This is not about who is running for president. So please, don't leave me political comments about how your candidate is better than mine, blah blah blah.This is about the polar bears.
Imagine for a second this scenario:
If I had been an undecided, fence-sitting, PUMA member...and if I had actually been excited (even just a little bit) about the choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as McCain's VP (those are 2 REALLY big 'ifs')...this little bit of info would have been the deal breaker:
•Ms. Palin opposed the U.S. government's listing of various animals as endangered, including the polar bear and the beluga whale, both of which inhabit areas rich in oil and natural gas. [from The Blade].
Really? C'mon. Who doesn't want to save the polar bears?
Geesh.
They're cute and cuddly and yeah, they could eat you if they wanted to. But really. Have you seen the National Geographic shows about how these poor, innocent bears are starving and dying because the Arctic ice is melting? What's not to love?
Polar bears can't vote...which is unfortunate. Because I'm sure they would like to have their voices heard. From the ice floes in northern Alaska. Home of Sarah Palin. The governor who hates them.
I don't know about you, but I'm voting for the polar bears.
For another view, I suggest you read this. I especially like the new bumper sticker slogans. Oh, and the photo of the dead bear on Palin's couch. I bet they don't sell that at Target. And for the record, I took that photo -- at the zoo. What? You didn't really think I jumped in the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean to snap that shot, did ya?
PS: I did Google "Does Barack Obama like polar bears?"...but didn't find anything on point. He does want to make sure the Endangered Species Act isn't destroyed by the current administration and he wants to reduce greenhouse emissions so that the Arctic ice stops melting. Off shore drilling is a bit up in the air right now. But as for his personal feelings on polar bears...nada.
Have you ever seen the Planet Earth series? If not you should. You would love them.
ReplyDeletei've seen part of it, i think. was it on Discovery?
ReplyDeleteany time i see any show about the polar bears and how they could die out, it makes me cry. [yes, i am being quite serious now].
I can’t say I’m surprised that The Toledo Blade, in all of its journalistic integrity, seems to have left out a few details.
ReplyDeleteGovernor Palin threatened to sue the Bush Administration for adding the polar bear to the endangered species list, because the polar bear was already on the threatened species list. She opposed this additional protection because:
1) The information considered for legislation was based on a computer model merely speculating the effects of global warming on polar bears.
The actual, scientific evidence shows that the polar bear population has increased and is “now near historic highs.” The World Wildlife Fund is actually concerned about the extinction of walruses due the fact that they are the prey of the polar bear.
2) Since polar bears have been placed on the endangered species list, the legal hurdles to oil and gas drilling have increased. The U.S. Minerals Management Service estimates that the offshore area holds the potential for 7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 32 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. With oil at over $100 a barrel and natural gas at $7.60 per one thousand cubic feet, those are some very expensive polar bears.
3) For the people who whine about the cost of fuel, yet don’t want offshore drilling while we wait for alternative fuel sources to fully develop, they should also consider that placing polar bears on the endangered species list has also prevented ANY kind of arctic exploration whatsoever.
I think this is an issue far more complex than Governor Palin or Senator Obama “liking” polar bears.
wow...i guess the whole "tongue in cheek" part of this post was totally lost in translation.
ReplyDeleteand for the record - i detest the blade. it is not a real newspaper and it is run by a lunatic.
Oh, I'm sorry. I was annoyed with the Blade, not you. And the people who will read that article and feel "informed" by it.
ReplyDeleteI should've known you were joking, but I guess all humor is lost on me, lately. I've read a lot of stuff that makes me very disappointed in my fellow women. I can't say I laugh when people call Gov. Palin "fill-in-the-blank Barbie," or when they suggest that you cannot simultaneously have children and a career, or when they call her daughter a "whore," etc., etc. All of this "humor" is definitely lost on me.
t.w.i.t: i am annoyed with the blade on a daily basis. i actually have a collection of letters to the editor, written by me, from over the years. it is truly one of the worst paper in the country.
ReplyDeletewhat i find annoying about the comments being made about any woman candidate (or any working mom in general) is all the "can she be a good mom and a good 'fill in the blank'?" duh. yeah.
being a mom does not suddenly lower a woman's ability to think, work, or be successful. :)
i have this quote in my office: "Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult."
:)
Thank you for linking to my post. Palin scares me, I don't understand how someone who claims to be a Christian could be so indifferent towards protecting the planet.
ReplyDelete