THEY ARE SCREWED!

 Have you ever heard of the New World Screwworm (NWS)?  Don't laugh, this is serious.  

Screwworms are little creatures that bore their way into the hide of animals like a screw.  Once embedded, they cause irritation, sickness and eventually death.  They were once a threat to the cattle in open ranges in our western states.  We have them under control for the most part.  

The trouble is, they are still prevalent in Central American countries.  We don't want them to spread back into the good old USA.  So guess what we do.  

The US is spending $15 million per year to raise them.  Yes we do.  Then when they are about to mature, we zap them with radiation that makes these screwworms sterile.  Right.  We are raising sterile screwworms which we then drop by airplane on Central American countries.   The hope is that these sterile screwworms will mate with the local screwworms and not reproduce offspring.  The scientists in charge say it is working.  Lets hope - or else, we may be screwed.  (Pardon the pun)

So, this is a war we are fighting that you didn't even know about.  Of course, $15 million is a drop in the bucket compared to what we are spending in Ukraine and elsewhere.  On top of that - we are winning.  

I'll drink to that.   

Be happy!  It's the choice I make every day.