Atomic weapons, Rep. Dan Newhouse’s voting record among Herald letters to the editor | Opinion
Arguing the past cannot change it
To bomb or not to bomb; that will always be the question.
All the rhetoric about whether one nation should use atomic weapons on another should be transferred to the here and now; leave the past where it is.
The Japanese will never be satisfactorily accepting that we can comprehend what took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The U.S. can never compile enough statistics to ensure there was ample comprehension, beforehand, for the act.
We are living through an “economic turn down” currently. World War II, for the U.S., lasted four years! That was four years of rationing food, shoes, tires, gasoline etc... The U.S. mindset became “whatever it took” to end that awful war.
I am not advocating the bombing as a justification. Instead of trying to “appease” the past, we need, real, meaningful work to ensure this never takes place again.
Instead of posturing, bullying or branding with sophomoric titles, what about some ideas or proposals that might generate idea? What about electing leaders who show thoughtful, fact-based knowledge that can generate those ideas?
You say that is wishful thinking or a waste of time? What do you call trying to erase the past?
Ron Buckland, Pasco
Newhouse votes are troublesome
With a Democrat in the White House and Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, a lot of big legislation was passed to support the American people. Let’s revisit and see how Washington state’s 4th Congressional District Rep. Dan Newhouse voted.
American Rescue Plan:
▪ Provided $1,400 checks for most American tax filers.
▪ Increased the Child Tax credit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child.
▪ Extended the Paycheck Protection Program to allow small businesses to pay workers.
Dan Newhouse and all Republicans voted no.
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:
▪ Unprecedented investment to restore and rebuild our nation’s roads, bridges, rail, airports and mass transit.
▪ Provided funding to expand internet in rural communities.
Dan Newhouse voted no.
Inflation Reduction Act:
▪ Lowered prescription drug costs.
▪ Cap out of pocket expenses at $2,000/year for Medicare recipients.
▪ Cap insulin costs for Medicare recipients at $35/month.
▪ Allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
▪ Additional funding for the IRS to catch tax cheats.
Dan Newhouse voted no.
Cory Miller, Kennewick
Editors Note: This letter initially falsely claimed that Congressman Dan Newhouse voted against the new law to help burn-pit victims. The letter confused two votes, H.R.3967 - Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which did not become law, and S.3373 - Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which Congressman Newhouse voted for and President Biden signed into law.
Postal system is failing to deliver
Anyone else notice the significant drop in performance at the West Richland Post Office over the past year? It seems that on-time delivery has diminished at Post Offices across the nation, though my experience is limited to the local one. In the past three months, about one in 10 of my packages are late. I receive tracking notices that they have arrived at the local post office and there they sit for two, three or even four days. Some then are delivered to the wrong address.
In the past year, Amazon has replaced four items that tracking showed delivered but never showed up at my address. I have cameras at several locations showing my entire porch and they were not stolen by porch pirates, just not delivered. I read in this news publication that others have had similar issues and the local Post Office said that nothing has changed. It’s time to get to the truth. Something has changed!
Don Merhar, Richland
This story was originally published January 16, 2023 at 10:00 AM.