Antis Invade Jefferson Township
Brief Summary:
I think I might have met Janet Piszar, the primary Bear Group speaker, at a ToastMasters.org meeting in the past. Who knows? Unfortunately Lynda Smith, Angie Metler, and Stuie Chaifetz were MIA. Maybe they were serving jail sentences?
The entire presentation was about an hour long. The humanization of bears peppered the presentation as well as an Anti-Hunting agenda. I believe the Anti-Hunting agenda was not as obvious to the general non-hunting audience members. Rather it was more passive aggressive (Is this the term I want to use here?). Clearly the Bear Group has their cards lined up against the "bears are dangerous" argument that many hunting individuals and organizations use. Now I might be wrong, but in the past I have stated that the main arguments should be: the food chain, wildlife management (Kelcey Burguess), and cooking recipes. How many people eat chicken, fish, pork, or beef?
If I have to list the one thing that irked me the most (don't worry Janet I am not losing sleep over it... I have a family, job, and taxes to pay) it has to be Janet's lone F&W slide. She skipped right over it. We only got to see it for a millisecond. What was on it? Why was it skipped? Why didn't she go back to it? My conclusion: in order to get DEP (or whomever) approval for this presentation… and not to sound too Anti-Hunting... they included a F&W slide. However, it was never shown, commented, or reviewed.
Finally, I believe that the DEP and Lisa Jackson cannot be trusted. And this makes me feel bad for the bears as well as all other NJ wildlife. NJ F&W won't mess it up. Responsible hunters won't mess it up. Politics will mess it up. Corzine will mess it up (although... if I have to be honest... I sometimes want to give Corzine the benefit of the doubt). However, right now I really doubt him. And yes... I did NOT vote for Corzine. Not a chance in hell!
Some Attendees:
Bear Group Speaker - Janet Piszar, 53, of Millburn hasla1@verizon.net
Her information is already public knowledge since her arrest & conviction was upheld:
http://www.northjersey.com/
Dave Stewart - Bear Proof Garbage Can Inventor... LOL
Tom Smith - This guy looked like he wanted to beat me up (on more than one occasion)... LOL
One (maybe two) other woman... but I did not catch her name. She did not say much (and seemed nice) so I left her alone... LOL
4 Members of the Jefferson Township Environmental Commission - envirocom@jeffersontownship.net
1 Jefferson Township Police Officer
2 Township Residents from NJH: Me (Dragthor) and jag
2 Non-Residents from NJH: Matty (used to live here) and gretzky (grandfather & other family members live here)
Play by Play Details:
Matty, gretzky, jag, myself, and few other "Pro-Hunt & On the Grille" township residents had some good laughs. Lots of eye rolls exchanged throughout the entire presentation. But we managed to keep our mouths shut… at least for a little while.
The Bear Group (and others) go out to Minnesota on vacation to hang out with "Blackheart the Bear" and "Jane the Bear". They even showed photos of them "hanging out" with bears (and even with cute cubs). And if I remember correctly... one photo of a person almost kissing a bear. I kept thinking about that Timothy Treadwell nut job.
Lynn Rogers has a scale on the side of his house that "his bears" use. Their theory is that if the female bears do not eat garbage then they will not reproduce.
Bears do not "growl" rather they make "voices". Janet played some sample "voices" for the audience.
Bears only eat "vulnerable" or "caged" animals like rabbits, chickens, and live stock.
It’s never the bear’s fault. It’s always a person’s fault. How dare you and your family barbeque outside on your deck!
Bears are comparable to squirrels... in that they run away and hide up a tree.
Janet admitted that a bear did kill a person in NJ a long time ago. But she down played the circumstances and stated its only "assumed".
Janet compared human crimes vs. bear crimes.
At this point Dave Stewart made some comments about George Howard and some words he said to push their Anti-Hunting agenda. Well... I could not keep my mouth shut any longer so I got the ball rolling and commented the fact that bears are wild animals (something like that... hope I did not sound stupid). Then a Pro-Hunt township resident that sat behind us started up some sensible action. Someone give that guy an NJH card... LOL
Bears across North America only kill humans in "remote areas"... thus concluding for the audience that they do not kill in urban areas like NJ.
We need to "teach" bears the "rules".
Bears that break into your house are not aggressive just hungry.
Dave Stewart gave us all a bear proof garbage can demonstration. He took credit for inventing it despite: http://www.animalresistantcan.com/index.html
Dave Stewart admitted a bear might still get into the bear proof garbage can.
Dave Stewart admitted 5 instances where a bear made a hole in the bear proof can.
The bear proof cans have child air holes.
If you see a bear in a residential neighborhood call the Bear Response Team @ 973-853-BEAR (2327).
Alpha bears only "dance" to intimidate one another.
Near the end of the presentation Janet performed her usually Bear Group accolades... join us... donations... etc. This is when I raised my hand... and she called on me. I asked: "Have you or any other Bear Group member in a leadership position been arrested in the last 5 years?" Her response: "Yes. And of course you already knew the answer to your question." LOL... after that my "cover" was blown. Oh... and I was one of the only people taking flash photos and notes... asking for names... LOL That was my first and last "public" question... LOL
Then more questions ensued. A couple of Pro-Hunt township old timers made some excellent points. A few times there... I could have sworn Janet's head was going to explode. However, I give her credit for taking the heat. I introduced myself and talked to her afterwards. She is a nice lady. I told her that. However, I also let her know that she is WRONG.
Janet asked "Are you from that website? What's your name? Where do you live? Where did you live previously?". I promised her that I would not post anything bad about her. However, I could not make that promise for the rest of the members. She said that she (and others) will check this out on the website.
My Prediction:
There will definitely be a bear hunt in 12/2008. Unfortunately it cost taxpayers $850,000. And it cost F&W a lot of resources.
Upcoming Bear Group Events:
April 2, 2007: 7-9 pm - Ringwood Public Library
April 21, 2007: 12-2 pm - Plumsted Library, New Egypt
June 30,2007: 9 am - 4 pm - Whitesbog Blueberry Festival
--------------------------------------------
4 Antis in one photo (Dave Stewart - guy sitting)! LOL:
Matty and gretzky:
Dragthor and jag:
Anti Presentation:
More Anti presentation:
This guy (standing) was hiliarious (not an Anti, but not a hunter either):
Me and two Antis (Janet & Tom Smith - the guy with the cup that wants to kick my ass):
Brief Summary:
I think I might have met Janet Piszar, the primary Bear Group speaker, at a ToastMasters.org meeting in the past. Who knows? Unfortunately Lynda Smith, Angie Metler, and Stuie Chaifetz were MIA. Maybe they were serving jail sentences?
The entire presentation was about an hour long. The humanization of bears peppered the presentation as well as an Anti-Hunting agenda. I believe the Anti-Hunting agenda was not as obvious to the general non-hunting audience members. Rather it was more passive aggressive (Is this the term I want to use here?). Clearly the Bear Group has their cards lined up against the "bears are dangerous" argument that many hunting individuals and organizations use. Now I might be wrong, but in the past I have stated that the main arguments should be: the food chain, wildlife management (Kelcey Burguess), and cooking recipes. How many people eat chicken, fish, pork, or beef?
If I have to list the one thing that irked me the most (don't worry Janet I am not losing sleep over it... I have a family, job, and taxes to pay) it has to be Janet's lone F&W slide. She skipped right over it. We only got to see it for a millisecond. What was on it? Why was it skipped? Why didn't she go back to it? My conclusion: in order to get DEP (or whomever) approval for this presentation… and not to sound too Anti-Hunting... they included a F&W slide. However, it was never shown, commented, or reviewed.
Finally, I believe that the DEP and Lisa Jackson cannot be trusted. And this makes me feel bad for the bears as well as all other NJ wildlife. NJ F&W won't mess it up. Responsible hunters won't mess it up. Politics will mess it up. Corzine will mess it up (although... if I have to be honest... I sometimes want to give Corzine the benefit of the doubt). However, right now I really doubt him. And yes... I did NOT vote for Corzine. Not a chance in hell!
Some Attendees:
Bear Group Speaker - Janet Piszar, 53, of Millburn hasla1@verizon.net
Her information is already public knowledge since her arrest & conviction was upheld:
http://www.northjersey.com/
Dave Stewart - Bear Proof Garbage Can Inventor... LOL
Tom Smith - This guy looked like he wanted to beat me up (on more than one occasion)... LOL
One (maybe two) other woman... but I did not catch her name. She did not say much (and seemed nice) so I left her alone... LOL
4 Members of the Jefferson Township Environmental Commission - envirocom@jeffersontownship.net
1 Jefferson Township Police Officer
2 Township Residents from NJH: Me (Dragthor) and jag
2 Non-Residents from NJH: Matty (used to live here) and gretzky (grandfather & other family members live here)
Play by Play Details:
Matty, gretzky, jag, myself, and few other "Pro-Hunt & On the Grille" township residents had some good laughs. Lots of eye rolls exchanged throughout the entire presentation. But we managed to keep our mouths shut… at least for a little while.
The Bear Group (and others) go out to Minnesota on vacation to hang out with "Blackheart the Bear" and "Jane the Bear". They even showed photos of them "hanging out" with bears (and even with cute cubs). And if I remember correctly... one photo of a person almost kissing a bear. I kept thinking about that Timothy Treadwell nut job.
Lynn Rogers has a scale on the side of his house that "his bears" use. Their theory is that if the female bears do not eat garbage then they will not reproduce.
Bears do not "growl" rather they make "voices". Janet played some sample "voices" for the audience.
Bears only eat "vulnerable" or "caged" animals like rabbits, chickens, and live stock.
It’s never the bear’s fault. It’s always a person’s fault. How dare you and your family barbeque outside on your deck!
Bears are comparable to squirrels... in that they run away and hide up a tree.
Janet admitted that a bear did kill a person in NJ a long time ago. But she down played the circumstances and stated its only "assumed".
Janet compared human crimes vs. bear crimes.
At this point Dave Stewart made some comments about George Howard and some words he said to push their Anti-Hunting agenda. Well... I could not keep my mouth shut any longer so I got the ball rolling and commented the fact that bears are wild animals (something like that... hope I did not sound stupid). Then a Pro-Hunt township resident that sat behind us started up some sensible action. Someone give that guy an NJH card... LOL
Bears across North America only kill humans in "remote areas"... thus concluding for the audience that they do not kill in urban areas like NJ.
We need to "teach" bears the "rules".
Bears that break into your house are not aggressive just hungry.
Dave Stewart gave us all a bear proof garbage can demonstration. He took credit for inventing it despite: http://www.animalresistantcan.com/index.html
Dave Stewart admitted a bear might still get into the bear proof garbage can.
Dave Stewart admitted 5 instances where a bear made a hole in the bear proof can.
The bear proof cans have child air holes.
If you see a bear in a residential neighborhood call the Bear Response Team @ 973-853-BEAR (2327).
Alpha bears only "dance" to intimidate one another.
Near the end of the presentation Janet performed her usually Bear Group accolades... join us... donations... etc. This is when I raised my hand... and she called on me. I asked: "Have you or any other Bear Group member in a leadership position been arrested in the last 5 years?" Her response: "Yes. And of course you already knew the answer to your question." LOL... after that my "cover" was blown. Oh... and I was one of the only people taking flash photos and notes... asking for names... LOL That was my first and last "public" question... LOL
Then more questions ensued. A couple of Pro-Hunt township old timers made some excellent points. A few times there... I could have sworn Janet's head was going to explode. However, I give her credit for taking the heat. I introduced myself and talked to her afterwards. She is a nice lady. I told her that. However, I also let her know that she is WRONG.
Janet asked "Are you from that website? What's your name? Where do you live? Where did you live previously?". I promised her that I would not post anything bad about her. However, I could not make that promise for the rest of the members. She said that she (and others) will check this out on the website.
My Prediction:
There will definitely be a bear hunt in 12/2008. Unfortunately it cost taxpayers $850,000. And it cost F&W a lot of resources.
Upcoming Bear Group Events:
April 2, 2007: 7-9 pm - Ringwood Public Library
April 21, 2007: 12-2 pm - Plumsted Library, New Egypt
June 30,2007: 9 am - 4 pm - Whitesbog Blueberry Festival
--------------------------------------------
4 Antis in one photo (Dave Stewart - guy sitting)! LOL:
Matty and gretzky:
Dragthor and jag:
Anti Presentation:
More Anti presentation:
This guy (standing) was hiliarious (not an Anti, but not a hunter either):
Me and two Antis (Janet & Tom Smith - the guy with the cup that wants to kick my ass):