The utter foolishness of federal policies regarding forest fires is shown for all to see during the current BWCAW fire. When the fire started weeks ago no measures were taken to extinguish it despite the dry summer that we are experiencing. Now we are seeing the mammoth undertaking under way, at great cost, to finally put the fire out before property, buildings and even communities are consumed by the flames.
The whole episode is so tragic, yet almost comical, when we hear of chain saws, equipment, watercraft and aircraft now being used to fight the fire in this area which is officially nonmotorized. To add to the absurdity AT&T has deployed a satellite-linked mobile zone unit near Isabella to aid in communications. This is the same AT&T that was forbidden by some power-crazed judge from building a cell phone tower near the BWCAW so the feelings of the nature-faker tree huggers would not be offended by the view of the tower. As the saying goes, ‘’You cannot make this stuff up.”
This situation is typical of what is really wrong with this country: An all-powerful central government dictating to the rest of the country in just about every facet of everyday life. So many bureaus and departments in Washington, D.C. must be abolished, including the bungling U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department. People should be fired over this but we all know that will never happen.
The least we can do at this point is to contact Rep. Cravaack and Senators Klobuchar and Franken, and encourage them to work toward changing the “let it burn” policy. It is their duty to do so. Never forget that the very first sentence in the Constitution, after the preamble, says that ALL legislative authority is vested in the Congress of the United States. The sad fact is that out-of- control bureaucracies run everything.
Jerry Shuster
Gheen
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