Your voice: Sept. 18, 2024

Lynetta Hickman, president

Hood River

Sign theft a crime

To the people of our community,

You may have noticed the HARRIS/WALZ lawn signs and banners that have been going up in your neighbors' yards and on their property. You may also see them disappear or be damaged. The crimes for stealing or damaging political signs can include trespass, vandalism, and theft, and we are working with the police on these crimes.

If your yard sign is damaged or stolen, please contact us at WascoDemocrats@gmail.com with your name, contact info, location of sign or banner, and any other information you can provide such as the date and time of the crime. If you witness one of these crimes, or catch one on a security camera, please get in touch with us with any information you have.

And if the sign thief happens to be reading this, please note that we have pledged a donation to the Harris-Walz campaign for every sign and banner stolen. The more signs you steal, the more we donate.

Gene Parker, chair

Wasco County Democrats

Stop stealing signs

I'm am so disheartened and disgusted by members of our community stealing campaign signs! Why? Don't we all have the right to express our opinions? Or only you? People pay out of pocket for these signs. Be a REAL patriot and let everyone express their opinions!

All thefts are being reported to the police. I thought the rule of law was valued, but apparently not? If you witness theft, report it! (I doubt these scofflaws read any newspapers.)

Sandra Haechrel

The Dalles

Living conditions must improve

It is imperative that the living conditions for farmworkers here in the Gorge are improved upon. Considering how integral the agricultural industry is in the Gorge, it is unacceptable that the regulations for farmworker housing have not been revisited in 34 years.

Agricultural employees need more protection considering they don't earn overtime until 55 hours have been worked in a week, and without them, the orchard industry in this valley would simply not exist. These people are working extremely physically demanding jobs without safe living conditions compared to other residents in the Gorge. Many of them are Latino and, due to cultural differences, experience language barriers that make it challenging for them to protect themselves and access resources available to them. It is the duty of policy makers to protect farmworkers and ensure they are given the resources they need to live safely in the community when they are working here.

There needs to be more community involvement and awareness for the farmworker community here in the Gorge. The separation between the Gorge population and the farmworker population is very prevalent and creates a lack of community support. I suggest that there be efforts made to blend the two communities more through engagement and resources. I want to see the Gorge become a community where farmworkers and the general population connect more and farmworkers are given safe, comfortable living conditions that support integration into the community as well as a shift in workers rights that more clearly align with general employment laws. Agricultural employments laws desperately need updating to fairly protect and compensate agricultural employees.

Jessica Sternberg

Hood River

Need to talk

Often, we in different political parties don’t talk with one another, especially in the past few election cycles, so this is to my Republican neighbors who remain critical and independent thinkers.

I value our two political parties in the United States, and believe our two-party system serves us well. Fairly consistent alternation of political power has provided stability and what the majority of voters prefer.

With the ascent of Trump, his sycophants and followers, I miss the traditional, pragmatic Republican party. Instead, we have not a threatened dictator, but a promised dictator who relishes the idea of fewer voters, reduced choices and diminished democracy. This is not so much a threat to the Democratic Party as a bigger menace to the Republican Party and the nation as a whole.

Rather than listing the myriad GOP organizations and individuals who have emerged against Trump, I recommend Liz Cheney’s 2023 book "Oath and Honor," if you haven’t already read it. Don’t dismiss Liz as a turncoat. Her love of the Republican Party and America is clear on every page, yet she has the courage and integrity to speak out against the destructive force of Donald Trump. I’m curious to know if any of our local Republican candidates have that kind of courage.

Voting is your sacrosanct privilege. Do you really want to use it to endorse someone who sneeringly disrespects almost everyone, thwarts justice whenever possible, seemingly cannot speak without lying and has been convicted of numerous felonies? That’s not the kind of leadership that made the U.S. a world power, nor how we want to be known at home and in the world. Please don’t vote for the egomaniac who is destroying the Republican Party. If you are open to consider a capable woman who is also a Democrat, vote for Kamala Harris, or leave the presidential box blank. That choice may help us all along the road to healing this great political divide. I commend your consideration of an alternative.

Karen L. Swinger

Goldendale

Freeloading billionaires

Make no mistake — this election is mainly about tax cuts for billionaires.

Ever since 2010, when the Supreme Court declared that money is free speech and corporations are people (!), our elections have been flooded with “dark money” from unknown sources who seek to distract you and influence your vote. Now money begets much more power, which of course begets more money …

Trump has even proudly displayed Republican Party corruption, asking for $1 billion from oil and gas companies to remove policies we desperately need to reverse toxic pollution and climate pollution.

All of the Washington state ballot initiatives were funded by a hedge-fund mogul who doesn’t want to pay his taxes.

Most Americans think billionaires are smart because they’re so rich. Make no mistake — they’re rich only because they were lucky to inherit it or hit a business jackpot. Many develop giant egos about how smart and wonderful they are. Now with their expanded political leverage, they’ve found it cheaper to buy politicians than to grow successful companies — like Elon Musk and his poor decisions at Tesla since 2019.

When the GOP controlled the presidency, Senate and House in 2017, their first bill gave the ultra-rich a giant tax cut; since then, U.S. billionaires’ net worth has doubled from $3 trillion to $6 trillion. That is simply the rich raiding the U.S. treasury and increasing our national debt. Meanwhile, the Trump administration lost 2.7 million jobs, compared to 15.8 million jobs created during the Biden administration.

Beware of billionaires.

Eric Strid

White Salmon

Exchange ideas, not insults

Thanks to the author of " Voting for future" (Columbia Gorge News, Sept. 4) for a thoughtful letter outlining their political views on the upcoming presidential election. Whether you agree with their conclusions or not, their letter sticks to the policies of the candidates: How should we best attack national problems?

They avoid the name-calling and cultivated outrage — currently coming from both Democrats and Republicans — that too often evokes sixth-graders squabbling in a schoolyard. This is a critical election cycle, and deserves a rational adult conversation of the real issues and how they might best be approached.

Public dissatisfaction and distrust of our political systems and media are off the charts. We fund two expensive wars with no end in sight, economic inequality seems to grow worse every year, and many feel that our national borders exist only on paper. Insulting one another as "weird" or "fascist," or criticizing a "lunatic" laugh, do nothing to help us find solutions to what many citizens see as fundamental problems.

Let's all try to behave and think more like adults this election cycle. Sensible adults exchange ideas with one another, not insults. It's the least we should expect of both ourselves and our elected officials.

Susan Crowley

Hood River

Vote Keethler, Niles

There's a well-known saying, "all politics is local," and this couldn’t be truer today. To safeguard the freedoms we enjoy here in Washington State, it's crucial to elect candidates who truly stand for family values and will vote accordingly. Marla Keethler, running for state senate, and Terri Niles, candidate for state house position 2 in District 17, are such candidates.

Both are committed to protecting reproductive rights, ensuring access to contraception and supporting IVF (in vitro fertilization). They also prioritize affordable housing and childcare — issues that directly impact families across our state. These two remarkable women have the vision and dedication to make a real difference for Washington families.

Your vote can make that difference. Let's elect leaders who will fight for our values and our future.

Sandra Holden Montag

White Salmon

Community vs. self interest

Down ballot elections matter. A sitting president can only accomplish their goals when Congress supports them, so it is smart, generous and strategic for the Harris/Walz campaign to show how much of a team effort running for office is by transferring $25 million to down ballot campaigns. Harris Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said, “If we want a future where every American’s rights are protected, not taken away; where the middle class is strengthened, not hollowed out; and a country where our democracy is preserved, not ripped apart, every race this November matters.” (Michael Scherer, Washington Post, Sept. 3, 2024).

I tried to find out what the Trump campaign is sending to Republican candidates for office, and this is what I discovered. Rolling Stone magazine reported that Trump and his campaign want all Republican candidates who use Trump’s name and likeness in their campaigns to turn over at least 5% of their fundraising donations to “Trump National Committee JFC.” (Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, April 17, 2024). In all fairness, I searched with the following question: “What has the Trump National Committee JFC (Joint Fundraising Committee) given to down ballot candidates?” and continued to find the committee asking for a cut of money Republican candidates have raised in their own campaigns.

The Harris/Walz campaign is financially supporting a community of Democratic candidates; in contrast, the Trump/Vance campaign bankrolls themselves, profiting from the campaign donations of other candidates.

April George

White Salmon

Vote Kitchings

Solid and intelligent leadership at the county level is critical to managing the services we benefit from daily. We also need leaders willing to tackle our challenges and seek solutions and resources to contribute to a thriving county. I met Amanda Holtman Kitchings in July at a County Commissioner’s meeting in Goldendale. I learned that she’s been attending the weekly meetings since February to gain a clear understanding of the responsibilities, procedures, and challenges that our commissioners face. Amanda is running as an Independent, which signals to me a willingness to be open-minded to the best solutions for our county.

I urge Klickitat County residents to vote for Amanda Holtman Kitchings to represent District 1 County Commissioner.

Sue Kusch

White Salmon

Vote Harris, Walz

Trump’s solutions: “Drill baby drill,” even though the U.S. is already the world’s largest oil-producing nation. Climate change and costly weather-related disasters are real existential threats. Only Democrats will do something about it — there’s no time to waste.

Thanks to Trump’s Supreme Court, women are losing their rights to family planning. Democrats are working to preserve the right of access to birth control, in vitro pregnancy assistance and protecting the choice of if-and-when to have children.

While Republicans distract with culture war red herrings, the deficit is out of control because Republicans have gifted trillions in tax cuts for the wealthiest people and corporations, now exceeding the inequality of the Gilded Age. Wealth has shifted to those needing it the least, at the expense of the majority of us who need it the most. Democrats will make taxes fairer for the working class, and put more money in the pockets of anyone making less than $400,000 annually, while preserving Social Security and Medicare from cuts by millionaires and billionaires.

Trump says he hired only “the best” staff and advisors, but had the highest staff turnover of any recent president. When they left, he vilified many of them as the “worst.” Few, if any — including Christian conservative Vice President Pence — have endorsed him. None were at the Republican convention. Instead, several were at the Democratic Convention and endorsed Kamala, followed by ultra-conservative Republicans who put their country before a party that has become a cult.

Trump wants to go back to a past filled with anger and retribution. He denigrates veterans and has no policies, only incoherent blathering about sharks, boats, batteries, and Hannibal Lecter. He’s a delusional narcissist, con-man, convicted felon and sex offender.

It’s time to leave the criminals behind. Vote for Democrats and Kamala Harris for president and secure a future of freedom and prosperity for the middle class.

Bob Yoesle

Goldendale

Asking why

I am an American with ancestors in our America since 1662. Members of my family have fought for freedom in every war America has been engaged in up to Desert Storm. I was fortunate to grow up in a country that had pride, respect for others, respect for the law and a country that rewarded motivation and hard work.

It is heartbreaking and depressing to be confronted by homelessness, drug addicted young and elderly, persons with no motivation to improve themselves and an educational system that is cheating our youth of a good solid education. I have asked myself, "Why?" It is not for lack of money, as there seems to be plenty of that. So what is it?

I may be wrong, but where has self-respect gone? Where has self-motivation gone? Where has the desire to be a good, law-abiding person gone?

Our government right now is promising many things. But the government cannot provide individuals with respect, nor motivation to be law-abiding citizens. That is up to each individual, parent, school and church.

If there is anything I have learned in 85 years, it is this:

1. If it's free, ask yourself why. It either has no value or you are giving something in exchange.

2. Be careful what you wish for.

The future of our nation is very important, and only we the people have control of the direction we will choose for America. Choose wisely.

Nancy Hunt

The Dalles

Leadership and values

“I’m not voting for Trump,” but rather for “policies that align with my concerns and values” proclaimed a reader in a Letter to Editor earlier this month. I do, in fact, recognize common ground with concerns and values on the list that followed. And I do appreciate the author’s efforts to be understood.

What I don’t recognize in that letter is an awareness of how inextricably Trump’s leadership is linked to those favored “policies” noted. The author avoids listing character qualities that align with her values.

When voting for president, I question how such attributes as personal integrity, respectfulness, and self-control can be ignored. Seems like a disconnect. And regardless of how it’s framed, a vote for Trump is a vote for Trump.

Sue Pennington

White Salmon

Biggest threat?

Sometimes I think we are the biggest threat to our democracy when we don’t participate and respond to and with our government ("Threat to democracy," Columbia Gorge News, Sept. 11). Of course voting is the bottom line, and doing that in an informed way. But where was our outrage when Congress failed to renew the expanded child tax credit that cut child poverty in half? Why aren’t we calling Congress every day, 202-224-3121, to demand action on creating more affordable housing, the legislation is just sitting there. What about expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program in the next Farm Bill to finally put an end to hunger in the world’s richest country? We can prompt action by those who represent us if we speak up and follow up. We are the ones who can save democracy by taking action today!

Willie Dickerson

Snohomish

Time for Harris

Kamala Harris is the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) candidate. DEI is a paraphrase of the Declaration of Independence, “… We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Trump, Vance and their followers “can’t stand the truth,” to paraphrase Marine Colonel Nathan Jessup in the movie “A Few Good Men.”

“Woke” is to begin to understand the tragic truth of imperialism and work toward the more “perfect union” of the Preamble. The opposite of “Woke” is ignorance and profound egotism. MAGA is the philosophy of the Spanish conquistadors, slavery, the Confederacy, and Jim Crow. MAGA continues because White Christian Nationalist are the Arians of our time. This philosophy comes from a tortured biblical interpretation [in] Genesis 9:18-29 [when] Ham, not Noah, is banished to the land south of the Mediterranean and becomes the “lesser People.” The White Christian Nationalist continue the tradition of blaming the victim rather than the perpetrator. They want a land of forever conflict and misery like the “Holy” land. They see Trump, Putin and Maduro as the second coming of Cyrus as a ticket to the rapture.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the alternative. They will lead us in the direction of Lincoln’s better angels. They are intelligent and learned people who see the value of an educated and skilled population. They value the contributions of Frederick Douglas (Trump does not know who he was), Washington Carver, and Thurgood Marshall. They recognize the value of skilled labor who can shape the steel, maintain our infrastructure and keep our cyber systems safe. They emphasize the value of our civil servants who keep the rule of law, man the fire lines, teach our children, and stand on freedom’s frontier. Tim Walz retired as command Sargent Major E-9, the highest enlisted rank who never faked heel spurs.

It is time to remove the spineless sycophants from Congress. It is time to elect Harris.

Terry Armentrout

The Dalles