Editor,
On this frigid Saturday morning, as I await a predicted snowstorm in Bellingham, I ponder your news story (CDN, Feb. 16, 2023) about our [county committee] whose majority is of very dubious intellect. They have chosen a “climate action manager” for the county. This is a worthless position, basically funded to re-employ useless unemployed bureaucrats.
Understand that those who promote climate change hysteria have also brought us, Bidenomics (high inflation), Kamala Harris, the open southern border, college debt-forgiveness and the TV show “The View,” etc.: all BS. The county council can redeem itself by canceling this job and providing the appointee with a free bus ticket back to her home in Indiana.
Rick Hannam
Bellingham
Editor,
We are assured each of our votes counts, and yet somehow proponents of Proposition 5 are allowed access to ballots and, tada!, enough votes are “cured” to cause a failing initiative to pass. Now nearly $10 million dollars per year are transferred from homeowners’ pockets by force of law each year for 10 years into other hands, [which] needs to be defined by the Whatcom County Council.
On a monetary transfer of wealth of this magnitude, does anyone else think investigating this election is worth the effort? Why was the “yes” contingent curing votes? How does this work? If the intent is to make sure the voters’ wishes are manifested, why weren’t all ballots cured?
I respectfully submit that this is an issue worthy of deeper analysis by CDN’s fine reporting staff.
Mary Lockwood
Bellingham
Editor,
Despite its inappropriate cultural appropriation, as a boy in 1971 seeing the classic Keep America Beautiful anti-littering and anti-pollution TV ad featuring a crying “Indian” person made a very powerful impression upon me. That image of “Iron Eyes” Cody shedding a tear over an ugly scene of environmental abuse touched me so deeply that it sparked in my heart a great sense of injustice and compassion for Native Americans, and motivated me to become an active conservationist.
Forest Cat
Sudden Valley
Editor,
Re: The Hammer’s request for name suggestions for the officially unnamed (Division Street) bridge in Mount Vernon:
The ‘Dan Pike Peak Oil’ Memorial Bridge
Honoring former Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike’s vision for a “carbon-free” Bellingham. The Peak Oil task force predicted the exact date of no more oil to be April 1, 2023. The oil taps dry up and current Mayor Seth Fleetwood’s Climate Action Plan rendered completely redundant. A grateful city thanks you, Dan.
The ‘Power Past Coal’ Memorial Bridge
Honoring the deceased members of the torches and pitchfork mob who protested at BNSF trackage. Some contracted black lung disease and died, totally unaware the health hazard was the coal dust spewing from the empty southbound coal cars, not the full northbound ones.
The ‘I was ’afore it before I was ’agin it’ Memorial Bridge
Honoring Bellingham City Councilmember Michael Lilliquist’s leadership for the successful execution of the poop plant “research and development” project.
The Seth Fleetwood Commemorative Bridge
Celebrating Mayor Fleetwood’s poop plant photo which made it into the Louvre Museum’s traveling collection.
The WWU Inclusivity Bridge
Honoring the WWU faculty and student body’s devotion to diversity, inclusivity and freedom of speech. Conservatives need not apply.
The ‘Go away kid, ya bother me’ Bridge
Commemorating Ron Judd’s “enthusiastic endorsement” of Simon Sefzik’s re-election bid for the State Senate.
I could go on …
Bob Morton
Bellingham
Editor’s Note: And he did!
Editor,
Traveling around South Africa, visiting many museums and historical places of interest associated with the end of apartheid, plus hearing from many of its citizens about the present corruption of [African National Congress] leaders who started a wonderful movement that has deteriorated to cronyism, corruption and the looting of South African coffers by giant industries like the electrical power conglomerates. They are bringing rolling blackouts, called load shedding, to the entire country at the expense of thousands of small and medium businesses. The average homeowner and consumer dare not buy in bulk lest the shedding leave them with spoiled foods.
Astonishingly, it is not hard to find parallels to the corruption wrought by the GOP on our own country.
To a person, South Africans of all levels of income are outraged at politicians who have none of the expertise or experience they claim and who lie on a daily basis about what they are doing to rectify the situation while basically looting the national coffers at every opportunity.
The most common complaints mirror almost exactly those progressives and lovers of Democratic values have about the GOP and conservatives at home.
“Corrupt leaders in the very party that freed South Africa are taking us backward from a first-world to a third-world country …” they lament.
And many are amazed that the same thing seems to be happening in America where the party that freed the slaves has now backtracked in essence and is the party seeking to create division and revive racist, sexist and religious dogmatism at the expense of policies of freedom, representation and accountability … and it is very hard to not accept their criticisms.
Michael Waite
Sedro-Woolley
