Many of you don't know that when I left TV news, I took a job shooting videos for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. It gave me the chance to build my independent media work in my personal time, which was not an option as a TV reporter given my contract in corporate news. When I was hired, I was encouraged to keep my social media presence. Recently, my bosses informed me that I was to stop all videos related to Covid safety, vaccines and mandates that “undermine” DNR's policies, as DNR is one of many state agencies with a vaccine mandate, though ours was enacted by Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz and separate from Gov. Inslee's order. My independent work was done on personal time with personal equipment and I never discussed my position at DNR. I also informed my bosses that I had a First Amendment right to continue, and that the policy of a state agency committed to science should align with robust discussion that includes a variety of viewpoints. They disagreed. I refused to comply and was terminated last week.
I am truly grateful for the many wildland fire fighters whose stories I’ve had the honor of telling, as well as the fuels crews fixing the forest health crisis driving historic fires. We nearly evacuated twice this year, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the work of DNR staff across the state saved our home and thousands of others.
While there are many unknowns for our family, not the least of which is finding a new health insurance plan (any suggestions?), we are absolutely unwavering that it was the right decision. How could I continue covering censorship and allow myself to be censored on one of the most important topics of my lifetime? There are a great many people taking grave risks right now - many of them you've seen in my videos - and those of us who stand up for free speech and informed choice right now will hopefully pave the way someday for others to do so without losing their jobs. I got into journalism to follow the truth wherever it leads, and I will continue. I am planning to record a video to discuss this publicly on YouTube. Would you please let me know what questions you'd like me to answer in it? In sum, our family is incredibly grateful for your support here. I have absolutely no regrets. I said once that free speech is the hill I would die on - but just to be clear, as I've said before, I did not commit suicide. 😉 Be brave. We are in this together.
I had to get a blood sample from our (hopefully pregnant) dairy cow, Maisy, to the post office, but wanted to hit the gym on the way. So, the blood came in a cooler (which I won in a feed store raffle) and hung out in my passenger seat. I think you hit the pro farmer world when you can say you’ve driven around with animal blood in your car while running errands. All in a day’s work!
WARNING: You will see a sheep rectum in this video.
I am dealing with my first rectal prolapse in our ewe, Maple. She is such a sweet girl but I’ll tell you, it’s been quite the learning experience and challenge for my gag reflex. The consensus among farmer friends has been to pack the prolapsed section with sugar and push it back in. This may seem easy enough but I’ve found it to be quite difficult for a newbie like myself. I’ve see this is more common in feedlot lambs but Maple is on grass with a tiny bit of hay and has no other issues, so the cause is a mystery. Vets can suture the rectal opening so that there is just room for Maple to poop, but this can be a costly procedure. There are also “rectal rings” available which essentially do the same thing as the sutures. Has anyone else dealt with this?
The kids are practicing for their first rodeo. The event requires them to catch a goat and snatch a ribbon off its tail, then put the ribbon in a bucket and raise their hands to stop the clock. Fastest kid wins. Don’t ask me how they came up with this stuff. Today goat ribbons, tomorrow bucking broncs.
https://open.substack.com/pub/merylnass/p/documents-and-articles-of-interest?
And in even better news:
HHS has also said it will end the practice of providing bonuses to doctors who vaccinate high percentages of their patients, and other financial incentives provided to doctors for vaccinations.
