This Week in the Mercury


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Smokey and Woodsy Under House GOP Fire

Posted by Alex Zielinski on Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 1:29 PM

Your two favorite woodland creatures who dually prevent enviro-atrocities and make childhood lessons bearable are on the political chopping block. Yes, Smokey the Bear and Woodsy the Owl have been placed on the endangered list thanks to the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's new "YouCut" program.

YouCut welcomes the public to offer ideas as to where significant budget cuts can be made in federal spending. The Forest Service’s “environmental literacy” and “conservation education” programs — Smokey and Woodsy's home sweet home — made the list. Cantor supported this cut, saying that it’s wrong for taxpayer dollars to go to “generate issue-oriented advocacy.” Additionally, cutting this program would save $50 million over 10 years.

What Cantor forgot to mention, however, was how many children will lose interest in nature and the environment (which, believe it or not, does have a considerable impact on the world) if this sector is nixed.

Give a hoot, America.


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