McCain bashes bear earmark, though Palin asked for similar one for seals 6

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1. 

   egbooth Posted 1:15 pm
   26 Sep 2008

   y'know what the funny thing is...the grizzly bear study could actually lead to less protections for the ESA-listed grizzly bear and help out mining and development interests.
   "Kendall's research found that the bears' range was much larger that had been believed, and that the genetic health of the population was good. Those results have been applauded by some who believe the grizzly's endangered status was an impediment to drilling and development in Northwest Montana. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the bear's status in Montana. But Kendall says her goal was simply to get a reliable snapshot of the population, to provide good scientific data where none existed."
   http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=08-P13-00 ...

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2. 

   caniscandida Posted 3:30 pm
   26 Sep 2008

   anti-scienceOf course, a few million dollars is as nothing compared to other items in the list of government expenditures.
   And what is wrong with science for the sake of science?  Could it not be argued that it is indeed proper for Congress to throw a few dollars at a few naturalists, to keep them funded as they find out what they can about US plants and animals?
   And what are we to make of the anti-scientific, anti-naturalist, anti-animal instinct evident in McCain's rhetorical use of "bear DNA" as an obviously absurd and worthless subject?
   
   Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

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3. 

   amazingdrx Posted 4:13 pm
   26 Sep 2008

   Earmark BSIt's not the earmark, it's what it's used for.  Palin built the road to nowhere, with the bridge to nowhere money.  Then built the bridge to Wasilla for 600 million, cuting the average commute for wasillians by 5 minutes, and threatening the endangered Belluga whale.  
   She spent 400,000 "educating" alaskans to vote for aerial wolf and bear hunting.
   Absolutely Canis!  Money for naturalists and basic environmental science is not a waste.  McCain shows his idiotic anti-science talking point again.
   And as Obama said, 18 billion in earmarks is dwarfed by the 300 billuion dollar McCain tax cut for the super rich.
   
   http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

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4. 

   Pangolin Posted 6:14 pm
   26 Sep 2008

   Earth's genetic resourcesare the most valuable asset the human race has. There is more useful knowledge in bear and seal DNA than there is in Harvard university if only we knew how to read it.
   Preserving endangered species should be a government priority instead of an annoyance.
   There are lots of rocks in this solar system. Multiple earths worth of gases. Plenty of carbon.
   There is only one example of a functional planetary ecosystem.
   
   Put the Carbon Back

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5. 

   marshall Posted 8:04 am
   27 Sep 2008

   a bad jokeI can't believe I'm about to defend McCain in any way, but, technically, he didn't call the earmark criminal.  He joked that he wasn't sure if DNA testing of bears was a "criminal issue or a paternal issue."  The joke was a dud. But of course, McCain's belief that cutting earmarks will somehow change the economy is a classic example of his inablility to see the bigger picture.

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6. 

   PermieWriter Posted 9:06 am
   27 Sep 2008

   Criminal or paternalOh that's what he said. McCain was muttering so much that it was hard to make that out. Interesting. So was he accusing Obama of unnatural relations with a bear? Does that mean we can accuse Palin of unnatural relations with a seal?
   I imagine that the bear DNA funding attack came from some of his staffers looking through appropriations bills and finding items they thought would play as ridiculous in redneckland. Alas, it will probably work with those of room-temp IQ.
   
   Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

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