Remember respect during the campaign

I stood astonished this fall at the Daniel Boone Pioneer Festival when I witnessed a group of seven adolescents (middle school) shooting marshmallow guns at a political candidate’s poster, calling them names and saying they “hate” them. I spoke to the children about respecting people the way God intended.

Then Thursday night at the political forum I sat in front of three grown men that were being loud and disruptive, calling one of the candidates a name.

Folks, we need to be able to have election discourse without all this “nastiness” because our children are watching and they will emulate what they see in us.

Henry Branham

Clark County Judge-Executive

Don’t fall for the tricks of chemical scaremongering

To the editor:

I get it. You were working in your lab out late one night and didn’t remind your youngest vampire to watch his cape near open flames. Accidents happen. That’s why it’s so essential to choose costumes labelled “flame resistant.”

Costumes can ignite in as little as three seconds. Yet flame retardants receive relentless criticism from internet activists, with some actively campaigning against the safety feature in Halloween costumes.

Deliberately avoiding flame retardants when children are guaranteed to run around dozens of open flames while clad in dinosaur tails and oversized capes is utterly irresponsible.

“Flame retardant” refers to the ability to inhibit fire from spreading. Numerous substances can achieve this effect by disrupting combustion, creating a physical barrier, or releasing water or flame-choking gas.

Manufacturers don’t introduce chemicals haphazardly. Compounds like flame retardants were carefully developed and tested because society professed a need for them. And with the recent passage of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, the Environmental Protection Agency has greater power to regulate chemicals which scientists prove to actually introduce an unreasonable risk to society.

Instead of fearing chemistry this Halloween, embrace the mad scientist in you and appreciate the advancements science has afforded to contemporary life.

Dr. Joseph Perrone

Chief Science Office

Center for Accountability in Science