Town hall format restricted feedback
I attended the Jan. 8 town hall meeting held by 49th Legislative District Democrats at the Public Service Center. I was not impressed with the process as conducted. First of all, I wasn’t there for a forum to hear the opinions of the representatives — I was there to exercise my freedom of speech and expose them to my opinion before they head to Olympia to conduct this year’s session. I didn’t appreciate being interrupted and told to “ask my question,” which was done to several others as well.
I also want to make note of something that was said in response to a request by Larry Patella to quit spending. Rep. Jim Moeller said that they were not going to quit spending; that it was the government’s job to spend money. I feel it is necessary to remind Moeller that is not the job of the government. It is the government’s job to protect and serve, to provide safety, to protect the citizens and the Constitution under which they live and the rights therein.
Carolyn Crain
Vancouver
Disclose benefits of coverage
Will some conservative expert please tell me the reasoning behind the Republican lawmakers voting “no” on the requirement to disclose whether they will continue to use the federal employees health benefits? From Washington state, voting “yes” were Democrats Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Norm Dicks, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith. Voting “no” were Republicans Jaime Herrera Beutler, Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dave Reichert. These same Republicans will probably also vote to dismantle the health plan for voters. Why wouldn’t they want the voters to know about their taxpayer-paid health plan?
Valerie Alexander
La Center
Mental health needs are ignored
As a board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Clark County, I am eager to dispel the ignorance of mental illness displayed in national commentary on the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson. The shooter’s writings and details about his life told me immediately that this young man began to show classic signs of schizophrenia in his late teens, the normal time of onset. He withdrew from friends who noticed his irrational, disorganized thought patterns. He began to self-medicate with marijuana, and became obsessed with undecipherable beliefs.
Predictably, he did not seek mental health evaluation as advised by his college. He was shunned and expelled, but no one forced the medical attention on him that could have prevented his violence.
How many times must this tragic, preventable pattern be repeated before American society takes action?
NAMI-Clark County offers parents in this situation a 12-week class. We prevent these tragedies, but we struggle to raise $1,000 at a time. Vancouver’s Legacy Hospital chooses not to even treat the mentally ill at the Salmon Creek location. Government resources are limited. Where are the Northwest and local philanthropists or foundations to give us the millions in private funds to address mental illness as we have seen for breast cancer and AIDS?
Ann T. Donnelly
Vancouver
Hate comes from both sides
In the aftermath of the tragedy in Arizona, some on the left tried to claim that a climate of anger on the right may have been a contributing factor. The evidence now suggests that the killer was a disturbed person with a bizarre ideology that is neither right wing nor left wing.
However, some journalists and politicians contend that this incident should nevertheless serve as a wake-up call for us as a society to work toward more civility in political discourse, so that an environment of heated political discourse not provide a breeding ground for violence in the future. That seems to me a noble goal. But those who claim that in our society today, hateful and violent imagery comes only from the right are either being dishonest or delusional. The dialogue about this issue since the Arizona tragedy has surfaced a massive number of examples of hateful and violent speech from prominent journalists of both left and right as well as politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties.
So, those who believe it is in the public interest to pursue a campaign for more civility in political discourse, by all means go for it. Just don’t pretend that the problem lies only on one side of the political spectrum.
Lance B. Sjogren
Vancouver
Propaganda spreads
The Jan. 8 story reporting “Too Much of a Good Thing? Excess fluoride may be spotting U.S. kids’ teeth,” is like sheep being led to slaughter. Fluoride isn’t a natural mineral. It is a waste by-product that would have to be disposed of at a toxic dump site. Tip of iceberg for fluoride: used in rat poison; causes cancer, sterility; used by Nazis to control their prisoners’ behavior; on and on.
Do some research. Demand it be taken totally out of our water permanently. The state does not require it added to the water. Voters decided in 1961 to add it because of dental association propaganda. The ADA also used mercury fillings. Go figure. Here’s one website out of thousands, http://www.greaterthings.com/Lexicon/F/Fluoride.htm, and read “The truth about fluoride” — what every mother should know.
Linda Nelson
Vancouver
Congress deserves the blame
Regarding Terry E. Viertel’s Jan. 7 letter, “GOP needs lesson in balancing budget,” tell me why the Democrats want to change history. Does the president of the U.S. write laws and budget for the U.S.? According to Viertel, he does. So therefore the then-President Bill Clinton gave us a balanced budget. So Democrats now claim it’s their victory. But didn’t Clinton have to sign into law, or look like an idiot, a balanced budget that a very powerful Republican Congress gave to him? Then four years later, a strong Democratic Congress spent all that surplus plus a lot more.
So don’t blame the president for the woes of what goes on in Washington, D.C. (and hence the country). Blame the people who cause all this trouble.
Congress (both houses) is to blame.
Frank Herman
Vancouver
Greed plays role in housing market
I really enjoyed syndicated columnist Thomas Sowell’s Jan. 11 view, “Playing politics with housing market.” The collapse of the housing market was brought on by greed. Wanting more than they needed or could afford. Now that they are losing their homes, they blame the banks. Follow that with wanting the government to bail them out.
The other cause is the inflated value placed on housing.
My house was bought some time ago for $45,000; appraised value now $200,000. Starter homes are another joke. People should buy a home to live in, not to turn a profit.
