> On a vaguely related note: A friend in the US Fish and Wildlife
> Service
> recently told me the entire federal budget for land acquision for
> this year
> is $750,000 - a sum that wouldn't buy a single coastal acre in most
> places.
> The Bush people hold that the government should not be in the
> business of
> buying sensitive habitat, so they have "funded" that department
> only enough
> to "try to coordinate private conservation land purchases".  Then, of
> course, they work with developers to resist such efforts.

Ya gotta love the way he thinks. Surely the economy takes precedence
over
habitat, no matter how sensitive it might be. You see an estuary; he
sees a
muddy swamp with oysters. The developers are far better equipped than us
to tell the difference between marine estuaries and a spot that's
perfect for
12,000 condos. Okay, sure, shore birds need these places, and dolphins
often feed on the mud flats, but don't we already have enough dolphins
in captivity? And shore birds? How important could they be? Far
better to
line the pockets of people whose pockets are already lined with money. I
mean, wouldn't you rather have a McDonalds than a mud flat? By
supporting
the Bush policies, now you won't have to make that choice. It's made
for you.
Thinking wears you down. Better to watch TV all day!

Wait...should I even sign this??? Who is that banging on the door??
AArrgghh!

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