Lost confidence
I’ve participated in and observed the processing of the Under Canvas resort proposal in Klickitat County. The Oak Ridge community overwhelmingly opposed this proposal, and their evidence was top of the line, exposing substandard roads, wildfire threat, a threatened species, a conflict with forest and agricultural uses, and a conflict with a ranching family’s grazing permit.
Our county commissioners refused to hear the Oak Ridge community’s State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) appeal of the Under Canvas proposal, and by doing so they circumvented a county Board of Adjustment’s consideration for a conditional use permit (CUP). Instead, the county commissioners hired a Hearing Examiner to take on their responsibilities. After two years of behind the scenes work, Under Canvas still could not find public support for their project, as became evident during two days of hearings. Regardless of the opponents’ strong evidence and the lack of support for the project, the Hearing Examiner affirmed the county planner’s Mitigated Determination of Non-significance and granted a CUP.
However, the CUP came with additional conditions imposed by the Hearing Examiner, including monitoring and reporting water use, no special events without further impact studies, locks on in-tent woodstoves along with firewood during burn-bans and when tents are not rented, and reported compliance on “all” CUP conditions. Under Canvas then filed a lawsuit against the county asking the Superior Court for reversal on the additional conditions. I believe Klickitat County essentially agreed with Under Canvas, by deferring to the court’s judgment, excepting for the stove locks. Under Canvas then dropped their plea for reversal on the stove locks from their lawsuit.
Klickitat County has a duty to apply its ordinances and state law to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. Our county commission instead circumvented usual procedure and hired a Hearing Examiner. When he included conditions that Under Canvas didn’t like, our county leaders ignored their Hearing Examiner’s decision that “all” conditions were required for compliance with SEPA and to meet CUP criteria, and thereby failed to protect the public’s interest.
This is how public confidence in government is lost.
Dave Thies
White Salmon
Million Real Votes
Paul Manafort helped a pro-Russia anti-NATO Ukrainian political party elect Vladimir Putin-puppet Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine. In 2014 Ukrainians kicked him out.
Manafort did the same thing in the U.S. with anti-NATO, Putin puppet President Donald Trump, whose campaign he ran for “free.”
In 2020, Trump was voted out. Trump, a “(expletive) grabbing,” “bone-spur” draft-dodging, “I’m smarter than the generals” megalomaniac, demanded Ukraine do an investigation into Joe Biden in exchange for previously authorized military support to Ukraine — otherwise known as blackmail. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was made of stronger metal and refused. Perhaps he knew that Trump spread lies throughout his career as a con-man celebrity.
When Putin invaded Ukraine, the first revealing words out of Trump’s mouth included how “wonderful,” “genius,” “smart” and “savvy” Putin and his attack on an independent democracy is. Just like Trump’s war on truth and American democracy and his “stop the steal” KGB-style disinformation campaign, and the resultant U.S. Capital insurrection. Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Fox News propagandists like Tucker Carlson echoed similar accolades for Putin — and have long been cheerleaders for Trump’s Putin-benefiting nationalistic-isolationist agenda.
Imagine what the situation in Ukraine would look like if Trump had been re-elected. Without Biden, NATO and the rest of the free world could have been splintered and unable to present a united front to confront Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and potentially beyond. U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine would be mired in bureaucratic red tape while Rudy Giuliani held court in a Kyiv hotel suite still trying to manufacture dirt on Hunter Biden and spreading election fraud lies. Donald Trump Jr. would be in Russia inking a contract to build Trump Tower Moscow, which includes a luxury penthouse designated for the head of the Russian kleptocracy, with options to build similar structures in Minsk and Kyiv. All would have Ivanka Trump Boutiques, offices of Kushner Investment Partners, and low cost spaces for the rest of Trump’s family of grifters.
What a difference seven million real votes made …
Robert Yoesle
Goldendale
No dissent
First, prominent Republicans, chief among them Donald Trump, chirped an unceasing chorus that Vladimir Putin isn’t a bad guy. On the eve of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump praised the ex-KGB agent as a “genius.”
Now that Putin has done what our national security professionals said he was going to do, prominent Republicans have changed their tune. Now we’re supposed to believe that if Trump were president, Putin would never have invaded Ukraine.
This is the same Trump who took Putin’s word over the findings of our entire national security apparatus on the question of whether or not Putin interfered with the 2016 election on behalf of Trump. Putin wouldn’t lie, Trump would have us believe. But our own national security agencies, thousands of men and women dedicating their careers to ferreting out the truth and protecting our nation — well, we sure can’t trust them.
Yeah, right. And those 180,000 Russian troops surrounding Ukraine? A mere military exercise!
Among the casualties of Putin’s thirst for conquest have been the last Russian holdouts of an independent press. They ceased operating on March 3, largely because of a new law that Putin’s legislative stooges passed. This law would impose a prison term of up to 15 years for journalists who publish “fake” news.
Russian authorities provided two helpful examples of what they mean by “fake” news: 1. Calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine an “invasion” and 2. Calling the resulting war between Russia and Ukraine a “war.”
Calling what is plainly evident “fake” news — who’s that remind you of?
Sometimes I feel badly for my Republican friends and relatives. Surely, some of them can see that extremists have hijacked their party. But Donald Trump and other Republican leaders will tolerate no dissent.
Neither will Vladimir Putin.
Rick George
White Salmon
Kudos for police
Thank you to the Hood River police department for facilitating a civil and peaceful solution to what could have been a very difficult and potentially dangerous situation.
Because it was a stressful situation, I forgot the officers’ names, but they both did a great job fostering communication and deescalating a fraught situation.
Police deal with people when they’re having really bad days! It’s a hard and dangerous job and takes patience and courage! Nobody gets their job right 100% of the time, but I sincerely believe the Hood River Police always do their best. I believe we should be proud of Hood River’s law enforcement professionals!
Thank you for all your efforts to keep us safe and working together!
Michael Sprague
Hood River
Love for all
I’m more outspoken now after realizing I almost lost my life at 19 years old protecting not only America but also South Vietnam — men, women and most of all, children, of all nationalities and colors.
Some people in The Dalles and the churches want freedom for all. Yes, but they need to take the role of respecting all people, not just the people around them.
Remember, it started with two people with no color, nationality or hate. Love and respect starts and the top and works its way down to all of us.
Our next vote, we need to hand out mirrors to all the people that want to judge others!
Steve Cochenour, disabled veteran
The Dalles
Avoid war
War is hell and should be avoided at all costs — yes, perhaps even at the cost of a temporary loss of freedom.
This is not very a popular perspective in a world that champions the bravery of those who have had the courage to stand up to an overwhelming invasion force. But I would argue that what we may be lacking is not bravery, but creativity.
Why aren’t we sincerely asking, “What can we do to make a vulnerable nation un-occupiable?” The recent armed resistance is not a guarantee of success. It has already led to many deaths, destroyed cities, forced over a million refugees to flee the violence with perhaps many more millions also ready to flee their beloved country.
The international sanctions against the aggressor, Russia, are a powerful form of non-violent resistance that may be a more powerful tool for reversing the occupation than handing out thousands of machine guns and ant-tank missiles.
Indeed if the brave citizens of Ukraine had chosen absolute nonviolent resistance and noncooperation with an occupying army, coupled with the international community implementing even tougher sanctions, perhaps there would be a better chance of a positive outcome for the people of Ukraine, especially in the long term.
Why have the western media and politicians refused to consider this more peaceful path? Have we not lost an incredible opportunity to use the integrated global economy to say “No” to war?
We should be doing all we can to non-violently support the refugees and internally displaced migrants of Ukraine and apply even tougher sanctions even if they are also painful to us. But we should not romantically support a guerrilla insurgency that will not bring freedom, but will more likely destroy all concerned for generations to come.
Patrick Rawson
Hood River
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