Thumbnail of Democratic Congressional activity. Purportedly a major portion of Senator Kerry's 'Plan'. 

Yes!

Alcohol is good for your brain...:

It's the news drinkers have waited years to hear - alcohol consumption is good for your brain.

A pint of beer or a glass of wine triggers the growth of new brain cells and boosts memory, scientists say.

Okay, okay.

However, while moderate drinking can improve the mind, binge-drinking has the opposite effect.

I think it's safe to say that moderation is in the liver of the beholder, don't you?

Oh, this is priceless.

Pentagon Uses Its Spidey Sense For the Troops



Caption: With great power comes great responsibility: Donald Rumsfeld flexes with Spider-Man and Captain America.

It's clobberin' time! How else to explain yesterday's midday appearance, down in the Pentagon basement, of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (normal human strength, no known superpowers), wedged between Spider-Man and Captain America, trying his best to melt that icy glare of his into a boy-am-I-glad-you-guys-showed-up kind of smirk?

A man dressed in a Spider-Man costume gamely squatted and did that web-squirt thing with his hands dozens of times to pose for photographs, while the Captain America look-alike flexed his muscles and kept his expression deadly earnest. At some point Rumsfeld too did a little muscle flex for the cameras, only he couldn't keep a straight face.

This is nice to see, from the Sheboygan Press:

Locally, president’s plan backed

President George W. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security and his call to cut back on dependence on foreign oil, which the president talked about during a nationally televised press conference Thursday evening, were well received locally.

“I think the Social Security plan he put forward is very, very positive,” said Ugene Anderson of Sheboygan. “It’s a good plan, but like everything going on in Washington (D.C.) now, it is so highly politicized that it’s just hard to sort out.”

Bush is calling for the creation of private investment accounts to allow people to control part of their Social Security benefits.

Dick Toth Sr. of Sheboygan said Bush is on the right track with his Social Security plan.

“We’re going to be in bad shape because all the people putting their money in it now will get nailed at the other end,” said Toth, 74.

Betty Schudt of the Town of Sheboygan said Bush could have given more details on how the Social Security proposal will work.

“The Democrats keep scaring the senior citizens,” said Schudt, 73. “Well, that’s not going to affect the people who are getting Social Security now. It just upsets me that they’re doing that, but they do that all the time.”

Good to see these senior citizens looking to the future like that. They may not even be around anymore by the time Social Security goes into the red. They almost certainly won't be by the time it goes broke. But they realize it's their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids who are going to be hurt the most by simply maintaining the status quo.

Found this link just the other day: the trailer to a movie version of "Firefly".

"Firefly" was a science fiction TV show, on about a year ago, which only lasted one season. It was science fiction for grown-ups - they did more character development and more plot development in that one season than has been done in the entire Star Trek universe.

Josh Whedon was the executive producer. Same guy that created "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," TV version.

I've never been quite so ticked off that a show (Firefly, not Buffy) got canceled. Luckily, my wife broke our Christmas agreement last year and gave me the DVD set, so the fabric of reality is safe. For now.

Anyway, the movie looks awesome. Thought you might enjoy the preview.

So, let's see, Governor Doyle is going to veto the bill that requires a photo ID in order to vote, but in Minneapolis they're talking about requiring ID to panhandle:

Under the plan, panhandlers would have to register each year at a government center and have their picture taken. Anyone failing to wear an ID badge would be jailed for 30 days, and possibly fined.

Got an update on the exploding frog story:

Birds May Be Behind Exploding German Toads

BERLIN - Why are toads puffing up and spontaneously exploding in northern Europe? It began in a posh German neighborhood and has spread across the border into Denmark. It's left onlookers baffled, but one German scientist studying the splattered amphibian remains now has a theory: Hungry crows may be pecking out their livers.

Investing tip: this is going to cause frog liver futures to skyrocket.

Found this story through Best of the Web.

Yahoo! News - Spielberg Says Aliens Likely Our Friends

LOS ANGELES - When the aliens finally arrive, Steven Spielberg expects them to be galactic good Samaritans like E.T. rather than the malevolent marauders of "War of the Worlds."

"I have to certainly believe what my heart tells me. That the first time there is a meeting of the minds between extraterrestrials and human beings, it's going to be friendly," Spielberg told The Associated Press in an interview looking ahead to his "War of the Worlds" saga, starring Tom Cruise.

...

So why does Hollywood tend toward first-contact stories of war and mayhem?

...it's more a reflection on human nature than extra-terrestrial nature.

"We tend to project our own human aggression into outer space," Spielberg said. "It doesn't necessarily mean there is aggression out there."

Dude's gotta lay off the movies. I feel a review of E.T. coming on.

Lance posted a short take on April 21st concerning the outcome of the latest CDC study on American obesity and its health dangers.

Radley Balko assesses the study with a bit more political (not refrigeratory) depth.

After years of putting the figure (obesity related deaths) somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000, the agency now says the net number is just under 26,000, meaning the government has been telling us obesity is fourteen times the threat it actually is, leading policymakers at all levels of governance to prescribe all matter of intrusive, expensive, choice-restrictive public policies aimed at addressing it.

If all of that weren't bad enough, press reports indicate the CDC will still continue to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on anti-obesity programs, and will not be using the new data in those programs.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President Risa Lavizzo-Mouro told the crowd at a Time-ABC News obesity summit last June that when it comes to public policy and obesity, "we need to act ahead of the science."

This quote from Lavizzo-Mouro explains my thinking precisely in reference to America's holy war. While 'secularists' attack Christianity, supposing it to be wholly disproven by science, they attempt to force their religious tenets down our throats under the guise of science-- a facade of science-- and legislate, policy make, and court rule 'ahead of science'. They consider themselves more intelligent, far superior, and more greatly enlightened than we, the unwashed masses.

This tactic extends far beyond public health. It is used by activists concerning the environment, homosexual rights, crime, homelessness, health care, minimum wages, etc. The list is nearly endless.

The great danger of obesity, then, is not due to abdominal adipose, but that of self-inflatulated (self-inflated, self-infatuated, self-flatulent) egos.

(Hat tip to World Magazine Blog)

Nerd Alert!

Lucas plans 'Star Wars' spinoff TV series

For his first appearance at a Star Wars convention in 17 years, (George) Lucas made a big splash. During a Q&A session, he announced that he is going to produce a 3-D animated action series expanding on the Cartoon Network's Emmy-winning Clone Wars. Then he dropped a bigger bomb, confirming a live-action Star Wars spinoff series is in the works.

Does that mean we'll get to see Darth Vader duking it out with the Donald on the next Apprentice?

Not quite.

According to Lucas, both shows will take place during the period between the end of Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars (aka Episode IV--A New Hope), when the Emperor became all-powerful and started hunting the Jedi down.

Here's a nice little historical tidbit regarding the Packers' new first-round pick, Aaron Rodgers:

At one point, Rodgers figured to make the earliest exit. But when the 49ers shifted their focus to Smith, Rodgers began a free fall the likes of which hadn't been seen for a highly rated quarterback since 1983, when a future Pro Football Hall-of-Famer named Dan Marino plummeted all the way to the 27th spot.

Of course, Marino walked into a starting job. If my druthers are destined to be my druthers, Rodgers won't get the same shot for at least three years.

Okay, here's a slightly more serious topic: social security reform. I wrote about it on Friday, because Rep. Paul Ryan introduced his plan on Wednesday. Now the Wall Street Journal weighs in on how to get people on board with reform.

Memo to Karl Rove: To win the Social Security debate, forget "solvency" and talk about liberty

You want to get people excited about personal accounts? Tell them about the 1960 Supreme Court case Flemming v. Nestor, which explicitly says Americans have no ownership rights to the money they pay into Social Security.

Finally figured out how to add a new feature to my site next door. Actually, there wasn't anything to figure out: the Wisconsin Historical Society provides a daily feed of "this day in Wisconsin history" bites - all you have to do is put the code in your template, and away you go.

What took me a while was figuring out how to make it look the same as all the other stuff on the page. Done now. I think it's pretty cool.

Important Survival Tip:

How to start a fire with a can of Coke and a chocolate bar.

I don't know why I post this stuff. Seems like I could write about something more serious, but, come on, exploding frogs.

Exploding toads baffle German experts - Yahoo! News

BERLIN (AFP) - Hundreds of toads have met a bizarre and sinister end in Germany in recent days, it was reported: they exploded.

According to reports from animal welfare workers and veterinarians as many as a thousand of the amphibians have perished after their bodies swelled to bursting point and their entrails were propelled for up to a metre (three feet).

Found this post at Jiblog, which led me to this: a readability test for websites.

Before I go any further, Microsoft Word used to do something similar for documents. Can't seem to find it now. Did they remove it?

Anyway, here's what the results mean:

The Gunning Fox Index: the number is supposed to correspond to a rough grade level. Here's what they say the numbers mean:
6: TV guides, The Bible, Mark Twain
8: Reader's Digest
8-10: Most popular novels
10: Time, Newsweek
11: Wall Street Journal
14: The Times, The Guardian
15-20: Academic papers
Over 20: Only government sites can get away with this, because you can't ignore them.
Over 30: The government is covering something up.

The Flesch Reading Ease Index is an index number that rates the text on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. Authors are encouraged to aim for a score of approximately 60 to 70.

And the Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Index is another rough measure of how many years of schooling it would take someone to understand the content.

Now, to the results:

Grandpa John's:
Gunning Fog Index 8.35
Flesch Reading Ease 71.89
Flesch-Kincaid Grade 5.67

Mr. Pterry:
Gunning Fog Index 8.51
Flesch Reading Ease 73.57
Flesch-Kincaid Grade 5.32

Old Whig:
Gunning Fog Index 9.25
Flesch Reading Ease 66.94
Flesch-Kincaid Grade 5.93

And, no surprise, the least-readable award goes to...

Steve's Jawbone of an Ass:
Gunning Fog Index 9.40
Flesch Reading Ease 72.77
Flesch-Kincaid Grade 6.24

The test measures other things, too: counts numbers of words of 1, 2, 3, and 4 or more syllables, things like that. Check it out.

Thought this was pretty good. 

Lance, Todd...?

April 22, 2005
Multiplicity

The leading candidate for mayor of San Antonio has admitted to using his twin brother as a stand-in at a civic event without telling anyone, according to Reuters. Julian Castro, a 30-year-old city councilman, said his identical twin, Joaquin, rode for him in the annual River Parade through downtown San Antonio. Joaquin smiled and waved as he floated along the river in a barge with other city council members. Though Julian claims that his brother was “standing in” for him but not impersonating him, the River Parade announcer introduced Joaquin as Julian. The councilman’s mayoral opponents said the stunt was “deceitful” and “immature.” Julian later appeared at a news conference wearing a T-shirt reading: “I am Julian.” His brother appeared with him wearing a shirt that read: “I am not Julian.”

Posted by Dean at April 22, 2005 09:17 AM (World Magazine Blog)

Yahoo! News - Happy 15th, Hubble! Two Stunning New Pictures

This is cool. Click the pictures to see them bigger.

One picture is of the well known Eagle Nebula, also called the Pillars of Creation. It is a stellar nursery. Its energy creates a billowing tower of cold gas and dust that is 9.5 light-years high, about twice the distance from our Sun to the next nearest star.

And:

The other picture is of the spiral galaxy M51, also known as the Whirlpool Galaxy. This sharpest image ever made of M51 illustrates a spiral galaxy's grand design, from its curving spiral arms, where young stars reside, to its yellowish central core, home to older stars.

Taking the "nerd alert" to a whole new level:

'We thought about how meticulous those Civil War re-enactors are about having historically accurate uniforms and equipment,' says OTB President Hugh Lessjo. 'Then we thought, 'Who else is so obsessive about having the right props and costumes?'

The answer: Star Trek fans.

'We have Star Trek fan clubs in our area, and Sunday's battle re-enactment already includes a 'what-if' scenario featuring a Confederate counterattack,' says Lessjo. 'So we started thinking outside the box, and we thought, 'Why not have Trekkies join the battle?' They already have the equipment.'

You've got to read the whole thing, just to find out how it ends.

Oh, and this quote is priceless:

"there are no stupid ideas," Lessjo says.

Yes!

Lower Death Risk for Overweight People Says Report:

Overweight people have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight, according to a new US report.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that, for the most part, only the extremely obese had an increased risk of death.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Thin Mints!

Side note: why am I reading about this US study in the Scotsman?

The End of Mighty Ogg:

The fate of a University of Wisconsin-Madison landmark is sealed.
The City Council Tuesday night approved a demolition permit for Ogg Hall, the two towers of concrete on West Dayton Street that have served as a student dormitory for four decades. Demolition is expected to begin in the summer of 2007.

The university plans to build a new 600-space residence hall on the same street and use the former Ogg site for recreational open space.

As a former resident of Ogg West (Room 1219 - can't believe I still remember that), I must say I'm entirely without opinion about this. I just wonder what the cost is, measured against the benefit.

Time to get ready for NFL draft weekend!

This is funny, from ESPN.com: the top 10 strangest moments from the NFL draft.

The Cap Times reports on an advance in non-embryonic stem cell research.

UW takes 'nice step' in Lou Gehrig's disease research

By Aaron Nathans
April 19, 2005

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found a way to insert healthy neural stem cells into diseased rats, and keep those cells alive.

The researchers did not work with human embryonic stem cells, which are controversial because they are developed by destroying a human embryo. Instead, they used specialized neural stem cells that grow during the first few weeks of brain development. They are only capable of developing into brain tissue, unlike human embryonic stem cells, which have much wider application.

The challenge now, the scientists said, is to see whether the stem cells can extend the life of a rat with ALS. If that is successful, the researchers would move directly to a small human trial.

Svendsen noted that the researchers only injected rats with small amounts of the stem cells to see if the cells could stay alive and emit the protective protein. They are now putting the stem cells in larger regions in the spinal cord, Svendsen said.

So far, he said, "we have encouraging results."

Hey, Grandpa John, when do I get my press pass?

Mark Sabia, yellow-flagged microphone in tow, has been a regular in press boxes at Yankee Stadium, Shea and Madison Square Garden for years. He pushed his way to the front in post-game interviews, button-holed players for one-on-ones, and complained when he felt he wasn't being treated fairly. In other words, he was indistinguishable from the rest of the small-market television sports reporters in New York's locker rooms.

Except the outlet Sabia represents - Westchester Cable Services - doesn't exist, according to the Queens County District Attorney.

'Isn't that wild,' Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

Had this in the queue since yesterday, but Al beat me to it.

Yahoo! News - Hang in There: The 25-Year Wait for Immortality

Time may indeed be on your side. If you can just last another quarter century.

By then, people will start lives that could last 1,000 years or more.

I don't know about this: live for a thousand years? Just assuming that the world's population replaces itself each generation, and taking an average lifespan of 70 - somebody do the math, here. How fast would the Earth's population grow?

Plus, whaddaya wanna bet suicide would become the leading killer?

But then, given this quote by the leading scientist being interviewed, I'm not sure how seriously to take this:

The first part of the project is to get really impressive results in mice. The reason that's important is because mice are sufficiently furry and people can identify with them. If we get really impressive results in mice, then people will believe that it's possible to do it in humans, whereas if you double the lifespan of a fruit fly, people aren't going to be terribly interested.

The J.A. Think Tank has come up with a plan as counter-proposal to aid in ending the Congressional gridlock concerning Social Security. We heartily believe that even the most hard-line liberal Democrats will support our proposal.

Ironically, our plan would permit individual private contributions to be upped from Bush's 4% to 5%. With our blueprint, the remaining 95% pouring into the government coffers will provide plenty to cover the increased need to handle the baby boomers. There will be no requirement to up taxes or cut benefits.

Our plan would require that 95% of all present IRA's, retirement funds, mutual funds, stock market investments, and cash hidden under mattresses be contributed to the present Social Security Lockbox. The remaining 5% would be considered as part of the individual account to be paid out in a lump sum when the individual reaches 75 years of age. If the individual were to die before the maturation of the account, his heirs would receive the disbursement. Exempt from participation with this compassionate plan would be Congressmen, Senators (and their aides) and AFSCME and NEA members (including WEAC, etc.)

I truly believe that we can quite easily get this by the reticent Democrats without taking too much heat from The New York Times or Washinton Post editorials.

We understand that we may get some flak from the Shove-God-down-your-throat-religious-right-fundamentalists, but we are armed with a ready spiritual defense.

"Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Washington or not?"
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me a dollar used for paying the tax."
They brought him a dollar, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Washington's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Washington what is Washington's, and to God what is God's."" (Matthew 22:17-21, New Liberal Version)

Mister Pterodactyl has made an appearance.

You can't win them all unless you win the first four.

Oh, well. At least Burnitz homered.

Oh, no, wait...

New blogger on my Blogosphereo'cheese next door: Laurie, also known as Madmblues, or "Frozen Peas Do Not Go With Carrots." Not exactly sure what the title of her blog is, but she's from Wisconsin, and has pictures of herself riding a motorcycle on crutches.

So who am I to argue?

I put her in the "other" category, since she said she's a "hawkish liberal," which means Mr. Pterodactyl would vote for her.

Oh, and she suggested "Cheesosphere." I think I'll start collecting suggestions.

You can't win them all unless you win the first three.

At the Cubbies, too. Gotta like that.

Can you believe this headline on Yahoo, though? Milwaukee Off to Best Start in a Decade.

Here we go:

The Japanese entertainment giant Sony has patented an idea for transmitting data directly into the brain, with the goal of enabling a person to see movies and play video games in which they smell, taste and perhaps even feel things, it was reported today.

You can't win them all unless you win the first two.

WHAT is going ON over there?

Woman Photographs Swan, Finds Hand Stuck in Ice

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish woman who photographed a swan in the river outside the royal palace in Stockholm made a grim discovery when the film was developed: a hand sticking out of the ice.

Newspaper Aftonbladet said on its Web Site that Marita Larsson was walking around Stockholm's Old Town in early March and took a photo of a swan on the river as a spring thaw melted the ice.

'It was only when I came home and developed the film that I saw there was something particular about the picture. When I had it blown up I saw there was a hand sticking out of the ice,' she told the newspaper.

A spokesman for Stockholm police said the hand might be that of a man who committed suicide in late January and whose body has not yet been found.

Police last week also fished various body parts of a woman, including the head and hands, out of the river, and are still trying to identify her.

Nerd Alert!

Fans are Daft Vaders

DIEHARD Star Wars fans queuing to see the new movie which does not even open for 43 days have discovered they are waiting outside the wrong cinema.

Enthusiasts are camped outside Hollywood's Chinese Theatre in a bid to be the first to see Episode III - Revenge of the Sith on May 19.

But 20th Century Fox chiefs say it will not be screened there and will instead be shown at a venue down the road.

However, crowds will not budge and say rumours about the last two films not being on there turned out to be fake.

Spokeswoman, Sarah Sprague, said: "This is still the epicentre for Star Wars fans. For the big iconic pictures of the 1970s, people lining up were here."

The fans have vowed to stay put on Hollywood Boulevard, according to Variety magazine, and hope to raise awareness for their charity Starlight Starbright.

Note: the nerds have a spokeswoman.

Few things are as annoying as somebody going slower than you in the fast lane. Few things are as embarrassing (to me, anyway) as being that guy going too slow in the fast lane (unintentionally, of course).

Once again, the state of Colorado is ahead of the rest of the country: they're actually enforcing the fast lane.

You can't win them all unless you win the first one.

Ben Sheets: 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, 0 BB. Nice.

Early April, when even I'm a fan.

I've been invited to join the Badger Blog Alliance, so probably two or three times a week (if I blog that often) I'll be cross posting stuff from here.

Man, that's three blogs I'm in. At this rate, I'll be able to conquer the Blogosphere through attrition, instead of the perfectly-executed-but-incredibly-bloody coup I had planned.

Speaking of which, I've been trying to come up with a catchy name for the Wisconsin Blogosphere. How about the "Blogosphereo'cheese?" Too much cholesterol?

The Discerning Texan has composed a piece on Terri Schaivo that includes a summation of my thoughts of the watershed nature of this situation upon our culture.

"Sherri Eros, MD, summed up well what happened today:

"To a corrupt nation, Terri Schiavo is a living, breathing, thinking, willing, loving rebuke and provocation. She exposes all that is worst in us, the lawlessness, crassness, hard-heartedness, and viciousness that we see almost everywhere around us. In her silence she elegantly refutes the shameless fraud of the bioethics experts, the callousness of the Death Doctors and the Right-to-Die enthusiasts, the tyranny of an unchecked judiciary, the utter depravity of the secular humanists. In her debilitated state, nearly squeezed dry of life, she filled the world with her voiceless eloquence.
One last observation now that she has died. Due to the pall of unreality enveloping these events, those actively witnessing Terri Schiavo’s struggle cannot but feel a deep unease and conflictedness, sensing that on the one hand the world ought to have come to a dead stop until this immense evil was undone, and feeling on the other hand that her progression toward death was inexorable--that the forces of death were not about to halt for even a second, and we were utterly powerless to intervene. This state of unsettledness reveals to us that we, not Terri Schiavo, are the ones in a "locked-in" state, with minds and wills imprisoned in paralyzed bodies, powerless to find the right words and actions to effectively intervene or cry for help, unable to prevent the monstrous torture-killing that occurred right in front of our eyes."

The one thing that will be said about Terri Schiavo for a very long time was that she will have had a major impact on the course of our culture, and probably even the course of our future government, particularly the judiciary. That's not a bad legacy to leave behind. Rest in peace, Terri. You deserve it."

To paraphrase Dostoyevsky: If there is no God, all things are permitted.

In addition to GOP3 - The Triumvirate (see the post below), I found a couple other new Wisconsin blogs and added them to my links next door.

WisOpinion has begun sponsoring a couple of blogs, one on each side of the spectrum, written by a couple of old political hands.

On the liberal side is The Xoff Files, written by Bill Christofferson.

On the conservative side, Free Will, written by Brian Christianson.

Plus, a blog called Spottedhorse, by some guy from Oconomowoc.

A few of the blogs I've linked to haven't been updated in quite a while. I'm wondering how long I should wait before removing them.

Also, now that Mr. Pterodactyl is following his lifelong dream of living amid little other than corn stalks and pig, uh, leavings, I'm wondering if I should move his link down to the foreigners list. Any thoughts?

Great point in a new blog called GOP3.com - The Triumvirate, written by a trio of Marquette University students.

Citing Governor Doyle's proposals for election reform, particularly his plan for non-partisan redistricting, to increase competition in elections:

...competitive elections result in more campaign spending, and a greater # of competitive races results in lots more campaign spending. This is especially true of outside, "special interest money."

I bet us Baraboo Burris could beat this.

A FAMILY ate 20,000 Kit Kat bars in two months - to win holidays and goods worth 12,000.

That's in British Pounds. My computer won't do that little sign they use.

George Will's got a good one, too:

His (Rep. John Linder, from Georgia) bill would abolish the IRS and the many billions of tax forms it sends out and receives. He would erase the federal income tax system -- personal and corporate income taxes, the regressive payroll tax and self-employment tax, capital gains, gift and estate taxes, the alternative minimum tax and the earned income tax credit -- and replace all that with a 23 percent national sales tax on personal consumption. That would not only sensitize consumers to the cost of government with every purchase, it would destroy K Street.

K Street is shorthand for the Washington lobby industry.

Will goes on to discuss the benefits of Linder's plan. Benefits which, I think, would accompany any major simplification of our tax code, not just the national sales tax.

I'm not exactly a fan of the national sales tax, simply because I don't think you'll ever get a 23% sales tax past the public, no matter what the end effects will be. But, this guy's efforts could still help us get tax simplification, just by scaring the opposition into accepting something else.

Jonah Goldberg's got an interesting column today.

...forests are breaking out all over America. New England has more forests since the Civil War. In 1880, New York State was only 25 percent forested. Today it is more than 66 percent. In 1850, Vermont was only 35 percent forested. Now it's 76 percent forested and rising. In the South, more land is covered by forest than at any time in the last century. In 1936 a study found that 80 percent of piedmont Georgia was without trees. Today nearly 70 percent of the state is forested. In the last decade alone, America has added more than 10 million acres of forestland.