Letters: Amy Coney Barrett, Electoral College, Richland Library and more | Nov. 1

Barrett answers prayers of some

The nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court is such an answer to prayer to those of us that believe in the sanctity of life. She has made it clear that she is willing to do what needs to be done.

She has stated, ‘We support the criminalization of the doctors who perform abortions. At this point we are not supportive of criminalizing the women.’ (But appears open to charging women).

Judge Barrett believes, “Life Begins at fertilization’ of a human egg,” and these human beings have the right to life like all of us. Sadly, only 50% of fertilized human eggs implant in the uterine wall successfully, and grow to become an adult human person. The rest are killed by spontaneous, natural abortion, the pregnant mother usually never even being aware of this tragedy.

It is estimated that 220 million human beings die around the world due to spontaneous abortion.

With Judge Barrett on the court, the United States can take the lead in fighting this global humanitarian crisis and stop spontaneous abortion and those who have till now had the power to enable it.

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4 largest states only 1/3 of total

In response to Diane Bagley’s Letter to the Editor (Oct. 9), she is wrong about the four largest states holding sway; combined they are only 1/3 of the total. Remember, it is “We the people.” Republicans currently favor the Electoral College (EC) because the it actually gives the smaller states’ voters a higher degree of impact. A vote in Wyoming is worth about seven in California.

When the Constitution was written, it was all about bringing the states into the union, so it was all about the states, not the people. Want to end the division in this country? End with the Red State / Blue State labels? Doing away with the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote would end these labels immediately.

The other reason for the Electoral College in the time that the Constitution was written, (Federalist Papers 39) was the founders thought the citizens were too ignorant and too easily swayed by a con man and wanted the Electoral College to save us from ourselves. As it turned out, it has been the Electoral College that has failed to protect us twice in this century alone, giving the least qualified candidate the presidency.

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Will mask rules grant exceptions?

I heard the other day on TV that the first thing Biden plans on doing if he becomes president is to make wearing masks mandatory for everyone, and that means no excuses. Me, on the other hand, I have a medical exemption. I have a severe case of claustrophobia, which means I can not have a mask anywhere near my face. So what does that do for me? Makes it harder for me to go out shopping, to restaurants, the movies, any place fun, to my doctor’s appointments. Two of my doctor’s offices won’t give me appointments anymore because I don’t wear a mask. What’s going to happen when I need to have my blood work done for my diabetes? Is Biden going to care about that? Of course not!

If you or any member of your family has a medical exemption, please think twice about who you are going to vote for. Anybody who thinks it would be fun to have what I have just to be able to not wear a mask all the time, believe you me I’ll trade with you any day! I would rather wear a mask every day than fight what I’m fighting all the time by not wearing a mask.

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Opening library is hazard to staff

Richland City Manager Cindy Reents has just placed book browsing above the lives of the Richland Public Library staff, by mandating the library reopen to the public beginning Oct. 26. No other library this size in the state is reopening this soon, because they feel it is unsafe to do so.

The decision to reopen was made without consulting with library staff, and even library management was denied the opportunity to provide input. Also, library staff have not been trained to handle potential COVID-19 issues and interactions. The reopening is of great concern to staff, as several are in high-risk categories. The decision has forced one to resign already. There is also no need for reopening, as existing curbside service is meeting patron needs just fine.

By reopening just for people to browse (no services, meeting rooms, computers, printers or copiers are available), the city is forcing library staff into a dangerous situation. This extremely irresponsible and unsafe action should both frighten and infuriate people, and is a classic example of the dismissive attitude the city regularly takes with its library staff. If it is so safe to reopen, why are City Hall and the Rec Center still closed?

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Drug Trump touts could save lives

Dr. Li Meng, who’s vocation is being a virologist, was able to escape from Communist China recently. What was her crime? She was a whistleblower by telling the truth about COVID-19 (Chinese Virus) that it was man made in a lab about two miles from the outdoor market in the Wuhan Province in China. Dr. Li Meng worked with the top virologists in the world in that lab. and has scientific evidence about the operation of the lab. Another big aspect of this virus is that it was released into the world intentionally. She has written a paper concerning what happened. Dr. Li Meng appeared on Fox News on Sept. 16.

Dr. Harvey Risch, Yale University professor, said that the problems with hydroxychloroquine are very low and has been used for over 40 years with almost no problems. In Uganda, they have a population of 42 million people, who have to take hydroxychloroquine because of the high rate of malaria in their country; they have had only 13 die from COVID-19. Now, Bill Gates is having this medication studied. Maybe, the American people and the world will finally realize that Trump was right; it saves lives.

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Trump backers can’t accept truth

President Trump continues to lie and deceive. The tapes from his interview with Bob Woodward in February have just been released. Trump said he knew at that time how deadly and easy to spread by airborne droplets COVID-19 was. He also said that he wanted to downplay it. He has continued to do that, even saying that it does not exist. It is real and over 190,000 people have died in this country.

It is unbelievable that he held a rally in Freeland, Mich., on Sept. 10, and during that rally there were hundreds of people crowded together in a small, enclosed space. It is inevitable that hundreds of people will be infected as a result.

What was striking is that one man at the rally said, “The pandemic does not exist. It is a fake pandemic created by the Democrats to destroy our country.” That is unbelievable, but that is the message that Trump is promoting to his base. Is this the man that you want to be the next president? If you keep telling the same lie, eventually you will believe that it is true, but Trump cannot or will not tell the truth. Wake up, America.

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Wear your mask over nose, mouth

It’s good to see more people wearing masks in public. We need to be diligent about wearing masks. There are still too many people wearing their masks wrong! You have to have your mouth and nose covered. If we want to get to Phase 3, please wear your mask correctly. Thank you.

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Language help must be provided

Recent allegations regarding discrimination, and potentially unnecessary hysterectomies performed on immigrant women (that were) made by a nurse whistleblower at a detention center in Georgia are both shocking, and disheartening. It is further claimed, among many other things, that inappropriate language interpretation services were utilized during interactions with health care providers (Project South, 2020).

Further investigation will hopefully reveal the validity of the claims, and ultimately improve the care of detainees. That being said, it is important for individuals in the United States with limited English proficiency to understand their rights, ensuring they receive the best healthcare possible. Federal law requires healthcare organizations receiving federal funds (Medicare or Medicaid) to provide language assistance that the patient can understand (Karliner, 2018). Furthermore, it is the care providers’ responsibility to furnish a qualified, competent interpreter free of charge to the patient requesting language assistance, avoiding the use of family members (Office for Civil Rights, 2015).

Navigating healthcare concerns can be a daunting task for anyone. Needless to say, individuals with limited English proficiency face even greater challenges, and vulnerability. Ensuring that they are aware of the services available to them will perhaps ease their way and improve their healthcare experience.

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Electoral overhaul needed but unlikely

I do not agree with recent letters claiming the Electoral College must be retained lest the largest states dominate election of the president, or lest the votes of rural and mid-American citizens become meaningless. Not meaningless, equally meaningful. Based on current population estimates, the national average is 1.6 electoral votes per million people. The ratio for the most populous state, California, is 1.4; it’s 5.2 for the least populous state, Wyoming. In the electoral college, one vote in Wyoming counts almost as much as four votes in California.

A direct popular vote would eliminate the disproportionate clout of voters in small states. Every vote would count the same; no meaningless votes. Same in Sprague as in Seattle, in Wyoming as in California, in The Heartland as on the coasts. State boundaries would be irrelevant, with every vote equally important to candidates: no more “battleground” states.

If you don’t want that, don’t worry. A change requires amending the Constitution, which requires ratification by three-fourths of the states: 14 can block it. The 14 smallest states have 4% of the population and 9% of the electoral votes. What are the odds they would even the playing field?

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Come together in peace, harmony

Now, as possibly never before, is a time to love thy neighbor as thyself. Let not your heart be hardened against loving and forgiving one another as Jesus showed that love and forgiveness to us by dying on the cross for all of us. Love thyself as God/Jesus love you. Love is the strongest word and gives action to how we should think about and treat each other. There is so much hate and wrongdoing in the world that is causing division among many people, let us come together to find peace, harmony and love for others.

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Hateful comment blinds to us good

The Tri-Cities Flatten the Curve Facebook page was created to help the community work together for a common goal. Recently, administrators changed the rules of the page to allow politics and started to ignore several other rules. Allowing opinion articles, allowing hateful comments toward people for being Republican, Trump supporters, for believing in God, and allowing businesses to be attacked. This has caused this page to abandon the original goal as well as breed hate and divide our community.

For those who believe that you can’t be a Republican and want to flatten the curve, please consider there are and should be many topics that you consider when voting. This strong hate for anyone that has a different political opinion blinds all reason. Stop and consider that there are good people on both sides. I would say more good than bad. Following this page or social media in general can make you lose hope in humanity but look to your family, friends, neighbors and community even those you know to hold a different political opinion and you will see all the good people around you. From both political sides and all walks of life.

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Op-ed on forests was half the truth

Todd Myers’ guest column, “Forestry, not climate policy, needed to prevent wildfire” (Sept. 18) is yet another example of the false choice given by politicians, policy advocates and, yes, the media regarding a very complex process. It’s not one OR the other. It’s both.

Yes, aggressive fire-fighting and logging restrictions over the last century have allowed the accumulation of the trees and other vegetation that fuel wildfires.

But climate change affects the moisture content and temperature of soil and vegetation, which affects fire ignition, intensity and expansion.

Climate certainly mattered in the Washington state record-setting fires of 2015, when record warmth during winter, spring and summer yielded a March mountain snowpack only 30% of normal, and wildfires in August burned over a million acres. Curiously, Todd Myers chose to ignore the lessons from 2015 in his column.

A rational forest fire policy will both manage forests better and mitigate climate change. The Washington State Legislature has funded forest management. It’s time for our nation and the world to mitigate climate change.

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‘Fake news’ most annoying phrase

Of all the phrases I’ve heard over the last four years, none is more annoying than “That’s fake news!” Such sloppy and lazy thinking!

If someone calls you a “liar,” a normal response is, “Says who?” “What did I say?” or to explain why it’s not a lie. To say there may be consequences (legal and otherwise) for such an accusation may also be appropriate.

Today, If somebody (or something) is called “fake news,” often by a single individual (i.e., Trump), no rationale, reasoning, or justification is asked for, or offered. The conversation is over, because someone has just said, “Because I said so!”

Institutions (i.e., NY Times) sometimes over a century old, with thousands of reporters, editors, researchers etc., (themselves with countless years of experience) are ignored for a man who thinks he knows more than medical doctors, scientists, generals, economists, environmentalists, meteorologists, politicians — and maybe even God himself.

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Open inside dining at fast food places

I have a comment regarding the fast food industry. Apparently some have found it more advantageous to just run their drive-thru rather than open for inside diners. I do not know who wants to eat their breakfast in their car.

The community has been very good about supporting this industry during the virus, now it is their turn to open up their business according to current health regulations and help those of us that need to get out to eat and see people even from a distance.

This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters: Amy Coney Barrett, Electoral College, Richland Library and more | Nov. 1."