Appalled by article
I was about to renew my Columbia Gorge News subscription, and your recent edition (Dec. 3) has given me pause. The article “Gorge Gaza Action marks 100 consecutive Fridays” is appalling. The only fact in that piece is that the group is marking 100 consecutive weeks of Friday protests. Otherwise, this article is one-sided propaganda without even an attempt to present any context or details from the Israeli perspective. I’m not sure whether to take this as small-town’s poor journalism or an outright antisemitic piece.
Israel has been fighting a defensive war in response to the brutal terrorist attack on its soil on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 citizens. Hamas, the elected government of Gaza, continually chose to extend the conflict by failing to release the hostages, a number of whom died brutally in captivity. Now Hamas has violated the recent peace agreement in numerous ways, including failing to return hostage remains and failing to disarm.
The article makes no mention of any of this context, instead choosing to use charged language such as “Palestinians have been murdered by the Israeli military” and referencing the conflict as a “genocide” perpetrated by Israel. This type of language and the absence of both context and key facts only serve to stir up emotion against Israel. Your poor journalism harms this community.
I am deeply disappointed in the Columbia Gorge News and your apparent willingness to promote hurtful propaganda. I would like you to know that your readers notice when you fail us.
Bonnie Cox
Hood River
Editor’s Note: Columbia Gorge News welcomes all feedback. The article in question clearly states that the group “explicitly separates Judaism from the state of Israel and its actions.” We recognize this is a hot-button issue and not everyone agrees with this group’s reasons for protesting.
Subsidies
Who would you rather subsidize?
It bears repeating, over and over again, that the healthcare subsidies that the Democrats have been fighting to reinstate ARE expensive: an estimated $350 BILLION over 10 years. So, between now and 2035, it would cost that much to make sure that more than 4 million people would not lose their healthcare. Many millions (20-plus) more will have their premiums double or more, at a time when costs for most things are increasing, thanks in large part to Trump’s taxes (tariffs) on imported goods. In contrast, the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Republicans passed continues the tax breaks to the billionaires to the tune of $4 TRILLION of our tax money over the same 10 years. Now that’s a subsidy! The pool of wealthy individuals benefiting from those tax breaks is far smaller than the millions of people affected by the loss of the healthcare subsidies. That’s almost 11 and a half times more expensive of a payout to people who already have too much of the money in the system.
What’s it gonna be? Millions more people in the debtors pool, or the rich swimming in their pools of money, like Scrooge McDuck? Call your Congresspeople!
Mark Browne
White Salmon
Obama for House, 2026
Do you yearn for a president who is not cruel, vindictive, racist, hateful, liar, corrupt, convicted felon, and wannabe dictator, and for a Congress not typified by Washington state’s Republican MAGA toadies U.S. Reps. Michael Baumgartner and Dan Newhouse?
Do you yearn for someone like Barack Obama who, in fact, is currently trying to save our democracy, and for the Democrats to take back the House from Baumgartner, Newhouse and their MAGA sycophant Republican colleagues? Then let’s get Obama to run in 2026 for a House seat currently held by a Republican — there are three in Obama’s home state of Illinois.
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848; sixth U.S. president, 1825-1829) is the only president ever to serve in the House of Representatives after his presidency (for 17 years, 1831-1848). At age 80, he collapsed on the floor of the House and died two days later in an adjacent room.
Adams was considered a leader in the House right up to his death and considerably more effective there than as president. He strongly opposed slavery, so it’s especially appropriate that Obama be the first former U.S. president after Adams to serve in the House and carry on the Adams tradition.
Epilogue: An appropriate revision of this letter was published online and in print by the daily newspaper Chicago Sun-Times on Nov. 30.
Norm Luther
Spokane,
former Gorge resident
Editor’s Note: This is Norm Luther’s second letter in December because his November letter had to be held for space reasons until the Dec. 3 issue.
Choir thanks
On behalf of the Mid-Columbia Community Choir, I would like to thank you for the article you did in the Dec. 3 edition promoting our concerts on Dec. 6-7. Through our efforts and the support of our partners, a total of $2725.50 has been donated to the FISH and WAGAP foodbanks. Many thanks to generous communities!
Cheryl Haun
Stevenson
‘There is no line’
“Why don’t they just get in line?” There is no line for immigrants, just a long, complicated, costly process that can take years and sometimes decades to obtain citizenship. Now, the doors are being slammed shut for some people, leaving them frustrated, fearful, and despairing.
This month, in response to the horrific shooting of two National Guards in D.C. by an Afghan national, which killed one of them, President Trump put a hold on immigration applications from 19 countries considered “high risk.” “The list includes Cuba, Iran, Haiti, and Somalia, among others” (Nicole Acevedo, “Many immigrants’ final legal step, citizenship has become harder under the Trump administration,” NBC News, Dec. 13). Rest assured, no majority white countries are on the list.
On Dec. 8, immigrants were present at Faneuil Hall in Boston ready to officially become citizens. This should have been a day of celebration, but as they entered the hall, agents of the government questioned each person as to what country they came from. If they were on the administration’s list, they were told their naturalization ceremony was canceled, and to go home. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told WCVB 5 that waiting until this last step in an immigrant’s process is “outrageous” (Sarman Sachetti, “It’s despicable: Immigrants denied naturalization ceremony at last minute in Boston,” WCVB 5, Dec. 8).
How heartbreaking to go through the legal processes our country requires, to make it to the finish line after thorough vetting, only to be told at the last minute, that no, you come from the wrong country. Please contact your representatives and urge them to publicly speak out against this “outrageous” practice.
April George
White Salmon
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