Your voice: March 5, 2025

Although I have gathered facts about your state from books and websites, I think that I can receive the best information from the people who live there. This is why I am writing to you. I am hoping that you would be willing to send me some items to help me learn more about the best things in your state. You might consider sending items such as postcards, pictures, souvenirs, this newspaper article, or any other unique items that would be useful or show your state’s pride. Here are a few questions:

• Why do you live in your state? What first brought your family here?
• How do you make money? What is your job?
• What does your state look like?
• What do people do for fun?
• What animals live there?
• What traditional food and recipes does your state have?
• Do you have a state athletic team?
• What geographic features are unique to your state?

I will need to gather all of my information by the second week of May. You can mail items to Miss Campbell’s Class, The Langley School, 1411 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA 22101. I really appreciate your help!

Lucas

Langley School student

Mosier Fire Board openings

Fires and medical emergencies are on the rise in the Gorge. That means the responsibilities of fire district boards who control fire department budgets and guide policies are increasing too. Three positions on the Mosier Fire Board are up for grabs this year. One of those positions will have no incumbent running in the May elections. Please consider taking an important step for your community, but act quickly. The deadline for filing is March 20. Contact the Wasco County clerk or the Mosier Fire Board.

Rob Miller

Mosier Fire District Board

Facebook concerns

Columbia Gorge News team, I am writing to express my deep concern about the level of hate speech and blatant threats regularly allowed in the comment sections of your social media pages. While open discourse is important, the unchecked spread of harmful rhetoric fosters a hostile environment and emboldens those who seek to incite violence or intimidate others. When such comments go unaddressed, it not only damages civil discourse but also puts vulnerable members of our community at risk.

I have [seen] several concerning comments that have been left unmoderated on your platform. These examples demonstrate the severity of the issue and highlight the need for stronger moderation policies. As a local news organization, Columbia Gorge News has a responsibility to ensure that its platforms do not become breeding grounds for harassment, bigotry, or incitement.

I urge you to take immediate action by reviewing and enforcing stricter moderation policies. Implementing clear guidelines, proactive moderation, and a firm stance against threats can help foster a safer and more constructive space for community discussions.

I hope you take these concerns seriously and look forward to seeing meaningful steps taken to address them.

Cassie Ware

The Dalles 

Editor’s note: Because of our small staff, Columbia Gorge News does not always have time to monitor Facebook. However, we have noticed an uptick in hate speech, threats and intimidation, and are taking steps to address the problem. (If you wouldn’t say it to your grandma, then don’t say it on Facebook.) If you see a comment that is concerning, take a screenshot and email Managing Editor Trisha Walker, trishaw@gorgenews.com. Thank you.

Big week

Quite a week for King Donald. After running on an anti-immigrant platform and winning with it, he puts an immigrant who refuses to live with his kids in charge of hacking our entire government. Elon and his Musketeers are robbing the middles and the poor to feed the rich. It’s enough to reduce the many Hood River Tesla owners to google makers of brown bags large enough to cover their cars.

Then he adds his name to that of Vidkun Quisling and Neville Chamberlain by selling out Ukraine. Putin is licking his chops so avidly it’s a wonder he can even speak. One don salutes another.

Even east of here, where more Trump supporters live, alarms are being sounded now that their grain can’t be sold abroad by USAID.

What will those small hands seize next? Ah yes, our independent and liberal throats. But he won’t succeed. We’ll find some way to resist. After all, we see what we could become like if we don’t — the walking dead, those heartless zombies who sold their souls for $174,000 (“Congressional Pay Details,” U.S. Constitution.net, Dec. 4, 2024). Yes, a Congressional Republican.

David O. Seal

Hood River

‘Smoke and mirrors’

One has to admire the smoke and mirrors that Trump, Musk, and our GOP representatives shovel out every day. First, it’s that there is too much waste in the U.S. government, so Elon Musk is appointed to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to take a chainsaw to all government agencies. And boy, he has done just that by firing thousands of federal workers seemingly without regard of their value to the American people. But he is saving us from the huge deficit that we have racked up. But wait … right now in Congress, the GOP is working on their budget bill. And in this bill is the “largest tax cut” in history — $4.6 trillion dollars (“Senate Republicans approve budget framework, pushing past Democratic objections after all-night vote,” Associated Press, Feb. 21). The biggest breaks go to the rich and large corporations. Us peons get a few hundreds of dollar tax break. And what we are giving up is the functioning of the federal agencies that we depend on every day: the Forest Service, the IRS, Bonneville power, Health and Human Services, and the list goes on and on. But wait, in this budget bill there are also huge cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, the food stamp program and God only knows what else. So the bottom line is the GOP has no intention of reducing the department. They will enrich their own pockets and those who bought them. And our GOP representatives? They are just rubber stamps for the party. Smooth talking to us, on their knees to Trump in D.C. And here you thought this was government for the people.

HA HA HA. Time to get mad.

Keith Fredrickson

Underwood

Bonham harms

Sen. Bonham, Oregon State Senator representing the Columbia River Gorge, has been harming the people he is supposed to serve. Recently in his Legislator’s Letter (Columbia Gorge News, Feb. 19), he cited false information regarding government spending and threw his support behind Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

He claims that in researching the truth, you will often “be overwhelmed with fact checks, counterarguments and smoke and mirror news stories distracting from this very real issue.” I am confused as to how fact checks distract from what he claims to be an issue of “epic proportions.” Fact checks should be a necessity and not a distraction. It’s always ironic to hear things like this coming from the people selling the smoke and mirror news stories. He cites Elon Musk and DOGE as the sources of some of his information, despite Musk being one of the largest sources of misinformation in the world. DOGE twists and leaks numbers to spread fear and misinformation with no substantial evidence. The funniest part is that Bonham’s information actually came from a parody account on X (“Oregon’s Senate Republican leader spreads fake examples of government waste using state resources,” The Oregonian/Oregonlive, Feb. 12). DOGE’s recent actions have caused many layoffs at the Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. These are real people, with real families, who help to serve our community and nation. They give us our electricity, help mitigate fire risk, preserve the beauty of the gorge, and restore fish populations that feed our local economy and tribes.

Despite this, Sen. Bonham has voiced his support for DOGE and spread false facts in our tax-funded newsletters. If this makes you anywhere near as angry as it made me, please write him an email or give him a phone call. Tell him to support SB 682, Climate Superfund / Make Polluters Pay Bill, which will help reduce and counteract effects of climate change, and SB 682, Increased Funding For Schools Bill, which will … yeah, increase funding for schools. This is a dark and scary time, but your voice can be your most powerful tool in making the change you wish to see in the world.

Rowan McKenna

Hood River

Ukraine lies

We learn daily how President Trump is tearing apart our nation, our Constitution and the lives of our neighbors. It is true he was elected by our fellow countrymen and women, so some would say we are getting what we deserve. However, Trump is now gearing up to destroy someone else’s country — Ukraine. He is preparing us for another “Big Lie” with recent statements such as: Ukraine started the war with Russia; Zelensky is an unelected dictator; and how Trump is sickened by how Zelensky has conducted himself in the war, etc. (“Trump says Ukraine started the war that’s killing its citizens. What are the facts,” Associated Press, Feb. 21).

How can anyone with even a glancing look at events over the past several years believe those lies? These lies are meant to curry favor with one person only and that is President/Dictator Vladimir Putin. What is going on is wrong, wrong, wrong and horrifying to a brave country and their courageous leader President Zelensky. Please let our District Rep. Dan Newhouse and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell know your views.

Dana Stover

White Salmon

Trump, Russia

Russians interfered in the Presidential election of 2016. Past FBI Director Robert Mueller investigated as special prosecutor. His investigation found substantial collusion between Russian operatives and Trump campaign staff including Trump family. Mueller obtained criminal indictments against 26 Russian operatives. Mueller’s report did not absolve Trump and/or Putin of presidential election crimes. Only the most gullible believe neither Trump and Putin were not fully aware and supportive of these criminal activities.

On July 16, 2018, Trump met Putin in Helsinki, the only time a president met with a foreign head of state without support staff being present. It was just Trump, Putin, and a translator. Putin can speak and understand English. Afterwards Trump indicated Putin vigorously denied involvement in the U.S. election.

When the Soviet Union (USSR) collapsed in 1994, individual Republics, like Ukraine, had much of the USSR nuclear stockpile. Ukraine gave Russia all their weapons to via an international agreement signed by Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, China, and other countries. A key element of the agreement is: Ukraine would be nuclear free, would remain a sovereign nation, and everyone would respect Ukrainian boarders in place in 1994.

The first Trump impeachment was about Trump withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine in exchange for manufactured evidence about Hunter Biden, and false admission that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election interference. Congress impeached Trump. Ukraine did not provide false evidence. Ukraine rose higher on the Trump feces list!

Trump and Putin have continued their oligarchical relationship. Trump et al. have met exclusively with the Russian and are ready to accept the Ukrainian surrender in exchange for the Crimea, and the Ukrainian mineral wealth. The United State has voted in the U.N. General Assembly with Putin’s Russia, and Kim’s North Korea, to not condemn the Russian invasion.

The United States has an international agreement to support Ukraine sovereignty and borders. Trump ignores it and chooses to form a new world order of autocrats of Putin, Kim, and Trump. He purposefully destroyed NATO saying, “Russia, You can do whatever the hell you want” (“Hear what Trump said about NATO countries and Russia,” CNN, Feb. 11).

Terry Armentrout

The Dalles

Fact-check

I thought letters to the editor were supposed to be backed by sources. Sen. Daniel Bonham seems to have forgotten that, so I thought I’d check just a couple for myself.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a poorly researched claim that the aid agency, which the Trump administration wants to shutter, spent $8 million, when that amount was for subscriptions across all federal agencies. In the clamor following the story, another falsehood, shared by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk, claimed The New York Times had received “tens of millions” from the U.S. government over the past five years.

He also claims $31 million in Social Security going to dead people. The rest of the story started five years ago. The money was reclaimed as part of a five-month pilot program after Congress gave the Department of Treasury temporary access to the Social Security Administration ’s “Full Death Master File” for three years as part of the omnibus appropriations bill in 2021. The Social Security Association maintains the most complete federal database of individuals who have died, and the file contains more than 142 million records, which go back to 1899, according to the treasury. The treasury projects that it will recover more than $215 million during its three-year access period, which runs from December 2023-2026.

How about President Trump’s tariffs? That trade war has cost U.S. companies many billions in new import taxes (while undermining their competitiveness and increasing consumer prices), yet it has earned the government far less. Payouts to farmers battered by Chinese retaliation have eaten up more than 92% of the trade-war tax proceeds (“92 Per-cent of Trump’s China Tariff Proceeds Has Gone to Bail Out Angry Farmers,” Council on Foreign Relations, Oct. 28, 2020). And $26 million to a “News” outlet! Of course, he didn’t say which one. But the story, according to Newsweek, is, “President Donald Trump’s administration and his supporters have turned their eyes to media outlets paid by federal agencies, promoted by a misleading claim this week that the U.S.” As far as I’m concerned, when you point your finger at something, there are three fingers pointing right back at you.

S. Michaels

Tygh Valley

New math

NEWS FLASH: Donald Trump decrees that henceforth in America, 1+1=3. Republicans in Congress immediately hail this as a stroke of genius that will help them balance the budget while reducing taxes for billionaires. They line up to prostrate themselves before the great man and eagerly kiss his feet.

Elon Musk grins and says that 1+1=3 will allow him to accelerate the firing of federal employees, a process that brings him great joy. Some eyebrows are raised in the Supreme Court, but Justice Samuel Alito quells the concern by stating, “This president is never wrong.”

Overseas, Vladimir Putin merely displays a tight-lipped smirk, knowing that he has the upper hand over an imbecile. Benjamin Netanyahu delights in Trump’s decree because it might extend his term in office and thereby delay his comeuppance for his war crimes.

Meanwhile, somewhere in rural Oregon, a small girl cries, “But that’s not right! 1+1=2.” She is an American citizen by birth, but her skin is brown. Trump declares that her birthright citizenship is invalid and orders her deportation to El Salvador, a place where she has never been. Welcome to Making America Great in 2025.

Richard Iverson

Hood River

No longer proud

In my 76 years as a U.S. Citizen, I have been proud to be an American. There were occasions when I was angry or disappointed with my country’s leadership, but I have never been ashamed — until now. Past leaders of my country have always been seen as the spokesperson for freedom in the world, and the United States an arsenal for democracy.

It is profoundly disturbing to see the current leadership become a puppet for a murderous thug who has no regard for the freedom and wellbeing of others, including his own people. We can only speculate how long the Ukrainian people will be allowed to live in freedom before they are absorbed into a larger totalitarian state.

It is up to each of us to act in whatever way we feel is appropriate to let the leadership of our country know they are condoning a grave injustice.

Bob Sharkey

Hood River

Russian asset

It must be difficult to have voted for Donald Trump only to learn that within a month of taking office, he is siding with a brutal dictator bent on conquest.

Since Russia invaded the free, independent, and democratic nation of Ukraine, the Russian military has deliberately attacked civilian targets such as schools and hospitals; indiscriminately bombed densely-populated areas; abducted, tortured, and murdered civilians; forced deportations; abducted thousands of children; committed sexual violence; and killed and tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war.

In Bucha, Russians murdered hundreds of civilians, many with a single shot to the back of the head. Drone video verified by The New York Times showed two Russian armored vehicles firing at a civilian walking a bicycle. Later video footage showed the same man, lying dead next to the bicycle. BBC News reported tied bodies of civilians at a temple, run over by a tank (multiple sources, summarized on Wikipedia).

It must feel terrible to have voted for a president who’s giving Vladimir Putin everything he wants and parroting all his propaganda. Trump blames Ukraine for being attacked!

At the same time, our president repeatedly threatens to conquer Canada and Greenland. Understandably, Canadians are booing us at sports events and boycotting our products. We’re supposed to be their friends!

We’ve become villains on the world stage.

Rick George

White Salmon

Jail time?

Good news from Google AI! “A judge can issue an arrest warrant if presented with sufficient evidence of probable cause that a crime has been committed.” Also, a judge can issue a judicial bench warrant that instructs police to locate and arrest someone and bring them to court, for various reasons such as disobeying a court order, failing to show up for a court date, or, here’s the fun part, showing contempt of court. Contempt of court includes disrupting the administration of justice, and showing disrespect for the judicial branch of government.

This includes the possibility of the Washington, D.C., police showing up at the White House with a judicial bench warrant to arrest Musk. I wonder how the Secret Service would respond to that. So I’ll say Musk can indeed be arrested and told he’ll be in jail until every single penny of the many billions of illegally sequestered money authorized by Congress is unfrozen. Likewise, until the firing of every federal employee illegally fired is rescinded.

Also, if he or any of his 23-year-old vicious software jerks have violated security clearances, he and they can face decades in prison for that. Welcome to actual reality, you 23-year-old vicious software jerks. These gizmos? They are called “handcuffs.”

But it’s not all bad, the judge can tell Musk. You’ll get plenty of Jello with shredded carrots in it. Hey, you might get to like it. But on the downside, speaking frankly, says the judge, your attempt to hack into the IRS databases has really really really, I mean really, ticked off some really serious major fatcats, so, you know, when you are in prison? Watch your back, is what I’m saying. Enjoy. OK, Marshall, take him away.

Jerrold Richards

Lyle

Path to dictatorship

We are in the process of moving from a democracy to a dictatorship. I am shocked at the number of people who ignore our constitution and support a “want to be” dictator. At this time, he is issuing many decrees (orders) that ignore the fact that Congress has that power. The president is supposed to approve or disapprove congressional actions, not ignore Congress. Past presidents have issued decrees, but never in this number or this manner.

At this time, the president is ruling by decree, basically acting like a dictator or king. If we want to continue our democracy, we cannot allow this. Already, there have been some who call for a third term for this individual. This for a felon who, by all rights, should not have been allowed to serve and definitely should not be allowed to continue in power.

If you bother to check history, you will find this individual has followed the same path that Hitler used to achieve his present status (“Trump’s Rhetoric Echoes Hitler,” Harvard Political Review, Jan. 20) and now is following the path of Putin to consolidate power. The Republicans have to gather a backbone and refuse to serve him, or they have to be replaced — the result will be a dictatorship.

Leonard Hickman

Hood River

Inspect, don’t blog

For a new administration that says it wants to reduce waste and corruption in the government, I found it very puzzling that an early move was to fire 17 inspectors general of major departments. The IGs are exactly the offices in our government that identify and prosecute waste and corruption in the government. In 2023-24, they identified and saved the government over $93 billion. They also made recommendations to make government programs safer (“Annual report to the president and congress, fiscal year 2023, www.ignet.gov). DOGE says it wants to reduce waste, but so far, all I see are statements on social media blogs, that often confuse $millions with $billions and no actual proven savings. We’ll see if those savings show up when the Congress gets around to authorizing the next budget. In addition, DOGE is behind the firing of government officials who protect us from nuclear accidents, aviation accidents and help keep our water and food safe.

DOGE is not a serious attempt to improve our government. What is it? As they used to say, follow the money. Musk has a huge financial interest in government contracts. Watch what will happen.

Leanne Hogie

Hood River

Democracy at risk

In the Oct. 30 edition, I wrote a letter to the editor stating that a vote for Trump was a vote for fascism. Boy, are we getting fascism in spades. President Elon Musk and his sidekick Donald are methodically taking a wrecking ball to our democratic institutions. The Department of Justice and the FBI are now being used for revenge against Trump’s perceived enemies. USAID, which provides funding around the world for fighting against disease and hunger, has been closed. The Bonneville Power Administration had its workforce reduced by 14%. Good luck keeping power flowing through its transmission lines. States and congress are proposing big cuts in funding to Medicaid, which provides health insurance for 70 million low-income Americans. Indiscriminate firing of federal employees at the Department of Defense, Treasury, Social Security Administration, and other agencies will be catastrophic to our country. Getting rid of the Department of Education will affect every state’s budget. We are now abandoning our allies and friends, sucking up to Putin and dictators around the world, and hanging Ukraine out to dry will make the prospects for a major war more likely. Most, if not all, of Trump’s actions are illegal and against the constitution, but this is what you would expect from a convicted felon.

I could go on and on, but all this chaos has taken our eye off the ball of the most existential threat to the planet and human life, and that is climate change. The small but positive steps taken by the Biden Administration are now being reversed by Trump, who says climate change is a hoax. The oil giants at the urging of Trump will now be free to pump more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

If you, like me, are depressed by all of this and feeling like there is nothing you can do, this is what Trump and Musk want us to feel. If we want democracy to survive, then we have to resist. Speak up, contact your representatives in Congress, participate in a protest march or gathering, and most of all don’t give up hope.

Robert Havig

White Salmon

Editor’s Note: Columbia Gorge News is receiving a large number of letters to include in Your Voice each week. While we make every effort to include all those received before our Thursday noon letters deadline (like this issue), letters may need to be held in upcoming editions in order to make room for elements such as obituaries, police reports, or news stories. When that happens, letters will run in the following edition. We appreciate your understanding.