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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (19145)	5/14/2003 9:23:58 PM
From: T L Comiskey	Respond to of 89467

Froma Harrop / Syndicated columnist Sorry, Sen. Stevens: It's the sandpipers' refuge Singing the praises of America the beautiful used to be an uncontroversial activity. Now it is fraught with strife. For there are those in Washington who insist that purple-mountain majesties are mere slag heaps and the shining seas are big mud holes — when there's oil underneath. Such individuals, mainly oil-crazed Republicans, must have found Subhankar Banerjee's photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge most unhelpful. His shots of caribou running along the stunning Jago River Valley provided incriminating evidence that the refuge is gorgeous. The Microsoft engineer had his photos published in a book, "Seasons of Life and Land." Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., held up the book during a debate over oil drilling in the refuge — enraging Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska. He had declared, "The North Slope is one of the most barren places I know on the face of the Earth." The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History also displayed Banerjee's photos. The day after the Senate voted against drilling in the refuge, the exhibit was mysteriously moved from the museum's main showroom to a basement near the freight elevator. Several Democratic senators have demanded an explanation. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., also wants to know what happened to the exhibit's texts. "One of the more troubling aspects is that the captions have been drastically edited," said spokeswoman Jennifer Crider. For instance, a caption quoted Banerjee as saying, "The refuge has the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen, and is so remote and untamed that many peaks, valleys and lakes are still without names." It now reads, "Unnamed peak, Romanzof Mountains." Stevens will have a tough job squashing the growing impression that this corner of his state isn't ugly. For example, my Wilderness Society calendar has a picture of Porcupine caribou herds migrating past dramatic peaks. This lovely image of the refuge poisoned my mind for the entire month of February. But let us not lose sight of the real issue. Whether Stevens, Banerjee, you or I find the Arctic Refuge to our liking is of no consequence. The wildlife is supposed to like it. The purpose of a wildlife refuge is to please Americans with antlers, feathers and purple blossoms. So while Stevens may condemn the area as "hell in the wintertime — 60 below," the polar bears don't seem to mind it — and in a wildlife refuge, their opinions matter more. Republican Lisa Murkowski, who was given Alaska's other senatorial seat by her governor dad, complains about outsiders saying, "You are not responsible enough to carry on development because we are concerned about the environment." I have some bad news for her. The refuge does not belong to the state of Alaska. It is federal land, which means the people of Philadelphia have as much say about its future as the people of Anchorage. Exactly 100 years ago, another kind of Republican, President Theodore Roosevelt, established the first national wildlife refuge on Pelican Island in Southern Florida. Now there are 540. Opening the Arctic Refuge to drilling would set a terrible precedent, according to Noah Matson, an expert on public lands at Defenders of Wildlife. Some oil drilling already takes place in 45 other refuges — mostly special cases in which private interests owned the mineral rights. Since the '80s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has stopped any new drilling on refuges — even where the government doesn't own the oil rights. Moreover, refuges in Alaska enjoy an extra layer of protection in that only Congress can open them to other uses. Says Matson, "If you can with a straight face say that oil drilling is all right in an area with internationally important caribou and polar-bear populations and a whole slew of other wildlife, how can another manager in the Lower 48 say oil drilling is incompatible with wildlife?" A dire emergency might persuade many to drill in the Arctic Refuge. But a nation that lets the average fuel efficiency of its cars and trucks fall to the lowest level in 22 years can't be that desperate for oil. (Just keeping the size and horsepower of vehicles at 1981 levels would improve fuel efficiency by a third.) The rare buff-breasted sandpiper migrates every year from Argentina to the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain. The long journey gives the bird many nesting places to choose from, but it ends up there. That Ted Stevens does not appreciate this decision shouldn't really matter. Providence Journal columnist Froma Harrop's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is fharrop@projo.com Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (19145)	5/14/2003 11:36:45 PM
From: lurqer	Respond to of 89467

Was thinking about politics and religion and how that shit don't mix. Since I was also reading my Northern Sun catalog, I noticed The Religions Taoism: Shit happens Hinduism: This shit happened before Confucianism: Confucius say: shit happens Buddhism: It is only an illusion of shit happening Zen: What is the sound of shit happening? Islam: If shit happens, it is the will of Allah Jehovah’s Witness: Knock, knock: ‘shit happens.’ Atheism: There is no such thing as shit. Agnosticism: Maybe shit happens, maybe it doesn’t Protestantism: Shit won’t happen if I work harder Catholicism: If shit happens, I deserve it Judaism: Why does shit always happen to me? Televangelism: Send money or shit will happen to you Rastafarian: Smoke that shit. northernsun.com and Politics Independent: Shit happens Democrat: Shit is a vast right-wing conspiracy Republican: The rich deserve more shit Moderate: We must also consider shit’s right to happen Liberal: Shit will happen if we don’t spend enough. Conservative: The courts have allowed too much excrement Reform: We can’t get our poop in a group Socialist: Support the equal distribution of shit Communist: Come the revolution, shit will not happen again. Libertarian: Legalize all kinds of shit. Green: Compost happens! northernsun.com For those that don't know Northern Sun, for years, one of its best sellers has been its Godless Seal: Nuke a godless communist gay baby seal for Christ northernsun.com Now, back to giving the appropriate amount of time to such weighty problems as: What if the Hokey Pokey is what it’s all about? northernsun.com lurqer