This week, it was announced that budget cuts would now include canceling the Mars missions. However, Rep. Cliff Steans (R-FL) wants to go further. In a recent speech, Steans called for the selling off of national park lands. We have previously seen states sell off park lands, government buildings and other property — even as we burned hundreds of billions in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In a town hall meeting Belleview, Florida, on February 25 that Steans stated “we don’t need any more national parks in this country” and that we need to “actually sell off some of our national parks.” That is a remarkable proposal since national parks are the most successful program in the government with rising demands of citizens visiting parks and sites. One would think we would be expanding the parks not cutting off one of the most popular government programs.
Here is the full statement:
I got attacked in a previous town meeting for not supporting another national park in this country, a 200-mile trailway. And I told the man that we don’t need more national parks in this country, we need to actually sell off some of our national parks, and try and do what a normal family would do is — they wouldn’t ask Uncle Joe for a loan, they would sell their Cadillac, or they would take their kids out of private schools and put them into public schools to save to money instead of asking for their credit card to increase their debt ceiling.
Putting aside the thousands of jobs and millions of recreational hours supplied to citizens through these parks, we continue to show a bizarre sense of priority in sending billions abroad to fund wars in countries with growing anti-American sentiments. Instead of saving hundreds of billions of dollars, we will instead continue to cut educational, scientific, and environmental programs that protect our future.
Source: Think Progress as first seen on Reddit
SwM
It was a guess. I am getting more warmed up, and it seems to effect my other languages. J’etait bavarder avec mon marchant des fruit aujourdhui en Francais. Il est de Liban, Beirut, y ca marche tres bien pour moi.
P.S. nice job on hijacking the thread. This thread is about Cliff Stearns and the idea of selling federal lands to pay down debt.
idealist707 1, March 13, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Must not be any black people in Mississippi to interview looks like the last ones where just moving out around the 2:30 mark. Maher is a nasty person how anyone could watch his show is beyond belief. Obama needs to give the money back.
SwM
Was it you that damned Texas (in my eyes) for one in four women having no health insurance?
Geez, you’ve got your work cut out for you.
The problem with the USA is that no one is responsible for health care at the state/county/local level. Or is there. And what kind of leverage has the HHS?
There’s no one to require statistics, reports, studies, state to state stats, county stats, etc. Without a single payer system you can’t influence doodly-squat.
You are apparently good at picking stats. But who do we put the pressure on? Anyone in your state? County? City?
Mrs Bountiful? You are sounding less Swedish.
And lastly, where are the dem issues which should be competing for media space and votes?
SwM,
Thanks for the good news from Texas.
Is there a coordinated campaign from the DNC for all states where the Pubs are fighting women’s rights?
And who’s the national figurehead? Can’t Michelle and Prof Biden do something, instead of Mrs Bountiful actions for children’s food and veteran families?
If it is not vaginal probes invading women’s health and ravings about contraceptives, it is selling off the national treasures that are the National Parks! Is this really the 21st Century? As someone else noted, those who voted for this teabag clown are responsible!
Neil,
That’s a point which is countered by the fact that we have BLM, which is kissing the ranchers arsle, the Bureau of Mining, etc all fighting to keep their jobs and fight the commercial interests.
Tax the rich. Tax all corps flat rate, no rebates, no subsidies.
A better idea.
Until we have the good sense to see what our “useless acres” are worth, it is best to hold on to them.
Who knows, we might have the equivalent of Afganistans mineral deposits.
And the miners won’t tell us, or course.
idealist, We do have organized resistance to women’s health care cuts in many places and it is growing every day. We are even having demonstrations in Texas. The dems are not running scared on women’s healthcare as they are effectively galvanizing the women’s vote.
Are you aware, Swathmore, that according to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Obama is not a natural-born citizen per Minor v. Happersett (1874) due to the fact that his parents were not U.S. citizens?
It’s all hyperbole anyway. Say something outrageous; get a few minutes of air time.
Sterns is the dude driving the oversight and investigation on taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
SwM
Yes, yes, yes.
But the issue to me is how do we change this? The Dems, as far as my ignorance reckons, do not have an organized resistance to ALEC, not an organized resistance to women’s health destruction.
So how is that to be solved.
Obama has only so much political capital—so don’t expect anything of him—even if he were inclined. His Sasha thing got only ridicule from Fox, etc.
How can we get women of both colors to revolt? The politicians are holding onto the chickens they have, and the dems are running scared, I fear.
Is there any way we could get away with selling Rep. Steans to some slave trader somewhere?
Um….never mind, unloading him would be like The Ransom of Red Chief.
Just in case Mike Spindell and others aren’t aware, the U.S. government owns not just landmarks such as the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore, but 650,000,000 acres throughout the U.S., which amounts to nearly 30% of the country. Much of this could be sold off while keeping important national landmarks such as the beloved Grand Canyon and Yellowstone in government possession.
This is one example of our human faults. It uses Mississippi as an example.
But my idea is that it applies to us all.
It shows that the last a person has in terms of self-respect is his opinions, which he won’t abandon is spite of them going against his own welfare.
Witness the destitute white food stams user; the young man who realizes the nonsense in his positiion vv health care, etc.
Do we guard our opinions like our lives? Yes, I think so.
That’s why learning is so hard, even as a child.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciuGxdMuQLg
I won’t say who etc. Don’t want your pre-filtering to be engaged.
idealist, You either vote yes or no to fund the projects. You either vote yes or no to increase taxes. In Texas the republicans vote to cut the schools funds and turn the roads into toll roads. One can go through the congressional and state records and look at the votes. Kasich in Ohio, a republican, turned down the money for trains. Republicans in Texas are taking away funds from planned parenthood and denying poor women healthcare not democrats. Budget decisions tend to be partisan.
PBS NewsHour is the only news program worth watching.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
As to selling national Park land … here’s a novel idea … raise taxes on the 1% instead. (Hear the little piggies squealing!?)
Mike S.
Let me extend your idea off topic.
Who owns most of the farm land? Who owns most of agribusiness?
Who controlled the states dominated by mining companies?
Who is leveling our mountains, fracking and destroying our water, ……..
the list cán certainly you extend.
So, it’s not only our national parks that are attacked.
An obvious point, but should be mentioned I feel.