Two
letters to the editor that broke my heart
During his
stunning post-summit news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
President Trump was asked whether he believes Putin, who again denied Russian
interference in the 2016 election, or his own intelligence officials, who
unanimously say Russia did intervene for Trump. Trump replied by criticizing
the FBI’s probe of Democrats and said, “I don’t see any reason why” Russia
would interfere.
Some 53
million citizens voted for Donald Trump with the assistance of
Russian hackers. It can be assumed that some of them bought Mr. Trump’s snake
oil thinking that it would provide succor to whatever was ailing them. The coal
miners, I guess, really believed he was the answer to providing them with jobs.
Actually, he was the answer to the elite, as during his reign income inequality
is going off the charts. And the poor are even poorer.
Yet some of his acolytes, rather than gloating,
are writing letters of complaint to The Baltimore Sun. The latest two broke my
heart. In the first, “Paying for diapers another handout for the poor” (Jan.
15), the letter writer is upset that “someone is advocating for free diapers.”
He trots out the usual blather — socialism, staying home making babies and the
growing welfare state. It puzzles me very much that the wealthy who rip off the
system and do so by buying members of Congress escaped the letter writer’s
wrath.
The second letter, “Without Trump, what would The Sun write about?” (Jan.
15), suggests that The Sun should ignore all of the convictions and indictments
of Mr. Trump’s inner circle. The president said he was going to drain the
swamp. Actually, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III seems to be cleaning out
Mr. Trump’s swamp. I would think that is newsworthy.
I couldn’t miss the levity in this letter. The
writer indicated that President Trump will be in office for six more years. The
only possible way that could happen is if the office was a jail cell.
Max Obuszewski, Baltimore
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Latest Defense
Report Aims to Get Military Climate Ready, But Key Information Also Missing
commondreams.org
January 18, 2019
For
Immediate Release Friday, January 18, 2019
Organization
Profile: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Contact: Ashley
Siefert Nunes at UCS, asiefert@ucsusa.org, +1 202-331-5666
Statement
by Shana Udvardy, Climate Resilience Specialist, UCS
WASHINGTON
- The Department of Defense (DoD) released a report yesterday examining
the risks of climate change to a sample of 79 U.S. military sites. The report,
mandated by Congress in 2018, concluded that two-thirds of the sites examined
are at risk of current or future chronic flooding, more than 50 percent are
vulnerable to current or future drought, and about one-half are at risk of
wildfires. However, the report failed to include a top 10 list of at-risk
military installations for each branch, as requested.
Below
is a statement by Shana Udvardy, climate preparedness specialist
at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“The
latest DoD report again confirms climate change is a significant security
threat. Climate impacts, including chronic flooding, drought and wildfires,
will require increased maintenance and repair at U.S. military sites now and
over the next 20 years.
“We
were disappointed to see that some of the explicit questions asked for by
Congress went unanswered, for example the ranking of the top 10 vulnerable
installations for each branch and the costs of mitigation
measures. Climate risks will also grow beyond the next 20 years, so it’s
important for the DoD to assess those longer-term risks so they’re making
investments and choices that will be robust through mid-century and beyond.
“We
also look forward to more of the data and analysis behind the report being
shared publicly since it can help inform resilience planning in communities
located near these military installations or that face similar risks.
“The DoD
report also clearly recognizes the global nature of the challenges,
including growing risks of climate-related humanitarian crises and
the need for disaster relief.
“It’s
imperative that climate change risks be fully integrated into current and
ongoing planning for military sites for the safety and security of our nation
and military personnel. This vital information on climate impacts and
mitigation measures and efforts is a continued sign of the Department of
Defense’s leadership on helping to ensure the nation’s military installations,
families and communities are climate ready.”
###
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