Sound Off for Sept. 21, 2020

No choice

I have an idea. Being that Steven Palazzo is running unopposed and a lot of people are unhappy with his performance, why not write in Gene Taylor’s name instead of no-show Palazzo? Perhaps it will get his attention.

Manage the forests

Heard on the news that Biden blames western wildfires on global warming and Trump blames them on poor forest practices. They are both right. Earth is slowly warming from the last Ice Age. High winds, low humidity and extremely high temperatures make fires worse. We can do better at forest management. This from an old guy with a degree in forest management and many years of work in the West and South.

Don’t wait

Joe Biden accused President Trump of being a “climate arsonist” and implied under a Biden administration wildfires would stop. That reminds me of when President Obama famously alleged he could stop the rising ocean levels. Democrats shouldn’t wait on elections to deliver on such grand ideas and promises. Get on with it now.

He lied

Trump said he “downplayed” the threat of the coronavirus, but he did much more than that. He lied. He said it was no worse than the flu when he knew it was much deadlier. He said it was a hoax, even though he knew it was very real. He refused to support the guidance of the doctors and scientists who told him that wearing masks was an effective way to stop the spread.

Democracy Trumped

President Trump obviously doesn’t believe in democracy — or doesn’t understand it. In a democracy, the people are the final authority. Hence it is critical that the government tell the people the truth so they and their representatives can decide what they want to do about it. President Trump obviously doesn’t trust the people with the truth.

Just trashy

Another day and more massive piles of cardboard at the curbs of Diamondhead homes where the occupants are too lazy or too ignorant to take their cardboard to the central recycling location. Perhaps a new mayor elected this Tuesday will get us a curbside recycling again.

Email a Sound Off to soundoff@sunherald.com

This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 12:47 AM with the headline "Sound Off for Sept. 21, 2020."