Letters to the Editor
Unadilla
Published Letters: 65 Editor's Choice: 14
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the nuclear non-option
[Read the article: Fiddling while the earth burns]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is much more to the 'nuclear' option than just fear of the proliferation of weapon making ability that comes with power generation. The building of reactors, the mining and refinement of uranium, the management of the waste products- all require vast amounts of energy. And the generation of nuclear power itself is not 'carbon neutral'- it may perhaps spew a bit less CO2 into the atmosphere than a coal powered plant, but it spews too. And never mind the safety and security issues inherent in nuclear power generation. No matter how we look at it, or how deep our faith that science and technology can and will solve all problems we cannot and will not figure out how to get something for nothing.
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Related and very relevant article
[Read the article: Fiddling while the earth burns]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This complements Shapiro's piece nicely:
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/05/25/the_alt_fuels_distraction.php
If this site automatically deletes links, the op-ed can be found on tompaine.com, I think it's todays lead.
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the cost of democracy
[Read the article: Taking the paper trail to Washington]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The most tellling line in the article:
"Meanwhile, county election supervisors have raised concerns about added costs of paper computer machines....."
Ultimately, I fear "concerns" about costs will over-ride any "concerns" about real democracy, and to paraphrase, the people will get all the democracy they can afford, perhaps some more than others....
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Why was this here?
[Read the article: Mommie fearest]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I thought this was going to be an article actually ABOUT something, but with a perhaps overly long attempt at humor as an introduction. Instead what I thought was the introduction just went on and on and ultimately the article wasn't about anything at all. Why was it on Salon's "front page!?" It didn't even qualify as 'infotainment,' as it had no real information in it..... and it wasn't entertaining either.
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the oregon experiment
[Read the article: Looking for 18,000 missing votes in Florida]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is there anyone out there who has used a computer for more than a few minutes who thinks electronic voting machines are a good idea!? I mean, c'mon! Sure, computers have changed the world, revolutionized communication and marketing, etc., etc., etc. But they're also one of the most unreliable machines man has ever invented! And even the experts think they're unpredictable and unreliable (remember all that Y2K nonsense?). Why would we ever want to entrust our 'democracy' to these machines?
Oregon's mail-in, paper-based (Oh, OK, the ballots are optically scanned, but there is a paper original) is cheaper, easier and has averaged an 80% participation rate. Let's adopt that system nationally.
(oh, I forgot.....we don't really want a participation rate that high...)
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big dairy
[Read the article: The udder truth]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What an unfortunate subtitle the editors of Salon chose for this article. They must know that many, many people read only the headlines and tag lines, and the clear message here is that raw milk is not safe to drink. But then the article goes on to imply something quite different.... Hmm, is ConAgra a sponsor? ADM? At least put "official" in italics or quotations.... And explain the fact that the FDA's primary mandate now is to promote 'industry' (re: INDUSTRIAL) and public health is a distant second. Proclaimations handed down by the FDA now must always be carefully examined for conflict.
This growing push to outlaw raw milk (in response to the small but growing demand for it) is part of a larger and expanding governmental effort ('government' in this case serving as an enforcement/security arm of corporate control) to drive small/independant/localized producers our of the food system. The NAIS proposals are another element in this campaign. Big agribusiness, of which big dairy is a part, see problems ahead with soil-nutrient depletion and escalating costs of input in terms of fossil fuel derived mechanization and fertilizer and transport, as well as massive waste disposal problems, and rather than start exploring and implementing more sustainable alternatives they are pushing to legally eliminate consumer options and lock us all into their system. It seems that 'regulation' is bad for big business, but good and neccessary for consumers....
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one-party rule
[Read the article: Debate with Frank Gaffney]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think the most telling moment of the on-air debate was Gaffney's breif pause after Greenwald said "What you're saying means in a practical sense that once a war is under way any dissent really should not be tolerated [and] that we should become a sort of one-party country until that war is terminated.... and that's unacceptable to what America stands for by any stretch....." Gaffney then goes on to say that Greenwald is entitled to his opinion, addressing only I believe the assertion that the notion is unacceptable to what America stands for. Gaffney and others like him believe A) war is good for business (and. well, they may be right if you are connected to the defense industry in any way), B) potentially perpetual war against an ill-defined enemy is even better for business C) in time of war America SHOULD be a one-party state, that party should be the neo-conservative party, and D) if war is perpetual, so will be their single-party rule.
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lying and 'defactualizations'
[Read the article: Debate with Frank Gaffney]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In a kind of interesting coincidence, I just happened to just read Hannah Arendt's 1972 essay "Lying in Politics; Reflections on the Pentagon Papers." It is truly stunning how directly applicable her analysis of the Vietnam war and the lies that perpetuated it for so long are to what is going on in this country now re: Iraq. It is a good read and her take on the political culture of lying and 'defactualization' is right on and illuminating of what is behind the utterances of the likes of Gaffney.
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fever
[Read the article: Global warning]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yeah sure, it's an imperfect analogy, but it's really starting to look like the planet has a fever and the virus it is fighting is the human race. Either we smarten up and learn to live as a parasitic but 'organism' or our host will see to it that we are killed off so that life, in the broader sense, can continue.