Credit: NASA MODIS Rapid Response Team, Jeff Schmaltz. Text: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Rob Gutro
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/usa/20120920-wash.html
"We have to be careful with fires caused by man." Tom Sherry, Weather Reporter, KREM 6:00 pm news broadcase Tuesday, August 18, 2015.
Mr. Sherry was using the term "man" inclusively, to mean humans.
So is Mr. Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, the January 1776 pamphlet which ignited the American Revolution. Selling out, and requiring multiple reprints, Common Sense held this sentence, written by the Englishman who came to the American Colonies and made this country his beloved home. Writing about the British attack on American minutemen at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Paine compares the attack to a fire:
"But when the country, into which I had just set my foot, was set on fire about my ears, it was time to stir. It was time for every man to stir. "
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine
"Thomas Paine, Common Sense Quotes." Quotes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2015. Web. 19 Aug. 2015. <http://www.quotes.net/quote/41981>.
The sentence applies to Washington State, beginning with the first wildfire, or forest fire, in June, up to today, with fires raging across the state. Wildfires are igniting daily--whether from natural causes such as lightning strikes or from humans--and fresh air seems to be a blessing in the past. The air for this week has been smoky, dusty, unhealthy, from all the wildfires. So many people have lost their homes, and now tonight, news comes that three firefighters have died, with four injured with burns.
Three Killed While Fighting Washington State Wildfires
New York Times · 12 minutes ago
Governor Inslee said that 11 counties and four Native American tribes in Washington State are “affected or threatened” by wildfires, which have destroyed 50 homes, 60 other buildings and 235,000 acres of land. More than 3,600 homes are currently threatened by flames, he said
US News and World Report · 1 day ago
Space · 9 hours ago
Clearly, our country is on fire all around the beautiful state of Washington.
The writer of this post learned about the deaths in a manner only worthy of the theatre of the absurd. Turning on the television to local news at one channel, there was a moving "ribbon" at the top of the broadcast of an American talent show. The tiny letters were difficult to read, and for anyone who bothered to get up close to the television set, the news was horrible, about the dead and wounded firefighters. The most horrible part was the juxtaposition of the tiny "ribbon" letters with the glitzy talent production. Talent shows are wonderful things, but when our beautiful state is on fire, our air is unhealthy, and people are dying, then simple respect and prudence would seem to call for larger letters that are easier for people to read, and for a break in the program for a news update.
The other two news stations were just as bad, except one actually had moving ribbon letters that were large enough to read without standing in front of the television.
The firefighters who gave their lives, and the ones still fighting for their lives from injuries, deserve more than tiny letters at the top of the screen, moving so fast that it's hard to read. For people existing under the state of emergency, of evacuation, trying to get updated news asap, the broadcast must seem like the worst part of the Hunger Games, of out-to-lunch society ignoring the sacrifices, wounds, and deaths of people trying to stop disasters.
"One can do everything with bayonets except sit on them." Napoleon Bonaparte
So, where have our public servants in the armed forces been? There have been a few planes/tankers offered, and a vague promise of sending in 200 soldiers to help. However, given the thousands of American soldiers that some of our government servants shipped overseas to bomb and kill, the offer of a few hundred soldiers seems to be an insult, like offering a watering can to someone whose house and property are threated by fire.
So, it looks like Napoleon was wrong. The brass in Washington State are sitting on millions of dollars of equipment and resources at our army and air force installations. They've been sitting since the first fire in June, doing nothing.
If this editorial sounds angry, it is. Three brave firefighters died, needlessly, with four others hurt. With these fires ranging, no one needs a fortune teller to know that there will probably be more, among the firefighters and the citizens. Hundreds, perhaps now thousands of homes, are burning or threatened.
We can not and must not endure this situation. We can and must demand that our resources, including the military, are used to help and protect our beautiful state of Washington, and that the brass and politicians are awake, not groggy, that they are engaged and helping, and not dragging themselves to emergencies like drunks dragging themselves to work on Thursday after being "sick" all week.
"But when the country, into which I had just set my foot, was set on fire about my ears, it was time to stir. It was time for every man to stir. "
Here are some ways to make our beautiful Washington State safe for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No one should have to lose a home, property, a loved one, in a fire. We have money and resources that are wasted on the sidelines. We owe it to the firefighters and the people who have lost their homes and sense of safety, to kickstart stalled government servants, and if they can't cut it, put in better public servants, who plan for these types of emergencies.
Contact Governor Inslee:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact
Washington State Legislature
http://leg.wa.gov/
American Congress
http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
The White House
Call the President
Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
TTY/TTDSwitchboard: 202-456-1414
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitor's Office: 202-456-2121
Write a letter to the PresidentVisitor's Office: 202-456-2121
Here are a few simple things you can do to make sure your message gets to the White House as quickly as possible.
1. If possible, email us! This is the fastest way to get your message to President Obama.
2. If you write a letter, please consider typing it on an 8 1/2 by 11 inch sheet of paper. If you hand-write your letter, please consider using pen and writing as neatly as possible.
3. Please include your return address on your letter as well as your envelope. If you have an email address, please consider including that as well.
4. And finally, be sure to include the full address of the White House to make sure your message gets to us as quickly and directly as possible:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
(202) 456-1414
Apologies if any of this post is wrong, or if anyone is wronged.
