Letters to the Editor

PATTY MURRAY

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Senator one of the few, the brave, the rational

I was surprised by the Thursday letter from Anthony Vicari. He incorrectly states that Sen. Patty Murray "voted for the illegal, immoral war in Iraq and has never apologized." Not true.

Murray was one of the few, the brave and the rational who voted against the war in Iraq. Vicari should read Murray's speech on the floor of the Senate before that historical vote.

Eric Dickman
Burien

Letter writer mixed up the Democratic vote

In his Thursday letter to the editor, Anthony Vicari stated that Patty Murray voted for the war in Iraq. This is incorrect. While Sens. Hillary Clinton and Maria Cantwell did vote yes, Murray was one of the 23 senators who voted against the war authorization for invading Iraq.

Here is a quote from her speech at that time:

"What happens after the war? That will have as big an impact on our future peace and security. Will we be obligated to rebuild Iraq? If so, how? Our economy is reeling, our budget is in deficit and we have no estimate of the cost of rebuilding."

Murray deserves better.

Mina Wirth
Seattle

8TH DISTRICT

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Burner has a plan to end the war in Iraq

There is nothing muddy about the connection between the five-plus years of Iraq debacle and the U.S. economy except your reporter's story and the U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert spin upon which it is based in part ("Plan to end war may not help Reichert's rival," Thursday).

Unlike the Bush/Cheney/Reichert crowd, Darcy Burner has a plan to end the economic and human disaster that is Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) and the near trillion-dollar price tag that Reichert has approved by his votes at every opportunity he has faced the past 3 1/2 years. And what does Reichert say to this rational analysis? The surge is working.

No, look at the reality in Iraq and at the unconstitutional, habeas corpus-free prisons in Baghdad, Guantanamo and Bagram that Reichert supports with our tax dollars by his vote for the Military Tribunals Act. And Reichert's other economic brainchild: Make the Bush/Cheney tax cuts for the super wealthy permanent so that they neither have to send their children nor their money to support these awful and expensive policies.

We of the 8th District cannot wait to send Burner and the responsible plan to the other Washington so we can get our children and our tax dollars working for us and them again.

David Hasbrook
Bellevue

DEMOCRATIC POLITICS

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Old regime not keen on Obama's new ideas

About 60 years ago, some Japanese scientists performed an experiment with a tribe of wild macaque monkeys. Its results help to explain the division between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supporters.

The scientists provided the monkeys free rations of sweet potatoes and wheat. Unfortunately, the rations were mixed with sand.

Eventually one of the monkeys -- Imo -- discovered that she could clean the potatoes by washing them.

Slowly the other monkeys learned this behavior. Imo's second great discovery was that instead of picking out the wheat grains by hand, she could separate them from the sand by dropping the mixture into water: Sand sinks, wheat floats. Again, most of the monkeys adopted this method.

But the old monkeys refused to change. Like monkeys, like people.

What is dividing this country is an age issue. Obama has sparked the imagination of young people who have never voted or cared about politics because they know that our leaders don't listen to them or care about their wishes or interests. Electing a Democratic House hasn't helped. Young monkeys want a piece of the action; they want to revitalize our nation.

It won't be easy to change the direction of the U.S. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are trying to generate crises that will prevent the next administration from taking any steps that lessen their cronies' profits and power. But Obama's slogan "Yes We Can!" offers the best hope in sight to defeat the old monkeys.

Susan and Robert Stanton
Seattle

Obama-Clinton team would focus on McCain

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton should agree to share the ticket now. That would give the majority of Democrats what they would like and unify the Democratic Party. They could agree that deciding who is the vice presidential candidate could be decided at the Democratic Convention. It would allow us to focus on defeating John McCain.

I'll support either one of them once nominated but, like a lot of Democrats, I'd like to have both of them in the White House.

Jack Erickson
Mill Creek

Stubbornness is not always a good characteristic

An interesting trio of visuals came together this week:

Hillary Clinton vowing to "fight on," ignoring the damage she is doing to her political career and the party.

The five-year anniversary of George Bush and the "mission accomplished" sign, for a war he has continued to wage while ignoring all costs to the economy, our military and our standing in the world.

The 63rd anniversary of V-E Day, for a war that might never have happened had the governments of Europe not been so eager to ignore and appease all of Adolf Hitler's bellicose actions.

Given the seven-plus years we've had with George Bush, would anyone really want another leader (Clinton) who doesn't know when to quit or to accept reality?

Anne-Marie Davidson
Bonney Lake

BICYCLES

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Riders need to light up the night to be safe

Regarding a Thursday guest column, I am all for making roads safer for bicycling, but I am perplexed by the number of cyclists who ride at night and do not even have so much as a reflector on their bikes, let along blinking lights. Together with dark clothing, they are essentially invisible at night while cruising the streets.

Reflectors and lights seem like essential equipment for nighttime riding -- whether in a car or on a bike. If there is a good reason for not using them, I would like to know what it is. I can't help but wonder how many of the cycling deaths involved night riding without lights or reflectors.

I'm happy to share the road, but bike riders need to share some responsibility in making themselves visible at night.

Jackie DeVincent
Seattle

SPECIAL ED

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Positive ripple effect comes from teachers who care

In response to Wayne Grytting's Tuesday guest column saying the state doesn't care about special education students, I'll never forget the skill and patience Lorna Dunsdon gave to her special education students at Cedar Way Elementary School in Mountlake Terrace.

I've seen similar teaching, love and care given by Debbie Silence to some special needs adults at the Mountlake Terrace library over a few years. The word "special" is defined as "uncommon, noteworthy, particularly favored, unique." We always need to be reminded that those among us who seem to be weaker are indispensable and deserve to be treated with honor.

It's easier to speak or write this than to put it into practice at times, but well worth the effort. On the page opposite of Grytting's article, Thomas Friedman quotes Special Olympics Chairman Tom Shriver: "Hope alone is not enough, but it's not trivial. It's not trivial to inspire people to get up and do something with someone else." Grytting's students have displayed their ability to learn many things and will continue to do so, and Grytting himself has painstakingly believed in their abilities, inwardly bled for them and has spoken out on their behalf. I applaud his efforts; he is succeeding.

A groundswell of love, sacrifice and progress may not always be immediately measurable, but it is rarely (if ever) without considerable fruit, and usually triggers a steady ripple effect that's undeniable.

Steve Goodman
Mountlake Terrace

IMMIGRATION

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Some forget there is a good side to patriotism

Interesting quote attributed to Jeff Johnson, of the Washington State Labor Council, referring to those U.S. citizens who oppose illegal immigration as "nativists" (April 30 P-I). I always thought of myself as a patriotic (in the good sense) American who believed in the rule of law being applied to all areas of citizenship.

I continue to be amazed at the extremists (left and right) who label those who disagree with tenets of their fringe belief systems with names intended to imply the labelee is lacking in some basic quality (i.e. intelligence, compassion, patriotism).

Can't we frame this as some citizens objecting to granting rights (other than human rights) to noncitizens who have illegally entered our country?

Greg Filzen
Everett