Bush to push for thinning

Oregon Live/ AP ^ | 21 August 2002 | AP Staff

[Grampa Dave]

Bush to push for thinning

The Associated Press, 8/21/02 4:21 AM

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- President Bush will address forest health issues when he visits Medford on Thursday, most likely pushing for more intensive thinning of Western forests to reduce fire danger.

When they reach Medford, the president and U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith will receive a briefing on Oregon wildfires, according to Joe Sheffo, Smith's press secretary.

Bush and Smith will then be taken on a tour of the area burned by the Squire fire southeast of Ruch. The fire scorched nearly 3,000 acres of public and private land after it was sparked by lightning July 13.

The president's visit comes as Western lawmakers draw up legislation to speed cutting of overgrown forests. Administration officials have blamed tangles of environmental rules for slowing logging on federal lands and want cutting accelerated to meet targets set by the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan.

Environmental groups, long critical of the president for appointing friends of timber and other industries to top posts, said the president is simply using Western wildfires to justify increased logging.

"This administration was pushing logging before these fires, it's pushing logging because of these fires, and it'll be pushing logging after these fires," said Nathaniel Lawrence of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The White House on Tuesday invited Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to join the president in Southern Oregon on Thursday, when Bush will ride in a helicopter over the huge Biscuit Fire and visit a smaller fire closer to Medford.

Kitzhaber has led an effort by the Western Governors' Association to address wildfire threats across the West.

The Bush administration has signed onto the governors' plan of stepped-up thinning, and Bush will promote that Thursday. But the administration has so far not committed to the funding the governors want and in some cases has suggested firefighting costs have escalated out of control.

Governors from Idaho, Arizona and Montana also have been invited to join the president in Medford.

The president will also have politics on my mind.

"This is very significant for us," state Republican Party Chairman Perry Atkinson said. "We know that Oregon is one of the targeted states in the next election cycle."

If Atkinson had any doubts, he was jokingly reminded of that in the days just before Bush's inauguration.

"When I met with the president, he leaned over and said, 'Just 6,776 votes, are you going to make it up to me next time?' " Atkinson said, referring to the number of votes that Bush lost Oregon by in the 2000 election.

"I told him we would do our best."

The current Oval Office occupant will not be the first President Bush to have visited the Rogue Valley.

His father made a presidential visit to Medford in mid-September, 1992. Before that, the last presidential visit came when President Gerald Ford arrived in 1976.

Rutherford B. Hayes was the only other sitting president to visit the Rogue Valley, arriving in September of 1880.

[Grampa Dave]

No, this has nothing to do with Americans being fat. I did not change the title/headline. That is how the story was headlined by AP.

President Bush is visiting Medford, Oregon, this Thursday in what could be a very important turn around re the Green Weenies, terrible forestry agendas.

Governors from Idaho, Arizona and Montana also have been invited to join the president in Medford.

[Grampa Dave]

Lets let President Bush's upcoming visit to Medford, his discussions on the fires burning all over Oregon and his fly over of the Biscuit Fire be our link for today.

Oregon is still burning. President Bush is for thinning, and we know what that means! The enviral Green Jihadists are against any thinning or even removal of dead trees. So there is a real collision coming up.

Please post what you know about the President's upcoming visit and of course any new data on the fires.

[Grampa Dave]

Would appreciate your magic pingers on this upcoming visit and confrontation with the Green Jihadists who don't want any thinning nor even removal of dead trees from any forest.

This thread will serve as our ongoing saga of Oregon is Still Burning for over 1 month now.

[Grampa Dave]

The upcoming visit of President Bush to Medford is directly related to the sorry story of Oregon burning the past month as per the burning agenda of the Rural Cleansers of America, the Watermelon Green Jihadists.

This will be our daily thread re Oregon is still burning.

[Grampa Dave]

Good morning John.

President Bush will be visiting Medford, Oregon tomorrow to start the process of making our forests safer for the rest of America.

We would appreciate your magic pinger on this important and upcoming visit by President Bush.

[fuzzthatwuz]

"Governors from Idaho, Arizona and Montana also have been invited to join the president in Medford."

Washington State Governor Gary Lock being snubbed?

[Enterprise]

"Environmental groups, ... said the president is simply using Western wildfires to justify increased logging."

So what's wrong with increased logging?

[JohnHuang2]

Goodmorningbackatya, Grampa.

[Grampa Dave]

President Bush will be making a very important visit to Medford, Oregon, tomorrow.

He will address the terrible situation of the uncontrolled fires in Oregon the past month.

Fires that are a direct result of the agendas of the Watermelon Green Jihadists who control the forests of our nation and in Oregon.

Would appreciate your help and support re getting the word out about President Bush's very important visit to Medford, Oregon.

[fuzzthatwuz]

"So what's wrong with increased logging?"

Many unemployed loggers have been asking the same question!

[AAABEST]

Mornin' Gramps.

This is certainly a step in the right direction.

If GWB becomes a force in pushing back the envirocreeps, maybe I can start overlooking some of the stupid things him and his brother have done.

[2Trievers]

Thanks for the ping JH2 ... there's to a RENEWABLE resource. &;-)

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for spotting the fact that the left wing enviralist gov of Washington was not mentioned in this article.

It will be interesting to see if Oregon's Watermelon Poster Boy governor will ride in the helicopter with President Bush when it flies over the largest fire in the past Century. The Biscuit Fire grew so big and is still burning thanks to the Green Jihadist's agenda in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area, which basically all 180,000 acres are burnt up thanks to their agendas.

[Grampa Dave]

I wish that we could get a copy of your great book to our president while in Oregon.

Maybe you can post what your book is about and more data on it!

[Enterprise]

I will say a little prayer thanking God that sanity is returning to the management of His blessed forests, and that hard working loggers can return to work and provide for themselves and their families. (And I hope they vote SOLIDLY Republican.)

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks for the ping! This is great news!!! Should give a boost to Gordon Smith in the Republican campaign to Take Back the Senate!

[Grampa Dave]

Good morning John and thanks for your massive ping.

This fire, the Biscuit fire is the same fire (still burning) that forced the WND staff to evacuate their office last month in SW Oregon.

That fire is now the biggest fire in the past century in Oregon. It has basically burnt up the entire Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area as per the Green Criminal Jihadists's "Fire is great!" belief.

[sam_paine]

Governors from Idaho, Arizona and Montana also have been invited to join the president in Medford.

The president will also have politics on my mind.

"This is very significant for us," state Republican Party Chairman Perry Atkinson said. "We know that Oregon is one of the targeted states in the next election cycle."

HUH??? Freudian slip?? Reporter thinking they are the prez?

[JohnHuang2]

You're welcome =^)

[Grampa Dave]

Club Sierra and the other enviral groups ultimate goal is zero logging in any national or state forests.

They will not even allow salvage logging in forests that have burnt up due to their lawsuits after fires to prevent even the removal of dead trees.

99.99999999999% of enviralists are Watermelons (Green on the outside and very communist red on the inside). So they hate America, Americans who use wood products or make a living harvesting even dead trees. They hate capitalism!