Letters: Dec. 22, 2019

Stewardship of tax money in order

I see a great long list of projects we probably won’t get done because the car tabs are reduced. The freeway from here to Walla Walla has been on the want list since I came here in 1976. If items that were never intended to be done were removed from the list, it would be a lot shorter.

I heard a woman on the radio say, “If your roof has a hole in it, don’t go out and buy new furniture.” Careful stewardship should always be in order.

Meaning, purpose of the holidays

We celebrate Christmas and Easter once per year, representing Jesus Christ’s birth and resurrection from the dead. How many people know the original meanings of His name?

“Jesus” comes from the name Joshua in the Old Testament, written originally in Hebrew. It means Yahweh (God’s name) is salvation. ”Christ comes from the Old Testament word Messiah, meaning anointed one from God; anointing was an inauguration rite for a prophet, priest or king. Jesus Christ is not only the anointed Prophet, Priest, and King, but also he is God our Savior.

All people have sinned and separated themselves from a perfectly righteous, almighty, just, loving creator God. God the Son (Jesus Christ) took on human form to be born and live as one of us, perfect and sinless, sacrificing Himself for us on the cross, paying the penalty for all our sins, (past, present, and future) and then being resurrected from the dead. He reaches out to anyone who has faith (trust) alone in Him alone as their personal Savior and Lord to connect us to Himself permanently to live in happiness in His kingdom forever having ultimate victory over death.

Salvation happens once in time and can never be lost.

Use of the bomb saved many lives

In response to the students who wrote letters condemning the mushroom cloud symbol used at Richland High School, I’d like to point out that the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably actually saved many more Japanese lives than were lost in those bombings.

If not for the use of the atomic bombs, the use of conventional bombs would have continued and the already-planned invasion of mainland Japan would likely have been necessary.

At the time the atomic bombs were used, more Japanese civilians had already been killed by conventional bombing of Tokyo and during the U.S. invasion of the small Japanese island of Okinawa than were killed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The mindset of the Japanese military, as well as many civilians, at the time was to fight to the death, or to commit suicide, rather than be captured. Another very important benefit of using the atomic bombs was the saving of American lives that would have been lost had the war continued.

There is much reason to be “proud of the cloud” and the role that Richland played in bringing the war to an early end.

Cook letter ladles up batch of Fox stew

Ben Cook’s letter of Dec. 15 needs to be rebutted, as it is at best, deflection and filled with astronomical exaggerations. The time and cost figures are the most glaring evidence of Ben’s fantasyland assessment of the impeachment proceedings “thousands of hours and spending tens of millions.”

Then he goes on to claim, straight from Fox News, “partisan . . . second- and third-hand gossip, misinterpretation, hearsay, rumor and innuendo without any due process or hard evidence to support.” Ben conveniently omits that it was the president himself who has flatly refused and ordered his staff both past and present to defy congressional subpoenas. One should be wondering why? Fortunately we did have, which both Ben and Fox News refuse to admit, that Lt. Col Vindman and Dr. Hill, the two foremost experts in the Trump administration on Ukraine, testified under oath to their first-hand knowledge of the telephone call in question.

About the only thing Ben got right was we are definitely in a constitutional crisis when we have (two) sitting senators, jurors in the upcoming impeachment trial, declaring ahead of time that one is coordinating with the White House and another refuses to consider the evidence.

Fallacy in today’s political discourse

There is a logical fallacy that is prominent in today’s political discourse. It is “ad hominem,” or “to the person.” Many examples can be found in political discourse, but Donald Trump “trumps” all comers.

Ad hominem means that rather than respond to the argument of another, you attack the person and his/her credibility instead. The confirmation hearings of Justice Kavanaugh are an example, but even more we see the tweets against people disfavored by the president.

One can also observe the maxim “camel’s nose under the tent.” This refers to how one may start with a small, apparently insignificant inroad into discourse or action, and if no one objects, one extends the argument. You build your position, gain credibility and supporters who will then not doubt you. An example is President Trump and funding to the Ukraine. Clearly there was a quid pro quo, but many believe this doesn’t merit impeachment because it is not a “gross misdemeanor.” If that argument holds sway, and we say “that’s just Trump being Trump,” we don’t realize that this accepted quid pro quo now becomes a new baseline upon which Trump can build.

Camel’s nose under the tent, indeed.

A history lesson might be in order

Once upon a time in the U.S., business was good. Debt was high. But easy money was available through low taxes and unbridled borrowing. Banks were too big to fail. The rich thrived. The poor did not.

Farmers in middle America were busy creating the largest ecological disaster the U.S. has ever seen — the Dust Bowl. They could sense what was happening, but didn’t act.

Tariffs kept foreign goods out.

Corruption was endemic as the war on alcohol continued, to keep the lower-class immigrants (Germans and Irishmen) from drinking. Al Capone ran Chicago. Bonny and Clyde were heroes. Truth, integrity and fairness didn’t matter. Herbert Hoover told one of the biggest whoppers. With “economic engineering,” there would never be another recession.

Hitler was ignored and appeased. The U.S. didn’t need allies. “Make Germany Great again” was a popular mantra. The plight of the Jews was fake news. Happiest of all were the Bible Thumpers. Business was great and God would take care of everything.

We reap what we sow. The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and World War II – all came, one after another. Did we get what we deserved? If so, why would God save us now?

Fighting critters on our D.C. mall

How utterly sad, to read of the bug invasion at the Columbia Center Mall (”More Roaches Found at Mall,” TCH, 11/20) where, after a little shopping, I used to stop at the food court for a snack or sometimes lunch. I’m thinking I should have forked through my victuals to see whether I was sharing it with 4, 6, or 8-legged diners equally hungry.

The news threw my thoughts to the infestation of our government into the domain of Ukraine. A current D.C. committee, kind of acting like a pest control, has been shining some light on the 2-legged scourge scurrying every which way to avoid attention and guilt for getting caught. Apparently the creepy crawlies took their orders from the nest over on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Let’s all hope the fumigation units restore clean kitchens at the Mall and detoxes the entire West Wing ... for our good health.

This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Letters: Dec. 22, 2019."