Reader feedback 5.19.04

THE WAR, VIOLENCE, AND CASUALTIES

The pictures of prisoners being threatened (and maybe
bitten) by dogs reminded me of Nazi Germany 59 years ago and the stories that
liberated prisoners would tell us of the torture tactics used by the Nazis.

            We combat
infantrymen were the first to reach the prison camps and see and hear about the
horrors perpetrated upon the inmates. We freed many, many camps in several
different locations, but the stories were similar. This said to us that the
orders came from the top… that the methods were systemic.

            The
ordinary enlisted man (or woman) takes and follows orders that come down the
line, especially for procedural matters. If they don’t, they risk punishment
— yes, including court martial.

            So what’s
going to happen now? If the enlisted personnel were told to “soften
up” the prisoners and didn’t, they could face court martial. Those who did
now do face court martial. Some of the people “up the line” have been
“admonished.”

Wow!
“Admonished”!

            Those at
the top — Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz,
Tenet, et al — can continue their current policies and nothing will happen to
them.

            Harry
Truman said, “The buck stops here.” I wonder where the buck will stop this
time.

            Frank Bellomo, Irondequoit

Thank you very much for running the casualty list. I have
many acquaintances and friends serving, and am not in most cases close to their
family or friends who might notify me. The idea that any of them could be
killed and many of us who cared about them not find out until much, much later
by chance is a dreadful notion.

            Thank you
for this valuable (and brave) service.

            Erika Juhlin, Graham, North Carolina

The abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers bears a
striking parallel to our abuse of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses.
In fact, a recent Washington Post article notes that some of the photos showed a cow being skinned and gutted and
soldiers posing with its severed head.

            The abuse
of Iraqi prisoners is merely a manifestation of our culture of violence and our
insensitivity to the suffering of those we view as “the others.” It
matters not whether these are Iraqi prisoners, Vietnamese villagers, or animals
raised for food. It’s a culture that gives otherwise
kind and gentle farmers a license to keep dairy calves, pregnant sows, and
laying hens in cramped cages, drugged and deprived of natural food and
sunshine. It’s a culture that leads otherwise normal slaughterhouse workers to
skin, dismember, and disembowel cows and pigs while they are still conscious.

            Punishing a
dozen soldiers and apologizing to the Arab world merely places a Band-Aid on a
cultural scourge that will rear its ugly head again and again, whenever
otherwise normal people feel they have the license to unleash their violent and
insensitive leanings.

            The only
effective long-term solution is to instill in our children the notions of
kindness and sensitivity to all suffering. A good time to start is when they
first ask where hamburgers come from.

            Shane Hummick, Lawton Street, Rochester

THE FACTS ON GREEN ENERGY

In response to Erik Grzelak’s
letter “Green Results” (April 28), regarding the negative impacts of wind and
solar energy on the environment and his call that people be informed before
adding their support, I ask that he heed his own advice. He is misinformed.

            He
correctly states that solar panels produce electricity only during the day, but
goes on to say that “they only produce on days with direct sunlight.”
In fact, solar cells will produce electricity in all but the very cloudiest of
days, although maybe not quite as much. And that solar does
produce electricity during the day is one of its greatest attributes. That is
when usage reaches its peak, and the utilities struggle most to keep up with
demand. (Note when brown and blackouts occur.)

            Mr. Grzelak claims that the energy used in producing a solar
cell creates a negative impact on the energy market because of the time it
takes that cell to generate the electricity required to create the cell. That
is absurd. The energy payback of a photo-voltaic cell is usually about two to
three years, depending on the location and its usage. The lifespan of a solar
panel will be 25 to 30 years or longer, which even the greatest skeptic would
have to agree is a pretty good payback.

            The
manufacturing process of solar cells is similar to that of computer chips and
circuit boards, and produces very few byproducts. Like these industries,
however, great care must be taken to minimize, reduce, and re-use as many of
the byproducts as possible.

            As for wind
energy: commercial wind farms are normally placed on land already used by
farmers or up on ridges to minimize their impact. And to say that the land
required for them is huge is to be very selective. Huge compared to what? The
space required to erect a coal-burning plant, (not to
mention the mining that goes with that plant), a nuclear power plant, or a
hydro-electric power plant?

            And
contrary to Mr. Grzelak’s claim that wind turbines
will produce only in areas of high wind far from human inhabitants, modern
commercial wind turbines perform very well at speeds as low as 13mph, and
residential turbines at speeds lower than that. In fact, New
YorkState has
some of the best wind potential in the country, and there are several
functioning commercial wind farms not far from Rochester.

            While I
share the writer’s concern for the avian population, modern wind turbines are
not detrimental at all to birds and spin quite slowly. Studies sponsored in
part by the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society prove that wind turbines’ being
“incredibly detrimental to avian populations” — as Mr. Grzelak so eloquently states — is incorrect, especially
when compared to power lines, pesticides, smokestacks, and windows, each of
which kill exponentially more birds than do wind turbines. (Not to mention
domestic cats, which kill more than all of the others combined.)

            Nonetheless,
great care is taken by manufacturers and installers to improve on their record
even further.

            The points
I make here are not my opinions, but are facts, which can be found on the
Department of Energy web site. Renewable energies will in no way eliminate the
need for fossil fuels any time in the near future, but along with more
progressive ways of thinking, such as conservation and efficiency, renewables can greatly reduce our dependence on them.

            People must
also understand that no form of energy production is without its negative
aspects. And especially when compared to the devastating environmental impacts
involved with the mining, transporting, and conversion of coal, oil, and
nuclear energy, it is imperative that renewables be
given a high priority. We owe that to future generations.

            Richard Kusminsky,
Beverly Street (Kusminsky works with Prime Energy
Solutions, Inc., a  renewable energy company that specializes in
solar and wind energy installations, and building performance analysis.)

PRAISING SPULA

Reading Jack Spula every week in City was a quality-of-life issue. Rochester
has gems like WGMC, the Bop Shop, EllisonPark, McGregors,
the Abundance Coop. Jack is one of those gems.

            The articles
I remember the most are the ones Jack wrote about the environment (and I don’t
even like hiking or canoeing). He just had a way of communicating his reverence
for the outdoors. And Jack’s elucidated reporting on this region wove together
the nitty-gritty specifics and the larger issues that humanity has always
struggled with.

            Jack’s
pieces were nourishing and fulfilling. When Jack wrote about geopolitics he had
absolutely no equal. He dug to find the sources that were missing from the
prevailing discourse. Like the legendary reporter IF Stone, he turned over the
rocks that revealed the lies of the ruling class. I am going to miss Jack’s
intellectual breadth and depth in the pages of City.

            Jon Greenbaum, Rochester

I wish to join those readers who have expressed sadness,
dismay and outrage at the dismissal of Jack Spula
from your staff. Jack’s role as the pivotal media resource available to the
progressive community of this area is irreplaceable, given his deep
understanding of key issues and his superb writing.

            His forced
departure, without explanation, leaves many of us wondering what City has become. With your recent
insistence that City’s editorial
policy and direction has not changed, the community deserves a further account
of his dismissal. Since this is a matter that impacts especially the
“alternative community” that relies on your “alternative
newsweekly,” I urge you to address this matter more forthrightly and
publicly.

            Douglas D. Noble, Brunswick Street, Rochester

THE NADER SPLASH

Many of Nader’s supporters have
recited the mantra that Nader did not steal the
election from Gore, but it’s time that we Nader
supporters speak the truth. Damn right, we took votes from the Democrats in
2000, and we plan on doing it again, and there is no need to apologize for
this.

            Yes, Nader had a part in Gore’s loss, because Gore and the
Democrats ran an incompetent campaign that demonstrated that the Dems are out of touch with their constituency.
Conservatives have rightly accused liberals of being whiners who blame everyone
else for their problems, and Democrats have done an outstanding job of proving
them right. If it isn’t Nader who causes your
problems, it’s Supreme Court judges, or a Florida
election system rigged by Bush’s brother.

            Well, while
you’re feeling sorry for yourselves, you could be organizing an effective
campaign and figuring out how to reach the voters who went Green in 2000.
Instead, you put up a wishy-washy puppet chosen for his “electability,” and you’re dooming yourselves to
another loss. And, frankly, that’s your problem.

            I’m voting Nader again, because he represents my interests. Blame me,
curse me, and accuse me, if you haven’t had your fill of self-pity. We Greens
and Nader supporters aren’t responsible for
Democrats’ problems. I hope we take even more of your votes away this year.

            Paul Blackburn, Lake Avenue, Rochester

While supporting third-party candidates for national office
or even being a third-party candidate causes the big splash, it is just the beginning
of a drowning. You are not going to be elected.

            Choose
which major party comes closest to your feelings, join it, and work from within
to have it meet your wishes. Less splash, more effect.

            Raymond Zahn, Sperry Drive, Henrietta

WRITING TO CITY

We welcome and encourage readers’ letters for publication.
Send them to: themail@rochester-citynews.com or The Mail, City Newspaper, 250
North Goodman Street, Rochester14607.

            Our
guidelines: We don’t publish anonymous letters — and we ask that you include
your street name and city/town/village. We don’t publish letters that have been
sent to other media. While we don’t restrict length, letters of under 350 words have a greater chance of being published. We
do edit letters for clarity and brevity. And in general we don’t publish
letters (or longer “op-ed” pieces) from the same writer more often than once
every three months.

This article appears in May 19-25, 2004.