And You Know Whatever Jon Kyl Says Is the Gospel Truth!
Maybe there is no global warming, just local droughts, etc. ("Getting Warmer," Dec. 6).I have a letter from Arizona's esteemed Sen. Jon Kyl explaining that: (a) "scientific opinion on global warming is very diverse and unsettled," (b) "new research suggests the Antarctic is actually cooling," (c) "if Kyoto were implemented (it would produce an) ... insignificant reduction at a cost to the U.S. economy ranging from $100 billion to $400 billion per year."
Since Arizona voters have repeatedly elected Kyl, and the Republication Party recently promoted him to a higher position in the party, and as the entire U.S. voting public has re-elected their leader twice, surely a one-page article by an obscure "scholar" at an obscure college may be safely ignored.
R.C. Leonard
We Need to Decrease Existing CO2, Not Just Decrease Increases
Regarding the Dec. 6 articles by Ed Smeloff ("View From Kyoto") and R.V. Scheide ("Chill Out"), maybe I'm missing something here, but they don't seem to even be competent.What about the steadily rising level of existing CO2? Is it supposed to go away or have no effect just because we're decreasing our increase in emissions? Are they figuring in population growth and the increase in the number of vehicles and power plants in our brave new world of 2020 or 2050?
Kyoto and Nancy Pelosi's recent bill are necessary steps, but unless conservation is combined with drastic changes in what kind of energy we use, we're still just pissing in the solar wind. If we got existing CO2 back to pre Piltdown Man levels, we might have a chance, but that would require a massive World War II-type mobilization, Dennis Kucinich's Works Green Administration, replanting the rain forest, setting up high-tech CO2 scrubbers, funding smokestack algae biofuels and on and on. But that would be bad for the economy.
I notice in your pie chart that one segment of those who didn't take global warming seriously had actually increased in the last 10 years--and that's those in total denial. Obviously, they have the better solution.
Dennis Williams
Don't Scapegoat Mexicans; Blame Outsourcing Instead
Tom Danehy is continually upset about the entrance of illegal immigrants (Nov. 29). Mexicans have been coming across our border for decades in search of work without much effect at all on our daily lives. When they find work, they work. You would have to search hard to find a stronger work ethic than theirs.Mr. Danehy's definition of criminality needs improvement. Defining behavior as criminal just because it's illegal would never satisfy a criminologist. An African-American man used to be called a criminal because he wouldn't yield the sidewalk to a white woman. Seventy years ago, it was called a crime for a Jew to own property in Germany. A definition needing less improvement would be to label "criminal" any behavior known to cause harm or to make someone fear harm, usually for selfish ends. Mexicans crossing the border illegally mean nobody any harm. They are simply trying to better the lives of their families. To call them criminal is a sad misuse of the word.
It's also a distraction. At least 60 million U.S. citizens have lost good manufacturing jobs from overseas plant relocations. To distract them from the rightful target of their anger--namely, the U.S. corporations that threw them out of work so the boards of directors could loot the companies--they are being pitted against the Mexicans over the crumbs that are still left.
The real solution to our economic grief would be to get the jobs back into this country, where they belong.
William Winkelman
We're Not Sure D.J. Was Successful at Keeping His Composure ...
I'm going to do my best not to lose my composure like a Baltimore Raven, but Tom Danehy is really starting to piss me off with his anti-veg columns (Dec. 6). Look, it's so obvious where you stand on this issue. You're like a bitter smoker who says, "We all gotta die of sumthin!"Just because you want to dramatically increase the likelihood that you'll get high blood pressure, high cholesterol, erectile dysfunction, cancer, etc., that doesn't mean you should lose your journalistic integrity and become a shill for the beef and dairy industries. It's yer divine right as an American to eat meat! Who cares how many people around the world starve; you gotta have yer double-bacon cheeseburger, right? Get 'er done!
Do you honestly believe the American Heart Association or the American Dietetic Association are going to recommend a vegan diet? Do you have any idea how much money the beef and dairy industries would lose if everybody in this country became vegans? Read The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, former cattle rancher Howard Lyman's Mad Cowboy, and Pamela Rice's 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian. Why don't you look up the results of the Framingham study, a famous study on cardiovascular health that began in 1948?
Does it get any worse than enabling those who torture and murder animals? I recall a recent column about Michael Vick--so brave to go after him, eh, Tom? Do you think what he did was awful? No shit, Sherlock, but cows, chickens and pigs are animals that deserve compassion, too! They want to feel the sun on their backs, the wind in their faces, to care for their young. I sometimes wonder if an alien race would come down here and abduct the meat eaters like yourself, if y'all would start singing a new tune about what's humane!
I would be remiss if I did not mention how much better the planet would be on a vegan diet. I'm glad Al Gore alerted the public about global warming with An Inconvenient Truth. Well, guess what he didn't mention? Yup, the greatest contributor to global warming is factory farming. So inconvenient that I guess Big Al doesn't wanna give up his Whoppers, either!
Ignorance is bliss, ain't it Tommy boy?
D.J. Anthony
Yes, Virginia, There Are Loons Who Believe in Intelligent Design
I would like to congratulate the Tucson Weekly for the wonderful article printed on Nov. 29 by Gretchen Nielsen, which discussed the problem of telling children untrue stories about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus (Guest Commentary).Many of us have been exposed to science which has explained how many things happened. We know from what and from whom we are descended. We know there is truth to be gained from "observation." Darwin was right when he saw the survival of the fittest.
We would all do better if we would only teach our children science instead of these spooky supernatural things like the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and intelligent design.
Larry Cowell
Claim: Carol West Always Voted With Republicans
Carol West never had to break from her fellow Democrats ("The L Word," The Skinny, Nov. 29). She was never with them. In my nearly seven years here, West always ran and got elected as a Democrat, yet she always voted with the Republicks on the 4-3 votes; she never once voted with the three Democrats. I got this from her voting record.There's a word for her kind: begins with T and ends in R. Good riddance to rotten rubbish.
John Losh
Corrections
"On the Bus" (Dec. 6) incorrectly identified the guitarist for Mr. Free and the Satellite Freakout. His name is Miles Bartlett.In Get Out of Town (Dec. 13), we misspelled the name of Dave Croteau. We apologize for the errors.
