Filmmaker James Kleinert continues his groundbreaking work in a feature-length documentary film, Disappointment Valley. . . A Modern Day Western. This film examines the plight of America’s wild horses and the rapidly deteriorating condition of our wild and beautiful Public Lands in the majestic haunting American West. (Read Idaho news article here on screening in Ketchum, ID on December 12).
Through interviews with scientific experts, ranchers, historians, wild horse owners, animal rights activists, environmentalists, movie stars, uranium prospectors, and many other colorful characters, Kleinert examines the origins and effects of the recent “Burns Bill” which gutted the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 and cleared the way for the slaughter and removal of wild horses in America. Greed and corruption take center stage, exposing how the United States failed energy policy and the current rape and pillage of Western Public Lands by oil, gas, mining and corporate cattle grazing is leading to the extinction of America’s Wild Horses and Burro’s.
“Its not just a pretty picture, these are living things who have a right to coexist in what is a vast landscape, which is the American west. Let’s do something about this”- Viggo Mortenson
Watch the trailer of this revealing new film and then take your demands to the top: President Obama- the current mismanagement of America’s wild horses must stop. Call 202-456-1111 and fax 202-456-2461 . The next screening of Dissapointment Valley is December 12th in Ketchum, Idaho. Read more here.
thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com 
December 9, 2009 at 12:57 pm |
After visiting the sites for the film and film maker, I would like to know where the longer film is playing. It is ‘on the road’ and can it be brought to Pagosa Springs? Mar
December 9, 2009 at 1:18 pm |
ii looked at the website, too, & didn’t see anything like a “now playing in select cities” listing……i wonder if we could purchase the dvd & show it ourselves on our own little towns?? no charge……donations accepted to go directly to james kleinert…….i’ll write to him & find out!
December 9, 2009 at 1:27 pm |
oh. the dvd is not available for “disappointmet valley: a modern day western” just yet. the dvd that’s available is for “saving america’s horses.” still….that would be a good one to show, too!
wake up, jb….have more coffee……pay attention……
December 9, 2009 at 1:22 pm |
while i’m here, did you hear the news today? the DOI lost their lawsuit against american indians to the tune of 3.4 BILLION DOLLARS. that’s Billion with a BEE (which, according to NPR, is only about 1 percent of what is really due to them). apparently the DOI has been keeping the funds due the indians for grazing, timbercutting, farming, & other activities dating back to 1887. huh!! go figure! bad DOI, bad! bad!! bad!!!
i wonder how that will now affect budgets in the DOI…….think they will actually pay????
December 9, 2009 at 3:50 pm |
….there’s never a dull moment on The Cloud Foundation Blog.
Maybe now DOI will have to “use the 20 million acres of land ALREADY PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED FOR HORSES instead of paying $96 million Dollars to create wild horses’ Extinction Acres of the East.
December 9, 2009 at 3:50 pm |
….there’s never a dull moment on The Cloud Foundation Blog.
Maybe now DOI will have to “use the 20 million acres of land ALREADY PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED FOR HORSES instead of paying $96 million Dollars to create wild horses’ Extinction Acres of the East.
December 9, 2009 at 4:02 pm |
jb, Thanks, I hadn’t heard that news. Maybe a few more lost lawsuits are in the DOI/BLM’s future. Could be that what goes around finally comes around—in other words, karma’s a b—- when an agency ignores the rights of living things for 50-100 years.
December 9, 2009 at 4:45 pm
here’s the NPR article about this 3.4 BILLion dollars….
(i just love saying that….3.4 BILLion dollars)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121220581
December 9, 2009 at 5:16 pm |
Wonderful news, Jo B! mar
December 12, 2009 at 12:19 am |
OUTTASITE! Okay maybe its a bit ouchy in the pocketbook (will our taxes go up because the DOI didn’t do what it was suppose to?). But they actually lost a lawsuit???? YYYIIIPPPEEEEE!
Forget the rain and the cold where I live–this is the BESTEST news I’ve heard all week!
December 9, 2009 at 2:10 pm |
We heard the Department of Interior was riddled with fraud and corruption. Now we are seeing it up close and personal. Not a pretty sight! The wild horses and burros are just collateral damage. Do you know that of all the letters I have written and all the petitions I have signed, the only person who has replied is my own Indiana Representative, Joe Donnelly, who has signed all the pro horse bills which have crossed his desk? That is not to say I haven’t heard from my Senators – I receive prompt (and canned) replies from them in regard to such issues as health care, energy policy, and climate change. NOT A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT AT ALL, except to appoint Ken Salazar instead of Raul Grijalva as Secretary of the DOI (to pay a political debt for helping him get elected). I have already been on the front lines for several years of the “no amnesty for the 12 to 20 million illegal aliens in this country”, who are here in defiance of the 1986 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act because our federal government, under the influence of special interests and Corporate America, WANTED them here, in violation of our law. This whole matter is turning me into a crier! I watched the video and cried. Thank you, Ginger, for pointing out in this video that there is a much more basic issue here, which is SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY. When special interests make the decisions, the American people do not, and thus we lose our Constitutional rights as American citizens! NO! – Never!
December 9, 2009 at 3:57 pm |
Maybe now the DOI will realize how much money $96 million dollars really is, considering there are 20 million acres out there already designated for the wild horses and burros that are already bought and paid for!
Hopefully the plan for the Extinction Acres of the East will not come to pass, and the horses and burros will be returned to their appropriate ranges from government holding.
December 9, 2009 at 5:27 pm |
JF, i really do not think they will be able to pull off something that costs so much when the horses need to be returned to their land. after gelding and PZPing everything they lay their hands on you would have thought the cheapest feed is home range.
That people are eating up BLM lies and behaving just like them I think that we need more in depth news and more demythifying of the real wild horse story. If we must go to Huffington and these other places and post reality checks for people then I think we must. Again. mar
December 10, 2009 at 3:00 pm |
i thought you gals might like to see this……
http://www.roadrang erusa.com/ rangerfuels/ mustang.htm
a gasoline company who supports wild horses! if i lived in anyone of the midwestern states where they are located, i would sure as heck buy their gasoline!!!!!
December 11, 2009 at 7:27 pm |
Me too! I found a location in Franklin, OH. On their brochure (which is lovely) was this info:
For more information about our commitment to
wild horses – and how you can help – please visit
roadrangerusa.com/mustangfreedom and
wildhorsepreservation.com.
I wondered if they would add more organizations, so I’m drafting a letter to send to their customer service ladies!
December 10, 2009 at 5:12 pm |
About the “Idaho Mountain Express” article, “End of an Era in the West”, referred to above, please note the following statements. James Keinert is quoted as saying, “Public Lands will be shut down and wild horses taken away.” WHAT? What legislation has provided for that?? Also, “Keinert examines the origins and effects of RECENT LEGISLATION CLEARING THE WAY FOR THE ROUNDUP AND AUCTIONING OFF OF WILD HORSES IN AMERICA.”(my caps). WHOA! I suppose he is talking about the Burns Amendment, which someone else recently said, “gutted the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.” These are erroneous notions and need to be corrected! Do you think In Defense of Animals would be taking this matter to court if the above information were true? There are two laws, the 1971 WFRHBA, and the 1959 (I think) “Wild Horse Annie Law”, preventing rounds ups of horses using mechanized vehicles, which are still on the books, as far as I know. The Burns amendment does not “gut the 1971 law”; it does provide a way to sell off the horses to anyone under certain circumstances, and that includes the killers. Law doesn’t rot from old age! It was the 1986 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill that forced George Bush to secure the borders, do workplace enforcement, etc., much against his wishes, I might add. No one is taking the horses away without legal authority. Our federal government has to obey our laws, too, and generally, when not under the spell of special interests and Corporate America, it does. If it doesn’t, we , the people make it do so by calling attention to the law, and, if that doesn’t work, taking the matter to court to FORCE compliance. Thank you, In Defense of Animals and Craig Downer, for doing exactly that! The wild horses and burros have rights, thanks to the 1971 law – isn’t that a novel situation? I love it!
December 10, 2009 at 5:38 pm |
That is very interesting! Especially since I used to live in Dubuque, Iowa and now live fairly close to their Fenton, store! They started in 1984. Hmmm –
They must be real crackpots if they suppot the wild mustangs!! He looks like he has a screw loose somewhere. (Self-depricating black humor, common among shell-shocked wild horse advocates as I am sure youwill appreciate)
The Library of Congress only has 80 books on wild horses:
ttp://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=wild+horses&Search_Code=SUBJ%40&PID=p08kTRbxFQXvLCmIzgWOhNGsjE&SEQ=20091210122351&CNT=100&HIST=1
December 10, 2009 at 5:39 pm |
ttp://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=wild+horses&Search_Code=SUBJ%40&PID=p08kTRbxFQXvLCmIzgWOhNGsjE&SEQ=20091210122351&CNT=100&HIST=1
December 10, 2009 at 5:43 pm |
Or is it 600?
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&Search_Arg=wild+horses&Search_Code=GKEY%5E*&CNT=100&hist=1&type=quick
December 10, 2009 at 6:15 pm |
i’m voting for the 600!!!!
December 10, 2009 at 6:54 pm |
Now, get this: A book,
Wild Horses and Sacred Cows by Richard Symanski; foreward by Edward Abbey.
I am trying to get a copy. (Very little info on the web)
Few copies out there
Wonder why.
Wonder what it says.
Do you suppose it is pro-wild-horse???
And that’s why it’s hard to find? Or perhaps the opposite? Who knows?
December 11, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Janet- Try going through Amazon.com they refer you to other sellers, but you can find it.
December 10, 2009 at 9:59 pm |
I live about 15 miles from one of the Indiana stations and will try to get there weekely to get my gas,
glad to hear about this, wonder if they would be willing to get even more involved in the fray???
December 11, 2009 at 2:26 am |
it can’t hurt to ask, jf! 8 )
December 11, 2009 at 3:31 pm |
Send him a letter. You know, how do you get from the main website for them to the Mustang page. It’s not easy to find. Where is the tab?
December 11, 2009 at 3:32 am |
I contacted our local theater and sent this link to him about “Disappointment Valley.” Hr checked with film maker James Kleinart about booking “Disappointment Valley” for a Saturday afternoon and having a community roundtable discussion afterwards, which he has done with some other hot contemporary topics. The last movie he showed like this was “Food Inc” which, coincidentally, is a giant condemnation of the primary beef and chicken growers in the country. Kleinart emailed the theater owner that his film would be released in Jan or Feb., and our theater plans to follow through with this. If this can be done in all your towns, it can be a great grass roots impetus for community discussions, etc.
December 11, 2009 at 7:14 pm |
While I was looking for the Wild Horses/Sacred Cows book I ran across the “Wild Horse Timeline” @ http://www.frontiernet.net/~WildHorseFannie/
A very interesting point, On August 3, 1989 Nevada Senator Harry Reid introduces S. 1508 to increase the penalties for killing a wild horse.
So Harry wasn’t always anti-horse, I wonder when he got turned?
December 11, 2009 at 8:53 pm |
Perhaps, killing a wild horse keeps that horse from being sold to slaughter? Just an off the wall thought.
I would rather think he turned though, and will turn back again, and that so many others will turn also.
December 11, 2009 at 9:08 pm |
This timeline is the sort of thing I envisioned — except using a background photograph of Cloud and then having the dates across the lower part of the picture from left to right — just including his lifetime years only. then show things like #of wild horses for each year; and total number of HMA’s and how many pop in each one; year by year; how many zero’d out, etc. all in Clouds own lifetime. I think it would be very interesting and useful!
Thanks for finding this — I am going to study it!
About Senator Reid — there’s something somewhere on the Cloud Foundation Blog about that — where Burns was actually the perpetrator.
December 11, 2009 at 9:10 pm
P.S. MW indicated that the Wild Horses and Sacred Cows might be sort of a reflective oddessy from the author. It may not have much to do with wild horses. The Bob Abbey name caught my eye, much like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
December 16, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Janet, the forward is by Edward Paul Abbey, a writer and naturalist who died in 1989. He is best known for the book “The Monkey Wrench Gang” that has inspired “radical environmental groups” according to Wikipedia.
Here is the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey
December 16, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Thanks for putting me out of my misery. Forgot to check Wikipedia.
Well, well, well.
Never again! By the way, found something on Wiki today talking about equus caballus ferrulus or something (feral horse) sp? I thought feral was just a colloquialism. Apparently Wiki thinks it is a scientific name?!!!???
December 16, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Here’s the Wiki arti. on equus feral:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse
December 16, 2009 at 9:39 pm
theandbetween: “The Thoreau of the American West” — his book, “Desert Solitaire” compared to Aldo Leopold’s “Sand County Almanac?
He cannot possibly be related to Bob Abbey of the BLMMMMM
December 16, 2009 at 8:48 pm |
JF, Whenever I want a book I cannot buy or find I go to the library and do the “Library Lending” with the librarian and they find a copy and send it to my local library where I can then check it out and sometimes buy the book. Great system.
mar
December 16, 2009 at 9:34 pm |
I’m on the case!
February 26, 2010 at 12:08 am |
You all might be interested in some silver lining stories as a reprieve from the down and dirty politics effecting thousands of wild horses. You can find trailers posted, including one of BLM Nevada round up on my youtube site. I can’t link you because this site doesn’t let me. Just chose youtube/users/skydancer and you’ll get to my sight. Another way to see the trailers is via wildhorses in winds of change blog spot. I saw both of James Kleinart’s film in Santa Fe. I heard today the BLM is trying to stop it’s distribution. Does anyone know about this?
February 26, 2010 at 7:40 pm |
Mara, I hope that BLM isn’t trying to stop the distribution. But no surprise. Or maybe I hope they do – what a court case that would make – freedom of speech – lots of national and international coverage.
Next they will be into burning books and banning YouTube!