Font ResizeHumans decidedly do alter climate
The recent letter (June 1) from Mike Vukelich, "Humans not altering planet's climate," almost caused me to spew out my coffee and scream.
His letter is filled with erroneous assumptions about what has hurt our economy. (He must have forgotten about George W. Bush completely.)
According to Vukelich, we have President Barack Obama and the Democrats to blame for this (along with other socialists and eco-freaks) because they have destroyed property rights, free speech, jobs, life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
To say climate change, greenhouse gases, the use of coal and gasoline and nuclear power are not negatively affecting our planet is refusing to face reality.
To believe humans cannot harm the planet because the sun, oceans and volcanoes control it is lunacy.
Who polluted the rivers? Who built the nuclear plant in Japan that failed? Who contaminated the oceans? Who litters all over the globe? Who hunts animals to extinction or destroys their habitat?
Who genetically engineers crops for consumption? Who cuts down entire forests for building purposes? Who uses so many natural resources that cannot be sustained? If not humans, who then?
But I forget. Dr. Gordon Livingston (psychiatrist and author) taught me you cannot change by logic that which was not placed there by logic.
Evie Groch
El
Miller neglects to offer specifics about his bill
Recently, Rep. George Miller wrote a commentary praising the Obama health care bill, which mandates that every American buy government-approved health insurance. It was long on anecdotes and short on specifics.
A few of the specifics in the massive 2,700-page bill include fines and possible jail sentences for anyone who fails to comply; includes IRS enforcement with the authority to access bank accounts and make electronic transfers from those accounts; assortment of new taxes and fees, including a 3.8 percent Medicare sales tax on the sale of all real estate; the plan will tell doctors what treatments and procedures to perform and who can receive them; there are about 1,000 waivers granted to special interest groups including several unions (SEIU) and much more.
A political mailer from Miller boasted that he had co-written the "(Obama) Affordable Care Act," but neglected to mention that he and his colleagues in Congress had very carefully exempted themselves from this dismal legislation.
Hopefully, the Supreme Court will do the same for the rest of us.
Jacqueline Cloidt
Orinda
Wish war obsession was also a memory
Your editorial on Memorial Day was moving and important.
We all should appreciate the sacrifices our troops have made and are making.
As you state: "This is not a time of peace. American troops are still dying in Afghanistan."
Any of us who have been troops ourselves know how difficult and painful the service can be.
It is important to understand that we can support our troops while also disagreeing with the warlike policies of our government.
Consider these facts about the U.S. military:
To paraphrase your editorial headline: How I wish the U.S. obsession with war was only a memory!
Burt Rodgers
Walnut Creek
Soda tax in New York idea that goes too far
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on extra-large soft drinks is preposterous. It is one thing to list the caloric value of various foods and drinks, but his idea takes it several steps too far.
First, some who want a nanny state obviously do not realize that it is not the food itself that causes obesity; it is how a person manages its intake, including proper exercise.
I was a teenager in the 1980s. In high school, I, along my classmates, was required to take vigorous physical education courses every quarter and obesity rates were low despite having soda machines in school.
Second, exercise was a part of my family's daily schedule. This is what parents should require their children to do rather than conforming them to a sedentary lifestyle.
Kurt Kleier
Oakland
