To_Maggie wrote on Sep 12, 2008 12:54 AM:No one knows why global warming is taking place. In winter the world is closest to the sun, one solar flare on Dec 22 and we're all toast. One huge volanic eruption and it's winter time 365 days a year. One mass of particles on space that the world rushes into as it speeds through the universe and we're all dead. An inconvient truth is nothing but a greedy guy named Gore making millions on your insecurity. I say don't pollute, be conservative and understand why the hole in the atmospheere aove Antartica is really there..a hint... it has to do with the earth being closest to the sun in winter and Antartica receiving the full effects of the suns rays more than the Artic in summer. Please read some factual books, don't base your beliefs on a movie. It's like Carl Sagan says," It isn't about reading books, it's about reading the right books". Something tells me you like science fiction books.

Fredrick wrote on Sep 12, 2008 6:56 AM:Sarah Palin is correct that man-made CO2 emissions has very little to do with global warming. Too bad that so many persons like letter writer Maggie Homza are misinformed into believing the lies about global warming being caused by man made activities. The amount of CO2 contributed by man is actually a tiny fraction of the greenhouse effect from water vapor and natural occurring CO2. A large number of reputable scientists agree. And that Al Gore movie has so many factual errors it was by court order not allowed to be shown to school children in England without the teacher pointing out at least nine serious errors. . This is promoted as a huge political seizure of power by UN representatives to tax the industrial countries billions of dollars each year and give it to the UN agencies. This is making a mess of the economy in the European Countries that are now struggling as they find out they simply cannot meet the goals their political leaders agreed to. The EU auto industry cannot meet their goals. First they were going to tax their airlines three billion per year for carbon credits, then they decided to raise it to eighteen billion and the airlines said they could not pay that much. England said they would have to replace half their power plants, and do not have the billions that it would take. And California is going to set up a systems of regional political Czars to tell what businesses and industries can be built anywhere in the state. Obviously California does not allow enough manufacturing, lumbering, mining and other industry now to provide the taxes it needs, but their plan will make it a great deal worse in a few years, but yet they project a much larger population for California. It simply will not work, and it is all based on misinformation and lies.

Paul wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:10 AM:Another despicable column by Maureen Dowd appeared today in the Californian. Then she uses the trick to state untrue things she wants you to believe by stating them as questions. Sickening! If you have to pay for her column you are getting ripped off. They should have to pay you to print that biased garbage.

There was a news article in the New York Times with a misleading heading making one think Palin had done something wrong about the per diem, but inside the lengthy article all the charges were described and they were all legal. Overall she could have billed more. Maureen Dowd writes for the New York Times so she knew or should have known she is spewing lies. Palin had done nothing wrong. Dowd is hateful! Palin used the per diem money to help pay for her commute to her far away home instead of for a local hotel, until she bought a home closer to work as governor. The money for her family was for appearances at public events in different locations where it is expected to see the governor’s family so travel money was appropriate.

And Palin did not ask the librarian to pull any books off the shelf.

There are answers about the trooper who was accused of physical violence against his wife and making serious threats against other family members, and used his taser against his 10-year-old stepson. The several Democrats investigating troopergate were at a political meeting for an opponent of Sarah and are eager to find something wrong.

Whether or not she uses the private prayer language or not is her business and should not be mocked by Dowd or anyone else. Anyway you do not have to have the gift of tongues to be a member of an Assembly of God Church. She attended since she was a pre-teen until several years ago. Dowd is thus mocking the several million Assembly of God members who are much like Baptists or Calvary Chapel Christians and many other sincere Christians except for a few optional practices.

And if Sarah Palin asks the persons in her past or current church or in the public to pray AHEAD OF TIME for her to have wisdom and do a good job as Vice President or President and not wait for a 3:00AM phone call that is all the better. I am aware a number of presidents have asked the members of their church to pray for them. I also remember a very serious President Roosevelt leading the nation himself over the radio in an earnest six-minute prayer to God on D-Day in WWII. (This prayer is included on many LP records, tapes, and CDs of famous speeches by FDR, JFK, MLK and others. I think your paper would be a lot better if you did not have the Maureen Dowd column in it.

Global Warming wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:33 AM:To "To Maggie at 12:45" Obviously you have no clue about what you are talking about. The "hole" in the ozone layer is not related to global warming, nor is it caused by the factors related to the current global warming event. As for the seasonal positon of the sun and its effect on climate I think it safe to assume the experts (and most humans besides yourself) realized this before you were born. Time for you to put down your Batman comic books and get a clue. Don't be too mbarrasssed, Fredrick at 6:56 displays the same ignorance before making it clear that he is more worried about Fredrick than he is worried about understanding and owning up to problems that impact his fellow man and future generations. Luckily, not all of us are so selfish and so uninformed.

Annie wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:47 AM:The sing along is cute...but not factual.

Riverside County just recently purchased 2000 more acres, for $72 million, to add to the Multi Species Habatat Conservation Plan in South West Riverside...aka the Openspace Corridors.

These 153,000 acres of contigious corridors(approx 250 square miles, although in this case its more than 1000 miles of corridors), basicly environmental highways, in South West Riverside are not allowed any human contact what so ever. A good many of them run right behind several of your homes.

There are guidelines in place as to what can be built near the corridors...as to "if" they are compatable with the wildlife corridors.

Animal life and safety takes precedence over human, according to the Endangered Species Act...so you may just have that montian cat in your backyard. Pretty kitty-kitty-kitty.

This is not far fetched. I've lived in these valleys for all my life, and have seen several mountain lions in these "low lands" along the creeks.

You'd be better off complaining that the dust would hurt the animals lungs, or bother the butterflies than your lifestyle...but not the blasting, that's more like a natural earthquake.


Anyway Editor...why didn't the purchase of another 2000 acres make the news here, after all, it did in Los Angeles?
More than 42,000 acres for the corridors have been purchased.

Three D wrote on Sep 12, 2008 10:30 AM:Gerald Summers misstates the science of evolution in general and the concept of punctuated equilibrium in particular.
Science is not like religion, whose adherents believe there is a divine, infallible canon handed by god to humans. While there are objective, standardized protocols for observation, measurement and replicationn of data in science, the information is incomplete and is subject to human error (as it also is in religion, which everyone knows except the religionists).
Thus, while there is general agreement (consensus) once standardized replication has confirmed data, we continue to refine conclusions as more and better information becomes available. You might say it "evolves."
It is clearly known that the process of mutation, or unscripted changes in DNA (deoxyribo nucleic acid) occur at a fairly consistent, predictable rate. Most such changes are problematic, but occasionally one is beneficial, and confers survival advantage. As long as a species is well-adapted to its environment, it remains stable and changes very little. This does not mean that mutations are not occurring, it only means that they are less likely to confer survival advantage if the organism is already well adapted to its environment, and the changes are randomly distributed across a large, stable population.
However, if the environmental conditions rapidly change, some of those mutations that were randomly distributed remotely throughout the population but which favor survival in the new, changed environment, will rapidly cause their favored traits to be selected for survival, and the species will quickly change. So while the rate of genetic modification is consistent, the change of traits in a species (or sub population of the species) can occur quickly.
For example, let's say there is a population of an ant species that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. As long as it is well adapted, it is stable. But let's say there is a change in the environment: humans come along and invent ant spray that kills entire colonies of these ants. And let's say there are rare mutations, dispersed randomly and distantly, in which some individuals have a mutuation that renders them immune from the spray. Maybe these rare individuals never met each other and never interbred. But when the ant-holocaust of spraying occurs, now they are the only ones of that population to survive, so they have no choice but to interbreed. The old trait dies out in that population, the new trait takes over, and the species evolves (not necessarily replacing the entire species if other population groups are not threatened).
This is exactly what happens when bacteria become drug-resistant.
And by coupling DNA samples with fossil records, we can confirm the history of both micro- and macro-evolution. While many gaps in the record still remain, they are steadily decreasing.
Blessings,
3D

DD Wiz wrote on Sep 12, 2008 10:48 AM:The published letter from F.A. (Frederik) Rosenveldt makes several misrepresentations about the progressive tax rate structure in the United States.
First, he suggests that it treats people differently, and is thus unfair. This is not true. Progressive tax rates treat every person exactly the same. There are different tax rates applied to different income levels, but everyone pays exactly the same rate on the portion of income in equivalent layers. Bill Gates pays exactly the same 10% on the first $15,650 as the person for whom that is his entire income. Money, not people, is what is treated different, and this is appropriate, to reflect the differing marginal utility of money at differing levels of marginal income. In fact, this is why all so-called "flat tax" proposals always allow a primary exemption level, to allow for the differing marginal level for survival, thus acknowledging the principle of marginal utility and actually being offered as progressive structures with only two brackets. The survival layer of the poor is far more critical that the disposable level of the rich, and differing marginal rates reflect this. But everyone still pays exactly the same rate on the portion of income in equivalent income levels.
Second, he confuses the tax rate structure with different classes of income. A mid-level junior executive making $100,000 a year is by no means rich, but is paying a 25% marginal rate on the top marginal portion of his earned income. But a billionnaire who does not work at all but lives entirely on unearned investment income pays a top rate of only 15%, because it is classified as "capital gains" instead of "earned income."
I agree with Rosenveldt (as does world's richest investor Warren Buffet, a Democrat, who ridiculed the fact that his secretary pays a higher marginal rate than he does) that it is obscene that the labor of one's brow should be taxed more than unearned investment income of the rich.
The answer is not a flat tax, but to remove the tax favoritism of the elite few, that the wealthy few wrangled out of their bought and paid-for legislators.
Peace (and sunshine) to all, DD Wiz

snerd wrote on Sep 12, 2008 10:48 AM:A recent National Intelligence Summary was issued by the Republican led government. What did it say the greatest threat to the United States was? Iraq? No. Russia? No. China? No. It was Global Warming. The overwhelming consensus of scientists and intelligence experts, including those in the Republican administration all agree. I know there are still a few of you creationist, flat-earthers who just can't seem to get it but this is serious. I hope you will begin to understand that if you are getting your scientific imput from your pastor you're being poorly advised.

DD Wiz wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:00 AM:The posts from "To Maggie" (12:54am) and "Fredrick" (6:56am) criticizing the published letter from Maggie Homza do not explain how they came to be so much more knowledgeable on the issue of climate science than the comprehensive consensus of virtually all climate scientists in their works as published in qualified peer-reviewed academic and scientific research journals (as differentiated from non-scientific popular media, where more than half of articles, many funded by Big Oil, question the scientific consensus).
It is truly scary that we could have a person a heartbeat away from the presidency (with that heart beating in the chest of a 72-year multiple cancer survivor whose father died at age 70 and his grandfather at 61, both from sudden cardiac arrest), who absolutely sticks her conceited nose up in the air at science, where biology or climatology. She has the arrogance to feel so confident in her meager qualifications that she did not have the slightest hesitation at saying "YES," whereas a more qualified person would be humbled at the awesomeness of the responsibility entailed.
I am tired of top leaders being selected based on who can drink beer or skin moose.
I do want someone smarter than me.
I do want a Constitutional scholar who will restore the Constitution to its rightful place.
I do want the only person on either ticket who was right on Iraq right from the start.
Peace (and sunshine) to all, DD Wiz

Fredrick wrote on Sep 12, 2008 11:59 AM:DD WIZ is wrong again as usual. He has an obsession that unless the data is published in peer-reviewed journals it is automatically invalid. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! He should become aware of the infiltration of internal politics among those publishing peer-reviewed journals. At least he recognizes that a large number of scientists are publishing popular articles pointing out some of the many flaws of the errors of politically appointed hack scientists writing for the IPPC. The political group behind that is trying for world power and domination through spreading the myth that man-made CO2 causes most of the global warming. And we all have to sacrifice our standard of living that is made possible by the use of oil and gas products. The power grabbers have started out by collecting modest tribute to allow the payees to produce CO2, and then will increase the fees drastically. They will say where you can build a house, and where a factory can be built, and this will be very subject to corruption. Look at the simple oil for food from Iraq scandal with payoffs all through the UN, France and Russia.
This is madness.

Fredrick wrote on Sep 12, 2008 12:34 PM:Snerd at 10:48 AM points out the NIS showed concern for global warming.

Well Yes: Some Global Warming has been going on for centuries with occasional setbacks. But that may actually indicates man-made CO2 is not causing it, since it has been going on for 17,000 some years.

But yes, there are changes going on. Ships may soon sail though the Northwest Passage. The oceans may rise some more. There will be huge amounts of oil found under the Arctic Ocean. Russia has claims to the largest portion.
Crops grown in some areas will have to be modified. Some birds and animals will migrate.

Floating ice sheets melting do not raise the ocean level. Large ice sheets on land sliding into the ocean will raise the ocean level a little. There is one huge one in Greenland that would raise the level by over 20 feet IF it all melted. THE BIG ISSUE IS WOULD IT STOP WARMING IF WE CUT MAN-MADE CO2 By HALF? Probably it would NOT have much influence since there is only a tiny percentage of greenhouse gases made by man.

Maybe it would be wiser to quit spending money in places like New Orleans that is sinking into the silt anyway. In the entire country we should only allow new buildings at 100 feet or more above sea level. We should require all new power plants and factories to be built on higher land. Sacramento and Stockton and much of the Delta region are only about 20 feet above sea level. We in southern California want a peripheral canal built around the Delta to bring us clean water from northern California. It should be built at a higher elevation than previously planned, Further to the East where the elevation is higher. Then if and when the ocean raises 20 feet our water supply will not be diluted with salt water.

On the other hand some scientists say the sun flare cycle has ended which really has a great deal to do with global warming, and the earth is on a long term path further from the sun, and cooling has already started, although it is still warm enough to keep ice melting for a few more years.

DD Wiz wrote on Sep 12, 2008 1:01 PM:The post from "Fredrick" (11:59pm) again misrepresents what I wrote.
I did not say that anything not published in a peer-reviewed journal is wrong.
If that were the case, most textbooks and PBS or science channel documentaries would be wrong.
While I do not cite Al Gore as a source because he is neither a scientist nor peer-reviewed, I do not consider him to be wrong. But they are not writing in opposition to established science, but rather to make accessible the difficult technicalities of science to lay audiences.
What I have long said is that if you are going to go against established science, which sometimes does successfully occur, such as the discovery that ulcers are caused by a virus or the geoscience of plate tectonics, it has to be based on science.
Again, none of the detractors has showed a basis for opposing the qualified science of the experts, but there is a reason for questioning the detractors and deniers who have an (oil company funded) incentive for their propaganda.
As for your accusations of "politically-appointed hack scientists," please cite a specific name of a scientist, which peer-reviewed article he/she wrote and which peer-reviewed journal it was published in, and provide the evidence of the corruption you are currently alleging with no foundation whatsoever.
If you think so little of peer-reviewed scientific methodology, I presume that when you become ill, you will stay away from real medical doctors and the medications developed and approved through that very methodology, and that you will eschew the use of any and all technologies developed through this peer-reviewed science that you reject. Please be consistent.
And as for the absurd statement that we will "all have to sacrifice our standard of living that is made possible by the use of oil and gas products," there are viable technologies powered by better and cleaner sources available now that can provide the same quality of life without the use of non-renewable FINITE FILTHY FOSSIL FUELS, but there are powerful economic interests that obstruct their implementation.
So again, "Fredrick," please tell us your qualifications for overturning all of established scientific consensus, and which peer-reviewed scientific or academic research journal your work has been published in.
Peace (and sunshine) to all, DD Wiz

OK Paul wrote on Sep 12, 2008 1:30 PM:It must be discomforting to be on the receiving end of tactics that you conservatives thought were only yours to use at your pleasure. The troopergate matter should be settled in the legislature or the courts...oh, but that's right, Palin, like her role model Bush, is insisting she should not have to answer subpoenas. Well anyway, if you are insulted when her Church is criticized, you must feel terrible when you hear Obama's church, in fact most Black churches, insulted. And how about the discredit your folks pile upon ordinary Muslims? Then there are the thousands of people who, for churches or political organizations, are community organizers. That's an activity that used to be thought of as the backbone of neighborhood democracy and good works: you guys made it into a laughingstock. Yeah, you have a right to be upset that people are calling out Palin all right.

Global Warming wrote on Sep 12, 2008 2:45 PM:Fredrick: Can you provide any evidence that peer reviewed science articles are not to be trusted? Or do you just make this stuff up? Data published in peer-reviewed journals is not automatically invalid, yet it is not to be trusted until it's factual claims have been validated and its conclusions have been evalauated by experts in that particular field (to be sure someone hasn't ignored, misrepresented or created facts). It is apparent that you favor popular media articles because they say the things you want to hear (like conservative talk radio shows). If your anti-global warming "experts" have valid data why don't they publish this data to help science zero in on the "truth." Please answer with real facts, not ridiculous conspiracy theories that you pull out of thin air (or elsewhere).

John the Baptist wrote on Sep 12, 2008 3:31 PM:Re Global Warming: Think like a Creationist. Global warming, like macro-evolution, has not been directly observed, therefore it is only a theory. But if it's God's will for the earth to warm, who are we to try thwarting His will? While many people will suffer, remember, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. Global warming would actually be a blessing from Above.
Regards.

Statistic Worth Reading wrote on Sep 12, 2008 8:26 PM:Why isn't there a "Swift Boat" group bringing the following to America's attention...as a former, run of the mill grunt, with 3 tours in VN, this really chaps me:

John McCain had roughly 20 hours in combat. He was awarded 28 medals.
That equates to a medal and a half for every hour spent in combat.There were infantry guys -- grunts on the ground --who had more than 7,000 hours in combat and were times and situations where a prison cell would have looked pretty good to them by comparison.

Gee, and remember all the guff Kerry took? The conservative media pin-heads don't share the skeleton's in their closets.

Dick wrote on Sep 13, 2008 11:28 AM:It costs the state of Alaska $356,500.00 annually to maintain and staff the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau. That is where the governor of Alaska is supposed to live while serving their term. The State Capital, and legislature, is about a hundred yards down the street. Governor Palin prefers to live at home in Wasilla, over 600 miles away, and collect per diem, while the state continues to pour the money into the empty Governor’s Mansion in Juneau. That is not efficient or ethical.

http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/09_omb/budget/Gov/comp9.pdf

Richard wrote on Sep 13, 2008 6:30 PM:Unlike macroevolution of genera, which has never been observed, phenomena that could be labeled global warming have indeed been observed. The Gulf of Mexico has warmed a whopping ten degrees over the last several decades. There are other spots scattered around the globe where ocean areas have also warmed up but not by that much. Since the entire globe has not warmed significantly (one degree is not significant) I disagree with some claims, and agree with other claims, made about the significance of 'global warming'.
Although today's climate isn't being globally modified from Above, the solar system with the built-in precession of the earth's axis that changes tilt regularly in millennial-type cycles, and the internal earth heat which comes out through volcanoes and deep sea thermal vents, etc. of course affects much of it.

Richard wrote on Sep 13, 2008 8:09 PM:But unlike macroevolution of genera, global warming phenomena have indeed been observed. The problem is how much is man-related and how much is due to natural causes out of man's control. The ten degree warming of the Gulf over the past several decades where there are thousands of oil rigs removing heat- absorbing oil in huge volumes is significant. The rest of the world's oceans are not warming however, but there are many spots scattered around the globe that have warmed. Deep sea thermal vents and the regular precession of the earth's axis play their part. The original universe must have first become Created a long time ago but the motion of the planets has been ongoing ever since with, one would think, regular changes in heat thaw cycles that we still see.