In his Aug. 25 letter “Attacks on progressives baseless,” Jim Moody would like all letters such as the one written by Mike Goodpaster on Aug. 18 “Progressive ‘thinking’ worshipped” barred from being published in this or any other newspaper. Moody finds the letter hate speech.
In an Aug. 26 letter “Comparison misses the mark,” Jackson Colby says abortion is not genocide. Check the abortion rates of black women and you will find a different story. He also calls those who oppose abortion, of which I am one, loons. It has been my experience that those who resort to name calling of those they disagree with shows the person does not have a valid a point.
Moody and Colby are entitled to their opinions. I and others like me are entitled to our opinions. Last I checked, the First Amendment is still valid. While I do not agree with “progressive thinking,” I will support Moody’s and Colby’s rights to free speech.
ld be able to acquire, sell or trade any gun, any ammo, anytime, anywhere without providing information about me and the people I deal with invites the epidemic of irresponsible and illegal gun use. It also makes it immensely expensive for authorities to investigate and prosecute shootings.
Not only should Seattle tax the sales of guns and ammo to offset a small portion of what gun issues cost, but gun owners everywhere should be proud to fund gun rights as we demand to practice them. We should be insured so if our guns are stolen and misused, the victim’s family can, at least, seek damages. Ironically, expecting the non-gun majority to subsidize our pro-gun minority is socialism. We should pay our way.
Phillip A. Massey
Kalama
As gas tax rises so does congestion
I was interested in the Aug. 26 story “Worst U.S. traffic ever? Improving economy fuels congestion” and tried to connect the dots between congestion and fuel taxes. California has four cities in the top 10 with the worst congestion but has the fourth-highest gas tax (taxfoundation.org/blog/how-high-are-gas-taxes-your-state). New York/Newark is No. 4 in congestion, and New York state has the second-highest gas tax. Seattle is No. 7 in congestion, and Washington has the sixth-highest gas tax. (The Seattle Times says we’ll be No. 2 next summer.)
This story seems to conclude that higher federal gas tax and some social engineering will solve the problem. I’m thinking that higher gas taxes are the problem. What am I missing here?
David Dilworth
Vancouver
