Driving from Missoula to Helena the other day: Gorgeous blue Montana sky, brilliant sunshine on the soft green grasses, rich dark swaths blanketing the mountainsides. God’s country. It’s why we live here. But then you look more closely, and you realize that the whole forest has become a deadly kaleidoscope of tans and rusts, reds and greens. All these public lands; little more than a huge tinderbox just waiting for the inevitable conflagration. National forests, state lands. Acre upon acre of wilderness – managed by your federal, state, and local government bureaucrats. Because they have the expertise and knowledge to know how to take care of things so much better than the private sector. They’re responsible for the long and short term planning to assure strong, healthy forests.
Doesn’t seem like they’ve been up to the task, does it?
And now they want to manage our healthcare system?
Way to much deadwood for my comfort.
I think “man” can plan and try to manage whatever he wants – but in the end, Mother Nature is going to win. She seemed to have an easier job before we started to “help”.
and meanwhile, in Helena…
‘City commissioners on Monday night balked at approving a strategy for dealing with the mountain pine bark beetle infestation on Helena’s open lands.’
http://helenair.com/articles/2009/07/21/top/60lo_090721_trees.txt
…
Actually, that first paragraph is missing a key first word: “Liberal”. It was two, count em two, city commissioners that balked: Matt Elsaesser and Robin Shropshire.
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I’ll be interested in where this whole lands topic leads … keep us informed Auntie!
I see your health care metaphor and raise you: I seem to recall a certain Presidential candidate’s logo up on Mt. Helena, and those trees looked a lot greener back then…
Doug ~ Pray, do tell. Who? When? Pictures? I know not of what you speak.
If memory serves, Mr. Obama’s “logo” was etched into the foothills of Mt. Helena at some point during the last campaign; though if you ask me it looked more like a drunken herd of sheep had wandered through the area. I posted about it, but the search function over at my place is about as effective as my search for the elusive wapiti.
Update on Helena’s Commissioner votes …
http://helenair.com/articles/2009/08/02/top/80lo_090802_pines.txt
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