Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/78565
6A Daily News – Tuesday, August 14, 2012 Opinion DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 American Christian heritage Editor: You recently ran an article by Joe Harrop in which he attacked the Christian heritage of the United States of America. Mr. Harrop, citing hostile sources, tried to belittle the influence of Christianity on this country. He tried to show that what are called "The Founding Fathers" were not very Christian at all. This sentiment is being unfortu- nately spread around our schools and elsewhere. It does- n't take much time or effort to determine that these claims are false. The evidence is over- whelming supporting the Chris- tianity of the "Founding Fathers" and that we were founded as a Christian nation. I will quote a few. George Washington. "It is rightly impossible to govern the world without God and the bible." "To the distinguished character of patriot it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian." Speaking to Delaware Indians that were seeking white man type schools he said "You do well to learn our arts and our way of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are." views are the result of a lifetime of inquiry and reflection, and very different from the anti- Christian system imputed to me by those that know nothing of my opinions. To the corruptions of Christianity I am, indeed, opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense that He wished one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines in pref- erence to all others" Patrick Henry. Governor of Thomas Jefferson. "My Virginia. "It can not be empha- sized too strongly or too often that this great country was found- ed, not by religionists, but by Christians." John Adams. Our second president. "Our constitution was written for a moral and religious people. Alexander Hamilton. George Washington's military chief of staff, and first U.S. Sec- retary of The Treasury "It is the duty of citi- zens to vote only for Christians." Mr. Harrop went on to declare that Wash- ington didn't go to church very often. What are the facts? As any of us that have been in the mili- tary know sometimes duty comes first. Being the leader he had more to deal with than the rest put together. When he was home though, his adopted daughter that lived with him for 20 years said that he regularly attended church. She said he was regular even though it was a two or three hour trip each way on horse or by car- riage. Sounds very dedicated to me. that followed the Founders car- ried the same opinions. Daniel Webster, the great senator and orator said; "God intends you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God." "If It seems like the generation Your Turn the citizens neglect their duty, and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be cor- rupt." Mr. Harrop was wrong with his statements, but it appears like Senator Webster was right with his. We have elected unprincipled men to high office that have stacked the Supreme Court with unchristian ACLU lawyers, Clinton, and Obama, and we will be stuck with their non Christian decisions for decades to come. Senator Web- ster would probably be sick to his stomach if he could see just how corrupt our unprincipled political appointees and elected represen- tatives have become. The found- ing fathers wanted this to be a Christian nation. Our recent courts are trying to erase Chris- tianity from the American scene. It would be beneficial to the coun- try if, before we vote this year, we give some thought to what Alexander Hamilton, and Daniel Webster had to say about voting for Christians. Maybe we can get the country back. Phillip Southern, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Things we knew then; what we know now Commentary flawless in my presentation of facts, an error escaped my gen- erally thorough research, prov- ing the point. Wading through my vacation-held Daily News issues (currently on July 17), I was chagrined to realize I had either misremembered some- thing I read or heard, or had a bad source. I thank anyone that points out a factual error, and when I looked at the biographies of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a fair list of the Founders of America, I found out how off the mark I was to state that most of them "were men of the cloth." Of those I've checked on the Wikipedia site, Benjamin Rush, as I recall, was the only ordained minister, but I haven't finished looking them all up. Benjamin Franklin came close to the min- istry. Never having claimed to be made factual corrections in the past, as do most newspapers and other reputable news sources. I can understand that those who find my analysis and opinion to be extremely disagreeable to their ideology, would "jump" to criticize, utter "harrumph" and dismiss my positions on other contentious subjects. I would sincerely hope that we colum- nists could refrain from casting aspersions on each other's veracity over factual errors; I made an honest mistake and was not taking liberties with facts. There will, unfortunately, be little agreement on issues of import, with each side mar- shalling their sources, data, rea- soning and, yes, facts. I've read more factual misstatements from those opposed to me ideo- It was a rare blooper; I've logically over the years than I can begin to remember; impar- tial readers will use their judg- ment and sources to sort out the truth. In pointing out my error, a writer laid out a counter position to mine: that it is a myth that America's freedom and found- ing documents were divinely inspired, guided and protected. I say it is a myth promulgated over the last century that Amer- ica's freedom and founding doc- uments weren't divinely inspired, guided and protected. We can't both be right, but I have in numerous columns pro- vided many quotes from some of those same Founders and Framers, as well as from presi- dents all the way through FDR, to illustrate the centrality of the Christian faith to our nation's birth and growth. People have often gone about their lives with a minimal recognition of, and devotion to, our Creator. Periods in our his- tory when citizens en masse rose up to re-proclaim their devotion to God have been termed "Awakenings," and it may be time again for our citi- zens to pray and devote them- selves to restoring America's favor with God. That's the way I see it. conspired to make the common- ly accepted and histor- ically indisputable Medieval Warming Period (MWP) "disap- pear" from their records. And now, back to my favorite topic, the fraud of human- caused global warming. I'm not in law enforcement or the judi- ciary so I use the term "fraud" as I understand it in common parlance: using phony or manip- ulated information to present an untruthful conclusion for the purpose of deception. An exam- ple would be when Thomas Mann of Penn State and others warming scientists and their believers has been, until it was deconstructed and dis- credited, the so-called "hockey stick." It showed temperatures remaining fairly con- sistent for, I don't know, about 1500 years until spiking up dramatically in the last 100+ years, conve- niently corresponding to the rise of industrialization and corresponding CO2 emis- sions. They had to ignore the MWP because it was warmer on the earth then than it is now. Even Phil Jones, head of the British Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia has admitted that, yes, the entire planet, not just Europe, was warmer than it is now. That's a problem if your entire premise is that only human-generated "greenhouse gasses" warm the planet. What they attempted to do was unsci- entific, even scientifically fraudulent, in my opinion: sim- ply erase from history condi- tions that don't support that premise. No SUVs or coal-fired power plants back then to blame it on, illustrating that, as a mat- ter of fact, natural forces, even solar conditions, can warm the planet. Oceans rising and falling over millions of years, glaciers covering vast parts of North The great tool of Don Polson The way I see it America (there's a brass plaque on the top of Pilot Butte in Bend describ- ing how one-mile- thick ice once covered the 5,000 to 6,000 foot high Cascade Lakes Highway) and the steamy tropical condi- tions under which the dinosaurs ruled the earth for millennia – that all happened natu- rally but current cli- mate and weather extremes are our col- lective, industrialized fault. I don't buy into it. more. For instance, in a most unscientific, fraudulent and possibly criminal manner, Phil Jones and his cohorts conspired to erase emails and, in other ways, obstruct and resist Free- dom of Information requests for the raw data used to produce temperature graphs that suppos- edly prove the warming. Jones had to admit he no longer had that raw data. How convenient that the dog possibly ate it! Well, in New Zealand and Aus- tralia, those records exist and reality-based scientists were able to plot the adjustments that were made, only in one direc- tion (up) to support only one conclusion: we've gotten dra- matically warmer (when we haven't). But wait, there's more! We skeptics knew all of this; we also now know so much Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.