Items filed under "letters to the editor"

Why the environmental movement's agenda is faltering

Mike — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:36:44 -0400

Energy and industrial lobbies only wish they had the sway the article granted them. Until environmental activists start talking to the American people about the economic costs of implementing an agenda, they will not get the popular, and therefore legislative, response they seek. Members of Congress, bless their bleak, treacherous hearts, still value getting reelected over anything else. As long as the public is not convinced that the benefits of an environmental policy outweigh the costs, Congress will not get the message from constituents that something needs to be done.

Letters - The Divide Over the Islamic Center - NYTimes.com

Mike — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:42:45 -0400

As a 9/11 family member, I applaud your Sept. 3 editorial “Mistrust and the Mosque.” I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my sister, Karen Klitzman, as she took her last breath on the 104th floor of Tower 1. Nor did I get a chance to ask her how she felt about the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque, or the ensuing controversy.

Kerry not alone in sailing around taxes - The Boston Globe

Mike — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:13:26 -0400

NOW THAT Senator John F. Kerry has agreed to pay the taxes on his yacht (“Kerry will pay Mass. tax on R.I. yacht,’’ Page A1, July 28), the media should now play “gotcha’’ with all the Massachusetts drivers who register vehicles out of state. Better yet, maybe it’s time to look at all the businesses in the state that avoid paying their fair share of local, state, and federal taxes. I suggest starting with all the hospitals that are nonprofit organizations, but seem to make millions. It would make Kerry’s tax total seem like a drop in the ocean.

Americans want clean energy, gulf oil spill or not

Mike — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:10:16 -0400

The Senate has not acted on global warming for several reasons, but not because of scant public approval. Contrary to the July 12 front-page story, public support for action on climate change remains strong. The Post's own June poll found that 71 percent favor action to "regulate the release of greenhouse gases" -- an increase since your poll in December. Americans clearly want investments in clean-energy jobs and to slash climate pollution. Whether 60 senators listen, or 41 follow big oil, is the real question.

What the Tea Party really wants

Mike — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:56:05 -0400

Over the years the federal government has become the powerful central government the Anti-Federalists feared. Issues such as mandatory health care, expanding welfare programs, government takeover of private industry and an insurmountable national debt created by our elected representatives have Tea Party members as mad as hornets.

Letters to the International Herald Tribune - BP and Bhopal - NYTimes.com

Mike — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:54:01 -0400

Change will not happen until we stop corporations and unions from giving money to senators and congressmen for their million-dollar election campaigns. We all have seen congressmen pick up lush jobs when they leave Congress.

Letter - Views on Climate Change - What the Polls Show - NYTimes.com

Mike — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:25:32 -0400

Regarding poll findings about climate change, Mr. Krosnick posits that his question is more legitimate than others. It is but one approach and hardly ideal. The question’s preamble is “you may have heard about the idea that the world’s temperature may have been going up slowly” and then asks whether this is “probably” happening. Such wordings often encourage a positive response: this is known in the polling world as acquiescence bias.

This is not an equivalent debate - The Boston Globe

Mike — Fri, 21 May 2010 07:39:07 -0400

More than 90 percent of all scientific communities worldwide acknowledge that climate change is in fact man-made and the threats it poses are imminent. Unfortunately, this knowledge is often lost in translation, as a 2009 survey of the Pew Research Center for the People

You call that public service?

Mike — Sat, 15 May 2010 10:52:27 -0400

In the Metro section on Mother's Day were two photos of children playing in U.S. war machines. The photos took up nearly a quarter of a page, with no explanation for being featured other than the inane headline "All gung-ho near the Capitol in recognition of public service."

Letters - How Successful Are Charter Schools? - NYTimes.com

Mike — Thu, 06 May 2010 08:06:10 -0400

In contrast to the methodology of that study, the only way to determine charter school success is to compare the achievement of students in a charter school with the achievement of students in the public school they would have otherwise attended.