The man who managed to make me both question evolution and our political process (twice), is now begging me to question his sanity (again X 20).  We have all heard the term “lame duck president” and we all know most presidents at this point in their 2nd term tend to start working towards, or at least thinking, about their legacy.  For all the things a president does (or doesn’t do) in his 4 or 8 years, it’s history that has the final say, right?  Bush...well...what really can one say?  With less than 1 year left in his term, President Bush seems to spend every minute that he is not making bad decisions about Iraq, making bad decisions about the environment.  We all know the old stuff; he has sided with industry on forest management, air quality, and water quality.  He rejected Kyoto almost instantly, he still denies global warming, he stripped funding of nearly every environmental agency in the country, and appointed oil/timber tycoons to head our environmental agencies...the list goes on, and on, and on, and on.  In his most recent assault on our environment, Bush has done all he can possibly do to dismantle the lasting legacy of President Clinton’s 39 million acres of roadless wilderness set aside.  Already stripping thousands of acres in Colorado and Idaho from their roadless designation, he has now stripped Tongass National Forest in Alaska from its roadless designation.  In one swift move, he not only insults Clintons legacy, but Teddy Roosevelt’s, who first set this area aside over 100 years ago. What makes the entire situation even better?  The roads are being built with taxes paid by Americans FOR private corporations to reap huge profits.  "The Tongass is the crown jewel of our nation's roadless wildlands," said Trish Rolfe at Alaska Sierra Club. "Wild salmon, bears, eagles, and wolves thrive there among moss-draped ancient trees, along crystalline fjords and untamed rivers. It has nine million acres of roadless areas that lack permanent protection. The Bush administration has just put some of the best of them on the chopping block."  Lovely.

Everyone raise a glass, 359 days left!  For more information on the forest, click HERE.