Photograph Source: Leaflet – Public Domain

Every kid has heard “No means no!” when they want something their parents don’t think they should have. This week that phrase got a couple high profile uses when Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, told Donald Trump right to his face that Canada was not and never would be for sale and Montana’s Congressman Ryan Zinke forcefully said “no” to the sale of public lands in the West.

In this day and age seeing U.S. politicians keep their campaign promises — or honor their oaths of office — is becoming increasingly rare. But on “keeping public lands in public hands,” Rep. Zinke did just that.

The measure in question was part of the “big, beautiful bill” touted by Trump to give yet more tax breaks to the already wealthy. The new twist was to sell hundreds of thousands of acres of federal lands in........

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