Dean Slams Bush For Signing "Healthy Forests Initiative"

[slinkerwink]

Bush Signs "Healthy Big Business Initiative"

BURLINGTON--Governor Dean commented today on President Bush's signing of the Healthy Forests Initiative:

"When President Bush signed his misnamed 'Healthy Forests Initiative' today, he did nothing to protect the communities most at risk from forest fires. This bill follows a skewed logic that will allow increased commercial logging on our precious public lands as a form of fire prevention. Instead of working with the landowners most at risk, this legislation amounts to a payout for large corporations and special interests. Once again, the Bush administration is hiding their true designs behind false, empty rhetoric.

"We should call this bill by a title that appropriately captures its intent: the 'Healthy Big Business Initiative.'"

[slinkerwink]

1. :kick:

[MasonJar]

2. Hurrah!

The candidates need to pound Bush on the environment that he is systematically destroying; I love Dean's substitute moniker. How can we get the 9/11 suit by Ellen Mariani and the Clark testimony in the paper? Some journalist needs to win the Pulitzer by exposing the media.

[slinkerwink]

4. I don't think the Pulitzer has been awarded in the two years since

Bush's been in office....

[RedSox02]

3. WTF??? Healthy Forests my @ss

Only Sean Hannity would be dumb enough to think that this bill actually means "healthy forests". Besides, Commerical logging actually makes forests more succeptible to forest fires. Generally any large trees that are mostly fire resistant are cut down, and small brush is left behind. On top of that, logging usually exposes the forest floor to more sunlight and wind, drying out any small plantlife.

[slinkerwink]

5. and that's why Bush should go to hell

for helping to ruin the environment.

[RedSox02]

10. It is cruel humor they use

Bush could sign in legislation that allows drinking water resevoirs to be used for Industrial dumping and they would manage to name it "The Fresh Drinking Water protection Act". Then laugh their asses off, and as soon as any Enviromentalist stands up to shout it down, they can just dismiss them as an "Enviromentalist anti-capitalist whacko!" I swear these guys must make these names an inside joke.

Also, why are all of Bush's iniatives given propoganda names. For example, Gulf War 1 was named Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. This one is called "Operation Iraqi Freedom". They sugar coat everything. They talk to the country and the world like we are a bunch of Kindergartners.

[Hammie]

31. Not necessarily

They don't just log off the big trees like they used to. I vacation every year in the Plumas national forest and you accurately describe how they used to log it. Lately though they're taking all the small trees for OSB and leaving the big ones behind.

It is kind of cool how they do it. The logger drives around in a big tractor with a huge spinning saw at the bottom front and some big mechanical arms at the top front. The operator opens the arms and quickly saws off a tree and before it can fall he grabs it with the arms. He goes from tree to tree in the same manner until he has an arm load of trees and then drives over to a giant chipper and dumps them in. The chipper shreds the trees and blows the chips into a waiting truck which takes them to the mill for processing.

When they get done, a stand of trees that you could barely walk through has nothing but big trees and 100 yard sight lines. The forest floor goes from deep shade to dappled sunlight. I can't say that I noticed any increased windiness in these areas but I wasn't looking for it particularly either.

Is the post forest "healthier" than the pre forest? Your guess is probably as good as mine. One thing is for sure though, the logged forest is obviously more fire resistant.

Hammie out.

[Badger1]

6. Bush Quote

This is what I just heard, exact quote," we don't want our intentions bogged down by regulations" WTF does that mean. He doesn't want to answer to the people, regulatory agencies, congress or the court system? This guy has no touch with reality. Unbelievable!

[slinkerwink]

8. is that what he really said?

omg. We have to get him out ASAP.

[Kolesar]

7. Loggers will be paid off in trees/lumber to do trivial brush clearing

And the brush and debris clearing is not near anyone's homes (generally).

HFI in a nutshell.

[HuckleB]

9. This is ugly legislation.

It's depressing to know that Ron Wyden helped to push it through.

[slinkerwink]

11. who is Ron Wyden?

[murphymom]

15. Senator (D) from Oregon (n/t)

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

12. Jesus!

I can't believe this guy. He is constantly surprising me with his sheer testicular fortitude. He's already my number one choice, so whenever he calls Bush out on his bullshit it only convinces me further that I've made a good choice. He is highly adept at what they call "taking the fight to them".

Dean truly has a pair of big brass ones. Even if he doesn't get the nomination, I think he has really contributed hugely to this election cycle. Whoever the nominee is can feel emboldened to go for Bush's jugular, relentlessly, on every issue.

[HFishbine]

21. Testicular Fortitude?

That's hilarious! Where the heck did you come up with that phrase? (Skip it if you're going to have to describe your sex life.)

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

33. It's amazing

how verbally creative someone can be when they're supposed to be working. I no longer even do any actual work at my job --- all my time is spent here spinning phrases.

[slinkerwink]

22. Ha, perhaps Dean should teabag Bush

hahaha, just kidding. :hi:

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

32. That has got to be one of the ugliest images I can imagine

We must make t-shirts depicting it immediately!

[slinkerwink]

38. of course!

Buy T-shirts of Dean teabagging Bush for $19.99!!!

[Zomby Woof]

13. Healthy Forests Initiative

Truly Orwellian.

The GOP still subscribes to Reagan's 1980 campaign gaffe: "You've seen one tree, you've seen them all", and "Trees are the number one cause of air pollution."

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

14. This is probably the most Orwellian administration in US history

This is not to say that previous administrations did not use so much doublespeak that it basically became a second language, of course. It's just that this administration has taken it to such an extreme that it would be funny if it wasn't absolutely terrifying.

If you want to make yourself feel even worse about how bad things have gotten, you should watch "Brazil" and "Robocop". These are both movies I'm sure you've already seen, but they have really taken on a new relevance in the last couple of years.

[slinkerwink]

16. *sigh*

Bush really does frighten me, but vote Dean! ;-)

[Zomby Woof]

24. I loved Brazil

Terry Gilliam is such a twisted genius. Never saw Robocop though, can't get past Verhoeven, lol.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

28. I understand

Robocop is also unbelievably violent, which may also be cause to stay away. Regardless, it's one of the most relevant social satires I've ever seen (seriously), more so now than ever. It was made during the Reagan administration and was a reaction to the corporate culture of the day. Since that particular facet of modern life is more prevalent now than it was even then (hard to believe, isn't it?) the movie has taken on an aura of prescience that I don't believe the filmmakers could possibly have predicted.

Brazil is worth seeing again, for the same reasons. That movie has a truly chilling effect now.

[papau]

17. What - Is some at Dean HQ reading DU

Man, he is saying truth - all the time - and I like it!

:-)

[slinkerwink]

18. who knows?

we think it might be so ;-)

[sangh0]

19. No, Dean HQ is reading Kerry

http://www.johnkerry.com/communities/enviros/topten.html
The Bush/Cheney Top 10 Environmental Insults

1. “Clear Skies”? Not to Our Eyes
President Bush’s “Clear Skies” initiative undercuts protections for soot, smog and toxic mercury, weakens pollution safeguards and relies on voluntary action from power plants to curb carbon dioxide emissions. It does nothing to clear our skies, yet President Bush continues to believe that by using the right words, the American people can be deceived. ..."

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2003_0822c.html

Kerry: Bush Chooses Special Interests Over the Public Interest On Power Plants
Decision Weakens Power Plant Pollution Protections, Endangers Public Health, Repays Campaign Contributors

August 22, 2003

For Immediate Release
Washington DC -

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry commented on the announcement that the Bush Administration will exempt power plants from protections aimed at cleaning the air through anti-pollution upgrades.
John Kerry said, "George Bush has given our biggest polluters a ‘get out of jail free’ card, stripped away the last pretense of corporate responsibility, and is allowing America’s environmental agenda to be driven by greed. His decision to let our nation’s dirtiest power plants pump hundreds of thousands of tons of toxics into our air is the most shameful and brazen giveaway to special interests we’ve witnessed on this President’s watch. He’s repaying his campaign contributors, caving in to the lobbyists who wrote Dick Cheney’s energy plan, and now he’s passing on the cost to America's families. The result will be dirtier air, more childhood asthma and an increase in respiratory disease. "

Note the date. Unlike Dean, Kerry not only talks about this, he's been talking about it for longer than Dean, and Kerry has a record of environmentalism.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sangh0]

23. Two threads on the same subject

both started by you, and you say I'm desperate.

Thanks for the laugh

[slinkerwink]

25. it is not the same subject

This one is on the "Healthy Forests Iniatative" and the other is on the "Clean Air Act"

--let me guess, you didn't even read my threads to know the difference.

[slinkerwink]

26. and it is ridiculous you're accusing me of duping my own threads

when the two threads are apparently different. :nuke:

[Scott Lee]

37. slink, this is coming from someone who posts over 20 times

in a single Dean bashing thread, so believe me when I tell you that you shouldn't lose any sleep over it.

[kentuck]

27. Another Bush disaster waiting to happen.....

If they cut trails into the mountains in order to thin out the "brush", the roads that will be cut will become drainage ditches for the lower elevations. I have seen this with my own eyes in the state of Kentucky. They will never learn and we can anticipate massive flooding in California and other places within a year or two of this policy being put in place. Mark it down.

[teevee]

29. choppping down the forest does prevent forest fires

just like cutting your eyes out prevents cataracts.

what a stupid bunch of people this country has in charge.

sicksicksicksicksick

[slinkerwink]

30. I really HATE the doublespeak coming from the bush administration

*sigh*

[frank frankly]

34. kick

:kick:

[9215]

35. Dean is trying an end run around the Primaries, hee, hee

I thought Clinton was a once in a lifetime president, I'll have to amend that. Dean is attacking without letup.

Dean is getting the rest of the dem pack to follow his lead and calling Bush out to boot. He is going to get into LIHOP and MIHOP and the corrupt policy in Iraq and PNAC and just pound away. By stirring the pot the other dem candidates are also attacking Bush's policies and exposing shit that the corporate press has been trying to contain these past few years. This should energize the dem camp. Heck I like most of the candidates except LIEberman especially Kucinich with his work on voting fraud, but I want a candidate who takes the initiative and isn't afraid to try unorthodox methods. Dean knows he has to seriously shake shit up to win.

I don't think the Bush camp was prepared for these attacks so early. The Press has been giving Bush an easy go of it, but if Dean keeps at it they will have to deal with it one way or the other. Plus the Bush junta has to reply to all the other candidates.

Unless, of course, they figure they can just steal this election too.

[slinkerwink]

36. they better not steal this election or there'll be an uprising!

[Minstrel Boy]

39. "if Dean keeps at it...

they will have to deal with it one way or the other"

That's what worries me: how they might "deal" with Dean. He's outside the Bushista orbit and beyond their influence and control. He has a growing and angry grassroots movement behind him. That's dangerous. And what's dangerous to the Bush family is is danger. I fear for Dean in 2004.

[dusty64]

40. Glad to hear this.

:kick: