The Los Angeles Times informed me of the upstream battle over chinook salmon. Apparently sea lions have been gorging on the endangered chinook salmon near the Bonneville Dam located close to Portland, Oregon. This dam is where the salmon gather and prepare to swim their way up the fish ladders to spawn. Prime time hunting spot for the lions to get their food, but bad news for the salmon that get eaten.
However, the government made a choice to kill six of the most incorrigible of the animals after attempting to scare them off with noise, rubber bullets, and other harassing techniques that failed to work. Was it right or justice to kill those lions??
The author of the article points out that the government made a right choice in this instance. He proves this was a good choice by stating that, although our fish population has increased more than double the amount of last year, there are still other contributing factors that lessen the population of chinook salmon. Such as loss of habitat, global warming, and migration barriers by dams further upstream. So, we cannot in any way say the threat of this species, that is even listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, is abating.
I believe the intended audience was for the citizens that are seeking protection of our wildlife. Whether it is for the people that think killing the lions was unnecessary, or for the people that believe it was the right thing to do. The author proves why it was a smart decision the government made by using facts, theory, and logic.
The end of the editorial is followed up with what the government has previously tried to do to fix the endangered salmon populations, what they are currently doing, and what they should do.

Continuing Foreclosures

Our recent recession is finally coming to an end, and we are slowly but surely recovering. Everyone has their struggles, but one of the biggest problems currently being faced is one I read about in the New York Times, continuing foreclosures. It was announced that President Obama had gone to Henderson, Nevada and announced a $1.5 billion effort to prevent foreclosures in the five states that are being hit hardest, (Nevada, Arizona, California, Florida, and Michigan). I believe the intended audience was for all of American citizens that are either involved in the same struggle, and can relate; but also to the Americans that are not in that situation and would look down upon the grossly amount of money being put towards helping the citizens that made incorrect purchases they could not afford. The author notes it was good to see Mr. Obama focusing aid where it is needed most, which I agree with, but also follows that statement with the concerns of such a plan. The author argues that the plan only has so much time for it to go into effect with it being effective, and bashes on the administration about whether or not they are aware of what it might do for the nation and not just the specific states. Each of the two big concerns are backed up with evidence showing numbers, and examples of previous problems that have been tried to be fixed, that either turned into a disappointment or success. This plan is aimed towards helping the people that are unemployed and underwater borrowers. Aid is heading in the right direction, but it is up to the administration in whether or not they are willing to set a new course of action!