It used to be very hot years ago, also

During the American Revolution (1775-1883), the British soldiers who were stationed in the American colonies complained about the very hot summers they had to endure.

On June 28, 1778, the Continental army clashed with British forces at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey. This was a long, drawn-out battle which resulted in no decisive winner for either side except for the fact that the new Continental army was able to fight toe to toe with veteran Red Coats for the first time.

On that day, the temperature peaked between 105 and 107 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the source. The majority of the 1,000 casualties were due to heat-related sickness, including 10 battle deaths from heat stroke.

From 1803 to about 1850 pioneers headed west. The Great Plains was a destination for pioneers who settled in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. It is well-documented that temperatures were recorded as high as 112 degrees during the summer on the Great Plains.

In fact, it was very common for pioneers to experience summertime temperatures reaching 105 degrees almost every year.

So what is the point? Recent reports of high temperatures across the central and eastern regions of the United States included the heat index to sway the concept of man-made climate change. Climate change is a normal physical phenomenon which has occurred from the Triassic period to the present.

In science, all theories must contain the element of predictability. If the evidence for man-made climate change is the result of every independent event — cold winters, hot summers, cold summers, etc. — the theory is contradictive and must be disregarded because there is no predictability.

Therefore it is reasonable to suspect the proponents of man-made climate change have an agenda.

JOEL de SARIO

HENDERSON

No optimist

To the editor:

Maybe the world is cyclical, and that’s the nature of things.

It’s not so much that the United States is falling behind, but rather the rest of the world is catching up and running faster.

A thousand years ago, China was living in splendor while Europe was in the Dark Ages. A hundred years ago, the sun never set on the British Empire. Fifty years ago, America was supreme and the world envied our affluent lifestyle. Today, China is our banker and they are building megacities with high-speed rail and infrastructure that would make your head spin. We will probably just tighten our belts and struggle along.

Optimists will say that better days are ahead, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

ANTHONY TIDEI

LAS VEGAS

Justice done

To the editor:

I was so glad to read that Warren Jeffs was convicted of the raping of minor children (Friday Review-Journal).

Jeffs and his seven cohorts, all of whom have been convicted, were nothing more than pedophiles committing one of the most heinous crimes mankind can reap on children — rape — all under the guise of it being part of their religion. The only difference between this group and jihadist suicide bombers who want to die martyrs so they can have their virgins is that this group bred and raised these girls for the specific purpose of being raped.

He and his cohorts are no different than the priests in the Catholic Church who have also been convicted of similar crimes.

Kathleen M. Stone

Pahrump