If a man burns in a country scarred by millions of acres of fire blackened land, will anyone see him? Yup, a whole lot of people in fact.

In several of my articles, I've referred to Fox news articles on different subjects, simply because Fox is about the only major media outlet that even makes an attempt at honest journalism. One need only take a stroll down the virtual street called "the Internet" to find endless examples of the heavily biased, one sided reporting that all three networks, and the once dominant CNN parade before an unknowing, or worse, uncaring viewership. Which brings me to the topic of this month's rant.

There's a counterculture event that has taken place for many years now, known as the "Burning Man". Started in San Francisco (big surprise there huh?), Burning Man has since relocated to the high desert of Nevada, bringing with it an estimated 24,000 participants by the latest count.

While many of you could care less what the freaks of 'frisco are up to out there, let me give you an example - and believe me, there's a point to this......

X-rated miniature golf

Modern, and performance "art"

A "drag" parade, featuring men wearing the latest in women's lingerie'

A lot of partying

Even more drug use

A 50+ foot tall statue of a man set ablaze (the burning man, natch...)

45 arrests

2 people flown via helicopter to a Reno hospital for injuries sustained from thrown objects

"Personal drug use" tolerated by the authorities

One auto-bovine collision

And a statement by Benjamin Rush, 27, of Colorado Springs, CO., who summed up the event perfectly when he said "I only wish I had better drugs"

So what does this have to do with off-roading?

Need I remind you that this is the same "pristine desert" that we outdoor recreationalists are told "we" are destroying through "our" actions? Is the cryptobiotic damage caused by government approved drag queens in lingerie, somehow more ecologically acceptable than cruising a 4x4 up an already established fire road? (Yes folks, the government has to approve a permit for this "event") And let me remind you that the Burning Man is wildly popular with the greener than thou crowd........ Drag queens? Greenies? Coincidence? I think not.

Angry yet? If not, this ought to do the trick for ya'. While covering the recent Nevada 2000, ORC received word that the area that was to (at the time) play host to Burning Man, was being patrolled by persons claiming to be employees of the promoter. Off-roaders, and OHV enthusiasts who happened across this "public land" , were met by men in vehicles, and told to leave the area immediately. No, not BLM Rangers, or USFS guys, just private citizens acting as hired muscle for the festival - demanding that the rest of us stay the hell outta' Dodge.

Needless to say, they didn't accomplish their intended goals.

So what do we have here? We have a bunch of hippie throwbacks, fists raised high in defiance to "the man", getting a permit from ("the man") our government to flatten 5 square miles of "sensitive desert habitat" via the presence and actions of 24,000 uncontrollable people, get drugged out of their minds, and throw untold greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere through open campfires, automotive exhaust, fireworks, and a 50 foot human candle, in effigy.

(Pause for a breath??OK, let?s continue?)

But God help you if you take your family camping without an "adventure pass". Heaven forbid you should drive your Jeep up an old mining trail. Perish the thought that some endangered bug should impact your windshield along the way.

The one-sidedness of this "event" is just a little beyond ridiculous. Here we are, outdoor recreationalists just wanting to go out and enjoy our sport, our hobby, our lifestyle. Yet we incur the combined wrath of the environmentally correct, the government that coddles them like some sacred snail darter, and to a very large degree, the once mainstream media.

"They" can do what they like. - "We" are a cancer on the face of the earth.

"They" are expressing themselves. - "We" are destroying the biodiversity, and polluting the atmosphere.

"They" will continue to hold events like Burning Man on public land, yet deny us access to public land as long as "We" remain silent, and inactive about issues such as these.

Oh, and by the way......

The 2000 Burning Man experienced a large amount of rain. I am left to wonder if the environmental impact statement for the event included provisions for the pollution caused by the rain water run off. After all. 24,000 people camping in a 5 square mile area must have surely resulted in irreparable damage to the habitat.

And since "personal drug use" was "tolerated", I wonder if the EIS took into account the long term results of cocaine, heroin, LSD, used IV needles and other toxic substances / medical waste, making their way into the groundwater, and ultimately, the local watershed. Surely these concerns are every bit as important as the effects of an off-road vehicle leaking oil or antifreeze.

I'd really hope that the Government took these concerns into consideration. If they didn't, we should do our duty as environmentally conscious citizens to ensure that the EIS for the 2001 Burning man addresses them at great length. I'd hate to see pristine desert destroyed by 24,000 careless wilderness campers, too stoned to hold their needles or crack pipes.

After all, we need to provide safe, drug free public lands "For the Children".