Dangerous precedent
I am shocked and appalled that following the Letter to the Editor (LTE) entitled “Freedom of Speech,” there was an editor’s note that asserted to clarify multiple previous submitted LTE’s clearly indicating a bias of the editor. I do not know Pastor Harrington, nor have I ever been to his church, and I am only remotely aware of his sign that has been vandalized, but the editor of this paper has no right to interpret the pastor’s opinion or to clarify any “assertions” made by past published LTE’s to discredit the pastor’s views.
As an avid reader and writer of LTE’s, each letter is personal, many are good, a few are brilliant, and some miss the mark, but it is NEVER the right of the editor to serve as the personal interpreter, judge and jury of any letter; it should be left to the reader to decide.
If you read Pastor Harrington’s letter carefully, my assertion is that he was simply referencing past letters with similar themes, not necessarily claiming all as personal and outright attacks. The pastor is entitled to his opinions, and as per the newspaper’s Letters Policy, “Just about any point of view is welcome, and no distinctions, yea or nay, are made based on the opinion itself ...” It appears the editor has taken it upon himself to allow letters of varying opinions and then is commenting on those he does not agree with; he is boldly and not so subtly “clarifying” other’s opinions to discredit the author.
That is NOT freedom of speech and will only serve to discourage others from sharing their opinion. Responding to an LTE in this manner is offensive and unprofessional, and sets a very dangerous precedent.
Lisa Evans
White Salmon
Thanks for the mention
Thank you for your mention of my chocolate cake in Editor’s Notebook. I’d like to thank Draper Girls for making their delicious cherry cider and growing their Attika cherries, which I put into the cake, the cherry filling, and the cherries on top. Looking forward to next year’s men’s chocolate cake contest!
John Fine
Hood River
Invest back
I was disheartened to read recently about certain CEOs of massive companies earning over $100,000 per minute, every minute of the year. There are people suffering these days that could benefit immensely from higher taxes on these insane wealth earners.
Call me a socialist, but I think those CEOs would be just fine living on $50k-60k per minute, every minute of the year and using the rest of their salaries to improve our infrastructure and the folks most at risk of disappearing through the cracks. It’s short sighted of them to take so much money and not invest back into the system that pays them, to keep it healthy and sustainable.
These companies depend on society doing well just as much as individuals do.
Avery Hoyt
White Salmon
Hate-filled agenda
It appears that the deranged toxic white men, inspired by their Nationalistic and racist hero, Trump, want the adoration and attention of similar minded domestic terrorists so they target large public areas, hoping to beat the record for killing as many as possible.
Meanwhile, the NRA-owned GOP legislators post their thoughts and prayers on their Facebook page. Or blame the lack of prayer in our school system, as the Texas Lt. Governor stated this weekend.
Of course, at least they said something; the leader of our country hid in his resort, playing golf, tweeting the report of terrible killings and federal support. On Monday, he will be back to his demonization of people of color, the urban centers of the country and his support for the white supremacists who are now emboldened by divisive and hate-filled agenda of Trump and the GOP.
Want to garner a reaction and maybe even some legislation on banning semi-auto assault weapons? And save your life? Don’t spend any money or time in large public areas like Walmart, mega theaters, shopping malls, Las Vegas or any other large corporate-owned shopping venue. If everyone did this for a month or six months, the corporations would be lining the halls of Congress looking for action.
Instead, keep your shopping and money local, supporting small businesses in your community. Spend the extra time you have reading books, listening to music, hiking with your family, studying nature and hanging out with your family and friends. Not only is consumerism overrated, it’s now life-threatening.
Sue Kusch
White Salmon
Walden watches out
I proudly share the content of the following article that appeared in the July 24 Hood River News on page A8, ”Under settlement, Equifax will pay for data breach,” written by Claire Withycombe of the Oregon Capital Bureau.
She quotes Greg Walden, “How could a major U.S. Company like Equifax, which holds the most sensitive and personal data on Americans, so let them down?”
(Walden said during the Hearing in October 2017) “It’s like the guards at Ft. Knox forgot to lock the doors and failed to notice thieves were emptying the vaults.”
Unlike these who insist on keeping their “foot-in-the- wall-door” to keep it open, Greg Walden thinks first of supporting the welfare of his fellow United States of America citizens!
Alan Winans
Hood River
What limits?
I listed to portions of AOC’s (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) recent town hall meeting in Queens, N.Y., regarding “migration.” She said we should feel “blessed” to have the immigrants next to us as our neighbors. We should welcome all with open arms. Humans should just “be.” Again, that long drive home.
I wonder what would happen if ALL of Guatemala wanted to come to the U.S. because of better conditions? Would that be okay? What would be the limits? Should we make the attempt to make Guatemala’s conditions better so they would not want to come here? We have done so well at our past nation building. Or we could make the U.S. to the current standards of Guatemala, that could be a deterrent. At what point does one draw lines?
Again, what would be the limits? No current Democrat or Socialist ever wants to answer that question. One for every household and two for the wealthy? I am sure a bigger government, without regard to spending or individual rights, will solve that problem for us.
Steve Nybroten
White Salmon
Editor is biased and arrogant
Something needs to be said concerning a cartoon in the Hood River News on Aug. 3, which shows a man sitting in front of a desk with the other man saying, “You are suffering from ‘Donald Trumpitis.’ It’s contagious, comes from excessive Fox TV, affects one-third of the country, renders one incapable of accepting facts, refuting lies and aqdmonishing blatant immorality.”
Not only does this cartoon deride President Trump, but also we who support him! And it is a flat-out lie that we are incapable of accepting facts, refuting lies and admonishing blatant immorality.
I think the editor displays a consistent dislike (hatred?) toward President Trump. Yet, I don’t recall a single acknowledgement of his many accomplishments in the Hood River News.
I wonder why the editor has received awards. I doubt it was for unbiased publication. He seems to have an arrogant and condescending attitude toward those who have opposite opinions from him.
It would be very refreshing if the editor sought and published the truth.
Donald Rose
Hood River
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