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Saturday, July 11, 2009 Letters to the editorScience and belief, creation and environment EDITOR: Mr. Ortiz wants us to believe that belief is the stuff of ignorance. If we believe Mr. Ortiz, those who believe the Bible, for example, are, by their belief, also ignorant of such matters as the environment and global warming. In one of his recent letters published on June 3, Mr. Ortiz disputes another writer's position on global warming, which he likens to that appearing on "a dozen or so creationist web sites." He goes on to say that many things in our lives are the result of biases that arise from beliefs, and also chooses to use semiconductor materials to illustrate his points. In his next letter on June 6, Mr. Ortiz describes beliefs as "essentially motors of irrational behavior and judgment." He says that beliefs fill "the void unattended by information and knowledge," and keep us company "while standing before the portal of extinction." Mr. Ortiz suggests that uninformed people are apt to "concede persuasion." I write as one who believes in creation, and who has also spent a career in materials science and engineering, including research on sequestration (long-term storage) of carbon dioxide to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. For the benefit of those with an interest in science, I must respectfully point out that Mr. Ortiz appears quite uninformed on the areas of science he discusses in his June 3 letter. According to Mr. Ortiz, the semiconductor materials in transistors are mostly "silicone." In fact silicone is the stuff of breast implants, caulking, etc.; semiconductor materials, on the other hand, are commonly based on silicon. When a semiconductor material conducts electricity, electrons do not "travel in silicone-holes created by the impurities, sort of hitching a ride." This would mean that the negatively charged electrons and the positively charged holes travel in the same direction, which would not allow the material to conduct electricity. In fact the electrons travel from hole to hole in the silicon, so that the holes appear to move in the opposite direction to the electrons, and current can flow. With regard to greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is not, as Mr. Ortiz states, "opening large holes in the ozone layer." The hole in the ozone layer is different from global warming due to the greenhouse effect. Several different gases, including carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, act as greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. CFCs also break down ozone in the atmosphere through photochemical processes, but carbon dioxide does not. I doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ was ignorant about the nature of materials when the world, indeed everything, came into being through Him (John 1:3, 10). I doubt that He was "uninformed" of the laws of nature when He commanded the winds and the water, and they obeyed Him (Luke 8:23-24). Belief in God as Creator does not cause ignorance of science. It doesn't result from ignorance of science either. Scripture does not discuss the impact we have on climate through the greenhouse gases we generate, or how to reduce that impact. People hold different views on global warming, whether or not they believe that God created the world. Whatever the case, some of them are better informed of the science than others. Dear friends, God created the heavens and the earth, and He also sustains and cares for them (Psalms 36:6, 147:7-9). The earth and everything in it belongs to God (Psalm 50:10-11, I Corinthians 10:26), and the earth is filled with His glory (Isaiah 6:3). Therefore we who are blessed to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19) rejoice in God's creation. Let us share in His care for His creation (Matthew 6:26-29) as good stewards of this earth. Since our God is both the Creator and the God of truth, let us also rejoice in the study of His creation. And let us all remember that science and opinion are often corrected by better information, not by dismissing the work of others because their beliefs are not our own.
Gillian Bond Belen overpass elevator idea is a 'boondoggle' EDITOR: The proposed $3 million grant for elevators to and from the Reinken overpass will not be enough. The top of the overpass is a blind spot, and confused tourists will be crossing the road in the winter dark (if not the occasional rain and snow), and local speeders won't be able to stop in time. Plus, any injured pedestrians will have to be driven by ambulance 30 miles to the nearest hospital, since Valencia County has no emergency facility. So the big cost — the real cost — is going to be the wrongful death and medical liability lawsuits against the city of Belen. This entire elevator proposal is a boondoggle and a bad idea.
G.E. Nordell Declaration is precise, concise and profound EDITOR: J Reid Mowrer's admonition letter to Terry Mehaffey reveals a few things about himself. First his authoritarian nature... Second, Mr. Mehaffey's argument got lost in translation in Mr. Mowrer's mind. Third, Mr. Mowrer doesn't understand the language of The Declaration of Independence. Nowhere in the document can we surmise that the founders' intent was to establish a nation where its underpinnings, thrust or foundation was religion. Someone writing a dissertation around this thesis will not receive a PhD. Fourth, he contradicts his own arguments. Fifth, there are more fabrications in Mr. Mowrer's letters, despite his citations, than in anyone else's, especially Mr. Mehaffey's. I hold these claims to be self-evident and would not spend time rebutting or analyzing each for it would endanger my letter with the editor. Given the fact that Mr. Mowrer has repeatedly reiterated his multi-degreed scholastic achievements, I think it's time for him to honor them. I will, however, talk about the language of The Declaration of Independence. The document's language is simple, profound and precise. To do it justice we must place ourselves in the time and moment it was written and take under consideration the signers' diversity of persuasions, religions, professional, social and political philosophies that did not cloud its clarity although it must have clouded a few eyeballs. "When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." This opening statement it's simply amazing. The allusion to "the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures's God entitle them does not speak of the existence of God, but of the peoples' right (entitled) moved by (impel) their beliefs (opinions) of either science/nature (Laws of Nature) or God (Natures's God). There were philosophers, inventors, scientist and businessmen among them who were Christians, agnostics, atheists, freethinkers and members of secret societies. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The original draft contained "inherent and unalienable," but there was a good reason for deleting inherent. Do you know it Mr. Mowrer? Most significant, however, is " that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Here is the crux, Mr. Mowrer: It does not say they are endowed by the, or our Creator, that would make it a certitude, a universal. But their Creator points to whomever the individual's mind chooses it be. Any reference to the Creator the Lord or God elsewhere in The Declaration of Independence or Bill of Rights serves the same intention. Additionally, they do not appear anywhere in The Constitution except in the signatory section in the document's date: "in this year of the Lord," the customary way of dating important and legal documents of the time. To read anything else is to take convenient, extreme and frivolous intellectual license. The Resolution HR 397 is an attempt by a few theocrats to telecommunicate their constituents that God has not left the Congress, and of self-reassurance that they are not loosing the grip on their constituents. Mr. Mehaffey prefers to call them "dominionists."
Martin Ortiz Those making GRT decision should think EDITOR: I just finished reading that Valencia County is considering implementing or advancing the process to increase the gross receipts tax to fund improvements to the county jail. To say the least, I am appalled that anyone would consider raising taxes more than they already are, especially considering the state of the economy and the humongous national debt. This is also disheartening since it is to fund an incarceration facility. I call upon the county commissioners, jail administrators, and anyone else in charge of decision making and spending tax dollars to take a long hard look to the west. Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, Ariz., runs one of the most efficient — both in cost and in discipline — jails in the nation. Before we start looking to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve the jail, let's take a look at what is being spent right now. Sheriff Joe feeds his prisoners for less than 40 cents a meal; he has banned many comforts that are expensive — coffee, salt, pepper, and forces his inmates to either remain in lockdown or take a position on a chain gang and perform manual labor. His inmates pay a $3 copay for medical care inside the jail. He has made so many improvements that he has been elected to four straight terms as sheriff, and there is no end in sight. The taxpayers in Maricopa county are grateful to their public servant for saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars rather than finding new ways to tax them to pay for expensive creature comforts for people who are being punished. Many have viewed his methods as inhumane, but the reality is that they are no more harsh than those conditions endured by our fighting forces in Iraq. Let's take a break and look at how the money is currently being spent before we try to squeeze more money out of our already poor county. As a side note, we still don't have a hospital, but part of the GRT would go to fund an exam room in the jail — how does that ring? Medical care for inmates, and not citizens, all at taxpayer expense!
Mike Romo
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