"Harming" endangered species

Suppose you had an endangered bird, say a whooping crane, that wintered in a certain very limited area in Texas.  Every year in the spring the birds migrated to Canada.  In the summer there are no whooping cranes in their winter home.  You discovered a deposit of bauxite in the area, bought the land, and commenced a huge mining operation.  

The cranes returned, flew around looking for their winter home, couldn’t find it, and all died.  

Under a new rule promulgated by the Interior Department and the Commerce Department, that is now legal.  You didn’t actually “‘harm” the birds.  You didn’t shoot them, poison them, or catch and strangle them.  You just took their habitat they need to live, so you didn’t actually harm the birds.  No more need to do environmental impact statements.  

Grown men and women backed by the American Petroleum Institute and other mining and commercial interests came up with this.  And yes, it is as idiotic as it sounds.  But hey, we can make some money.  Of what use is a bog turtle or a desert pup fish or a whippoorwill if it gets in the way of profit?

Bonnie Tyler, 1951-2026

Skip all the meanness and stupidity that happened today and play the official version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”  The video is a just a wee bit silly, shot in a former asylum in England and featuring men in tights and altar boys with glowing eyes.  Concentrate on the lyrics and that voice.  That voice.  

I remember the first time I heard this song on the radio.  Amazing.  I couldn’t hear it enough.  I still can’t hear it enough.  

P.S.  You might also listen to “Holding Out for a Hero,” featured in the Kevin Bacon movie “Footloose.”  Again somewhat silly video, but listen.

Losing the War of the Future

That’s the title of the lead article in the latest edition of Foreign Affairs magazine.  The author is Paul Scharre, who served in the DOD in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations.  The article points out that our weaponry is not geared to future wars and it contains some rather sobering examples.

In the meantime our Commander-in-Chief, Private Bonespurs, is still harping about the need for Greenland.  

Speeding into tyranny

We aren’t drifting into tyranny or slow-walking into tyranny.  We are hurtling down that highway.  Here are a few headlines I gathered from the New York Times on July 7.  There were more, but here is a sampling.  

“Trump Remaking Judiciary System”  [Trump personal attorney Emil Joseph Bove III was appointed to the appeals court of the middle Atlantic states.  Approximately 1/3 of appellate court justices now are Trump appointees.]

“U.S. Defends Move to Drop Bribery Case of Billionaire”  [The accused agreed to invest billions in the U.S. to get the case dropped.]

“Lawsuit Alleges a Threat to Free Speech by Agents”  [That would be ICE agents.  I posted about that yesterday.]

“White House Accuses Smithsonian of Negative Portrayal of U.S.”

“Court Allows The Removal Of Exhibits At U.S. Parks”

“Trump Reverses Dozens of Gun Rules, Alarming Public Safety Advocates”

Since then Trump’s been weakening NATO, making noises about seizing Greenland, and bashing Spain.  I can’t keep up.  Tomorrow I plan to post about making currant jelly and the birds at my feeder and trying to chase away the deer eating the soybeans in our fields. 

A message from Belgium

Our friend Anne from Brussels sent us a message that she was so happy the Belgium team beat the U.S., but she knew we must be sad.  Actually, we are not sad at all.  Once Trump bullied the head of FIFA into overturning an official’s call, a victory by the U.S. would have been tainted in any case.

Sportswriter Rick Reilly published a book in 2019 explaining how Trump cheated in golf and how that said everything you need to know about his lack of integrity.  Overturning an official’s call is just the kind of behavior one should expect from a liar and a cheat.  He cheats his investors, his wives, and the American voters who actually believed his bullshit.

So, no, I was not sad that the U.S. lost.  Once Trump got involved, I had a feeling the U.S. team would lose.  Every thing he touches turns to–I think you can fill in the rest.

A letter to Mark-Wayne Mullen

ICE is now sending agents around to people who write critical letters about ICE, warning them it is criminal offense to threaten federal officials when all  those letter writers did was complain about ICE tactics.  I thought Mark-Wayne ought to know about this, so I mailed the following letter today:

Mark-Wayne Mullen, Secretary

Department of Homeland Security

500 12th St., SW

Washington, D.C. 20536

Dear Secretary Mullen:

I have heard accounts of ICE agents confronting people who have contacted that agency and criticized some of its policies.  I am sure that as a Cabinet Secretary you are familiar with the words of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.  Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the people “...to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Evidently your ICE agents need a refresher course on our Constitutional rights.  It seems evident to me that many of these agents are poorly trained or not trained at all.  

Prior to your appointment you had the honor of representing Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate.  You took an oath to uphold the Constitution then and as a Cabinet member.  You need to take that oath seriously.  Your agents are supposed to obey the law, not ignore it.  You need to do better.

My return address was clear.  I’ll let you know if an ICE agent shows up in the next few weeks.

BTW, I also helped a small snapping turtle to cross Pohopoco Drive, so at least I did one useful thing today.

A Song of Peace

In a church service I attended this morning the congregation sang “A Song of Peace.”  The tune was from “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius.  I told everyone it was the national anthem of Finland, but I learned tonight on Wikipedia that it was proposed as Finland’s national anthem but not adopted.

In any case, it should be a national anthem for somebody.  No bombs bursting, no rockets’ red glare.  Here are the words

This is my song, O God of all the nations, 

A song of peace for lands afar and mine;

This is my home, the country where my heart is,

This is my hope, my dream, my shrine;

But other hearts in other lands are beating

With hopes and dreams the same as mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean, 

And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

And skies are sometimes blue as mine.

Oh here my song Thou God of all the nations,

A song of peace for their land and mine.