Oct. 19, 2012: GOP; squirrels; police; Bush; fossil fuels; DUI checkpoints; gas drilling
Darlington, S.C.
Bush not at RNC over fiscal policy, war crimes
Editor:
Why? Why at their National Convention in Tampa did the Republicans not have George W. Bush, who, from 2001 into 2008, they hailed as president of the United States and "Leader of the Free World"? Two reasons leap to mind.
First, George W. Bush entered the White House with a handsome federal surplus worked out by bipartisan efforts of Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich (one of history's top odd-couples). President Bush proceeded to waste this surplus and run up most of our current massive debt by slashing income taxes and borrowing from China and others the enormous sums of money needed to invade and conquer Iraq on the false claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Of course, all the gigantic money needs of our government continued over his eight years in the Oval Office and the interest on the borrowed money still grows.
Second, most of the top Nazis convicted at the 1946 Nuremburg War Crimes Trials were found guilty of "planning aggressive war." On that legal principle, George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Bush cohorts are widely regarded internationally as war criminals for conquering Iraq.
No wonder the Republicans did not have George W. Bush at Tampa, beyond being in a brief video with his father. By contrast, when the Democrats met in Charlotte, their two-term President Bill Clinton addressed the convention and was wildly acclaimed.
Thomas C. Damewood
Charleston
World needs more than carbon-burning industry
Editor:
John Felmy's view, speaking for the American Petroleum Institute, expressed in Paul Nyden's Oct. 2 article, "Oil and gas producer criticizes tax, environmental policies," is classic near-sightedness. The objective of a corporation is to make money. The objective of a person's life is, by and large, to live well.
Felmy looks at life as an economist, ignoring the multitude of other "goods" that the wise person wants. Avoiding toxic materials, leaving resources for one's offspring, both on a personal and social scale, and avoiding loss of an esthetic and reusable environment are basic goals of a good life. Wealth is great, but leaving these things behind doesn't lead to the good life.
The problem is a lot larger than the carbon-burning industries suppose. They have been successful in turning whole geologic formations into components of the atmosphere. That is a big part of the problem. More of the same is not the answer, as Felmy seems to suggest. The world needs something different.
S. Thomas Bond
Jane Lew
Roving patrols better than DUI checkpoints
Editor:
Maybe it's time for West Virginians to rethink checkpoints. Sobriety checkpoints -- like the one that occurred recently in Charleston -- often fail to make any drunken driving arrests, despite law enforcement officers stopping hundreds of vehicles (CPD to conduct sobriety, child-safety seat checkpoint).
A 2009 University of Maryland study found that checkpoints don't have "any impact on public perceptions, driver behaviors or alcohol-related crashes, police citations for impaired driving and public perceptions of alcohol-impaired driving risk."
Local police should employ roving -- or saturation -- patrols in which officers patrol the roadways for dangerous drivers. State Supreme Court cases from Pennsylvania and New Hampshire revealed that roving patrols caught 10 times more drunken drivers than checkpoints.
According to the FBI, "It is proven that saturation efforts will bring more DUI arrests than sobriety checkpoints."
Patrols also stop distracted, speeding, aggressive and drowsy drivers because officers can catch them in the act.
Sarah Longwell, managing director, American Beverage Institute
Washington, D.C.
Hydraulic fracturing no environmental threat
Editor:
Anti-hydraulic fracturing activists congregated in Doddridge County to challenge the safety and environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing. The fact is: Hydraulic fracturing has been used safely for more than 60 years.
Recent advances in hydraulic fracturing technology have unlocked unprecedented amounts of natural gas. So abundant is natural gas on this continent that there's enough to supply America's electricity needs for the next 575 years at current usage, according to the Institute for Energy Research's North American Energy Inventory. Production of these vast resources is expected to support as many as 6,000 direct jobs for West Virginians by 2014.
The discredited film "Gasland" and flawed EPA groundwater studies -- recanted by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson herself -- have resulted in some confusion among the public. Far from an environmental threat, cleaner-burning natural gas was a major contributor to a drop in U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's June energy report.
Anxiety evoked by new technology is nothing new. Yet West Virginians should not allow unsubstantiated fear to reverse the train of progress.
Tom Pyle, president, Institute for Energy Research
Washington, D.C.
Vote Republican, if you dare
Editor:
On your website I noticed your "Survey Poll" had Romney beating Obama by 20 percent.
I've got to say, it is good to know our education system is working for the people. I finally get why so many support Romney.
Years ago, our parents wanted more for us. Who knew Romney was the one who would bring the Holy Grail of prosperity to us.
I believe he can right all the wrongs, previous presidents have allowed to happen. He was born, oh, somewhere in America.
History has shown a weakness in our previous presidential leaderships -- the desire to feed the poor, educate the masses, and provide jobs above the poverty level. Romney will change all that. He's way better than Bush or Obama.
Now, if we can just hold on, Romney and his crew will fix it all.
Look Democrats, America's history is filled with fair and equal opportunities.
Republicans set the African slaves and their descendants free, and didn't even have to spend a dime. That's true economic sense.
We paid the American Indian for his property with lush green lands and casinos.
No one can say we haven't provided the best of America for those born into wealth. Heck, we gave them 79 percent of all of America's goodies.
Dang those 40-odd percent. Now, they want fair health care.
Republicans are so right. Abortion should be illegal. So should enhancement medications for the aged. Birth control pills should be outlawed; it's a form of restrictive production. Who do those women think they are? We gave them the vote.
Parents should take the responsibility for their babies' birth defects.
America has branched out to all people of the world to provide cheap production. Jobs exist in America. People have to understand. A job is a job. College graduates and poor alike, have equal opportunities for job advancement in America.
It's a dog-eat-dog world out in America. After years of filled with happy memories, it is past time to dine greedily out of the dish of prosperity.
Vote Republican, if you dare! Our Constitution cannot work if we let everyone gain independence.
Donna Willis
Institute
Squirrel babies will die because of DNR action
Editor:
I cannot believe the DNR allowed squirrel hunting season to start early.
These mother squirrels have young babies who they are feeding. A lot of young squirrel babies will starve to death if their mother is killed. Why not start squirrel-hunting season in October or November?
Why be in such a rush to kill these poor, innocent creatures?
Devonda Davis
Belle
God bless America's police officers
Editor:
I was born and raised in South Charleston. I moved to Darlington, S.C., in 1960, and I've been taking the Gazette-Mail for a while. I read that the state of West Virginia has lost two law enforcement officers, Cpl. Marshall Lee Bailey and Trooper Eric Workman.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these men who died in the line of duty. I have two sons who are law enforcement officers in Darlington County.
Law enforcement is not an easy job and you don't get paid enough for the risk you have to take.
God bless the officers in your state and throughout the nation for what you do.
Johnny B. August
Darlington, S.C.
Bush not at RNC over fiscal policy, war crimes
Editor:
Why? Why at their National Convention in Tampa did the Republicans not have George W. Bush, who, from 2001 into 2008, they hailed as president of the United States and "Leader of the Free World"? Two reasons leap to mind.
First, George W. Bush entered the White House with a handsome federal surplus worked out by bipartisan efforts of Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich (one of history's top odd-couples). President Bush proceeded to waste this surplus and run up most of our current massive debt by slashing income taxes and borrowing from China and others the enormous sums of money needed to invade and conquer Iraq on the false claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Of course, all the gigantic money needs of our government continued over his eight years in the Oval Office and the interest on the borrowed money still grows.
Second, most of the top Nazis convicted at the 1946 Nuremburg War Crimes Trials were found guilty of "planning aggressive war." On that legal principle, George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Bush cohorts are widely regarded internationally as war criminals for conquering Iraq.
No wonder the Republicans did not have George W. Bush at Tampa, beyond being in a brief video with his father. By contrast, when the Democrats met in Charlotte, their two-term President Bill Clinton addressed the convention and was wildly acclaimed.
Thomas C. Damewood
Charleston
World needs more than carbon-burning industry
Editor:
John Felmy's view, speaking for the American Petroleum Institute, expressed in Paul Nyden's Oct. 2 article, "Oil and gas producer criticizes tax, environmental policies," is classic near-sightedness. The objective of a corporation is to make money. The objective of a person's life is, by and large, to live well.
Felmy looks at life as an economist, ignoring the multitude of other "goods" that the wise person wants. Avoiding toxic materials, leaving resources for one's offspring, both on a personal and social scale, and avoiding loss of an esthetic and reusable environment are basic goals of a good life. Wealth is great, but leaving these things behind doesn't lead to the good life.
The problem is a lot larger than the carbon-burning industries suppose. They have been successful in turning whole geologic formations into components of the atmosphere. That is a big part of the problem. More of the same is not the answer, as Felmy seems to suggest. The world needs something different.
S. Thomas Bond
Jane Lew
Roving patrols better than DUI checkpoints
Editor:
Maybe it's time for West Virginians to rethink checkpoints. Sobriety checkpoints -- like the one that occurred recently in Charleston -- often fail to make any drunken driving arrests, despite law enforcement officers stopping hundreds of vehicles (CPD to conduct sobriety, child-safety seat checkpoint).
A 2009 University of Maryland study found that checkpoints don't have "any impact on public perceptions, driver behaviors or alcohol-related crashes, police citations for impaired driving and public perceptions of alcohol-impaired driving risk."
Local police should employ roving -- or saturation -- patrols in which officers patrol the roadways for dangerous drivers. State Supreme Court cases from Pennsylvania and New Hampshire revealed that roving patrols caught 10 times more drunken drivers than checkpoints.
According to the FBI, "It is proven that saturation efforts will bring more DUI arrests than sobriety checkpoints."
Patrols also stop distracted, speeding, aggressive and drowsy drivers because officers can catch them in the act.
Sarah Longwell, managing director, American Beverage Institute
Washington, D.C.
Hydraulic fracturing no environmental threat
Editor:
Anti-hydraulic fracturing activists congregated in Doddridge County to challenge the safety and environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing. The fact is: Hydraulic fracturing has been used safely for more than 60 years.
Recent advances in hydraulic fracturing technology have unlocked unprecedented amounts of natural gas. So abundant is natural gas on this continent that there's enough to supply America's electricity needs for the next 575 years at current usage, according to the Institute for Energy Research's North American Energy Inventory. Production of these vast resources is expected to support as many as 6,000 direct jobs for West Virginians by 2014.
The discredited film "Gasland" and flawed EPA groundwater studies -- recanted by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson herself -- have resulted in some confusion among the public. Far from an environmental threat, cleaner-burning natural gas was a major contributor to a drop in U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's June energy report.
Anxiety evoked by new technology is nothing new. Yet West Virginians should not allow unsubstantiated fear to reverse the train of progress.
Tom Pyle, president, Institute for Energy Research
Washington, D.C.
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