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Our Readers’ Views, Dec. 26

The Columbian
Published: December 26, 2009, 12:00am

Those offended should lighten up

The blurb quoted at the top of the Dec. 19 op-ed page was right on. “The First Amendment guarantees you many things, but it doesn’t guarantee that you won’t be offended.” Never is this truer than this time of year.

The only thing really offensive is people that are so easily offended. So, however you enjoy the holidays lighten up — it is Christmas, it is a Christmas Tree, so Merry Christmas. Also Happy Holidays, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc.

For all you atheists whose religion is that there should be no religion, stop being so offensive to 90 percent of the population and grin and bear it. Your eyes and ears will not burn off your faces when you see or hear about things this time of year, or any time of year for that matter.

America is a great melting pot; you are just a small part of the stew.

Darel Maden

Vancouver

Slow down street-widening project

Would we allow our city to build a wall that cuts off access to our grocery store? That’s what completion of the 18th Street widening project will do for U-pickers at Joe’s Place Farms. To justify condemning a strip of the farm for phase 1 of the project, Vancouver City Council members cited broad community benefit, future traffic capacity and public safety.

But shouldn’t we consider the “broad community benefit” of fresh, local vegetables, local “green” jobs, and a place where city kids can see where real food grows? Shouldn’t we consider future food-growing capacity along with “traffic capacity”? And what’s the rush? The city doesn’t have the money to widen the bottleneck to the east, and the freeway interchange to the west is years away. Shifting the bottleneck to Four Seasons Lane may harm “public safety.”

Let’s view the whole orchard through the peach trees before proceeding. We need to address access to Joe’s fields, and secure the long-term future of this community treasure before it’s too late. Contact the council.

Jim Hunter

Brush Prairie

Why worry about those uninformed?

Why such concern about renaming Vancouver? The greatest concern seems to come from people interacting with others who don’t have knowledge about Vancouver, Wash. I would advise don’t worry about it. The individuals not knowing about our city are just as unlikely to know who their own senators and representatives are, let alone any geographic knowledge. As long as you don’t have to depend on them for your immediate survival, just smile and politely move on.

Ken Kraemer

Vancouver

What’s all the fuss over electricity?

Bonneville Power Administration should build their new transmission line by my backyard near WSU Vancouver. I really like electricity. Without it my heart would stop. My home is all electric. I need electricity to pump water from the well, heat and cool my home, run power tools, computers and TV.

There is already a BPA transmission line behind my house and there is enough room for another one. For all the benefits I receive from clean BPA power I am willing to make the small sacrifice of having another line close to my home.

My wife and neighbors may not agree with my opinion on this.

Tad Winiecki

Vancouver

Power is in the politicians’ hands

In response to Jim White’s Dec. 13 letter, “Special interests get all the attention,” I am a 23-year state employee, a Washington Federation of State Employees member, and a taxpayer. My agency recently laid off 35 people in my job class (earned through promotions), eliminating all jobs. This action caused 35 people with earned seniority to bump to much lower-paying positions/be unemployed and placed their families at financial risk.

Larch Corrections Center is being closed and 105 employees are union members who will be going through the layoff process to either relocate in another city or be unemployed. The only protection we have are our seniority rights. Layoffs/job losses were done by management at the governor’s direction to cut bodies. These employees are not high-wage earners; they do the daily tasks to serve the public on the front line.

To clarify anyone’s confusion, our unions are not running this state; the people we elected got us into this mess, causing lost jobs and services. They have taken responsibility for their fiscal mismanagement at taxpayers’ expense. Instead of blaming public employees/unions, blame who is responsible, our elected officials. When you think of public service employees, remember they’re taxpayers and have families, too.

Kathy Schieber

Vancouver

Better bills in works to support

In response to Ray Keim’s Dec. 20 letter, “Bill should have had more support,” a better title for H.R. 4173, The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, would have been “The More of the Same and Consumer False Sense of Security Act.” Does anyone really believe that yet another new government agency (The Consumer Financial Protection Agency) is going to make a difference where the existing alphabet soup list of agencies have failed? (The SEC, FDIC, OCC, OTS, IRS, CDFI, FinCEN, OFAC, etc.)

At the center of the most recent financial meltdown is our Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking system. Until we come to grips with the fact that the dollar is backed by nothing this country will continue to be plagued by boom-and-bust business cycles.

A bill that really is worthy of support is H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. The Federal Reserve has never been audited; I’d say it’s long overdue.

Stuart Lockhart

Vancouver

Share in building greenhouses

Confused? The FDA is saying we can expect record crops for this next year. We can also expect massive shortages due to extreme weather. Don’t believe me? Look it up. What to do? I propose action towards food security. Cooperate. The resources of five, 10, or 15 people can surely build one greenhouse and share the work or perhaps even support one person to do the growing and share in the processing. (By the way, the inside lining of food cans is now proven to not be so good for us. Glass jars it is.)

Mike Oehler, who wrote “The $50 & Up Underground House Book,” came up with an awesome idea for year-round growing. There are lots of ideas out there. From geodesic domes with elevated growing beds run through with 4-inch black pipe and a small insulated black pond acting as a heat sink, to aquaponics (raising fish and plants in the same water), to the new greenhouse pyramids.

Where there is will, there is a way. We can do it.

Richard Fisher

White Salmon

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