Your voice: July 2, 2025

Human world population in 1900 was at 1.6 billion; in 2000, it was at 6.1 billion; and today it exceeds 8 billion. These are scary numbers. The desire of everyone everywhere is to live a middle class western life. We’re losing ecosystems and species at an ever-accelerating rate. We are pushing every life form to extinction to make room for ourselves.

What is the vision for the future? At one time, healthy natural ecosystems that were self sustaining was a goal. Today, it seems like a pipe dream.

What will the future earth be like for the children? Will your child see a healthy Great Barrier Reef full of fish and unbleached colorful coral, or a night sky unblemished by man-made lights, or beaches without garbage washing up on shore, or ... Examples of degradation abound. Will nature be sold off to the highest bidder, as is currently proposed in the Senate version of the Big Beautiful Bill, which proposes to sell millions of acres of public land?

Disasters affect more and more people, disrupting daily life, creating misery, causing people in a disaster’s path to flee to other places where they are not wanted.

We are physical animals that require the physical qualities of the earth to live. These qualities are degrading at a faster pace than we can grasp. Climate change deniers put their head in the sand and yearn for a world where oil was king. Insurance companies know better. Climate change is a big money loser for them. Homeowners in many parts of the country either can’t get insurance because insurers have pulled out of their region or simply can’t afford it. We need a collective vision that respects nature before it’s too late.

Christine Psyk

Hood River

‘Ditch the fireworks’

Lack of significant rain, severely dry conditions, fierce winds, lack of commonsense and caution, and fireworks in the hands of careless people is a recipe for disaster. As another Fourth of July approaches, fireworks fanatics need to remember Rowena and ditch the fireworks this season. The neighbors, nearby pets (whose sensitive ears are hurt by these loud booms), and our brave, overworked firefighters thank you for showing restraint and respect to avoid another heartbreaking disaster. Find a safe way to celebrate freedom!

Karen Saunders

The Dalles

This isn’t right

I voted for Trump the first time, and I am so ashamed.

Tonight, ICE picked up a father with a landscaping business. They said he assaulted an officer — what would you do with strange men grabbing you for no reason? And he has three sons who are all Marines. Several days ago, they also showed up at a car wash and grabbed all six employees, leaving the owner with a 30-year old business and no employees. And tonight, the Supreme Court said they can again deport these people to third world countries not of their origin, so they may not know the culture and be able to communicate.

The Supreme Court has become a joke. They are the ones who are supposed to uphold the right to due process, legal representation, and guarantee you can defend yourself. And these are not criminals or gang members — these are hardworking people who are living in the margins. Notice ICE is not arresting and deporting anyone with money, anyone who can summon legal counsel and demand their rights. And the one person who could change all of this doesn’t care. He doesn’t have any sympathy for these people who are not celebrities, or rich, or famous. No, they aren’t expendable. THIS IS NOT RIGHT. We should be screaming from the rooftops.

Gary Rains

Parkdale

Not another war

As current events develop, Trump is claiming a case for another Middle East war founded solely on his unqualified assessment.

Why? Could it be Trump is not only interested in burnishing his legacy but also in profiteering from his ill-conceived war? After all, Trump is a transactional player. In 2018, Trump reneged on the Obama JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) treaty with Iran, limiting its ability to build a nuclear weapon. According to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspections, Iran was complying. U.S. intelligence currently says Iran is not building one. Trump dismissed that assessment forcefully, stating that he does not want Iran to get a nuclear weapon.

Remember when Bush invaded Iraq based on a forged document claiming Saddam Hussein had attempted to procure yellowcake uranium for a nuclear weapon? We sacrificed thousands of our own and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives and destroyed their country all because of the yellowcake fraud. Contractors toasted their windfalls.

Favored contractors, like the ones who stay at his hotels, buy into his cryptocurrency or his campaigns, could profit mightily. Military contractors found Iraq quite lucrative. Our GIs learned little more than how to kick down doors and shoot while contractors performed security, logistics, construction, road building, training, IT support and much more.

The military used to teach those skills to the troops. When they came home, if not in body bags, they had sellable skills.

Bush’s Iraq debacle could turn into Trump’s Iran swindle, costing too many lives and billions of our tax dollars while destabilizing the region, likely only tarnishing Trump’s legacy more while morbidly enriching the rich. An unprovoked invasion predicated on lies never makes anything better for anybody, except for military contractors. Considering Trump’s cuts to veterans’ programs, they may have trouble retrieving their hard-earned benefits if they get to return home alive. No matter how profitable for the few and how costly for the many, we don’t need a war with Iran and neither does the world.

Chris Connolly

White Salmon

Don’t sell public lands

I have memories of hiking Catherine Creek with my kindergarten class, enjoying splashing in puddles and looking at the flowers. Later, we took my grandparents there and then my puppy. Hikes like Catherine Creek, Eagle Creek, Mt. Defiance, and Dog River are all steeped with memories and natural beauty. Soon they could all be for sale.

The Wilderness Society estimates that, under the Republican’s Budget Bill, “more than 250 million acres of public lands will be eligible to be sold to ‘any interested party.’” More than that, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management would be required to sell off the land in the next five years.

These areas are more than just valuable to the community; they are irreplaceable ecosystems that have survived our growing urbanization. In a time when the temperature is warming and our climate is growing increasingly unstable, protecting public land is crucial for the future of the human race. We cannot let Trump and his Republican sycophants pass this bill.

It has already passed the House and is now being discussed in the Senate, with a deadline of July 4. Write to and call your senators! Download the app “5 Calls” to see provided scripts. Ron Wyden’s number: 202-224-5244; Jeff Merkley’s number 202-224-3753.

I am a rising senior in high school, and I am here to tell you that calling your senators is not that difficult. Your speech doesn’t have to be perfect — what matters is that you respectfully ask them to speak up in opposition to the sale of our public lands in the bill. Thank you and let’s protect Oregon’s wilderness!

Rowan McKenna

Hood River

Thanks to Riverside

Thank you, Riverside, for your support of the immigrant community and sponsoring the “We are Immigrants / Somos Inmigrantes” campaign. It’s cool that you’re also spearheading a family-friendly walk in the Fourth of July parade. I can imagine a wave of people, all dressed in yellow and carrying bright “We are Immigrants / Somos Inmigrantes” signs, walking the parade route together in support of immigrants.

For those who would like to support this cause, contact the Riverside Church for details at office@riversideucc.com.

Deanne McLaughlin

Hood River

Big Beautiful Bill

The Senate version of King 47’s Big Beautiful Bill is nearly ready to go to the House for reconciliation. With so many tragedies and wars in the news, this bill to Make America White, Male Dominated, and Heterosexual Again (the way we never were) is passing under the radar.

The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) estimates that tax breaks for very wealthy households will average $12,000 per year; middle income people (the next highest 40%) will save a mere $500 to $1,000; and the poorest citizens (roughly 50%) will see a TAX INCREASE averaging $1,600. The proposed Senate budget bill would cause the deficit to increase by about $2.4 trillion (the $4.5 trillion TAX CUT mainly to the rich will be offset by cuts to Medicare, National Institutes of Health , National Science Foundation, education, environmental protection, green energy projects, National Parks and more). The proposed budget means 22 million will lose healthcare coverage over the next 10 years (CBO estimate) — and believe me, that loss will mean losses to even those with insurance as hospitals close due to bankruptcy.

Of course, if instead the Republicans passed a bill where NO ONE pays any tax on the first $75,000 for single individuals ($150,000 for couples filing jointly) and set a new tax rate schedule that RAISES revenue by $4.5 trillion by taxing only the higher income earners, we could save social security, healthcare and more. In a fair world, Republicans might also address the corruption in the White House and address presidential hate mongering and score settling.

Michael Beug

White Salmon

Somos Immigrantes

I am the great-great-granddaughter of young women and men who immigrated to the United States from Austria and Germany. My ancestors did not arrive with official papers. They did not arrive with wealth. But they came with something bigger and better than all of that — dreams for a better life and a commitment to work hard and contribute to the well-being of their communities.

As I drive through town and see bright yellow “We are Immigrants/Somos Inmigrantes” signs in the windows of businesses, homes and congregations, I give thanks for the dreams and determination of my ancestors. And I give thanks for the courage and contributions of those who have arrived in our community in recent years.

There are some who seek to divide us. There are some who spew forth ugly and untrue words about our neighbors. But we know better.

I invite you to participate in the “We are Immigrants/Somos Inmigrantes” campaign by displaying a sign where you live and work, and joining us in the Hood River Fourth of July parade (contact office@riversideucc.com for more info).

And I encourage you to stop by and say a word of thanks when you see signs in places like Pine Street Bakery, Bistro Flix, Flow Yoga, Love and Hominy, Cork Wine Shop and a growing number of our local businesses. We must resist those forces that seek to divide our precious community.

We are immigrants. Somos Immigrantes. And together, we will thrive.

Rev. Vicky Stifter

Hood River

Officers directing traffic were needed

Luckily, I didn’t have to drive on the day/night that I-84 and Highway 14 saw closures due to two different fires in the Gorge. My condolences go out to those who lost homes and property to fire. I am sorry for your losses.

I am also sorry to those that had to sit in 3–5-hour standstill traffic trying to cross the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge. I couldn’t help but think what would have happened if there was an additional fire or two that multiplied issues like evacuations and traffic. I know I am not qualified to make the decisions or pass judgment, but I do hope that our emergency responders are looking at what happened recently and thinking about how to best react to situations like multiple fires. It seems to me that someone (maybe not even an officer?) should be deployed at each traffic light on Highway 35/Highway 14 at the entrances to the bridge to direct traffic. From the accounts that I heard, much of the traffic jam was caused because vehicles were stuck in the intersections blocking traffic from moving. Three officers or traffic directors (two at the lights in Hood River and one on Highway 14) could serve to keep traffic flowing and preventing some of the jam that was experienced. Perhaps the Port of Hood River could use some of those bridge funds to pay employees to direct traffic?

I want to thank our emergency responders for all they do to keep us safe. I am grateful for their work in our community.

Dan Miller

White Salmon

Any guilt?

After enabling President Donald Trump for many years, is Cathy McMorris Rodgers, recently retired Washington state 5th Congressional District U.S. Representative and Republican House leader, feeling guilty?

She should be, but the proposals she lists in her new initiative (Spokesman-Review, June 4) certainly aren’t adequate to absolve that guilt.

Former Wyoming U.S. Rep. and Republican House leader Liz Cheney, in her book “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning,” describes long-time Trump-idolater and current Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s actions following the Trump-orchestrated Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as reprehensible: Cheney identifies Johnson as one of the politicians most responsible for resurrecting Trump’s political fortunes by Johnson’s lies and double-dealing.

Yet despite a front row seat observing Johnson’s two-faced manipulations, McMorris Rodgers further cemented her loyalty to Trump by originally nominating Johnson for House Speaker.

McMorris Rodgers can still repent and find redemption, but she’ll need a radical rebirth to find the courage to stand up to Trump and help save our democracy!

Norm Luther

Spokane

Wolves and cattle

What a well researched and written article on wolves in last week’s paper (“Fieldwork among wolves,” June 18).

If you actually do some research, cattle/livestock get killed mostly by cars, trucks and trains than the “big bad wolves.” In any business, you have to expect some losses and yes, wolves, cougars, and coyotes kill some livestock — they are part of the ecosystem for eternity, and the business of livestock is not nearly as long.

Too bad the wolves don’t have a “wolfman’s association” like the “cattlemen” do to level the playing field. The white man, since coming to America, has nearly wiped out the bison (buffalo), wolves, cougars, otters, beavers, and anything else that gets in the way of the almighty dollar. Wolves don’t kill people, nor do any of the others, except the rare cougar kill. We are one greedy bunch of humans as all those creatures keep the ecosystem in check ... till we get involved.

Thank you Aaron Bott for helping to level the playing field.

Squrl Stephen J. Curley

Hood River