Drone causes 1,500 elk stampede in Wyoming
As the number of drones increases, so do the number of problems associated with the electronic mosquitoes.
Recently, wildlife refuge officials in Wyoming told Associated Press that a man with a drone caused 1,500 elk to stampede half a mile.
The stampede happened in late February at the National Elk Refuge in western Wyoming. Elk and bison often congregate at the refuge to eat feed put out to help them survive the winter.
This winter has been especially harsh in that area. More than 3 feet of snow has piled up, conditions that can be very stressful for all kinds of animals, AP noted.
Disturbing wildlife is a serious offense punishable by a fine up to $5,000.
Refuge spokeswoman Lori Iverson told AP that refuge officials had given the unnamed man from Washington, DC, a $280 ticket after he launched the drone from a highway pullout and flew it over the resting elk herd.
How NYC ‘honors’ retired hero detective
If NRA Board Member and fictional New York City police commissioner Tom Selleck were really in charge maybe this wouldn’t happen, but it does in real life.
The New York Post recently reported that a newly-retired hero detective with more than 600 arrests who , wants to carry a gun in retirement has been treated him like a common criminal in denying his application, according to his claim in a legal petition.
Louis Torino, 41, believes the NYPD is being vindictive because he retired early on a lucrative disability pension, according to court papers, The Post reported.
The Staten Island gumshoe hurt his right hand, arm and shoulder in 2015 while chasing down a “bad guy,” and retired in October after 18 years on the force, according to the legal papers he filed.
He was granted a tax-free disability pension equal to three-fourths of his annual $102,000 salary. While the injury prevents him from doing police work, he claims, he had surgery and healed well.
He said he needs a firearm for his own protection, especially after an active career that saw him make “an amazing total of 631 arrests, including 220 felonies, and 55 federal arrests.”
Torino’s work included a 2013 sting that nabbed 39 people for running guns and drugs across Staten Island; a 2014 takedown of a violent drug ring blamed for 29 shootings and three murders; and the 2015 collars of 10 people who sold cocaine and heroin, The Post reported.
He “has testified in open court against extremely violent individuals, gang members and members of drug cartels,” the court papers reportedly note.
In 2013, one gang member Torino had helped lock up told him, “When I get out of here I will kill you,” claims Torino.
But when Torino, who also wants a gun for private-security work, went to the department recently to apply for a “concealed carry permit,” he was rejected, with officials stamping “No firearms” on his NYPD identification card.
That’s quite a different ending than a CBS “Blue Bloods” television series show, but then CBS isn’t too well known for real life. The Post’s story ended with this sentence:
“The city will review the legal filing, a Law Department spokesman said.”
NY Times, Bloomberg, NRA sparring in media debate
President Donald Trump’s battle with the establishment media has spilled over into the continuing gun rights debate, according to Joe Pompeo, who writes a media column for Politico.com.
Among other things he discussed in his recent address to Congress, Pompeo noted that the president said: “We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests.”
Of course, the media, which Trump uses pretty well, isn’t taking his claim lying down.
Among other responses, the New York Times ran an ad in the recent telecast of Hollywood’s big Oscar’s night, and the National Rifle Association responded with a video of its own, which, according to Pompeo, insinuated “that the Times only cares about ‘truth’ now that Obama is out and Trump is in.”
Shortening Pompeo’s column somewhat, The Times’ responded, via spokeswoman Eileen Murphy: “Our commitment to the truth isn’t new, it dates back 166 years. And, each and every story mentioned in the NRA’s video, from Benghazi to crime in Chicago, was covered in deep and rich detail by Times reporters who in some cases — Libya, for instance — risked their lives to get at the truth.”
That wasn’t the end of the story.
According to Pompeo, “Everytown for Gun Safety, a group bankrolled by Mike Bloomberg, also had something to say: ‘After spending more than 30 million dollars to elect President Trump, the extremist leadership of the NRA won’t let the lack of a bogeyman in the White House keep them from fear-mongering — and their latest target is the truth and the journalists who uncover it. The hypocrisy of the gun manufacturers’ lobby … cannot be overstated and given this history. It should be no surprise that they fear a strong and independent press.’”
When it comes to purple prose, misleading and inflammatory claims, it looks like Bloomberg is still ahead.
