The Irrational Fundamentalists

Editor,

There’s a subset of Christianity known as Christian fundamentalists where around 80% support a corrupt and criminal Republican administration. As long as this administration supports in some way the Christian fundamentalist agenda of anti-abortion, anti-homosexuality, anti-trans sexuality, and anti-same sex marriage, they will vote Republican and ignore the corruption.

But why are they against most abortions and sometimes against all abortions? They invoke the sanctity of life and quote the Commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” yet, strangely, they support the war in Iran.

If the Christian fundamentalists want to use the Bible as a guide, they won’t get much help from its pages where it actually condones a test that may produce an abortion. In Numbers 5:11-31, there is the jealously test that a man can use to determine if his wife has been faithful. If he thinks his wife has been “defiled” by another man he will bring her to the priest who will apply a test whereby she will be required to drink water mixed with dust from the floor of the tabernacle. If she is guilty, “her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot (she will abort the fetus).”

The Noachian Flood that killed millions of men, women, children, and babies, except Noah, his family, and selected animals, was genocide on a massive scale. Thousands of the women would have been pregnant, and their fetuses destroyed. According to various passages in the Bible, God ordered his chosen armies to invade neighboring countries and slaughter everyone; a significant proportion of these women would have been pregnant and their fetuses destroyed. Apparently this war loving God is the biggest abortionist ever.

It’s time for Christian fundamentalists to take a closer look at their belief in the “sin” of homosexuality. Declaring homosexuality, same sex marriage, and trans sex a sin ought to be as morally outmoded as the Biblical prescription to keep slaves (Lev. 25:44-46), that a servant (slave) who knows their master’s will but fails to prepare or act accordingly will be punished with “many stripes” (Luke 12:47), to stone your wife on your wedding night if she is not a virgin (Deut. 22:20-21), or “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18).

Homosexuality is something you are born with, it is not a choice. If people believe in freedom, then they should keep from trying to impose their irrational beliefs on the rest of society.

David M. Keranen

Bakersfield, CA

Copper Mining in the Western UP

Editor,

There has been some very interesting information coming out for both copper mining projects in the western UP. Kinterra bought out Highland Copper’s 34% interest in White Pine North for a cool 30.1 million. Now Highland Copper can proceed with its project just west of the Porkies. Also good is the fact that White Pine North is completely under the control of an American company. 

On the Copperwood project, they will get their power from outside of the area by a high voltage transmission line. The upgrades on the county road to the mine were nixed previously, so what’s a mining company supposed to do? Has any core sampling been done south of the Porkies, to see if a tunnel is feasible to connect both projects to a railroad line, as well as possibly having a smelter on site? The benefits to the entire western UP are obvious. More local jobs means more people will be able to stay and work here. 

A major note of concern is the fact that White Pine North plans on bringing in three natural gas turbines for electrical power. This is putting all the proverbial energy eggs in one basket. Remember when natural gas went up over six dollars/thousand cubic feet? What about disruptions to the supply, as well as limited supply received by MTU? The superintendent of MTU’s heating plant stated that they have already at times been limited in the amount of natural gas that they can get. What happens when they can’t get all the natural gas they need? They then switch to fuel oil (diesel) which is very expensive.

What the White Pine Project has proposed will only exacerbate this chronic problem. That is why alternative energy sources are a must. Coal and mini-Nukes are real and viable alternatives for both capacity and reliability for both these mining projects, to be economically feasible. 

Remember the ‘sludge’ from the tank house? It was shipped to Sudbury in barrels marked ‘hazardous waste’.  That’s only half true as valuable trace elements were in the ‘sludge’. 

The proposed ‘paste’ in the old tailings pond will have the same potential. Remember that gold and some other valuable metals will be in that ‘paste’. Let’s process that here as well.

Paul Olson