Bears and arrows - outrageous fortune?
Oct. 4th, 2008 11:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
momsalive1Bears
There are legitimate uses for DNA studies on bears. What comes immediately to mind are situations where you'd want to know how big and how widespread a bear population is. Maybe you want to control the bears sauntering into people's kitchens. If you know whether you are dealing with a family group or a larger population engaged in this type of learned behavior, you know whether re-locating a few very large mammals will do the trick, or whether you have to look into securing your community's boarders. Maybe you have three sites to chose among for a new county park. Why choose the one smack in the center of a population's range when you could avoid them entirely? Maybe bears are the missing link in being able to control an outbreak of rabies among dogs and raccoons. No point in asking for the money to track and vaccinate 100 bears when you only need to do 10 to get a handle on things.
I made these scenarios up on the spot - I haven't looked into this. But maybe there is more to the story than implied by McCain's sneering comment of "I don't know if it was a paternity issue or criminal , but it was a waste of money."
Arrows
NPR this morning had an interview with one of those toy arrow makers who just got a tax break. According to him, the story goes like this. Arrows are of two general types: those for professionals and hunters, and those for kids. Several years ago the high-end arrow makers got a break where the tax per arrow was set at 39 cents - a great deal on an arrow costing over $10. For those schools, vacation camps and community groups who buy the toy arrows by the hundreds for recreation, not so good on a $1 arrow. This little bit of legislation was evidently well supported in Congress, but was too small to be its own bill, so it floated around looking for something to get attached to and ended up on the bail out bill.
This is almost as amusing as it is depressing.
http://www.alternet.org/election08/100551
There are legitimate uses for DNA studies on bears. What comes immediately to mind are situations where you'd want to know how big and how widespread a bear population is. Maybe you want to control the bears sauntering into people's kitchens. If you know whether you are dealing with a family group or a larger population engaged in this type of learned behavior, you know whether re-locating a few very large mammals will do the trick, or whether you have to look into securing your community's boarders. Maybe you have three sites to chose among for a new county park. Why choose the one smack in the center of a population's range when you could avoid them entirely? Maybe bears are the missing link in being able to control an outbreak of rabies among dogs and raccoons. No point in asking for the money to track and vaccinate 100 bears when you only need to do 10 to get a handle on things.
I made these scenarios up on the spot - I haven't looked into this. But maybe there is more to the story than implied by McCain's sneering comment of "I don't know if it was a paternity issue or criminal , but it was a waste of money."
Arrows
NPR this morning had an interview with one of those toy arrow makers who just got a tax break. According to him, the story goes like this. Arrows are of two general types: those for professionals and hunters, and those for kids. Several years ago the high-end arrow makers got a break where the tax per arrow was set at 39 cents - a great deal on an arrow costing over $10. For those schools, vacation camps and community groups who buy the toy arrows by the hundreds for recreation, not so good on a $1 arrow. This little bit of legislation was evidently well supported in Congress, but was too small to be its own bill, so it floated around looking for something to get attached to and ended up on the bail out bill.
This is almost as amusing as it is depressing.
http://www.alternet.org/election08/100551
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-04 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-16 11:48 pm (UTC)I was so afraid some odd event on the campaign trail would de-rail the Obama momentum and we really would end up with her. I am so glad all that drama is over!!!!