Letters 9-23-13

Sept. 22, 2013

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Overpopulation blues

Thanks so much for your column on over-population (re: "Not enough workers or too many?"). Nobody talks much about this issue but I recall when Helen Caldicott was a speaker at NMC in the ’80s. She said, "If we don’t solve this problem, we won’t have to solve any of the others." Yet, here we are, billions of people later.

It often seems politically incorrect to suggest people limit their families but, as you point out, it’s the responsible decision in today’s crowded world. Now, if the Catholic church would just emerge from the Middle Ages on birth control"¦

Karen Anderson - TC

Moderates: the enemy

The recent editorial by Stephen Tuttle regarding possible Republican presidential candidates is quite typical of the far left. The praising of candidates like Bush or Christie, both moderates while simultaneously trashing other more conservative people will end should one of these moderates get the nomination.

The left is not interested in Republicans, no matter what their political leanings. They are Republicans. Period. And so they are the enemy. We have seen this any number of times. With Nixon, a man who signed the E.P.A. into law and every piece of social legislation that crossed his desk. The same with Ford and Dole, again both moderates. We saw it with Bush 41 (remember "no new taxes")? We saw it with Bush 43, who couldn’t find enough spending bills to sign. We saw Bush 43 extend his hand across the aisle in a spirit of bi-partisanship and co-operation time and again only to draw back a bloody stump and learn nothing from it. We saw it with John McCain. Remember the straight talk express? Oh how the media fawned over that until he actually got the nomination and then they turned on him like a pack of rabid pit bulls. Romney, at least early on, the same.

Any love the media and the left profess for any moderate is only a way for them to stick their finger of the eyes of conservatives. Once a moderate gets the nomination, and I believe one will (Republicans have proved again and again they are too stupid to learn from their failures or their successes), the distinction between a moderate and a conservative will evaporate in the eyes of the left. Sorry, you can ignore these observations all you like, but the history of this just goes back too far to be denied.

David Bowers - Roseville

Race & I.D.

Regarding Stephen Tuttle’s piece on race: So much to say, so little space.

Let’s settle for his uninformed comments on the Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act. What did it actually do? It didn’t eviscerate anything. It simply requires the Justice Department to use 21st century criteria before they can selectively impose their oversight.

To the uninformed like Tuttle that means that they can’t use criteria from the 1950s and ’60s to subject states to 21st century sanctions.

It might be appropriate to also point out that in those times more than a halfcentury ago, southern states were indeed racist they were all run by Democrats. As an added bonus, Bull Connor was on the Democratic National Committee.

If Democrats were really worried about their black constituents, they would be making sure that each and every one had a valid ID so that they could completely participate in society including entrance into Democratic Party events and acceptance of government benefits, all of which require ID. The fact that they don’t do that but do spoil for allowing people of unknown identity to vote is very telling about their priorities.

John Casteel - via email

Free Fracking Film

Michigan residents may or may not know about the petition-drive for a 2014 ballot initiative to ban/block shale gas and oil fracking in Michigan. The deadline for 250,000 signatures is October 1. Time is running out and we need your help. Despite billions of dollars of ads promoting natural gas as a source of "clean" energy, there is a very dark side to the continued fossil fuel narrative we’re being asked to accept -- and there are no expensive ads to adequately inform the public.

Manistee Water Guardians, a small group of local residents gravely concerned about the unparalleled risk to our water from full-scale fracking, are hosting a FREE SCREEENING of the MOVIE, GASLAND I at the Garden Theater in Frankfort, Wednesday, September 25th, at 7 pm. We have scraped together just enough money to rent the theater for this event, which is designed to support our right to know, sign the petition or bring someone who might sign, and get those signatures over the top before the deadline!

This may be one of the last opportunities we have to become educated and demand a say in decisions that soon will directly and permanently affect our livelihoods, air quality, soil, precious water resources, and, sadly, our health and safety. We can no longer afford to be afraid to take a stand against fracking.

"Unnatural gas" is coming to "a town near you" unless we do something quickly to stop it. PLEASE HELP. Only truly informed individuals can stop the momentum. Your children and grandchildren may well thank you for this. It is time for us to demand a say, get the initiative on the ballot, and take charge of our future, before it’s all decided for us.

Carl Peterson - Member of the Manistee Water Guardians

Stop Toxic Lawns

There are a large growing number of concerned citizens in Traverse City who want lawn chemicals and pesticides out of this city. What does one have to do to drill it in peoples heads that these chemicals are extremely toxic.? Toxic, toxic, toxic! Chemicals and nature don’t mix. And the greatest tragedy is that they are very harmful and ultimately deadly! They’re spraying this toxic mess in parks, at apartment complexes, in residential neighbors, at hotels and restraunts with no end in sight. You can’t go for walks anymore and expect to breathe fresh air.

Children, dogs, cats, the wildlife; all of us are being exposed. These are the kind of chemicals used in warfare. Practically every household has a computer so the information is at your fingertipsl The evidence (FACTS) are clear on these very issues. And the harm these toxins cause people, animals and the earth can’t be denied.

According to The National Academy of Sciences reports that atleast 1 in 7 people are signifinitlty harmed by pesticide exposure every year. Many people throughout the U.S. are developing multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) an extremely disabeling condition. According to the EPA, 95% of pesticides are possible and probobale carcinogens. If anything go to "Poison in the Grass," by Nathan Diegelman and read the story about Kristin Locke and her dog and cat who died from lawn pesticides/chemicals. The stories on this sight will make you think twice about what lawn chemical companies are exposing us all too. Please, citizens of this beautiful city, discuss with your neighbors to have zero use of any kind of chemicals on your lawns. Let’s protect our kids and animals too! We can do this !!!

John Blue - via email