Letters to the Editor

Mouth did the deed

Editor, the Journal,

It was the mouth of ex-President Donald Trump that caused the consternation and inadequate responses to our pandemic, his mouth that set-in motion the riotous insurrection against our house of government, his mouth that has put party politics as a power struggle rather than a negotiated means of governmental administration, his mouth that has made the art of lying, backbiting, character assassination and unsophisticated leadership talk the stuff of today’s unhinged politicians.

Federal judge Amit Mehta last week ruled, in his published judicial opinion document for the civil damages charge against Trump of causing the Jan. 6 riot actions, that damage and personal assaults may proceed. And in that ruling he stated the following:

“After all, the president’s actions here do not relate to his duties of faithfully executing the laws, conducting foreign affairs, commanding the armed forces, or managing the executive branch,” Mehta added. “They entirely concern his efforts to remain in office for a second term. These are unofficial acts, so the separation-of-powers concerns that justify the president’s broad immunity are not present here.”

His troubles are Trump’s own making and retribution is coming. Meanwhile, it’s up to us the informed electorate to recover from this era of unhinged politics by selecting candidates who represent the values represented in our governing documents, not the words of candidates using false agendas for finding fault and hate as their platform of performance. This is not a time to engage in the obdurate behavior for petty party politics and obstruction for the sake of power. Our country’s strength for opportunity and economic stability has come this far out of respect for being a country of laws, not personages.

G. Owen Ray, Allyn

The debt

Editor, the Journal,

Thank you, Shelton-Mason County Journal, for publishing local news and where we fit within the national perspective.

On national news (mostly The Wall Street Journal with a smattering of The Seattle Times), I notice that our country now has a national debt of 30 trillion dollars — yet most alarming is that this debt load is at 100% of our gross national product, which simply means that our nation’s total production (industrial output, restaurants, theater tickets, groceries, babysitters ...) the total of whatever and wherever money changes hands is now equal to how much we owe. Think of it this way — if this were a family, everything you earned annually would go to pay off this debt.

As late as 1980, the GDP was 25% of our national debt.

Debt is slavery (contrarily, money is power).

I continue to hear the clarion call for freedom of the people (especially the disenfranchised; yet our legislatures are leading us to debt slavery: Feed the unfortunate! Maintain a strong military! Build the infrastructure ...)

Nationally, the nation would like to spend $65 billion to ensure every American has access to high-speed internet through broadband infrastructure.

Locally, our “Move Ahead Washington” is a promise to put Washingtonians first (whatever that means). I don’t know if the rural broadband is part of this infrastructure priority, as proposed by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, which provides the utopian vision of rural broadband, part of the Democrats’ push for a $16-billion transportation plan.

We can’t afford any of this.

James Poirson, Shelton

Name-calling

Editor, the Journal,

I was happy to draw fire from Robert Graham as it demonstrates his penchant for targeting women. Perhaps I should have stated that Robert Graham was wrong rather than identify his statement (“Jan. 6 was not an insurrection”) as a lie. Would that have been kinder? Does he deserve kindness? After all, who does more name-calling than Robert Graham of Union?

In a dozen recent examples he, first, referred to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as “Dumb and Dumber.” He wrote of Greg Dallum as “some liberal crank you cited.” On Jan. 20 he wrote, “History books would label President Biden and Vice President Harris as great American losers.” Also, he described U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi as “the childish, uber-partisan and filthy rich speaker of the House.” On Jan. 6, Graham described CNN’s Jim Acosta as having “barnyard manners.” On Dec. 16, he wrote, “Bill Pfender … who I believe comes from another planet.” Also, he continues, “Theresa Jacobsen continued to parade her pathologies in the Journal’s letter section.” Oct. 21 he wrote, “Remember, Joe Biden will be no help at all. He can’t heap anything on anybody, unless it’s ineptitude.” On Sept. 30, he describes his feelings, “seeing Biden as an arrogant, unserious empty suit … After the election, he becomes a radical, ‘Bernie-bro’ leftist who could neither lead nor govern.” Sept. 16 he produced another letter full of derision for President Biden: “In my game, however, which I called ‘Great American Losers, Biden Version …’ ” Sept. 9, “This game is meant to be fun and relaxing. Unfortunately, it’s a sad one.” This list must also include the ongoing criticism of Patricia Hawley.

I quoted Greg Dallum’s words but Robert Graham “mansplained” and attributed them to me. A majority of Americans hold low opinions of Donald Trump, so I have plenty of company. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell characterized the events of Jan. 6 as “a violent insurrection.”

Mr. Graham’s tiresome recycling of the comment, “sounds as if [you] made it all the way through school without taking a course in civics” is presumptuous; part of his condescending teacher routine. Not only am I familiar with the Constitution, but I can trace my ancestry back to my forefather Thomas Gresham, who served in the Revolutionary War and was at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778 under Gen. George Washington.

On Feb. 5, former Vice President Mike Pence said, “President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone. And frankly, there is no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.” He delivered these words to the Federalist Society and it’s the kind of Republican condemnation of Donald Trump that millions of Americans have been waiting to hear. Well done, Mike Pence!

Karen Skinner, Shelton

Letter on letters

Editor, the Journal,

I really should apologize. A number of people became exercised in the Journal’s letter section and it’s my fault. Since I am now ringside — almost in the ring myself — I should call the fight.

On Jan. 6, I wrote a letter to the Journal about 84-year-old left-wing activist Jane Fonda, and in particular, the origin of her nickname “Hanoi Jane” and her comment in an interview that COVID was “God’s gift to the left.” I suspected this to be true, but had never heard it stated openly. To me, at the time, it was very much a “bomb.”

Then the mayhem began. On Feb. 3, a Ms. Donna Holliday, clearly a staunch Democrat with advanced TDS (Trump derangement syndrome), bared her teeth, grabbed her double-barreled shotgun and waded into the rhetorical fray with both barrels blazing. In her letter, titled “Fonda Was Right,” she lashed out left and right (mostly right) against Donald Trump, his supporters, and even FOX News. (Have you compared FOX’s TV ratings with CNN’s lately, Ms. Holliday?)

Then, on Feb. 10, Mr. George Skarich sent a little four-line letter to the Journal titled, “Limit expression,” in which he said that anyone who thought Fonda was right is a “very sick person” and should “never be published.” Yikes!

Well, this got Ms. Holliday mad all over again, so she ran back into the house, grabbed the shotgun and came out, again blasting anyone or anything to her right. Her letter is a gumbo of Democratic talking points. I believe she is a very unhappy person because Trump still roams the planet (Democrats are rightly terrified of him) and midterms are on the horizon.

But wait! On the same day and right next to Ms. Holliday’s tirade appeared a letter by Mr. Craig Anderson of Shelton titled, “Truth of history.” He believes Hanoi Jane to be correct.

Sigh.

I well recall stepping off a bus in the states after some friends of mine and I returned from Vietnam. A motley gaggle of Fonda simpaticos provided a welcome by spitting on us. I guess we shouldn’t have worn our uniforms.

I think I’ll ring the bell on this little sparring match and finish by asking Mr. Anderson a couple of questions:

Why did LBJ not seek a second term as U.S. president in March 1968?

Why — for many years after the event — did Jane Fonda both regret and apologize for her being in that 1972 “photo op” on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun?

Please remember, everyone, the Vietnam War was not lost over there in Vietnam.

Robert E. Graham, Union