Letters to the Editor

Election stories

Editor, the Journal,

I have noticed what appears to be biased political reporting in the Journal in every issue published this month.

This possible partiality seems to be focused on one particular local race: that for the position of state senator representing the 35th District.

In each issue of the Journal this month, Republican candidate Drew MacEwan is consistently mentioned in the same sentence as lame duck Tim Sheldon. Mr. Sheldon insists on identifying as a Democrat, although he voted against his own party, in lockstep with Republicans, his whole career.

Perhaps this is why the Journal links the two so closely.

In the Aug. 4 edition, the reference between the has-been senator and the wannabe senator is included in an article about the state House race, in which neither person is a candidate. Neither of these politicians is involved in this particular contest. However, the Journal gives them prominent mention, their names once again linked together in the same sentence.

In the Aug. 11 edition, the Republican candidate's name does not appear without the 30-year entrenched retiree's name prominently affiliated with his. I am unsure whether this is an oversight or a tacit endorsement by our local paper.

Perhaps most disturbing is the feature in the Aug. 18 Journal, which published results for the Republican candidate in the Senate race without even mentioning his opponent.

Julianne Gale, Democratic candidate, received almost 45% of the total vote for state senator representing the 35th District.

The Journal makes absolutely no mention of Julianne Gale and the enthusiastic support she has earned among almost half the voters in our district.

I notice that all three articles in question carried the byline of three different reporters. This fact makes me wonder whether this is just three separate instances of sloppy journalism or if it is the Journal's policy to favor one candidate over another.

Theresa Jacobson, Agate

A homeless tale

Editor, the Journal,

Yesterday I stumbled upon an old tattered and homeless man in downtown Shelton by Post Office Park who I sat down next to and struck up a conversation with. He mumbled that when younger he played the trumpet in high school band and went on to perfect his skill in college and said he could play like Chuck Mangione and Wynton Marsalis and how he admired Doc Severinsen's lip/teeth configurations that facilitated his intonation abilities, brassy and moving sounds that could make him cry with appreciative emotions. Reminiscing too, I told him I had an opportunity to play a trumpet duet with Doc in 1968.

I couldn't help but notice, and I tried not to stare, but he had something wrong with his lower lip. It was gone, torn off where you could see his lower teeth.

As he began to get invitations to play his horn in coffee shops, orchestras and in jazz bands in the '70s, that's when he met his wife, a saxophone player, and with a challenged smirk, he added: "You can never have enough sax, right?"

They had two kids, a nice home and his career was taking off when he was invited to play with Doc on "The Tonight Show."

He hopped on a plane and flew to California that night. Not having ever been there, he left his hotel to hit the jazz bars and to drink some adult beverages.

Back at his hotel, rendered weary by jet lag and beer, he stumbled into his room to find a homeless man had broken in. They had a "rough and tumble fight ... the homeless man had a broken beer bottle in hand" he said.

Sighing, he paused at that part of the story while looking down at the brown grass at our feet.

I looked at him and said:

"And that's how your lower lip is the way it is."

"The broken bottle cut it off?"

His weary head nodded ever so slightly in hesitant reply.

There we sat, not doing much of nothing but enduring a pregnant pause with what seemed like an hour's worth of silence, and when I reached over to touch his shoulder he reached out and grabbed my ankle and started pulling on my leg like I'm pulling on yours.

No one sits and talks to the homeless much these days. They are talented people too dealing with what a life filled with uncertainty throws at them. Unlucky? Yeah, poor, yeah, but they are rich in lessons learned. Respectfully, if you think your God (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, et. al., thousands of other gods humanity worships, whatever) if that God looks after you, cares and blesses you better than they, think again. If you think you are special, think again. Give them some hope today and bless them with some human compassion. It's what kind humans do. Yes, I did play a trumpet duet with Doc ... truth be told.

Darrell Barker, Shelton

Snake River dams

Editor, the Journal,

My hat is off to PUD 1 Commissioners John Janda, Ron Gold and Mike Sheetz for their sterling demonstration of political courage and leadership by publishing "Lower Snake River Dams are essential" in the Aug. 19 Journal. Good for you gentlemen. We need much more of this kind of "stand up for what's right" work.

I would add only one comment: Those King County residents who support the Inslee/Murray nonsense encouraging dam removal need to understand that doing so would eliminate an amount of electricity roughly equal to what King County consumes every hour. And there is no reasonable substitute on the horizon.

The commissioners' article needs to be published in every newspaper in the state and should get national coverage as well.

Jay Hupp, Shelton

The gullible

Editor, the Journal,

Well, I can see from several of the Letters to the Editor in the Aug. 18 edition of the Shelton-Mason County Journal that FOX News, QAnon, One America News Network and Truth Social have many stalwart believers here in Mason County. To be honest, I frequently check in to the aforementioned "information" sources because as Cervantes said, "Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory." By "victory" here I mean discerning when my viewpoint is being manipulated for good or for ill. I am saddened to realize that many in this community aren't aware (or relish in) that their viewpoints are being controlled or channeled into a certain ideology. Conspiracy theories are just that, theories, with little or no basis in provable, concrete fact.

"Plandemic?" "Widespread voter fraud?" "Satanists still do sacrifices out there?" "Tax targets?" (Remember the "death panels" of the Affordable Care Act?)

Please, I'm not that gullible. If you want to believe in this kind of claptrap, be my guest. Just don't expect me to. And please don't conflate politics and religion. What I resent is how so many pseudo-Christians can presume to know what their god wants of me, especially when these same pseudo-Christians don't even follow Christ's own teachings. If I've lost you in these last few lines, Faith, reread Matthew's Gospel, chapters 5-7.

Bill Pfender, Shelton

A heroine

Editor, the Journal,

After a particularly brutal defeat on the squash court, my coach opined, "James, my dear boy, you're the epitome of the true athlete."

At the apex of my self-esteem, he then drops the denouement: "I say this because for you winning is not the objective; you play just to play."

My ego produced the pfsssss sound as it deflated through my lungs and spirit throughout the squash and racquetball courts.

Alas. The agony of personal normalcy -

I'm not likely to take home the bacon, much less the gold cup showered all around with cheap Champagne and adoring sycophants. Yet now with maturity I've accepted this assessment as valid: Participate! Enjoy a sport for the sport itself: physical challenge, diet, discipline, exhaustion - while facing competition to the moment of tossing your cookies ... face planted in the brittle snow at the end of a biathlon race - only to discover you're a quarter of the pack behind the winner.

With maturity one contemplates the purpose for all this personal time, commitment, energy, discipline and effort in sports, art or literature. So much easier to remain in the audience - passively cheer for your home team, watch a movie, read a book or take a glorious nap. Relax and vicariously observe the glamorous and winning athletic set living the lives of accolades, medals, trophies, glamor, fame, success and interviews on national television in front of a live enthusiastic audience – and wish it were you (but without the discipline and effort).

I met a true heroine last week at the Dockside Pinewood Short Church Pew and Piling Fire Extinguisher hovering beside Mr. Lucky's boathouse. I'll refer to her as Ms. Buffy as she is the epitome of fitness. 

Ms. Buffy, touring cyclist and natural mother of an 18-month-old active, healthy and happy boy, is toned, fit, glowing and almost emaciated looking - on the cusp of burning more calories than she ingests. Regarding emaciation - meditate on this caloric and biologic expenditure equation implied above: expending calories cycling and breastfeeding, accruing limited food stuffs, perhaps a chocolate or energy bar inhaled at rest stops.

Ms. Buffy has voluntarily assumed the heroic responsibilities most similar to Odysseus - with the substitution of her firstborn son totally dependent upon her vs. Odysseus's somewhat easily distracted, pugnacious, vacuous and at times rebellious crew.

I don't exaggerate here regarding comparison with Odysseus. Ms. Buffy sustains the greater accolades. She is an American heroine. Her adventure is a solitary one - her toddler contributes nothing but emotional support, dirty diapers and puerile entertainment. 

Were Ms. Buffy to have the poet Homer as a scribe we might have a culture of total female equality - with respect, engagement, strength and responsibility. It's the absolute courage, independence, determination, resiliency and heroism demonstrated by Ms. Buffy which will, however gradually, advance the true equality of the sexes more so than all the naive vacuous grammatical and dystopian blather commanding the popular press. 

Ms. Buffy - Mr. C informs me you've left us to ride the Northwest Washington Mountain passes with the child Fir ensconced in his trailer. I've ridden one of these routes at the apex of my fitness and replaced my brake pads upon return to civilization - totally worn on the descent. I'm honored and blessed that I met you. Thank you and your son Fir for coming into our lives – however briefly. 

O thin men of Haddam, why do you imagine golden birds?

Do you not see how the blackbird

Walks around the feet

Of the women around you?

-Wallace Stevens, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"

You're an American heroine.

James Poirson, Shelton

Partisan facts

Editor, the Journal,

Facts, pesky little critters that get in the way of a good lie. According to President Joe Biden, our border is secure, yet we have 63,700 fentanyl deaths per year caused by illegal drugs crossing our border. Social service agencies are overrun with homeless illegals; all 2,000,000 of them. Biden won't close the border. His foreign policy is a fiasco, in Afghanistan and the Middle East; now he's selling out Taiwan to appease China. Biden pushes climate change even though a New York Times survey said only 1% of all voters said this was the biggest problem facing our country. Biden's responsible for high inflation, high gas prices, and baby formula shortages. Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Derek Kilmer agree with Biden. Have you seen their commercials? All blather, no commitments. We need candidates who work for Washington, not special interests. Murray is chairperson of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. This committee failed to respond to the shortage of baby formula for 78 days; that's 78 days of hungry infants. Our state was one of the top 10 that had a 90% out-of-stock rate. Where was Patty? She traveled to Planned Parenthood to get their support to legalize late-term and partial-birth abortions.

Murray is completely out of touch with Washington voters when it comes to gas shortages and drugs coming across our border. Patty Murray has been in the Senate for 24 years. She's the poster child for why we need term limits for senators. I challenge local Democrats to name one bill she has written and supported into law. Patty Murray is a nothing candidate, with a nothing agenda, chairing a nothing committee and she's done nothing in 24 years. The best reason to support Tiffany Smiley is that she's not Patty.

What's Derek Kilmer done? He's named a post office. His monthly reports to us are only photo-ops. His voting record is 100% for abortion and NARAL but 13% for the death penalty. Kilmer only voted against his party four times in the 117th Congress; he's Biden's and Pelosi's rubber stamp. Elizabeth Kreiselmaier wants to restore energy independence, stop inflation, support our police, secure our border and provide education not indoctrination to our children.

Facts are such a nuisance. Is Biden devious or does he think we're stupid? Voters were polled; 74% believe we're going in the wrong direction and 58% believe our best days are behind us with Biden having only a 42% approval rate. Why would you support Biden, Murray or Kilmer; they don't represent our interests nor fight for our needs.

Ardean Anvik, Shelton