LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — May 20, 2026
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 20, 2026
More than enough coal
The May 6 letter titled “More than enough oil” proposes we nationalize our oil industry. I’m sure the author is aware this has also been proposed by socialist Bernie Sanders.
First off, the reason we have “more than enough oil” is because private companies were incentivized by profit to find it. So, the government will do it more efficiently than the private sector, right? Amtrak might provide a cautionary lesson on this.
Let’s get back to EVs. The average range of a new EV is now about 300 miles and has tripled over the last 10 years.
Yes, you’d need to stop to recharge if you’re driving from Port Angeles to Spokane. But not if you were driving a GM Sierra EV Denali (493 mile range) or a Lucid Grand Air Touring (516 mile range).
The Chinese are making huge advances in battery technology. They have a mainstream EV (Denza Z9 EV) with a 663 mile range. Do we still need gasoline and diesel powered cars and trucks? Yes. But we shouldn’t try to extend the life of the internal combustion engine just because we have enough oil.
Not too long ago we had steam-powered cars fueled by coal. Why did we move to gasoline and diesel? Because it was cleaner, safer, and more efficient.
I’m sure some resisted the transition and proclaimed “we have more than enough coal.”
Lou Kalmar
Sequim
In crisis
There is a crisis in America, there are people in the White House and Congress that apparently are choosing to ignore the rule of law, the Constitution and that America is the land of the free.
The US Constitution says “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, to ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The Constitution honors your rights as a citizen, the Constitution tells the government that they cannot take those rights away. I believe in comprehensive articles of the Constitution that protect my individual rights, and believe the government should not be ignoring the guidelines my/our country was built on. Our country is not perfect, several amendments have been made to the Constitution to make our country better.
There have been hundreds of thousands of citizens peacefully protesting for months, there are citizens writing Congress, Journalists have been asking direct appropriate questions to Congress and the White House, and still members of Congress are silent.
I want my democracy back, millions of protesters want their democracy back, all of us need to keep talking, sending messages. I know we can find the means to solve the problem to rebuild America.
I will not give up hope.
We can do this together!
Eileen Cummings
Sequim
Don’t fall for name recognition
Election season is upon us already. The sides of the roads are being filled with signs urging us to vote. But just because someone has a lot of money to put out a sign in May doesn’t mean they are the right person for the job.
There is name recognition, yes. And if one is bombarded with the same ad repeatedly over and over for months, one is apt to go ahead and vote for that person.
But I would caution that our democracy depends on an informed public. It is lazy to simply vote a certain way because you recognize a name. First of all, notice whose properties host those signs.
Does anyone remember what signs those properties hosted in the last election?
Check out their website to see where their head is at. When those voter manuals come out in October, read them and ask yourself, does this person represent what you want in our county government? Make your decision based on what you learn, not on name recognition.
Lauren Churchill
Sequim
Seashells speak
Watching an interview of former FBI director Jim Comey, I was astonished by the gleeful defamation and censorship of intelligent, dedicated Americans for defending freedom of speech, while this cultural decay spreads like a deadly virus into our communities.
When I was young and impressionable, I worked with a dining room cook in Yellowstone Park who yelled “86!” whenever the #10 cans of stew, ravioli and spaghetti ran out. I marveled at his bravado to shout out.
Last year, Comey snapped a picture of seashells on a beach forming “86 47.” Trump’s sycophants declared that picture a death threat. “This won’t be the end of it,” Comey reflected, stating he’s not afraid and will keep speaking the truth, that his family is strong and will endure the vengeful persecution.
As far as his upcoming trial, he still believes our judicial system will be fair. I needed to hear that.
After recent rulings of the Supreme Court upending voting rights and representation of Black Americans, I’ve become extremely worried about our country’s will for free and fair elections for all Americans, no matter the color of our skin. Censorship of the worst kind.
After Kash Patel’s drunken sprees, he ordered two dozen polygraph tests of FBI staff closest to him to find the whistleblowers. He’s fired over 50 FBI personnel, but Comey said dedicated people continue the necessary Bureau work.
“I’m a target, a cost to speaking out, but I’m not going to quit,” Comey declared.
A valuable message.
Gayle Brauner
Port Angeles
