ROFL Mark

Mark Noonan blogs about Mindless Blather on ANWR which left me Rolling On the Floor Laughing (ROFL)

He starts out with a quote [warning, if you view that article you will have to use the downarrow in your browser to get back, because it disables the back arrow] from Patti Davis, daughter of President Ronald Reagan

It’s possible that the only thing we will be able to do is weep—at the devastation of wild, untamed land where caribou are free to breed and give birth far away from the harm that humans bring. Where polar bear are a common sight and where cars and trucks and engines are never heard. Where people are outnumbered by the vast numbers of birds and animals—safe for the moment, but soon to be doomed.

Michael then comments Gives you a vision of Bambi scampering through the forest mighty, doesn't it? In case you don't catch in the words, the piece includes a picture of bison in an ANWR meadow, the clear implication being that President Bush and Evil Big Oil (by unanimous consent of the Left, "Evil" was attached to "Big Oil" late last year) are going to rape this pristine environment.

There is another quote from Patty and a response which I won't bother to quote, but he then gets to the heart of the matter. I added the underlines.

As well as being absurd, Ms. Davis is also incorrect; she states that 1.2 million acres of ANWR will be used for oil drilling. The actual fact is that only about 2,000 acres will be needed; and far from being a pristine wilderness, the area in question is home to a village of 260 Inupiat natives. There are, obviously, houses but there are also schools, stores, boats, an airstrip, power lines; heck, even an oil well. The land, also, is owned by the Inupiat's; and there's something deliciously ironic about lefty environmentalists essentially telling Native Americans that they cannot use their own land. Maybe if they only wanted to build a casino....

There's also the usual irony of very rich, idle leftwingers like Patti Davis straying into areas they lack any knowledge of and making hard and fast decrees about what is right and wrong. The only fact of ANWR for the left is that it includes the term "wildlife"; with that, all development must stop. Doesn't matter if it can be done or if it will be beneficial; the only thing which matters is that Evil People (ie, you and me) don't get their greedy, blood-soaked, lying hands on it.

Mark then gets to the part that had me rolling on the floor, laughing

Do you want to know what we should do? We should pass some environmental laws concerning coastal areas and mountains with a view of same; demand strict accountability and that no changes be made. Call it the Malibu/Beverly Hills National Wildlife Refuge. Start kicking rich, ageing lefties out of their homes all in the name of helping the environment. Give 'em a taste of their own medicine, and maybe they'll start to get some sense knocked into their heads.