I Feel All Warm and Fuzzy

There's no shortage of stories that highlight the heroism of our troops. But you just gotta love this one:

A Canadian warship freed a humpback whale that was entangled in fishing gear on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland on Wednesday. HMCS St. John's was on a routine fisheries patrol when it received a radio message from a nearby fishing boat that a whale was in distress.

The 10-metre animal was thrashing on the surface as it tried to free itself from ropes and a large orange buoy snagged in its tail.

. . .

"We were a little concerned about letting the boat get close, let alone letting divers get in."For more than an hour, sailors in one of the boats tried to free the whale by cutting some of the lines that were attached to the buoy and about 20 heavy crab pots below the surface.

The sailors had to keep a safe distance as the humpback dove to the bottom and then surfaced in a futile attempt to get loose of the lines. Santarpia eventually dispatched two navy divers without tanks into the water to try to save the animal before it drowned.

. . .

Once free, the whale swam away slowly as two other humpbacks stayed nearby and a few dolphins looked on.

I'm no environmentalist, but I think this story demonstrates a basic truth that it's in our nature to be good stewards of the environment. Thumbs up to the crew who participated in the mission. Now there's no excuse, even left wingers have to Support Our Troops!