Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 4/2/07 Section: Opinions
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Vote for Safe Climate Act
On March 20, a bill known as the Safe Climate Act of 2007 was introduced to Congress by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. The bill calls for a gradual (2 percent) reduction in emissions every year beginning in 2010, as well as the creation of a Climate Reinvestment Fund to develop new energy technologies, protect consumers from energy-cost increases, and safeguard wildlife and water resources. Dave Loebsack, the representative of Iowa's 2nd District, has yet to voice his support for this important piece of legislation. As a congressman, Loebsack has a moral responsibility to take action on this issue, and as voters, we have a moral responsibility to encourage him to vote in favor of this bill.
The United States emits more than 20 percent of the world's global-warming pollution but contains only 5 percent of the globe's population. Despite there being a mass of scientific evidence illustrating the grim realities of global climate change and humankind's role in it, American industries and government have been reluctant to make the changes necessary to counter the problem. Through negligence and short-sightedness, the United States has refused to acknowledge its major role in creating the current global-warming crisis.
The Safe Climate Act is one way in which the United States can become a stronger leader in the fight against global climate change. The bill promotes a two-pronged approach of emissions reduction and technological advancement. The restrictions and measures called for by the act are significant but completely within reach of current technologies. This bill is both practical and necessary, and Loebsack has an imperative to back it.
For too long, the United States has dragged its feet on this issue. The time for decisive action is now. It is crucial Loebsack do his part and voice his support for this bill, strongly, to his constituents and colleagues. Global climate change is a reality; if we fail to act, it is here to stay. Please Dave Loebsack, make the right choice and champion the Safe Climate Act. The benefits will extend not only to your constituents in Iowa, but to the whole world.
Jordan Jones
Iowa Public Interest Research Group
Playing the blame game
Karl Rove, the senior adviser to George W. Bush and chief political operative, has introduced a new bait-and-switch version of his blame-game politics and is setting up the scaffold for the next presidential election.
With the Bush-Cheney-Rove triumvirate in power, this nation has suffered the most incompetent leadership and corrupt politics in our nation's history. Rove's solution; charge that the party that has been out of office, the Democrats, is responsible for all of the problems and that its members are doing nothing to fix them and are only playing partisan politics.
At the same time, Rove's operatives tell us there are no problems - everything is great. This is the smoke and mirrors of right-wing politics.
On top of this, Rove has set about bending our system of law-and-order to his sinister cause. Eight U.S. attorneys were fired, and Rove has put into the Arkansas U.S. attorney's office one of his henchmen in preparation for smearing Hillary Rodham Clinton if she gets her party's nomination. Rove will have him singing the second chorus of "Like a bridge over troubled Whitewater."
To get a catalogue of Rove's subversion of our democratic system, consult The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power, by James Moore (Emmy-award winning news correspondent) and Wayne Slater (award-winning reporter for the Dallas Morning News).
Sam Osborne
West Branch resident
On March 20, a bill known as the Safe Climate Act of 2007 was introduced to Congress by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. The bill calls for a gradual (2 percent) reduction in emissions every year beginning in 2010, as well as the creation of a Climate Reinvestment Fund to develop new energy technologies, protect consumers from energy-cost increases, and safeguard wildlife and water resources. Dave Loebsack, the representative of Iowa's 2nd District, has yet to voice his support for this important piece of legislation. As a congressman, Loebsack has a moral responsibility to take action on this issue, and as voters, we have a moral responsibility to encourage him to vote in favor of this bill.
The United States emits more than 20 percent of the world's global-warming pollution but contains only 5 percent of the globe's population. Despite there being a mass of scientific evidence illustrating the grim realities of global climate change and humankind's role in it, American industries and government have been reluctant to make the changes necessary to counter the problem. Through negligence and short-sightedness, the United States has refused to acknowledge its major role in creating the current global-warming crisis.
The Safe Climate Act is one way in which the United States can become a stronger leader in the fight against global climate change. The bill promotes a two-pronged approach of emissions reduction and technological advancement. The restrictions and measures called for by the act are significant but completely within reach of current technologies. This bill is both practical and necessary, and Loebsack has an imperative to back it.
For too long, the United States has dragged its feet on this issue. The time for decisive action is now. It is crucial Loebsack do his part and voice his support for this bill, strongly, to his constituents and colleagues. Global climate change is a reality; if we fail to act, it is here to stay. Please Dave Loebsack, make the right choice and champion the Safe Climate Act. The benefits will extend not only to your constituents in Iowa, but to the whole world.
Jordan Jones
Iowa Public Interest Research Group
Playing the blame game
Karl Rove, the senior adviser to George W. Bush and chief political operative, has introduced a new bait-and-switch version of his blame-game politics and is setting up the scaffold for the next presidential election.
With the Bush-Cheney-Rove triumvirate in power, this nation has suffered the most incompetent leadership and corrupt politics in our nation's history. Rove's solution; charge that the party that has been out of office, the Democrats, is responsible for all of the problems and that its members are doing nothing to fix them and are only playing partisan politics.
At the same time, Rove's operatives tell us there are no problems - everything is great. This is the smoke and mirrors of right-wing politics.
On top of this, Rove has set about bending our system of law-and-order to his sinister cause. Eight U.S. attorneys were fired, and Rove has put into the Arkansas U.S. attorney's office one of his henchmen in preparation for smearing Hillary Rodham Clinton if she gets her party's nomination. Rove will have him singing the second chorus of "Like a bridge over troubled Whitewater."
To get a catalogue of Rove's subversion of our democratic system, consult The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power, by James Moore (Emmy-award winning news correspondent) and Wayne Slater (award-winning reporter for the Dallas Morning News).
Sam Osborne
West Branch resident
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