Letters to the Editor

Marxist Democrats

Editor, the Journal,

Democrats and politics are different today. Democrats embrace woke politics and critical race theory social issues. Their textbook is “Rules for Radicals” from America’s leading Marxist, Saul Alinsky (1909-1972). Alinsky’s 13 rules were meant to change politics. Democrats believe America has social issues so use Alinsky’s rules to fix these problems. Marxists use these rules to cancel our Constitution. Defund the police is an heir to the violent 1960s Marxist movement when anti-war protesters threw bags of feces at returning Vietnam veterans rather than protest politicians who funded the war. Democrats march lockstep with Marxists. Here are three of Alinsky’s 13 rules.

First rule: “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.” Good citizens protest cops rather than politicians who set police policy, judges who practice turnstile justice, and prosecuting attorneys who advocate no-bail laws. TV and print reporters show the violence and looting of protests, implying everyone agrees with protesters. Naive Democrats can’t see that they’re being played by the Marxists.

Third rule: “Whenever possible, go outside the experience of your enemy.” Marxists attack our justice system claiming bail laws are racist. Prosecutors and judges release looters faster than store owners can clean up the mess. Thieves are repeat offenders, not poor people stealing bread. This enriches career criminals. It’s not promoting justice. Gullible Democrats accept violence, promote bail reform, and replace cops with social workers, but it ain’t working. Fentanyl deaths, murder statistics and open borders are proof of Democrat injustice.

Fifth rule: “Ridicule is man’s most important weapon.” Biden calls Republicans MAGA terrorists. Democrats won’t debate issues. Facts are their enemy; truth is our ally. Letters to editors often attack writers rather than policies. An Agate reader wrote a snarky letter using lots of big words proving only she owns a dictionary and a thesaurus. She claims she rarely reads opposing letters. Is she afraid of facts, logic and truth? A wise person would read and respond factually to unfriendly letters rather than hide. Watch responses to this letter as proof of rule No. 5.

Republican Nikki Haley is running for president. Unlike President Joe Biden, she’s experienced in foreign policy as ambassador to the United Nations. Unlike Biden, she has leadership and executive experience as governor of South Carolina. Unlike Biden, she would face disasters like the chemical spill in Ohio or spy balloons head-on. Unlike Biden, she will close the borders and stop the illegal importation of fentanyl. Unlike Biden, Nikki has principles, brains, integrity and guts. Unlike Biden, she’s honest, experienced, intelligent, responsible, courageous and articulate. She’s reminiscent of John F. Kennedy, when Democrats had honest politics and honorable candidates. As a point to ponder, a Marxist assassinated JFK.

Ardean Anvik, Shelton

Regulations save

Editor, the Journal,

There is a small town in Turkey called Erzin that was about 70 miles from the recent tragic earthquake epicenter. Residents and officials say Erzin suffered no deaths and saw no buildings collapse in the powerful temblor, and they credit a long-standing determination not to allow construction that violated the country’s building codes. There was some damage to buildings, but again no deaths or injuries.

A civil servant worker of Erzin said everyone knows that they live in a major earthquake area. He cited the insistence of the current mayor and previous ones not to allow buildings that failed to meet construction codes of the country to be put up.

He also said that whenever officials realized there were buildings that had been illegally built, they would get them taken down.

He also said some of the local people living in the illegally built buildings were really mad about having them torn down. But he said the mayor held firm, knowing that a major earthquake could come one day. And it did.

Building codes, seat belts, smoke detectors, COVID vaccines mandates, drinking water watersheds, no lead in paint, no more use of PCBs, recalls on dangerous toys or swings, sewage treatment plants, building codes for bridges, availability of MSDS sheets for hazardous materials, septic tank regulations, wearing safety glasses and hearing protection and fall protection gear, food inspections for eateries, motorcycle helmets, speed limits on streets and highways, vaccine requirements for school children, sprinkler systems in buildings, fire code stairwells in buildings, fire alarms in buildings, and the list just continues and continues about controls for industry and individuals.

When people and contractors and politicians play games with building codes and safety regulations people will get hurt and some will die. I want to commend the mayor and previous mayors of Erzin, Turkey, for standing firm about the building codes in their town. It took courage and moxie to go against the greedy and the powerful and the corrupt to have the building codes enforced. And as a result of their actions people in their town did not get hurt or die. People, please stay vigilant that our building codes and public safety requirements are being followed and enforced.

Earl W. Burt, Bremerton

Beautiful column

Editor, the Journal,

I would like to comment on the well-written column by Kirk Ericson in last week’s Journal. It was a pleasure to read such a beautifully crafted piece. And, if I’m not mistaken, it hinted at the fact that we humans have more in common than we have differences.

Thank you.

Kathy Mix, Shelton

Auditor responses

Editor, the Journal,

(Reply to Craig Anderson letter, Feb. 16.)

Thank you for your continued interest in our elections system. In the context of an election, ballots are only accepted or rejected by the Canvassing Board. Typically, ballots are rejected per RCW 29A.40.110 when a signature is unable to be verified, or a signature is missing (despite efforts by the elections team to contact voters for resolution). Ballots can also be rejected as “too late” per RCW 29A.40.110 when they’re delivered to ballot drop boxes after 8 p.m. on Election Day or if they are postmarked by the United States Postal Service after Election Day. The Canvassing Board reviewed the rejected ballots from the 2022 general election and made their determination per RCW 29A.60.050 prior to certification of that election in November. I will work with the elections team and our deputy prosecutor to post what information we can share about rejected ballots from the 2022 general election on our elections website (within the restraints of the law).

The Canvassing Board does not categorize ballots as “anomalous.” The nonpartisan Voter Research Project obtains lists of potential voter anomalies from database researchers, not the Auditor’s Office. If you would like to observe future Canvassing Board activities, please let me know.

(Reply to Bill Pfender letter, Feb. 16)

The nonpartisan aspect of canvassing by Voter Research Project volunteers is emphasized in canvasser training. The intent of canvassing is to help county auditors keep voter rolls current and correct by determining whether a potentially anomalous voter is legitimately registered to vote from the address on file in the Secretary of State’s voter registration database. Volunteer canvassers are instructed and often reminded to avoid any conversation with residents pertaining to partisan points of view and to refrain from asking any questions about political party affiliation or how votes were cast. Confirmed anomaly information belongs to the Voter Research Project and is typically documented as formal affidavits. These affidavits could be introduced in a court of law in the context of a formal challenge to an election outcome by a candidate. These affidavits could also be used to support formal challenges to voter registrations per RCW 29A.08.810. I have asked the Mason County Voter Research Project team to provide the elections team with future confirmed voter anomaly information so that we can look further into each anomaly and make proper determinations regarding voter registration status.

Once again, if you are interested in participating in the Voter Research Project, please let me know and I put you in contact with them. You can find a copy of the Mason County Research Project Final Report from the 2020 and 2021 elections at https:// whocountsthevotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Canvassing-Report-Mason-County Voter-Research-Project-copy.pdf. Please note that the whocountsthevotes.com website contains reports prepared by various county Voter Research Project teams and information compiled by other independent elections researchers and that the information compiled, and views expressed there are those of the researchers and not that of the Mason County Auditor’s Office.

Steve Duenkel, Mason County auditor

Abortion consideration

Editor, the Journal,

A recent letter stated that the liberal positions on the abortion issue showed an ignorance of science. Liberal views on the climate, the economy, sociology, etc., are much more grounded in science and history than those of the conservatives. Although the abortion issue cannot be resolved by reference to science, it seems to me that a microscopic embryo need not be held in the same regard as a fully developed person.

Those of us who are old enough can recall the days of back-alley clinics and clothes-hanger procedures. Do we want to return to this? Will abortion bans actually decrease the number of abortions? I believe the number of abortions declined in the Obama years. Perhaps thoughtful care provided by organizations like Planned Parenthood was a factor. Who knows? No one likes abortion, for those involved it is a horrible dilemma. Perhaps the issue is best left to the pregnant one, her doctor and her god.

Bob Clark, Shelton

Child abuse

Editor, the Journal,

A reader submitted a portion of Shelton’s High School student handbook. Read it. I did not vote “yes” to a levy supporting schools that focus on gender issues instead of education. Apparently, our schools have fallen to this obsession like the rest of the country.

Twenty-three schools in Baltimore have zero kids proficient in math. I imagine this is reflected throughout the country. Our enemy China rates top, producing children of incredible intelligence in math, science and physics, while we obsess with gender identity, sexualizing our children, encouraging kids to believe they can choose to be any sex of the dozens “created,” further confusing what is already a vulnerable period for a developing child; by child, anyone up to age 21.

According to liberals, no one under 21 should own a gun because their brain isn’t fully developed to make decisions, yet a big movement in this country encourages castrating and sexually mutilating children under age 21 because they may feel an identity with the sex opposite their birth. What you are not seeing on liberal media are the suicides and testimonies of many young people having such surgical gender reassignment then realizing that really isn’t who they are; now forever castrated, or deprived of normalcy from puberty-blocking drugs.

I have a niece who, when young, declared she was a boy; she acted and played as a boy. Thank God she was not a child today or she would have been influenced, encouraged and indoctrinated by peers, our schools and obscene books our students have access to, maybe doing something permanent and destroying the beautiful young woman, wife and mother she grew to be. My heart aches for these children not allowed those years to truly understand who they are.

Yes. “All students are entitled to an educational environment that is free of discrimination, regardless of their gender identity.” I agree with that declaration. There should be no harassment, bullying, ridiculing of any child, of any race, religion or gender preference at any time for any reason. Nor should we exceptionalize them, changing rules for them. In no case should opposite genders be allowed shower rooms or bathrooms.

Let children be children while they are learning about who they are. A boy or girl will always be a DNA boy or girl. Register them as such. Treat them as any other child, with the same rules, while allowing time to know who they are.

Any school, parent, clinic that gives children puberty-blocking drugs, which can cause sterility, liver toxicity and sexual dysfunction, or any hospital that performs hysterectomies, mastectomies and castrations on any child under 21 should be prosecuted to the fullest. This is insanity; child abuse in its worst form. Allow these children to develop, not coddling, but loving and accepting them. When they are 21, if they are sure they want gender reassignment surgery, their choice. I have seen that many grow into their original birth gender and lead happy lives.

Katie Groves, Shelton

‘Election Day’

Editor, the Journal,

A rebuttal and invitation to Bill Pfender and Roderic Whittaker.

Do you remember a time not long ago when we had “Election Day?” This was a day when you knew you had to show up to a designated precinct with personal identification, where votes were hand-counted that same day and representatives from both parties attended to verify accuracy. Today, France remains as proof that such a process continues to be, not only doable, but most efficient, as 3 million votes were processed and verified within a few hours in a recent election.In stark contrast, our voting system has devolved into “Election Month” where, for your “convenience,” ballots are mailed to you (or in some cases to others), you can print them from home, and you can deposit them in drop boxes and now we have this new farming technique called “ballot harvesting” where I guess ballots can be sustainably grown and then harvested. The zone is literally flooded with largely unverifiable ballots many with chain of custody issues and are oftentimes counted without signature matching after being irreversibly separated from their identifying envelopes.

When my wife and I joined the voter research project, we were never asked if we had a party affiliation. Instead, we met a rather diverse group of people — people from different races, educational backgrounds, professions, etc. — but they had one thing in common: love for family and country and a deep concern about America’s future. Our research uncovered many discrepancies that could not be ignored, and that is what compelled me to agree to chair the Mason County Voter Research Project this year. My assignment is to assemble a team of volunteers who are willing to knock on some doors and verify the accuracy of our voter rolls. I reached out to local representatives of both political parties, and we now have a great team that will begin canvassing in a few weeks. I have no idea what party affiliation any of our group claim, as I have not asked. I have not asked, because it doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is that if we find anomalies in the voter registration rolls that we as citizens of Mason County can submit this information to our county auditor for further analysis.

In closing, here is two of my favorite proverbs to consider:Prov’erb, (noun)[A short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical precept.]

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” —Proverbs 27:17

“The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.” —Proverbs 15:7

Mike Hill, Mason County Voter Research Project, Shelton

Ballot foolishness

Editor, the Journal,

I am responding to a truly extraordinary letter by Auditor Steve Duenkel. As we all recall, Mr. Duenkel ran on a platform of deep-seated mistrust for the election process. He campaigned on the lack of transparency of his predecessor. Now, he tells us what an excellent job his workers do. These are the same workers that were there on Dec. 31, 2022. He doesn’t say anything about changes he made in the previous 45 days. So, effectively, he is telling us that his predecessor did a good job.

The next issue is the “chain of custody” matter. His theory is that mailing ballots create some sort of problem. Does he have similar concerns about people mailing him checks? Or how about tax and billing statements he receives? Are we talking about criminal evidence here? What precisely does he thinks happens? I envision that I get a ballot, I fill it out, I put it in a box controlled by the county or the U.S. mail. It has been standard contract theory that contracts are delivered upon mailing. Or, that I served responses to litigation when it is deposited, postage prepaid, in a mailbox. Does he think that somehow something is happening when I leave my ballot in the car or on my desk when I’m out getting a pizza? Does he presume I commit perjury or fraud and it is my job to prove otherwise? Is that the level of distrust he has about me as a citizen?

I next find out that he wants to go on a fishing expedition for the “upstream” processes of election fidelity. He tells me he has not the staff to do this. But, don’t worry. We will outsource this to a rando group of partisan hacks that can’t tell the difference from a burro and a burrow. He doesn’t trust me as a citizen, but I’m supposed to trust him about this group? Well, let me tell you why I do not.

First, Mr. Duenkel misrepresents this group as nonpartisan when it appears to have operated in the past as an arm of the Republican Party. Second, I looked up their filing with the Washington Secretary of State. You can too. The UBI is 604 806 008. It lists two governors. One is Glen Morgan (also the registered agent). Mr. Morgan is a well-known conservative gadfly and Evergreen Freedom Foundation alumni. The other is Sharon Hanek, a Republican politician in Pierce County. Finally, I can go to them and find the same nonsense spewed by Mike Lindell. And I’m supposed to buy that this is nonpartisan? Balderdash!

Mr. Duenkel is simply using the office to prove a half-baked theory. For some reason, he thinks that there is something amiss in our election process because his type of people don’t win enough elections. He cannot accept that you can disagree with his political philosophies and still be a good, solid American. And that attitude is simply un-American. He is now going to waste taxpayer money chasing phantoms. Or worse, he is going to outsource government functions to partisan hacks and then try to tell us about his commitment to transparency.

Andrew Makar, Hoodsport