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Nikolas Cruz

The Parkland school mass shooter was damaged since before birth, an attorney told jurors on Monday. Nikolas Cruz, 24, was exposed to intoxicants in the womb because his biological mother Brenda Woodardused drugs and alcohol while pregnant with him, lawyer Melisa Alice McNeill of the Broward Public Defenders Office told Florida jurors in opening statements.

The lawyer said that Cruz was born by C-section. He had the cord wrapped around his neck three times, she added. He was blue for the first minute of his life, had to be resuscitated, and his extremities remained blue for five minutes, she said. When Cruz was three and a half years old, he was determined to be acting like a child that had just turned two, McNeill said.

The defendant was developmentally delayed and received inconsistent help in getting better, the attorney said. For example, adoptive mother Lynda Cruz did not follow up on Cruz visiting a psychologist when he was 3, McNeill said. He was on and off medication in elementary school, with Lynda citing the cost, the attorney said. Cruz did improve when he was in a structured, supportive environment, the lawyer said.

After troubling middle school years, Cruz did better after getting moved to Cross Creek School because it was a specialized environment. He was nonetheless later transferred to Marjory Stoneman Douglas, where he struggled behaviorally, academically and socially, McNeill said. Behavior included cutting himself and drinking gasoline.

When I met Nikolas Cruz on Feb. 15, 2018, I knew that he was a damaged person, McNeill said. But I also know that wounded and damaged people wound and damage other people because they are in pain.

The defense postponed their turn to speak until after the states case. Their job now is to convince jurors that Cruz who admittedly murdered 17 people and tried to kill 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018 should get life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty. He pleaded guilty last year. The state had refused to budge on seeking capital punishment, leading to this penalty phase.

Prosecutors went into explicit and extensive detail in laying out the aggravating factors against Cruz. He long planned committing a mass shooting, declaring in a Feb. 11, 2018 cell phone video that he was going to be the next school shooter of that year, prosecutors said.

Cruz attacked his former school with a semiautomatic rifle, stalking the hallways for victims, according to testimony and evidence. He even returned to shoot people he already hurt.

The gunshots were so powerful that you could feel the vibration, teacherRonit Reoventestified.

By all accounts, the wounds were horrific.

Survivors testified to the horrifying near-death experience.StudentSamantha Mayortestified a round shattered her kneecap. TeacherErnest Rospierski, who rushed children to safety, said bullets grazed him on the face and hip.

Law enforcement officers testified about finding slain victims and discussed their efforts helping the survivors.

Im miss him! Corey Hixon, the son of slain school athletic director Christopher Hixon, told the court in a victim impact statement.

Prosecutor Michael Satztold jurors in his opening statement last month that the aggravators outweigh whatever mitigators they might hear, such as details regarding Cruzs childhood and whatever treatment he received.

In addition to Christopher Hixon, the slain victims in the mass shooting were 14-year-old student Alyssa Alhadeff, 35-year-old teacherScott Beigel, 14-year-old studentMartin Duque Anguiano, 17-year-old studentNicholas Dworet, 37-year-old assistant football coachAaron Feis, 14-year-old studentJaime Guttenberg, 15-year-old student Luke Hoyer, 14-year-old studentCara Loughran, 14-year-old studentGina Montalto, 17-year-old studentJoaquin Oliver, 14-year-old studentAlaina Petty, 18-year-old studentMeadow Pollack, 17-year-old studentHelena Ramsay, 14-year-old studentAlexander Schachter, 16-year-old studentCarmen Schentrup, and 15-year-old studentPeter Wang.

There was no defense for Cruzs actions, McNeill said. She emphasized the obsessions he lived with through his life, including video games, guns, bowel movements, vegan diets and even demons.

McNeill told jurors that the defense was not hiding that, but said his brain is broken. Hes a damaged human being.

Family members including Cruzs sister Danielle Woodardare expected to testify. Her attorney in an unrelated, ongoing case appeared before the Parkland shooting court on Monday, saying he had only just learned on Friday about Woodard being set to testify. He said his client would assert her Fifth Amendment rights on matters he did not specify. He said there were concerns about her competency in her personal case, but JudgeElizabeth A. Scherer, who appeared annoyed with the last-minute announcement, said the legal standards of competence were lower for witnesses than for defendants.

[Screenshot via Law&Crime Network]

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His Brain Is Broken: Parkland School Shooters Biological Mother Used Drugs and Alcohol While Pregnant, Lawyer Tells Jury - Law & Crime

BROOKLINE, MA The following letter to the editor was submitted by Brookline Town Meeting member Len Wholey.

Dear Reader,

On Saturday July 8th, 1933, men from the Brookline Board of Selectmen and the Park Commission played the first round of golf at the new Brookline Municipal golf course. Selectman Philip Bowker, one of the proponents of creating a municipal golf course, served as the referee.

In a 1941 Brookline Chronicle interview with Bowker, now a State Representative, the article noted that he could be called the son of Brookline for his long lineage of family in the town (his father was a selectman and school committee member, and Philip grew up at the Griggs farmhouse across the street from the then named Devotion School). The article states he loved politics and hoped to get into national affairs because the battle and strife would in proportion be bigger. Success in politics, he said, doesnt just happen accidentally. It is a science like big business, and you cant fool the people about politics today.

Also in 1941 Bowker gave a radio talk titled The Enemy Within. The Brookline Chronicle paraphrased his comments with There must be no wild hysteria, we have had too much of that; a sane, constant calmness must be maintained... But let none of us rush wildly about, tearing our hair, screaming invectives against any race or creed. America must ever stand for tolerance. But it must also stand for stout, stalwart defense of everything it believes right and sound.

On October 2, 1952, now State Senator Bowker wrote in a Brookline Chronicle article The question of how far to make use of Senator Joseph P. McCarthy of Wisconsin in the Massachusetts area poses a question for the Bay State GOP high command. There is very great anti-communist feeling in this Commonwealth and the Democratic Convention is about to open an all-out drive against the Reds and have even gone to the extent of backing a new probe of red activities. So now the GOP must tee off in the same direction. Thus, use of McCarthys speech making powers around here may be considerable. Bowker also noted later that month after referring to a national draft, When you... then read in the press about professors aiding the Reds and getting mixed up in subversive adfairs [sic], it should make your blood boil. All the more need of something being done to curb communistic activity right here on the home front.

In 1953, twenty years after serving as referee at the golf course opening, State Senator Bowker would now decide who would be publicly branded a communist and a subversive in Massachusetts. Bowker was the chair of the Special Commission Established to Make An Investigation and Study of Communism and Subversive Activities - commonly known as the Bowker Commission. Despite Senator Joseph McCarthys censure by the U.S. Senate on December 2, 1954, State Senator Bowker doubled down on McCarthyism. In 1955, the Bowker Commission published the names and biographical details of 85 people suspected of being involved in the Community Party.[6] The Boston Globe published the names on June 9, 1955, and Senator Bowker successfully argued on the Senate floor to have 2000 copies of the report printed for distribution. Of the 85 people named, some lost their jobs and others suffered professional or business losses as a result.

One of the people named was Marcus Mark Mordecai Alper. Alper graduated from BrooklineHigh School, graduated from Brown University in 1933, fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War, and served in the Army Air Corps during WWII flying 35 combat missions as a tailgunner in a B-24. Marcus Alpers son Joshua said that accusations against his father and other family members and friends had a profound effect on our family, it made our parents tense and anxious to an extreme degree. Their family was unable to obtain passports for travel outside of the United States until after John F. Kennedy became President. Joshua Alper recalled an occasion in his early childhood when an FBI agent came to their house asking to speak to Jeannette, Marcus wife. When the agent confirmed that he did not have a warrant, Mrs. Alper slammed the door in the agents face. Upon receiving a Summons to appear before the United States Senate Internal Security Sub-Committee, Marcus Alper prepared a statement which begins I have always considered myself a loyal and patriotic citizen, I still do. (see complete statement below)

During Bowkers 1958 run for State Senator reelection, his campaign appears to have left out mentioning his work on the Bowker Commission outing communists and subversives. Nevertheless, he suffered a loss to democrat Peter McCormak, exited politics, moved to Florida in 1960, and died in Norway in 1966 at the age of 67.

In 1967, the Brookline Park and Recreation named the Brookline Municipal golf courses clubhouse after the late Philip Bowker, noting his service as former M.D.C. commissioner, state senator, town selectman and moderator in Brookline. Did the Brookline Park and Recreation consider his actions while leading the Bowker Commission and the negative impact on the lives of those named?

name of the clubhouse? Perhaps one of the following people could be honored instead:

Town Meeting Member, Precinct 11

STATEMENT OF MARCUS ALPER, NEWTON, MASS. May 7, 1953

I have always considered myself a loyal and patriotic citizen. I still do.

I am married, and the father of three children. I volunteered to serve my country during the past war, and flew 35 missions over Germany as a tail gunner on a B-24. I was awarded the air medal with 5 oak leaf clusters.

Recent experience has shown that witnesses called under circumstances similar to this suffer much public misunderstanding and often expose themselves, however innocent, to the very real threat of subsequent prosecution. In addition, in these tense days, ones children, family, friends and associates likewise become hurt. Therefore, I find it necessary to invoke the Fifth Amendment.

I know there is some public confusion about the Fifth Amendment. However, as I understand it, it became a part of our law in order to enable all witnesses to avoid giving testimony about themselves and those with whom they may have been associated.

Moreover, I am sure that the committee agrees that the constitution including the Bill of Rights was adopted for the protection of all of us. It teaches us that all Americans may hold inviolate their opinions and beliefs. Any intrusion in this area seems to me not only to violate the constitution but at the same time to involve some loss of human dignity. I have always strongly believed that the First Amendment to our Federal Constitution is an important feature of our way of life, and where appropriate I rely on it also.

I believe conscience and decency require no less. I hope my fellow citizens will understand.

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Letter To The Editor: Philip Bowker, Brookline Politician and Referee - Patch

Police stand outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, August 8, 2022, during an FBI search. (Wilfredo Lee / AP Photo)

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It might not feel like it yet, but the parade of advertisements flashing across my screen tells me that summer is winding down and its time to prepare for autumn. For my wallet, that means shelling out for back-to-school supplies. For the country, it means midterm election mania, when every story and every event gets filtered through the haze of the partisan horse race.

It also means were reaching the point when significant attempts to hold former president Donald Trump accountable for any of his apparent crimes will probably be put on hold, delayed until after the elections. Attorney General Merrick Garland has even said as much, warning the DOJ to avoid making moves that may be perceived as political close to the election.

One result is that weve missed our chance to hold Trump or any of the other attempted coup plotters responsible before voters head to the polls. Whether or not these people ultimately get away with it, they have at the very least made it to the next election cycle without facing any punishment for trying to overturn the last one. In fact, a number of people who openly supported the failed coup, and who still support the debunked notion that Trump won in 2020, will now get to run for positions from which they can overthrow elections in the future. Republicans who support the Big Lie are running for state election boards, secretary of state, and even governor, while senators and Congress members who voted against certifying the election are seeking office once again.

This represents an enormous failureof law enforcement, media, and of the Republican Party, which has embraced lies and candidates who support lies. A strong and well-functioning country simply doesnt let the people who tried to destroy its way of life escape unpunished; it certainly doesnt let them run for positions of public trust from which they can better implement their nefarious plans.

Even so, and despite these failures, Trump remains under a cloud of legal suspicion, subject to many investigations, which have only intensified over the summer. And regardless of how the midterms turn out, the power of various law enforcement officials to pursue Trump will remain intact.

Before the investigations enter a stage of public quiet, lets take stock of where things stand with them.

The Department of Justice executed a search warrant against Donald Trump at his Florida home on August 8 and recovered around a dozen boxes of documents containing sensitive materials. Trump and his sycophants have flooded the airwaves with lies and misinformation about those documents, including an initial claim that the FBI planted them at Mar-a-Lago and a subsequent claim that they were declassified by Trump while he was president. By now, most people should recognize this white-wing playbook: first, they claim that it didnt happen; then they claim that it doesnt matter if it happened; then, if it turns out that it does matter, they argue that Hillary Clinton or Black Lives Matter did something worse. Current Issue

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On the low end of the bad-presidential-behavior scale, Trump may have mishandled official recordssomething I assume hes been guilty of for a long time given his penchant for ripping and even flushing official documents. A violation of the Presidential Records Act, however, carries no teeth.

On the high end of that scale, Trump may have violated the Espionage Act, which can be punished by up to 20 years in prison (the death penalty is really only available in a time of war). Depending on what was in those documents, and how Trump used or intended to use them, he could have violated the prohibitions against gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information, and those violations would hold up even if Trump really did declassify the documents.

The distance between a presidential records violation and espionage is vast. We do not know what other evidence the DOJ has against Trump. We do know that the agency gave him ample opportunity to return the documents voluntarily, but we dont know if that courtesy suggests the relative insignificance of Trumps offense, or if the delay afforded Trump additional opportunity to commit crimes while under surveillance.

This case is a bit like a meteor: Its very hot and it could crash down on Trumpworld with devastating effect, or it could fizzle out in the sky as a pretty spectacle signifying nothing.

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The upshot of the espionage case is that it appears that the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago was wholly unconnected to the ongoing investigation into the plot to overthrow the government on January 6, 2020. The raid was not the culmination of a years-long investigation into Trumps culpability for the coup attempt; it is not evidence that Merrick Garland has been working in secret all this time to bring Trump to justice. Its just another indication that Trumps potential crimes are legion, and any time you actually look at the guyreally look at himyou catch him in the act of committing additional crimes.

That said, there is evidence that Garlands investigation into Trumps attempt to declare himself the winner of the 2020 election is picking up steam. The conclusion of last months January 6 Committee public hearings has opened up new avenues of investigation for the DOJ, mainly thanks to the explosive testimony of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. We know that witnesses who long stonewalled authorities, like former White House counsel Pat Cippolone, are now willing to talk. We know that the January 6 Committee has worked out a deal to share information and witness testimony with the DOJ. We know that the DOJ has the phone records of key players in the plot to put forward fake electors to contest the electoral countincluding Trump lawyer John Eastman and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. And we know that a grand jury has been subpoenaing witnesses and documents related to January 6, even if we dont know whats happening in front of it.

In short, we know that things are happening inside the Department of Justice. I doubt that we will see any indictments in September or October, before the midterms, but it is an increasingly safe bet that all of this work will lead to the indictment of somebody in connection with the attempted coup. I hope we find out in 2023.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James continues to unravel the web of potential financial crimes committed by Trump, his family, and his organization in New York State. Her investigation recently put Trump in a deposition chair to answer questions about his financial dealings under oath.

Trump availed himself of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during the deposition. There are many reasons a person would and should take the Fifth when being questioned about their potential crimes. Its the smart thing to do; if I were questioned by Tish James about my damn checking account, I would take the Fifth until I was convinced she was investigating somebody else, and I havent been running a long-term scam to reduce the valuation of my assets for tax purposes.

A target of an investigation, as Trump must surely be, should take the Fifth, and a targets taking the Fifth should in no way hinder a competent investigation or prosecution. Fans of legal television dramas may be addicted to the notion of the bad guy confessing his crimes under an intense interrogation or cross examination, but in the real world prosecutors have documents and testimony that counts as evidence that can be used to prove criminal activity, regardless of whether the criminal cooperates in their own downfall.

Trumps deposition was merely a courtesy to allow him to explain himselfand perhaps lock himself into a story. Trumps (wise) decision to listen to counsel and not answer Jamess questions simply means that she will have to prove his guilt. It was never going to be Trumps job to do that work for her office.

We dont know if James has enough evidence to convince a grand jury that Trump should be indicted for financial crimes, but I suspect James does know if she can get him. I dont think she would have brought Trump in for a deposition if she didnt already have a strong case. I doubt anything will happen in New York before the midterms, but, of all the potential charges Trump could face, the ones in this case feel closest to culmination. Bringing Trump in for a deposition is very close to a final investigative step; now we have to wait and see if James charges him.

While the New York investigation may be the closest to completion, I have long thought that the Georgia investigation into Trumps attempted election fraud, headed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, is the most likely to lead to Trump going to jail. Thats because we have evidence in the form of a taped phone call of Trump trying to commit election fraud or trying to get Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to commit election fraud on his behalf.

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There have been recent developments in the case that spell potential doom for Trumpworld. Trump political caddy Lindsey Graham has been ordered by a judge to comply with a subpoena in the investigation. And lawyers for Rudolph Giuliani have been told that the former New York mayor is a target of the investigation.

With Graham in the spotlight and Giuliani under the gun, I allow myself to dream that testimony from two of Trumps most constant political allies could one day seal his fate. I allow myself to hope that Trump is ultimately busted for trying to steal an election in a state that, even if he had won, wouldnt have changed the outcome in the Electoral College. I would love for Trump to go down, in the end, because he cant count to 270.

But again, none of that will happen before the midterms. Grifters like Graham and Giuliani will stonewall till the last, and Willis has already said she will pause her investigation if it gets too close to this years elections. Trump is in legal jeopardy in Georgia, but not in imminent danger.

All of these investigations will be waiting for Trump on the other side of the midterms, regardless of where the balance of political power resides in Congress. But every investigation into Trump is contingent on Democratic Party candidates holding positions of power in the long term. Republicans at the state and federal level have refused to investigate Trump and have instead devoted their entire party to his legal defense.

Hopefully, voters will remember that there is only one party that cares about democracy available to vote for this fall.

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Trump Is a CriminalWill Any of These 4 Investigations Snare Him? - The Nation

Washington, D.C., Aug. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has unanimously ruled in Harper v. Rettig that taxpayer James Harper can take the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to federal court for gathering private financial information about his use of virtual currency from third-party exchanges without a lawful subpoena.

IRS has, until now, successfully prevented federal courts from asserting jurisdiction over a significant constitutional challenge to the agencys unlawful data-collection practices. The First Circuit ruled that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire erred in itsMarch 2021decision granting IRSs motion to dismiss Mr. Harpers Fourth and Fifth Amendment challenge based on an alleged lack of jurisdiction. The district court did not have the benefit of the Supreme Courts May 2021 decision inCIC Services, LLC v. IRS, which concluded that the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) does not prohibit a suit seeking to set aside an information-reporting requirement that is backed by both civil tax penalties and criminal penalties. Mr. Harpers suit, which seeks to set aside IRSs illegal information gathering, is likewise not a suit brought to enjoin a taxs assessment or collection, so it is not subject to the AIAs limits on court jurisdiction.

Judge Kermit Lipez, writing for the majority, rejects IRSs argument that the AIA bars Mr. Harpers suit because it seeks to restrain activities related to the assessment or collection of taxes. He notes that CIC Services provides clarity that information gathering is a phase of tax administration procedure that occurs before assessment [or] collection. Judge Lipez concludes that since IRSs activities against Mr. Harper clearly fall within the category of information gathering the [AIA] is not an applicable exception to the United States waiver of sovereign immunity. Indeed, as the Supreme Court explained in CIC Services, where, as here, there is no tax penalty at issue, then the case is a cinch, and the suit c[an] proceed.

Mr. Harper had contracted with third-party virtual currency exchanges to protect his private information against unlawful government intrusion. Despite his efforts to ensure his records were properly safeguarded, IRS took the data of Mr. Harper and thousands of other cryptocurrency holders from virtual-currency exchanges without reasonable suspicion and without providing a pre-data-collection notice and opportunity to contest IRSs dragnet operation. In ruling that the district court has subject-matter jurisdiction, the First Circuit has ensured that the IRS can be held accountable for this violation of Harpers Fourth and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights.

NCLA released the following statements:

The appeals courts decision upholds a basic tenet of our justice system: every citizen claiming the government is violating his constitutional rights is entitled to his day in court. The IRS sought to deny that right, arguing that allowing people to object to its collecting personal data would unduly hamper tax-collection efforts. The court rightly rejected that argument. Efficient tax collection must never be permitted to trump constitutional rights. Rich Samp, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA

The bad news is the federal government recently passed a law that could lead to hiring over 86,000 new IRS agents. The good news is that courtesy of the First Circuits ruling, brave individual taxpayers like Mr. Harper may now sue the Internal Revenue Serviceand its new agentswhen it tramples their constitutional rights. Mark Chenoweth, President and General Counsel, NCLA

For more information visit the case pagehere and watch the case video here.

ABOUT NCLA

NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholarPhilip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLAs public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans fundamental rights.

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Original post:
In NCLA Win Against IRS, First Circuit Rules Taxpayers Can Indeed Take the Agency to Court - GlobeNewswire

Cost of wildfires

Re: the Aug. 9 article "Wildfire risk map spurs anger, pushback."

Wildfires are part of climate change. The national cost to fight wildfires has averaged over $2.3 billion/year between 2015-20.Property loss and deaths occur in these fires. The article about the Oregon risk map pushback is a sign of the times. People living in those area do not want to pay the costs for greater risk. Insurance premiums are an unaccounted cost in burning fossil fuels. Lloyds of London paid over $130 million in Oregon for wildfires in 2021. Should people living in areas with low risk pay for increased premiums?

Wildfire costs is one more reason that the Inflation Reduction Act is critical. Drought relief will occur and wildfires will decrease in frequency. We should thank our senators for supporting the passage of the bill so we can begin to reverse global warming.

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Inflation Reduction Act

Some assistance and advice, please. The badly misnamed and cruelly misleading Inflation Reduction Act promises to unleash a horde of 87,000 new IRS auditors on unsuspecting taxpayers. In our own backyard, though, our understaffed Border Patrol personnel are working their tails off just to keep the paperwork flowing as literally millions of undocumented newcomers cross our international border. Is something out of whack here? If not, I hereby offer to share my own auditor with other middle-income citizens. I don't think he or she is going to have much to do in harassing me over my modest annual earnings. Is it 2024 yet?

Fraud in the White House

Former President Donald Trump has just shown why he is unfit for any public office. He does not know the difference between the illegal break-in and burglary by the Watergate thieves and the FBI conducting a search based on credible evidence and a judges approval of the warrant previously approved by the director of the FBI and the attorney general of the United States. Trump appointed that judge and the director of the FBI. How many times have we heard him say that only mobsters and the guilty plead the Fifth amendment? He just pled the Fifth 450 times in New York. It is certainly his right to do so, but he said only crooks plead the Fifth. Lastly, the classified information found in his residence is a crime. As a former Air Force officer responsible for handling, storage and safekeeping of classified information, had those documents been in my house I would have been in jail for a long time.

Bad company for US

In the United States and Arizona in particular, the death penalty is legal and carried out. The arguments in its favor, deterrence and retribution, are shaky at best. And some wonder what they say about our cultural values. Another way of evaluating state-sanctioned execution is to look at the nations who support the punishment and those who oppose it. According to deathpenalty.org, nations who have abolished the death penalty include England, Canada, Mexico, France, Italy, Ukraine, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, and Israel. According to the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, the State of Israel is an unusual case. Although the death penalty remains on the books, it has been employed only once, that for the execution of Adolf Eichmann, and never again. On the other hand according to worldpopulationreview.com, nations who employ the death penalty include Afghanistan, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States. Just consider.

City Attorney $30,000 payout

Re: the Aug. 8 article "City agrees on $30K payment."

It is bad enough that the Tucson City Attorney's Office paid out $30,000 to two women that based on solid evidence instigated a confrontation with off-duty Tucson Police Officer Robert Szewleski in a restaurant parking lot in 2021. One of the women was initially charged with disorderly conduct but the City Attorney dropped that charge and gave the woman $15,000. What a scam. This cowardly act by the City Attorney's Office, designed to avoid the time, money and risk of litigation, was simply shameful. This case should have gone to trial, which is the job of the City Attorney. That they "walked away" from fighting to support law enforcement also served to embolden others to seek easy money from the City of Tucson. I think the evidence in this matter cleared the officer by the City Attorney's Office and certainly did not warrant a payoff to the instigators.

Let's act smart on global warming

Re: the Aug. 10 article "We must act now on climate emergency."

Greg Falk sets out facts about the rise in global temperatures which are important. However, he omits two critical aspects both of which override anything we here in the U.S. might do.

First, the population in the world is growing too fast and our planet simply cant absorb so many people. The current population is 7.6 billion and is expected to reach another billion by 2030 and 9.8 billion in 2050. Our planet cannot sustain families of five, six, seven and more children. But no one seems to address this issue when discussing global warming.

Second, experts say that unless China and India reduce their carbon emissions, whatever we do in the U.S. will be ineffectual. We should not foolishly adopt measures which hurt us but which are worthless if India and China are not on board.

So focus on reducing world population growth and bring China and India on board for decreasing their carbon emissions.

Pro-life, sometimes

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, the Republican Party and legislators have led the fight against abortion (no exceptions). The outrage is that abortion kills a fetus and Republicans are pro-life. But in the last week since the FBI removed classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, fanatic followers of Donald Trump and fervent Republicans are advocating killing FBI agents. Evidently they dont have the sanctity of a fetus. This is horrific and insane rhetoric and behavior. There was a time when the Republican Party was known as the Law and Order Party. They embraced the FBI and championed them cracking down on protestors. It seems now there is nothing pro-life about the Republican Partys view, despite their anti-abortion propaganda. They are now the party of Trump. The only thing Trump is in favor of is: Trump.

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Letters to the Editor: Aug. 22 - Arizona Daily Star