LETTERS: Friday
George Will on pot
As a conservative myself, I found George Will’s editorial on Dec. 8 concerning medical marijuana to be confusing and misleading. This surprises me, since Will is an intellectual conservative who usually searches out the truth. Nothing about this article was truthful, but it was filled with inuendos and presuppositions.
While commenting on Colorado’s medical marijuana laws, he begins by calling the dispensaries “fiction.” He believes that “most really just want to smoke pot” instead of using the weed to help alleviate pain and different ailments. So, where are his accurate statistics about “most.” How does he come to that conclusion?
He quotes Colorado’s attorney general, John Suthers, who is “trying to save his state from institutionalizing such hypocrisy.” Such a lofty statement since Will, Suthers, and other politicians mock the fact medical marijuana is used for “chronic pain.” Mr. Will even perpetuates the myth that there are drugs available to deal with chemo nausea. While there are such drugs, their effectiveness is in question in terms of nausea relief.
He even has the audacity to equate Nevada’s prostitution industry of taxation and regulation with medical marijuana. Mr. Will then tries to equate marijuana usage with methamphetamine addiction. Where did this intellectual come up with these supposed facts and scholarly pronouncements?
All I know is my wife has been in chronic pain for more than three years. The doctors have had her on Vicodin and Oxycontin. One suggested a morphine pump be surgically implanted in her spine. Another doctor wanted her to try Ketamine — an LSD-type drug.
So, the medical community can promote these hard drugs but is paralyzed to recommend medical marijuana which has decreased her pain? And, George Will continues the fear-mongering.
Tommy Latham
Colorado Springs
Uninvited to speak
Steve Rabey’s good article, “Professor Univited to Speak at School” (Dec. 4), misses one important part of the story. When Colorado Spring School administrators rescinded the invitation to Jane Hilberry to keynote their literary conference, they said they were doing so because she writes for “adult audiences.” But all previous keynoters of the same conference, myself included, have also written material suitable only for adults.
We were trusted to tailor our remarks to the age level of our audience, which is exactly what Jane would have done. A double standard is being applied to Jane, who is my colleague at Colorado College. If the same standard were applied to the rest of us, none of us would be a suitable speaker at the Colorado Springs School.
The point is that, like Jane, we are professionals who know how to speak to diverse audiences. The administrators at CSS have made their decision based on false assumptions, and without bothering to learn that Jane Hilberry is a widely experienced, highly regarded teacher of writing to students of all ages.
If she is not suitable as a speaker on this occasion, then neither am I — and neither is any good writer I know.
David Mason
Colorado Springs
The global warming hoax
This is in response to a letter by Scott Stevens (“Global Warming is Truth,” Dec. 5).
Stevens said: Pine beetles are due to global warming. Yet in 1973 — when the media claimed an ice age was coming — the beetle had one of the largest infestations, according to the US Forest Service.
You say: CO2 is killing forests. Yet carbon dioxide (CO2) is the principal gas that trees and other plants need to survive, just like oxygen (O2) is the principal gas that humans and other animals require. Trees absorb CO2 and release O2 — animals inhale O2 and exhale CO2. See how nice this all works?
Earth’s first, primitive forests made their prolific debut 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous Period. Before then, the atmosphere held far more CO2 but concentrations declined throughout the Carboniferous Period as plants flourished. During the Carboniferous Period the atmosphere became greatly depleted of CO2 (declining from about 2,500 parts per million to 350 parts per million) so that by the end of the Carboniferous the CO2-impoverished atmosphere was less favorable to plant life and plant growth slowed dramatically. Today, CO2 concentrations are barely at 380 parts per million — still CO2-impoverished. Many scientists strongly believe that we should be trying to produce more CO2, not less.
All major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA’s GISS, UAH, RSS) have released updated data. All show that over the past year, global temperatures have dropped precipitously.
The total amount of cooling ranges from 0.65C up to 0.75C — a value large enough to wipe out most of the warming recorded over the past 100 years. All in one year’s time. For all four sources, it’s the single fastest temperature change ever recorded, either up or down.
I suggest Mr Stevens that you take your own advice and study a little bit more about this hoax of global warming.
Helen Sabin
Colorado Springs
Gen. Rayburn’s integrity
Once again, Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn (USAF, ret.) has demonstrated the quality of his integrity. When confronted with accusations of plagiarism by Gazette writer Barry Noreen (“Stop the general before he steals again”, Dec. 2) the general stood tall and accepted responsibility and apologized to all concerned.
I worked for Gen. Rayburn in Saudi Arabia and he expected his subordinates to take responsibility for their actions.
It is extremely refreshing to see the general expect no less of himself. There were no weak excuses given and there were no political spins to justify. It was simply a man of integrity standing up and admitting that he had disappointed himself and others.
Mr. Noreen’s comment that Gen. Rayburn should consider himself “dismissed” was certainly ludicrous. When a man emerges with the strength and humility of the general, our community should not “dismiss” the leader.
Instead, we need to explore how best we can tap into the character and skill set he brings to the table. Not only do we need Bentley Rayburn in leadership, we need many more of his caliber.
Tony D. Barnes
Colorado Springs
