.Letters to the Editor: March 13, 2013

Letters to the Editor: March 13, 2013

Scientology Slam

A thought does occur that the usual location for picking up a copy of the Bohemian at the Station in downtown Mill Valley had no copies. Could the Scientologists be collecting stacks to minimize publicity of DeWolf’s appearance at the North Bay Poetry Slam?

Via online

I Don’t Like Tom Tomorrow

I’m just wondering why you feature Tom Tomorrow. Most political cartoons extend false logic to a familiar scenario in order to illustrate how ridiculous the logic is. His cartoons distort the logic and apply it to equally ridiculous scenarios for who knows what end. I’m almost always left understanding his point but being neither intellectually nor comically amused. Which begs the question: Why the illustration and punch line, if you’re just providing droll, trite commentary?

Via email

Hi Jonathan, thanks for writing. Not everyone gets the ending of ‘La Dolce Vita,’ either. Marcello on the beach, with the dead, bulbous carcass of a sea creature? Paola trying to yell to him from across the estuary, her words drowned out by the waves? Boy, is it ever weird.—The Ed.

Proof of Intent?

I was very disappointed in your choice of Tom Tomorrow’s twisted cartoon on the Second Amendment (Feb. 20). In these difficult times, let us not be distracted and confused by propagandistic manipulations which are the antithesis of mindful thinking, and look at the original intention of the Second Amendment: “The strongest reason for a people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” (Thomas Jefferson.)

As Obama enlarges his drone assassination list of robotic death from above and the criminal banker elite rob many American families openly for fun and profit, this quote from the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States speaks far better to us on the subject than Mr. Tomorrow’s cartoon.

Santa Cruz

Hi Drew, thanks for writing. But—whoops—Thomas Jefferson never actually said those words. The quote first showed up in an op-ed piece in 1989, and no one knows where the author got it. It’s been floating around since, despite no record of it in any of Jefferson’s speeches, papers or letters. Talk about “propagandistic manipulation”! In the meantime, a six-month-old baby girl named Jonylah Watkins was shot five times with a gun and died last week in Chicago. Have a fun day!—The Ed.

Fee-and-Dividend

The level of contaminants released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels is threatening our air, food, water and health. The rising ocean from the melting polar ice is slowly inundating the coastal land.

The transition to clean-energy technologies is the best way to curb greenhouse gas and other pollutants released into the atmosphere. A dozen countries in Europe have succeeded in reducing emissions by employing carbon tax to encourage cleaner energy. Among several carbon bills that have been introduced in the Congress, fee-and-dividend has the best chance of promoting job growth, encouraging conservation and, with household income from the dividend, stimulating the economy.

The fee-and-dividend proposes that the revenue from the fee-on-carbon be paid out equally to every citizen. With the current CO2 emissions of 6 billion tons, the proposed $15/ton fee for the first year would be approximately $750/year per capita.

For the Pacific West, where hydroelectric power is abundant, the impact on heating, cooling and transportation cost is insignificant. Higher oil cost brought on by the $15/ton fee is expected to add $0.10 to a gallon of gas. An average driver who drives 12,000 miles per year would pay roughly $40 more a year at the pump, assuming the car gets 30 mpg.

Santa Rosa

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