Another one for the Great Hall of Whoppers

The Idaho Legislature is busy hatching an idea that has the potential for inclusion in the Great Hall of Whoppers.

The idea is that moving responsibility for federal Endangered Species Act planning and compliance from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, an independent agency, to the governor’s office—run by someone dependent on campaign contributions for his job--will benefit the state.

Proponents say it would get Fish and Game out of the Legislature’s crosshairs because it would put table-pounding issues like breaching dams to restore salmon runs, and wolf and grizzly bear reintroduction into the governor’s office. Best of all, they say, it would temper science with reality.

Sooner or later, the idea is destined for the trash heap. No matter how much some people want them to, some ideas just will not fly. Never mind multi-million dollar advertising campaigns. Never mind so-called "experts."

Take, for example, the claim that smoking is safe. Tobacco executives swore it was safe. Tobacco "scientists" came up with "research" that supported the claim. It took millions of smoking-related deaths, a bunch of lawsuits by exasperated attorneys general, and people who finally believed their own eyes before tobacco companies finally copped to the truth. Joe Camel was really Joe Cancer.

Or, how about the claim that the Internal Revenue Service is the friend of every law-abiding taxpayer. Last year’s congressional hearings featuring persecuted taxpayers who lost homes and businesses as a result of the misguided zeal of some in the IRS put that government-generated fantasy to rest.

Then there’s the idea that nuclear energy is "clean." Reading up on the history of nuclear fission or looking at a list of the nasty nuclear leftovers stored at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental lab clears up that whopper fast.

It would be a stretch for Idahoans to believe the governor’s office will deliver more accurate information about endangered species than a non-partisan independent agency staffed by biologists. It’s almost as big a stretch as believing that dams have nothing to do with declining salmon runs.

Idahoans should get their biology straight, undiluted by commercial or political agendas.

Anyone who buys the Legislature’s fresh bucket of baloney should come see us. We have an offer straight from the Great Hall of Whoppers. It’s a sturdy bridge we’d like to sell them. The price is right and it’s a good investment. We promise.