Letters to the Editor

There's No Comparing Kennedy and Palin

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Your comparison of Kennedy to Palin likewise reflects on your thinking, or lack thereof.

Palin's crowd appeal and political skills were, you know, evident. The two share a pretty face and little else.

Charles G. Cary. Richmond.

Dems Seek Division; GOP Tries to Heal It

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Republicans are putting differences aside for the benefit of our country, and congressional Democrats are playing political games by changing rules that were put into place to encourage new ideas and innovation.

Pelosi plans on pushing through measures which would severly restrict the minority's ability to offer alternatives to proposed legislation. This is a shame. Additionally, she is trying to do away with term limits for committee chairmen.

These changes signal the fact that the Democrats are going to try and ram legislation through Congress without giving Republicans the opportunity to voice their concerns. I thought this was supposed to be the "most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history."

I'm proud that our congressman has more integrity and a better understanding of bipartisanship than Speaker Pelosi.

John B. LeRoy. Henrico.

Ozone Layer Depletion Affects Environment

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

The 11-year cycle of sunspot activity will be at its lowest next year and has not changed significantly over the past two cycles spanning 20 years, yet the yearly average temperature in the same period continues to rise. Allen's notion that changes in sunspot activity are solely responsible for global warming is not supported by the scientific community.

I certainly concur with his presentation of the fact that the sun's dynamic spectrum of energy bombarding our planet gives us our climate. But if his sunspot theory holds true, then the eroding, tax-burdened economy that he alludes to may be bolstered by a huge increase in snowmobile and snowblower sales in the coming year.

I am not a climatologist, but I understand the implications of ozone layer depletion and how burning fossil fuels may adversely affect the balance of the sun's energy being absorbed. Allen's recommendation was for America to wake up. Well, I am wide awake and when I cook, I know that removing the top from a boiling pot usually leads to water splashing where it doesn't belong.

Elliot Skorupa. Glen Allen.

What Caused Other Ice Ages to End?

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

More than 650 dissenting international scientists now challenge manmade global warming claims made by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) and former Vice President Al Gore -- hoaxster extraordinaire. A December 2008 U.S. Senate report includes more than 650 prestigious, worldwide scientists who disagree with the U.N.'s IPCC -- more than 12 times the number of U.N. scientists (52) who authored the media-hyped IPCC 2007. But Gore refuses to debate any of them, saying that the science is settled. The hubris of these navel-gazing men is breathtaking. They enjoy a mammoth funding advantage over nonbelievers.

Now Europe is backing off on cap-and-trade. With 85 percent of our energy coming from fossil fuels, an energy tax with the U.S. economy in tatters poses personal suffering and destroys jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector.

With the latest talk about cooling, the innovative euphemism is "climate change." While man has no doubt made considerable carbon dioxide contributions, more likely than not it is due to the sun's phases and good old Mother Earth's cyclical changes -- after all, Mother does know best.

Bruce Woodruff. Midlothian.