Letters: Free money, animal shelter, political facts and more | Jan. 26

No such thing as ‘free money’

For our young people, there are no free things. Everything has its price. Someone made or paid for it. It may come to you with no charge.

The now-popular slogan (is) “let the rich pay their fair share.” Free college tuition, free health care; all of these sound enticing, but the money has to come from somewhere or someone.

The popular belief is the rich don’t pay enough. The money is going to come from the government ... (or) from someone who worked all his or her life. The government doesn’t have any money, only what they take from you. When the government runs out of money, either the freebie will end or all the bank accounts will be taken over by the government. If you owe for a car or home loan you won’t be able to pay, thus it will be foreclosed on. This is what socialism will do for our country.

A bit of advice: the rich didn’t get rich by being stupid. They will have salted away or rat holed much of their money. Guess who loses, you do.

Setting some facts on politics straight

Mike Boise (Nov. 22) says “Facts matter,” and I agree. That’s why it’s important to list sources (authorities) of info, and a flow of logic (i.e., how we come to a certain conclusion).

We may also not trust each other’s sources (Fox, MoveOn, etc.)

He claims Trump is losing money as president. How do we know that? So far, Trump has not released his financial records.

He also claims Maxine Waters is now “worth millions.” According to RollCall.com (“Wealth of Congress”) she ranks No. 361 (360 are wealthier) and her net worth is barely over “a tenth” of a million (OpenSecrets.org lists her at about “a quarter” million).

Nancy Pelosi, he claims is “one of the richest women in America,” RollCall ranks her at 30, with four Congresswomen wealthier. And says that, “She has millions of supporters who are broke.”

I suppose the same can be said of Trump.

Finally he says, we “should support our president, make our country better, not attack a sitting president.” I support our country, and respect the “Office of the President.” That is why, I do not support the “President.” And, there is no “job” in which “legal oversight, and the rule of law” are more important.

Fish overview not the whole picture

I attended the Lower Snake River Dam panel discussion on Jan. 13.

There was a lack of discussion and overview on the impact of fish migration numbers by the commercial fishing operations (Washington state and others) and tribal fishing practices.When you realize the scale of what is happening with fish harvesting in our rivers and oceans, “Why am I not surprised that there are fewer numbers of fish in the Snake River?”

My concern is that Washington state is experiencing reduced fish populations, much like, and for the same reasons, as the rest of the many countries in the world. I don’t think this has been taken into account in the overview of why fish populations are down and why the orcas’ food supply is diminished. It is understood that there are other contributing factors associated with fish numbers, but I feel the commercial fishing industries are a major factor and have not been given ample consideration. Climate change, water temperature, or other factors are minor when compared to the onslaught to the fish populations by the modern-day commercial fishing industries and tribal fishing practices, and they operate relentlessly, 24/7, 365 days a year, taking as many as they can.

Count blessings, not rattles, noise, dust

This is in response to the letter of Jan. 17, in which the writer spoke harshly of the KID doing canal work below her home on Meadow Hills Drive in Richland. She grumbled about the workers kicking up dust, beginning their day before she woke up and vibrations causing noise and rattling of items on her shelves.

What a petty thing to complain about when you consider that 194,467 people will sleep on the streets across the U.S. tonight because they don’t have a secure roof over their head. More than 7 percent of them are unaccompanied youth under 25 and 7 percent are veterans. I’d be willing to bet that the majority of these poor suffering souls would give anything to be awakened early in a nice warm place of their own with rattling shelves and a little dust.

All of us who are safe and secure should count our blessings. Life could be much worse. We could be living on the street.

President for Life can’t be Trump

We must recognize that our Constitution allows any president to become “President for Life.” Mr. Trump says he’s planning this.

For 13 years, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a “President for Life.” However, Trump lacks Roosevelt’s leadership ability and compassion for the poor. Two years after Roosevelt’s 1932 election, millions of elderly Americans, victims of the Great Depression, were receiving monthly Social Security income invented by Roosevelt. His 1936 reelection ended the Great Depression, for he created massive public works projects, including countless dams, and the Tennessee Valley Authority; bringing irrigation, flood control and electric power throughout the country. One year after Roosevelt’s 1940 reelection, he comforted and challenged our grief at Pearl Harbor’s disaster. He won reelection in 1944, as he led Europe in destroying Nazism. In 1945, Roosevelt died too soon. He missed his successful secret bombs that ended Japan’s war.

Trump cares only for people who do him favors. Other citizens and leaders, he childishly insults and tries to harm.

Animal shelter due for replacement

Dear mayors and council members of the Tri-Cities: Indulge me.

Picture someone you respect immensely. Imagine them visiting your city. Imagine showing them all the landmarks, parks, rivers, schools. Imagine your pride.

Did you take them to visit your animal shelter?

Or did you decide against it, imagining the wincing as they enter the 50-year-old building to be assaulted by the urine/feces-soaked concrete stench that can no longer be washed away, noticing the wiring hanging off the director’s office wall, seeing the strips of paint (lead?) peeling over the dog kennels, broken tiles, mouse droppings and the antiquated ventilation system circulating this filthy air back into the lungs of the animals and shelter staff?

This shelter represents your city. This shelter represents you — and your legacy. This shelter represents the value a city and its people place on its most vulnerable population.

It is past time to replace this disgrace with a real ‘shelter’ fit for innocent beings whose only sin is being unwanted – and those dear souls who care for them.

This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters: Free money, animal shelter, political facts and more | Jan. 26."