Category Archives: Commentary

Temperature Changes in Alaska

Posted on by

President Obama recently visited Alaska and stirred the urge to check into the global warming controversy. He visited the Exit Glacier and mentioned that it had retreated 1.25 miles in 200 years. I was inspired to check into temperatures in Alaska and found one web site that says it is managed by members of the “American Association of State Climatologists.” They observe that, “The topic of climate change has attracted widespread attention in recent years and is an issue that numerous scientists study on various time and space scales. One thing for sure is that the earth’s climate has and will continue to change as a result of various natural and anthropogenic forcing mechanisms.” (Bravo!)

The site presents a graph showing that temperatures since the late 1970s have trended upward. However, they point out there has been little warming “…with the exception of Barrow (on the coast above the Arctic Circle) and a few other locations. The stepwise shift appearing in 1976 corresponds to a phase shift in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation from a negative phase to a positive phase.” That causes “…increased southerly flow and warm air advection into Alaska during the winter, resulting in positive temperature anomalies.” I don’t understand how increasing levels of carbon dioxide could have caused that, but I’m not a climatologist.

One article I read about President Obama’s visit to Alaska should have been checked more closely for errors before it went to print. It said (and I’m certain this must have been an error) that “The administration asked Congress to speed the acquisition of a new heavy-duty Coast Guard ice breaker from 2022 to 2020 and begin planning for the acquisition of additional ships that could help maintain year-long access to polar regions.” Why am I so convinced this must have been an error? It makes no sense to build ice breakers when the global warming models indicate polar ice will be mostly melted in the next few years.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center web site shows current levels of ice are less than those measured in 2013 and 2014, equal to 2011, and much more than 2012. A quick look at the graphs for the last five years indicates the levels of ice are about constant. Perhaps we should hope the data eventually will begin to track with the predictions from the global warming models and we can save money by not needing ice breakers.

Ponderer was kind enough to comment on the information above and points out that Dr. Strangelove would have wanted us to not have an icebreaker gap with the Russians reminiscent of the fallout shelter gap of that movie (not the exact words, but sorta close). Ponderer also thought it would be fair to show a chart of Arctic sea ice from the 1950s, which dramatically demonstrates that there is much less ice today. Point taken. However, I continue to have the suspicion that nature (including solar activity) has more to do with the extent of sea ice than the influences caused by man.

Colorado Criminal Verdicts and the Death Penalty

Posted on by

There have been guilty verdicts in two horrific crimes in Colorado not resulting in the death penalty that has caused the Denver Post to publish editorials questioning that penalty. The first crime involved a gunman (I won’t dignify him by giving his name) who set off tear gas grenades and shot into a crowded movie audience with multiple firearms. He killed 12, including a 6 year old girl, and wounded 70. He passively allowed himself to be arrested. The jury did not buy his insanity plea and convicted him of murder. However, the jury could not reach a unanimous decision that his penalty should be death, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentence actually was one life sentence for each person he killed and an additional 3,318 years for those he wounded and rigging his apartment with explosives. He apparently had wanted to kill those he knew would respond to his actions while they searched his apartment.

The other case involved the stabbing death of five people in a Denver bar followed by arson to destroy evidence. The motive for the crimes was a robbery that resulted in the theft of $170 dollars and resulted in five dead stabbing victims. Two brothers pled guilty to the crimes. One was sentenced to 70 years in prison and the other was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The third man accused was tried for murder, and the prosecution sought the death penalty. The jury was once again unable to reach the unanimous verdict of death required to impose that penalty.

Denver Post editorials have questioned whether there is any logical basis for the death penalty if these two horrific crimes do not qualify. What crime could he sufficiently horrific to qualify them for the death penalty if these two crimes did not? The most recent editorial presents the opinion, “The death penalty in Colorado has effectively expired.”

Jurors in both cases had testified during selection that they could impose the death penalty. Either they were less than honest (i.e., they lied), or they were influenced by the killer’s mental state in the first case and the abuse of the second killer as a child. I assure those making future jury selections that I would be willing to sentence someone to death if deserved by their crimes. My reasoning is simple. Behave as a human being and be protected from the death sentence. Behave inhumanely and suffer the consequences. I think both the theatre shooter and the bar murderer behaved inhumanely and escaped the logical circumstances, although I freely admit I did not listen to the full body of evidence in lengthy trials presented to those who decided otherwise.

Citizenship Tests for Citizens

Posted on by

The subject for this commentary was from a magazine in a doctor’s office waiting room. Doctors seldom see patients on time, but they do often have a good collection of old magazines.

The Bloomberg article I read centered on how Americans are becoming less and less educated. Late night comedians have been having much fun exposing how little citizens know about their country. I don’t find it funny. One of the highest achievements by citizens was that three fourths of U.S. citizens tested knew that the declaration of independence was against England. Of course that means one fourth had no clue. A third of those tested couldn’t name a single branch of government and three fourths had no idea why the Civil War was fought. Most high school students are required to take a civics class, but only 27 percent “…demonstrated proficiency in the subject…” in 2010.

A movement has developed to require high school students to pass the same citizenship test given to immigrants. Arizona and North Dakota have adopted the requirement with 19 other states considering it. The driving force behind the movement is that “…ignorance has never been an excuse for failing a test in high school—on civics, chemistry, or anything else.”

The federal government’s citizenship test has basic questions about U.S. history and government. “Each year, more than half a million immigrants take the test and pass to become citizens. A survey in 2012 found 65 percent of U.S. citizens tested passed by answering six of ten questions correctly.”

My cynicism is exposed by my thought that the number of people passing the test would undoubtedly improve if it was required before someone is allowed to register to be on the social media sites.

Insurance Costs and Credit Ratings

Posted on by

We recently posted a commentary about how we had learned that accepting offers from retailers for price breaks if we applied for their credits cards was costing us in insurance costs. The September 2015 issue of Consumer Reports has an article about their extensive two year study of insurance costs. One of their conclusions is that, “The way insurers set prices is shrouded in secrecy and rife with inequities.” Their study resulted in study of “…2 billion car insurance price quotes from more than 700 companies with the greatest share of customers in all 33,419 general U.S. ZIP codes.” What they found “…is that behind the rate quotes is a pricing process that judges you less on driving habits and increasingly on socioeconomic factors. These include your credit history, whether you use department store or bank credit cards, and even your TV provider.”

Reading the entire article and our own experience with having higher insurance costs because of taking out more credit cards leads to the conclusion that insurance companies have found a way to artificially increase costs for customers, which of course increases their profits. Insurers “cherry pick” elements in credit reports in a proprietary manner. Some of the results are quite astonishing. The study found that “…single drivers who had merely good scores paid $68 to $526 more per year, on the average, than similar drivers with the best scores, depending on which state they called home.” Credit scores were found to have more impact on rates than driving records. Having a moving violation in Kansas increased rates by $122 per year while having only a good credit rating increased rates by $233. A poor credit rating would add an average of $1,301 a year. Another trick being used is called “price optimization,” which is prohibited in a six states. It uses data about how much of a price increase will trigger you to shop around for a better price.

One suggestion is to shop around, because there is some truth to the ads that say “People who switched to our company saved and average of…” Of course there were people who didn’t switch who aren’t included in that average. California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts prohibit insurers from using credit scores to set prices. Perhaps those of us in the other states should begin a campaign with our insurance commissioners to have our state added to that list. Page 37 of the magazine has a petition you can mail to Consumer’s Union.

Mass Incarceration **Update**

Posted on by

Mass incarceration is a growing topic of debate and I’ve recently posted a book review on the topic. This is an important political topic, so I’d like to share a related analysis from one of my favorite sites: StraightDope.com. Here’s a sample:

  • “According to the World Prison Population List, the United States has… 716 prisoners per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the world.
  • “At the federal level… more than half the convicts are in because of drugs. However, at the state level — and the states account for 87 percent of U.S. prisoners — drug crimes account for only 16 percent of those doing time. The majority of state prisoners — 54 percent as of 2012 — were convicted of violent crimes, 19 percent of property crimes, and the remainder everything else (e.g., drunk driving).
  • “Do stiffer drug penalties single out black people? The numbers say no. Of state prisoners, 14 percent of whites are in for drugs, 15 percent of Hispanics, and 16 percent of blacks — no big diff.
  • “Whites constitute 80 percent of the U.S. population and 32 percent of imprisoned violent criminals. For Hispanics, it’s 17 percent and 23 percent; for black people, 13 percent and 41 percent.
  • “The appallingly high number of U.S. prisoners… resulted from get-tough-on-crime laws that have fallen most heavily on black men.”
  • Please read the full post at StraightDope.com.

The high rate of violent crime convictions probably has a further story to tell, but if any of us hope legalizing pot will empty US prisons, we’re not dealing with the total issue.

The Battle Flag and History

Posted on by
Iced Tea with Pitcher

Sweet tea – Southern heritage

I have a friend who hangs a Confederate Battle Flag in his window. He’s not overtly racists as far as I know – I asked him why and he said because of his interest in Southern history. So I asked, why not display the Stars and Bars (which, at the time, was not attracting public controversy.) He didn’t recognize that flag. So much for an interest in Southern history!

Assuming my friend is not a racist – what does the flag mean to him? Rebellion, perhaps? Defiance of “The Man?” Fun, pretty girls, and car chases ala The Dukes of Hazzard? Alas, he only said he didn’t mean to offend.

I grew up in New York State and, to me, the Confederate Battle Flag was a symbol of opposition to civil rights, right beside images of governors blocking the doorways of schools to keep out black students.

Polling results show the flag losing support (though if you ask people questions implying they are racist, I’m not sure you get honest answers.) “In 2011, a Pew poll found that just 9% of the country had a positive reaction to seeing the Confederate flag, while 30% had a negative one, and 58% had neither.” I take that to mean most people hardly recognized the flag.

“When we recall our history, and especially when we bring that memory into the political arena, we are more often in the realm of myth than empirical fact — though most of our political and historical myths aren’t simply falsehoods; they include facts, but those facts are always wrapped in imaginative, symbolic narratives that dictate how we interpret the facts.” commondreams.org Continue reading →