Missouri, Russia, global warming

I heard on the radio that the Missouri legislature is considering following Kansas’ lead in requiring voters to show photo identification.

This reminded me of the joke about the guy who was seen putting a fence around his cherry tree.

When his neighbor asked why he was doing that he said, “Why, to keep out the elephants.”

When the neighbor suggested that there weren’t any elephants in the neighborhood, the guy replied, “Yeah, pretty effective, isn’t it?”

In late 2010, the Democratic Party-controlled Senate passed the new START Treaty, which cut America’s arsenal in exchange for reductions of Russian arms that Moscow was already undertaking. President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got some wonderful photo ops for their efforts.

Fast-forward to March 26, 2012. During a conversation with then-President Dmitry Medvedev, an open mic caught President Obama saying, “After my election I have more flexibility.”

Obama now has the flexibility he wants.

He is no longer accountable.

Russia’s bold moves did not start in 2014. Russia’s boldness started in 2009, when then-Secretary Clinton said “reset.”

I would like to challenge your Feb. 28 editorial, “Don’t ignore climate change realities.” The National Aeronautics and Space Administration contends that the current warming trend is unprecedented in the last 1,300 years.

Well, in the last 30 years, temperatures have risen about 0.4 degrees C, supposedly because of the CO2 that we have added to the atmosphere. Yet, in the 30 years from 1910 to 1940, when we were adding far less CO2 to the air, global temperatures rose 0.5 degrees C.

Unprecedented? And why is today’s 0.4 degrees warming caused by CO2 and the earlier warming just natural cycles?

You also mention rising sea levels. They have risen more than 200 feet since the last ice age about 15,000 years ago, and they are still rising at the rate of about an inch every 14 years.

This rate has been steady for the 150 years of measurement.

You mention ocean acidification. Well, in Earth’s history CO2 levels have been 10 times higher than today, and ocean life thrived.

Ocean pH can vary as much as 1.4 pH units in any one area and as much as 0.5 units in a day’s time. The 0.3 unit change in 90 years predicted by models is not worrisome.

I agree that the Hobby Lobby case is about conscience.

But it is also about the limits of conscience.

Hobby Lobby objects to certain kinds of contraception that are required to be part of health plans under the Affordable Care Act. The company wants to be excluded from those requirements on religious grounds.

What interests me is the involvement of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing Hobby Lobby in court. Company owners apparently have a conscience about these matters as long as others are paying the legal bills.

Did Hobby Lobby seek this group out, or is this a group that was searching for someone to challenge the Affordable Care Act?

If you go to the Becket Fund website, you will see many test cases it is sponsoring.

So is the agenda religion or politics? Is it religious liberty or is it opposition to the Affordable Care Act?

Hobby Lobby buys many products from China, where abortions are available, even encouraged in some cases. Again, the owners’ conscience extends only to the employees’ health plan but plays no part in trade deals.

I applaud The Star editorial board’s recent efforts at drawing attention to Kansas City’s murder rate, which undeniably is one of our community’s most troubling issues. What is problematic is Chief Darryl Forté’s comment that “perception matters.”

With all due respect, reality matters more. And the reality is that Kansas City’s murder rate was among the nation’s worst in 2012.

The chief wants us to tell our children that this situation is getting better by referencing the abhorrent 1993 murder rate. That comparison is like the battered wife saying things are getting better at home because she was beaten 10 times instead of 15.

Now that the problem is clearly defined and in focus, the city’s action steps along with a reasonable timeframe need to be presented and monitored so that we don’t have to cloak the truth in political spin.

Lewis Diuguid’s March 3 column, “In U.S., guns have more value than children,” is a startling reminder that we must continue to work against gun violence. Just the note that “the number of children and teens killed by guns in 2010 was nearly five times the number of U.S soldiers killed in action that year in Iraq and Afghanistan” should move people to action.

Here is something people can do: join Grandmothers Against Gun Violence. We are not opposed to guns per se. We are opposed to gun violence.

We are currently focused on three goals: universal background checks to include mental health, making gun trafficking a federal crime and restricting the size of magazine clips.

We have monthly meetings and welcome all supporters.

You don’t have to be a grandmother to join. We have members from both sides of the state line. We can be reached at moksgag@gmail.com.

Come to the meetings and hear what is taking place across the country — some good, some not.

Hear from area elected officials and others who oppose gun violence.

Stand with men and women who do believe children have more value than guns in the U.S.

I sometimes wonder what triggers the visceral hatred many letter writers and pundits have for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Is it because the program was designed by Republicans or because it was implemented by Democrats who’ll get the credit when voters find out that it’s really in their best interest?

It is unthinkable and outrageous to legalize marijuana. What about secondary smoke from it, as with regular cigarettes?

I am allergic to any and all such things, let alone afraid of secondary consequences. This includes lives lost and families destroyed.

Also, I’ve heard and read that the states that legalized such things are looking at how much in taxes they can collect and at their savings on law enforcement. All the resources are misplaced and misdirected and reek of the seven deadly sins.

The 2016 election cycle is on deck. Independents politically are more interested because we will spend the next three years measuring the presidential contenders’ fitness for office.

The revelations that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his staff play the political game with their cleats up, sharpened, targeted and with impunity probably dooms his presidential aspirations with independents. Independents value competence and fairness along with centrist political stances.

Gov. Christie at this time doesn’t measure up. In fact, he has been exposed as either a clueless political dunce or the leader of an incompetent gang of shakedown operatives.

Being independent is as much a burden as being a Democrat or Republican.

I’ve driven around town in the past several weeks after all these storms that we’ve been having, and I have to say that some of the best snowplow work has been done right here in Merriam. I want to commend the workers and thank them for a job well done.

This story was originally published March 5, 2014 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Missouri, Russia, global warming."