Chainsaw Tom [Daschle]

Wall St. Journal ^ | July 25, 2002 | Editorial

[The Raven]

The fallout from this year's forest fires is accomplishing wonders -- such as the sight of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle running into the protective arms of the Republican-controlled Forest Service. Quick, someone get water to revive the Sierra Club.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!

[SoDak]

Thanks for the ping. Too bad our yellow in-house Gannett rag in Sioux Falls won't ever tell this story in their paper. If anyone has some extra money, now would be a good time to invest it in winning back the senate.
http://www.johnthune.com/

[BOBTHENAILER]

Thanks for the email. I've already sent him some and now I'll send more.

[Geezerette]

Now being discussed by Rush's substitute host, Roger Hedgecock.

LOL!!! Nothing like the chickens coming home to roost!!

g

[Geezerette]

We have a yellow Gannett "rag" here in Phoenix, too! One of our local radio guys did a little research and found out who is on the Gannett Board of Directors ... would you believe Klintonista Donna Shalalalalala, and MRS. Tom Brokaw?? I don't recall the other names he gave.

g

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Keep up the good work!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Are you doing the keywords?
You are on a roll!

[Salvation]

Let's hope that all the states who are and have experienced fires:
Arizona
Colorado
California
Texas
Oregon
and others
sue the socks and chainsaws off Daschle and South Dakota for discrimination.

Just a wild thought. Daschle is so dysfunctional, that I sincerely hope he gets himself un-elected.

[SoDak]

Thanks Bob!!! I got my checkbook out last night again too. Freepers are awesome people.

[SoDak]

That doesn't surprise me at all. The Argus Liar in SF is one of the most liberal papers in the area. I cannot remember the last time they endorsed a conservative idea, let alone a conservative candidate. It's the only game in a town of 200,000.

[TigersEye]

Time to fly Da$$hole out to one of the uncontrolled fires in Oregon and push him out of a smoke jumpers plane with a parachute and a hoe dag.

While this sounds like a perfectly splendid idea I'd rather let one of those giant out of work Oregon loggers use lil' Tommy as a hoe dag. He needs to have his face rubbed in something.

[Grampa Dave]

Both of our plans are good.

Use mine first and let him jump into a fire zone with an empty canteen and a hoe dag to learn about the fires he has enabled.

Then take him to one of the out of control fires in Oregon and let your plan be put into action. A big burly un employed logger can use him as a hoe dag to fight the fire.

After the unemployed logger uses him a hoe dag all day, then maybe Da$$hole will not love the spotted owl more than loggers!

[Grampa Dave]

The latest update on the out of control fires in Oregon. The news is worse this morning: (New Oregon fires force more evacuations, this time in Northern Oregon)

[Libloather]

The debate has shifted: Nobody dares support a measure that will lead to fire, at least through November.

A legislative time limit on trees? If only we could find a way to control global warming and make it rain more - eh?

[harpo11]

"We thought these folks were made of sterner principles. But it looks like they are more than willing to park those beliefs when there's an election to win."

Sadly, very willing, and so true.

[The Raven]

Letter to the editor:

Your July 25 editorial "Chainsaw Tom" reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of my forest management amendment.

First, the amendment implements an agreement negotiated by local stakeholders, including the timber industry and environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society. This agreement not only allows thinning on federal land, it also protects the roadless character of the area and creates 3,600 acres of new wilderness.

Second, my amendment is not "similar" to legislation proposed by Congressman Thune. His proposal did not include the linchpin of my amendment -- a locally negotiated consensus agreement on thinning to prevent forest fires. It simply directed the Forest Service to unilaterally initiate thinning in the Black Hills National Forest, which would generate additional litigation and bring us no closer to our goal of reducing the local fire threat. Moreover, it did not add additional wilderness to the national forest or protect the environmental integrity of the thinned areas, which was essential to securing environmental community support for thinning.

No one should misinterpret the reach of this forest management agreement. It is grounded in the understanding that no special legal protection should be afforded any timber cutting plan that is not endorsed by all local stakeholders and does not preserve the environmental integrity of the affected area.

Litigation and appeals in the Black Hills, like elsewhere in the nation, reflect the lack of trust that exists among all users of the national forests and the Forest Service, and a lack of consensus regarding the goals of national forest management. After years of battling in South Dakota over these issues, the various interested parties worked through their differences and achieved both consensus and trust on a discrete set of forest management issues. The resulting agreement, implemented through my amendment, has cleared the way for thinning to begin and for the expansion of a local wilderness area in my state.

Tom Daschle
Majority Leader
United States Senate

[The Raven]

Logging Won't Prevent Fires

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's logging rider for the Black Hills National Forest is a travesty. Instead of focusing on reducing flammable underbrush near homes, Mr. Daschle's rider focuses primarily on the removal of large fire-resistant trees, mostly in remote areas, that are among the least fire-prone in the forest. It's not about protecting people, it's about politics.

A recent analysis found that the great majority of the fires in South Dakota's Black Hills over the past couple of years have occurred in areas that had been intensively logged and roaded. Logging didn't prevent these fires, it made them worse. Likewise, Mr. Daschle's logging rider will exacerbate the problem by removing larger trees and leaving behind smaller, more-flammable material and highly combustible "slash debris" -- limbs and twigs from felled trees. The logging will also reduce the cooling and shading effect that the forest canopy cover provides, creating hotter, drier conditions.

We need to reduce flammable brush near homes. That Sen. Daschle, pressured by GOP Congressman Thune, chose to suspend environmental laws to allow otherwise illegal timber sales reflects very poorly on his judgment.

Chad Hanson
Cedar Ridge, Calif.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[BOBTHENAILER]

Mr. Daschle's rider focuses primarily on the removal of large fire-resistant trees, mostly in remote areas, that are among the least fire-prone

I love the way these weirdos classify combustible material.

As soon as I saw your post I immediately opened the WSJ and read this counter-letter. Next time I get caught in a forest fire I know now to wrap my arms around one of those fire resistant trees in order to escape immolation.

[BOBTHENAILER]

. Their current silence in service of Mr. Daschle's election strategy reveals the extent to which the green lobbies have become wholly owned subsidiaries of the Democratic Party. Here and there they support a Republican for cosmetic reasons, but when national Democrats give orders they're more than happy to sell out their beliefs.

The true story gets out!!!!!!!

Hypocrite quote of the day.