Of Moose And Men

The great outdoors men and women of the rugged west are an interesting breed. They hunt. They fish. Communities are often more eager to euthanize unwanted pets than place them. In other words - they kill and seem to have little compunction about doing so.

Not being a hunter, especially in this day of four wheelers and super scopes with which to zero in on a prey, I don't understand the sport. I do understand compassion for animals, especially those in need. Here is where this city girl and my more rugged neighbors come together in our thinking. We've had a brutal winter. Wildlife can barely get around and occasionally one gets into the kind of trouble that would be fatal were it not for man.

Moose seem to being particularly hard hit They are an iconic animal to our region. Big, lumbering beasts that have a charm all their own. Solitary for the most part. Seventy five of them, so far, have been killed by trains as they searched for pathways out of the deep snow.

In late December a big bull fell through the ice at Loon Lake in Washington. Men crossed the ice in boats and using chain saws cut a path until the moose could get his footing and freedom.

More recently a moose rescue became a community activity. Having fallen into Priest Lake, about 100 yards from shore, the task was not an easy one. Some thirty people and eight strenuous hours later, the moose had been rescued, revived and on her way into the woods. Getting a 700 pound cow out was a monumental chore unto itself but then came the wrapping of blankets, even an electric one, and heat from a space heater. Massage to get the circulation going and lots of hugs. She was fed oatmeal and sugar water.

I am fascinated by the story. Fish and Game officials, who weren't on the scene, would have left the moose to die. Their thinking is that it is a potentially dangerous animal and the risk of human life for one moose isn't worth it. This is the same agency who won't remove a carcass from the highway because it isn't their job. The rescuers were also chided for feeding the beast because the food was contrary to the moose's winter diet and could kill it. Somehow I don't imagine the moose ate enough to make much difference other than to warm her innards.

Maybe the wrong people are in charge of our voiceless friends. From the snowmobilers in British Columbia who came across two emaciated horses above the tree line, rounded up about fifty people who, in a weeks time, hand shoveled a half mile escape route, to the people who attended the memorial service for a Zebra that was a beloved and integral part of an equine therapy program, the animal lovers are out there.

As for the chiding directed at the folks from Priest Lake, I'm willing to wager if the same situation occurred this minute, they'd do it all over again. I know I couldn't have stood by and watched that animal die. Nor could I have shot it. I'd have had to try.

Political Theater At It's Best...And Worst

Perhaps the comedy and tragedy masks, with the joker between them should become the universal symbol for American politics.

As we count down to inauguration day and the media continues it's love fest with Obama, I'm beginning to see what seems like the "second coming" is in reality politics as usual.

I must admit I haven't been enthralled with many of Obama's cabinet picks. As capable a politician as Hillary is, she still does not have the foreign policy bona fides to assure me she will be an effective Secretary of State, especially as the Middle Eastern turmoil escalates.

Now he's chosen Leon Panetta as head of the CIA. Again, an able individual but with no experience in espionage what-so-ever. Please! These two in particular just smack of pay back.

Harry Reid has been waffling on the appointment of Roland Burris. Whether Burris is ultimately seated or not, Reid could use a bit of humility. And where was his toughness with Lieberman? And the recently departed Ted Stevens?

Then we move on to Al Franken who has managed to find enough votes to be declared the winner of the Minnesota Senate race. I'll bet they seat him, challenges not-with-standing!

Man. I couldn't be a blogger if I couldn't find things to complain about, but maybe a little balance would be a refreshing change of pace. We actually have something for which we can thank Rod Blagojevich. Really. If it hadn't been for his pugnacious refusal to roll over and play dead, the prominence of the "pay to play" schemes that seem to be quite common may never have come fully to light.

The fact that it cost Bill Richardson his cabinet seat is called, "let the chips fall where they may"! After all, this administration is supposed to be squeaky clean and above reproach. Right. Let's see how that holds up with Rahm Emanuel's Israeli connections plus the added bonus of being part of the Chicago machine. Of course, there is Hillary's Bill too.

I sit here rubbing my hands together in anticipation of a fruitful year. Tragedy rules while the country sinks ever deeper into a fiscal morass. Comedy rules when it comes to thinking Minnesota can run an election. Not to mention who they elect. Jesse Ventura. Al Franken. I always thought he was a not very funny comedian but it appears he is really a magician who can pull vast numbers of votes out of the frozen tundra!

The joker? In Northwest Coast Indian cultures he would be Raven, the Trickster. One never knows what he might come up with next!

Has The "Politics Of Fear" Won?

A Detroit born anesthesiologist, a lawyer and their families including three boys ages 7, 4 and 2 were removed from an Air Tran flight headed for Orlando and not allowed to re-board. They are Muslims.

The TSA and Homeland Security has succeeded in impregnating fear into our psyches to the point where idle conversation between strangers boils it to the surface. Even if you aren't Muslim you are stripped of your privacy every time you take a flight. Talking among yourselves even puts you at risk. No jokes in the security lines. If you're Muslim, it's best not to talk at all!

What's most egregious about this incident isn't that it happened, but the fact that having been cleared by the FBI before the flight departed, they were not permitted back on the plane. The pilot was uncomfortable. Obviously some of the passengers were uncomfortable.

Okay. They were discussing which part of the plane was considered the safest in which to sit; one commented about how close other planes were to theirs. They were Muslim. Immediately suspect.

But consider this. They had been able to purchase tickets, get boarding passes, no name on the "no fly" list, and both their luggage and themselves had been thoroughly screened.

What have we done? I thought we had finally succeeded in putting unwarranted prejudice and fear behind us as we are about to inaugurate our first African American President. I think, perhaps, all we've done is replace one people with another.

Should Roland Burris Be Seated?

Of the two states with Senators to be appointed, I wonder which will be best served when all is decided.

As for qualifications, Burris from Illinois and Kennedy from New York, both pass muster. Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for senators: 1) each senator must be at least 30 years old, 2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least the past nine years, and 3) must be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they seek to represent.

Now that cooler heads are beginning to prevail, it would appear the Senate may have no choice but to seat Burris. It makes the righteous indignation of Harry Reid over his appointment by a tainted governor look a bit foolish. We know what can happen when a government official shoots from the lip. "Bring 'em on!"

The appointment process has gotten somewhat muddied. Caroline Kennedy is getting her baptism by fire as to what elective politics will be like should she be appointed to the New York seat and eventually run for a full term. Governor Paterson could end it now by naming her - or someone else, but I think he's enjoying the theater. If it will help or hurt him remains to be seen when his re-election comes due.

As for Mr. Burris, his appointment is totally legal. He claims he will not run again. This is without doubt an ego trip for him, the defining moment of what has been a mediocre career. Attaining a position to which he would never be elected. From what I've read about him, he appears to be clean if less than effective. Will the fact the governor appears to be otherwise be the determining factor?

If the Democrats want the issue to go away, seat the guy. He won't be the best but he will be a Democrat. Burris aside, the Blagojevich mess is likely to be still going on when the two year term is up! So could the question as to whether or not Burris should be seated and if not why not.

With all the issues facing the new administration, the Senate should be at full strength. It doesn't need this as a side show. As for the supposition that the man is a mediocre egotist, who will notice? He'll find himself in good company!

Chicago, Chicago, I Toddled That Town!

I remember Obama making a comment about how he hoped he and his family would be able to return to Chicago often because it's home; where their friends are. Then I reflected on how many times the Chicago Sun Times has picked up one of my posts and thought I might share my own Chicago connection. I was born there. To a mother who I believe was Polish. At least she had a Polish sounding name, you know, one with 10,000 letters!

It was during the war so I'm assuming that may have something to do with why I ended up at the Cradle, an adoption agency in Evanston. The folks first adopted my brother (not my blood brother) from the same agency then a couple of years later, me. We both were so fortunate!

Dad was with Westinghouse. One of those situations common to the times where he went with the company straight from college and spent his entire career with them. Job firmly in hand Dad and Mom married and spent their early years on Fargo.

My first recollections, however, were of Greenview Avenue close to where it intersects with Howard. 7512. I have no idea why that number remains so vivid to me, but 7512 it was!

From there we moved to our very first house, in Barrington. Home of the Jewel Tea Company. You could see it from the neighborhood. There was a pond at the foot of the street and a pasture behind us. I remember when the cows broke through the fence and swarmed through the yard and running into the house because they were so big!

All that in the first four years of my life. Then Dad was transferred to Pittsburgh.

That wasn't the end of my time in Chicago however. Dad often had business there and it was a wonderful train ride away. That really dates me, doesn't it? I learned to love trains. The overnights in the Pullman cars with the beds that pulled down. And dinner in the dining cars! What an adventure. And Chicago. We always managed to visit during the holiday season so we could have lunch at Marshall Fields and look at the magnificent Christmas Tree. It was a magical time for a kid.

The years passed and the family trips came to an end but Chicago remained a part of my life. Hub had lots of business there and I often went along. Refreshing the memories. Funny. I grew up in Pittsburgh, but to this day when asked where I'm from the answer is always "Chicago".

Ah, Chicago. It's wonderful museums and zoos and lake shore. It's architecture and public art. The Lyric and the Symphony. The restaurants. It's politics and personalities from Capone to Daley to Obama. It even has Oprah! You can't get much more colorful than that!

I've had some pretty auspicious company in loving Chicago. It's my home town after all. Sinatra toddled it his way and I - mine!