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Opinion
The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
News / Opinion / Letters to the Editor

Our readers’ views

The Columbian
Published: September 12, 2010, 12:00am

Privatization is a good change

I was puzzled by the Aug. 30 front-page story “Last call for small liquor stores?” The headline should have read “Last call for small state-controlled liquor stores.” I say it is about time to end the stores where the products are overpriced, the selection is poor, and the stores are limited by the state as to what other related items they may sell. They do not cater to the public.

People talk about loss of revenue to the state but think about the savings involved by the elimination of the costs to operate under the present system. I’m sorry about the small stores that have to sell alcohol on the side, again under state control, to make ends meet. But I believe under privatization they would still do it, without state control. Under privatization, it will still be done responsibly, as is done now, for other controlled products.

Is privatization a dirty word?

Let’s get the state of Washington out of the liquor business and put free-market capitalism to work.

Jim Dykes

Vancouver

Event was life-changing and inspiring

I had the privilege of attending the “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington, D.C. It was life-changing for me; I hope it’s the herald of America’s third “Great Awakening.”

I made it my mission to take in as much of the sights and sounds of the event so that I could accurately report after my return.

I was at the rally from 6:20 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. and shared the experience with at least 500,000 people. I walked the entire area and talked with more strangers than I do in a year, people from many different states, conditions, cultures, creeds, colors and ages. I lost count of the number of random acts of kindness I witnessed, and every person I made eye contact with had an upbeat and positive demeanor.

Although the presentations from the stage were moving and thought-provoking, it was the genuine sweetness of the crowd that will live in my heart forever. There is not enough space in this forum to share more than a small percentage of what I experienced that Saturday.

How do you gather a half-million people in a small area for most of a hot summer day and have zero fights, zero arrests, and zero litter or destruction? Ask God.

Rick Lewis

Battle Ground

Plenty of hate to go around

After an angry defense of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, Fred McNeeley (Sept. 6 letter, “Beck promoted patriotism”) tries to link Christianity to patriotism (as if, for example, an atheist could not be a patriot), then says “The Jesus Christ I follow is not a Republican, but neither is he a hate-filled Democrat.” So, only Democrats can be hate-filled?

Anyone spending even a few minutes listening to Rush Limbaugh, Beck or Sarah Palin knows there are plenty of hate-filled Republicans around, too. McNeeley seems to believe Democrats are “hate-filled” while Republicans are full of “love and forgiveness.”

Nonetheless, Democrats everywhere will be happy to do what McNeeley asks, if he will urge his cherished Republican mouthpieces to themselves immediately and completely stop “throwing stones” at President Obama every chance they get. If McNeeley is right about them, his loving, forgiving Republican peers — starting with his heroes, Palin and Beck — will surely be happy to comply. And we can expect the entire Tea Party to stop shouting and start working with, not against, our president.

If McNeeley is wrong, we can expect more of the same right-wing ranting — stone-throwing — we have seen for years on end.

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Roy Wilson

Portland

Time for voters to clean house

It continually amazes me the ignorance of politicians not being open to understand voters. All the pundits analyze the elections and try to come up for a reason for what has taken place. I believe they are way off-base because they listen to the party bases and not to the bulk of voters who cast a vote, not based on ideology, but on common sense and reality.

The mistake politicians make is that they believe an election win is about their ideology, which gives them a mandate. In reality, they are winning because we are punishing one group over another. This is why we find the huge swings in power.

They don’t listen to the majority of voters and find themselves on the outside looking in. This election will be no different.

We were told by Barack Obama that he would return bipartisanship. Have we seen that? It may not all be his fault, but he is the leader of our nation, and as the old saying goes, the buck stops with him. Voters are rightly upset and want to clean house. It’s time we do and continue cleaning each election until politicians begin to work again for us, the taxpayers who vote them in.

Mike Lanes

Vancouver

Nuclear energy deserves support

The Aug. 29 story “Generations team up to fight resurgence of nuclear power plants,” regarding the increased interest in nuclear power and the concern it has aroused in today’s anti-nuke community was interesting.

Interesting in what was said: still not safe, still no solution to the waste. And what was not said: the extraordinary record of nuclear power in preventing the production of huge quantities of carbon dioxide and acid rain, and how the anti-nukers who ignored the dangers of coal in their zeal to stop nuclear power condemned us to far worse environmental dangers.

Safe? What is unsafe about 14,000 commercial reactor-years, with only one Western World reactor (Three Mile Island) accident, which did no harm to the public? What is safe about burning 5 million milelong trains of coal that would have been needed without those reactors?

“Waste” storage? For the past 25 years, spent rods have been stored effectively and safely on site in metal-lined concrete cylinders called dry casks.

At present, coal produces 50 percent of our electricity, reactors 20 percent. If the anti-nukers had not stopped American reactor construction 20 years ago, we would now find nuclear power producing 45 percent and coal 25 percent, thus eliminating each year the need to burn 3 million train cars of coal.

Mark Jander

Vancouver

Congress has no idea how we live

A report by the Center for Responsive Politics shows that, as of November 2009, 44 percent of the members of the House and Senate are millionaires, and that the median net worth in Congress is over $700,000.

These are the same folks who stalled the extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed, want to cut Social Security, gut health care reform and extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans.

It may not be enlightened, but it sure sounds like self-interest to me.

Debra Di Piazza

Vancouver

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