Letters to the Editor

CHECKPOINTS

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Governor wants to defy constitution

So Gov. Chris Gregoire wants to submit everyone to unconstitutional searches by proposing an end run around that pesky state constitution. Not so smart.

Instead of proposing a feel-good law with a lot of fluff and little real bite, how about just putting some teeth in our existing laws? Try mandatory jail time for firsttime drunken driving convictions with escalating time for successive convictions with no exceptions. How about mandatory civil forfeiture laws for the vehicle you are driving for convictions of drunken driving, driving with a revoked or suspended license or driving with no insurance irrespective of who owns the vehicle?

How about real-time requirements that give law enforcement access to all insurance companies' databases of insurance coverage insuring Washington residents to check for active status of insurance, just like they now have for driver's licenses? How about tying real-time insurance company databases with the state vehicle licensing to revoke the license tabs of vehicles for owners who do not have or drop insurance coverage?

I am tired of paying more for uninsured or underinsured insurance than my liability coverage costs. All to cover the irresponsible and reckless crowd you now protect with our current laws which have little bite.

How about it, governor? Laws with real teeth or just more of the same feel-good fluff? And by the way, November is fast approaching.

Brian Kohn
Snohomish

PEDESTRIANS

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Drivers, walkers must put safety first

I agree with James Hanson (Wednesday letter) that joggers (and bicyclists) should wear reflective gear at night, and I'm betting that most of them do. If pedestrians are walking in dark, rainy or unlit conditions, they should be aware that the visibility of drivers may be limited, and do their best to take measures to protect themselves. But how can it be that a woman on her lunch break is run down in a crosswalk in broad daylight?

If the city of Seattle's proposed pedestrian master plan becomes a reality, lives may be saved by the implementation of some innovative ideas to protect pedestrians. But drivers must be educated that driving safely is not a choice, but a requirement to be behind the wheel.

I hope that is emphasized in drivers education courses; I'd like to think that future generations of drivers will know enough to slow down, leave their cell phones in their bags and keep their eyes on the road.

Amy Hines
Seattle

520 TOLL

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Don't trust 'dedicated funds' promise

It's interesting to read that Gov. Chris Gregoire is proposing to set a toll on the 520 Bridge to raise and "save" collected fees to replace the span sometime in the future. The money would be funneled into the state's general fund where it would be "saved" to be spent only on the 520 Bridge replacement project. Right!

Let's see -- where have I heard this proposal before: Oh yes, it was in regard to the payroll taxes dedicated to the Social Security fund, which is now going broke because Congress cannot be trusted not to spend anything it can get its hands on for some pork barrel project other than its intended use.

Also, did I not hear that with the nickel and the subsequent 9-cent increase in the gas tax that siphons $7 to $10 in gas tax with each and every fill-up that the 520 Bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct would be built and now we are being asked to pay tolls too on a "trust-me" basis. Our gas tax is now the second-highest in the United States. Congestion relief is this state's least priority. Trust us, indeed.

Gary L. Kennedy
Des Moines

CLIMATE CHANGE

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It's the biggest threat to mankind

I commend the Seattle P-I's editorial staff for the excellent Jan. 4 editorial "Washington Legislature: It's time for action." Climate change is by far the biggest threat ever encountered by humankind. Clearly, human activities have accelerated natural climate change that has occurred periodically throughout history. Such acceleration is now beginning to increase exponentially because of the myriad positive "feedback" loops in the ecosystem (e.g., melting ice provides less ice to reflect the sun's rays, thus allowing the ever-enlarging surrounding Arctic Ocean to absorb even more of the sun's heat, thus producing even more warming).

Soon the U.S. will join international efforts and provide sorely needed leadership to the betterment of the world and future generations. Policies must continue to be put in place that provide incentives and identify the true costs (no more "externalizing" the costs of energy by ignoring the resulting pollution, health effects, and CO2 emissions) of burning of ancient fossil fuels.

Yes, lifestyles will have to change with the biggest emphasis on energy efficiency and conservation. Our processes and lifestyles are incredibly inefficient, so there is tremendous amount of "low-hanging fruit" we can pick to get started in the right direction to a sustainable and prosperous future.

Peter Rimbos
Maple Valley

BARACK OBAMA

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Lincoln didn't have experience, either

I'm undecided about the Democratic presidential nomination and believe we all benefit from the split results in Iowa and New Hampshire.

But I tire of the critique about Sen. Barack Obama's lack of experience. Far more than conventional preparation, the early 21st century presidency, at home and abroad, may well call for someone of mixed heritage, raised in multi-religious and multi-ethnic settings, who took distinction at Harvard Law into south side Chicago community organizing before entering politics, whose "life choices" seem increasingly mature, and who inspires younger (potential) voters.

There's more promise for greatness, desperately needed, in this profile than in the D.C. years that sap the passion and compromise the integrity of some with longer seniority. The nation was not badly served a century and a half ago, the last time a tall, thin, unconventional, rather obscure lawyer from Illinois reached the presidency.

Milton Krieger
Bellingham

IMMIGRATION

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Story tells truth, but not whole truth

The recent article by Julia Preston (of The New York Times) about the goal of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify and deport 200,000 "immigrant criminals" is disingenuous. It gives the casual reader the impression that all or most of these criminals are legal immigrants, when the facts show that the vast majority of "immigrant criminals" are actually here illegally. I am disgusted (but not surprised) that the quote by the "expert," sociology professor Ruben Rumbaut, sings the praises of how law abiding immigrants really are.

He is telling the truth, but not the whole truth. I agree totally that legal immigrants are more law abiding than the average citizen, but to pick that group of citizens who commit the most crimes in our society (i.e. men between 18 and 39), is dishonest. If one would actually compare apples to apples, and look at the crime statistics for this same age group of illegal immigrants, one would see that the results are reversed.

Allen Rogers
Vancouver

PORT OF SEATTLE

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Rogue public agency has run amok

Bart Simpson says, "I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, you can't prove a thing." To this the Port of Seattle has added, "I won't do it again." The port is a rogue public agancy that has run amok for years.

The port is run by elected public officials who have defined rules and responsibilities for their conduct and regulations and laws to follow. They pick and choose which laws to obey and which to ignore. They do this based upon their own priorities and self-interest.

The one defining characteristic of the Port of Seattle has always been arrogance. Again they have chosen the path of defiance, disregard and disrespect of the public and a complete lack of public responsibility in respect of a state audit.

The Legislature is the only body that can do anything about this out-of-control agency. I call upon the state to rein it in.

Stuart Creighton
Normandy Park

DELAYED DREAMLINER

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Clue: Parts are 7,000 miles away

I read with dismay that once again the "target date" for delivery of Boeing Dreamliner is delayed (Thursday).

At the onset, for productions of our new Boeing concept airplane of the future -- the B-787 production problems were imminent when high-level management preplanned outsourced airplane parts to countries abroad, namely to Italy and Japan, about 7,000 miles from the Boeing main assembly line in Everett. Why?

Major problems of delays were compounded by the e-mails, telephone calls and futile attempts in dispatching Boeing engineers eyeball to eyeball with their counterparts at those sites in attempts to correct their incompetence of job descriptions from management level to lowest subordinates.

What was the overall objective to the outsource movement? A 13-year-old assembling a scooter could figure that out. What a way to run a railroad.

Albert J. Buscio
Seattle

WAR IN IRAQ

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Forming good government a failure

Excuse me for paying attention to those pesky details, but while it's wonderful that fewer Americans and Iraqis are dying, wasn't the main purpose of the surge to, again, give the Iraqi politicians of all sides the time to come together to form a fair government?

But the Iraqis are no closer to good government. From my view, the surge is a failure on its most important point.

Richard B. Ellenberger
Normandy Park

Bush and Cheney have own scenario

After the latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, the lies about weapons of mass destruction didn't work like they did in 2003. Now President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney figure on trying out their own Gulf of Tonkin scenario in the Strait of Hormuz. If that doesn't fly, maybe a U.S. battleship will mysteriously explode in the strait ala the USS Maine incident before the war with Spain.

Historically, wars of imperialist aggression have always depended on fabricated confrontations, as we have painfully re-learned with the Iraq war. Now Cheney-Bush want war with Iran oh so badly. With a year left for those two in office, they will have plenty of time to achieve their insane goal. We must impeach them for that reason, if not for their dozens of other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Impeachment is the remedy for Bush-Cheney, handed down to us by the Founders. This cure for what ails our country was not added to the Constitution as an afterthought, but as a mandatory tool to peacefully remove criminals from elected office as opposed to using a guillotine to rid the nation of anti-constitutionalists.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says that the enlightened solution of impeachment is "off the table." If Cheney-Bush are allowed to serve the remainder of their term after miring the country in wars of their own making, it is guaranteed that Pelosi will be known as "the one who let them get away."

Jack Bolton
Seattle

War talk made bitter by election

The rhetoric surrounding the Iraq war and the "impending" war in Iran has become bitter in light of the approaching national election.

I feel there is no reason to be bitter, but inspired.

Eight-eight plus years ago the Irish Republican Army brought, at that time, the world's greatest imperialist power to its knees.

As did Korea and Vietnam, Iraq is showing the world how to resist U.S. imperialism. However, only the American people can stop it.

Sean Delaney
Kent