Jeff Rusinow

Bizarre. Irresponsible. A national joke and embarrassment. Bill Kristol yesterday sounded like an idiot in trying to defend the indefensible. You just can’t make up this stuff.

Last weekend I was traveling through Glacier on my way to Seattle, and coming down the Going-to-the-Sun Road decided to take some of the dust off the car at Weeping Wall:

A very accommodating bird south of Malta, Montana:

Earlier this week I spent a few days in Montana. Two highlights: locating #600 on my ABA life list, Baird’s Sparrow at the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge just east of Malta; and taking the auto loop route on the western side of the Charles Russell National Wildlife Refuge and BEING THE ONLY PERSON THERE FOR THE ENTIRE THREE HOURS! We’re talking over a 100 square miles of some of most beautiful vistas in the country. Much to be said about visiting places on weekdays, and to protected spaces off the beaten path. Montana is very birdy in a lot of places, particularly in the northeastern plains; I now know where the sparrows, larks and buntings go to breed! And there’s a lot of waterfowl and shorebirds.

Here is a video of Charles Russell NWR:

Governor Mark Sanford’s acknowledged infidelity is sad, particularly when you read the statement that came out today from his wife.

But that aside, as sad as it is, the hypocrisy of so many high level Republicans unable to maintain a monogamous relationship after their holier-than-thou pronouncements of indignation during the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky episode is just mind boggling.

Hey Republicans, remember how all you guys were so aghast at Bill’s indiscretions? You guys just wouldn’t stop. Remember the old saying about throwing stones from glass houses?

Look, Democrats cheat. Republicans cheat. But Republicans are forever shamelessly trying to take ownership of the high road of the ’sanctity of marriage’ and proudly seeking membership in groups like the Promise Keepers (Senator John Ensign). Puritanical bullshit.

Here’s a truth: the more self-righteous a person is on the topic of sexual mores, the greater the probability that they are screwing around, either in a Minneapolis restroom or with a gay call guy in Denver (Reverend Ted Haggerty).

Weeks ago I decided to hold back on so many postings on politics. But I’m excited that Sarah has moved up yet another notch on the list of top Republican candidates for President in 2012!

Taken by Irving Rusinow:

Many decades ago, a homestead was established a few miles east of Melrose, New Mexico (about a 3 hour drive southeast of Albuquerque). The owners planted trees, like cottonwoods, not indigenous to the desert grasslands of this part of the country, and over the years, they grew and created this incredible bird migrant trap:

I flew to Albuquerque yesterday to visit the trap in the hopes of seeing a rare Fan-tailed Warbler, that had been seen the previous two days. No one had seen the bird early in the morning of my flight, so I knew that the bird probably moved on. But I was heading to New Mexico and the Sandia Mountains, to track down a Flammulated Owl. But that happened later in the day (actually located over 15 in the campground areas heading up to Sandia Crest; #598 on my ABA Area Lifelist). Back to the migrant trap. When I got there, a couple guys had been birding the area pretty hard the previous several hours and there had been no sightings throughout the day. A disappointment, but I proceeded to bird the area and was really blown away by all the rarities that were there: a female Hooded Warbler, a first year male American Redstart, Blue Grosbeak, really cool. This is a very cool birding spot. The birds get lost in the middle of the desert, and then they spot this oasis and spend time there recharging for the next leg of their migratory journey.
Oh, and one more observation yesterday: in the interior of these woods, a golden-colored rattlesnake:

This is one of those ‘perfect storm’ interactions that only someone like Jessie Ventura could pull off with Hannity. Ventura smackdown:

The Justicia Best Boys performing after dinner at Singita Preserve, in the Sabi Sand of South Africa: