Letters to the Editor for Nov. 2

Adrian Fields

Hood River

Walden’s failure

Greg Walden’s failure to withdraw his endorsement of Donald Trump says a lot — about Walden. It says he thinks misogyny is good, but his votes against equal pay for equal work for women has said that for years. It says he is comfortable with lying, well, at least when Trump does it. It says he is okay with bigotry. It says he condones race discrimination. It also says he needs to be replaced. Vote for Jim Crary. He carries none of this baggage.

Gary Fields

Hood River

False support

Donald Trump funded his campaign on the backs of Americans just like us.

Every time he filed bankruptcy, he protected his personal and business assets to keep his planes, helicopters, homes, and buildings. Every bankruptcy allowed him to avoid paying hard-working contractors, truckers, and vendors just like us.

Many people were asked to put the future of their business and family on the line to provide services to Trump. When the outcome did not meet Trump’s business or financial plans, he simply filed bankruptcy and reneged on his obligations.

People can make all the excuses about his behavior they want while having paranoid ideas about losing their guns or other rights. None of these things happened over the last seven years under POTUS, despite the experts’ predictions.

Trump borrowed one million dollars from his father to start a business, but claims the “system” is rigged. No kidding, Mr. Trump. We think so, too.

Unless you live under a similar situation, you may want to forget about emails, foundations, and fantasies about conspiracies. This man is not eager to get you your first million. You cannot even get what you paid for through the tremendous Trump University.

Steve Kaplan

Hood River

Stop foolishness

From mid-August to last night (Oct. 30), there have been a dozen or more Trump and other Republican signs either stolen, sprayed with paint, shot with a gun, or knocked down.

In the many years I’ve been involved in elections, this is the worst I have ever seen. This is not democracy! It is breaking the law.

We have one week before the election, please stop this foolishness!

Tom Yates

Hood River County Republican Chair

Hood River

Good people

I want to thank this little old lady from The Dalles that I was walking into the Armory with for giving me the money to get in to see the Quilt Show that I wanted to see. I forgot you had to pay with money to get in, not a credit card. There are still good people in this world that take the time to help others.

Pam Smiley

Hood River

Yes on M100

African elephants and rhinos may seem far away, but Measure 100 is a way to help protect them. Poaching endangered animal parts is big business, and a cruel one. Among illegally trafficked goods, only drugs, weapons, and human trafficking generate larger dollar volumes worldwide.

The poaching will continue as long as there is a demand for these animal parts. There is a growing international effort to provide armed protection for endangered animals threatened by poaching. Oregonians can do their part by voting yes on Measure 100 and squeezing the market for poached products.

Measure 100 will make it illegal in Oregon to traffic parts of 12 endangered species: elephants, rhinos, whales, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, pangolins, sea turtles, sharks, and rays.

This ballot measure follows the lead of Washington, Hawaii, and California, which have passed similar laws. Current federal laws do not protect these animals from intrastate sales with exceptions. This measure contains common sense protections for items containing ivory such as musical instruments and antiques.

This is Oregon’s opportunity to join other west coast states in combating the illicit trade in endangered wildlife parts, and shutting down the west coast to illegal trafficking.

Please read your Voter’s Pamphlet for further information and then join me in voting yes on Measure 100.

Phil Swaim

Mosier

Appreciates support

The HRVHS varsity volleyball team was having a team breakfast at Bette’s Place on Saturday before our first round playoff match against Ashland. Someone anonymously paid for our breakfast! Thank you so much to the person who paid for our team breakfast! We appreciate it so much!

We won our first-round playoff match and we will be playing this Friday and Saturday in the State Championship. We are very excited and would like to also thank the community for all of their support.

Rebecca Johnson

and the HRVHS varsity volleyball team

Hood River

1886 meet 2016

Last week while I was volunteering at the History Museum of Hood River County, I was going through the county files and found a set of tally sheets from elections in 1884 and 1886. The tally sheets were hand-written in pencil. The candidates in these elections were interesting.

In 1884, the presidential election was between Grover Cleveland (Democrat) and James Blaine (Republican). Cleveland was the reform candidate who was known for his opposition to political patronage systems (like Tammany Hall in New York). He attacked Blaine for taking kickbacks from railroads such as the Union Pacific. Blaine learned that Cleveland had had an illegitimate child and was paying child support payments to the mother. Blaine’s followers attended Cleveland’s rallies and chanted “Ma, Ma, who is my Pa?” Cleveland told his supporters that they should not lie and he admitted that the child was his. Wikipedia described the 1884 presidential election as one of the most acrimonious and nasty in the history of U.S. politics. Interestingly, in the Hood River results, we could not decide which candidate was favored because the tallies were recorded in terms of who won the most votes as electors. At the national level, Grover Cleveland won.

In 1886, the election for Oregon governor involved another Democrat populist candidate, Sylvester Pennoyer. He had the support of farmers and he was opposed to the influence of big business. Pennoyer had favored the South during the Civil War and was pro-slavery. His fame in Oregon was based on his opposition to the immigration of Chinese (his political slogan was “Keep the Mongolians out”). Pennoyer slightly lost in Hood River (89 to 87). But he was elected. The Portland Oregonian in 1889 described Pennoyer as the Governor who wanted to become King.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Roger Blashfield

Hood River