R O T A R Y G R A M

May 29, 2003

"From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a

life" Arthur Ashe

WHY? Does your skin wrinkle after a long bath?

Ron Holligan kicked our meeting off with a very nice Invocation and Pledge.

Guests: Our own Mark Prouty, a friend of the McInnis family since boyhood,

introduced the Congressman's family: Mom Carol, Dad Kohler and Scott's

older brother Kohler. Mom and Dad have six kids and 20 grandchildren.

His Honor's entourage included Jane Zimmerman (Office Manager) and Aaryn

Richardson (Constituent Services). All the major political big-wigs

joined us: Senator Isgar, Representative Mark Larson (and his intern

Jordan Sagle), and County Commissioner Bob Lieb. Katie Aggeler from

Senator Campbell's office was also part of the crowd.

A lot of commoners joined us as guests. Mike McGuire bought lunch for

his boss Ralph Martin of the CHP. Jeff Brown invited his wife Charlotte

while Bess Maisel treated her brother Pete. (The Congressman remembered

Pete from his days at the State Roundhouse). Bill Cartwright, who is a

transferring Rotarian from Maryland, joined other guests including

Martha Loss (Tami), Diane Doney (Dr. Barter), Luke Wheeler (Kevin),

David Downs (Jay), and Dan Morgenstern (Emil).

Announcements and Happenings:

We welcomed Jay H. back from his rotator cuff surgery just in time to

note Tom Brossia's five-hour surgery on his rotator cuff. Hope this

stuff isn't contagious.

The Rotary International Youth Tour is upon us. Each year the exchange

students wind up their year in the States with a tour to the Southwest.

Chip Lile seeks host families for just two nights: Tuesday June 17th

and Wed. the 18th. Since their days have already been planned, little

is required from the host families: lodging, food and transportation to

the meeting sites. Again, Bud Deering is offering to buy them box

lunches from City Market. These kids from all over the world are a

delight! Please contact Chip at chiplile@frontier.net if you have a

spare bedroom.

The Main Event:

The Honorable Scott McInnis was introduced by Comish Bob Lieb.

Recruited by our President Jeff Brown to perform this duty, Bob Lieb was

typically sparkling, humorous, and respectful. Bob gently ribbed our

guest on the occasion of his 50th Birthday. Our Congressman touched

upon the following five themes:

1) Water. He paid tribute to Fred Kroeger as he noted the Animas-La

Plata ground-breaking across from Santa Rita Park. Actually,

ground-blasting, never mind. He said we need water storage projects and

noted that our storage system saved us last year. If this year had been

as dry as last, the depleted storage system would not have been able to save us

again this year. Further, he blasted the re-districting map carved up

by the Judge in Denver. Saying the 3rd District was Colorado's "Water

District", the judge's new map placed two major head-waters into

consumer rather than supplier districts. Guess he supports the

controversial Legislature-designed re-districting, not sure, but at

least he has a keen interest in local Colorado politics.

2) Forest Policy. As you know, McInnis is Chairman of the House Natural

Resource Subcommittee which overseas the USFS. And he is the author of

a major bill "Healthy Forests Restoration Act" to re-organize the USFS

mission. He views the policy mission as a battle between the

professional USFS "Green Hats' scientists and the environmentalists such

as Earth First and the Sierra Club. He outlined the environmental

challenges to our forests -- bug infestation, wildlife management and

watershed management -- and the 30-year obstructionists armed with

protesters, negative "clear-cutting" slogans, -- and most recently

legal objections just as the three-month summer management season opens

to close any activity for yet another year. He said the maze of

lawsuits is a process gone mad. In any case, he is very proud of the

wide Bi-partisan support he has secured for his proposed new

legislation, which passed the House on May 20, 2003.

3) Foreign Policy. Our Congressman is a member of the House NATO

sub-committee and is building a foreign policy portfolio. He declared

flatly "non-proliferation of nuclear weapons will not work". He noted

Iran's nuclear development activities, and declared North Korea's number

one export is military arms, especially nuclear. These two countries

remain in the Axis. Finally, he observed that while many European

nations proclaimed themselves against our missile defence system, these

same countries now seek our technology.

4) Fiscal Policy. Our Representative touched upon both tax cuts and

deflation. On the former, he noted that tax cuts amounted to $350

Billion over a period of GNP amounting to 120 Trillion -- a very small

amount. [Actually, 3/10th of 1 percent] And he claimed it was a very

targeted cut -- "putting the jumper cables, not on the bumper but on the

battery, of a stalled car". Yes it favored the high income, but less

than 10% of the taxpayers pay more than 90% of income taxes. Indeed,

a family of four earning less than $35,000 essentially pay no income

tax. McInnis then deviated into a discussion of deflation. He made the

point that if one expects the cost of goods to be less tomorrow, then it

is rational to postpone the purchase until tomorrow. On this he is

correct. [However, although he graduated from Ft. Lewis college, he did

not take your correspondent's Econ 201 class. He needs a Barney

Anderson, my FLC colleague, who advises our Sen. Isgar]. Never mind, he

is sufficiently correct. Overall, he is optimistic about our economy

and the positive effects our fiscal policy will generate in the near

future. The only disruptions he foresees are Terrorism and Public

Health menaces (SARS and Mad Cow).

5) Health Care. The core problem is the high expectations Americans

have for the system to provide high-quality care provided by someone

else -- insurers, government, or taxpayers. The HMO system seemed to be

a solution for perhaps a decade, but is now mired in a fiscal

quagmire. The Democrats, especially the Presidential candidates such as

Gephart, are offering nationalized health-care. The GOP does not really

have a unifying coherent policy beyond affirming our desire for health

care choice. Yet he is hopeful that a majority of legislators agree

that core reforms are necessary -- malpractice (which leads to extra

expensive tests), tort reform, and prescription drug policies -- and are

ultimately doable. Yet everything in Congress is just nibbling at the

margin. Expect no major motions such as a 15% flat tax or significant

health care changes.

Finally, I have been listening to Scott McInnis for more than a decade.

Like him or not, he has evolved into a smooth, eloquent speaker. His

concluding remarks were inspiring if not motivational. He has developed

into an extremely powerful presence. Today it was a treat to be a Rotarian.

Next Week:

6/05 Program Wow! Our Senate and House representatives. Not to

be missed!

Yours in Rotary,

Spencer Pearse, Cub-sub

Comments? pearse2827@sisna.com

Why does your skin wrinkle after a long bath? The skin has a protective

barrier made up of the protein keratin. Keratin blocks out moisture,

bacteria, and other foreign matter. Prolonged exposure to water causes

the cells in the skin to absorb water and swell. After the water

evaporates, the cells return to their normal shape and size. Otherwise,

we would all be walking around looking like California raisins. Hope

Dr. Susan S. agrees!