Not quite yet, but almost

Sometimes the news that I read makes me just want to check out of the "normal" life and go off on a sailboat, leaving the insanity that is "civilization" and society behind. I just cannot fathom how reasonable people advocate for decisions that are just so bad. This morning's trigger is an article in the Washington Post discussing the US Fish and Wildlife's internal discussion of whether to demote the manatee from "endangered" status to simply "threatened." Florida's Fish and Wildlife Service has already made that decision (which the article helpfully points out was push through by Jeb Bush appointees).

There may be actual scientific merit for the discussion; being a Fed allows me to recognize that these discussions rarely happen in a vacuum, and that there are lots of other Feds truly devoted to their work - particularly somewhere like Fish and Wildlife where it's pretty easy to believe in your cause. However, being a Fed also allows me to recognize that the current administration, and their political predilictions, do have great power in decision-making. The heads of all these agencies are Bushies; this adminstration has made it clear how they value "friendly" folk rather than necessarily qualified folk (Brownie at FEMA, anyone).

When you see decisions that don't pass the laugh test (manatees are certainly not common in Florida, the boating and development restrictions that have brought them back from the brink of extinction are working/have worked, and the last thing that Florida needs in an age of increasing hurricane activity and ecological sensitivity is more coastal development) being earnestly advocated for, it's just mind-boggling. Frankly, it makes you just want to strike out and see the world (for me, it's the ocean world that is my highest priority) before the dunderheads inside the Beltway make a decision that dooms us all.