"This land is your land, this land is my land"

In a way, it's good that the government owns a lot of land because, as you said, we all own it, in a manner of speaking. We don't own it like I own Beaglesonia, we own it collectively, which is not such a bad thing. Of course I would rather own 88 acres of prime swamp land by myself than a tiny share of millions of acres with millions of other people, but that's just me.  On the other hand, public land use policy generates some bitter controversy from time to time, while I seldom argue with myself about Beaglesonian land use policies. If I want to do anything within sight of the house I have to clear it with my hypothetical wife, but she's usually pretty reasonable about it.

I usually think of Nevada as being one big desert, except for Las Vegas, which I have never been interested in seeing. I once spent a week in Phoenix, Arizona on company business and it was  nice, in an urban sort of way. On the last day, our business was completed by noon and my colleague and I took a ride in the country, which was mostly cactuses and big red rocks. It was interesting for the first hour or so but, by evening, we were happy to be back in Phoenix. As my colleague put it, "You see one fucking red rock, you've seen them all." Anyway, Nevada couldn't be all desert like that if they graze cattle there, some of it must have some grass on it. I did drive through Montana on my way back from Alaska. There was grass there, and some cattle, but not as many as one might think. In Michigan or Wisconsin, an acre of good pasture will support a cow and a calf, but it takes a lot more land than that in the West. I suppose that's why nobody wants to own a lot of land out West, they would rather rent it from the government for a nominal fee. Besides, if they owned it they would have to pay taxes on it and fence it to keep their cattle under control. Most Western states have open range laws, which means that the cows can go anywhere they want, and it's your job to stay out of their way. If you hit a cow with your car, it's your fault because livestock has the right of way over motor vehicles. If you don't want them to come on your property and trample your garden, it's your responsibility to fence them out.

I saw on the news the other day that some states have recently been loosening their gun laws, while other states are tightening theirs. They said it was because people have given up expecting Congress to get anything done, so the states are taking the initiative. When you think about it, the pot laws are being changed the same way. I never would have expected Colorado to be the first state to legalize it for recreational use. California maybe, but Colorado? I never thought of Colorado as being a Hippie state, but I suppose, like all the Western states, it's not the same all over. Those states are pretty big, and there's a lot of vacant land between the settlements. In some ways, it seems like the Hippies have taken over the country, but maybe not the whole country, just parts of it here and there. I suppose you could say the same about the Red Necks, otherwise where did all those right wing nut congressmen come from? 

I have had my own arguments turn around and bite me from time to time, but I don't think of it as losing an argument, I think of it as gaining a different perspective on the issue. After all, what's more important, putting your opponent down, or bringing yourself closer to the truth?