Letters: Dam removal bad idea, put faith in science, COVID thins herd and more | Feb. 18

West Side also is harming salmon

It is disappointing, and yet not surprising, that Gov. (Jay) Inslee appears supportive of Idaho politician Mike Simpson with his plan to remove the lower Snake Dams. The reaction of Inslee to this plan continues to speak of his continued disdain for the East Side of Washington. Even though we provide the electrical power from clean uninterruptable sources as well as significant quantities of food products while keeping emissions significantly lower than the West Side, it appears our lack of voting support for Inslee is a huge driver in his actions.

If removing dams is a necessity, why not remove all the dams between the mouth of the Columbia and Idaho, where the dams in Idaho have no fish passage capabilities. Let’s not forget the Oregon governor recently approved the continued operation for fish-blocking Hells Canyon Dam.

With the removal of the Snake dams, we can expect to see prices for commodites rise as well as emissions from increased semi truck traffic. Why isn’t Inslee looking at West Side issues, the pollution of Puget Sound, contaminated rivers as well as predators, birds and seals, as a means to support the salmon population? Addressing these is quicker, cheaper and more effective.

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Newhouse’s vote breath of fresh air

County GOP leaders have called on (Rep.) Dan Newhouse to resign. His vote for impeachment was a breath of fresh air. If you wish to say “shame on you,” say it to the other … members of the House who waited for their party leadership to tell them how to vote. If we want a functioning Congress, it requires members to be able to cross party lines and have a conscience; anything less, and we really have a House of Representatives of two. We need statesmen with backbones who understand both principle and compromise. Thank you, Dan Newhouse.

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Deciding to leave Republican Party

I learned something new about myself I hadn’t realized before—I’m a swing voter. When Congressman (Dan) Newhouse, who I voted for, signed the letter from Texas in a Republican effort to overthrow a clean election and ultimately our democratic process and despite the courts repeatedly finding no evidence of voter fraud, I was preparing to campaign against him.

Then, when he courageously voted to support the Constitution and Trump’s impeachment following the attempted insurrection at our Capitol, I prepared to campaign for him. Now, with the Republican Party demanding Newhouse resign, I am swinging again. I can’t support a party that undermines our democracy and the Constitution my family has defended since 1776.

Unfortunately, I find myself swinging from the “party of Lincoln” to the “Party of Independence.” I don’t mind swinging, so long as the Constitution and free elections hold me. For now, I’m done with the fake patriots of the Republican Party.

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Thoughts on what you’re thinking

A thinking exercise: Pretend (or don’t, if you are) you are a full-blown MAGA supporter. You think BLM burned down entire cities and roamed the street like criminals, despite The Associated Press (via verified court documents) reporting that only 2% of protests were violent. You may decide to just dismiss that as the “liberal media.” You don’t believe the Black folks in your life when they argue BLM’s goal is to see improved racial justice, especially after years and years of seeing nothing change.

You may say that their side is just bad as the coup attempt on the Capitol You probably think the coup was justified, and that BLM is much worse, in fact. You joked with co-workers on the site about hitting or shooting protesters during the protests of summer, but you say you’re just joking. But then you start to notice who else is on your side, and what motivates them. Suddenly, things get a bit uglier.

If this is you, I’d like you to reflect on this: if you are finding that your philosophy and actions are resonating with white supremacists and neo-Nazis, you might want to reconsider the worth of what you preach.

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It’s not his idea of more perfect union

We Democrats have established the most diverse cabinet and representative government in the history of America.

We have included gay socialists, black socialists, white socialists, male and female socialists, gender neutral socialists, unknown gender socialists, democrat socialists, socialist socialists, communist socialists, progressive socialists, pro-abortion socialists, anti-life socialists, academic socialists, intellectual socialists, stupid socialists, and more.

You can’t get any more divisive, I mean diversive than that!

Now, if the purge and censorship of those right-wing nuts who believe in the Bill of Rights, God and Liberty can just be completed, we will have the “more perfect union” we all desire.

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Vaccine letter full of falsehoods

 I’m writing to object to your inclusion of the letter questioning the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 5.

The letter is filled with unsubstantiated assertions and outright falsehoods.

I thought facts and true statements were baseline criteria for submitting Letters to the Editor.

You do us readers a disservice by printing such untruthful misinformation.

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Taking down dams terribly bad idea

Tearing down the four dams on the Snake River is an unbelievably bad proposal that is sponsored by the Northwest governors and environmental groups.

What is more important? The economic well being of our people or salmon? Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers understands what is at stake!

Make your voices heard. This proposal would have a devastating effect in our Columbia Basin region which depends on agriculture and affordable hydro-electric power.

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Doctor will put faith in science

New vaccinations always produced dismay from people, starting with Edward Jenner and smallpox. People fear new and difficult-to-understand things. I have seen the introduction of many immunizations, including polio. With these, many diseases have nearly disappeared. With the now relative rarity of these illnesses, it is easy to forget the results of disease. We have not lost children or seen them become disabled thanks to vaccinations.

Parental fear, disinformation and complacence are keeping children from these shots. Now we have COVID-19 to remind us of the power of pandemics. We have new vaccines, ingenious in concept, novel in action and the result of years of basic research. Current Covid vaccines were tested in more than 70,000 people before release. Serious side effects were rare. Of course there are still questions, but we have good evidence that these vaccines are safe and effective. I will put my faith in facts and science, not misinformation and fear. The only way to “do no harm” is to do nothing. In the face of 2.3 million deaths worldwide, doing nothing is not acceptable. To do nothing is to increase our greatest health crises: death, poverty and human misery.

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COVID-19 thins herd of humans 

I have this nagging feeling that Mother Nature has created COVID-19 as a way to thin the herd of humans who are destroying her planet. Since I’m 82 and have an underlying condition, I’m on her list. In the last few days, I’ve begun to realize it’s not just the old and feeble like me, but people with less intelligence. The ones I specifically have in mind are people resisting the vaccines. The trouble is that they are going to take good people with them

This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters: Dam removal bad idea, put faith in science, COVID thins herd and more | Feb. 18."