Bill not really ‘For the People’
Public confidence and trust in the validity of election results is key to increasing voter participation. Americans deserve a fair and accurate election process.
This means not only making sure that every eligible individual is able to vote, but that his or her vote is not stolen or diluted through fraud. The Democrats’ “For the People Act” (H.R. 1/S.1) unfortunately would both enable and increase fraud.
H.R. 1/S.1 would sabotage state voter ID laws, which combat impersonation and voter registration fraud, duplicate voting and voting by
ineligible individuals like illegal aliens. Under H.R. 1/S.1, someone could simply sign a statement in which they claim to be who they say there are. This would be on top of allowing same-day voter registration.
The combination of these two policies that H.R. 1 outlines would open the door for massive fraud.
The bill would also require automatically registering individuals to vote who partake in government programs, such as receiving welfare or obtaining a driver’s license. This would automatically enroll ineligible voters such as illegal aliens who take advantage of government programs in some states. In addition, it limits states’ ability to verify eligible voters and remove ineligible voters from registration rolls.
In addition to these dangerous policies, it would turn the Federal Election Commission into a hyper-partisan body. The FEC is bipartisan, with six members (three from each party). H.R. 1/S.1 would reduce the number to five, giving one political party a majority and the opportunity to essentially rig elections in their party’s favor.
Sometimes legislation proposed by Congress is bad policy, sometimes it is unnecessary and sometimes it is unconstitutional. The “For the People Act” includes policies that are all three.
Penny Johnson, Murphy
Emissions to disclose cost
Why should anyone care about microscopic details of wind energy? In reality, ordinary citizens shouldn’t have to care about the minutiae of energy sources, just that its affordable and not harmful to us or the environment. Since much is at stake regarding our planet’s health, thoughtful individuals are diving deep into energy details.
In a recent letter, Thomas Schildgren continued to voice concerns on the limitations of wind turbines due to a large carbon footprint and the availability of wind. The letter highlights a concern on the significant amount of oil used as lubricants for turbines. What is not clarified is that lubrication oils are not combusted and do not contribute to CO2 greenhouse gasses.
When oil is used as lubricants, it actually helps reduce carbon emissions by reducing the amount of energy necessary for mechanical systems to operate efficiently. The reality is that wind has a miniscule lifetime emissions footprint in comparison to fossil fuel sources (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-cycle_greenhouse_gas_emissions_of_energy_sources).
It’s the inconsistent availability of wind that is its real challenge. Improvements in grid and storage technologies will only improve wind as a desirable energy choice.
Energy life cycle costs are important, and systems engineering professionals have the challenging task of minimizing energy costs while maintaining availability and reliability. The cost of CO2 emissions, however, are not properly included in this calculation. The societal costs of climate change are significant and growing, and we have a small window of time to get our carbon budget in alignment to avoid a serious climate disaster.
A price on carbon is an effective market-based solution to this problem. It does not pick energy source winners and losers, but simply evens the playing field to properly reflect energy costs from any source for all to see.
David Miller, Brasstown
New column delightful read
I just received the May 5 edition of the Cherokee Scout. I am sitting on my front porch reading it right now, and I just got to Abigail Hickman’s column.
It was just delightful. So nice to read such beautiful writing. It’s as if I was walking down the street with you.
I hope our paths do cross, and you continue to spread this joy in your heart with others. Murphy is better with you here.
Diane Pelczynski, Murphy