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The INDEPENDENT, August 20,1997
Hu
KMW rw ,
INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published twice
monthly, on the first and third Wednesdays of each
month, by Public Opinion Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge
Street, Vernonia, OR 97064, as a free newspaper.
Editors and Publishers. Dirk & Noni Andersen, (503)
429-9410.
it tius
ftE ONE OF THEM
YEARS
.
.
.
FERTILITY
“ Balanced” budget is
smoke and mirrors
This commentary rarely leaves local topics but, oc
casionally, the illusions performed inside the Beltway
are too entertaining to ignore. Well, “entertaining” isn’t
really the appropriate word, “horrifying” is better.
In what Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio called a “bud
get burlesque” the House of Representatives cut $385
billion out of the Medicare program over the next ten
years. While some of the “savings” will come from re
duced reimbursements for things Congress apparent
ly considers unimportant, such as home oxygen ser
vice, most of it will result from lower payments to doc
tors and hospitals. Sounds great, right?
Wrong! What it means is that seniors will pay more
for less care and that everyone who pays for their own
medical care, whether out-of-pocket or through insur
ance, can count on making up that $385 billion. Huge
amounts of Medicare dollars go for fraudulent
charges, it’s true, but the budget doesn’t increase
funds to control the fraud.
Next, $276 billion in tax cuts were rushed through.
Wonderful, we can all use tax cuts, especially middle
and low-income taxpayers.
That’s why the corporate alternative minimum tax
was repealed in this bill. That mouthful of words — “cor
porate alternative minimum tax” - was the only lan
guage that forced many of our largest, most profitable
corporations to pay any federal taxes. That’s why it
was passed in 1986. And that’s why it was repealed in
1997. (The Treasury Department says this could cre
ate 76,000 profitable corporations that will pay nothing
in taxes and we will make up the difference.)
Surely, out of $276 billion in tax cuts, there must be
some benefit for ordinary people, right?
Well, yes, of course. When we sell our houses, we
won’t have to pay as much in capital gains because
the rate has been reduced from 28 percent to 20 per
cent. On the other hand (smoke and mirrors), most of
us won’t have to pay capital gains on our homes, any
way, because a change in the law eliminates capitol
gains on most homes. But, let’s face it folks, it sure
sounds good to say a reduction in capital gains will
help the middle class.
Actually, the cleverest part of this whole illusion is
that it has nothing at all to do with balancing the bud
get, because this budget will increase the deficit for at
least the next three years. And, if economic growth
slows down, the deficit could quickly get out of hand
again.
In 1990, under President Bush, and in 1993, under
President Clinton, budgets were developed to cut the
deficit and they worked so well that, without any hur
rahs, the budget would have come into balance within
the next three years.
This year, the smell of the greasepaint and the roar
of the crowds were just too enticing for the Beltway il
lusionists in both parties. They had to get back on
stage and, since they didn’t have an act, they returned
to the smoke and mirrors.
We have very expensive front row seats and, unfor
tunately, the show stinks.
'V E NEVER SEEN SO
? MAA/y RAC O O NS ! ! !
Ike Says
By David M. Jones, member
Izaak Walton League, Nehalem Valley Chapter
Bowhunting season opens at the end of Au
gust and many hunters will not continue to
practice with their equipment before they be
gin to hunt. This lack of practice may be un
derstandable with a rifle you used a lot inat
was all sighted in and ready to go.
Months of practice before the season is
necessary for bowhunting. Daily practice
should continue even after the hunt has com
menced because the muscle groups and the
hand-eye coordination necessary for accuracy
must be constantly worked and tuned to en
able the hunter to make the most accurate
and ethical shot possible when afield.
Another consideration is the influence of
adrenaline in the hunting situation. When I
was guiding hunters, a doctor client of mine
told me that adrenaline is the strongest drug
the body produces and that it shuts off the
reasoning part of the brain. This is the “fight or
flight” substance that has helped our species
survive through eons. But it is also the drug
that has led to a number of wounded aniir.als
that are out of our range. Adrenaline is the in
fluence behind the stories of “buck or bull
fever.” We can wound our quarry when we
don’t understand what is happening to us and
take too long a shot that isn’t accurate even at
the ranges where we practiced all year.
There are some things that you can do be
fore that big bull comes into the call all of a
sudden, or that nice buck steps out of the
brush in front of you and an arrow is gone be
fore you’re really ready. First, practice at differ
ent ranges after you have your bow shooting
the way you like. One thing I like to do is pull
my arrows from the target and throw them
back to where I want to shoot from. But throw
them one at a time and make sure they all
land in a different area or distance from the
target. When you are out in the brush, that oull
isn’t going to let you step off the distance to
him, so you know which pin to use.
Another good way to practice before the
season gets going is at some of those 3-D
archery shoots with the plastic animals, where
you have to shoot with your foot touching a
peg. This forces you to shoot in some pretty
awkward stances and in some situations that
you may face in the field. Most archery clubs
sponsor this type of shoot and your local
archery shop could tell you where they are.
Have you shot in your broad heads yet? Do
they hit the same place your field tips do? Are
you sure? Are they razor sharp? Before these
fancy, pre-sharpened broadheads came out,
we used to sit around the fire the night before
the hunt with our stones, files, and steels,
touching up the razor heads. We’d wet the
hair on our forearms and shave them with the
broadhead to prove they were sharp enough.
At the very least, sacrifice one broadhead to
make sure it shoots the same as your target
arrows and tips. Are your arrows straight? I
took a hell of a fall last year and landed on my
bow quiver full of arrows. Luckily, I didn’t stick
myself and all the arrows were still straight. I
took the tips off all of them and spun them on
my fingernails to be sure. If you don’t know
how this is done, go to an archery shop and
have someone show you. It is a good skill to
learn.
Ok. Arrows are straight and your bow is
tuned. You’ve practiced ‘til you’re good at all
ranges. How fast can you get a second arrow
out and on its way? I know your first arrow is
going to be a double lung shot and the bull will
run about 75 yards and pile up. Nevertheless,
sometimes that first arrow flies a little high and
the animal looks around to find what made
that funny whistling sound, so you may have a
second chance. Practice with target arrows in
your quiver and see how fast you can get a
second arrow off. T his s im u la te s an
adrenaline-pumped hunting situation because
you must hurry, take an arrow out, nock it and
get a shot off as speedily as possible...a,I
things you will have to do afield.
When you do go afield this fall, please re
spect private property and your quarry. One of
the best reasons to practice is in order to
make an accurate and merciful shot on your
prey. If we take the life and spirit of an animal,
we should do so in the quickest, most merciful
way we can. Remember to prom ptly field
dress your animal and chill the carcass as
soon as possible so as not to waste the meat.
Good hunting and please keep practicing.
Izaak Walton League meetings are on
the third Thursday of each month, 7:00
p.m. The public is welcome. For meet
ing location, call 429-7193.