Letters: Dec. 28, 2018

Whitaker illegally appointed to job

Our president appointed Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general after he forced the resignation of Jeff Sessions.

The legality of our president’s appointment is in doubt. Under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, principal officers of the United States must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate under its “advice and consent” powers.

This indicates that our president’s installation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general of the United States is unconstitutional and illegal, making anything Mr. Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position as invalid.

Whitaker also repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of the Mueller investigation prior to his appointment, but has not recused himself from overseeing it. In addition, his previous experience is extremely limited and also does not qualify him for this position.

Both the deputy attorney general and the solicitor general have already been nominated by our president and confirmed by the Senate. Either one could fill this interim vacancy until a new attorney general is nominated and confirmed by the Senate. Both these people have shown no previous bias toward the Mueller investigation, and are eminently more experienced and qualified than Mathew Whitaker.

Green New Deal has my support

Hey there, partner. I’m a young(ish) person who’s pretty scared about the catastrophic condition and catastrophic events on our planet.

Have you seen Bill McKibben’s “Life on a Shrinking Planet?” This long-researched piece breaks down how climate change and pollution are destroying the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we need for food, etc.

So I support Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s resolution to create a House Committee for a Green New Deal in Congress. This Green New Deal will aim to create millions of green jobs, move our country off polluting fossil fuels, and protect working people of all backgrounds.

I’m sure our responsive and progressive Rep. Dan Newhouse will support Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal resolution.

Fentanyl must be closely monitored

As a retired R.N., I remember taking care of very ill patients on Fentanyl intravenously. Our nursing protocol stated that vital signs were to be taken every 15 minutes. This was to ensure the life and safety of the patient. Sure we had automatic blood pressure machines, heart monitors, and pulse oximeters. But all the machines had alarms. If the pulse slowed down, became irregular or stopped - an alarm went off. If the blood pressure rose to high or dropped, an alarm went off. If breathing slowed, an alarm went off.

Those alarms require quick action of nurses or the patient could die. The rescue drug naloxone, needs to be given immediately.

My question is, if you are using Fentanyl as a street drug, who is monitoring your pulse and blood pressure? Fentanyl can cause a quick, silent death within seconds with a miniscule amount. Beware.

Split state, make it more like Idaho

“Splitting Washington state is a ridiculous idea that needs to quit popping up,” says the TCH editorial Board. Reasons given were “we do not need to create a Republican utopia and King County does not rule every election.” The simple fact is that King County gets whatever it wants in any election. Most of the time King County does not vote in a manner that is advantageous to Eastern Washington. This includes initiatives, governor, and the U.S. Senate. The one exception appears to be taxes. Tax initiatives that have come up recently have been voted down statewide. Simple math explains the why Eastern Washington is almost always on the the short end of elections. King County has about 2.2 million residents. All of Eastern Washington has about 1.6 million residents.

Splitting the state into two states would result in Eastern Washington having the approximate land mass of Tennessee and the population of Idaho. In other words 15 states would be smaller (including the new Western Washington) and 11 states would have fewer people. The last time I checked, Tennessee and Idaho are doing just fine. I see no reason why our new state would not do the same.