“I believe the science is not resolved,” Vincent said. “And there’s a growing body of evidence that shows there are many things that factor into climate change. Do I agree that there is climate change happening? Yes. Do I believe man is the indicator? No.”

It might be a starting point for Representative Vincent to learn what an “indicator” is. I’d also be fascinating to learn what scientific research he’d consulted. I suspect it was on the AM dial.

A huge patchwork of privately owned forest in northwest Montana — much of it abutting wilderness, and together almost a third the size of Rhode Island — will be permanently protected from development under an agreement announced Monday by two private conservation groups, the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land.

The groups will pay $510 million for about 500 square miles of forest now owned by Plum Creek Timber, a lumber and real estate firm based in Seattle. It is one of the biggest sales of forest land for preservation purposes in United States history, conservation experts said.

And  Baucus deserves credit for  setting up the federal bond that allowed for this to go through. We, as Montanans, need to prioritize conserving Montanan’s beauty - it’s what makes Montana Montana.

Balyeat, writing in the Montana Standard, wants us to believe that he believes deeply in compromise on the subject of energy independence and global warming. The problem, according to Balyeat, is not over-reliance on fossil fuels or our unwillingness to control our consumption of energy, but a lack of politeness on behalf of those who want to work on reduction of fossil fuel usage.

Despite his claim of searching for common ground, Balyeat  is hardly fair when describing defenders of the scientific consensus about global warming. In the course of his 600 words, he seems to be calling for more polite dialogue from people he describes as “condescending” advocates of “intrusive government,” drinkers of ‘global warming Koolaid” and “secular doomsayers” who rely  “demeaning insults” and “scare stories” to make their arguments.

It’s certainly hard to understand why Senator Balyeat is having such a hard time working with these people.

It’s a classic display of the kind of logic that dominates right wing thinking on science, whether it’s global warming or evolution. Because they cannot imagine that human fossil fuel use is accelerating warming to dangerous levels or that life on Earth evolved over billions of years, it can’t be true.

It’s not compromise if one side refuses to acknowledge scientific evidence. It’s absurd. If consensus will move the Montana and federal governments forward on global warming, I’m all for it, but to believe that consensus is coming from an unscientific, insulting position like this, Montanans concerned about the environment would really need to be as stupid as Joe Balyeat thinks we are.

Footnote: At the end of his piece, Balyeat claims to be a three time National Merit Scholar. Given that high school students can only be selected as National Merit Scholars once, I think Mr. Balyeat might just be making something else up as well.

The Idaho Anti Wolf Coalition is a group believes that wolves are harming deer and elk populations, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Why? Because they’re “sick of hearing about biology and science!”

The scary thing is this: how did they even get 35,000 signatures? It’s bad enough that federal Endangered Species protections have been removed, but wipe them all out? Is this 1931?

Cheney has his office working overtime to delay NOAA regulations that call for lower ship speeds near ports - a measure that is scientifically proven to lower whale deaths and injuries.

Is this guy serious? It’s ALMOST laughable how cartoonish his evil has become, almost. If only Clinton and Obama could combine their forces, because, at this point, we might need Captain Planet to save us from the Cheney-Bush gang.

Go, Griz.

Personally, I applaud the decision. Despite a few well-publicized incidents, I find it hard to believe that aggressive deer are all that problematic. I suspect that many more people visit hospitals and animals visit veterinarians as a result of interaction with dogs than the deer.

Commissioner Victor Workman made a lot of sense:

“I see a people problem rather than problem deer,” Commissioner Victor Workman said. “Outside of an aggressive deer … I think we ought to leave the darn things alone.”

Indeed.

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Is it too late for the Republicans to consider a Burns-Sinrud ticket for the governor's race?