We must speak up

Bob Rudolph

We must speak up.  I keep hearing people complain about what Bush and his neo-cons are doing, so I ask “have you registered you complaint with anyone???”   Many times they say “no, I don’t contact anyone and it wouldn’t do any good anyway.”  I have heard that from people of all stripes and from all kinds of divergent views.  I tell them if you don’t write, call or email your Senator, Congress person or even the President, stop complaining about it.  It is incumbent upon all of us to contact our government folks and tell them of our concerns and find out their position on a given issue.  I have written Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray, Adam Smith, other Senators and Congress people from other states and the President.  I have gotten responses from most of them.  I just received to environmental responses back from Maria Cantwell today.  I realize that sometimes they tell us what they think we want to hear, but we have to keep on to them and hold them accountable to us.  I think, especially with the Neo-cons having control of all three branches of government it is more important then ever to make our voices heard.

Sample Response

From: Maria_Cantwell@cantwell.senate.gov
[mailto:Maria_Cantwell@cantwell.senate.gov ]
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2005 3:13 PM

To: brudolph@sprynet.com

Subject: From the Office of Senator Cantwell

February 2, 2005

Mr. Bob Rudolph
1703 Starling Street
Steilacoom, Washington 98388

Dear Mr. Rudolph:

Knowing of your interest in environmental issues, I wanted to let you know that I joined with Senator Susan Collins of Maine yesterday to introduce bipartisan legislation that would increase federal funding for research on abrupt climate change. S. 245, "The Abrupt Climate Change Research Act of 2005," would authorize $10 million per year over the next six years for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct research on abrupt climate change. This research would be conducted in partnership with the University of Washington and other universities across the nation. Specifically, this legislation establishes an integrated research program at NOAA to understand, assess, and predict human-induced and natural processes of abrupt climate change.

Abrupt climate change is a relatively new area of climate study. Scientists have determined that build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may cause the Earth's climate to change significantly over a short period of time. For example, a growing body of evidence suggests such shifts could occur in a period of less than a decade. Minor shifts in ocean temperature, which help regulate the world's climate, could lead to drought, flooding, and other catastrophic natural disasters that could be detrimental to many of the world's ecosystems.

In 2002, The National Academy of Sciences issued a report calling for more funds for abrupt climate change research stating: "Large, abrupt climate changes have repeatedly affected much or all of the Earth" and that "abrupt climate changes are not only possible but likely in the future, potentially with large impacts on ecosystems and societies."

By providing a federal framework and increased resources to research this problem, the Collins-Cantwell bill will develop a more comprehensive understanding about the risks and possible effects of rapid change in our world's climate. Hopefully, this knowledge will help inform other members of Congress and the public of the need to seriously reduce the world's emissions of greenhouse gases. .

I plan to champion this bill through the Senate Commerce Committee upon which I serve, and work with my colleagues to ensure that this vital measure becomes law.

Sincerely,

Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

[Note: Bob and Ken wrote the San Francisco Examiner concerning a disturbing ad showing a Palestinian girl carrying an assault rifle with a picture next to an Israel child holding a violin. - Dennis]

Bob writes: Here is a response from the San Francisco Examiner on my email yesterday based on Ken's and our concerns about the two little girls on the advertisement.

                                           450 Mission Street, 5^th Floor, San Francisco

 Thursday, January 27 2004

MEDIA WEEK AD

It has been brought to our attention that a recent advertisement published in Media Week promoting The Examiner has caused concern and offence to readers.  On behalf of Clarity Media Group and The Examiner in Washington and San Francisco, we sincerely apologize.

Clarity Media will immediately remove this advertisement from their campaign and new artwork will be used for the remaining duration of the marketing program.

Scott McKibben

Publisher