Utah held up as a bad example - again
An editorial this week in the Salem (Ore.) Statesman Journal uses Utah -- or at least an idea that comes from Utah -- as a bad example to contrast with a good idea that has come from Oregon.
Utah has one Democratic House member (Jim Matheson) and one Republican senator (Bob Bennett) promoting a plan to sell off as much as 25,000 acres of federal land to accommodate the already unbridled growth in and around St. George. Bad.
Oregon has two senators (one from each party) and two House members (ditto) supporting different versions of a bill that would bring apply wilderness designation of up to 128,000 acres of the Mount Hood National Forest. Good.
And, unlike Utah's plan, no federal land would be harmed in the making of the Oregon bill. Better.
The Utah bill -- the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act -- is to have its first congressional hearing Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern before the U.S. House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. The chairman of that subcommittee is the very aptly named Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.
The Tribune's latest editorial take on that bill will be on Thursday's editorial page.
-- George Pyle
Utah has one Democratic House member (Jim Matheson) and one Republican senator (Bob Bennett) promoting a plan to sell off as much as 25,000 acres of federal land to accommodate the already unbridled growth in and around St. George. Bad.
Oregon has two senators (one from each party) and two House members (ditto) supporting different versions of a bill that would bring apply wilderness designation of up to 128,000 acres of the Mount Hood National Forest. Good.
And, unlike Utah's plan, no federal land would be harmed in the making of the Oregon bill. Better.
The Utah bill -- the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act -- is to have its first congressional hearing Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern before the U.S. House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. The chairman of that subcommittee is the very aptly named Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.
The Tribune's latest editorial take on that bill will be on Thursday's editorial page.
-- George Pyle
6 Comments:
Forget your editorial on conservation. The one headlined: "A failure to learn: Bush thrives on the fear of others" is super. A first for The Salt Lake Tribune, which endorsed the idiot for president. Better look over your shoulder, Singleton may be reading.
Gosh, may we someday be reading from your editorial page that Bush/Cheney should be impeched? Nah. Never happen.
But what happens on the Trib's editorial page when/if Singleton proposes a third term for the draft dodger, deserter, decider, war monger, killer of our youth?
Glad you liked the "Failure to learn" editorial, yukisama. Here's the link, for those who may be curious.
And here's the conservation editorial, while we're at it.
-- George Pyle
This is just another example of why I'll never vote for Matheson again. I've voted for Democrats all my life, since my first vote 1974, and for the past few cycles I've held my nose and voted for him. But to paraphrase a past debate, I know Democrats, I've voted for Democrats, and Congressman, you're no Democrat. I took a tour of the US capitol this summer arranged through his office (by my wife! I've written him far too many letters to think any request from me wouldn't be immediately trashed) and it was all I could do to keep from grabbing his perky intern by the lapels and saying "Why does he talk out of both sides of his mouth? Why does he always vote with the Republicans on their most egregiously offensive pieces of legislation? Does he think he's going to get a free ride from Utah Democrats forever?" Matheson has coasted far too long, and no matter how bad his opponent is this year, I am no longer voting for him; I'm going to write in the name of his father, a REAL Democrat. If we get another right-winger in the 2nd district, it will be Matheson's fault, not the Democratic voters whom he has betrayed again and again.
rdale
Interesting editorial in the NYTimes this morning (Saturday, Sept. 16), regarding unethical doings in the Interior Department under former secretary Gale Norton, including the rape of millions of possible wilderness acres in Utah. Gosh, who was/is the governor involved in that environmental crime?
From the Times' editorial:
"J. Steven Griles (is) a former industry lobbyist who was deputy secretary during Mr. Bush’s first term, before returning to the lobbying game. Regarded by many environmentalists as the Svengali behind Gale Norton ... Mr. Griles brought a pro-industry bias to nearly every big decision made during the Norton regime. He was an architect of the administration’s relentless search for oil and gas in fragile areas of the Rocky Mountain West. He was also involved in an agreement between Ms. Norton and the state of Utah that opened millions of acres of potential wilderness to commercial exploitation, and was instrumental in rolling back environmental regulations governing the mining industry."
www.sltrib.com please keep up the hard hitting on environmental issues and the conduct of Bush people as they try to make our beautiful state and much of the West into one big gas station. Also, keep an eye on Kempthorne as the newly appointed secretary of the Interior. He is a do-nothing, lazy former governor of Idaho, our beautiful neighbor to the north.
Is matt laplante really a war dude? How come he just cheer leads for the torture fags?
He should have to fight saddam's 12 y.o. grandaaughter. She'll teach him how to be a man.
Remember the six signs of being a feminized male:
ANY ADULT WHITE MALE WHO CAN SAY YES TO TWO OR MORE OF THE
FOLLOWING IS CLINICALLY FEMINIZED:
1. USES GEL IN HAIR AFTER AGE 9,
2. DOESN’T CARRY CASH,
3. HAS GONE FOUR MONTHS WITHOUT WANTING TO KILL,
4. FELT OFFENDED WHEN SOMEONE REFFERENCED THOSE”FAGS ACROSS
THE
STREET”, 5. BIT HIS TONGUE WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE BEAT HER
ASS,
6. THINKS WAR IN IRAQ GOOD BECAUSE IRAKI FEMALES WERE NOT
PREVIOUSLY
ALLOWED TO ACT LIKE SLUTS AND GET LOW BACK TATOOS.
CURRENT TECHNIQUES DRIVING THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF MALE
FERTILITY RATES INCLUDE TWO NEW FOX NEWS BRAIN CHIP
IMPLANTS WHICH CONVINCE LOW IQ WHITE MALES THAT WOMEN REALLY SHOULD RECEIVE EQUAL TREATMENT.
Two strong new editorials -- from The Arizona Republic and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune -- oppose the Washington County bill as a "land grab" that would sell off the nation's public lands as a "piggybank" for locals.
Both editorials demolish the bogus idea that the West's public lands are somehow restraining local economies -- the truth is, our public lands are driving fast-growing Western economies because they're an irreplaceable resource of clean air and water, open space and recreation, natural beauty and quality of life.
Arguably, the high percentages of public land in Western states have been more stimulant than impediment to growth, as migrants flock to open vistas and accessible backcountry.
A small faction in the West routinely disses federal land, arguing that it hobbles our growth.
Hardly.
Nevada, where the federal government controls 86 percent of the land, is the fastest growing state. Arizona, where the share is 42 percent, is the second-fastest growing.
Disposing of public land for development is a permanent move. The decision should be based on sound community planning and careful analysis of the resources. Not on the lure of big, fast bucks.
Here here! Who in their right mind wants to sell off our open lands and make the West look more like the East? Or like Orange County or Las Vegas, for that matter?
Technorati Tags: wilderness, environment, activism, nature, public lands
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