The Wall Street Journal loves bald eagles

This column in the Journal helps to explain the weird politics of bald eagles and wind energy development.

The Journal, as a premiere conservative media organ (and a property of News Corp., owner of Fox News), has no love for wind energy. It's been a leading critic of Obama, Obama's wind energy policy, Solyndra, etc.

The Journal is a "drill, baby, drill" advocate.

The Journal isn't known to be very environmentally enlightened. Like most right-wing politicians and media, the Journal advocates eviscerating or doing away with the EPA and probably the Fish & Wildlife Service as well.

But because the New Era wind project in Goodhue County could have an impact on the robust bald eagle population in the area, the Journal has suddenly discovered its environmental soul and says eagles must be preserved and the rapacious developers of wind power must be stopped.

This turn-around would be funny, if it weren't so misleading.

There are legitimate reasons to be concerned about eagles and habitat in Goodhue County, and it's reasonable that residents of that area would use eagles as one reason to oppose the New Era project.

But that's not why the Wall Street Journal is shedding crocodile tears for eagles. The eagles are just the vehicle du jour for promoting their own agenda, which has more to do with oil and unregulated "free enterprise" than eagles.