I can’t explain it as well as Charles Krauthammer did:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A31980-2004Mar4&notFound=true

All politicians need to be told to go home and banksters need to be imprisoned. If we don’t take the same actions Iceland took, we will be looking at Orwell’s 1984 sooner then you can say, Obama murdered Kaddafi.

It’s been over a year since you wrote your comment. (I thought I’d already replied to it, but must not have saved it, because it no longer exists.) I’m curious now… do you still think he’s that great?

Our President is a wonderfully accomplished person that rose to his position by his own accomplishments and hard work. He has a fantastic and beautiful family. He actually cares about our country and its people and is working hard to fix things. He’s extremely smart, thoughtful and analytical (in stark contrast to our former President).

Republicans have decided he cannot succeed so they have effectively shut down the government to prevent him from being able to accomplish anything. The politics of destruction is all they know. I guess none of them ever had a mother that could give them a hug or teach them good manners. They would rather we all die rather than have a small hope of getting health care, ending the wars, etc., etc. They are doing what they do best -attack,, attack. They have all the news organizations (after all, they are all consolidated into just a few mega corporate entities now) on the end of their daily talking points. There is essentially no liberal voice on radio. The only sane broadcast is in the evenings on MSNBC. Rachel Maddow (Stanford, Rhodes Scholar, PhD in Political Science from Oxford) is must see TV every night. She does not do the screaming ranting that the right wing networks like Fox, CNN and the networks do. She offers thoughtful analysis and presentation of researched facts. If you are not watching her, you should. She is on at 6 and at 8 pm weekdays.

What is it with Republicans? All they seem to be able to do is spread lies, hatred, and fear. Proposition 8 was a prime example, but they do the same with everything. That’s all they do. They ignore the facts, everything is manipulated to try to get and hold power. They never put forward any ideas or solutions to the deep **** we find ourselves in after 8 years of Republican rule. The Bush administration came within a hair of destroying our country and its values. It has been a scramble to try to rescue our country from the peril they caused. Have you ever heard of the Republicans supporting anything at all helpful for the people of this country? No, of course not. They only care about greed, money, guns, and keeping women and minorities in their place.

The Republicans want to bring back the robber baron days. They are willing to sacrifice our country and the welfare of all the people in it in order to attack the good people and keep power for the themselves, the ultra-rich and the multinational corporations. The main goal of Democrats is fairness, equality, and opportunity for all of our citizens. This includes women, minorities, and GLBT citizens. Their whole focus is on finding ways to work together and make life and opportunities better for everyone. Which group would you rather be a part of?

It is impossible to understand the motives that drive Republican thinking. Hatred and oppression is not a family value. I don’t understand why any decent human being would find their platform acceptable, let alone compelling. There is even a sizable, very frightening, wing of the Republican party that is actively working to overthrow our democracy and to install a theocracy. One of it’s labels is called Dominionism – Sarah Palin is very big into this movement. Liberty University and Regent University are active in this movement. Bush installed many graduates of these universities into the beaurocracy of the government and they are still there mucking things up.

Peace

I can tell my little girl is conflicted about keeping it, but is letting selfishness get the better of her. I’ve been trying all along to get her to consider what’s best for the turtle.

You can’t tell by looking at her that she’s injured at all. But if you feel her shell, you can feel a spot that feels like it’s cracked diagonally – like a really bad hang nail. I would love to let her go, so this legal confirmation is all I need to make that happen.

Thanks for trying to help the box turtle! I am a qualified NYS licensed turtle rehabilitator and have much experience with injuries to this species, as well as issues with releasing them outside of where you found them, and keeping them as pets. I work at a nature center, and we have 2 non-releasable box turtles that suffered permanent injuries to their shells, so although they feel ok but their shells cant protect them from predators and thus they are for education now. In caring for these and others, I can agree as you said – their care is not simple! Word of caution – box turtles can survive but not thrive for years in the wrong conditions, but that are right enough so that they dont die, but they dont feel well, usually indicated by not eating as your is doing – you are right to be concerned and you are catching it early which is good. Eventually she may get upper respiratory infections, symptoms are swollen eyes, that wont open easily, mucous coming out of nose, eyes, breathing through the mouth.

Basically – if there is no reason to keep the turtle, its really kindest to the turtle to let it go back in its home. Its so nice that you all wanted to help it, but honestly, it is a wild animal that knows best what it wants, and we cant recreate as good a home as they are free to enjoy in the wild. It sounds like this turtle was not injured – their shells do not get bumps from injuries – but sometimes their domed shells may appeared a bit bumped in places just from their growth/development based on diet. If you did not see any blood, then even if it was an injury, it was an old injury, and the turtle was fine as Patricia said, just moved off the road. Turtles sometimes do recover from injuries on their own, and if they managed to survive something on their own, they deserve to be left to their happy wild ways. If you are unsure if she is hurt recently, you can email photos to me – I am familiar with all sorts of injuries to box turtles – in fact I just returned from the vet with a box turtle hit by a car today with severe head trauma who I needed help sedating so I could put its eye back in the socket and hope his vision will be ok after several months of healing if he survives – he’s still a critical patient at this point – head injuries are often the hardest to treat, but he appears to not have brain damage which is positive.

Anyway, these turtles need a higher humidity than you are providing from the sound of it -and yes, often those in my care do not soak themselves when they should, so I have to stick them in their dish – daily just to make sure they are drinking. They also need a heat lamp on one end to provide a basking site – they are cold-blooded, so if they dont get heat, they cant digest their food properly. It should be about 80-85 degrees to one end, and 70 on the other, as they need shade too to cool off and not overheat. It is good to have htem in outdoor enclosures when possible but you need an appropriate place for them to dig properly for when the temps are too hot or cold, and your substrate is not appropriate if he cant dig in it. You will also have to bring him indoors in the winter since he cant dig down and hibernate outside in his enclosure, and an indoor enclosure for an adult box turtle cannot be a glass aquarium – for a variety of reasons that I can explain if needed – but buildling a wooden enclosure that is at minimum 4 ft x 2 ft is recommended. Their diets are tricky, and in captivity boxies are notorious for picking out their favorites, and not eating a well balanced diet. And, as you’ve determined, you’re not permitted to have this species as a pet in GA, so you could get a big fine if it is reported to your state agency. As an educational center, we have appropriate permits at our nature center.

Ultimately, as easy as it is to fall in love with these turtles, its really kindest to them to let them go; they do not enjoy being confined, and eventually her health is going to suffer the consequences, and I’d hate for your little girl to feel badly if the turtle dies. Also, keeping it from the wild – the turtle is essentially dead to its population b/c it cant breed anylonger, and box turtles are largely in decline and very long lived turtles – biologists feel strongly that each adult is critical to the species survival in the longterm.

If you haven’t already released her, it is important to release it where you found it – I do a lot of radio-tracking of box turtles on our protected property to study their behaviors and habits, and to also monitor those we release that we dont know where they were found – and often they run into trouble and we can fortunately intervene and help them out b/c we are tracking them to keep them safe while they readjust. Relocated box turtles tend to wander greater distances taking more risks in roads, and may not find a place they like to hibernate and stubbornly refuse to dig down and get caught in the cold – we’ve had that happen and have had to ‘help’ the turtle hibernate. Its a lot easier for the turtle to just be returned to the home it knows – just put her about 30 – 50 feet or so in from the road in the direction you think she was traveling.

Releasing her could be a fun lesson for your daughter in appreciating wildlife and understanding where they belong – if you explain that the turtle will be happier, perhaps she will enjoy letting it go. and, there are lots of pet turtles that do need homes that cant be released, so if you really like the idea of having a turtle I can make some good suggestions of species that you are allowed to have, and are easier to care for.

I hope this info is helpful. Good luck! and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for that link… called the number at the bottom of the page & after the run around found that it is not permitted. He clarified that box turtles are considered “terrestrial” not “aquatic” – terrestrial turtles are protected.

So… gotta have a talk with the hubby & child, now.