Herman Brune
by Linda Hass
Herman Brune and family
are the owners of Gunsmoke properties. Via a handshake, we
are 
able to have a
great little Western Town in which to play cowboys and
cowgirls. Herman, a.k.a. Black Sheep, is a cowboy in the truest sense of the
word. The cattle that often visit Gunsmoke belong to the this
rancher and family. They leave us evidence of what a true western
town must have been.
Books By
Herman Brune
Book #1
"Tales From the Lost Rider of Yaupon Creek"
Herman tells about things that have
happened to and around him with the heart and soul of a true cowboy. His
adventures and mis-adventures are spell binding. I am
reading this book now and I believe you will find it warm
and humorous at times and sad at others.
I believe you can purchase Herman's book at Gunsmoke. That is
where I got mine. Click Here
to inquire for more information.
Book #2
"Christmas
Tales From the Lost Rider"
If you enjoyed Book #1 you will love
this one. More tales only with a Christmas twist.
If you need more Christmas gifts these books should fill the
bill.
Place your order NOW by Clicking
Here to email for ordering instructions. They will arrive
ASAP.
Herman's
Bit of News
(Political)
Looking
Down from the Saddle
by Herman W. Brune
a.k.a. Blacksheep
I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
– Will Rogers
Prior to the 2003
session of the Texas Legislature, a handful of scientific deer breeders
brainstormed and produced a bill to privatize Texas wildlife. After much
haggling, they convinced the Texas Deer Association to go along with
their scheme, and the TDA lobbyist Robert Saunders ferried the bill to
the Chairman of the Natural Resource Committee Senator Ken Armbrister,
Victoria – who gave it his stamp of approval. A public hearing was set.
The day of the
hearing the committee room was packed with farmers, ranchers, sportsman,
and representatives from almost every wildlife conservation group in the
state. Except for the TDA, they were all there to oppose the bill.
Armbrister fumed and
verbally abused Texas Parks
& Wildlife Assistant Executive Director
Scott Boruff at the beginning of the hearing. However, the senator’s
outburst didn’t impress the determined crowd. One-by-one they came
forward to declare their opposition. By the end of the day, The
Executive Director of TDA Carl Kinsl said he wished the whole thing
would go away.
The bill was set
aside and never got out of committee.
1st Conclusion: Texas statutory law provides
that whitetail deer are property of the state, in other words Texas
wildlife is the property of the citizenry. There is a bureaucratic
process for whitetail management policy in Texas. The whitetail advisory
committee is made up of 24 individuals representing a cross section of
conservation groups, sportsman, and landowners. This committee reviews
proposals and makes recommendations to the TPW Commissioners.
During the time period that the bill languished in limbo,
outdoor writers had a field day. One writer labeled and listed the
bill’s proponents as “The Texas Deer Thieves”. The proponents threatened
a lawsuit and the writer republished the article in a syndicated
newspaper column – nothing happened.
The following year, 23 legislators from 12 states gathered
in Whitney, Texas, for the National Assembly of Sportsman’s Caucuses.
Texas State Representative Ray Allen, Grand Prairie, hosted the event as
the leader of the Sportsman Caucus in the House. Allen gave a radio
interview and lauded Armbrister as the leader of the sportsman’s caucus
in the Senate. Allen raved about the senior legislator’s intelligence
and bulldog tenacity. Allen also said that Saunders was once the caucus
leader during the time Saunders was a state rep. The National Assembly
was designed to give state legislators an opportunity to network and set
up lines of communication. Numerous lobbyists attended and Allen assured
the radio audience that the caucus represented all sportsmen in Texas.
Present: Texas State Senator Chris Harris, Arlington,
introduced SB 1765 to the Senate Natural Resource Committee, and it
passed to the floor of the Senate. It was filed as a bill pertaining to
game wardens. It came up in committee as a substitute bill and morphed
into a replica of the privatization bill from 2003. Armbrister is still
the Chairman of the Natural Resource Committee, and Saunders has again
been identified in association with the bill. However this time, the TDA
Executive Board voted 26-1 against the bill. Nevertheless, Kinsl
testified in favor of the bill as a private individual.
Meanwhile, Texas Wildlife Association Vice President Kirby
Brown says their organization voted unanimously against the bill.
“This bill would kill hunting in Texas,” says Brown. “This
is not about private property rights. It’s about someone taking deer
from the state of Texas. It draws a definite line between highfence
landowners and regular sportsman. This bill would make it legal for
someone to trap wild deer, it allows landowners to hire private
biologist instead of using TPW biologist, and it says nothing about
habitat. They could virtually set up a pen on the Wal Mart parking lot
and shoot deer.”
Final Conclusion: The idea of a bipartisan sportsman
caucus in Texas representing the average Texan is only alive in some
legislators’ imaginations. Or, the proclaimed leadership of this caucus
has a backward way of doing things. The senators on the Natural Resource
Committee heard from the constituents in 2003. Now in 2005, even the
sponsoring organization has distanced itself from the action. But,
Armbrister and Harris are busy playing under-the-table politics on
behalf of a few scientific deer breeders who can’t buy the whitetail
advisory committee. And once again, the writers are having a field day
with “The Texas Deer Thieves”.
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.
But I repeat myself. – Mark Twain
by Herman Brune
No editing without express permission from the author
