President Bush spoke today while signing the so-called “Healthy Forest Restoration Act.” Here’s an excerpt (emphasis added). [Bush decoder: forest stewards=logging companies]:
This Act of Congress sets the right priorities for the management of our nation’s forests, focusing on woodlands that are closest to communities and on places where the risk to wildlife and the environment is the greatest. It enforces high standards of stewardship so that we can ensure that we’re returning our forests to more natural conditions and maintaining a full range of forest types. It enables collaboration between community groups and private stewardship organizations and all levels of government before projects are chosen. This law will not prevent every fire, but it is an important step forward, a vital step to make sure we do our duty to protect our nation’s forests.
Returning our forests to more natural conditions? By chopping the big trees down?
Let me guess–nothing enhances the beauty of pristine tundra quite like oil derricks, nor does anything add to the glow of a summer sunset glow quite like a billowing smokestack.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery.
–George Orwell, 1984