Letters to the Editor

MORE MONEY

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Congress could enjoy raise more by sharing

Thank you to Doc Hastings and other representatives of, for and by the people. That is a nice raise in pay you gave yourselves.

Wouldn't it be nice if in your magnanimous mood, you could see it in your hearts to throw out that stupid ruling to adjust the funds in the Social Security coffers by cutting back on pension money paid "notch kids"? Each month they (we) are penalized for being born in the wrong years. Never mind that it gives us far less to live on and next to impossible when a partner dies.

Salve your conscience and give us a 2 percent cost-of-living increase, which is promptly attached to pay an increase in Medicare premiums taken out of our checks.

Of course, if you wait long enough to "do the right thing," it will cost a whole lot less, as we are dying off.

Myrtle Arends
Wenatchee

BIKES ON THE ROAD

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Two-wheelers don't belong in flow with cars

It's regrettable, but not surprising, that a bicyclist was hit on the Ballard Bridge recently. However, what in the world was a bicyclist doing in the middle of this thoroughfare anyway? Bicyclists, by function alone, cannot compete with regular motor vehicle traffic; they cannot begin to keep up with the flow. Despite that, there are ever-expanding numbers of bicyclists attempting to do so on city streets, not biking in the bike lanes, but pedaling madly away down the middle of streets and arterials, trying to act as if they are the equivalent of cars, and that they can handle being out in the middle of traffic.

However, they cannot compete with traffic, and have no business putting themselves and motor vehicle drivers at risk. We have the mayor, the City Council and the aggressive bicycle lobby to blame for having foisted upon motor vehicle operators, and bicyclists included, this sense that "bicycles are cars, too" and they should be given carte blanche to pedal wherever their hearts lead them, including down the middle of motor vehicle lanes.

The accident is not surprising, and most certainly not the last. The city is not holding residents in good stead by giving bicyclists a false sense of entitlement to the road, not to mention the fact that it impedes the normal and safe flow of traffic. This is one more misguided urban policy that the city has failed to think through.

Elizabeth Campbell
Seattle

WOMEN IN POLITICS

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Writer neglects to mention Hansen, Ray and senators

Jo Ann Davidson's Thursday guest column on women in politics is a classic case of revisionist history.

Since when did Rep. Jennifer Dunn replace Gov. Dixie Lee Ray and Rep. Julia Butler Hansen, among others, as pioneer women in Washington state politics? Didn't Ellen Craswell run for governor, too?

There was no mention of the fact that we currently have two women senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and a woman governor, Chris Gregoire.

I can only assume Davidson is either ignorant of the history of political women in Washington state or is trying make it look as if only Republican women were the pioneers in local politics.

Donald M. Peterson
Chelan

U.S. GOVERNMENT

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Bush policies recall a much earlier George

On the Fourth of July, I re-read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety because I am appalled by the doings of my government. Many of the faults the colonists levied against George III are and have been part of the current King George and his Bushies.

When I see gorgeous, triumphant fireworks like I saw over Lake Union, I want to be able to revel in what they represent, not have a hollow, painful feeling of alienation and loss in my gut, as I did that night. We are not doing things right in the U.S., my fellow Americans.

I want my country back.

I want it once again a nation of laws, practicing humanity, justice, morality -- the magnificence that can be America -- that has been America in the past -- extended again around the world.

Until that happens, I want every published newspaper to display a banner, front page, below its name, of the numbers of American dead in this misbegotten war -- and the numbers of Iraqi dead.

Until that happens, I want every American to know how many Iraqis flee their country every single month, becoming refugees, because of the actions of our government. Enough is too much. Globally, we are failing daily.

Linda Kerr Stores
Seattle

CHILD ABDUCTED

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Front-page stories might help find girl

I am truly horrified that the P-I has chosen to bury the stories about the child in Tacoma who was kidnapped on July 4. This little girl's life may hang in the balance of people in this area being aware of her abduction and the description of the kidnapper.

Why is this not front-page news? How did the P-I arrive at the decision that alerting the public to an urgent need for its assistance is far less important than a story about "Obama Girl"?

Rebecca Wilder
Seattle

THE VICE PRESIDENT

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Cheney not out of line in declaring his position

For all the liberals who are hyperventilating about Dick Cheney's statement that his office is not an executive office position, please note that when asked to define the authority of the vice president, the Justice Department concluded: "The vice president has no constitutional or statutory responsibility as an executive branch officer." And this was in 1994 under Bill Clinton.

Also, a little research will show that "The vice presidency was an afterthought for the Constitutional Convention, put into the document in order to provide for orderly succession without resorting to election of someone from Congress to fill the vacancy. The vice president is not a member of either the executive or the legislative branch. Constitutionally, the vice president is not a subordinate of the president, who has no power to issue orders to the vice president and who cannot remove him from office."

A check of the Constitution will show that the VP has no official role listed in the executive branch other than being first in line to succeed the president if required.

I would think that our Democrat representatives in Congress would know better, but they too are nothing but Bush/Cheney haters.

Rob Shafer
Port Orchard

LOBBYING

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Campaign for candidates who vow to run 'clean'

As a community activist, I am grateful for Chris McGann's research into lobbying dollars spent in Olympia (July 2). "These are your unelected officials in a way, because they are so influential ... in developing, passing or killing bills," said the Center for Public Integrity.

We seem to be divided into two camps: those of us who realize that our democracy is for sale to the highest bidder and are too discouraged to do anything about it, and those who are so angry that they feel they must do something about it. I'm in the latter camp.

This unwarranted power means we won't have health care for everyone because health care providers, insurers and Big Pharma are collectively the biggest gorilla in Olympia ($3.7 million spent this year).

The public can take back the campaign process by funding it for any candidate who wishes to run "clean," using a few tax dollars -- about $6 apiece -- in exchange for not raising private, special-interest money.

The real benefit (in Maine and Arizona) is a true citizen legislature where campaign time is spent listening to candidates rather than dialing for dollars. Please ask legislators to support public campaign financing at all levels in our state.

Sarajane Siegfriedt
Seattle

TRANSPORTATION

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Ride-free is sure to take cars off the road

As marketing director of Denver's Regional Transportation District in 1978, I observed and analyzed firsthand the effects of ride-free on a city comparable to Seattle.

All the defects cited by ride-free critics did in fact occur: Buses were swamped, timetables became works of fiction and vehicle maintenance almost collapsed.

At the end of the day, however, nothing Denver has done before or since -- including light rail -- has been nearly as cost-effective in stimulating new ridership.

Former Metro transit director Chuck Collins incorporated the lessons from Denver in his ride-free proposal several years ago.

He suggested reducing fares incrementally to allow Seattle's transit system to prudently absorb increased passenger traffic in phases, as well as upsizing fleet assets correspondingly to handle additional growth as fares continued to drop.

Collins was by far the best transit manager Metro ever had. Too bad no one's listening.

Hil Hornung
Bainbridge Island