Cowboy, we will have to agree to disagree. I am basing my opinions on the minerals and other natural resources that are already being exploited with the monies going into the federal coffers. The states do get some of that money back, eventually, but alot of the time they have to sue the feds in order to get all that is owed. I would invite anyone to look at how many of the states have streamlined the management programs for state lands compared to federal lands.
The western US is sitting on an immense amount of money in natural resources and we are letting an out of control federal government with a spending problem mortgage our future away by mis-managing these resources. We folks out west get pretty ticked when people from back east want to shove wolves down our throats and we will talk about how the land is in our backyard, therefore we should be listened to, yet we are perfectly content to let a bunch of people from back east, whom we don't trust, manage and exploit our lands in an inefficient manner that is often times harmful to local economies, natural habitat and wildlife.
We were once known as, "These United States".
Now, we are known as, "The United States".
The difference being, the loss of states rights and local control as outlined in the Constitution.
Tex
