Posted on 08/24/2015 3:49:30 PM PDT by Sean_Anthony
Stupefying that we and our fellow western nations have instilled elected and appointed officials with a will to forego their own freedom in an effort to be "fair"
The West is burning in more ways than one
Stationed in eastern Oregon, we are circled by wildfires to the point that the few access roads teeter on the edge of closure, smoke haze hangs low in the sky and floating ash stings eyes and hampers breath.
Despite the poetic license above, geographically speaking, the description isnt overblown. Hundreds of fires are blazing in California, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, where this little valley is hemmed in by smoke from roaring conflagrations that moved so fast dozens of homes and thousands of cattle stand helpless before wind-driven flames. But this is just the physical metaphor of how Western society is burning and America, under the present administration, is leading the way. (There was a real temptation here to add to hell, but I got a grip on myself.)
As a denizen of the West, witnessing wildfires is not an unusual occurrence. However, decades of public lands mismanagement by the forest service and other government agencies under the purview of the Department of Agriculture have led to the burgeoning fire hazard; a hazard that could have been deterred with responsible supervision of our forests and grasslands. But 40 years of teaching ecology have so undermined common sense that Americas woods, range and farmlands are under attack with every stray spark, stab of dry lightning or vicious act of arson.
This year’s fires are starting to resemble the Great Fire of 1910 when 3 million acres of the Western US burned. The town of Wallace, ID was destroyed. This lead to the formation of the US Forest Service to “manage” National Forests and prevent the conditions that lead to that conflagration. The USFS now sees their mission as hampering any and all timber harvesting, harassing citizens who try to recreate in said National Forests, and generally acting like typical feral gooberment thugs. They are successful in these “missions”. Fire prevention - not so much.
There used to be many back roads into the wilderness where firefighters could access places by vehicle. People used to start “back fires” to build a border around their property and keep a wildfire from coming their way. My own Grandmother supervised us kids back in the early 60’s doing this on her small farm/homestead. The govt trusted landowners to do what was best for their land, now you have to have a permit which only are given out sparsely.
Now the land belongs to the government and we can’t use it w/o getting permission which is guarded jealously. Just a little more of the tyranny we are supposed to get used to.
How much of the problems the US has brought on us peons with the mass legal immigration, up to 1M a year, and at least that much illegal. Since the bicentennial year, the population has grown nearly 100M. That is nearly all immigrants and their offspring. It is the rich mans dream, a growing “market” for their goods. A growing “work force” for their goods. A growing voter base for their power.
We need to shrink govt to 1950 levels....SERIOUSLY....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.