Opinion // Letters

Thursday letters: Space exploration, fake news, vegan Thanksgiving

Exploring space

It's the nature of humans to explore and reach beyond today's limits - for practical reasons such as economic and technological development and deeper purposes that differentiate us as a species. The urge to cross the next frontier is part of what it means to be human.

The vision posed by Chris Tomlinson's column "Manned spaceflight is a waste of resources" (Page B1, Monday) would be a betrayal of our nation's values, history and interests. Humans will go to Mars - the only question is who will lead. I don't believe America should cede that role.

I reject the false choice between robotic exploration and human spaceflight. Robots and humans provide unique and important roles. Many of the life-changing benefits of the space program, including LASIK eye surgery, advanced fetal monitors, and new osteoporosis drugs, were born solely by the mother of necessity: human spaceflight. These spinoffs and many others are benefits only derived from humans in space. NASA's total budget, including the mission to Mars and multiple other programs to explore the cosmos, is less than half of a penny per GDP dollar, a bargain considering the vast rewards.

Robots and virtual reality headsets cannot accomplish the goal of sustaining human life beyond the confines of earth, and those robots cannot respond as a human could as we strive to answer the fundamental questions about our place in the universe.

America must reject a narrow "machines only" space policy by continuing funding for manned exploration and the next generation of "giant leap[s] for mankind."

Bob Mitchell, President, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership

Checking facts

Regarding "Deconstructing fake news that began with a tweet" (Page B5, Monday), Johnathan Swift wrote "Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it," but he hadn't met the internet or the Twitterverse. The story of how a misguided tweet turned into a full blown media circus clearly illustrates the powder keg nature of the online world. What's worrisome is how many people either didn't check the facts, or deliberately misused the post for their own purposes.

Bob Gayle, Houston


Regarding "Pardoning the turkey: A political tradition, but lately, not a long life" (chron.com, Wednesday), President Obama is taking a break from Trump transition to pardon two turkeys. Every one of us can exercise that presidential pardon power on Thanksgiving by giving thanks for health and happiness while skipping gratuitous violence.

The 235 million turkeys killed in the U.S. this year have nothing to be thankful for. They are raised in crowded sheds filled with toxic fumes, and killed at 16 weeks.

Consumers pay a heavy price, too. Turkey flesh is laced with cholesterol and saturated fats that elevate risk of chronic killer diseases. Package labels warn of food poisoning potential. But, there is good news. Annual per capita consumption of turkeys is down by a whopping 35 percent from a 1996 high.

My Thanksgiving dinner will include a "tofurky" (soy-based roast), mashed potatoes, stuffed squash, chestnut soup, candied yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and carrot cake. An internet search on vegan Thanksgiving provides heaps of recipes and delightful plant-based turkey alternatives.

Harry Sutter, Houston