Oops! We did it again
Yes, it’s amazing that San Benito County voters are as
misinformed, fearful and bigoted as those in much of the rest of
California – even more so, as 58 percent of them voted to pass
Proposition 8, compared to 52 percent statewide.
Indeed, denying human rights is something to be proud of.
Dave Moseley
Hollister
Don’t count Palin out
What came out crystal clear in the recently concluded presidential campaign is the putrid state of the national media. Although I disagree with Barack Obama on most of the issues and his horrible track record, it’s definitely a great thing that race relations have progressed to such an extent that a black person can be elected president. But counterbalancing this great step forward is the horrendous step backward that the news media have taken. Their calculated agenda was to destroy Sarah Palin, no matter how many lies it tok, and these left-wing zealots are still trashing her.
Of course, they have plenty of practice as they spent eight years trashing President Bush daily, including inventing stories that were not true. Impartial journalism is dead, as the biased left-wing media has lost all objectivity and credibility. Furthermore, the liberal left wants to eliminate any opposing voice being heard by reviving the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” more accurately described as the “Unfairness Doctrine.” This bunch of hypocrites is all in favor of First Amendment rights of free speech for everybody except Republicans, conservatives and anybody else who doesn’t agree with them.
The country needs a candidate with solid conservative roots coupled with charisma. Sarah Palin is the first person since Ronald Reagan to fill that job description. In spite of the media, she will be a formidable candidate in 2012 or 2016.
Bill Hawkins
Hollister
Oops! We did it again
Yes, it’s amazing that San Benito County voters are as misinformed, fearful and bigoted as those in much of the rest of California – even more so, as 58 percent of them voted to pass Proposition 8, compared to 52 percent statewide.
Indeed, denying human rights is something to be proud of.
Dave Moseley
Hollister
Clean coal? Think again
This letter is in response to your Oct. 24 article that concluded, “Clean coal my arse.”
Good energy policy leads to more supplies of affordable energy and bad policy leads to less. There is no form of energy that does not have an environmental cost. Hydroelectric requires dams to be built with rivers and streams disrupted. Wind turbines are ugly, kill birds and are unreliable. Electricity from natural gas requires drilling, pipelines and burning. Oil requires drilling, transportation and must be burned to provide energy. Nuclear energy is dependable but requires mining and has a legacy of spent fuel. Solar energy is expensive, depends on sunshine and solar panels are not environmentally benign to manufacture.
Sure, coal is not inherently a clean fuel, but neither is any other alternative. Just like technology has greatly improved the internal combustion engine and lowered its emissions, the same has already happened to some degree with coal albeit much more can be done through research and development. In addition, there is not “nearly universal agreement” that the earth is “hurtling along on a global warming highway.” There are vocal advocates who quote selective data and virtually everyone in the media has taken the bait. However, the real honest debate has not truly begun since the global warming scaremongers systematically avoid any forum that allows informed debate. Further, what your editorial ignores is that in the US, 52 percent of our electricity is generated by coal, which, by the way, is not imported. The only reliable alternative that can, over time, replace coal is nuclear. In the shorter term, any technology that helps using coal for generating electricity be a cleaner process should be welcome.
No economy can grow and develop without abundant and reasonably priced energy. What this country needs is a serious long-term effort to become energy independent. This should not be done by legislating constraints that restrict supply and therefore cause the cost of energy to skyrocket. There is no one answer. The U.S. should be pursuing all alternatives, including offshore drilling, shale oil development, solar, wind, biofuels, nuclear, substituting natural gas for gasoline, etc. New technologies will emerge and those that provide energy at competitive prices will be successful.
A cap and trade plan should be the last choice. A cap and trade program creates another government bureaucracy, which, over time, becomes entrenched, unaccountable and creates economic winners and losers independent of market forces. The private sector can sort out the winners and losers more quickly and efficiently than a government bureaucracy. If politicians cannot resist meddling, then a more rational approach would be a straightforward carbon tax, which would create less market distortion and require much less bureaucracy.
In parallel to pursuing national energy independence, there should be a real debate about changes in global average temperature, whether it is increasing or decreasing, the causes of any temperature changes and if there is anything realistic that mankind can or should do to try to change the global average temperature. In my opinion currently the politicians are ahead of the science and the proposed solutions so far are worse than the problem supposedly being addressed. It reminds me of when it was considered heresy to prove that the earth revolves around the sun. Facts are such stubborn things.
Larry Cattran
Hollister
Thanks for the help
I would like to thank you for running this year’s VFW announcement for the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest. We received over 70 entries from six different schools, thanks to your help.
Bob Burnham
Hollister VFW Post 9242
Gratitude is no mystery
On behalf of the San Benito County Historical Society, I would like to thank Vallie Bishop for all of her hard work for organizing the “1st Annual Murder Mystery Party” which was held at the main house at Pietra Santa Winery on October 25th.
The fundraising event was to benefit the San Benito County Historical Society and San Benito County Library. The San Benito Stage Company presented “Murder at the Banquet,” a wonderfully acted out scenario of “who done it” while guest mingled about. Wine and food was enjoyed by all as well as a silent auction and door prizes.
Vallie not only conceived the idea, but followed through by bringing together a hand full of volunteers and donors. It was a way of saying thanks to “all the volunteers that have generously given their time and energy to promote, nurture and protect literacy and the history of San Benito County”. Thank you Vallie for taking the time to help make a difference, you are very much appreciated.
Peter Sonne
president
San Benito County Historical Society
Congratulations to SBHS staff
Kudos to principal Krystal Lomanto and her staff! Several weeks ago I attended Challenge Day at San Benito High School as a community participant. It was a profoundly moving and enlightening experience.
I have been involved in education for 30 years as a school psychologist and family counselor, yet I came away from Challenge Day with an overwhelming respect for the teens who participated so willingly and sincerely in this day. It was a day of being real, getting down to reality with oneself and with the other group members. By the end of the day all of us, adults and teens knew we are in the same boat, all struggling with similar hopes and fears and wanting peace, love and opportunity to grow in our lives.
I came away wondering how the beautiful teens in my group can even manage to get up and go to school in the morning when I heard their struggles with violence and abuse and abandonment in their homes and communities. It is a tribute to San Benito High that so many of these kids find school to be a haven of safety and understanding. Several of the students spoke about how their counselors had literally saved their lives and sanity. Thank you Krystal Lomanto.
Natasha Wist
Hollister
Whales need our action
They are born; they live in socially complex communities; they raise their young with care and love while traveling distances we can’t even imagine. They rule the oceans; yet the species that rules the land is laying waste to these incredible beings and bringing about their extinction with no more thought than it takes to turn off a light or close a door.
Where is our evolved sense of compassion for other beings as mankind moves into the 21st Century? Who speaks for the whales? Who will take up their defense? This last Friday night, Nov. 7 on “Animal Planet,” was the series premiere of “Whale Wars,” the first of seven programs in the series. A film crew from Animal Planet traveled with the Sea Shepherd crew last year during their campaign against illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. I have always felt that it is harder to turn a blind eye to suffering once you know about it. Starting next month under the guise of “scientific research” the Japanese whaling fleet will once again return to the Whale Sanctuary to begin the killing and harvesting of whales. All whales are at risk, including mothers and newborn calves. At this time the only group that stands between the deadly harpoons and their prey is the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Why is that? Please watch the series on Animal Planet and learn what you can do to help save the lives of these amazing beings.
D.H. Lawrence said it best in his poem “Whales Weep Not!” “They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all, and the wildest, the most urgent.” The whales of this world need our help before all we have left of them are pictures and happy memories.
Linda Nolan
Hollister
