Don's Tuesday Column

            THE WAY I SEE IT   by Don Polson  Red Bluff Daily News   11/20/2018

         Heart breaking, man-made fires

After watching, listening and reading the local stations and papers, words fail to express the magnitude of suffering and dislocation that are almost sickeningly sad. Anyone losing a home to fire, flood or other disaster suffers a loss that can deprive them of their belongings, a family member or friend, or a sense of fulfillment and future hope. The inherent ability of our fellow citizens and residents to find a ray of promise of recovery and restoration is inspiring. We can only shudder to think of how we would react and respond to a similar loss; thousands are suffering.

I can offer a vacant lot for an RV or two next to my house, if anyone knows of someone willing to dry camp without hookups this far from Paradise; my email contact is donplsn@yahoo.com. Even that will only last until rains soften the clay soil to the point that tires sink; it’s something.

Aside from the Camp fire burning up the idyllic areas of Paradise, Magalia and other foothill communities, there have been further mid-term election observations. Witness the reaction of the same people, or at least the same politically partisan mentality, that howled when then-candidate Donald J. Trump answered a debate question about accepting the results of the election; he said he’d have an answer when the election was over. The question was a way to get him to admit defeat before anyone voted.

The media/Democrat cabal doesn’t notice or care that only one side has refused to accept electoral loss—from the (coincidentally) infamous Florida recount fiasco in the 2000 election of George W. Bush, to the conspiracy theories over Bush’s 2004 win, to the continuing rejection of President Trump’s legitimacy—including his policies and appointees. Witness the despicable stance of Florida and Georgia Democrats that “Democracy failed” (so said Georgia governor candidate Stacy Abrams over her loss).

So much for losing mere elective office. The losses we see in the images, interviews and encampments is tragedy compounded by the limits of government and private agencies to make it all go away. It will never be 100 percent as it was for communities, individuals and families. Pray for them; pray for recovery; pray that the spirit of uplift and hope fills the void.

Unfortunately, some of the statements by people illustrate how a visit by President Trump, seeing for himself the devastation and loss, border on irrational negativity. Remember how much criticism engulfed Bush’s flyover of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina—proving his uncaring, even racist persona.

Unsurprisingly, news crews found both supporters and detractors at the Chico airport and along the travel route taken by the motorcade; it appeared to be weighted more on the pro side. I will not criticize anyone for their right to an opinion after experiencing such a fiery loss of home and life; they are more than entitled to vent at anyone.

However, when I hear gripes about the resources used to support Trump’s tour (see above for the criticism Bush got not touring), or that he didn’t stop everywhere, or that he should “show compassion, not criticism” for responders and community inhabitants—I shake my head in disbelief. People are due their opinions but could we just accept the fact that Trump never criticized or disrespected either CalFire or the emergency agencies or the people who chose to live in the now burned-out areas. Please don’t give credibility to fallacious partisan misrepresentations of entirely justifiable critiques of forest policies.

The obsession over “global warming” or “climate change” causes has got to be set aside, based on evidence. Temperatures have not risen appreciably, about the equivalent of a degree per century; I referenced unadjusted satellite and weather balloon records last week. Four tenths of a degree would be literally imperceptible over 40 years. For carbon dioxide to go from 300 to 400 parts per million over a century would be like a $10,003 investment rising, over 100 years, to $10,004.

It’s the equivalent of adding 10 seats to a 100,000-seat stadium, making a 30-seat section into a 40-seat section. Ice core samples from multiple sites show records of extreme variations of both carbon dioxide (up to 10 times current levels) and temperatures. Ice ages made 1-mile thick glaciers where the Cascade Lakes Highway in Oregon now runs at 5,000 to 6,000 feet in elevation. Lush tropical forests and dinosaurs once ranged and roamed over much of now-snow covered Northern states.

And yet we have reporters that are content to quote only the climate alarmist side of the issue. They likewise seem utterly disinterested in quoting any experts outside of “professors” and “forest scientists,” who dispute and dismiss the idea that forest mismanagement had any role in overgrowth-fueled conflagrations. “Nature and humans share blame for the wildfires, but forest management did not play a major role, despite Trump’s claims, fire scientists say.” Apnews.com goes on to cite “human caused climate change is killing and drying the shrubs and trees that provide the fuel.” Narrative bias?

That was part of a supposedly straight news story on Trump’s helicopter visit. For more accurate writing, look up “How Misguided Environmentalism Is To Blame For California’s Wildfires; The saddest part about these fires in California is that they are self inflicted. Californians should not allow such mismanagement to continue” by Krystina Skurk (thefederalist.com). Also, see “Climate Change Is Not To Blame For California Fires [VIDEO]” by Nina Bookout at victorygirlsblog.com.

Read “CA Gov. Jerry Brown Vetoed Bipartisan Wildfire Management Bill in 2016,” by Kary Grimes. “Is PG&E going too far in cutting trees for fire safety? A Sacramento group says yes” by Tony Bizjak, sacbee.com; it shows that enviros won’t accept any tree cutting, even right under power lines in the middle of Sacramento. Clinton-era anti-forest-road rules also contribute. Opponents of cutting and thinning must get out of the way of protecting people and towns.