Your voice, June 18

Don’t you see the parallel to what is happening in Ukraine? Putin doesn’t just want the Eastern edge of Ukraine, he wants it all, and if he gets it, he’ll be empowered to strike at the rest of what was once part of Russia.

Trump is being just like Chamberlain when he likens what is happening to just “school kids fighting on a playground, sometimes you just have to let them fight it out.” Because he knows, we all know, Ukraine will eventually lose.

Now is the time to assist Ukraine with increased sanctions, cutting off Russian oil sales, and providing military arms. If Trump doesn’t do it now, when we don’t have to have boots on the ground, he’ll regret it (we’ll regret it). Next we’ll be faced with NATO being challenged, and then we won’t have a choice ... and that will cost American lives!

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote, “For a generation after World War II, statesmen and nations were traumatized by the experience of Munich [appeasement]; they believed that history had shown the folly of permitting an adversary to gain a preponderance of power. This was and remains a crucial lesson.” Appeasement is naive and shows weakness.

History is repeating itself. Come on, Trump, you didn’t finish that war on your first day in office, and you aren’t any closer now, 140 days in office. Putin is not your friend. He’s Hitler all over again. And he’s playing you for time ... time to totally defeat Ukraine. He knows you’re the only one that can stop him!

Please wake up before it’s too late.

Gary Rains

Parkdale

No more masks

These violent, masked ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) thugs with no ID? Straight out of Nazi Germany. Very troubling indeed.

We need a federal law requiring all law enforcement employees and contractors at all levels, local, state, federal, to be mask-free, with clearly visible name tag and/or ID number, except as permitted by judicial warrant, which a judge might issue for undercover work, that sort of thing.

Jerrold Richards

Lyle

Re-vote needed

America needs to have a re-vote for president of the United States of America. America is owned by the men, women and even the children, no matter their color or race.

I almost lost my life a number of times in Ben Luc, South Vietnam, Giant Slingshot PBR detachment, to protect the men, women and children in Vietnam, and I would go through it again.

My weapons I used in Ben Luc was to protect me and others on my base. My weapon now is Columbia Gorge News, to protect America’s men, women and children from a dictatorship. Proud father, grandfather, and veteran! Trump, you’ll have to go through me to get to any of my family who are from Mexico, New Zealand, Australia and other locations.

Words I wrote on this letter would make my late brother Dave proud because I know they would be his words, too.

In tears,

Steve Cochenour

The Dalles

Kudos

Kudos to the Hood River City Council for having the guts to issue a proclamation in support of the Somos Inmigrantes (We Are Immigrants) campaign at its council meeting June 9. I see many of these signs in front of houses and businesses throughout the county, and I hope it can provide a modicum of comfort for our immigrant neighbors, friends, co-workers, employees, and customers to show that we empathize with their very real fears. Given Hood River’s place in history of having the federal government forcibly displace hundreds of Japanese residents in the 1940s with no due process, I believe we have an obligation to stand up and say NEVER AGAIN.

Let’s take a stand to support the hard-working immigrants who are the backbone of the Hood River Valley economy, demand that the federal government stop the terror tactics and indiscriminate enforcement actions, and respect our neighbors. Cruelty is un-American. You can show your support by posting a sign like hundreds of your neighbors have already done. Contact the Riverside Community Church via office@riversideucc.com for a window or yard sign.

Bob Dorband

Parkdale

History repeats

Eighty years ago, Japanese-Americans who had been incarcerated in camps during World War II were wondering whether it was safe to return to Hood River. There was reason to worry. Letters published in the Hood River News said they were not welcome. Stores sold “Japanese Hunting License” novelty badges that proclaimed “open season — no limit.” Many businesses in Hood River hung signs in their windows, saying, “No Jap Trade.” These signs were hateful and serious. George Akiyama went into a barber shop with just such a sign hoping for a haircut and instead got a death threat.

But those were not the only voices. Fifty-two residents formed the League for Liberty and Justice. League President Avon Sutton wrote letters to business owners asking them to accept Japanese-American customers. When packing houses refused to buy from Japanese-American orchardists, league members picked up their produce and took it to market themselves.

In chaotic and divisive and frightening times, it can be hard to know what to do. It is easy to fall into the impulse to keep our heads down, stay quiet, and just try to get along in the hopes that the firestorm will miss us and go somewhere else. It is in exactly these times when the benefit of hindsight, the clarity of history, can be our teacher.

Today, we once again find ourselves in a time when many of our neighbors are wondering if it is safe for them in Hood River. But today, we again have voices speaking loudly of liberty and justice. We see new signs appearing in shop windows, signs of welcome that recognize our shared humanity. Signs that say “Somos Inmigrantes — We Are Immigrants.” My deep gratitude to the many who have posted them in their homes, and especially to those local businesses like Solstice, Pacifica Gifts, and Edeske that are leading the way. Eighty years ago, Hood River was covered with signs of bigotry. Today, let’s cover ourselves with signs of unity.

MariRuth Petzing

Hood River

‘I am an Immigrant’

My name is Miranda Bermes, and I am the Pastor at Spirit of Grace Lutheran-Methodist Church. A few months ago, I was part of a small group that launched the “I am an Immigrant/Soy Inmigrante” campaign in Hood River. In the months since this campaign launched in March, it has given me such joy to see hundreds of bright purple and yellow signs popping up all around — in my neighborhood, in my favorite local businesses, and all over Hood River and the surrounding area. This campaign is a reminder that all of us (with the expectation of our Indigenous neighbors) are in some way descendants of immigrants. We are a country made up of immigrants and their descendants. These signs show our solidarity with the more recent immigrants in our community who are being unfairly targeted, discriminated against, and persecuted. By openly discussing and sharing our shared history as immigrants or descendants of immigrants, we hope to remind our community that immigrants always have been and always will be integral to our lives and our communities — and no politician or administration can turn us against one another. These signs are a reminder to us and our neighbors that there is more that connects us to one another than divides us from one another. By proclaiming our immigrant roots and putting these signs in our windows, we are sending a bold message throughout the Columbia Gorge that says, “We are all immigrants, and we will protect one another.”

Every time I see a sign in someone’s yard, it tells me that they are in this fight alongside me, and I feel a sense of kinship with them — it’s the same feeling that I, as a queer person, get when I see the progress Pride flag displayed in people’s yards or in local businesses. If you would like to be a part of this campaign, please visit riversideucc.com and click on the “We Are Immigrants” tab to learn more about how to get your own window or yard sign!

Rev. Miranda Bermes

Hood River

Don’t pull the plug on clean energy

As a concerned Oregonian, I am incredibly disappointed that, on May 22, the House of Representatives voted to pass a budget bill that drastically cuts America’s clean energy tax credits.

Federal tax credits — designed to boost clean energy manufacturing in the U.S. — have been working. Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, Oregon has benefited from an estimated $3-plus billion in investments for 14 projects, with 3,751 new jobs created.

The tax credits were passed by Democrats, and surprisingly, the legislation has benefited Republican-held districts — 78% of the funding has gone to rural and suburban areas held by the GOP. The legislation is now in the Senate’s hands, and the House passage has set the legislation on a path toward drastic cuts.

Rolling back these tax credits will result in Oregon ratepayers facing electricity prices that are estimated to increase by 10% or higher in the coming years. Manufacturing will slow. Phasing out tax credits that support clean energy manufacturing will jeopardize long-term projects like Carbon Management with Earth 280 that is already operating in The Dalles, along with Daimler in Portland with their expansion of EV manufacturing. Eliminating clean vehicle tax credits could put up to 100% of planned EV plant construction and a significant portion of existing capacity at risk, according to industry analysis.

By contrast, if Congress protects clean energy tax credits, it would be a huge boost to Oregon’s economy over the next decade. Analysis by American Clean Power and ICF estimates that continuing clean energy incentives will add $3 billion in income for Oregonians and will support 8300 new full-time jobs in Oregon annually over the next ten years.

The numbers are clear: clean energy tax credits are working for Oregon. Undoing them now — as the House just voted to do — would be reckless and harmful. I urge Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley to work with their colleagues in the Senate to protect these tax credits.

Marie Richey

Eugene

 Editor’s Note: Letters deadline for the upcoming edition is Thursday at noon. Letters received after deadline are run only as space allows. To submit a letter, visit columbiagorgenews.com.