Letters to the editor
Published on Wed, Feb 10, 2010Read More Letters
To State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege
It's wonderful that you take time out from your busy schedule of trying to figure out where you're going to get all the money that you have already spent and balance the budget.
The House Bill 1885 that you have sponsored to ban wildlife feeding is badly needed.
I, for one, agree that the feeding of bears, wolves, cougars and coyotes is a bad idea. And I, for one, will stop feeding them myself, immediately. Especially the cougars as they are so difficult to hand feed. Lord knows I have tried.
As for the diseases and rabies that you are so graciously protecting us from, I did a little checking and found there were only two cases of rabies in humans in the state of Washington in the past 71 years; that's right, 71 years, and both those cases were traced to bat bites.
So, sir, please, please, place bats on that list because they are 100 percent of the rabies problem in the state of Washington.
There is another creature that strikes fear into my heart each summer - every time I go to collect my daily mail - those vicious hummingbirds that have attacked me from time to time should also be on your list. Last, but not least, the dreaded mosquito.
To help eradicate this big problem with wildlife in our rural area, I suggest every household should be required to keep a 30-30 rifle and have a 365-day hunting season to eradicate any chance of these pests passing on their diseases to us humans. Oh, yes, this will also stop the deer from eating flowers and such in some old duffer's yard, which I'm sure is the real reason you are pushing Bill 1885 into law.
Dennis R. Barnes
Port Angeles
No longer a believer
Thanks to the Supreme Court, we are now in a position to change the way we are governed.
Instead of all the problems of Democrats and Republicans spending their time fighting each other, we can abolish the two-party for a no-party system.
Instead we can vote for the corporation/labor union which most believes in the same ideals as we feel comfortable with and they will select candidates for all the Senate, Congress, courts etc., etc.
Then the corporation/labor union who spends the most money wins the right to place their candidate into office.
No more months of campaigning, party conventions, endless speeches on TV, radio and Internet.
We could save millions of taxpayer money and our own political contributions.
I have been passionate in telling everyone that their vote counts.
I no longer believe that.
Winifred Codd
Sequim
This is a mystery
I am struck by the magnitude of the death, maiming and destruction caused by the Haiti earthquake on Jan. 12. Deaths alone are estimated to be greater than 100,000 people, which does not account for probably that many others maimed (some almost worse than death?) - for life).
Can any reader imagine the equivalent of the people in 25 to 50 Sequims being killed more or less simultaneously within a few minutes on the Olympic Peninsula, and the chaos that would follow? The Haiti event is mind boggling!
Haiti, being a very poor nation, its people didn't have much before the quake and now, more than a million of these people are homeless and living in makeshift tents and shacks (the lucky ones) without sufficient food or water or medical care. Their long-term outlook was bleak before this catastrophic event, which has now made their outlook even worse.
This is not the first such event in recent times. The earthquake and resultant tsunami in Indonesia had similar results, thousands of people died, more maimed and missing, and more homeless. And there have been many other such events worldwide over the years, some even worse!
One might ask: How can an all-powerful, loving God allow such events to happen? When survivors are found in the rubble, many thank their God for the miracle(s) of saving those relatively few fortunate survivors. But, in fact, what is miraculous is that many more weren't killed or maimed in this natural event. If an omnipotent God were really protecting the survivors, he/she didn't have to cause or allow the event at all.
Some will say: "God works in mysterious ways." So one might wonder, why did God find it necessary to arbitrarily kill (cause the deaths of) 100,000+ apparently innocent Haitian people, et al, without warning? What did they do or not do to deserve such a tragic fate? This is a mystery, which all intelligent, curious, introspective people should contemplate.
Richard Hahn
Sequim
Restore our manufacturing
It is time for the U.S. federal government to stand up to China and stop borrowing money from China, our biggest lender, due to the fact they have a trade surplus while we have a trade deficit.
We import more than we export to the world. And this needs to stop. We need to start the process of getting back a trade surplus.
We need to pay off our debt to China and for the U.S.A. to stand up to the Chinese government and stop giving into what they want. Like Bush and Obama have been doing.
How we can pay this back is to use the bank bailout money that has been paid back. About $30 billion.
We need to stop being slaves to China.
It is time to stop the trade deals that have been made with China, like permanent normal trade deals.
China should not ever be taken off the U.S. spy list.
The U.S. should stop buying the crap that comes from China.
Do you remember the incident with Chinese-made toys, pet food, drywall?
We need and should restore the manufacturing base that was in our country before all of these darned trade deals were passed.
The American-made products were better made than what comes from China.
Noelle Levesque
Sequim
Alter pets,
save lives
As one who hopes to relocate to Sequim and continue my 38 years of volunteer work with animals, I was delighted to read of the planned low-cost spay and neuter clinic in your county for low-income pet owners.
Pet overpopulation costs taxpayers millions of dollars; the cost to animals is often suffering or death.
Prevention is cheaper and obviously the common sense way to proceed. Even if we did not have pet overpopulation, I would still encourage pet owners to alter their pets, mostly to improve their future health and their behavior.
Cancer and pyometra are the biggest threats to unaltered pets.
Cats and dogs add so much to the quality of our lives, especially to those living alone or the elderly, it is important to remember the pleasure they have given us when we make out our wills. I hope your readers will include "Spay to Save" in their wills.
Some can't afford to donate to animals, or anything else, however you might consider arranging a block garage sale and donating all or part of the proceeds. Some donate when a loved one or friend dies, in lieu of flowers, or in memory of a pet who has died. Of course, you can also donate to celebrate an event in your life or that of an animal-loving friend.
Lastly, men and women can donate their time. Help save lives by contacting spaytosave.org.
Hazel Mortensen
Solvang, Calif.
It's wonderful that you take time out from your busy schedule of trying to figure out where you're going to get all the money that you have already spent and balance the budget.
The House Bill 1885 that you have sponsored to ban wildlife feeding is badly needed.
I, for one, agree that the feeding of bears, wolves, cougars and coyotes is a bad idea. And I, for one, will stop feeding them myself, immediately. Especially the cougars as they are so difficult to hand feed. Lord knows I have tried.
As for the diseases and rabies that you are so graciously protecting us from, I did a little checking and found there were only two cases of rabies in humans in the state of Washington in the past 71 years; that's right, 71 years, and both those cases were traced to bat bites.
So, sir, please, please, place bats on that list because they are 100 percent of the rabies problem in the state of Washington.
There is another creature that strikes fear into my heart each summer - every time I go to collect my daily mail - those vicious hummingbirds that have attacked me from time to time should also be on your list. Last, but not least, the dreaded mosquito.
To help eradicate this big problem with wildlife in our rural area, I suggest every household should be required to keep a 30-30 rifle and have a 365-day hunting season to eradicate any chance of these pests passing on their diseases to us humans. Oh, yes, this will also stop the deer from eating flowers and such in some old duffer's yard, which I'm sure is the real reason you are pushing Bill 1885 into law.
Dennis R. Barnes
Port Angeles
No longer a believer
Thanks to the Supreme Court, we are now in a position to change the way we are governed.
Instead of all the problems of Democrats and Republicans spending their time fighting each other, we can abolish the two-party for a no-party system.
Instead we can vote for the corporation/labor union which most believes in the same ideals as we feel comfortable with and they will select candidates for all the Senate, Congress, courts etc., etc.
Then the corporation/labor union who spends the most money wins the right to place their candidate into office.
No more months of campaigning, party conventions, endless speeches on TV, radio and Internet.
We could save millions of taxpayer money and our own political contributions.
I have been passionate in telling everyone that their vote counts.
I no longer believe that.
Winifred Codd
Sequim
This is a mystery
I am struck by the magnitude of the death, maiming and destruction caused by the Haiti earthquake on Jan. 12. Deaths alone are estimated to be greater than 100,000 people, which does not account for probably that many others maimed (some almost worse than death?) - for life).
Can any reader imagine the equivalent of the people in 25 to 50 Sequims being killed more or less simultaneously within a few minutes on the Olympic Peninsula, and the chaos that would follow? The Haiti event is mind boggling!
Haiti, being a very poor nation, its people didn't have much before the quake and now, more than a million of these people are homeless and living in makeshift tents and shacks (the lucky ones) without sufficient food or water or medical care. Their long-term outlook was bleak before this catastrophic event, which has now made their outlook even worse.
This is not the first such event in recent times. The earthquake and resultant tsunami in Indonesia had similar results, thousands of people died, more maimed and missing, and more homeless. And there have been many other such events worldwide over the years, some even worse!
One might ask: How can an all-powerful, loving God allow such events to happen? When survivors are found in the rubble, many thank their God for the miracle(s) of saving those relatively few fortunate survivors. But, in fact, what is miraculous is that many more weren't killed or maimed in this natural event. If an omnipotent God were really protecting the survivors, he/she didn't have to cause or allow the event at all.
Some will say: "God works in mysterious ways." So one might wonder, why did God find it necessary to arbitrarily kill (cause the deaths of) 100,000+ apparently innocent Haitian people, et al, without warning? What did they do or not do to deserve such a tragic fate? This is a mystery, which all intelligent, curious, introspective people should contemplate.
Richard Hahn
Sequim
Restore our manufacturing
It is time for the U.S. federal government to stand up to China and stop borrowing money from China, our biggest lender, due to the fact they have a trade surplus while we have a trade deficit.
We import more than we export to the world. And this needs to stop. We need to start the process of getting back a trade surplus.
We need to pay off our debt to China and for the U.S.A. to stand up to the Chinese government and stop giving into what they want. Like Bush and Obama have been doing.
How we can pay this back is to use the bank bailout money that has been paid back. About $30 billion.
We need to stop being slaves to China.
It is time to stop the trade deals that have been made with China, like permanent normal trade deals.
China should not ever be taken off the U.S. spy list.
The U.S. should stop buying the crap that comes from China.
Do you remember the incident with Chinese-made toys, pet food, drywall?
We need and should restore the manufacturing base that was in our country before all of these darned trade deals were passed.
The American-made products were better made than what comes from China.
Noelle Levesque
Sequim
Alter pets,
save lives
As one who hopes to relocate to Sequim and continue my 38 years of volunteer work with animals, I was delighted to read of the planned low-cost spay and neuter clinic in your county for low-income pet owners.
Pet overpopulation costs taxpayers millions of dollars; the cost to animals is often suffering or death.
Prevention is cheaper and obviously the common sense way to proceed. Even if we did not have pet overpopulation, I would still encourage pet owners to alter their pets, mostly to improve their future health and their behavior.
Cancer and pyometra are the biggest threats to unaltered pets.
Cats and dogs add so much to the quality of our lives, especially to those living alone or the elderly, it is important to remember the pleasure they have given us when we make out our wills. I hope your readers will include "Spay to Save" in their wills.
Some can't afford to donate to animals, or anything else, however you might consider arranging a block garage sale and donating all or part of the proceeds. Some donate when a loved one or friend dies, in lieu of flowers, or in memory of a pet who has died. Of course, you can also donate to celebrate an event in your life or that of an animal-loving friend.
Lastly, men and women can donate their time. Help save lives by contacting spaytosave.org.
Hazel Mortensen
Solvang, Calif.
LETTERS POLICY
Your opinions on issues of community interest and your reaction to stories and editorials contained in your Sequim Gazette are important to us and to your fellow readers. Thus our rules relating to letters submitted for publication are relatively simple.
• Letters are welcome. Letters exceeding 250 words may be shortened. We strive to publish all letters.
• Letters are subject to editing for spelling and grammar; we contact the writer when substantial changes are required, sending the letter back to the writer for revisions. Personal attacks and unsubstantiated allegations are not printed.
• All letters must have a valid signature, with a printed name, address and phone number for verification. Only the name and town/community are printed.
• Deadline for letters to appear in the next publication is noon Friday. Because of the volume of letters, not all letters are published the week they are submitted. Time-sensitive letters have a priority.
• Letters are published subject to legal limitations relating to defamation and factual representation.
• To submit letters, deliver to 147 W. Washington St., Sequim; mail to P.O. Box 1750, Sequim, WA 98382; fax to 360-683-6670 or e-mail news@sequimgazette.com.
Your opinions on issues of community interest and your reaction to stories and editorials contained in your Sequim Gazette are important to us and to your fellow readers. Thus our rules relating to letters submitted for publication are relatively simple.
• Letters are welcome. Letters exceeding 250 words may be shortened. We strive to publish all letters.
• Letters are subject to editing for spelling and grammar; we contact the writer when substantial changes are required, sending the letter back to the writer for revisions. Personal attacks and unsubstantiated allegations are not printed.
• All letters must have a valid signature, with a printed name, address and phone number for verification. Only the name and town/community are printed.
• Deadline for letters to appear in the next publication is noon Friday. Because of the volume of letters, not all letters are published the week they are submitted. Time-sensitive letters have a priority.
• Letters are published subject to legal limitations relating to defamation and factual representation.
• To submit letters, deliver to 147 W. Washington St., Sequim; mail to P.O. Box 1750, Sequim, WA 98382; fax to 360-683-6670 or e-mail news@sequimgazette.com.
© 2009 Sequim Gazette. All rights reserved. 147 West Washington, Sequim, WA 98382 • 360.683.3311 • Email the Webmaster