Readers
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Bush era almost destroyed this nation
President Obama’s Web site lists 14 “important” issues, but omits the most important issue: The Constitution.
The Bush/Cheney administration threatened what makes America unique. It demonstrated how far we could dip into lawlessness and dictatorship.
Now we begin releasing people from Guantanamo, people jailed unconstitutionally, without trial, representation or facing accusers – jailed and tortured on the word of unnamed persons.
The spying on Americans, lying to Americans, prosecuting war without Congressional review, pardoning criminals who conspired with the administration – all demonstrate how closely we edged into evil.
Who is to blame? Yes, Bush and Cheney, of course. But what about Congress, cringing like whipped dogs, letting the Bush/Cheney axis do what it wished? They voted their party, rather than voting their conscience. Their sole concern was the next election. They were not a branch of our government; they were not even a twig.
And blame the Supreme Court justices, given lifetime security, so they freely could exercise their primary Constitutional function: Protect Americans from the government. They, too, were so engaged in partisan politics as to become indistinguishable from the elected officials they are charged to monitor.
And finally, blame us. We elected Bush to a second term. We saw him kill our soldiers in a war based on lies. Yet we re-elected him. We saw him jail and torture the innocent in the name of security. Yet we re-elected him. We saw him destroy science in the name of religion. Yet we re-elected him.
We saw him support the ultra-right wing, so that Supreme Court justices were nominated on issues such as faith-based initiatives and abortion, rather than on liberty and justice for all. Yet, we re-elected him.
Ultimately though, Bush/Cheney may have done us a great service by showing us how close we could come to tyranny. The excess became so great, they opened our blind eyes and appalled us – and together with a possibly fortuitous recession and term limits, we rid ourselves of this anti-American regime.
But, we cannot be complacent. They are out there, those pseudo-patriots who love America but hate liberty. They are there, ready “re-Bush,” to steal back our freedoms in the name of security and God.
They would turn this recent experiment in justice, called “America,” into the cruel, theocratic form of government that has destroyed souls for centuries.
We came close to becoming Iran. The lesson is before us. Let us learn.
Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Wilmette, Ill.
Wind power systems simply not feasible
Congress and the administration are touting alternative energy sources to replace power production derived from foreign oil. They want to generate 10 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. energy needs from alternative sources.
Most of the alternative energy would have to be generated from wind power systems. If we assume 10 percent of the U.S. energy requirements consists of 100,000 megawatts, and each wind turbine produces approximately 2 to 3 megawatts, it will take about 40,000 wind turbines to produce the 100,000 megawatts.
The siting of 40,000 wind turbines around the country could be a monumental task since an average wind speed of about 12 mph is needed to efficiently operate a wind turbine.
Hilltops, mountains, canyons and some coastlines are candidate locations for the wind machines – but these locations pose logistical, noise and aesthetic obstacles.
The generation of power from the wind turbines is dependent on weather conditions, and we all know how unpredictable and varied the weather can be. Furthermore, we would need an electrical grid system spread out around the country to tie the wind turbines to the national grid.
Approximately 50 nuclear power plants with two units per site providing a total of 2,000 megawatts per site, will generate 100,000 megawatts of clean, reliable, operationally cost effective and continuous power.
Nuclear power plants, domestic oil production, wind energy systems and other alternative energy sources all are viable components of a comprehensive energy program.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, N.H.