Vote for healthcare
Since 2021, Medicare has been able to negotiate with Big Pharma to lower prescription drug costs, capping out of pocket expenses to $2,000, and capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35. This election year you should support Democrats, as members of the House Republican Study Committee plan to repeal Medicare’s authority to do this. Another Republican Committee plan is to cut Medicare benefits by making it a voucher system, and to return the power of denying coverage to private healthcare insurers (whitehouse.gov Fact Sheet, March 21, 2024).
If you believe in affordable healthcare, vote Blue in November.
April George
White Salmon
Carbon a scam
As a resident of The Dalles, I was very concerned to read in Columbia Gorge News about a company that purchased property from the Port of The Dalles, whose purpose is “to suck CO2 out of the air and get rid of it.” It “will collect 500 tons of CO2 per year. Next project: 5,000 tons. And future hopes: 20,000 tons of CO2 per year.”
Climate change and carbon control is nothing but a scam! We learned in grade school that carbon dioxide is good. It is necessary for plant and animal life on earth.
Pay attention! The two major things trees and plants need to survive and continue to generate our lifesaving oxygen are CO2 and sunshine. I am shocked that this has been okayed without input from all of us oxygen breathers!
Patricia Ward
The Dalles
Editor’s note: "Each year, human activities release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than natural processes can remove, causing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to increase" (www.climate.gov).
'Light a candle'
Two old men in a verbal scrum on national TV is the result of 66% of the eligible voters between 18-30 not voting in 2024 primary elections. Joe Biden is obviously past his prime. Donald Trump remains arrested in his adolescence. Biden didn’t get Samuel Clemens' advice to not argue with an idiot — people watching cannot tell the difference. It is a binary choice in 2024: Vote for Donald Trump puts a nail in the coffin of democracy; vote for Joe Biden and our democracy continues life support for 4 more years; not voting drives the coffin nail tighter! Rather than curse the darkness, light a candle!
Donald Trump has the working vocabulary of a high school freshman. He is incapable of establishing mature, loving relationships and tries to prove his masculinity by assaulting at least 23 women and bragging about “…I can grab them by the [redacted] …” He has settled or found fraudulent by a jury for $354 million, $83 million, and $25 million. He is a felon on 34 separate charges.
His COVID-19 ignorance is profound, indicating at least 38 times COVID was just a common flu, ultraviolet light could be a therapy, and Hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment. He caused a 28% decline in Gross Domestic Product. Effective actions by the Federal Reserve Bank, an institution Trump wants to dismantle, prevented the largest U. S. depression. The small present inflation is a direct effect of the FED’s depression actions. The U. S. lost 1,189,083 citizens to COVID. The number of deaths from all wars is 646,596. Trump caused the greatest economic disaster, and twice as many deaths as all the wars.
Trump contracted COVID in October 2020. Doctors missed an excellent opportunity to experiment with Trump’s suggested therapies. If those physicians had given him a colonoscopy using ultraviolet light. When the light rays shot from each ear, it would be irrefutable evidence Trump has no brain!
We would not need a debate.
Terry Armentrout
The Dalles
Vote for Biden
Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu won’t let anything stop their abhorrent killing of innocent civilians. Putin justifies massacring Ukrainians by gross disinformation. Netanyahu justifies annihilating Palestinians by Hamas’s horrific Oct. 7 attack which, of course, deserved strong response.
Any chance of stopping the two will probably have to happen internally. Internal resistance to Adolf Hitler’s atrocities was exemplified by world-renown German Christian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who felt God’s calling to help assassinate Hitler. Author of the Evangelical Christian classic, “The Cost of Discipleship,” Bonhoeffer paid the ultimate cost — executed by Hitler.
Hopefully, the carnage can end without assassinating the autocrats. To avoid harsh retribution, organized Russian or Israeli groups resistant to Putin or Netanyahu would have to lie low. Both leaders have extensive opposition from within, as shown by huge Russian turnouts protesting dissident Alexei Navalny’s death and longtime massive Israeli protests against Netanyahu’s corruption and power-grabbing.
Many Americans are understandably upset at President Joe Biden’s lukewarm, tardy criticism of Netanyahu. However, those threatening to not vote for Biden should reevaluate. Among Biden’s accomplishments: Funding IRS to audit rich tax cheats; expanding benefits for toxic-exposed veterans; protecting reproductive rights; increasing middle-class wages, exceeding inflation; creating most jobs ever; rallying world support for Ukraine; taming COVID pandemic; appointing first ever Public Defender/Black woman Supreme Court justice; expanding health insurance; and rebuilding our long-neglected infrastructure.
Donald Trump wants to be dictator; is a convicted felon; opposes Ukraine aid; admires Putin and Netanyahu; will appoint only political lapdogs; and exercise harsh retribution against past and present opposition. If you believe him, his scapegoats would surely be immigrants and likely persons of color.
And the zeal of Trump’s voter base is frightening: Many White Americans who self-identify as “Evangelical Christians” have abandoned Christ for idolatry of Trump, violating the Second of the Biblical Ten Commandments.
Norm Luther
Spokane
History lesson
I was highly dismayed to read of the Cascade Locks City Council’s discussion regarding a resolution to make Juneteenth City a holiday. Apparently, one of the councilors, Butch Miller, had done no advance preparation regarding this resolution expressing “mixed emotions” and stating, “You have Black History Month. You have Kwanzaa. And now you want to have Juneteenth. Veterans have one day.”
Mr. Miller, let this former Cascade Locks School history teacher/principal do your homework for you: The reason we have month-long observances is to allow governments, groups, and organizations to raise awareness of issues, commemorate groups or events, and to celebrate accomplishments. Many of the accomplishments of African Americans, women, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans have been left out of the traditional American story. These observances allow us to learn more about how our country has benefited from the various groups who now call this land our home.
Kwanzaa is an annual celebration started in 1966 based on the African harvest festival traditions. It was created after the California Watts riots to give Black people an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history. It focuses on unity, self-determination, collective and cooperative work, purpose, creativity and faith. It is NOT recognized as an official holiday in the United States. It is a cultural celebration much like the Aloha Festival in Hawaii or the Dublin, Ohio, Irish Festival.
Juneteenth National Independence Day IS an official federal holiday (2021) in the U.S. It marks the end of slavery in the U.S. (1865) and is considered the longest-running African American holiday and American’s second Independence Day. Veteran’s Day is also a recognized federal holiday (1919), honoring military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. One day to honor veterans and one day to recognize the end of slavery.
Perhaps these facts will assist Mr. Miller in resolving his mixed emotions and allow him to participate in an informed discussion of adding a recognized federal holiday to the list of Cascade Locks City holidays.
Kim Vogel
Hood River
Courage needed
If the present course of the Republican Party is to change, and if our two-party system is to survive, some courageous, effective leaders need to step up.
Under the malign influence of Donald Trump, the Republican Party is creating distrust in the integrity of elections and our judicial system. Both are essential to good government.
Particularly blameworthy is inspiring his followers to threaten and harm people engaged in public service, including election workers, judges and others employed in the justice system.
Only those with blind loyalty and indifference to the consequences of that loyalty will continue to support his re-election as president.
Republicans willing to support this convicted felon are as blameworthy as Donald Trump, and do not deserve our support.
Keith Mobley
Dufur
Vote Sessler
Why is Jerrod Sessler running for Congress? He wants America back. He is tired of seeing how the Constitution has been perverted time and time again by Congress letting the corrupt bureaucrats make laws when the responsibility belongs to the ones that the people elected. He is fed up watching Congress bribe American citizens with their own money. Jerrod is dedicated to working for the people and making Congress follow its own rules. Jerrod is not a politician but a patriot who feels it is his duty to contribute to restoring Congress to the people. We have, for far too long, been electing “politicians” and America is too important to be left up to the politicians. America belongs to the citizens, not a handful of billionaires who have the resources to lobby Congress for their benefit.
So let's make 2024 the year that we elect God-fearing, American-loving candidates like Jerrod Sessler who want to go to Congress to serve the people, not special interest or make deals and play politics; jerrodforcongress.com.
Delmer Eldred
Goldendale
'Heaven help us'
Nothing has changed in 2,000 years. The Republican Sanhedrin of today is chanting to the crowd, "Choose Barabbas!" to keep their wealth and power. Heaven help us if we choose leaders who want to throw the money changers out of the temple and focus on the health and welfare of the people. Matthew 27:16, Mark15:7, and John 18:40.
S. Michael Carlson
Tygh Valley
Enemy within
I will not live under a dictator as Trump, who wants to rule America along with his family. That would be taking our freedom and our rights away. Not on my watch!
Steve Cochenour
The Dalles
Commented