Letters to the Editor
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Published Letters: 249 Editor's Choice: 22
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We've Stupidly And Needlessly Put Our Species And Our Planet At Risk
[Read the article: One woman, one daughter]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]mmckinl is right. I'm old enough to remember the projections of "Famine 1975", which, of course, did not happen. What did occur was the "Green Revolution", the increase in crop yields by use of new strains of more productive crops (often through hybridization), the mechanization of agriculture, and the application of artificial fertilizers, all allowing world population to soar from 4 billion to the current 6.5 billion. However, the downside of this near-miracle is that the mechanization (involving plowing, planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, processing, and distributing) and the fertilizing (not to mention the application of pesticides)all have been accomplished with an intensive use of fossil fuel energy. Typically, for every food calorie on your dinner plate, 10 calories of fossil fuel energy has been expended.
Two or three years ago it started to be OK to recognize publicly the problem of global warming consequent to the burning of coal and petroleum without being labeled a nut case. Now the fact that we have reached the maximum rate of fossil fuel extraction ("peak oil") is likewise beginning to seep into the public consciousness and become a socially acceptable concern. Yet the oil companies have known what is coming for fifty years. I was told about it by my father, an oil company worker, forty years ago. And yet no comprehensive plan has been developed in all that time to deal with this challenge. The Green Revolution, which at the time seemed to be a blessing, may turn out to be the greatest curse in history, as it allowed human populations to far exceed sustainable levels.
The next few decades are sure to be a rough ride for Homo sapiens and the fewer passengers we put aboard this old rust-bucket Earth during that time, the less overall suffering will occur. On most political issues I am a libertarian, but on the issue of population increase, count me as among the most draconian of the Malthusians.
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I Vastly Prefer Christopher Walken
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex: Daniel Day-Lewis chooses his roles carefully]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Daniel Day-Lewis may be a fine actor, but I prefer Christopher Walken, who says he never turns down a role and is always ready to test and extend his limits in either comedy or drama. Walken has had over a hundred roles since beginning his career in the late '60s, while Day-Lewis has only had 25 or so since his career really got underway in the early '80s.
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The Prevailing American Oligarchy of Wealth and Power
[Read the article: The Republicans who would've impeached Bush?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]At the core, I suspect the real motives for failing to impeach Bush and Cheney lie in the coziness and alliances within of this elite ruling class running our government...
I have promoted impeachment for several months now, writing letters, circulating a petition, and demonstrating. I personally despair of having this happen, even though the polls show that a majority of the American people favor impeachment of Mr. Cheney if not Mr. Bush. The failure lies in the disconnect between the interests of the ruling corporate elite and the American people. There few thousand individuals making up this elite shuttle back and forth between public office, elective and appointive, and membership on corporate boards of directors. They've never had a president as useful as Mr. Bush, who is so bereft of insightful thinking that he appears to take his marching orders from conduits like Cheney and Rove without question. The last thing they would want to do is see him seriously embarrassed or removed from office, as he has been an extremely useful tool for advancing their agenda. So we see every kind of roadblock put up to frustrate the will of the people and the mandates of our Constitution, the document that they treat with contempt.
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Thanks Kotonchiic!
[Read the article: What you missed while watching "Chad Vader"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Your direct and insightful comments in support of Ron Paul mirror the attitudes and abilities of the candidate himself. Dr. Paul is not interested in denigrating his fellow candidates, much as some of them might deserve to be knocked down a couple of notches, but instead addresses the issues directly. This shows the kind of respect for the American voters so lacking in the other candidates' often ludicrous posturing.
As far as defending the our national sovereignty is concerned, anyone familiar with the provisions of NAFTA knows that it is already seriously compromised and most of the other candidates of both parties promote an increase in transnational globalism rather than a return to the self-reliance once considered a national virtue.
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Ron Paul Challenges America (and Americans) to Grow Up!
[Read the article: Ron Paul is a baby elephant]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Americans of my generation (Boomers) were taught that America was the land of liberty and independence, based on self-reliance and responsible and informed participation in civic affairs. I still believe this.
You can't be independent when most of your manufactured goods are imported and your balance of trade deficit runs into the 10s of billions of dollars a month.
You can't be independent when a huge and increasing part of your national debt is owned by potentially hostile nations.
You can't be enjoy liberty and independence when you rely on military intimidation and aggression to claim the resources of other countries.
You can't be free and independent if you rely on cheap immigrant labor to support your lifestyle.
You can't be free and independent if a cabal of bankers regulates the value and availability of your money.
You can't enjoy real liberty when an intrusive income tax empowers bureaucrats in the Federal Government to have a say in how you spend your money.
You can't be free and independent when educational policies come from the neo(con)Kremlin in Washington, DC, rather than from state and local sources.
Ron Paul challenges the nation and its people to act as adults and act fairly and responsibly, living within our means, not expecting "Big Brother" to manage our lives. We need to leave our children with a legacy of something besides insurmountable debt and a ruined planet. Ron Paul advocates the vision of the Founders in our century: liberty, independence, self-reliance, and responsible behavior.