Bangor Daily News, Jan. 21
Land conservation deals have been struck, millions of dollars spent and new regulations adopted, but still the number of wild Atlantic salmon returning to Maine’s rivers remains abysmally low. … Now, the National Academy of Sciences, asked to study the problem by Maine’s congressional delegation, has come up with an action plan for restoring the fish.

Many of the recommended steps are already being taken. An ambitious plan to remove two dams and modify five others on the Penobscot River was recently unveiled, for example. All of the steps, however, come with hefty prices. A good argument could, and should, be made that the federal government decided these fish were worth saving and now must put up the necessary money to do that. …

The NAS report is helpful because, for the first time, it went beyond simply listing the threats to prioritizing them. The top priority … is removing dams. …

The NAS report, released Tuesday, should give a boost to a plan … to remove and upgrade dams on the river. The plan … received high praise from Interior Department head Gale Norton last year. It is time for the federal government to commit funds to this project, which is estimated to cost at least $40 million.

The state is already working on priority item two, liming rivers to negate the impacts of acid deposition. The Baldacci administration has submitted a bill to revise Department of Environmental Protection rules to allow lime to be added to salmon rivers, on an experimental basis, to reduce the acid level, which interferes with a salmon’s ability to adjust from fresh to salt water. One reason the rivers have high levels of acid is because of pollution that is blown here from power plants and manufacturing facilities in other states. It would make sense for the federal government to help solve a problem that is not of Maine’s making … as well.

The academy report shows that Maine is on the right track … but could use a lot more financial help from the federal government.


Bush becomes a nosy nanny


The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, Colo., Jan. 11
President George W. Bush this week announced a program through which the federal government will promote marriage, particularly among low-income couples.

Wonderful. Soon we’ll be able to add “Marriage Czar” to the list of presidential appointees. And federal bureaucrats may come knocking on the doors of poor men and women to encourage them to marry and offer skills in building healthy, loving relationships. …

There’s no question about the importance of marriage, especially to the long-term welfare of children.

But good grief! There are limits to what we should expect our government to do for us. …

Once upon a time, Republicans claimed to be the party that sought limits on government size and programs … Under Bush and some religious conservatives, government is becoming the nosy nanny empowered to intrude in all aspects of daily life.


Rein in the Jackson circus


Record-Courier, Kent-Ravenna, Ohio, Jan. 18
Friday’s spectacle starring accused child molester Michael Jackson, who turned his arraignment into a pep rally … may be only the beginning.

The self-styled “King of Pop” is doing his best to put a positive spin on his legal ordeal.

If the Jackson case goes to trial, the judge hearing it will have to move swiftly and effectively to assert his authority over the celebrity defendant and his handlers in order to ensure that the circus remains outside the courtroom. Michael Jackson faces serious charges, which could send him to prison. He is entitled to a fair trial, but his accuser is entitled to a day in court, too, in an atmosphere where justice – not Hollywood showmanship – prevails. …


An event worth copying


Sydney (Australia) Morning, Jan. 21
Rarely should Australians lift anything wholesale from the United States, but here is one that is worthy – the State of the Union address. …

It is a speech that allows Americans to see inside the mind of their leader in a way no other can. …

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson wrote that immigration and citizenship laws should be eased, asking: “Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe?” In 1961, John Kennedy’s address spoke of the climate of fear in which he operated. In 1974, Richard Nixon promised lasting world peace, including a Middle East settlement, and that he would never resign. In 2002, George Bush described North Korea, Iran and Iraq as an “axis of evil.”

Whether these views were right or not, whether promises were fulfilled or not, they were out there. Americans get a constitutionally sanctioned yearly report in which their leader, amid the hubris, paints a broad canvas of his aims, ideals and view of the world.