Letters to The Editor: September 22-28, 2022

Posted

The Editor:

Rank choice voting is a farce that benefits the incumbent and Democrats. Alaska is a perfect example of how the system is rigged. The Republican vote was split so now a Democrat is running against a RINO (Republican in Name Only) Republican for U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans don’t have much of a choice.

Look at the Whatcom County voting. I threw away the voters’ pamphlet so numbers may not be exact. There were at least twice as many Republicans as Democrats on the voters’ pamphlet and ballot. So the Republican vote is split more ways. According to the total votes as reported by your newspaper, the Republicans were getting more total votes but few representatives.

Some people make excuses for a rigged system such as rank choice voting. What happened in the Whatcom County primary ranked voting system is a perfect example of what is wrong with the system. Let every party select their representative to appear on the ballot. Competition is good.

Bruce Kay

Birch Bay

(Editor’s note: Washington, like every other state with the exception of Alaska and Maine, does not have a ranked election system. Instead, for partisan races, it has a Top Two primary system whereby the two candidates who received the highest number of votes advance to the general election. It can be, and has happened, that two candidates both belonging to the same party advance to the general election.)

The Editor:

Spontaneous abortion, also known as a miscarriage, is the loss of a pregnancy without outside intervention before 20 weeks’ gestation and affects up to 20 percent of recognized pregnancies. 

Spontaneous abortion can be subdivided into threatened abortion, inevitable abortion, incomplete abortion, missed abortion, septic abortion, complete abortion and recurrent spontaneous abortion. Chromosomal abnormalities are causative in approximately 50 percent of spontaneous abortions; multiple other factors also may play a role, including ectopic pregnancy. 

A woman I know of lost a baby at 15 weeks (the fetus had died a week before) and was hospitalized with massive hemorrhaging. Her choice was to go back into labor hooked up to transfusion, or a dilation and curettage (D&C). At a Catholic hospital, two doctors discussed treatment, in front of her. Having delivered her first baby by Caesarean section after 42 hours of hard labor, she did not want to have to deliver a dead fetus after more labor.

A nurse counseled her to cry for her loss saying that only one out of six conceptions actually ends in a healthy live birth. The word abortion is a word of loss, only a very small percentage of losses are due to mechanical intervention. Please help women and their doctors make decisions protective of a woman’s, and ultimately, family health.

Ruth Higgins

Blaine

(Editor’s note: The medical term spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage, is the loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks’ gestation. However, the layperson or common use of the term “abortion” usually refers to induced termination of a pregnancy, whereas miscarriage is typically preferred for spontaneous loss.)

The Editor:

Please don’t be afraid of “MAGA” Republicans. We just want to Make America Great Again – that’s MAGA spelled out. We want secure borders, safer streets and criminals held accountable. 

Why is our President scaring everyone that MAGA Republicans are a threat? Don’t we all want to feel safe going shopping or walking or even driving on the streets. Why is our President calling American citizens terrorists and threats to our democracy? 

I wonder how many people in America listen to CNN/MSNBC and other stations and worry that some MAGA Republican will hurt them or start a war in America? We are simply your neighbors, concerned about the path our President is leading America down.

Why isn’t the President calling attention to the countless criminals and the deadly drug cartels that are flooding America with illegal and deadly drugs? Do you realize how many young people are killed every day with fentanyl-laced drugs coming across the southern border? 

Sadly, our President put out the “Welcome” sign, but didn’t ask to see any identification. Don’t you have to show ID to cross the U.S./Canada border?

Anne Freeman

Birch Bay

The Editor:

In 2015, I remember this headline: “Whatcom County seeks to build a new jail – $100 million.” We were told the jail was full and we needed a bigger one. We started asking questions, “Who is in there? How did they get there?” 

I became driven to find answers. I’d guess that what I’ve since learned would astound you. There are definitely some people who do terrible things with no regard for humanity, who should be kept away from regular society. And there are plenty of people who make serious mistakes like driving drunk, who need a wake-up call and a dose of accountability.

But it might surprise you to also know that for many, asking the question of how someone ended up in our jail leads to their earliest years of childhood. When a child receives safe and loving care before the age of 5, they are far more likely to be successful by almost any measure in life, and much less likely to end up using government social welfare programs or ending up incarcerated or homeless. There is even a significant connection between third grade reading levels, literacy and those who end up
incarcerated.

It is clear that when children get the best start possible in their earliest years of life, our entire community benefits.

I didn’t expect that my advocacy for criminal justice reform would lead me to early childhood and preschool – but after all of my asking why, I believe that at a local level, we have to say yes to strong support for our youngest children if we ever want to see a change in our jail being full and our growing homeless population.

That’s why I’ll be voting “Yes” on Proposition 5: The Healthy Children’s Fund on my ballot this November.

Heather Flaherty

Bellingham

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  • Crypticfeed

    Anne:

    The real natives of this land never put up a welcome sign! They also couldn't control the inevitable outcome.

    Also, regardless of fentanyl-laced drugs or any type drugs as long as there is a demand from American's, yes, American's create the demand, whether for medical use or not they will always find a way to find relief or feed into their addiction.

    One President or one person can't control someone's else personally responsibilities. Many folks make their choices for better or for worse and many not know or accept the consequences.

    Thursday, September 29, 2022 Report this


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