Senators working together

Thank you to Sen. Craig Pridemore, D-Vancouver, and Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield. I’m heartened by their efforts to save Larch Corrections Center, reported in the March 3 story “Senate budget keeps Larch open.” Their proposal to close instead McNeil Island Corrections Center is no doubt upsetting to those who are vested in the McNeil facility. But it facilitates open debate as to how to best save money within the Department of Corrections. The decision will probably be a compromise, which is the way of our political system. That’s OK. Keep up the good work.

Ed McMillan

Vancouver

Courtesy bell is a great solution

Bicyclist courtesy — time to bring this subject up again as the weather warms and more people are walking along the river at Columbia Way. As we walked and talked, many bicyclists came from behind us with no warning whatsoever. All it would take is for a person to decide to turn to the railing or turn to a bench and smash into a bicyclist.

We were so pleased when we heard this bell and turned to find two people on bicycles behind us. We thanked them profusely and they said that others had thanked them as well. We asked them to pass it on to their bicycle friends so that everyone can walk or ride away happy and safe.

Paula Person

Vancouver

Laird’s column was wrong

John Laird’s comment in his Feb. 28 opinion column, “Schools have changed, but not enough,” that “unfortunately, the stranglehold that teachers unions have on contract negotiations leaves little hope for keeping kids in classrooms for more hours and more days,” is not true. School boards and state statute set the length of the school year, not unions.

Recent attempts by local districts to go to a year-around school calendar were thwarted by community sentiment, not at the bargaining table. As president of Evergreen Education Association, I would welcome such a conversation, but the topic is moot until the citizens represented by their elected leaders recognize the value of a longer school year. Misplacing the blame is counterproductive to finding a solution.

Dave Boroughs

Vancouver

Discrimination is the wrong approach

Timothy May’s Feb. 28 letter, “Morality keeps God on our side,” made me chuckle, as his letters always do. First of all, we are not a Christian nation. Our forefathers founded this country to get away from religious persecution. Secondly, his statement that “homosexuality has no redeeming value” is morally offensive to me. The human beings I know who share a deep and normal love for their partners are kind, productive citizens who teach your children, run the businesses that drive our economy and, yes, protect our country with pride. To suggest otherwise is ludicrous. And that is the crux of his angst, isn’t it? People don’t buy this garbage anymore.

Finally, there are only a handful of words in the Bible that talk about the “evils” of homosexuality, but there are entire Gospels that speak of loving your fellow man — do you honor that? He must understand if we question his morals.

If May’s god is a discriminatory deity who rewards hate — I’ll stay on the other side.

Lisa Cortney

Vancouver

Conserve our independence

There is a battle raging right now in the political realm between the right and the left. The right I will call the conservative/constitutional/capitalists. The left, the liberal/progressive/socialists, working toward the Marxist/communists.

The conservatives want to conserve their history, their constitutional government with the liberties stated in the Declaration of Independence. On the other hand, the progressives want to move “forward” to a form of socialism: a sharing of the wealth, fairness in all things “supposedly.” However, this aim is unreachable, and our Founding Fathers knew that. They studied empires and governments and saw the evils in them. They concluded that man needed restraints that only a constitutional framework with limited powers, balanced between three sections, could produce. Thus our representative government with balanced powers, to inhibit one group from gaining control over the others.

Socialism, however, requires a dependent mentality in those to be governed, a submission to authoritarian structure, a dependency, and not an independency, a people willing and able to work out their own struggles and problems without oppressive, government intrusion. Another way to say that is: Socialism is suffocating slavery, albeit benign at first, synonymous with the USSR ultimately.

Take your choice while you still can.

Pauline Warren

Vancouver

Be aware of symptoms

March is National Kidney Cancer Awareness month throughout the United States. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2009 there were 57,760 new cases and 12,980 deaths from kidney cancer. I urge readers to become advocates for continued research on cures for Kidney Cancer as well as for other cancer. I am a fortunate long-term survivor of kidney cancer. Living with kidney cancer is no fun.

Please be aware of the following signs and symptoms associated with kidney cancer: pain in the back just below the ribs; a mass that can be felt; unexplained weight loss that can sometimes be rapid; intermittent fevers or night sweats; fatigue and lethargy; fever that is not associated with a cold or the flu; and/or pain in other parts of the body if the cancer has spread.

If you have these symptoms contact your doctor. If he or she will not take you seriously, find a doctor that will. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to surviving kidney cancer.

Oliver Sasse

Vancouver

Rising premiums are result of greed

This information is for those Fox (faux) News junkies. WellPoint, the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which made a record net profit of $4.7 billion in 2009, is raising premiums by as much as 39 percent. These for-profit health insurance companies exist to make money for their shareholders. They collect premiums and then delay or deny medical care.

You don’t want single-payer? You don’t want the government to provide health care coverage for everyone? You would rather pay for corporate aircraft, country club memberships, and millions of dollars in salaries for CEOs?

I would rather pay into Medicare with its 3 percent to 4 percent overhead and provide medical care for everyone than support greedy, for-profit health insurance companies.

Leah Dorn

Vancouver

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