Letters to the Editor

All joking aside on sewers

Editor, the Journal,

This is the third letter I’ve written about the sewer situation. I’ve had a good time with the double entendres, but here I will be a bit more serious. There is a lot of money on the line for our county, so we need to ensure that we are not blundering into a situation where we enrich someone and have the bill sent to you and I.

This hypothetical illustrates the potential danger. Let us suppose we have a landowner that has acquired a parcel with the intent to improve and sell it for profit. We will call that landowner Mr. Potter. The parcel in question we can call Boondoggle. The developer is MegaCorp.

In this scenario, Mr. Potter would like a sewer line built through Boondoggle. The sewer line will enhance the value of the property when Mr. Potter sells Boondoggle to MegaCorp. The increase in value is the result of various factors, but a significant part of the increase comes from the sewer line.

Let’s assign some numbers to make it a bit easier to picture. Boondoggle as it initially stands is worth $1 million. Let’s say that the cost of the sewer portion on Boondoggle is $500,000. The new value of Boondoggle is $3 million. Now when MegaCorp buys Boondoggle for $3 millioni, who gets the benefit and who gets the costs of the $500,000 sewer addition?

MegaCorp has a benefit, but it paid for that benefit when it bought Boondoggle from Mr. Potter. But did Mr. Potter pay for that sewer addition? If the county has paid for the project, then Mr. Potter has obtained the benefit of that expenditure but has not paid for it. In essence, Mr. Potter has gotten a free ride. The only way to prevent this is to structure the deal in such a way that MegaCorp’s purchase money passes through Potter’s hands and reimburses the county.

Now, how does this go wrong? There are a number of possibilities. But one possibility is that those in authority pay too much attention to Mr. Potter, who obviously benefits from not paying for the improvement yet reaps a benefit. Why? There could be all sorts of possibilities and I will leave it to the imagination of the reader. This is the hypothetical that we wish to avoid. And it would seem less of a worry if the authorities don’t seem to be in a rush to avoid questions. Transparency in the negotiations would solve everything. Otherwise, you and I could be stuck with a clay container of organic material with an obnoxious aroma.

Andy Makar

Hoodsport

Nothing compares to this

Editor, the Journal,

During my 73 years, I and my generation have witnessed many historic events. President Richard Nixon’s resignation, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the end of the Berlin Wall and others too numerous to mention, including finding planets beyond our solar system.

However, to me nothing, nothing compares to a treasonous president who tried on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the government of the United States.

Why then does the Republican Party not condemn his treason?

Greg Dallum

Shelton

Remember Jane Fonda?

Editor, the Journal,

Well, I do hope everyone has a Happy New Year! Mine was marked by the explosion of a bomb dropped in an interview starring “Hanoi Jane.” Does anyone remember her?

Hanoi Jane is the nickname given to Jane Fonda by U.S. servicemembers (including me) following her visit to Vietnam in 1972. Ms. Fonda is the daughter of seasoned actor Henry, a dedicated Democrat and left-wing activist (like CNN’s Jim Acosta, but without his barnyard manners,) and a genuinely gifted thespian. Among her many acting triumphs are two Academy Awards for Best Actress in the movies “Klute” (1971) and “Coming Home” (1979.)

Back to Ms. Fonda’s trip to Vietnam: While in Hanoi, she sat for a photo op in a North Vietnamese Army anti-aircraft gun emplacement pretending to shoot down American planes and kill our pilots. This disgusting display earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane, and many of us who were there at the time have boycotted all things Fonda to this day.

Ms. Fonda has apologized for this thoughtless stunt on many occasions, but it seems people no longer care much about her. Any fans she might have would say, “But it was just an act of youthful idealism!” Well B.S. to that. Jane Fonda was born in 1937 and was in her late 30s in 1972. She knew exactly what she was doing.

I don't think about this much anymore, but Jane Fonda remains an attractive 84 and is still capable of a show-stopping performance. Consider the following — closely if you will.

During an NBC online event in early October 2020, Jane Fonda said to an interviewer, “COVID-19 is God's gift to the left.”

Ms. Fonda is very bright, a long-time Democrat and a member of “the left” she mentioned. If her recent statement is true, and I’m sure it will be proved to be so, the act of COVID manipulation for political gain is indeed treacherous.

This time, Jane Fonda is still an enabler, but probably not an active player.

Robert E. Graham

Union

End COVID mandates

Editor, the Journal

Our state and federal government should end all COVID mandates and restrictions by March 1. This includes mask and vaccine mandates and any restrictions at schools, government and businesses.

Why do I say this? Omicron (a COVID-19 variant) is very contagious, spreading 70 times faster than delta, and it is likely that everyone by March 1 or earlier will get it.

You don’t believe me? First, omicron in a few weeks is now the prominent strain over delta. 72% of all new COVID cases. The number of people getting omicron is doubling every few days. Look at the spread of omicron in sports, cruise lines, our government officials, airlines, etc., where they have high vaccination/booster rates, regular testing and strict mandates/requirements. Look at the rate airlines are canceling flights, along with business, entertainment and school closures.

For those who have been vaccinated with a booster, your omicron symptoms will be like a common cold. The Centers for Disease Control just reduced the isolation period from 10 days to five days. If you are exposed, you now need to quarantine for five days, but need to wear mask everywhere and get tested. Your risk of serious illness, hospitalization, or death is very low.

For those of you unvaccinated, you are at risk of serious illness from COVID and the delta variant. You will get COVID at some point and we hope it is only the omicron variant. I suggest you talk to those who have had COVID and were unvaccinated, including not being able to get out of bed for days, long-term issues, hospitalization, deaths of family or friends, etc.

Second, if you are young (children and adults to age 40) and don’t have underlying health issues, the risk is very low that you will get seriously ill, be hospitalized or die from COVID.

Third, everyone who has not been vaccinated so far is unlikely to get vaccinated. They understand or believe they understand and are willing to take the risks. It is interesting that ex-President Donald Trump recently endorsed getting vaccinated and getting the booster shot.

Fourth, you need to consider that a large number of people have had COVID and have natural immunity in their system.

Fifth, the Food and Drug Administration just approved antiviral COVID pills that if taken for a confirmed case of COVID early enough, reduces the risk of hospitalization by 90%. Unfortunately, our federal and state government didn’t plan or execute on this including ordering the antiviral pills before approval (like Warp Speed) and providing tests for in-home testing. How many unnecessary hospitalizations and deaths will we see? Thank you, President Joe Biden and Gov. Jay Inslee and their administrations. How many more times are we going to put up with this?

Sixth, lockdowns and mandates don’t work when we have had an influx of 1.9 million people illegally crossing our southern border this year without COVID testing or vaccines. Where are these people?

Seventh, look at other countries, states such as California, Washington and New York, and their cities and counties with severe lockdowns and mandates. It is not working compared to other states such as Florida, Texas and Arizona, which are open. Where are people moving to? Did you notice where our government officials are traveling to visit family, friends or vacation?

Eighth, hospitals are not overloaded by omicron so far, which is less severe in symptoms. It is possible it will happen again with hospital staffing shortages from omicron, hospitalization of unvaccinated COVID patients and lack of home COVID testing and antiviral pills.

Ninth, our government mandates and restrictions are having a huge negative impact:

On those who don’t want to be vaccinated, including losing their jobs. Citizens are being put at risk by losing our first responders, hospital workers, fireman, police, etc., who were on the job when no vaccines were available. Also, government and business workers due to mandates.

On our children who are falling way behind in schooling with online learning, or in schools with masks (that they don’t want to wear and teachers spending more time on getting them to wear masks than educating), many children getting their only decent meal, mental welfare issues, etc.

On small businesses, restaurants, etc., where capacity limits, masking, 6-foot separation, proof of vaccination or negative tests are putting them out of business and employees are losing their jobs.

On every citizen. People are suffering fatigue from COVID. They are tired of masks, inconsistent messaging and actions by our government. Our government has an honesty and creditability problem. Many things were predictable and were not planned for or executed on. Citizens are tired of fear and lies that government with the help of media promotes in their own interest. Maybe, more on this subject in the future, with too many examples for this article.

It is time for our federal and state governments to move on; the current pandemic will be over by March 1 with the spread of omicron. Covid will become an endemic just like the flu and should be managed like the flu or common cold. Individuals with their doctor’s help determine whether they should get vaccinated, get the next COVID booster, and understand the risks, benefits and costs moving forward with their decisions.

Lastly, Happy New Year! Two more months to go and let us hope our federal and state governments are planning to end all COVID mandates and restrictions by March 1. I look forward to our federal and state government following the lead of Florida, Arizona and Texas, and not following New York, California, Oregon, etc. We can only hope, but their track record is poor.

Take some time to write or contact your elected officials, media outlets and consider carefully who you elect next time. You should have high expectations of them and hold them accountable for their actions and inactions.

Howard Ringoen

Shelton