Rot in the Northwest

Sheesh, I go away for a week, all hell breaks loose, and I'm unable to post because the land of Wintel is not too big about offering free wireless internet access [in fairness, Seattle's terrific library does offer it, but I didn't have the laptop when I visited].

Anyway, after hiking through the magnificent rain forests of Olympic National Park in Washington with Madame Cura, I was surprised to learn this from our preznit, who had followed me to the state (the Secret Service, by the way, did not inform me of his travel plans):

Bush mentioned several issues important to the Northwest. He said trade should be more open, forests given fire breaks and dams preserved.

"One thing we must not do is destroy the hydroelectric power in the state of Oregon and Washington," he said. "Turns out we're capable of preserving the dams and protecting the fish."

He indicated some forest clearing would prevent fires.

"It turns out trees are a renewable resource that can and must be looked after. It's interesting. If you just let them sit there and rot, they turn into kindling," he said.

Turns out we are ruled by an idiot.