Bush urges spending billions to upgrade national parks

Washington Times ^ | 08-16-03

[Brian S]

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.

[Brian S]

Yep. Thats the ticket to lowering these record deficits we are currently accumulating.

[Eala]

The article doesn't mention (as others have) that the parks became rundown through neglect (underfunding) during the Clinton years.

[SandRat]

This could help a lot as upgrades mean jobs and purchase of supplies sort of like the old FDR CCC work.

[Archangelsk]

Indeed, the president transferred six shovel loads of dirt from a prepositioned pile of dirt on the trail to a ditch running up the side of a mountain. It was a photo op designed to portray him as helping half a dozen volunteers curb erosion in the nation's largest urban national park, which sprawls across 153,700 acres of mountains and coastlines in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

It would be better if the President didn't shovel dirt, so it doesn't turn into an ironic, sardonic quip.

[PatrioticAmerican]

Billions for parks, not a dime more for the border.

[steve50]

Great, we're FDR republicans now.

[SandRat]

I agree better CCC type work on Parks and forests with money going to Americans than into the pockets of turd ball administrators like Koffee A-No-No at the UN to manage a program that is not going to help a thing.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[philman_36]

I urge the sale of the resources in the parks to refurbish them.
Lets have a real, self-sustaining tree cutting/resource utilization program that costs "taxpayers" nothing.
Millions of acres at hand and they're operating at a loss!? Any other "business" would go under operating in such a manner.

[Sam Cree]

"This could help a lot as upgrades mean jobs and purchase of supplies sort of like the old FDR CCC work."

To the extent that government spending stimulates the economy, yeah it's a short term fix. Long term it's a problem, IMO, when it's excessive, which I believe government spending currently is. Building a house of cards.

[SandRat]

No the CCC was just a good idea.
Why not use it?
Think of the bennies for inner city late teens and young men; fresh air, a job, money in their pocket, honest work, discipline, etc.

Remember it was because the CCC was so closely designed and run like the army that we already had a large number of young military service age men that could easily adjust to actual military service when we had to mobilize.

[Right_in_Virginia]

"...four persons held up letters that spelled the word "LIES." They were flanked by several dozen Bush backers who noisily proclaimed their support as if to mitigate the presence of the protesters."

.. "AS IF" ~~~ Ya think? LOL!

We may need to create a "Hall of Fame for Lame Media Remarks" to record this sentence! ;^D

[Soren]

No kidding! Is this really the time to be refurbishing our national parks when we have record deficits, war costs, underfunded social programs and decaying infrastructure?

[Archangelsk]

Teddy Roosevelt Republicans.

[steve50]

Federal make work programs are socialist. Count this conservative out, the republicans can adopt FDR solutions if they wish.

I think your effort to paint it as a national defense policy just might backfire as well. You want to tell the voters we're sitting up government work programs to prepare young men for the discipline required to fight WWIII? That's going to go over well.

[bert]

Perhaps we cn reallocate spending.

The Clintonites starved the parks. They installed all the ass kissing feminists with degrees in marine biology, who were happy for a job. They happily allowed the decline while recieving salaries and writing papers about hte sky falling.

[Joe Hadenuf]

President Bush yesterday called on Congress to spend billions upgrading America's national parks because "we want the toilets to flush."

Bush needs to forget the damn park toilets, and turn his attention the armies of illegals entering our country, routinely, at will, creating epic economic chaos, fraud, and nationwide lawlessness.

[Archangelsk]

young men for the discipline required to fight WWIII?

WW III (Cold War) is over. We're in WW IV now.

[Ben Ficklin]

This is funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

As a result of the CARA Compromise of 2000, Congress committed to 100% allowable funding of LWCF for 5 years.

Bush is simply trying to shift these funds away from the feds buying more land to maintaining the lands they already own.

Bush has also had success with Congress in negotiating a shift of these funds into private landowner, market based enviro programs.