Solar & Wind Big Lie

 

The recent announcement by Jay Inslee regarding an all-EV state by 2030, Inslee assures his status as Washington State’s most obvious science buffoon. Our State seems to be doing its best by ignoring the bankruptcy of wind and solar as long-term sufficient electricity sources. Inslee continues to reveal his ignorance of the crisis by refusing to aggressively embrace the only technology that has any possibility of providing sufficient electrical power generation for a growing and demanding world. We have the technical know-how and resources to develop & launch the cleanest, greenest, safest, and cheapest electrical power for now and into the future. The only thing preventing this technology from moving forward are inept and small-minded politicians like Jay Inslee and his grossly hypocritical pseudo-environmentalists supporters.  Molten Sodium, Thorium, & 4^th Generation nuclear power could easily put us on a path towards energy independence, end our reliance on fossil fuels, and preserve our ecosystem within 20 years if we ACT NOW. We must rid ourselves of the unscientific nuclear paranoia psychobabble that Inslee and his predecessors are guilty of. To arbitrarily set a date of 2030 without any intelligent, logical, or achievable plan for reaching this goal is tantamount to tyranny.

After spending billions of tax dollars here in the US, chasing the illusive wind & solar debacle you would think that these politicians would wake up, step back, think objectively, consider the science, and act with immediate and intelligent purpose. But no, they seem to be so clouded by the politically expedient, politically correct, and intellectually bankrupt posturing, that they stumble over themselves appearing as bumbling idiots in some bizarre comedic silent movie. They seem intent on dooming most of the planet to poverty, sickness, economic disparity, and a hopeless ecological disaster. Twenty years from now our planet will be irretrievably sick, sitting on the precipice of disaster. We will look back and desperately point the finger at these brain-dead fools who acted so carelessly, so irresponsibly, with so little vision, who refused to recognize the obvious. They are the precise definition of stupidity: “unsuccessfully doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

All over the world environmentalists and scientists are beginning to recognize the obvious, nuclear must be part of the green energy plan. Every day we hear of prominent scientists abandoning their previous anti-nuclear stance and aggressively advocating clean, green, cheap, and efficient 4^th Generation, molten sodium, and thorium nuclear technologies as a significant component of electrical energy production equation. They have begun to see the absurdity of the wind & solar Big Lie. The facts are simple: More fossil fuels are consumed engineering, building, maintaining, and ultimately retiring gigantic solar and wind farms than you can ever hope to achieve in the reduction of fossil fuels use. The carbon emissions output is far greater than the carbon emissions savings over the 10-to-20-year lifecycles of solar and wind. I will restate my passion for clean, green, safe, and cheap electrical energy by declaring once again, If you claim to be an environmentalist and are not actively and aggressively advocating the fast-tracking of 4^th Gen. nuclear, Molten Sodium, and Thorium electrical production you are nothing more than a colossal hypocrite and a delusional psychopath. Its time to join ranks with this growing number of environmentalists and scientists, who are emerging from their nuclear paranoia and wholeheartedly supporting the power of the atom. One ton of thorium will generate more electrical energy with zero pollutants, with 99.999% safety than 3,500,000 tons of coal, with none of the disastrous ecological impact of coal mining.

Some surprising statistics published by the United Nations report on nuclear accidents.

Deaths due to current nuclear power generation. Looking at three high-profile nuclear accidents. Since 1979 there have been approximately 220 deaths directly related to Nuclear Power production and radiation exposure.

Incident	Date	Deaths during incident	Killed by direct exposure to radiation	Projected deaths from increased thyroid cancer risk
Three Mile Island	1979	0	< 10	0
Chernobyl	1986	19	178	160 by 2065
Fukushima	2011	1	0	15 to 100 by 2070

Deaths over 5-year span and total deaths related to traditional and so-called renewable power generation technologies.

USA Deaths per year	Coal Fired	Solar Farms	Natural Gas	Wind Farms	Oil Fired	Bio Mass	Nuclear	Hydro
Pollution caused deaths	30,000 per year from coal burning related pollution.	1	8,000 per year from Natural Gas related pollution  CO2)	1	8,000	28	0.04	1.4
Production caused deaths	61 per year	22	18	12	23	112	0.001	6

 

Northwest Bouillabaisse

Northwest Bouillabaisse

While fresh shellfish taken from Washington coastal beaches is not usually considered game I can’t resist a good fish stew.

This past winter we gathered some mussels and clams from the coastline and used our crab pots to catch a few.

I supplemented the catch with   a pound of prawns – shell on, some white fish, cod and snapper.  You can make this dish in about 25 minutes, not including the fish stock, and be eating fresh Northwest Fish Stew with the family on those cold winter evenings. It’s not quite like the Bouillabaisse from Marseilles France, but pretty good. The whole meal was less than $20 dollars, not including the wine.

Ingredients

Two bunches of green onions, chopped or two leeks, washed well and chopped fine

4 Italian plum tomatoes chopped rough

1 medium red pepper, chopped rough

6 small red or white Finnish potatoes. Feel free to leave them out if you want to be more authentic; I kind of like them.

¼ cup of Extra Virgin olive oil

2 TBS. Pernod (a licorice flavored liqueur)

1 ½ quart of fish stock

1 whole bay leaf

½ tsp saffron (if you don’t have saffron or don’t like it use a TBS. of paprika and a pinch of sugar – I like to add some paprika anyway)

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 to 2 lbs. steamer clams

1 or 2 lbs. of white fish, cut into 4 pieces

1 lb. of large prawns (save shells)

1 to 2 lbs. of mussels

A whole crab or two, cooked and cleaned

Any other fish you want to add to the stew.

4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

1 cup white wine

Procedure

In a large pot heat up some very good olive oil. Add the chopped onions or leeks, chopped red pepper, Italian tomatoes, and any other vegetables you want. When the onions begin to get clear, add your fish stock. Season the stock with the chopped garlic, bay leaf, saffron, and fresh ground pepper. Add the whitefish at this point and sauté the pieces a bit. At this point you may also want to add the small potatoes to cook, or you can cook them separately and add them later, or not serve with potatoes at all.

When the soup has begun to boil and the vegetables are cooked, add the rest of the fish, mussels, crab pieces, and the clams. Cover the dish for a few minutes or until the clams have opened up and the prawns are pink. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper (you won’t need much salt).

Serve in a big broad soup bowl with crusty French bread, Garlic Aioli*, or Rouille* and either a sturdy red wine or flavorful beer. Make sure everyone gets equal portions of the clams, mussels, scallops, and prawns, but save a few extra mussels for yourself – you are the cook after all.

Fish Stock – Court Bouillon (pronounced quah – booyawn)

Boil the prawn shells and any fish bones you have in about a three quarts of water. Add 1 stalk of rough chopped celery, an onion – rough chopped, a rough chopped carrot, a couple of bay leaves, a whole lemon, cut in half, some whole peppercorns, 1 cup white wine, and any other fish scraps you happen to have stored in the freezer or your fishmonger will part with. Unless you go to a real Fishmonger it’s unlikely that you will find any fish bones. You can also add about 2 cups of chicken stock if you don’t have enough fish bones. Bring the stock to a boil and skim off the scum. If you have any good clam juice, add it in at this point. I always save the clam juice from the last time we had steamed clams and put it into a plastic bag and freeze. Then I can use it whenever I am making a fish sauce. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes. Strain the stock into another saucepan and reduce to about 2 quarts.

Garlic aioli

3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large egg
1 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
2 turns freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine the garlic, egg, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender and puree. Add the oil in a slow stream and continue to process until the mixture has formed a thick emulsion. Some recipes also call for bread crumbs added at the end to thicken the paste.

Serve with toasted French bread slices. I like to spread the aioli on my bread slice and then dip in the bouillabaisse juices – umm!

Rouille

1 red pepper, roasted and peeled

2 cloves garlic

1 pieces of white bread torn into pieces

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Juice of one lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients, except for the oil. Puree until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil. Season the emulsion with salt and pepper.

April - It's Turkey Season

It's April 2021 and Turkey season is about to start in Washington ST as it is all around the country. Eastern Washington, with its rolling semi-arid desert is the place to find the Merriam Turkey, Washington's most abundant sub-species. The Spokane area, Grant county, Klickitat county, and the northeast corner of the state are the best places. I prefer Klickitat county and the Tonasket region. I've been turkey hunting for eight years and have shot six birds, the largest was 22 lbs.

As soon as the season for ducks and geese draws to a close it’s time to turn my attention to Turkey hunting. Each year for the past three years I have made the trek to Eastern Washington, “where the Turkeys are.” We are fortunate in Washington State to have an abundance of wild Merriam’s (Meleagris gallopavo merriami).

Their populations have been growing steadily for the past 10 years or so. In the past 5 years their numbers have soared dramatically. In many counties in Washington the Turkey has become a nuisance bird, entering into people’s yards and messing their lawns and even their porches. This is good for the Turkey hunter because we can now take three birds, 2 in Eastern WA and one in Western WA.

My preparation routine is simple. I plan on taking a few vacation days beginning on the 15^th of April for the actual hunt. The Turkey hunting season in Washington almost always begins in mid-week. I find getting out there on the first day catches the birds off guard. Once the season is into its second week the Turkeys have become weary of the hunter, the sound of the gun, and the additional movement in their territories it’s much more difficult to hunt them.

Several weeks before the start of the season I bring out my Turkey spreadsheet, which is a glorified camping check list but includes all the Turkey hunting paraphernalia that you need for the successful hunt. I have put together a Quick Camping/Hunting Kit that sits ready to go at a moment’s notice in my garage. In preparation for Turkey hunting I haul it out and examine everything in it on the living room floor. I make sure the flashlights have fresh batteries as well as the air mattress pump. I check the air mattresses to make sure they haven’t developed any leaks. I also check the zippers on everything, coats, sleeping bags, small stuff bags, etc.; nothing worse than the sleeping bag without a working zipper on a cold April night.

I also clean my small propane stove and make sure it lights immediately. I also check to make sure I have plenty of gas cartridges. I check my Mr. Buddy portable heater as well and stock up on the green propane cartridges that it uses. Although the Mr. Buddy heater has an O2 sensor I also grab a CO2 and CO detector just in case the levels in the tent get too high.

Once everything checks out I repack the kit and begin examining my camo, ammo, gun, and calls. I usually full dress once before the hunt just to make sure everything fits, works, and doesn’t need a stitch or two. Everything gets packed in their appropriate bag.

Learning to Call Turkeys

Now I begin practicing my calls. I use all kinds of Turkey calls; everything from the box call to the diaphragm mouth call. The friction calls – box and slate or pot calls require both hands but are great beginner calls. There is also a push-button call that is the easiest of all to use. When I first get into the turkey’s territory and I don’t know where the roost is I begin with the box or pot call. They are loud and effective.

My preference is for mouth calls. Although I’ve been doing some call practicing all year long I get my mouth parts toughened up for the actual hunt, especially the roof of my mouth, which tends to get a little soft. The high dome diaphragm calls that I like best can really cut up the roof of your mouth if you don’t spend some time toughening it up. I listen to Turkey calls on a CD and begin to mimic those calls. I have about 5 typical calls that I can do fairly decently. One full month of daily practice should get you in top form.

There are nine basic Turkey mouth calls that even the beginner can easily learn. They are:

1. The Cluck – reference word is Pluck, using your lips to force the sound Pluck.
2.  The Kee Kee -  (the whistle of a young bird – often used in Fall Turkey hunting to call Turkeys back together). The reference word is pee. Use your lips like a valve
3. Yelp – slur two notes together, the high and the low. This the call you usually make using a box call or a slate call.  Chalk is the reference word. Learn to say chalk when you are using the mouth call – High to low.
4. Kee Kee Run – run the pee pee sound with the Yelp and you have the young bird call sound. With your mouth call in it comes out Kee Kee Kee chalk chalk.
5. Cackle – jaw movement is everything in the Cackle. The reference word is Kak. This is exciting to the Gobbler. Kak, Kak, Kak, Kak, Kak rapidly and drop off at the end.
6. Cut – great locator call. It gets the Tom to react. Very aggressive fast clucking but sharper and more intent. The reference word is Puck. Use your lips for the Cut.
7. Purr – is a contented sound. The hen purrs shows the Tom that she’s not interested and it gets the Tom excited. This is a throat call – vibrate the vocal cords. Some people can do this and some can’t.
8. Gobble – you can do this with a mouth call or with hand held rubber gobble call. The reference word for the Gobble is Taw. It sounds like a Jake gobbling which can aggravate the Tom; it’s an intimidation call. Your jaw needs to be loose.
9. Wavy Call – same as the whine. You are making the S sound. Use tone pressure to vary the sound. The reference sound is New. Say it several times in rapid succession.

Checking your Weapon

Finally, I check my gun. This year I took my trusty Remington 870 and purchased a camo thumbhole butt stock and forestock. As soon as it arrived from Cabala’s I sat down at the dining room table, covered with a blanket and installed the new stock. Now I have myself a real Turkey gun. The following weekend I took the gun to the range and tried it out. It only accommodates 3” shells but my surgery afflicted shoulder can’t take any more than that. The 3 ½” shells pack a significant wallop and I’m not sure I can take that punishment. However, they do give you added range and with a good Turkey choke a very dense pattern. If your shoulder can take it I recommend the 3 ½ inch shells.

Take time to pattern your gun, right before you go on your hunt. I like to get the black targets with the green circles over the Turkey head and neck region. As the shot pierces the target the entry spot turns a fluorescent green letting you know from a distance how you did. Make your shot from the likely position you will be hunting from, sitting down against a tree or bush, full camo. I have taken to using a shooting stick that can be dropped immediately when the shot is made. It offers that extra steadiness that is essential. Many Turkey hunters also use a knee rest. It straps to the leg just above the knee and has a groove in it for the barrel of the gun. Either way it’s a good way to steady your shot.

With just a few weeks to go my tasks are to line up my hunting buddy and make sure he has the list of everything he needs to get to carry his share of the weight. Two days before the hunt we meet and go over the check list just to make sure we have everything. I usually take care of all the food and do the cooking. I was a chef for 15 years in Seattle so that part comes naturally. I try to put together quick breakfast’s and one pot meals in zip lock bags that can just be placed in a pot of boiling water and heated up.

This year we are camping to keep the overall costs low. I have a large 6 person tent that I got at Costco for $100. It’s easy to set up and is roomy. You can stand up in the center of the tent which gives you a feeling of roominess. In addition, I built a camo rain fly. I purchased a large camo tarp and used the old rain fly as a pattern. The new rainproof tarp/fly goes all the way down to the bottom of the tent to prevent rain from blowing in at the base.

Here’s my brilliant idea: I purchased six or seven Mylar emergency reflective blankets and sewed them to the inside of the tarp. This way I’ve got a tarp that is not only fully rainproof but reflects the heat back down into the tent that would normally escape. In the summer time I can reverse the tarp and reflect the hot sun away from the tent to keep it cool inside. With this configuration we will be warm and dry in April in Eastern WA even if the weather turns cold and wet.

Turkey Camouflage

I’m often asked, “How much camo do I need to buy?” My answer is as much as you can afford. True, turkey hungers in the old days didn’t have much camo but there weren’t as many hunters either. Try to use camo that is the same pattern from head to foot. I recommend layering because it can be very cold in April then warm up near 70 degrees in Eastern Washington. The same is true for other parts of the country.

You need a good pair of camo, breathable, pants that will keep you dry. You can wear them over long under ware or over jeans. You need a good camo jacket, ideally with a liner that can be removed if it gets too warm. Next you need light camo gloves so your hands don’t stick out as silly white objects holding your gun.

Finally you need a camo mask of some type to cover your face. Ideally one that can be pulled down in a jiffy once you hit your bird. Don’t forget your camo hat. I like the beanie hat, one that is water resistant and breathable. It can be pulled down over your ears when it’s really cold. One last thing to remember; get a pair of gray or camo socks. As you are sitting down waiting for your Turkey to appear and your pants ride up a little and you don’t want gleaming white socks sticking out of your boots telling the Turkeys exactly where not to go.

I also recommend getting a Turkey vest. The best kind have numerous pockets for your various calls as well as a seat cushion and padded back for leaning against a bumpy tree for hours on end.

Scouting

Normally I take a couple of weekends in March to scout the territory I’m going to be hunting. I try to line up a farmer or two, where I’ve seen Turkeys and ask them if I can hunt on their lands. This year I will still do some scouting in the Cle Elum area, just east of the mountains but I’ve made a new arrangement that will eliminate the need for the March scouting. I met a guy on a hunting website who offered to show me where Turkeys are on his property in exchange for a copy of my cookbook. He’s had many Turkeys in his backyard this winter and early spring so I think we will be able to take our limit if we play our cards right.  

However, most Turkey hunters don’t have the luxury of a guide or access to private property where birds are seen every day in the same place doing the same things. That’s why careful scouting is essential. Take the time to visit several known Turkey areas. Knock on doors to ask farmers and land owners if they have seen Turkeys and would they mind if you hunted on their property.

Bring a gift or something to create some indebtedness. I usually bring a signed copy of my cookbook and some homemade bread. Some farmers will ask you to pay a small access fee to hunt their property. If someone else has already gotten permission to hunt their land ask them if it would be alright for you to contact them during the off season about next year.

Farmers will often spell out the rules for hunting on their property. Obey these rules religiously or they won’t allow you to hunt the property the next year. If they say you can only take one bird than don’t take two. You want to build friendships and long lasting relationships with farmers and land owners that will assure you of many years of successful Turkey hunting. I can’t stress this point enough. Send them a thank you note and call them once or twice during the year so that they remember you, how nice you were, and how you treated their property with respect.

The Night Before

I like to head over to the hunting site the day before, early enough to do some scouting. Give yourself plenty of time to set up camp and get something to eat before you begin scouting. As it is still fairly light out nearly to 7:00 PM I walk or ride around on the roads and into the fields along tree lines shock calling until I hear their roosting site. Patience and silence is the key. Use your truck to drive up and down roads stopping occasionally to make shock calls.

Also, use your binoculars to scan the horizon for any fat dark spots on the branches that might be Turkeys. You only have an hour to do this at most because the Turkeys won’t root until it starts to get dark and once it’s dark it’s hard to tell what you are looking at or where you’ve been. You can trip and fall once it gets dark and wreck our hunting trip before it gets started. Use a headlamp!

Once we have located a roost by using various calls; owl, crow, or just a very loud screaming call you need to determine where you will position yourself in the morning. Remember, it’s going to be dark and everything will look different in the dark. Make a few marks using colored tape or cloth to find your way in the morning. You should plan on getting set up one hour before the Turkeys are ready to leave the roost. Set your decoy (s) out in a natural setting about 150 yards or so from the roost.

The Early Morning

Get up early; generally be ready to head out by 4:00 or 4:30 AM depending on how far away the roosting spot is. When the light begins to emerge you will begin to see the Turkeys in the trees, exactly where they were the night before. Watch their movements and listen for any signs that they might be getting ready to fly down. You may make a few clucks or yelps to attract the Turkeys out of the trees when the time is right. Don’t try to call too early; it won’t have any effect on the birds. Remember the large Toms will easily fly 100 yards or more from their roost to the ground below. They could just as easily fly 150 yards away from you as towards you. If you are hunting as a team try to cover ¼ of the potential roost landing area. With proper calling you should be able to get one or two of them to fly towards you and your decoy.

Speaking of Decoys, you have several choices but here are a few guidelines. Get a decoy that is light weight can collapse quickly and then quickly set up again. Those made of molded polyethylene with realistic head and feathers are great because they can be folded up and stuffed into your back pack. Another good choice is the inflatable decoys. They have an extremely realistic look but if you accidently hit one with your shot it will immediately deflate and they are hard to patch. Finally there are the Turkey Skins. These are real turkey feathers that can be slipped over your plastic decoy and exactly simulate a turkey with feathers fluffing in the breeze. If you can only afford one turkey I recommend it be a Tom with a full fan. Most Tom decoy’s come with a synthetic fan but when you get your first bird preserve the real fan and use it on your decoy the next time you go out. 

You may have to move yourself and the decoys if the Turkeys land in the opposite direction. This is why it’s important to call them just before they are likely to fly from the roost on their own. Use your hat or some Turkey feather to rub the ground to simulate the sound of the hen on the ground.

The male Turkey loses all sense of rationality during the early spring. He wants only one thing – to mate with the hen. He is likely to make mistakes that he wouldn’t otherwise make during other parts of the year. Knowing the male Turkey’s behavior patterns is essential. This takes practice and experience. Try to go Turkey hunting the first few times with someone who has done it before and knows the tips and tricks.

If you can’t find the roosting spot look for telltale signs of Turkey activity. Look for tracks or dusting spots where the birds have fluffed up their feathers and dusted themselves to remove parasites. Look for feathers or any signs of fighting between males. Males get very angry with each other when they are competing for the same female and feathers fly everywhere.

The Hunt

You may have to move several times to stay ahead of the Turkeys you are following. Last year we called the birds and saw a faint impression a half mile down the road. They kept turning to the left and we kept moving towards the right to try to get in front of them. Fortunately they moved ahead of us on a ridge. A few head of cattle scared them back towards us and we were able to shoot a couple of them before they wandered off away from us again. It can be tricky business.

If you don’t have initial success hunting the roost you may have to walk several miles to head off birds that take what appear to be somewhat random walks. Call occasionally to see if you can get a gobbler to respond. Listen carefully for the direction. Try to get a sense which direction the response is coming from and heading towards. Once you think you are in position to head off the Turkeys quickly and quietly set up your decoys and stay hidden.

One of the biggest mistakes a new Turkey hunter makes is trying to call too much. Call just enough to get their attention. Once the Tom gobbles a quick call or two will help him locate you. If he looks like he’s going to move away begin calling again to get his attention. If he’s moving towards you ease up on the calling until he’s right in front of you or on top of the decoy. A final quick call can stop him in his tracks long enough to get off a good shot.

Aim for the head and neck region. The gobbler will make his traditional fan and fluff presentation several times before he gets close to the decoy or before he tries to mate with the hen. The secret is to wait for him to stretch his neck out, such as when he gobbles before pulling the trigger. You want to shoot him so that the maximum amount of shot hits the head-neck region. A body shot will likely just send him on his way unless he’s right in front of you. Then you will spend your time eating delicious Turkey and biting into shot – no fun.

Remember, the most important element of Turkey hunting is stealth. You must remain absolutely motionless and as invisible as possible. Turkeys have great eyesight and will detect anything out of the ordinary. They are smart birds and even though their raging hormones sometimes compromise their decisions they will notice your movements and change direction or fly off in an instant.

Once you see or identify a bird that seems to be responding to your call, your decoy, or both you need to become very quiet. If you are hunting with a buddy devise a simple and barely detectable sign or two. If two eligible birds emerge you may both be able to take simultaneous shots. I use my trigger finger to discreetly count to three and shoot right after the third tap on the receiver of my gun. Practice this a few times with your buddy so he knows the signal. Make sure you both know that the hunter on the right takes the right bird and the hunter on the left takes the left bird. Don’t turn your head to look at the other hunter. Instead position yourselves so that you can see the signal out of the corner of your eye and still see the Turkeys ahead of you.

The Disappointment

Turkey hunting, as with all hunting is about highs and lows. You may go days or even years without scoring a bird. Don’t give up. The more you hunt the greater your chances are that you will be successful. If you expect to go out Turkey hunting on the second or third weekend of the season on public lands with little or no scouting you are setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. Spend the time necessary to do your homework, scout, get access to private lands, hunt on the first day of the season, and plan on hunting on several days successively. Follow these simple rules and you will eventually get your Turkey.

My rule of thumb is to take the first available legal bird as soon as possible. Then for my second tag look for the big Tom. At least you will have something to show for your efforts and a delicious Jake that you shot is far better than the store bought Turkey any day.

Hunt in the morning and in the late afternoon. Turkeys get pretty quiet during mid day in the spring especially if the sun is out and it warms up. Once the shadow lines begin to grow long you will have that second chance to get your bird. Try to get between them and their previous evening roosting spot. There is no guarantee they will roost in the same spot the chances are likely especially if they haven’t been shot at. Give yourself every chance possible to get your Turkey.

The Triumph

The big Tom slowly walks up to your decoy or responds to your careful calling. He’s in the sights of your gun and you pull the trigger. Down he goes and that rare feeling of elation and excitement overcomes you. Now what do you do? The first thing to do is carefully set your gun down or lean it against a tree, preferably somewhere where you can keep it in sight. Make sure any shells are ejected and that the safety is on. Then briskly walk towards your downed bird. If the Turkey is still alive and actively flapping away straddle the bird, breast side down, and twist the neck to break it. Generally, if the shot was on target the bird is dead but its reflex actions are causing it to flop and fluff around sometimes for several minutes.

I like to dress the bird out as soon as possible, get it on ice, and in the cooler. I’m not going to discuss Turkey dressing at this point; there are plenty of good books, articles, and videos on how to dress out the Turkey.

Many people like to skin the bird taking feathers and all. This is much simpler and less time consuming but you won’t have any crispy skin to munch on. Pulling the feathers is very time consuming and tedious process; they don’t always want to come out. Dunking the Turkey in very hot water can be dangerous because you can actually cook the skin a bit, which will not enhance the flavor, and will result in quick spoilage.

The Delicious American Turkey

Wild Turkeys have incredible eyesight and are much smarter than given credit for. As soon as you clean your Turkey you may want to pop it in the freezer for cooking within the next few weeks. If you have a Food Saver device that sucks the air out of the bag it will last for six months or more. Wild Turkey is extremely lean meat, as are most game birds so it needs a little additional fat to keep it moist.

Turkeys are flavorful but can be a bit dry if not prepared correctly. The most important step is brining the Turkey. Brining involves submerging the bird completely in water that has been flavored with salt, brown sugar, and vinegar. The recipe is 3 TBS salt, 3 TBS brown sugar, and ½ cup white vinegar for every gallon of water.  A large wild Turkey should sit in the brine overnight.

I like to inject the Turkey meat using a meat injector. I use 1 stick of butter, ¼ cup of white wine, and 1 tsp. of poultry seasoning. Inject it several times in the thickest parts of the meat; in the legs, thighs, and the breasts. Feel free to stuff the bird with your favorite Turkey stuffing but make sure that stuffing is cold when you put it into the bird cavity and that the cavity is well seasoned.  

Ingredients

• Wild Turkey, skin on or skinned
• 1 stick of butter
• ½ lb salt pork
• Meat injector
• 2 cups chicken stock
• ½ onion, rough chopped
• 1 carrot, rough chopped
• 1 stalk celery, rough chopped
• Large roasting pan
• Heavy duty aluminum foil
• ¼ cup Seasoning mix

 Preparation

After thawing the bird slowly in the refrigerator wash it off in cold water and plunge it into a brine solution of salt, vinegar, sugar, and water to completely cover the bird; brine overnight. Remove the bird from the brine and wash in cold water again. Check carefully for any shot entry spots and feel around for shot. Carefully pry out any shot if you find it. If you are using steel shot you can use a strong magnet to find the shot.

Place the bird in a roasting pan, directly on the pan, not in a rack. Add the cut vegetables. Melt the butter. Begin injecting the bird in various locations using up all the butter solution. Pour any remaining butter all over the cold bird. The butter should solidify almost immediately. Season the bird with the seasoning mix inside and out, especially on the bottom of the bird. Slice the salt pork into very thin slices and drape them over the bird, including over the legs. You can substitute bacon for the salt pork but blanch the bacon first to remove some of the smoke flavor.

Tightly cover the bird and roasting pan with aluminum foil. Roast in a 335 degree F oven. Roast for about 4 hours. Check occasionally and add some chicken stock about ½ way through the cooking process. Remove the foil for the last hour so the bird browns up nicely.

Turkey gravy

Make a blond roux (equal parts of flour and fat by weight, cooked over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Do not burn)

Add the strained stock from the roasting pan whisking continuously. Remember the rule for no lumps, cold stock to hot roux – hot stock to cold roux. Thicken the gravy. Add 1 TBS sherry and season to taste. Darken with a little kitchen bouquet if you like. You may also cut up the cooked liver and heart and add it to the gravy for traditional giblet gravy. Serve with all your favorite Thanksgiving favorites even if it isn’t Thanksgiving.

Above all, have fun. Turkey hunting can be very frustrating but most of the fun is getting out there with friends and sharing in the hunt. It will probably be the most expensive Turkey you ever eat but the thrill of hunting, dressing, and cooking your own Tom Turkey is well worth the effort and cost.

A good place to start is www.hunting-washington.com Check out the turkey hunting forum for some great information from seasoned Turkey Hunting experts.

 

Amazon vs. Labor Unions                                      

History of Labor

The organized labor movement in both Europe and the United States has its historical roots in Marxist ideology, the class warfare between greedy business owners and oppressed struggling workers seeking social justice.  The movement has been compromised by corruption within large labor unions, such as the AFLCIO during the 1970’s and in this century by the NEA, the largest and most powerful labor union in history, it has also been vindicated by the central principle of the dignity of the laborer, the value of work in society, and the more idealistic goals of the craft unions, from which the original labor union concept owes its beginnings. There are several underlying principles that come into play.

Inalienable Rights

The Judeo-Christian belief in the dignity of mankind, the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville[i] in the 19^th century, and documents referring to democracy as far back as the 3^rd century BC in Athens, defined the concept of the natural right or inalienable right of self-determination. The worker is a free citizen, pursuing liberty and autonomy in his or her life. This lofty goal is difficult to achieve in today’s complex society, especially in the shadow of our highly fractured political environment.

The Intrinsic Value of Work

The distribution of power and control in our society is not self-leveling. Capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than all other economic systems or social programs combined. However, Capitalism is not without its inherent flaws, it just has fewer flaws than socialism or communism. The labor movement can and often does provide a set of checks & balances for Capitalism. The working man or woman ideally pursues the beauty and value of hard work, the job well done, the satisfaction of work completed and pride in craftsmanship. In recent years, some companies encouraged workers on assembly lines to stamp their initials or inscribe their name to their part of the product, be it the engine component, wing spar, pump, or whatever to encourage and highlight the pride of the individual in the assembly of a whole or completed product.

Workers Power

Workers that value their craft and contribution to society are often powerless as individuals. It is difficult for the individual worker to distinguish, differentiate, or establish a degree of control. The individual worker lacks sufficient power to demand anything. They are at the mercy of the business owner, the corporation, or the organization they work for. The company has extended them the privilege of employment. “I have given you this job because you need to work, and my company needs your labor in order to succeed. For you to request more of me seems impertinent. I don’t owe you anything more than what we originally agreed to.”

The Social Contract

One view is that companies must agree to sign a virtual contract, a social contract within the communities in which they operate in. A society, which is made up of free citizens allows the company to operate and may provide certain incentives to entice the company to add benefit and value to the community. Within this social contract is the understanding that the worker possesses inherent dignity, self-preservation, and satisfaction in their work regardless of how menial or elemental the job may be. Consequently, as a condition of the social contract the company should inquire of the worker, individually or collectively, “What do you need, what do you want, how can we make your job better, increase your job satisfaction, earn your loyalty, help sustain your family, help you achieve your goals in life, and provide you a sense of meaning in a world that struggles to provide meaning or worth.

The Ideal World

In the ideal world the labor union is unnecessary. The enlightened capitalist corporate management senses the importance of their workers and strives to treat them fairly. The corporation understands that their most important asset is their workers. Without them they cannot survive or compete in the marketplace. However, we do not live in an ideal world. Corporations have demonstrated over time that they don’t always hold their workers in high esteem. Workers have been taken advantage of, discriminated against, forced to work in unsafe, unsanitary, and unhealthy conditions. Consequently, workers consolidated their efforts and engaged in Collective Bargaining in order to negotiate from a position of power. They formed labor unions that could speak with some degree of power and influence, and fight for workers’ rights, basic human rights, inalienable rights. Collective bargaining provided the power that the individual worker lacked.

Shareholder Value

If an American corporation is going to work in our free society it must honor the social contract and uphold its end of the bargain. It is a legal requirement for the corporation to succeed financially. Therefore, the corporation must split its obligations between its shareholders, who have invested their hard-earned money in the corporation, expecting a return on their investment and the laborers that sustain the corporation with their creativity, ingenuity, hard work, and dedication to the corporation they work for. This is a fine line, a balancing act, a give & take.

All parties need to balance their own selfish goals against the needs of those who participate in the social contract. Companies need to benefit their communities. Communities need to provide a healthy and efficient environment in which to operate. Shareholders must decide what is most important – profits only, profits and long-term success of the corporation, financing a company that cares about its workers and the community? There are many considerations in the social contract and sometimes these considerations seem at odds. 

Persuit of Happiness

In our Republic, in our representative democracy, each citizen possesses individual liberty and personal freedom. Our citizens have an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Happiness isn’t a guarantee, but we have the right to pursue it. If a corporation, a government, or other individuals deprive you of that pursuit they are in breach of the social contract. In our free society all the conditions, elements, and participants in the social contract must be examined, carefully weighed, and implemented. While there are successful models to examine, there is no one way. Each community must take into consideration what is best for its corporations, its citizens, workers, and shareholders.

The Free Market

In the free market, no one should feel guilty about realizing substantial return on their investments – those who are willing to take significant business risks have earned the right to see the reward for those risks. America is a phenomenal success story largely based on that simple equation. By the same token, those individuals who help make corporations successful through their creativity, hard work, and diligence should not feel guilty demanding reasonable compensation. That compensation takes many forms, not the least of which is a safe, healthy, and suitable work environment. 

A Prescription

The following is a prescription for balance between the needs of the corporation, its shareholders, and its workers. Each community should form a work oversight team. This team is composed of corporation leaders, community leaders, workers, citizens, lawyers, and business forecasters. Each participant brings their unique vision and expertise to the table. The committee ask questions and recommends suitable paths to success and satisfaction. The oversight team considers issues such as: how much profit, what does the community owe the corporation? Are taxes too high, what does the corporation owe the community, is it willing to help pay for infrastructure? What are the legitimate needs, rights, and conditions for their workers; is their total compensation enough to keep them in their position within the corporation while at the same time ensuring the profitability and competitiveness of the corporation? Labor and management agree to abide by the decisions of the committee. The formation of a labor union only becomes necessary when this collaborative, responsible, and sensible oversight committee fails to satisfy its mission, responsibilities, obligations, or weighs one side significantly over the other.  

Just because the presence of a labor union helps provide reasonable checks & balances for Capitalism doesn’t mean that all parties are happy. When our Congress debates for weeks on end, negotiates as nauseum, and eventually reaches compromise legislation, nobody is completely satisfied.  Different parties have different goals and objectives, arguments inevitably ensue. Negotiation and deliberation are almost always required to make anything happen. The different parties may smile and shake hands but in truth, no one is ever completely happy.

Amazon vs. Labor Unions

Amazon is an incredibly successful company. The case can be made that Amazon is a truly great company, its impact on society being generally positive. Amazon is a disruptive company; its business model has radically changed forever the way people buy things. Similar to Microsoft, its neighbor across the water, its size, reputation, and value paints a huge bullseye on its back. Amazon generally puts its customers first by providing the customer with an inexpensive, easy, and a consistent way of purchasing just about anything. It is often said, “If you can’t get it on Amazon you probably don’t need it.” Amazon has a reputation for outstanding customer service. It also has a reputation for demanding the utmost from its workers. It hires the best, invests in the best, and pays comparatively high salaries to those skilled workers that help Amazon grow, profit, and succeed.

However, Amazon also has a reputation for being a sweat shop. One can find many Amazon horror stories of workers that simply burn out after giving their all, and Amazon expecting still more. Attrition rates for salaried and semi-skilled workers is high. Amazon certainly could do a better job of providing its unskilled and semi-skilled workers better working conditions and better hourly wages. To a certain extent they are guided in their compensation strategy by their shareholders. It is no secret that Amazon shareholders have been extremely patient over many years when the retail side of the business did not generate ANY profits. Those investors who hung in there have been rewarded, some would say, beyond all expectations as the stock has gone from $20 dollars a share to $3,000 dollars per share or even more.

Amazon & Labor Unions

That brings us to the current Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama warehouse 6,000 employee unionization effort. Amazon’s supply chain processes will be disrupted by the presence of the labor union. If Amazon pushes too hard it will completely alienate its workers causing irreparable harm; there will be a labor stoppage. If the labor union pushes too hard it will engender an untenable work environment and future workers will be difficult to find, hire, and keep. Amazon will experience its worst fears in its attempt to placate its workforce.

Inevitability of Automation

Amazon has created the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and efficient warehouse management system there is. It is the envy of virtually every online reseller & shipper on the planet. State-of-the-art automation is the hallmark of the online shipping & receiving system. Continued use of automation and robotics will continue to grow. Labor organization pressures will continue to mount but automation will increase, and the warehouse jobs will be lost. Those workers who lose their jobs to increased automation will hit the unemployment lines, lose some of their work-related dignity & satisfaction, and need to scramble to find new semi-skilled work in a labor market that is being universally squeezed by automation, this is a fact of life.

No labor union, governmental department of labor, or community labor oversight team will be able to counteract this trend. Amazon has no choice but to further automate its operations and eliminate the human workers from its payroll in an effort to keep its costs low. To do otherwise would be a violation of its social contract with its customers, shareholders, and the community it thrives in. Even the most benevolent company will be forced to adopt automation in its warehouse or factory or run the risk of becoming extinct in the face of global competition. Attempts at setting up artificial barriers in the form of tariffs will ultimately be unsuccessful. Customers will always seek the highest quality at the lowest price and tariffs simply delay the inevitable.

Is Labor Rebounding

Labor union membership is beginning to rebound after many years of declining participation. While some see this as a new era for the labor movement it is likely a temporary blip. The labor movement will need to shift its mission away from simply securing better wages and working conditions for its members to a much broader focus on the impact of automation in general. We are about to experience the most dramatic change in the workplace we have ever seen. Automation, robotics, AI, and machine learning is going to slash jobs, once held by humans, as never before. Nearly every industry will undergo some degree of human job reduction, some industries will experience job reduction by as much as 90%. Transportation, the service sector, agriculture, banking & finance, healthcare, and manufacturing will be particularly hard hit.

Industrial Revolutions

In the past when technological revolutions took place certain industries experienced substantial job losses. During the 1^st Industrial Revolution, the steam engine virtually eliminated the need for jobs requiring muscle strength, from both humans and horses. However, there always seemed to be other places humans could find work, other industries, other markets typically soaked up workers whose jobs were eliminated.

Digital Transformation

We are now well into the 4^th Industrial Revolution: Digital Transformation. The 4^th Industrial Revolution will have greater impact on society and generate greater revenues than the other 3 industrial revolutions Combined. Nearly every mechanical or electrical device now contains a printed circuit board with amazingly complex and capable microprocessors. Software written by humans is imbedded in each of those devices reducing their size, complexity, and cost. More recently we have entered an era where Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is good enough to replace the humans who write the software. It is replacing the analysis that used to be performed by humans in nearly every industry and market segment.

The sophistication of industrial robots on the factory floor has already displaced millions of jobs around the world and this trend is accelerating rapidly. When nearly every industry and market segment begin to lose jobs once performed by humans, now performed by intelligent machines, that learn on their own there won’t be enough new job opportunities to absorb massive layoffs.

Unabsorbed Layoffs

Large factories will be managed by a handful of highly skilled and specific engineers. Much of the maintenance & servicing will be automated as well, requiring only a few highly skilled maintenance engineers. Shipping & receiving will be entirely automated. The trucks that receive the products at the warehouse will be autonomous vehicles as the entire transportation system will become automated. Autonomous trucks will be unloaded at stores and distribution centers by robots, store shelves restocked by robots. For those stores that see customers in person, check out and point-of-sale systems will be fully automated. These systems will use sophisticated predictive analytics to balance inventory and implement just-in-time restocking. The question of our age is, “what will become of all these displaced workers?”

Conclusion

When this scenario accelerates to the point where millions of jobs are eliminated in nearly every area of society fighting for higher wages and better working conditions becomes irrelevant. There won’t be any wages, there won’t be any working conditions; there won’t be any workers. The very idea of organized Labor will become superfluous; there will be no labor to organize. While Amazon and nearly every other company may experience some temporary interruption to its business model as labor unions score some short term wins the future of the labor movement in the United States and around the world is not simply dim, it soon will be non-existent.

Further reading

Life 3.0, Being Human in the age of Artificial Intelligence, Max Tegmark

Autonomy, the quest to build the self-driving car, Lawrence Burns

Army of None, Autonomous weapons and the future of war, Paul Scharre

The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith

 

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[i] Alexis de Tocqueville, colloquially known as Tocqueville, was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution. In both, he analyzed the improved living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. He wrote Democracy in America, which was a defining work on democracy and the marketplace. It was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science.