An Open Letter to John McCain

Dear Senator McCain,

Do you hate science and scientific research. I can conclude nothing else from your repeated comments about wasteful government spending citing a federally funded Grizzly Bear DNA research project. Do you have any concept of what the research was about? Do you know that it was a DNA based population estimation effort on a species protected under the endangered species act. This study is/was at the cutting edge of wildlife population estimation techniques, using DNA from individuals bears to to execute a repeated captures based population estimation. If done correctly this is an extremely robust and effective method for do population estimation. The best part and greatest benefit to the American people is that the resulting population estimate was 2.5 times greater than all previous estimates. Wowzers to do you know what that means? Possible de-listing of this Endangered Species! Loosening of restrictions on logging, and/or oil and gas exploration and exploitation in grizzly bear habitats in north west Montana. This measly 3.1 million dollars you have repeatedly complained about over the last 5 years could contribute to America's energy independence, create thousands of jobs in rural communities in the inter-mountain west, lead to cheaper gas at the pump, help in the development of population estimation techniques that can be applied to other endangered speices that might lead to more de-listing and fewer restrictions of natural resource extractive industries.

WHAT AN "UNBELIEVABLE" WASTE OF MONEY!!! (to paraphrase and quote one of you cmapaign commercials).

Not only does citing this example as pork barrel politics demonstrate your total disrespect for valid scientific research, it also demonstrates your total lack of understanding of how government budgets work. This was a 4.8 million dollar study (not 3.1 million as you always say) and only 1.1 million of was secured through the ear marking process, with help from Senator Conrad, your campaign chair in the state of Montana by the way. The other 3.7 million was funded though normal budget allocations of the Department of the Interior. See, the Congress gives the DOI a bunch of money each year and the DOI, who is in part responsible to the welfare of America's wildlife, divvy's up that money to protective measures, research, and status monitoring of that wildlife. The DOI decided that it would be good to do some research on bear population status, because it is an important issue to Montana's ranchers and natural resource industries.

So let us see if there was a 1.1 million dollar earmark allocation to bear research, and the government annually spends 18 billion on earmarks, what percentage of that is 1.1 million:

% = (1,100,000 /18,000,000,000) x 100

% = 0.0061

That is six one thousandths of the federal budget on earmarks alone. Wow!!! Cutting out the bear research would really reign in out of control earmarking. Think about it, Federal expenditure on earmarks would only be 17,998,900,000 dollars for last year (lets, for simplicity, forget that the project was spread over a 5 year period). I am not an economist, but it seems to me that the potential benefits arising from this paltry $1.1 million dollar earmark might far out way the societal cost.

Lastly, I can only conclude that citing this example is a putrid attempt to pander to uninformed western ranchers in Colorado (a 2008 battle ground state). Ranchers across the board have a fear of large predator animals like bears, wolves, mountain lions, even coyotes, because they eat sheep and cows. Even though Ranchers in Montana supported this research and are super psyched about the findings, Folks in Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming get excited when they hear politicians trash talk predators. So it seems to me that you Mr. McCain are making a very subtle nod to the western states that you think spending money on bears or any endangered species/predatory animal is wasteful.

The bottom line is that either you are stupid, or you think we are. This is either an outright disregard for Science, a seriously flawed understanding of government spending, or a desperate ploy to win the votes of rural folks in Colorado. I hoping that the American people see through your bullshit and em-bear-ass you and your party on November 4th.

Peace,

Dr. The Bird Man