do better next time."
Next time? Right. It's not as if she was fired. Government rarely fires anybody.
One Navy employee used her credit card to buy $12,000 in personal items. What happened to her? She was promoted!
The defense department has a history of financial woes. It cannot account for over a trillion dollars--that's nearly $4000 for every American.
When private companies squander investors money we insist there be consequences.
But in government, almost nothing ever changes. Give Me A Break.

In the News:
Agency Auctions Women's Cattle (BLM - NV)
Protesters Fail to Halt Cow Auction (BLM - NV)
Agencies Struggle as Year Begins Without Budget
Top Official Pledges Study of Fish Die-Off
The Bush Administration is Seeking Sweeping Changes in NEPA...
Yosemite Official Rejects New Post in Smokies Park
Boxer Calls for Probe of Mine Permit (Interior)
Norton Ordered to Probe Utah Land Swap
Wildfires & Healthy Forests (Norton)
Despite Utah Land Swap Probe, Lawmakers Move to Complete the Land Swap (Public Land Giveaway)
House Democrats,Republicans Strike Forest/Wildfire Deal
Judge Rebuffs Interior Dept (Indian Trust 10/02/2002)

(Posted 10/06/2002)

In the News:
BLM Approves Pipeline (CBM - WY)
Despite Concerns over Noise & Pollution/Compressor Station Approved (WY)
Judge Declines to Stop Leases for Gas Wells (CBM - MT)
Gas Development Affecting Wildlife

FT Benton Officials Upset with BLM Plan (BLM - MT)

Fire Pact an Improvement, But Troubling
At Loggerheads Over Forest Plan
Conservations Hack at Compromise Forest Thinning Bill
Lawyers Oppose Plan for Forest Thinning
Let's Fight Fire Where it Counts

Bidder Returns Cattle to Dann Sisters After Auction (BLM - NV)
BLM Cattle Auction Spurs Protest

Calif Board Kills Water Plan (Interior)
Water Rights Requests May Hurt Fish in Smith (Another Klammath ?)
Tribe Pays Price for Water Measures (Klammath)

US Secretly Tested Bioweapons (Before we Gave them to Saddam)
Political Directive to Fed Employees from the Village Idiot's Tribe in DC (EPA)

(Posted 10/09/2002)

In the News:

Interior/Montana BLM were ordered (EEOC) to provide information related to details & directed reassignments
they have not provided this information...

Another Good week...letters to Interior, EEOC, & new info to the Committee on Government Reform...

CIR Sues HUD & the EEOC over Gender and Racial Preferences (aka "Diversity"/Discrimination)


Big Flap over land exchanges ...but no one is mentioning the public land/coal giveaway in Montana (Golden Sunlight Mine buyout)
Interior Orders Land Exchange Review
Interior Dept Reviews Land Exchanges

Virginia Disciplines 86 Workers for Misusing Internet
Energy Bill No Closer to Passage

Instream Flow Law Stirs Disagreement (WY)


Will you ever get tired of political parties and politicians that do not lead but do fail this great nation ?...
Budget Foretells Disaster With Republicans at the Helm (Montana)
Editorials, CBM, etc. (MT)

(Posted 10/13/2002)

In the News:

Still working on it's reputation of ineptness and constant mistakes...Interior strides forward ...
Ruling Upheld in CBM Case
Ruling Against BLM CBM Leases Upheld (BLM - WY)
Senator Seeks Info on Ranger Dismissal (Interior - NPS Whistle Blower)

Forest Thinning Bill Still Flawed

Some Civil Servants Sound Off on "Homeland Security"
Gift Rules Regularily Flouted on Hill (House (lack of) Ethics)

2002 Likely to be Among Hottest on Record

Peace Protesters Do Hard Time (School of the Americas)

Baucus - Take a Stand on the Energy Bill (scroll down)
Allard Can't Hide Record (Colorado Politics)
Montana Senate Dist#1 Politics (Bales Info)

The Official Homepage of the Estate of Montana

(Posted 10/16/2002)

20/20...This Friday's "Give Me A Break" is about that famous $200 billion tobacco settlement.
Michael Horowitz of the Hudson Institute once called it "the foulest, rankest scandal."
Now that the money is in play, I see what Horowitz meant.
President Clinton called the deal, "a milestone in the long struggle to protect our children."
(They always stress protecting "the children.")
Washington state's Attorney General Christine Gregoire:
"These lawsuits by these Attorneys General were on behalf of those 3,000 children who were addicted every day."
But once the checks arrived, most of the promises regarding children went up in smoke.
In North Carolina, politicians gave $200,000 to a place that holds horse riding competitions.
A county golf course in New York got almost a million dollars; two hundred thousand for golf carts.
And the lawyers got plenty. Dickie Scruggs, Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott's brother-in-law,
is said to be getting more than $800 million. Maryland attorney Peter Angelos, who was already rich enough to own
the Baltimore Orioles, is getting another $150 million.
And guess who else got some money ? Tobacco producers -
because there may be less demand for their crops because of the settlement.
"Why shouldn't I get some of the money?" North Carolina tobacco farmer Bobby Bissett told us.
North Carolina has now spent more than $42 million of its part of the settlement with the tobacco industry.
They gave money to a tobacco auction house, and a museum of tobacco farming.
The states say these kind of investments will help create jobs and stimulate the economy.
What' s going on here?
Politicians and the lawyers cut a deal promising they’ll help stop kids from smoking.
But who was really helped? Rich lawyers and the tobacco industry . Give me a break!

In the News:
Judge Orders White House Papers' Release

Majority of Companies Exceeding EPA Pollution Permits
Oil, Gas Leases Offered on Rocky Mountain Front

Clinton Ordered Monuments Upheld
Court: New Monuments OK

Forest Service Sued Over Unreleased Reports (Forest Mgmt)
Judge Rules Against Forest Service in Grazing Dispute (FS - AZ)
Judge Forest Service Violated Endangered Species Act by Permitting Overgrazing
Hayman Fire Overdue, Touring Feds Told
Forest Service Warned on Terrorism

I145 - Dam Power Yields Big Profits (Buy Dams - MT)

A Little History of the West...(Rawlins, WY)

(Posted 10/20/2002)

EEO Class Action...I see Gavin Frost is still making big $$$ covering Interior's backsides
good to know he's not too busy with drunken brawls and "mooning" folks, as in the past ;>)

In the News:
Marathon Fights to Keep CBM Leases (BLM - WY)

Ancient Ruins, Fresh Problems (Canyons of the Ancients)
Scientists Seek Better Hardwood Tree (Forest Service/Genetic Modification)
Most Dangerous Job (NPS)
Good for the Cherokees, Good for the Park Service (Land Swap)

IF they actually worked...
Job Security Measures Protect Good Workers from Bad Bosses...

Scientific Decision Making Being Subverted by Ideology at Bush HHS
Bush Tapped HHS Funds for Trips
The Village Idiot is Subject to Flights of Fancy

Supreme Court Refuses to Revisit Execution of Teens
Court Won't Debate Teen Executions

Fee Demo on Our Public Lands is a Rip-Off
How I Paid a Fee, and Built a Better Mousetrap

In the House that GREED built...hey J., we already paid and paid and paid...
You Pay Your Money, You Get Your Recreation

Working for Change


Buy Back the DAMS, vote YES on I145...voting no would be just assinine
Dam Buy Supporters (I145) Cry Foul Over Fraudulent PPL and Avista Ads

Do You Like Getting Raped by Big Business ? Do You Feel "Used" Yet ? Take Back What is YOURS!....
PPL Montana and Avista Seek to Buy the Vote with $2 Million Anti-I145 Ad Campaign


A Program that is RIPE for abuse, and needs to be watched closely...
Land Board Approves Selling of State Lands

(Posted 10/22/2002)

In the News:
Bush Administration Blows $286 Billion, Gov't Budget in the Red
US Posts $159 Billion Budget Deficit in 2002
Bush Signs $355 Billion Defense Spending Bill
Panel Assails Bush's Environmental Record
Panel Faults Environmental Record

Tribes Request Model Status for Trust Reform

Labor Department Trying to Undermine Protections for Whistle-Blowers
Forest Service to Hire More Latinos
Corporations Dive More Deeply into Politics
Drug Industry Financing Pro-GOP Political Ads
Voluntary Compliance/Complicity

A Pheasant Tradition May be Dying (Interior/NPS)

Initiative Process in Montana Under Attack (CA-37, CA-38)

(Posted 10/26/2002)

Happy Halloween!

BUSH VIEW OF UNION ROLE CHALLENGED IN HOMELAND SECURITY DEBATE
Federal employee union officials see President Bush as taking some liberties with facts in his arguments
for his version of homeland security legislation. He has suggested in stump speeches that the
National treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which covers U.S. Customs Service workers, is blocking
the wearing of radiation detectors. The president said NTEU's objections to the detectors could potentially delay
the policy of wearing those devices "for a long period of time." NTEU did argue last January that the radiation devices
should be voluntary, and it called for negotiations. But five days later, the Customs Service said it saw no need to negotiate
and would begin to implement the policy, which it did. After a subsequent exchange between NTEU President Colleen Kelley
and the Customs Service commissioner, the union said it "does not object" to mandatory wearing of the devices.
The Customs Service stated the delay had less to do with the dispute than the fact that Customs lacks enough devices
(about 4,000 are on order). The White House and Customs Service said the dispute was settled in part
because Bush had the authority to waive collective bargaining, although he did not exercise it.

EEOC'S NEW WEB PAGE
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has a new Web page describing the agency's role
in coordinating the federal government's efforts to eradicate discrimination in the workplace.
It can be accessed at www.eeoc.gov, and is entitled "EEOC Coordination of Federal Government Equal Employment Opportunity
in the Workplace." The site contains links to legal materials to assist agencies in coordinating their efforts in this regard.
They include Executive Order 12067, through which the EEOC is required to review federal regulations
and other policies affecting the enforcement of federal EEO laws; 29 C.F.R Part 1690,
"Procedures on Interagency Coordination of Equal Employment Opportunity Issuances," which deals with enforcement
of federal statutes and executive orders; and Section 107(b) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
which requires coordination of disability discrimination charges that may be filed under the ADA or Rehabilitation Act.

In the News:

We have no reason to expect any improvements in the Montana Dakotas BLM...

It could have been worse...Tim Murphy was actively campaign'ing for the job
Ott New BLM Montana Dakotas State Director (BLM MT)
Whistle Blower Claim Over Klammath, Violation of Endangered Species Act Leads to Massive Salmon and Steelhead Kill (Interior)

Report:Bush Administration Over Estimates Oil & Gas in Roadless Areas
Costs to Develop Oil & Gas Resources ...Not Economically Feasible

EPA Documents Being Withheld to Favor Republicans in Tight Races
In Alaska, Candidates Fight Environmentalist Label
BLM Land Considered for Bentonite Potential, City Opposes Mining (BLM - WY)

A Civil Rights Organization for Color Blind Justice - Stop Racial Preferences/Discrimination

Buy the Dams (I145) Scrool

here's hoping you are not really as dumb as they think you are...
Polls Show Big Business (PPL/Avista) is Fooling A Lot of the Voters on I145
Voice of the Reader, I145, etc.
Bales Reply on Quietus Loop Road Closure


Hall of Shame...worried about fires, just cut the trees; don't like seeing homeless people...Welcome to AMERIKA!
Cities Move to Curb or Expel the Homeless

(Posted 10/31/2002)

Get Out and Vote! Or Get Ready and Bend Over, Cause Next Year Will be Much Worse

In the News:
Court Questions Interior on Email Destruction (Indian Trust)

Wenker New Director for Colorado BLM
BLM Closes Canyon in Utah
BLM Supports Cat Litter Mine, Nevada County Rejects Mine
Judge Halts Arches-Area Oil Project
Judge Halts Utah Oil Project

Not Enough Fish in the Sea, Study Finds
U.S. Military Tests Biological & Chemical Weapons on Our Troops in 60's and 70's

Some are comparing the "War on Terrorism" to the "War on Drugs"...
U.S. Called the Loser in War on Drugs

(Posted 11/01/2002)

One of the Montana Dakotas BLM's Best Civil Servants is retiring,
David Swogger; one of a kind and one of the few managers worth having around
his loss is another slide toward the bottom for the MT BLM

Vote tomorrow...or just live with it

Having grown tired of the games Denver EEOC & that egg-sucker Gavin Frost play...
I filed a class action discrimination complaint against Interior & EEOC in Federal District Court today


HEY!...isn't this called "discrimination"?...selectively hiring the "under-represented"

see the CIR/HUD&EEOC class action discrimination lawsuit link above

JAMES CALLS ON AGENCIES TO DO MORE TO INCREASE DIVERSITY
In a separate arena, OPM Director Kay Coles James says the federal government must take further steps to attract minorities
for employment in government. "Minorities have options and choices they didn't have in the past," she told a National Press Club
audience last week. "You are going to have to work harder to attract minority employees and have to be competitive with
the private sector." James noted that recruitment programs and expanded relationships with Hispanic organizations would help
increase the low numbers of Hispanics now in government, as well as in the Senior Executive Service (SES).
In her speech, she said top managers at OPM are rated, in part, on their diversity accomplishments, which include recruiting minorities
and maintaining an environment that rewards excellence. Recruiting for diversity is a component of President Bush's
management agenda.

In the News:
Latest Info on Indian Trust (Norton)

Klammath River Recreation Use Studied
A River, A Bird, and a Flock of Untruths (Klammath)

Judge Halts Utah Oil Project
Yellowcat Seismic Project Halted

Use Pitted Against Conservation in Four Corners

Even Ordinary People Can Be Whistle Blowers

CBM Coalition Opposed (WY)
After 10 Years, Golden Sunlight Mine Still Hasn't Done Cleanup Work
Asbestos Forces 2300 to Evacuate Interior

Seen in Montana...bumper sticker..."my governor is stupider than your governor"...not to mention our politics - a gay? teddy rosevelt??
So You Really Think Airports Are Safer ;>)

BIA Openhouse CBM 11/07/2002
NPS Chief :Memo Charges Illegal & Unprofessional Personnel Practices (Interior)

These guys have been taking lessons from Singer, Friez, and cohorts...
Who's Watching the Watchdogs? (Whistle Blower)

Welcome to AMERIKA!
Live in Prison Without Parole for Stealing (3) Golf Clubs

(Posted 11/04/2002 appended 11/06/2002)

"We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly (high) places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:12-13

Recommended Reading: Assault on the Liberty...tells about the cover-up of an Israeli attack on an American Navy Ship circa 1967

In the News:
Environmentalist Fear GOP Gains

Crow CBM Plan Gains Comment
Campbell County Quits CBM Coalition (WY)

Fed Signals Desperation in Latest Cut
Immunity Sought From Manatee Deaths (Norton)
Latest News on Indian Trust

"Federal employees are going to have to protect themselves..."
Morella Will Be Greatly Missed by Federal Workers

(Posted 11/08/2002)

"If its true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?"
George Carlin

REPUBLICANS NOW HAVE UPPER HAND IN FEDERAL WORKER ISSUES
By taking control of the Senate and maintaining their majority in the House, Republicans have strengthened their ability
to modify civil service laws for the proposed Department of Homeland Security and to push ahead with government-wide
changes to federal personnel and pay systems. When Congress adjourned in October, the homeland security bill
was tied up in wrangling over a labor provision that would allow President Bush the authority to hire and fire
the 170,000 employees who would move into the new agency. Republicans used the Democrats' opposition
to that provision to their advantage during the final weeks of the election campaign,
accusing Democrats of being more concerned about their union base than national security.
The next two years could prove to be difficult for federal unions, which gave most of their support to Democrats
and have vigorously opposed Bush's efforts to make personnel rules much more flexible in the new department
and to contract out more federal work. But the door is not closed on the part of all Republicans.
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, a possible candidate to become the next chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs
Committee, plans to seek the advice of unions on homeland security and civil service issues.
Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who hopes to become chairman of the House Government Reform Committee,
thinks GOP control of both houses of Congress will provide new opportunities to tackle workforce issues
such as expedited hiring, recruitment and retention language

A prediction...lots of new jobs with Agencies like the VA...as the village idiot
prepares to send our sons and daughters to die..."regime change" should begin in the US

In the News:
Americans Need NEPA: Marv Hoffer,former BLM Wildlife Biologist
FBI Harrasses Whistle Blower
Fee Demonstration Program: Dangerous Potential
Seeking Crude in the Canyon of the Ancients
Snowmobile Plan All Wet (Interior)
Tropical Future for UK Gardens as Climate Changes
Feds Burned by Wildfires...

It only costs $2 Million to fool most of the people, all of the time...
Avista Relieved by Montana Vote (I145)

reminds me..."The Sword & the Shield"...mentions several missing satchel or briefcase nukes...
Hunting Missing Soviet Radioactive Material

(Posted 11/10/2002)

In the News:
Snowmobile Plans Worry Montana
A Clear-Cut Drought Solution?

State of the Economy:
Where Did Everyone Go?

Civil Class Complaint - EEOC & Interior Named (CV-02-50-H-CCL)

(Posted 11/12/2002)

ADMINISTRATION PREPARES FOR OPPOSITION TO FEDERAL OUTSOURCING PLAN
In a move that could be felt nationwide by federal employees, the Bush administration announced plans last Thursday
to potentially turn over as many as 850,000 federal jobs to private companies in an effort to improve service and cut costs.
The proposed changes to the A-76 bidding process could eliminate about half the 1.7 million federal civilian workers
by contracting out jobs. Private companies could bid for the work. The effort has angered federal labor unions already upset
by President Bush's plan to waive civil-service protections at his new Department of Homeland Security.
"Private contractors could be chosen based on gold-plated proposals and promises to deliver more than they are capable
and more than is needed to get the job done at a higher cost," said National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)
President Colleen Kelley. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has identified dozens of job categories
that could be turned over to private contractors, including security in government buildings, aircraft and railway maintenance,
geological surveys, legal services, and the overhauling and testing of space systems.
Among the jobs on the list are laundry services, lawn care and copying services. "What the proposal does is
simply open it up to competition," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "What we're trying to do
is make government work better for the American taxpayer."
Administration officials say they can impose the new bidding process without congressional approval after a 30-day review period.
The White House sent the new rules to the Federal Register for publication after posting them last Thursday on the OMB
Web site at: www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a076/a76_111402.doc.

OSC ROLLS OUT GOVERNMENT-WIDE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has announced the government-wide roll out of its whistleblower education
and information program, designed to assist agency heads in complying with the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA).
Under the Act, agency heads are responsible for informing employees about the rights and remedies available to them
under the prohibited personnel practice and whistleblower retaliation provisions of the WPA.
Despite the existence of this requirement since 1994, the OSC has found that many agencies are unsure how
to meet their obligations. The OSC's new "2302(c) Certification Program" offers guidance on WPA compliance
and provides training resources. These include providing information about whistleblower protections to new employees
as part of the orientation process, and periodic information to current employees about their rights and remedies under the WPA.
Once these and other steps are completed, the OSC will report agencies' compliance on the OSC's Web site
at www.osc.gov, and to Congress in its annual report.

In the News:
Environmental Reviews Under Debate
Oil, Air, Energy Laws...Drilling in ANWR
The Snowmobile Deal (Interior)

90 Arrested at School of the Americas Protest
Arrests at the School of the Americas
Why the War Works
Bin Ladens Back
West Marin Women Strip for Peace

False Promises
Behind the Gate - the West's Moneyed Elite
What Dick Cheney Might Have Learned in Rock Springs WY

(Posted 11/18/2002)

In the News:
Feds to Appeal Norton's Contempt Charge (Indian Trust)
Seeking to Lead Sioux, Means Hasn't Mellowed

Agencies Fail Cyber Test
Report Gives US Agency Computer Security an F
Another F in Computer Security for Dept of the Interior

Martin's Cove Land Sale Appears Dead for Now
Study:Prevention Efforts Would Lower Wildfire Costs
Texas Firms Gas Project - Damage to Rain Forest
Federal Acreage Limits Increased for Coal Companies
Layoffs Expected at Decker Coal
BLM Land Sale - Nevada

Workplace Rights
Chipping Away at Liberty
They Are Not Serious on Homeland Security

Minorities Not Able to Merit Guaranteed College Admissions (Top Graduates)

Pompey's Site Access in Question

(Posted 11/20/2002)

In the News:
Bush Official Held in Contempt (Indian Trust - Interior)
Interior Official McCaleb Resigns (Indian Trust - Interior)
Indian Trust - Latest Information
Native Americans Not Likely to Get Bill Before US House

Interior Secretary Seeks Water Pact (Norton)
BLM NV Sued over Mine Expansion
Research Role's Extinction Feared (Interior - NPS)

CBM Service Firms Cut Back (CBM - WY)
Energy Companies to Sponsor Millions for Energy Studies
Millions of Jobless Start Lossing Benefits After Christmas

Proud, Patriotic, & Green
Taking Aim at Those Independent Thinkers

Warming Study Forecasts Skimpy Cascades Snowpack

Indian Affairs Director Resigns Amid Trust Suit (Indian Trust - Interior)

Merry Christmas! Republicans Block Unemployment Benefits Extension
Fiscal Crisis is Echoed Across Nation - States Deficits in the $Billions

(Posted 11/22/2002 appended 11/24/2002)

In the News:
BIA Resignation Leaves Tribes Worried
Many Eyes on Court for (2) Indian Cases
EPA Says Unexploded Munitions, Chemical & Biological Weapons Substantial Health Risks (PEER Whistle Blower - EPA)

Not Just the Village Idiot!...
The Man Who Calls Bush a Liar

(Posted 11/26/2002)

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

I received a "Thanksgiving" gift...
the civil case I filed in Billings MT against Interior/BLM for hostile work environment, reprisal, etc
asking for $10Million in damages, which the US Attorney and a Federal judge tried to kill...
was remanded back to the Federal District Court by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit! ;>)
Senior Judge Jack D Shanstrom's dismissal of the case was "an abuse of discretion"

In the News:
Bush Administration Proposes New (Rape & Pillage) Rules for National Forests & Grasslands
Interior Wants to "Marginalize" Litigators
Park Service Fears Pollution, Appeals Study for Coal Power Plant (NPS - WY)
CBM Lawsuit Grows (BLM - WY)
Too Many Wild Horses (BLM - WY)

Once the BLM assumes responsibility for your safety ("buckle-up"), doesn't that leave them open
to liability lawsuits if someone is injured ...by their obvious failure to protect your safety?
Calif Crowds Face New Rules at Dunes (BLM - CA)

Are they locking drillers out of federal (public land) or deeded (private) land?...
Fed-up Ranchers Lock Out Drillers (BLM - NM)

Act for Change (Political Activitism)

School District Violated Students Rights to Free Speech and Due Process Judge Rules (Students Web Page)
Bush Approves Opening US Highways:Mexico's Trucks/Truckers to Drive on US Highways

Hall of Shame...
Governor, Chief Justice Resist Questioning in Lawsuit (MT)
Homeland Bill Packed with Pork, Payola
Interior Dept Attempts to Evade Trust Responsibilities (Reservation Lands & Resources)

(Posted 11/29/2002)

Only 23 More Shopping Days Until...

In the News:
Battle Over New Bush Forest Proposal (US Forest Service)
Jeffords Blasts Bush on Environment
Bill Maher:When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden
Fewer Problems Reported at CA Dunes (BLM - CA)

BLM Approves 34 of 39 Exception to Rules Requests for Energy Companies (BLM - WY)
Federal Land Swap Plan Fails in Utah

Half of these new Immigrants are Illegal...1 in 4 hold a Tech, Mgr, or Professional job...
Census:8 of 10 New Male Workers in the Past Decade Were Immigrants

(Posted 12/01/2002 appended 12/02/2002)

Interesting...the Miles City Computer Specialist (Camrud) gets a FO mgr position (Havre)

and with no known previous managerial experience or qualifications ...
and the Miles City Computer Assistant (Watts) gets to work for Singer in Billings
(with a grade increase/promotion).
Both have one thing in common...being female...and Camrud - (female + minority) preference
The MCFO AO is leaving for a position in Winnemucca NV


Otherwise known as the big payback...

ADMINISTRATION FAVORS BONUSES FOR POLITICAL APPOINTEES
The Bush administration has determined that several thousand political appointees across the federal government will be eligible
for cash bonuses, abandoning a Clinton-era prohibition that grew out of questionable practices in the first Bush administration.
For the first time in eight years, cabinet-level officials and agency chiefs have been authorized to approve annual awards of
up to $10,000-and possibly more-for the influential senior attorneys, policy advisers, confidential assistants and other appointees
who are brought onto their political staffs. Awards can total $25,000-or higher with approval from the White House.
The new policy is being instituted at many federal departments, and a few agencies have already begun distributing awards
of several thousand dollars each to political appointees. It affects political appointees in two categories:
non-career Senior Executive Service (SES) officials, who fall just below presidential appointees in rank,
and Schedule C employees, who are lower ranking and lower paid.
Some career officials have criticized the policy, which they say threatens to reward employees for political loyalty
and could force career civil servants to compete against political appointees for bonus money that their bosses distribute each year.
Democrats Urge Bush to Stop Political Favoritism (Cash Bonuses to Political Appointees)

FEDERAL AGENCIES HELP DRAFT NEW IT CERTIFICATION STANDARDS
The FBI, Secret Service, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) along with technology industry trade groups
have helped create new certification standards for information technology (IT) professionals. The new certification, known as Security+
, is intended to provide a standard method for training and evaluating the abilities of IT professionals.
Among the organizations that participated in the Security+ committee are major software and hardware vendors such as
Microsoft, IBM, and Sun Microsystems, as well as leading security companies such as RSA Security, Entrust, and VeriSign.
According to the Computing Technology Industry Association, Security+ certification is targeted at professionals with at least
two years of computer networking experience and is intended to create an objective measure that companies and
organizations-including the federal government-can use to assess the security training of employees and job applicants.
Employees seeking Security+ certification must pass an examination covering security concepts ranging from methods of
external attack to authentication and access control. Information professionals must also master areas such as cryptography and
organizational security concepts. The goal is to increase the number of workers who are properly trained to manage
frontline security-related positions.

In the News:
Appeal Attacks Judges Ruling (Indian Trust - Norton)
Norton to Appeal Sanctions (Indian Trust)
Supreme Court:A Thumb on the Scales of Justice
White Mountain Apaches
Bush/Interior Seek to Avoid Accountability:Ask US Supreme Court to Limit Indian Lawsuits
High Court Reviews US Trust to Indians
Bush Administration Takes Second Crack at Reorganizing BIA (Interior)
Bureau of Indian Affairs in Shake Up

Calif County Rejects Colorado River Deal (Norton)
Rebecca Watson Calls for Sustainable Mining (Interior - Lands & Minerals Mgmt)

Safety:Aerial Firefighting Takes Heat
Old Slurry Bombers Banned (Forest Service)
Forest Service Grounds 11 Airtankers

Governors Pare Inaugurals Amid Budget Woes

Three WhistleBlowers Win Favorable Court Decisions
What Our Government is Hiding (Interior - MMS)

(Posted 12/10/2002)

Friday the 13th...

Once again, MT BLM is on the radar in DC...names like Singer, Lonnie, Friez, Stoebe, ...

In the News:
Indian Trust - Latest Info
Norton Whines "I'm a Scapegoat" (Indian Trust)
Norton Lawyer Seeks Reversal of Contempt of Court Citation

Interior Moves to Stop Colorado River Overuse
Calif County Sparks Latest Water War

Court Reinstates Roadless Forests Rule
Bush Forest Plans Dealt Setback
Bush Moves Ahead with Forest Plan
New Rules May Spur Salvage Logging in Burned Forests
Study Says Salvage Logging May Cause More Harm
A Look at Bush's Wildfires Plan
Bush Sets Rules to Speed Logging in US Forests
White House Plan to Thin Out Logging Rules
Forest Service Allows Trespass for Canyon Club Developer (WY)

NPS Beefs Up Firepower of Park Rangers (AK47's/M16's)
Cross Creates Desert Storm (NPS - CA)


Where are those (2) Million Jobs that were created?? or are those being filled by Immigrants (8 of 10 jobs in the last decade)
3 Ex-Leaders Praise a Decade of NAFTA
Bush Proposes Regulations to Help Companies Avoid Age Discrimination Lawsuits
Supreme Court Unanimously Affirms Gun Control Provision

Or, So What Who Cares if he is a Racist...
Why So Late on Lott?
Opinion:New CIA Covert Powers Undermine Constitution
GAO Widens Inquiry of Rehnquist (HHS)

(Posted 12/13/2002)

The choice is simple...a recent letter to the Editor (Billings Gazette) and the story
of a family being told that they had to have $250K up front for cancer treatments for their son
...we (America) can spend $300 Billion + of our tax dollars on the war machine, or we can cure cancer
Government of the people, by the people, for the people ...take back what is yours!

In the News:

Norton as a Supreme Court Judge!...Has God Truely Forsaken America?...
Interior Tries to Besmirch Indian Trust Judge
McCaleb on Indian Trust & Accountability

County Fires First Shot in Latest Water War
Officials Meet on Colorado River Use

Indian Pass Gold Mine (BLM - CA)
BLM Loses $52Million in Royalities (CBM - WY)

Judicial Watch - West
How Should the Supreme Court Weigh Its Own Precedent?
New Republican Tax Plan May Shift Tax Burden to Lower-Income Workers
Montana Dept of Corrections - Out of Control Growth

(Posted 12/16/2002)

The Holiday Season is upon us...And while all those lights are twinkling
think about the dams you didn't buy back...recent articles in a Helena publication
give a bit of history and show how MPC has screwed Montanans since 1912; overcharging
customers, using calculation formulas rigged to charge for expenses the company never had
...MPC's wealthy elite Thank You!

Just in time for Christmas!
Arkansas Santa

In the News:
Interior Gets OK for Department Overhaul (Indian Trust)
"Indian Enron" Case Must Not Be Ignored (Indian Trust)
Nevada Tribe Faces More Cattle Seizures (BLM - NV)

Calif Blames Norton for Water Deal Failure
Norton Cuts Calif Water
Norton Threatens Calif Water Cut
Las Vegas Meeting Ends Without Water Deal
Norton Orders Curb on Colorado River Use

Norton Has Plenary Authority Over American Samoa
BLM Bans Target Shooting Ranges North of Billings (BLM - MT)

CBM Gas Estimates Increased by 14X (USGS/BLM - WY)
Powder River Basin's Future Prompts Debate (CBM - WY)

Fire Fleet Needs Safety Overhaul (FS)
No Clear-Cut Solution

Norton Protege to Head Colorado Public Utilities Commission
Bush Legal & Political Advisors Split on Bias Case At U-Mich
Calif Budget Crisis Worsens ($35 Billion)

Slinging more than just spinach & peaches...
Bush Urges Americans to Volunteer
US Social Security Going to Mexico (White House/Mexican Gov't Deal)
Judge Dismisses Nevada Power Case ("Energy Shortage" Fraud)
Federal Grant Funds War on Minorities in Texas


There is hope for the future...not everyone has their head up their axx...
Student Gets "A" For Hacking School Computer
Institute for Justice Media Center
A Whole Lotta Racism (Trent Lott)
My Perfect America (Trent Lott)
A New Element - or What Gov't Managers Have Created
Women's Throats Cut for Not Wearing a Veil

(Posted 12/20/2002)

I hope everyone had a good Christmas...this Christmas was the first time
since the Christmas of '98, as a result of the attempted destruction of our family by the Montana BLM,
that our family could be together for Christmas.

In the News:

It's about "time" for All WhistleBlowers to be Recognized and Applauded
TIME Person of the Year 2002 (WhistleBlowers)
Treasury Asks Congress to Increase Debt Limit (Nat'l Debt at $6.4 Trillion)
800,000 Jobless To Lose Unemployment Benefits Saturday; 95,000 Each Week Thereafter


Robert McCallum, Jr., Stewart Schiffer, J Kohn, Sandra Spooner, John Stemplewicz, Cynthia Alexander...
Judge Orders Ethics Probe re Misconduct of 6 US Lawyers in Indian Trust Lawsuit (Interior/Justice)
Judge Halts Search for Oil at Utah Park (Interior - BLM)
Ruling Paves the Way for Wilderness Roads (Interior - BLM)
Interior to Try to Settle Road, Waterway, and Property Disputes in the West

WY Senators Support Norton on Colorado River Water
BLM Threatens More Cattle Seizures in Tribal Dispute (BLM - NV)
Some NPS, FS, & BLM Firefighters Making Over $121,000 a Year Must Return Overtime Pay
Bush Team Has "Hit List" of Rules to Change to Favor Industry at the Expense of the Environment
BLM Rules Ease Road-Building Across Federal Lands
Rocky Mountain West - Persian Gulf of Natural Gas
Joint CBM Venture (WY)
FS Land Swap Will be Challenged

Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state
is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer,
or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect
in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting
that we furnish the means by which we suffer.
---Thomas Paine, "Common Sense" (Feb 1776)

Private Landowners Association
Property Rights Research
Federal Appeals Court Decisions May Go Public
Limitation of Damages for Gender Discrimination (pdf)
How the Judiciary Stole the Right to Petition ("Sovereign Immunity")
Saying NO to Government (Due Process)
State Citizen Service Center Research Headquarters
Law.com
From Aid & Abet Newsletter - Right to Travel Without State Permits
Abuse of Judicial Discretion

"Absolute Immunity" is not Absolute...
Judicial Immunity is Not a Bar to Prospective Injunctive Relief Against a Judicial Officer (re 42 USC 1983)
Judicial and Public Service Accountability - A Matter of Justice

(Posted 12/27/2002)

As we head for the end of a less-than-optimistic year...
the Village Idiot and court jesters leading...the future looks worse than what we've just survived

In the News:
White House Urges Lawsuit Settlement (Indian Trust)
GOP Payback - Protecting Big Business from Liability Lawsuits
Bush's Real Nowhere Plan (Interior/BLM - Roads on Public Lands)

Calif Must Stop Breaking the Law of the River
Interior to Cut Calif Share of Colorado River Water
Interior to Limit Calif Use of Colorado River

Goal Should Be Healthy Forests (aka Dombeck Blows)
Increase in Crime Endangers Park Rangers

While your jobs go to immigrants or overseas....
800,000 Lose Jobless Benefits

Precedent on the High Court...(Supreme Court - Discrimination)

(Posted 12/29/2002)

As we leave 2002 behind and charge (literally ;>) into 2003...

$6 Billion Budget Deficit - 1974, National Debt - $344 Billion; $290 Billion Budget Deficit under George HW Bush in 1992,
National Debt - $3.4 Trillion in 1994; National Debt - $6.3 Trillion in 2002, Budget Deficit - between $150 - $200 Billion in 2002,
with a cost of $333 Billion in Interest Payments on the National Debt in 2002
8.5 Million Americans Out of Work and Rising
Explanation of the National Debt
US Budget Deficit Returns

In the News:
Battle for Leadership of House Resources Committee (Interior)

Calif Board May Seek Water Deal Delay (Interior)
Water Cutback Looms for Calif
Calif Sea Key to State's Water Supply (Salton Sea)

Wild Horse Herds Swelling Beyond Capacity (BLM - WY)
BLM Road Rule Temporarily Put on Hold (RS 2477 - BLM - MT)
Gas Industry Has Difficult Year (CBM - WY)
NPS, Indians Clash in SD

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to be Lead by Anti-Environmentalist

There are NO "Afro-Americans", you live in AMERICA and are an AMERICAN ...
I Love the South!

This link is for people like Janet Singer, Diane Friez, Tom Lonnie, Robin Stoebe...
Office of Government Ethics


The Sins of the Father...
US Had Key Role in Supplying Iraq with Weapons of Mass Destruction

Montana Legislature - A Bad Bill is a Future Bad Law

See you next year! I'm looking forward to it!

(Posted 12/31/2002)

More to come! Stay Tuned
See tidbits.html for latestLatest WhistleBlower Postings