"JR" wrote


BTW, did you talk to your senators themselves, or to aides?



aides, I'd bet it would take a big campaign check to get past them to the
real thing G irrespective of Party

Both of California's senators are Democrats, and, thus, reasonable G
........ I was hoping to give a Republican or two some reasons they would
listen to ( i.e. the almighty dollar, idol of all true Republicans :-).

Montana, in particular, 'should' already know about the dangers of poorly
regulated mining. I find it interesting that at one point Montana had one
of the highest per capita incomes .... now it has one of the lowest .... a
major reason for the change? the environmental damage done by mining and the
costs of trying to fix it ( the mining companies find loopholes ). Another
interesting Montana political tidbit ... in a state that is very 'anti big
government" ..... for every dollar Montana sends the Federal government in
taxes, Montana gets more than $1.50 BACK in Fed money!!!

JR, I 'read' you as a bright guy with some time on your hands. Find Jared
Diamonds book "Collapse" at your library, it's an interesting read. The
first chapter on cultures that declined because of environmental issues is
on .... tada ..... Montana

ah, any other bright guys ( or gals ) with some time might find it
interesting too, I did, and I'm only dim, not bright