Letters to the Editor

Support our kids

Editor, the Journal,

Ballots will soon arrive by mail for the renewal of the Hood Canal School District’s educational programs and operations levy and approving a capital bond. I know it sounds bureaucratic, but it’s important that we support the education of our next leaders.

The EP&O levy is replacing a levy that is expiring in 2022. It is a three-year levy that will pay for counselors, a nurse, special education professionals, field trips, after-school sports and robotic teams, an activity bus, and nonhigh fees. Nonhigh fees are additional costs to schools to send their students to nearby high schools.

The capital bond pays for infrastructure. The current building and new track and field are completely paid for. New funding will pay for an early learning center for preschoolers, replace the playground to be more accessible to include students with disabilities, and create a new transportation center to allow space for a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) project-based learning Junior High building for seventh- and eighth-graders to prepare our students for high school.

While the Washington State Constitution, Article IX, Section 1, states that “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders,” this has not been the case. Schools must rely on supplemental funding by property owners. If approved, the estimated total tax rate for Hood Canal homeowners will be a total of $2.18 per $1,000 of assessed home value. This rate is down from the current rate of $2.47.

Ballots must be mailed or hand-delivered to the Elections Office or official ballot collection boxes by Tuesday, Feb. 8. We are grateful to our community for its long-standing support of our levies and bonds. We are committed to continuing the progress we are making at our school and trust that you will join us in voting “yes” for the renewal of the EP&O levy and capital bond.

Roslynne Reed, Shelton

Trump haters

Editor, the Journal,

Trump haters, you guys watch too much CNN, MSNBC,Joy Reid, Don Lemon, etc.

It’s all leftist lies. They couldn’t give the facts to save their lives.

President Donald Trump had nothing to do with Jan. 6. He said to protest, but to do it peacefully and patriotically. He offered 20,000 National Guard troops to protect the Capitol, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the mayor refused. You seem to forget: vaccine Trump; secure border Trump; energy independence Trump. Some of you think Trump was impeached twice. They tried, led by Hillary Clinton. He was acquitted both times. So get your facts right.

President Joe Biden’s entire campaign was all lies. Even former President Barack Obama said, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to screw things up.”

Joe, your ship of fools is sinking, quickly.

Scott Stidd, Shelton

The real GOP heroes

Editor, the Journal,

At the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, it is time we recognized the true heroes of the Republican Party. They are not the dopey louts who rampaged through our nation’s capital and the moral cowards who still cover for them. They are not the ranting demagogues exploiting the emotions of the resentful. They were the unsung people not seeking attention, but doing their jobs: from poll workers to police officers. They were Republican state legislators and governors who did not bend to pressure to overturn the elections in their state. They were Republican judges who did not allow mere allegations unsupported by credible evidence to deny votes that happened. They were a vice president who stayed loyal to the Constitution and the rule of law above any man. They were Republican congressional representatives and senators who did not fear to try and hold their own president accountable and dared to stand on their conscience instead of following the majority in their party. They did not win. But they showed more bravery than the majority in their party who did.

It is Republicans like those who could save the soul of the party from being lost to a band of fascists, if they find the nerve to do so. My father was a lifelong Republican who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the sacrifices that generation made to defeat fascism, I’m glad he was not alive to see his party dishonored by America’s Mussolini.

James Tweed, Ocean City, NJ

Entitlement

Editor, the Journal,

We are being assaulted by an ideology that’s the cause of many of the problems here in the U.S. and Europe, as well as other places around the world. This ideology does not get much media attention. In fact, it rarely gets mentioned at all and yet it’s the source of a pernicious cultural momentum that isolates people from not only their families, their communities and their countries, but more importantly, from the truth about themselves.

I reference no statistics or any current sociological study, rather I refer to the essence of human nature. This pernicious ideology spreading in Western society is “entitlement.” I understand why it proliferates. The word “free” attracts us universally. Who won’t pick up the free Kiss from the candy bowl? For too many, the government is the candy bowl and it’s filled by politicians who promise to provide “free” largess to their constituents to get their votes. Votes correlate to influence, then power.

Teachers and university professors who choose to indoctrinate rather than educate have failed to teach the truth about life, which is personal results of value come from the choices and efforts of the individual. Distribution from the efforts of others cannot be sustained.

Surprisingly, in light of his early philosophy, former California Gov. Jerry Brown summed up the problem in saying, “first you have a desire, and then you make it a need, then you make it a right, and pretty soon it becomes a law …”

That “right,” that “entitlement” becomes a generational belief and denial of it becomes a reason for discontent. Discontent becomes a reason for dissent and dissent becomes a reason for violence. We’ve seen it pour out on the streets of our cities nationwide. Declining order, increasing crime, and destruction of lives and property result. We see the proponents of entitlement hustling to centers of discord pimping victimhood and defending violence as a natural outcome of denial of these “rights,” of entitlement.

And, of course, individual rights are violated, sometimes by the law itself. Examples of excessive force are seen too often and they can be either unfortunate or reprehensible. When those violations occur, protest is a valid and necessary form of expression. And protest is our right, if not our duty, but criminal violence is not. So where does the motivation to riot and destroy come from? What is the underlying issue that spawns the underlying anger?

A friend of mine from Germany, in responding to a question regarding the re-integration of East German workers into unified Germany several years ago, said “Those damned East Germans expect subsidies and special treatment for jobs, rents and benefits that are not available to the rest of us.” He was underpinning the argument and the resentment, that is the real reason for discord between diverse groups. It is not the color of a person’s skin or the person’s religion or origin of birth that causes discord. It’s when any individual or group seeks an unearned “right” from another. It is the culture of entitlement that causes discord among people. It is the primary cause of distrust and resentment between those who seek entitlement and those who are forced to pay for it.

Our liberal politicians are not the authors of this culture but they advance it by their philosophy and by their acts and proposals. Consider the rush to provide “free” everything. Free college, free health care, etc. In the case of education, they hide their agenda behind the perfectly reasonable assertion that education uplifts an individual as well as a society. What they fail to acknowledge and what is disingenuous about their position and those who support it is the idea that anything is “free.” Or that anyone is entitled to that which begins in the pocket of another.

The hotbeds of current discontent find their origins in this culture. We can begin here in the United States. We have incorrectly identified racism as a root cause of social unrest here in the U.S., when in fact it is the resentment on both sides of the issue of entitlement, not race. The unfortunate fact is that the face of entitlement is multicolored. Not just black or brown. Liberal faces of all colors are at the forefront of protests that relate to entitlement. Whether it’s the guilt of prosperity, pandering for attention or favor, they are angry they are not getting their “fair share.” The requirement for personal responsibility is never mentioned nor considered. Once again, we can look at politicians seeking votes who offer unwise and unwarranted payments and perks to people who may be in need but would be better off with opportunity rather than handouts. And what else can you call them but handouts when the only effort required to get them is filling out an application?

European countries, where immigration of former colonial citizens is open to nearly all who can get in, have experienced the same problems. Out of compassion, many of these immigrants were offered the same “free” entitlements. Because they were available, because they were “free,” they became dependent upon them and their demands for more become incessant. Heaped upon that dilemma in Europe was the demand for a separate system of law and morality to accommodate their religious beliefs. We can applaud the original intent of governments to accommodate and respect these people, but many of these immigrants feel that changing the laws and values of their hosts has also become an entitlement. What was originally generosity has become in the minds of the recipients, obligation. Human nature is once again at work in these conflicts. “Give me what I want.” “Give me what I’m entitled to.” It is immature and unreasonable but when people acculturated to entitlement are denied some aspect of that entitlement it’s not a far reach to disenchantment and violence. When considered within the context of an acculturation of entitlement, it is understandable. But anyone with a modicum of good sense can see it is unwise and unproductive. We have for too long sowed the seeds of the entitlement mentality. They have been nourished by political cowardice, or at the very least ignorance, and we are now reaping the harvest. If we want a more secure future, one where true opportunity thrives, it will take new seeds, new crops and more rational choices to return to a culture of personal responsibility. So let’s be honest, accept the truth about the demeaning system of entitlement handouts, and begin now, to plow that new ground with an even hand, without excluding generosity or charity and without ignoring genuine need; but making all who are at the table have a part in production of the feast.

Lee Ferguson, Shelton

Life during plague

Editor, the Journal,

What has happened to America?

Here we are more than two years into the pandemic caused by a manmade virus brought to us by the Communist Chinese Party in collusion with the National Institutes of Health.We have watched as friends and neighbors have died and the rest of us try to follow the continually changing words of wisdom for how we are supposed to react. Those giving words of wisdom are not instilling a lot for confidence in most of us. Why? Well, the constantly changing messages, sometimes within hours, does not help. Then there are those helpful comments that we are bioreactors wanting to kill grandma or of course it’s all the fault of the unvaccinated. The confidence coming from the other Washington is even more lacking, from not being able to read a speech from a teleprompter to misspeaking and showing signs failing mental capabilities and no grasp on inflation, immigration, foreign relations or the economy. The country is headed in the wrong direction and the polls know it.

But just why are the vaccinated also getting breakthrough cases? Why did they not order the test? Maybe because the test would show that the vaccine did not stop the virus and that data would undermine the mandatory vaccine. After all, who would want a vaccine that did not work? Some of us are pro-vaccine, but against some unelected official mandating a vaccine that goes against our religious or moral or personal beliefs. Some of our best people, hospital and emergency responders continued to do their jobs for two years without the vaccine and now they have been fired because they did not want to get the vaccine. Now there are shortages in the hospitals and of emergency responders because they have been forced out. Where is the wisdom in that? Now as I look around I see people in fear, fear of everything. They drive their cars with no one else in the car, wearing a mask that they have been wearing for days without washing. People going into the restaurant to have a meal and walking in wearing a mask and then taking it off to sit there and eat a meal and then putting back on to walk out. Really, the minute that you remove that mask, you are exposed to everything around you, and you can’t see the virus.

So where are the Americans? We are the ones who have and always will be the solution to these problems. It is time that we the people stand up and demand better from our elected officials. It is now that we must save the United States of America from those who will do anything to keep and abuse the power that we the people have given to them. It is time that the silent majority of the freedom-loving, God-fearing people of all colors and historical backgrounds stand up and say to those who are elected, that we the people who put you there, that we are not subjects, we are citizens and it is our right to take our country back from those who have been abusing the positions that they have been given, for their own gain, selling to the highest bidder and using the system to enrich their families. Your time is up, your state of emergency is over and you must go. We will learn to deal with this as we always have and we will be greater for having gone through this because it has reminded us that government that can take away freedom is not a government that will be allowed. This country is the shining light to the world. This country is what freedom is. This country is the greatest nation and the brightest light to the world. This country is not perfect, this country is flawed, like all things built by man, but it is the last best hope for mankind, it is what we the people make of it.

Keith Martin, Shelton

One year after

Editor, the Journal,

Ironic, isn’t it? The week that we properly celebrate the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and his hopes and prayers for a color-blind society, we also note the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamela Harris (called the “Dumb and Dumber Ticket” by some pundits) for being in office.

We’ve had to endure now for a year the Biden/Harris party’s almost daily cries that all of us are racist and probably white supremacists ... except for Democrats, I suppose.

Let’s take a look at where we are now.

I’m sure Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris see the polls and other realities and know they are electoral toast. Biden’s ritual ineptitude and often commented on physical and mental deterioration plus Harris’ giggling fits and losing struggles with the English language have been recorded on television. These two will be in the history books in the chapter titled “Great American losers.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is flummoxed, if not panicked, over how to replace Biden/Harris, and sooner would definitely be better than later. Remember, Democrats don’t really give a whit about a candidate’s true qualifications or merit (Biden, anyone?), but rather whether he or she can win the election and garner the party more power. The Dems might see anyone on their ticket.

Long-time Democrat and political analyst Doug Schoen (pronounced “shown”) just the other day floated the idea of Hillary Clinton rising from the ashes and running again. He said that in a land of the blind (Dem voters, perhaps?), a one-eyed man (or woman) would be king (or queen.)

Please calm down. I’m sure Hillary would prefer strolling the woods in back of her Chappaqua home with a glass of Chardonnay to entering another presidential campaign. She’s got way too much baggage. Way too much.

There are many more, but for now, we have U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the childish, uber-partisan, and filthy rich speaker of the House. I think she will retire after the midterm elections. I hope U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy will keep the Sept. 6 Commission, fix it — it’s now just a “Get Trump” inquisition — and find out what really happened. Jan. 6 was not an insurrection.

What about Anthony Fauci? Does anyone really care what happens to him?

Robert E. Graham, Union

State of the union

Editor, the Journal,

January is traditionally the time the president gives his State of the Union message. I’m not sure President Joe Biden has the guts to face the American people after 12 months of disasters, but if he does, his general message for past events will consist of two answers. Either there is no problem or he inherited the problem from ex-President Donald Trump. Here’s what Biden’s message will say, internationally:

Russia is about to invade Ukraine: Biden says he and Putin are working it out.

China is about to invade Taiwan: Biden says there’s no threat.

North Korea just launched a ballistic missile that could reach Seattle: Biden says no problem.

Two million illegals came across our border without permission: Biden welcomed them.

Afghanistan rebels are starving Afghan citizens: Biden says he solved the Afghan problem.

We have many issues which Biden will gloss over in his State of the Union message. These issues affect all American citizens every day and in every way. Domestic issues:

Inflation hit a 40-year high: Biden will blame greed.

Two million illegals came into our country without vaccinations or vetting. Biden says OK.

Biden has yet to release 2021 immigration report; he’s trying to hide this bad report.

Crime is at a 30-year high: Biden will blame guns.

We’ve had 574 riots since 2020: Biden blames Republicans for one; the rest didn’t happen.

There’s a shortage of masks and tests: Biden will blame Trump.

There’s a shortage of goods because of the backup at the ports: Biden doesn’t see a problem.

Gas prices doubled since Biden shut down oil drilling: Biden says buy an electric car.

Many teacher unions are boycotting in-person teaching: Biden praises the teacher unions.

Leftists are pushing an anti-parent, anti-child education agenda: Biden approves.

During his speech, will Biden continue his disrespect for law and order. 2021 was the deadliest in a century with cops getting killed averaging one every five days; 71 for the year. Prosecutors continue to release violent suspects with no or low bail. Will Biden praise that?

The Democratic Party is not trying to reform government; they want to alter America by eliminating the Electoral College and packing the Supreme Court without constitutional authority. Biden’s acolytes and followers are quick learners; they argue with name-calling rather than policy discussions. When Biden visited Atlanta to argue for his voting rights act, he called those against his bill segregationists. Name-calling in lieu of policy discussions. Shameful!

Ardean Anvik, Shelton