While I’m Waiting Instead of Fly Fishing, A Word About Stupidity, Cheney & the Intertubes

The Underground’s a little cranky, my friends, but fortunately for those in the immediate vicinity, I’ve found a pretty good place to vent.

Instead of suiting up to chase the BWO hatch I stumbled on last week, I’m stuck in the vise-like grip of the Keystone Cops of the Insulation Contractor World, who are here now – doing a job that should have been finished last week.

So who’s enjoying the benefit of all my ire?

I’m staring at an irritating story on the Ted Williams Blog about the American Fly Fishing Museum, who have apparently been asleep the last eight years while the rest of us fought tooth and nail to protect our remaining wild places from the likes of thankfully-soon-to-be-EX-VP Dick Cheney.

In a move I’d graciously label as “neuron-challenged” they’ve invited Darth Dick Cheney to be the guest of honor at their Spring meeting.

We can argue about Cheney’s politics all day long, but it’s damned difficult to defend his dismal environmental record, which included interfering with scientists doing their jobs, and singlehandedly engineering water policies which directly resulted in the largest salmon kill in recent history.

While I often reject the notion of an “old guard” vs “new guard” schism in fly fishing, this has all the earmarks of an awkward, tweedy, fly-fishing-as-old-money-and-we’re-all-tweedy-buddies feel to it.

Screw that.

Given his record (and without his fistloads of cash) Cheney would never get within a country mile of any group invested in maintaining a little wilderness filled with cold, clean water.

Invest a minute of your day on the Intertubes: contact the American Museum of Fly Fishing at this address (ccomar@amff.com, and be nice, but firm), and let them know that the salmon-killing Cheney isn’t your idea of a model fly fisherman.

As always, don’t be abusive; simply state firmly and unequivocally you think Cheney’s the wrong choice to speak.

Ms. Comar’s email is here: ccomar@amff.com. Remeber, be firm, but nice. Here’s what I wrote:

Ms. Comar:

I was distressed to hear that Dick Cheney was being considered for the museum’s Guest of Honor for the spring meeting.

As one of the fly fishermen who fought tooth and nail the last eight years to protect our coldwater fisheries from Mr. Cheney’s dismal environmental policies, I fail to grasp the logic of featuring him at an AMFF event.

Yes, he fishes, but his environmental policies have been hugely damaging to our fishing and hunting heritage, and after donating so much time and effort to fighting those policies, I feel his appearance is a slap in the face to fly fishermen all across America.

Sincerely,
Tom Chandler

See you on the Intertubes, Tom Chandler.

Tagged as: american museum of fly fishing, amff, dick cheney, Fly Fishing