Letters to the Editor

Minding the vote

Editor, the Journal,

Owen Ray said there hadn’t been any cases of voting issues proven in court. Wrong. Judicial Watch filed lawsuits nationwide requiring states to enforce the National Voters Registration Act of 1993. JW won lawsuits in Ohio and Kentucky; filed successful lawsuits against Indiana, Maryland and California; filed an amicus brief in the 11th Circuit Court for Alabama and Georgia; sent letters to election officials in Virginia and Colorado. JW estimated there were 3.5 million ineligible voters nationwide. Illegal aliens and dead people have voted.

California had over 1,500,000 ineligible voters. The entire state had a registration rate of 101% of age-eligible citizens. More than one in five Los Angeles county registrations were voters who had moved or died. California agreed to purge and update voter files after discovering neither the State nor LA County had purged inactive voters for over 20 years (Judicial Watch v. Dean C. Logan).

Maryland had more registered voters than citizens over 18 (Judicial Watch v. Linda H. Lamone).

Secure voting systems require knowing who’s a citizen and who’s not. Constitutional Amendment XIV, Section 1: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which will abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States ...” Amendment XV says, “The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.” The Constitution says citizenship is required for voting. Noncitizens and dead people cannot legally vote. No state can make or enforce any voting laws which affect our ballot. Ballot security is more important than voter convenience.

The federal government will require using the Real ID law on May 7, 2025. Without a Real ID, you won’t be able to enter some federal buildings or fly commercial, among other things. Washington has the enhanced driver’s license as an accepted Real ID. Meantime our most sacred duty as a citizen is voting and anyone can vote as there are no identification requirements. In-person registration prevents noncitizens from voting; in-person voting has poll watchers checking IDs against voter rolls, observe voters signing in, receiving ballots and voting. Ballots are secure. Both the Democrat Party and Republican Party prefers unlimited mail-in voting and both are wrong. Limit absentee ballots for voters out of town on election day and those unable to go to the polls.

The Olympian newspaper described another election issue. A SEIU delegate from Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, appointed to re-districting commission, deleted much information contrary to law. Redistricting is redrawing legislative and congressional boundaries using census data and natural geographical or neighborhood boundaries, not political consideration. Voting scandals prove our votes aren’t secure. “Election denier” is a Democratic slogan, just as worthless as defund the police. Mr. Ray, do you still believe “not a single case has been successfully proven in our courts?”

Ardean Anvik, Shelton

Jan. 6 gratitude

Editor, the Journal,

’Tis the season to be grateful. I am so, so grateful for security cameras, selfies, videos from handheld phones, Facebook posts, police officer’s body cameras, voice recorders on phones, Twitter messages, emails, handwritten notes, TV station cameras, news reporters, websites, people who tell all for a lesser conviction sentence, and so on. It is just splendidly amazing when all of this stuff just comes together to capture the whole litany of events before, during and after the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, at our nation’s Capitol.

I am really grateful for the Department of Justice for using all of this tech stuff to identify the attackers of the Capitol and arrest and convict hundreds and hundreds of these rioting insurrection dirtbags.

I am extremely grateful for the House Jan. 6 committee for doing an exhaustive investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack events and presenting its findings in a format that I can understand.

I am giddily grateful that the Jan. 6th committee recommended that the Trumpster and others of his parasitic, cliff-jumping lemming buddies be prosecuted for their Jan. 6-related actions.

And for those of you who think that the riot and violence and attack on our Capitol was correct and justified, please do me a favor and do not ever vote again. It seems that you have failed to understand some of the very basic civics class themes when you were in high school.

Enjoy the holidays. ’Tis the season to be grateful!

Earl Burt, Bremerton

On oil production

Editor, the Journal,

After reading Andrew Makar’s latest letter to the editor, I wonder what is his purpose? He’s not trying to persuade anyone, because rather than persuade, he alienates by calling those who don’t agree with him parrots.

I wonder if he’s ever read Ayn Rand? He doesn’t refute Rand’s logic; he just makes an implied attack on her character — if you can’t refute the argument, attack the messenger. But attacking the messenger is often the first and only argument made by leftists. Assume that Rand’s character is less than sterling — does that mean her arguments are illogical or unreasoned? If so, none of us have the right or ability to make any arguments or hold any strong opinions at all, including myself and Mr. Makar.

Mr. Makar says that oil production hasn’t caused inflation because U.S. production hasn’t decreased. But he also says that oil producers are intentionally causing high prices by reducing production. This is contradictory and nonsensical; moreover, rising prices are a symptom of inflation: not its cause. He claims that producers intentionally reduce production to drive up prices and therefore profits. Higher prices do not equal higher profits. The market does not work that way absent collusion and price-fixing agreements among all producers or imposed by the government. Price-fixing among producers is illegal. The Biden administration would gladly prosecute such collusion if it was occurring. Readers might recall that Biden first blamed high gas prices on mom-and-pop gas stations, then he blamed it on “Big Oil” and then he blamed the Saudis for not increasing production at his request. Since Biden had earlier demonized the Saudi head of state, whether deserved or not, it is not surprising that his request was turned down. The prince only changed his mind after a number of senators threatened consequences on Saudi Arabia — statesmanship through brute force, I guess. It is unsurprising that people are not persuaded by calling them names.

If Mr. Makar has ever taken a class in economics, he’s forgotten what he learned. Let’s say for the sake of example that there are five U.S. oil producers, and they all get together and agree to cut production to raise prices. So, the five U.S. producers cut production and enjoy larger profits, by Mr. Makar’s argument. But one producer realizes that he can increase his production a bit and sell more oil and make more money than everyone else! This one producer enjoys more profits until the others figure out what he’s doing, then they all have to do the same. Price-fixing cannot long exist in a market economy, absent government mandate, and always results in shortages. Someone will step in and cover the shortage in order to make profit.

It is true that inflation is a global phenomenon, but Mr. Makar’s conclusion that it is therefore not caused by our government’s spending is not correct. The U.S. enjoys the enormous benefits of having the world’s reserve currency, which allows the U.S. to spend way more than it brings in. Other countries do not have this advantage and are forced to follow in the U.S.’s monetary footsteps. This is a complicated discussion, but I’ll conclude by saying that the inflation we are seeing is entirely caused by government spending. Not Big Oil, not little oil, not greedy corporations, not COVID, not the war in Ukraine (with the caveat that our government is sending tens or hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine, all of which is money that it did not have). The COVID paychecks sent to each eligible taxpayer was also money the government did not have; it was created out of thin air by computer entry. Counterfeiting, if you or I did it.

“I do not think it is an exaggeration to say history is largely a history of inflation, usually inflations engineered by governments for the gain of governments.” — Friedrich von Hayek, Nobel Prize-winning economist.

“The natural tendency of government, once in charge of money, is to inflate and to destroy the value of the currency.” — Murray Rothbard, economist and economic historian.

Bruce Finlay, Shelton

‘Yes’ for kids

Editor, the Journal,

I’m writing this letter in support of the upcoming replacement levy securing a continuation of revenue that funds Shelton schools. As a Shelton School District parent, I know this replacement levy is of immediate importance to the continued educational recovery for current students in our district. As a homeowner and Shelton resident, I also recognize it’s important to consider that our whole community benefits greatly when students and their schools are supported.

The student services that this replacement levy protects are services we expect from our schools but funding for them depends on the community’s continued support. That is a big responsibility. Protecting this funding source by voting “yes” means a continuation of afterschool programs and athletics. Working families and our community benefits when kids are involved in positive activities that promote personal growth. It means we can continue to afford nursing and counseling services in our schools that are a lifeline for at-risk students. It means we can stay up to date on technology that positions our kids competitively in the workplace and supports higher educational goals.

This replacement levy not only provides continued support for our community’s young people without raising taxes but also acts as a key that unlocks an additional $3 million a year in state funding for our schools that students will lose without an affirmative vote. The critical nature of such a decision cannot be understated.

In a community where ballot questions are often decided by narrow margins, I hope many folks take this vote seriously and show up for our kids. They need us more than ever. Vote “yes” for the kids.

Stacey Britton, Shelton