Political history
Reader Jim Horton’s letter lectured contributor Joshua Heath for a perceived failure to be a “student of our near past history” and encouraged this young college student to have an open mind. This is a classic case of the “pot calling the kettle black,” an idiom which makes a point about hypocrisy, and means “to criticize someone for a fault that you also possess.”
Several points can be made that Mr. Horton is not exactly an astute student of political history. Horton states that “every liberal program ever passed has been fraught with unintended consequences which have made them a failure right out of the gate.”
I could point out two liberal programs that have been an unqualified success in making life better for senior Americans, like myself. One is Social Security, which is the financial lifeline for a significant percentage of American seniors. A second is Medicare, which provides a healthcare insurance program that has saved countless lives of seniors since enacted. Both were bitterly opposed by conservatives at the time.
Mr. Horton incorrectly describes the consensus of “climate scientists” that global warming is a fact. It is definitely not a “scam that any right-minded individual can evaluate.” Perhaps he meant that any radical right wing conservative (like himself) cannot believe in climate change. But please do not include others of us in this category of close minded individuals. Horton would probably conclude that the recent record-breaking cold storm in the northern states is evidence that climate change is a myth. Legitimate climate scientists, both liberal and conservative politically, separate climate events from climate change patterns which can be measured and are factual in basis. While we can disagree with political actions taken by some politicians to resolve the global warming crisis, e.g., cap and trade and carbon taxes, this is different from being a global warming denier like Mr. Horton.
I hope that Joshua Heath will continue to contribute his opinions and pay scant attention to readers like Mr. Horton who play too loosely with facts and history. Thomas Oatway
Valencia