Let’s not spring ahead
It’s time to change clocks again. Is there anything more idiotic, more wasteful, more unnecessary? The Sun and the Earth could care less how we define time. Leave the clocks alone!
—James Scott
History repeats itself
Seeing the same comments on social media about the attack last night as I heard 25 years ago got me wondering. Americans as a people seem to be easily frightened into supporting any ill conceived military action if it’s sold to them as stopping an imminent threat. I also realized that major wars occur about 20 or so years apart, about every generation. The people around during the last war have forgotten about it and the new generation is motivated to fight it with slogans like, “This time it will be different.”
—Jeff Cole
The irony of Generalissimo Trump
To understand this bizarre military adventure unfolding in the Middle East, we need to remember the background of the Commander in Chief who’s carrying the banner for our troops.
Let’s get the obvious irony out of the way — the guy used daddy’s money and connections to dodge the draft for Vietnam with phony bone spurs. Ending the war was the banner of his generation’s youth and many with rich families like his found ways to avoid sending their sons to war.
But that’s just the beginning. Let’s dig deeper. In both Presidential campaigns Trump promised to “End the endless wars.” Here’s a list of his promises:
• He said the U.S. should withdraw troops from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of war, saying the mission had become nation-building instead of counter-terrorism.
• He criticized the Iraq War as a “mistake” and said the U.S. shouldn’t be policing the Middle East. Instead, he promised to defeat ISIS quickly and then leave
• Candidate Trump said U.S. troops should not remain to rebuild countries or referee civil wars
• He urged a focus on homeland defense and promised to avoid new large ground wars. In his campaign speeches and rallies he said:
• “I’ll defeat ISIS quickly and then leave;”
• “U.S. troops should not remain to rebuild countries or referee civil wars;”
• “The U.S. spent trillions in the Middle East while American infrastructure and industry were neglected at home;”
• “We should have never been in Iraq;”
• “We will stop racing to topple foreign regimes that we know nothing about, that we shouldn’t be involved with;” and,
• “We’ve spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while our country has gone to hell.”
Perhaps the most profound quote is this: “I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary — and I mean absolutely necessary.”
Now, time and again, he’s re-defining the definition of “necessary” and embarking on military adventures around the world without the approval of Congress. The bottom line is this: Ironically, Trump campaigned on ending “endless wars” and now he’s busy starting new ones.
I have a simple theory that explains this ironic behavior – he’s living in the past.
Donald Trump was sent to the New York Military Academy at age 13. His father, a strict, results-oriented businessman, was worried about young Donald’s behavior and direction. He had become very energetic and defiant at school, was getting into fights and acting out. Trump was, by several accounts, testing limits in ways his father thought could lead to trouble in New York City.
Military academies in the 1950s and 60s were commonly used by families — especially affluent ones — as a corrective boarding school rather than a path to a military career. They used a cadet structure, uniforms, drills, and rank system to build discipline. Donald himself described his arrival there as “rough discipline and a bullying-type initiation.” He said his four years at NY Military Academy “straightened him out”
Trump is exhibiting significant signs of dementia, a disease that causes people to start living more and more in earlier decades of their past. This leads me to the obvious explanation for the aggressive military behavior: he’s simply living in the past and playing with toy soldiers.
This is not going to get better. This demented, aggressive child-President has his finger on the red button. If we don’t stop him now he could kill us all.
—Louis Capozzi
Bend’s proposed natural gas appliance fee
I am a retired professor from Cal Poly, San Luis Obipso, California. I taught air quality and environmental science in the civil and environmental engineering dept. I now live in Bend in the Larkspur neighborhood. For the record, we have recently retrofitted our 1989 house with an electric heat pump HVAC, and electric heat pump water heater system. Both systems will pay for themselves within 3 – 5 years (depending on changes in electricity prices).
I have looked at the City of Bend’s formula for the proposed natural gas appliance fee. It only considers carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from combustion. This is part of the concern with gas appliances, but not all. Recent studies showed that all natural gas appliances leak methane. Methane is about 80 times more potent than CO2, although it has a shorter half-life in the atmosphere.
Key Findings on Methane Leaks from Appliances per Stanford and others (e.g. UC Davis):
Total Impact: Residential gas stoves release 30,000 tons of methane annually in the U.S.
Leakage Rate: About 1% of total gas consumed by stoves leaks unburned, which is higher than previously estimated.
When Leaks Occur: The majority of leaks (over 75%) happen when the stove is not in use, attributed to issues like loose fittings or permeation.
Water Heaters: Natural gas water heaters also contribute significant, though less frequently measured, methane leakage, with one study suggesting they leak around 91,000 tons annually in the U.S.
This leakage has a climate impact comparable to the annual CO2 tailpipe emissions of 500,000 gasoline-powered cars. Because methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas — more than 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period — these leaks represent a significant, overlooked source of climate-warming pollution. I believe the Bend ordinance should include methane leaks in the calculations of emissions for gas-fired appliances and cook tops.
—David Morrow
Letter of the Week:
David, thanks for sharing your knowledge. As letter of the week, you can stop by the Source office at NW Georgia & Bond Street. for a gift card to Palate coffee. —Managing Editor Nic Moye
This article appears in the Source March 5, 2026.
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Thank you David Morrow! I think the city should hire you as a consultant.
As far as day lights saving time. We voted to eliminate it here in Oregon several years ago and it passed. Just goes to show you that not all propositions that are passed by the voters become law.