Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I can't sit here without saying anything. You guys WASTE all of your energy writing useless letters to the most liberal freedom killing president of all time and online petitions which dont have any teeth. I said this from day one when this stuff got started. They only thing these politicians understand is LOSING THEIR SEAT. That is it. PERIOD. They dont give a rats a$$ about your letters or petitions. Regardless of what side of the fence you find yourself on, if you dont vote in small local elections and only come out every four years, this is what you get. They are not afraid of you, they dont care about you. They only care about one thing and one thing only. Not having their cushy jobs with full benefits. Their voting records are a matter of public records and you must pay attention on a daily basis. Donating money to a lobbyist group like USARK is useful but the best thing you can do is become politically AWARE. Thanks for your ear. Thanks for the vent. Mike Panichi
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Honesty is my only policy
www.mikepanicreptiles.com

Hey, Mike,

The only thing I disagree with is that it’s a complete waste to send the letters. I think they are just as important. We need to vote these people out first priority, but the letters will help show WHY they were voted out so that the next politicos know not to make the same mistake.

I’m glad you posted this though as I was wondering for FL voters, isn’t Nelson up for election this year or when?
We need to determine his strongest opponent and vote for that person. Getting Nelson out will at least slow the progress of this sort of Rule Change/Legislation stuff.
When do we do this?
Aaron
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www.voodoomagicboas.com

I agree. If usark or a Herper nation group can become a strong endorser to those running for office on all levels of government, local, state ad federal,by our combined membership and power, we can make our destiny politically the way the NRA has and does..

Our Herper nation needs a hero now and someone with experience in organizing groups to step up and assist USARK as a value added membership partner.

That's exactly what I meant. Politicians should have to worry about courting the "Herp Vote."

We also need to get Bill Nelson out of office asap. Manny, you, I and all of the other Florida voters need to make sure to get out and vote against him when the times comes. By this I personally think we need to vote for the person most likely to beat him so we don't fragment our votes and have him win again.
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www.voodoomagicboas.com

I would suggest becoming politically ACTIVE in lieu of just politically aware. I think our focus should be to do whatever we can to grow our membership/movement. Those of us currently in these forums, having these discussions can be as politically aware as humanly possible, but until we get our movement up to a critical mass where we are politically significant and sufficiently engaged, we are not going to be as effective as we need to be.

No doubt you are correct that voting out the garbage is the best way to go , but herpers vote both ways repub and dem and that will never stop. USARK like any other lobby will be needed for years to come. Hopefully through education , and continued awareness , we can win this fight. I just dont see everyone voting the same way. Too many opinions out there....more govt .... less govt....drill here , never drill here. USARK is the only constant that we can count on , and boas would be gone if not for the letter campaigns. You said it youself they dont care about us, but they do care about their selves. We are small but mighty and if we stick together they will hear us loud and clear for years to come.

I agree with the addition id lime to mention that voting for those that support us is to strongly donate money to USARK to fight as a class those that dont support us. I Just learned the lawsuit to combat tuesdays ban is going to cost 200k more than what USARK has available. Whats your suggestion? I say we pool our money with USARK or USARK and another strong partner together, and let's get the raise campaign started! We can vote here soon sure but a lawsuit gets the show on the road to-now, we can't wait till tomorrow..

I agree with you 100%.

This is absolutely the long term solution to most of the problems we face in the United States. This change I hope is coming. Change we REALLY can believe in with individual liberty and responsibility being the rule of the day not the target.

However, getting there is going to take a while. With the proper leadership, we may make a huge leap in getting there at the next election. People are starting to wake up to this including many herpers who only in the past couple years have been able to admit to themselves who are on their side, and the side of freedom, and who is opposed to these basic principles long diminished in our country.

However, the long term full solution needs to be augmented with combined efforts of individuals who can win individual battles along the way as we have already. This has already been done a number of times.

HR669 several years ago threatened not only all herpers but everyone with any non-native species down to goldfish even. USARK encouraged and organized a letter writing campaign that shocked Washington with just shy of 50,000 letters which stopped that bill in it's tracks. Do you realize that at that time, congressmen told us they received MORE letters about HR669 than they had regarding the Health Care Bill in process at that time?

The Senate took up the Python Bill that was pushed again by animal rights wackos and again, USARK was able to prevent this bill from leaving committee.

So while the overall battle is far more reaching and the full solution much more grand, in the mean time we still must unite and fight the battles that will inevitably pop up from time to time. This is the reality of life in the United States til the Special interest Environmental wackos and animal rights wackos cease to have the politicians in power who are friendly to their non-traditional anti-freedom policies.
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Jeff Ronne Sr
The Boaphile
Director USARK

Originator of Boaphile Plastics
The Boaphile Boa Site