I am amazed at the extent to which The Star defends the Army’s chemical weapons incineration program. Blaming Anniston environmental justice and public health advocates, blaming the Chemical Weapons Working Group, now blaming Sen. McConnell for “stalling” the destruction of chemical weapons.While The Star continues on its rampage to find fault in anyone concerned with the incineration technology, it once again misses the point entirely. NOBODY but the Army is responsible for delays in its incineration program.
Look to the Army’s own documents on incineration operations schedules and you will see what factors are at fault: The inability of the incinerator to safely treat rockets containing “gelled” chemical agents; more protective environmental regulations that the incinerator can’t meet; and failures in major furnaces. The Army recently estimated that the chemical weapons incineration program will still be under way in 2016! Incineration is neither safe nor fast.
The Army’s proposal to speed up weapons destruction in Anniston and elsewhere is to chop up rockets and throw all weapon components together into the thousands-degrees-Fahrenheit metal parts furnace at a rate of 30 rockets per hour! The combination of chemical agent, metal parts, propellant and explosives present in a furnace at the same time is a real recipe for disaster. The National Research Council emphatically advised against that approach years ago.
Fortunately there is another option and McConnell supports it: Weapon disassembly and a room-temperature neutralization approach — used by the Army on chemical agents for decades. Chemical agents could be neutralized years faster than they could be incinerated. This Kentuckian can tell what is safer. Your readers could too, if you cared to stop the blame game and present the facts.
Elizabeth Crowe
Chemical Weapons
Working Group
Berea, Ky.
Reviving a tax deduction
In listening to C-Span and discussions on a stimulus package, I can’t believe all the brains of our elected officials can’t come up with anything except giving the billion dollar corporations millions of dollars with no guarantee they would do anything to help the economy.This is typical Republican thinking. The other idea of reducing FICA taxes would not make enough difference to be effective. Destroy Social Security.
The automobile manufacturers and dealers are offering 0 percent interest rates and low interest rates to keep their industry afloat.
However, there is a downside to this plan. First, this can’t last. Second, what about the trade-ins, seems to me they are going to create a glut of used cars. How are they going to overcome this? Also, can the auto dealers and manufacturers continue this action long enough to end the present recession. This free interest money has got to be costing somebody, so their profits are going to suffer.
In the early and middle 1970s, all interest paid on any type of purchase was income tax deductible. I recall it was a big deal for me and a lot of my acquaintances. This would encourage spending by people who can afford to spend but just are not, especially credit card holders.
If this could go in effect before the first of the year it could be made retroactive to January 2001 and result in a lot of tax refund money.
Jack Crowe
Anniston
John Walker
John Walker says he’s an al-Qaida trained Taliban fighter who supported the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Like the America-hating martyrdom seekers he joined, this traitor obviously yearns to die for Allah. America should accommodate him ... post haste.Jimmy Reed
Oxford
