The rediscovery in Arkansas a couple of weeks ago of the ivory-billed woodpecker, thought to have been extinct for more than 60 years, has renewed public interest in the protection of land that, at a cursory glance, may be unglamorous but is essential habitat to threatened species…
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“All great truths begin as heresies.” — George Bernard Shaw

As you explore Chelsea Green’s Web site, familiarizing yourself with the company’s mission and buying its books (you are, right?), perhaps you find yourself wondering if “the politics and practice of sustainable living” is truly a realistic goal under a pathologically secretive federal government that is obsessed with monolithic global power; proudly defiant as it flouts the nation’s constitutional imperatives and international law on matters of human rights; in total denial about the impending, mathematically inevitable collapse of the world’s economy if tectonic shifts are not made in energy policy very soon; and blisteringly hostile –even threatening — to anyone who disagrees with it.
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George W. Bush is convinced America’s Social Security system is in trouble, and he’s banking his reputation on being able to convince the rest of us, cross-crossing the Nation (at taxpayer expense) on a public relations campaign that would make your head spin.

But can the President win this battle?

No.

He doesn’t stand a chance.

Is it because Social Security doesn’t need fixing?

From my research on the issue, it is clear that the system could use a little help, an engine adjustment rather than a complete engine and body overhaul to address the legitimate concerns of President Bush and others.

So why is Bush’s grand scheme doomed to failure?
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Five days after sightings in Arkansas of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a species long believed to be extinct, were confirmed, the Bush administration has placed a bounty on the elusive creature’s head, offering a reward of $10,000 to anyone who can bring in an ivory-billed woodpecker in its postmortem state.
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I grew up in Chicago, and the elementary school I attended had a tradition of packing its sixth-graders off each spring for a week at a camp in rural Indiana, to introduce them to nuts and berries and stuff.
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