I’ll be brief. I received, this week, the following email from Defenders of Wildlife concerning current and recent efforts by Congressional Republicans to effectively decimate if not completely do away with the Endangered Species Act.
From Defenders of Wildlife:
Anti-wildlife Senators showed their true colors last week as they unleashed a torrent of proposals that if adopted, could cripple endangered species conservation efforts for years to come.
Proposals ranged from delaying the listing of highly imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to restricting access to the courts to enforce the ESA, to creating loopholes in restrictions on the elephant ivory trade for special interests.
The proposals came as part of the shameless free-for-all in the Senate known in Washington as “vote-o-rama.” Technically, it’s part of the Congressional budget process, but in practice it’s little more than a special interest stampede to raid the federal budget and advance extreme ideological agendas.
Here’s just a sampling of what was proposed:
Amendment #759 by Senator Mike Lee would ban federal protection for any endangered species whose range falls entirely within one state. Roughly half of all endangered species would fall under this exception and lose federal protection.
Amendment #452 by Senator Dean Heller would indefinitely delay a listing decision on the dwindling population of greater sage-grouse under the ESA, making it all but impossible to provide federal protection for this imperiled species.
Amendment #606 by Senator Steve Daines would relax restrictions on trade in elephant ivory, creating further enforcement loopholes that would aggravate the poaching crisis that these magnificent creatures face.
While these proposals never made it to an actual vote, their Senate sponsors have tipped their hands and identified their anti-ESA agendas – and many of these proposals are likely to be reintroduced in the Senate in the months ahead.
Thanks for all you do.
To date, nothing introduced in Congress has made it past the opening stumbling blocks, but rest assured that raucous attempts will continue because . . . profits are easier and larger when not encumbered by silly environmental and wildlife protection mandates. And really, it’s just that simple.
So. Please. Take a moment. Click on the link. Ask your Senators to help STOP the assault on the Endangered Species Act. Help halt the idiocy.
OPEN THREAD
Done and done!
Damn the GOP and their destructive ways.
Thanks, Ebb. Hope we can derail the wingnut train before it’s too late.
I ignore the endangered species act.
Those critters are on that list for a reason.
They taste good.
I feel differently and this is my opinion but:
Bald eagle is tough and take along time to cook.
Manatee’s are a bitch to get in the boat and they are hard to skin.
Burrowing owls take at least a dozen to make a decent thanksgiving dinner.
Gopher tortoise? Hey, if they can’t live in the condominiums that they are building on top of them then they need to adapt.
Wolves? Wolves are dogs, plain and simple. If they can’t eat kibble like the rest of the dogs why should they get special treatment?
It’s not like we have a department of bison catering to make sure they get fed.
They can eat that crap out of a bag like every other dog.
Kemps Ridley sea turtle?
They don’t make it to Nebraska at all so why should people in Nebraska care about them?
None of the species on the endangered species act contributes to a political lobby so I say it’s a matter of oil and money and the money talks.
The Gulf of Mexico is just fine and BP cares about the environment.
States?
It’s not my fault animals can’t read signs or recognize state boundaries and National Park limits.
Monsanto and big oil are your friends.
Just ask a bee or a pelican covered in oil.
Add music to that lyric and bingo, the Wingnuttistan National Anthem!
I’d suggest the Horst Wessel song — the melody is quite fetching and really fits well with the Wingnuttistanian politic. The words surely could be made to fit!
18 smiley critters. The best:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/18-happy-photos-of-smiling-animals
(very much like theZoo)
The croc is smiling – it is thinking about snapping its next meal!
Yummmmmmmm. Zebra!
A few things I didn’t already know about the Indiana pizza restaurant, sourced from articles all over the place. I can find no evidence of an anti-gay or pro-Christian reputation prior to the interview conducted by Alyssa Marino of ABC 57 News in South Bend, Indiana. They didn’t say they wouldn’t serve gay customers in their shop, just that they wouldn’t ‘knowingly’ cater a gay wedding. The business has had death threats and arson threats, which is why they are closed. For that matter, so has Ms. Marino, now that the RWNJs have found out who she is.
The GoFundMe page for the restaurant was started by employees at Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze TV network. It’s over $500K this morning.
Wayne, you should get in on this. 🙂
There are some pretty good ones but I still think that Sam Kinneson might have had the best take on the resurrection. And, as those who are familiar with his work know, it’s definitely not safe for work!
I miss Kinison!
I already did, my friend.
Sure, they’ll try to tell me I’m going to Hell. And I’ll just tell them, “Great, I have nothing to worry about.”
Awesomeness. 🙂
I’m not interested in going to hell. There are enough conservatives and Christers in this corner of Pueblo County — I do NOT want to spend another eternity in the middle of billions of ’em! I prefer heaven — up there with wolves, grizzlies, mountain lions, Shadow the cat, Poco my long-deceased dog, along with all the (few) humans that like critters as much as I do — now that’s HEAVEN!
Met up with my mate from Saudi, whose family relocated to Col Springs two years ago – he can’t wait find a job back on the coast (even if it means divorce) – fed up of God-pumped military types calling him out in bars instead of just letting him play pool and enjoy a beer.
Yeah, and we think it’s bad here. The Springs are only 75 miles up the road and it seems to be the current capital of nutbuggery on the planet. “They” up there just elected a nutcase to the State H.O.R. named Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former Naval Chaplain who got the boot because crazy Jesusfreak. But he fits right in up there. Unlike me. Or anyone with a functioning brain.
More disgusting info about the Ferguson PD. The whole damned force should be fumigated.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ferguson-racist-emails-reagan-obama-monkey
Damn and double damn.
I’m in.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/04/wiccans-say-indiana-religious-freedom-law-opens-the-door-to-polygamy-nude-rituals-at-the-capitol/
Every pervy guy in the Indiana legislature is busy ordering Google glasses.
No problem. Just give the kids guns and they will be able to kill an extra week or so.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/04/03/3642787/kansas-schools-close-early-due-to-money-drought/
Who needs an educated state? Obviously not Kansas.
Prophecy: Indiana Criticism A Forerunner Of ‘Perversion’ Tsunami
Where the hell is this all-powerful and judgmental “god” they always yap about? Seems to me one snap of “his” fingers could easily fix everything, but no, so far zip nada.
Maybe it’s off somewhere. In another universe maybe. Creating more Republicans ? ? Nah. No way. Creators would never fuck up the same way twice, would they?
Not to mention that any god who would punish someone for something that someone else does is a real dick and unworthy of any consideration much less worship.
Sounds to me like “it” just might be (Shhhh!) contrived? Maybe by some dude(s) with a control agenda? I dunno, but I’d sure like to see some solid existence evidence. Repeatable, of course. Verifiable.
“I believe pastors will be taken away in the middle of the night and be tortured.”
I suspect she would love to see that happen with the hope of “winning” with the onset of Armageddon .
Did you ever think to yourself, “Gosh, I’d pay $150 to get an autographed poster of Glenn Beck crying”? Then today’s your lucky day
No, but if he’d like one of me holding up middle finger and waving it in his general direction, $200 would get it.
Well, if we’re not going to have music night.
I will let my feeling be known by posting this disturbing video from the eighties.
If we hadn’t lived through that decade, we’d believe this video to be parody!
I made it through the eighties without a mullet.
Others were not so fortunate as this video demonstrates.
There are some sick individuals on display here.
I’d like to believe they Darwined out but life is not fair that way.
We may be able to match some of the photos with those pinned up at the Post Office…FBI most wanted!
(glad to know you weren’t drawn in with the mullet fad!
on this good Friday, we know this guy died for real and for the reasons we all know he did
Sarah Brady, wife of James Brady who died in 2014 at age 73, died today, at age 73.
Doris is 91 today…