Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Lawsuits are fine, but I'd wait until after next legislative session. It would probably be that long before anyone is ready to file anything anyway, but what happens could be very pertinent to said lawsuit.

STOP USING THIS FORUM for info that can be used against you. Obviously this is a free country (or not), but this is free advice too.

You have to be politically active. YOU have to garner support for our bills through your Senator and Representative.

It's that simple. Oh - tickets and confrontations on the ROW aren't going to help us with the legislature. Can we just control ourselves long enough to see what happens next session? Sure we failed, but do any of you have any idea of how close we came last session? If not for Voter ID Bill we wouldn't be having this discussion. We had our amendment on their SUNSET bill (they didn't like that one bit). Of course they are more than a little PO'd and are gonna come down hard on us.

Just show a little resolve, a little back bone, and see this thing through. You don't need me, tanks or HCU, you need YOU.
Call your Senator, Representative, and make sure they are onboard to support our bills next session.

You can spend $2k on a single trip to west Texas, so a little money can't be an excuse.

The elections are Nov 2 and the next session begins Jan 11.

Does anyone have info on which candidates we should support or oppose?

Are any of our main supporters or opponents facing tight elections? If we could tilt the scales in just one or two elections, the impact could be huge.

You don't have to live in a particular legislative district (or even Texas) to make a contribution.

But my opinion is concentrate on the support, and making supporters out of opponents (more flies sugar philosophy).

We have one very powerful opponent causing problems for us. I don't think we will ever swing him, so if a couple thousand of us want to picket his election, I'll be first in line.

Joe is of course correct in every detail. If we need to vent, we have a private forum for that, so let's use it.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

Ok, I think a fund raising discussion merits public awareness and some discussion> the more people aware of the drive the better. When is it going to start (the sooner the better)? Is there a target in mind? Obviously, the more money that is raised the better. PERHAPS the amount not expended in the 2011 legislative effort can be applied to a lawsuit that names a number of the current TWPD appointments as defendants as long as there was some connection between them and the lawmakers that proposed the ban. You might get a lot more donors that way - LOL. Would that jeopardize the NP status of HCU if HCU were to be the fund-raising entity?

Robert

where?

On HCU.
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Brad Alexander

FullSpectrumHerps.com

oh.....thanks

It isn't really just a private forum, it is a private forum restricted to PAYING members. Any person not willing to pay (for whatever reasons they have) is not allowed on the forum.

I have a problem with that, but that horse left the barn long ago.

Chris
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I agree Chris. Discussion groups will be very small if people have to pay to talk.
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Steve W.

i am a LIFE member.......just can't remember my pass word...

I remembered my password but 5 months before my membership expired in May I was locked out of the forums. I used the "contact" link and it was linked to Joe who no longer took care of those situations. When I finally found someone with an answer my membership had expired. Oh well.
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Steve W.

You should get a free membership.

I also forgot my password after being offline for awhile. Just last week, I sent one email to the contact link. Joe forwarded my request to LaPittus and my password was reset almost immediately.

Unfortunately, I left that same day to a remote jobsite w/o internet access and wasn't able to get back online until today.

Looks like lots of interesting stuff is being discussed there in the last week or so.

The effort to protect/restore herping and whole idea behind HCU is worth putting up with a few glitches, design issues, navigation problems, and the occasional personal conflict.

My situation was a little different. I couldn't get on for the last 5 months of my membership. Joe was no longer in charge and the contact info was wrong so I couldn't get it resolved. Now that there is someone who is in charge the answer is to renew and pay again. lol
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Steve W.

>>My situation was a little different. I couldn't get on for the last 5 months of my membership. Joe was no longer in charge and the contact info was wrong so I couldn't get it resolved. Now that there is someone who is in charge the answer is to renew and pay again. lol
>>-----
>>Steve W.

Try logging in and see what happens lol
Give me time to find your email
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HCU
Snakes of Hudspeth County, Texas

This is what it's been saying for the last 7 months. "You do not have the required permissions to read topics within this forum."

It takes my login but when you try to go view one of the forums thats what it says.
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Steve W.

I’m a life member too. I checked the HCU forums last night. Trust me, this forum is where most of the action is, plus you need a separate password to get into their forum(s) after you log onto the main HCU site. That’s a nice touch for us elderly folk who are skipping our gingkoba pills. I finally had to contact the administer.

Robert

If any of you have a better idea of how we can keep our opponents from gaining access to our ideas and communications, let's hear it.

And as for paying, remember where this money is going-I (and many others) have gladly given HCU a LOT more than my membership dues over the last couple of years.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

With the exception of legislative strategy, I haven’t read anything on this forum that I want to keep hidden from “the opposition”. I want them to see how angry we are. I want them to know there is a storm brewing and that they will be held accountable. Forty years of a Texas tradition wiped away without so much as due process? I want them to see that this law will NEVER be accepted because THIS IS TEXAS (not Vermont) and that they are only making towns suffer and THEIR constituents bitter, resentful and vengeful.

Robert

That's all well and good-but discussing specific strategy and tactics is an entirely different matter, at least if our goal is to prevail in the end.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

We basically agree. Where we may part company is how we each judge the necessity to conceal a specific tactic. Sometimes, a well designed and executed play is a play the opposition cannot stop regardless of advance knowledge. That's been my experience.

Robert

is how this law was imposed in the first place. Had we been aware of the Harvey's sneaky back-door play, we almost certainly could have circumvented it. Knowledge is power.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

That's a good example of a BAD play. They had to hide it until the very last moment. Knowledge IS power, and information is empowering, which is much of the reason the information about this law and its enforcement (along with its enforcement weaknesses) should be on a public forum.

Robert

The private forums at HCU need work (IMO). I don't know who dreamed up that forum format, but this format (and the format of Joe's photography forum) that lays out all the posts on one page is far more user friendly. When I'm on the HCU forums, I feel like I'm trying to work my cell phone, and guess what? I use my cell phone to make calls and get calls, that's it. lol.

Robert

I confess i don't understand the utility of "texting'?? In what universe is it easier or faster to type out a message on a tiny pad than to just say it?

I do agree that much of the discussion below is perfectly appropriate to a public forum-but I still insist that specific strategy and tactics need to be kept to ourselves, and a couple of posts have gone too far in that direction.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

It may have been a bad strategy, but it sure kicked our butts, didn't it?
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles

Well maybe one of you girls can take off your skirt long enough to stop complaining and build some new forums!????

As for those who don't want to contribute, what ever your reason may be, it appears to me that you are so tight that you squeek when you walk, or maybe you have a permit so you don't a rats ass about the rest of these guys being able to herp??? I don't really care either way.....

BTW I am no longer associated with HCU. I am no longer President, nor am I an active member, nor will I be maintaining the Web site, keeping track of membership, resetting passwords for you guys with early onset Alzheimer, nothing, nada, zip.

Yeah, I noticed that. I think that means a leadership void. I hope I wrong, but so far it doesn’t look good; HCU looks dormant right now.

This road ban is a freedom issue. I don’t know why more people are not willing to open up their wallets to cast off this oppression. However, I want my dollars to fund an effective strategy to gain the freedom back, and so far with the next legislative session, there doesn’t seem to be a collective GROUP with a cohesive strategy. I have my checkbook open. Who do I write the check to?

Robert

The HCU forums are still active. My password still works and there are still others posting. Although there is no president there are several members working with politicians on this matter.

The main problem seems to be website maintanance. I don't know if anybody is doing it anymore. If I knew how to do it I would probably be the president just because nobody else seems to want it. Regardless several people still seem to be performing "duties" even though they have no official title so there is plenty of opportunity(and need) for people to stay involved even if you don't want an official title.

>>The HCU forums are still active. My password still works and there are still others posting. Although there is no president there are several members working with politicians on this matter.
>>
>>The main problem seems to be website maintanance. I don't know if anybody is doing it anymore. If I knew how to do it I would probably be the president just because nobody else seems to want it. Regardless several people still seem to be performing "duties" even though they have no official title so there is plenty of opportunity(and need) for people to stay involved even if you don't want an official title.

Thanks Aaron,

HCU is still VERY active. I choose not to get involved in all the pissing and moaning on these forums because it is counterproductive to everyone's efforts. What a bunch of people here seem to forget is that HCU is working to correct a law that 100% of the people here want fixed. I ask you, who else is? There are allot of people in the herping community with "Alligator mouth parakeet ass" syndrome. They bark allot, talk like a bad ass and do absolutely nothing. If you don't want to do anything, then do just that...nothing, including running your pie hole on internet forums. Let us do the work we need to do without convincing the world we're a bunch of short bus passengers. If you look back last year, we kept EVERYONE abreast of the status, what needed to be done, who needed to be called and we will do it again this year. Do you people ever look back at all the posts and think, "what would a non-herper who reads these posts think about the herping community?" I would highly suggest just that.
This is aimed at no one in particular just a general Wake up call..

**gets of soap box**
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HCU
Snakes of Hudspeth County, Texas

Forget about this forum. Why not keep MEMBERS up to date with HCU’s activities on the HCU website? The last news update was almost a year ago. According to the officer listing, Troy Hibbitts is the interim President. Is that information outdated? Does the organization need more money?

Robert

WHY doesn’t HCU have a President? Isn’t the President responsible for setting the agenda?

The HCU website content is the first thing a member sees after registration. I think it’s important to keep members up-to-date on all “current” HCU activities, especially for those members with alligator mouths to provide assurances that their team is steadily marching down the field. I see individual ideas on the GBK forum that should be incorporated into an overall strategy, but I don’t get the sense that someone is weaving the good ideas together into a comprehensive plan. I thought HCU was going to be that game plan coordinator.

Robert

There is no president because the first one's term was up and nobody ran for it in the second term. I may be wrong about this if in fact Troy is acting as interim president. Be that as it may the group is still actively persuing an end to the roadban and there will probably be calls for certain actions in the near future, ie. letter writing, phone calls, etc.

I think the sleeping giant has awoken - checkout the most recent posts on the general discussion forum under HCU issues.

Robert

The main problem seems to be website maintanance. I don't know if anybody is doing it anymore. If I knew how to do it I would probably be the president just because nobody else seems to want it.

Being president does not necessarily mean being webmaster too, nor is that necessarily desired.

I think some young pup with mad inter-web skillz should make the site look slick and function effectively, and someone thinking strategically and with the ability to steer the organization towards those strategic goals (and the time to make it happen) should be president.

If those two attributes happend to reside in the same person, that's a bonus.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

I understand. It's just that the prez would have to ensure the website has an administrator if he can't do it himself. I wouldn't know who to get. Also I think HCU would be much better off having a prez that's living in TX, which I am not.

I think the job will get done in any case, alterna hunting can't really be stopped, it's too much of a lifestyle IMHO. Most importantly alterna(and leps, subocs, milks, etc.) are not endangered in any way, shape or form so logic, science and data is on our side.

Well maybe one of you girls can take off your skirt long enough to stop complaining and build some new forums!????

Was anyone invited/asked to do so? I'm not sure insulting people is a good way initiate that help.

As for those who don't want to contribute, what ever your reason may be, it appears to me that you are so tight that you squeek when you walk, or maybe you have a permit so you don't a rats ass about the rest of these guys being able to herp??? I don't really care either way.....

Well, you assume wrong.
Rather than make pejorative insinuations about other people's motivations, maybe we could have a discussion about why some people chose not to support HCU when it was first formed. Yet you don't care either way? Sure sounds like you do.
The work the HCU has done has been admirable.

As for Brad's question about what would be better than the HCU forums for discussing this issue.....what about a private forum that screens its members. That would be superior to the paid forum that currently exists.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Chris,

I think Joe grows more frustrated the longer this ban stands. We all do. I didn’t follow all the reasons people did not wish to participate in HCU when it was first created, but TODAY it represents the only single identifiable organization (as far as I can tell) that is actively fighting to restore the liberty of every herper wishing to hunt in Texas again. As such, it requires the financial support of all of us. It doesn’t matter whether you identify the contribution as a donation or a membership fee; I have a feeling that any contribution will permit registration on the site (I could be wrong). I contributed $250 the first year and I’ve pledged another $250 this year, not because I believe in ALL the precepts of HCU, but because I KNOW they (along a few ex-members) are the best hope Texas has. The more financial support they receive the more resources they can employ in this fight.

Robert

Joe used some choice words but you know what, I am frustrated too with the response HCU has gotten from herpers. It is only $25 to join and NOBODY else is doing ANYTHING that even has a remote chance of reversing this roadban. IMHO all photographers and collecters who want to do their thing in TX should have joined a long time ago.

Yes HCU has had some website problems but you know what, aside from maybe hiring a lobbyist and/or lawyer this is a total grass roots effort. Virtually all the work has to be done by volunteers. Nobody is going to do it but US. This isn't something you can just donate money to, sit back and watch the results. This is a plea to all to get on board. We can make this happen.

Not sure what prompted this decision but I'm sorry to hear it. You've done yeoman's work from the very beginning of this battle. I hope you'll stay involved. I know your former position at HCU and all that you've done behind the scenes has been fairly thankless. So, let me say "thanks"!

I've had my conflicts with you, but you took on many tasks that few were willing to attempt. Complaining and coming up with ideas is easy (I know cause I specialize in "easy". Actually dealing with problems and trying to implement ideas is hard (I know cause my wife told me). Thanks for doing the hard work!

Daryl

Joe has said this all along, get involved with YOUR local politicians to make sure THEY know it bugs YOU, THEIR constituent. If you cannot see the validity in the work that has already been done, mostly from the money and sweat of a few, then you aren't really looking. Just because it didn't happen in YOUR time frame doesn't mean it ain't gonna happen. If you have any time, money, or skillz to put down, do it and be a part. If it ain't being done the way you would do it, then you do it, simple as that. Put all the carp aside and start rowing, or it will be even longer before we reach the shore. I got no skillz, or know how, but I do have some $$ to contribute, I know how to contact my legislators, and I trust HCU to do me right. Not speaking for anyone but myself, but there has been a ton of advice freely given here, yet this forum has turned into a serious sour grapes forum. Buy your licenses, find some leases, (by the way, HCU has done this for its' members) and hunt legally. All the while, keeping the eye on the prize.

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Todd Hughes

>>-----
>>Todd Hughes
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
Striped Colombian Boa Constrictors
Kenyan, Rufescens, and Conicus Sand Boas
Red Phase Western Hognose Snakes
Spider Western Hognose Snakes
Albino Western Hognose Snakes
Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
Tricolor Hognose Snakes
Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
Eastern Blackneck Garter Snakes
Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
Locality Desert Kingsnakes
Albino Desert Kingsnakes
Hypo Desert Kingsnakes
Mexican Black Kingsnakes
Desert Phase and Striped Desert California Kingsnakes
Locality Mexican Milksnakes
Spotted Mexican Milksnakes
Tangerine Mexican Milksnakes
Locality Alterna
Abbott Okeetee Cornsnakes
Mexican Baird's Ratsnakes
Cape Housesnakes
Tangerine Albino African Fat -Tailed Geckos
Locality Spotted Turtles