In one of the more perplexing executive decisions made by the outgoing Bush administration, a Charleston, Missouri man who pleaded guilty in 1995 to killing three bald eagles in southeast Missouri through the use of poisoned hamburger and thus violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, has been issued a presidential pardon for his crimes. While the Bald Eagle is admittedly no longer protected under the Endangered Species Act, the twin facts that it is both the national bird of the United States and the dominant image upon the obverse side of the Great Seal of the nation render a pardon for such crimes being granted by an administration that has flogged the idea of patriotism at every possible opportunity utterly incomprehensible.
Peace and good bird watching.
