Letters: Klippert a bully, bad pet owners, fighting for taxpayers and more | March 14

Great neighbors

Our neighbors are gold!

We have lived on Red Mountain for 43 years and are overwhelmed by the kindness of our neighbors! When it snowed, they came faithfully three days in a row and completely cleared our driveways. They are earth angels! We are in our 80s and not as strong as we used to be and truly appreciated those boys. May God bless them forever. Kind hearts are the gardens where love grows in all of us.

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Klippert a bully, needs discipline

I have personally witnessed Rep. Brad Klippert bully, badger and intimidate women at his local town halls. His aggressive, obnoxious behavior toward women testifying before a committee in Olympia comes as no surprise to me. I’m glad those women filed an ethics complaint.

Klippert has been an ineffective legislator. He has no respect from his fellow legislators. No doubt he is just as rude and mean toward them as he is toward constituents and witnesses.

Klippert’s bullying makes me cringe to think that he works as a police officer. I am horrified that he works in schools.

I hope the Washington State Legislature throws the book at him.

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Irresponsible pet owners

I have been walking regularly at the Rose Garden by the Mid-Columbia Library since it was established. The Master Gardeners deserve so much credit for what they’ve done to the Community Garden as well as the Rose Garden.

The pandemic has brought a lot of people and pet owners outdoors. I enjoy walking the park as much as I can with my “close-knit friend.” Lately, it hasn’t been as enjoyable due to the excrement left behind by pet owners who don’t pick up after their dogs.

It’s bad enough we have to wear masks, but now the clean park is an eyesore.

The park provides bags for pet owners in more than one spot. Pet owners – bring your own bag or used bags from groceries. Trash bins are provided all over the park. It’s a dog friendly park, maybe it shouldn’t be anymore.

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On political manipulation

By one means or another, the democratic party has finally gained control of America’s business. Think back over the last four years of so-called journalism and misused congressional power — all designed to destroy individuals’ careers who disagree with their political dogma.

Before going further, please read the following basic principles practiced by a historical political party:

▪ Avoid abstract ideas – appeal to the emotions.

▪ Constantly repeat just a few ideas. Use stereotyped phrases.

▪ Give only one side of the argument.

▪ Continuously criticize your opponents.

▪ Pick out one special “enemy” for special vilification.

Sound familiar? It should. The democratic party has practiced the above principles during the last four years of Trump’s presidency. Will America break before the next four years are over?

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Eyman fighting for taxpayers

In the past 22 years, we’ve qualified 17 statewide initiatives for a vote. They all limited the governments’ power over us and saved taxpayers $46.9 billion. All those accomplishments happened despite fierce opposition from politicians, judges, and the media.

Because I led those efforts (often risking my own money), they’ve been gunning for me. So in 2012, when a reporting complaint was filed, I knew it’d be a witch hunt. For the next 8 years, they went after me, my family, friends, and supporters.

As predicted, a Gregoire-appointed judge recently rubber-stamped the AG, ignoring the law and Constitution (learn how the AG’s case is fundamentally flawed here: tinyurl.com/FergusonHypocrisy).

I’m committed to appealing these ridiculously unconstitutional restrictions on the First Amendment because if they get away with it with me, you could be next.

While on appeal, despite the risks, I’ll keep fighting for taxpayers because politicians are hell-bent to impose income taxes and carbon taxes this session. We’re committed to stopping them.

The government’s 8-year witch hunt has cost me everything I have. But I’m not going to let them slow me down. Because like President Trump said: “They’re not after me, they’re after you, I’m just in the way.”

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Mail isn’t always safe from theft

While back, I drove down Hover Road and saw lots of papers in an empty field. I picked them up and it was (for) people who lived on Hover Road. Someone had raided all the mailboxes and taken all their mail. I gathered up the papers and took them to the sheriff’s office.

When my wife died, our condo mailboxes were on the road and someone took my insurance check from mine. I got reimbursed. But the point is mail is not safe. The sheriff said it happens often.

So ballots are also not safe either, especially at election time. Secure mailboxes are better like we use now. Dishonest people will do their best to alter the outcome. And some of the people are pretty high up.

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High-level waste not clearly defined

The article in the Herald’s Feb. 28 paper about overturning the “Trump rule on Hanford nuclear waste” states that “any waste” produced during fuel reprocessing activities at Hanford is classified as high-level waste (HLW) under U.S. law. That interpretation is not universally accepted, and for good reason.

The Herald doesn’t say what U.S. law led them to that interpretation, but perhaps they were influenced by the definition of HLW that is on the state Department of Ecology website. There it is said that federal law 33 USCS 1402(j) defines HLW to include “the waste” generated during reprocessing.

However, that law does not say what Ecology says it does; instead, it defines only two types of waste generated during reprocessing that are HLW. Those are the ones that have the highest levels of radioactivity.

A different U.S. law, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, describes HLW as “highly radioactive” materials, but unfortunately does not say what level should be considered to be “high.” The Department of Energy recently adopted an interpretive rule that attempts to remove this ambiguity; this rule also states that “not all wastes” from reprocessing are HLW.

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Let’s try respect, politeness instead

Dr. Seuss Enterprises recently decided to stop publishing six “Dr Seuss” books, feeling that they no longer represent the respect and affection that Theodore Geissel had for all children.

There have been many voices decrying this example of “cancel culture.” It leaves me wondering what “cancel culture” is, and if it isn’t an appropriate response to our country’s always-growing awareness of the sensitivities and feelings of our multicultural population. Surely most of us would agree that the “N word” shouldn’t be acceptable in any circumstance. We wouldn’t agree that a general should be able to voice the opinion that “the only good one is a dead one” as Gen. Sheridan is reported to have said about Native Americans. We would no longer feel comfortable seeing caricatures of people from other countries with exaggerated stereotypical facial features in mainstream publications.

All of this was at one time acceptable in America. Thankfully, as we have matured, these once-common cultural expressions have become “cancelled.” Perhaps it would be helpful to substitute “politeness and respect” for “cancel culture.” Then an expression such as, “This politeness and respect for everyone has just been carried too far” would sound as unreasonable as it is.

This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Letters: Klippert a bully, bad pet owners, fighting for taxpayers and more | March 14."