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As should be obvious even to casual visitors to the shebeen, I grew up Catholic. One thing that always fascinated me was the incredible number of funky weird lay organizations that seemed to be all that was left of the Church's once-considerable temporal power. My paternal grandfather was a big deal in the Knights of Columbus. He had a cape and sword. My uncle, a parish priest, and my aunt were members of the Knights of Malta. They got some cool looking badges out of the deal and they were supposedly fast-tracked for an audience if they ever wanted to see the Pope. There were elements of my childhood that were unquestionably something out of a Dan Brown novel.

But, I have to admit, St. Hubertus was a new one on me.

After Scalia's death Feb. 13, the names of the 35 other guests at the remote resort, along with details about Scalia's connection to the hunters, have remained largely unknown. A review of public records shows that some of the men who were with Scalia at the ranch are connected through the International Order of St. Hubertus, whose members gathered at least once before at the same ranch for a celebratory weekend.

The fck? Seriously?

Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto "Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes," which means "Honoring God by honoring His creatures," according to the group's website. Some hold titles, such as Grand Master, Prior and Knight Grand Officer. The Order's name is in honor of Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and fishermen.

Honoring God by honoring His creatures by blowing their brains out? I'm not sure I agree with you 100 percent on your theology work there, Lou.

Alas for Scalia, he passed away before the House of Representatives could get busy making it easy for him and the rest of these be-robed predators to honor God and his creatures by tying them to the hood of the family Olds. The House is getting ready to pass a truly noxious bit of legislation that seems to be aimed at destroying the Endangered Species Act by killing off anything that act might protect—namely, the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act of 2015. What's that, Mr. Spade?

"The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter."

Indeed. This law is a bulging hope chest for the sadistic followers of St. Hubert, who also can usually be found in the woods, unknowingly exchanging gunshots with the followers of St. Anheuser Busch.

An amendment from Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin would subvert two federal court rulings and cherry-pick gray wolves for removal from the federal list of endangered species for purely political reasons. When wolves were delisted in 2012, 20 percent of their Wisconsin population was wiped out in just one hunting season, including 17 entire family units. In a three-year period, more than 1,500 wolves were killed in the Great Lakes states alone. The federal courts put a stop to this reckless mistreatment and slaughter of wolves, and politicians shouldn't undercut judicial review of delisting actions. We are urging House members to oppose the Ribble amendment, since it would lead to the slaughter of more than 1,000 wolves in the states of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, many with baiting, hound hunting, and painful leghold traps.

An amendment by Rep. Don Young of Alaska seeks to block an Obama Administration proposed rule to stop the worst predator control and killing practices on national wildlife refuges in Alaska. Brown bear baiting, aerial gunning, and other forms of slaughtering our nation's top carnivores should not happen anywhere, but least of all on federal lands designated as national wildlife refuges. Alaska doesn't own the refuges—all Americans do—and what a travesty to allow these lands set aside for wildlife to become a playground for the most extreme and inhumane trophy hunters and trappers. We are urging House members to oppose this amendment, which undercuts the work of professional wildlife managers in Alaska to halt these practices on this category of federal lands.

A provision already exists within this bill to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from making final a rulemaking to close loopholes and better crack down on the illegal ivory trade that fuels catastrophic elephant poaching. Elephants are in crisis and the United States is the second largest retail market for ivory, and we know that terrorist groups in Africa finance the killing of civilians and their attacks on governments by killing elephants and selling the ivory so they can buy guns and other weapons.

The law isn't a barrel of laughs for human beings, either.

The bill has a provision to bar any bureau, service, or office of the Department of Interior or Department of Agriculture from further efforts to protect the public, wildlife, and environment from toxic lead ammunition. This seeks to block federal wildlife managers from making biologically sound decisions, and flies in the face of the rhetoric to conduct science-based management. Lead poisoning kills 15 to 20 million wild animals every year (and poses a risk for hunting families too, since the meat from animals shot and cooked for the table can contain tiny lead shards). Such haphazard poisoning of our wildlife can be avoided if sport hunters switch to widely available non-toxic ammunition, such as steel, copper, and bismuth.

This is more outre example of the war on knowledge that we've seen in the conservative political response to the climate crisis. Do not merely refuse to recognize the crisis, but cut off the research that might prove what an irresponsible omadhaun in office you really are. It is moments like this one in which I truly root for the bears.

Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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