Mammogram money

According to the Nov. 17 Wall Street Journal, studies involving 200,000 women in China 100,000 in Russian, showed no benefits with regard to breast self-examinations. Were these women included in the studies reviewed by the task force?

From which countries was the data collected for the studies included and reviewed by the task force?

No mammograms after age 74? I have friends in their 70s and 80s with breast cancer - are we to be written off?

What a coincidence that the results are released at the time Congress is looking for money for the government health care plan.

Florence Guilbault

Racine

Falsifying data

The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 24th on documents released from the Climate Research Unit, at East Anglia University, in England, showing evidence of scientific fraud regarding climate change. Data used to support the theory that humans are causing global warming was fabricated.

Likewise, data showing that the Earth has been cooling for the past decade was manipulated to show the opposite. In addition, a concerted campaign was instituted by climate alarmist scientists to impugn the reputations of, and prevent publication of scientific papers by, scientists whose research showed either no warming or man's contribution to it paling compared to nature's effects.

Since scientists and policy makers worldwide rely on the CRU's climate data, the uncovering of this fraud has huge implications. False data was used to justify policies ranging from mandating green lightbulbs and windmills, to the EPA's ruling CO2 a pollutant in need of regulation, and the proposal of the Cap and Tax bill meant to financially fleece energy consumers. For a decade, schools have parroted this mis-information to students, scaring them needlessly. None of these measures are indicated, as there is no data supporting the notion that man-made CO2 is causing ANY harm to the environment.

Senator Janes Inhofe has called for an investigation into this scandal. The scientists who perpetrated this deceit should be fired and prosecuted. As Obama said, we must restore science to its rightful place, and that cannot include falsifying data.

Adele Weeks

Mount Pleasant

The sky isn't falling

Congressman Paul Ryan should be renamed Congressman Henny Penny. It was Henny Penny in the fable who told everyone that the sky was falling because one fallen acorn hit her in the head. Seems that Congressman Henny Penny is suffering from the same delusions these days.

It's understandable and even expected that the Congressman, as a Republican, would oppose most initiatives that President Obama has proposed. But Congressman Henny Penny tells us repeatedly that everything the President proposes will turn into a sky is falling disaster, whether it be the President's health care approach, the budget deficit, the stimulus spending, the possible transfer of terrorist prisoners from Guantanamo to Illinois, and on and on.

The Congressman's wild exaggerations have significantly diminished his credibility to deal with important issues in a meaningful way. I didn't vote for Congressman Henny Penny, who we have today, but for Congressman Paul Ryan, a thoughtful, intelligent man who avoided demagoguery and doomsday politics. Until he restores his sense of balance and credibility, and stops the fear mongering, I'm going to totally ignore all of his sky is falling messages on everything that isn't a Republican/Conservative initiative.

Richard J. Rodrick

Wind Lake

Mason's courage

Apparently, Debra Jossart, Racine County human services director, relied on the age old strategy of "the best defense is an offense" when she wrote about fraud in the Wisconsin Shares Program as exposed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The exposé contained many examples of county employees' failure to follow up on red flags in the paperwork that would have exposed the fraud.

In her Journal Times' commentary, Jossart acknowledged having the responsibility to administer WSP "... which entails determining eligibility, authorizing hours of care, verifying bills and processing payments."

But, while neglecting to explain how it happened, she chastised Representative Cory Mason for failing to support her requests to change the law and provide money for investigators; requests made after the exposé.

She also delineated changes in Racine County's operation made after the exposé.

That however, leaves these serious questions.

Was Jossart's department diligent when processing WSP? When did Jossart's employees become aware of the fraud and what action did they take? If they were unaware of the fraud, why did Jossart manage an accounting system where fraud was missed by insiders but identified by outsiders?

An exposé of this magnitude should trigger a demand for answers by our County Board Members who, unfortunately, are compromised.

You see, they joined the county executive, the district attorney, the sheriff and the head of Racine's Republican Party in a politically inspired lynching of Mason. For shame.

I applaud Rep. Cory Mason for his courage to take this issue head on.

For the record, I'm a fiscal-conservative Democrat.

Earl O. Christianson

Racine