Letters to the editor for Aug. 9

Golden oldies from the GOP

Golden oldies are getting a lot more airtime from the Republican juke box, now that election season is here.

“Democrats will take away your guns,” they say. No, they won’t. You must pass a driver’s test and have insurance to legally drive on the road. Why not test the right to be a gun owner with registration and background checks?

President Trump’s administration is petitioning the Supreme Court to abolish the Affordable Care Act during a pandemic. If he succeeds, 22 million will lose their health care. I wonder how many of the 22 million are Republicans who hate Obamacare but love the Affordable Care Act?

Mail-in ballots should be a national standard, like universal health care and background checks. Some states, like Washington, and the military already vote by mail. Trump’s administration votes by mail then says foreigners could copy ballots and cheat. Gee, Mr. President, just ask Russia, Ukraine and China to help during your re-election campaign. Oh, I forgot, you’re already doing that. I guess that’s not cheating, that’s “winning.“

So stay tuned and don’t touch that dial as these and other Republican greatest hits gets played ad nauseum.

David Cahill, Olympia

Another Sea-Tac?

In his book “Future Shock,” Alvin Toffler envisioned a world in which rapid change made people go insane. I was reminded of this when I read of the proposal to build a Sea-Tac-size airport north of Littlerock.

Why do we need another airport? Because, we’re told, “projections show that the state will need twice the capacity for air travel by 2050.” Really? How do we know this? Because our “planners” say so. Does this then become irrefutable law?

If we believe that, we need also to pay heed to Stein’s law: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”

In our desire to travel, to transport ourselves and our goods from here to there, we have polluted Earth. We have damaged her delicate global shield, the atmosphere that protects us. She is getting hotter. The time when we could do something to help her out has passed. Her weather patterns are changing in ways we do not fully understand. We don’t know if she will continue to tolerate our presence. There are growing signs that she may not. She will go on, we may not.

Rather than accepting that we “will need twice the capacity for air travel by 2050,” we should work to transform society such that we won’t need another Sea-Tac. Anywhere.

Earth is crying out for help; we’ve ignored her health and well-being far too long. We’ve ignored her cries for help and we ignore her future to our peril. This insanity must end.

Delwin D Fandrich, Olympia

I am not ‘a sheep’ but here’s who I might be

As a local area sheriff said about wearing face masks, “Don’t be a sheep.” I agree with the sheriff’s words, but not with his reasoning.

Wearing a mask does not protect you, it protects me, and my wearing a mask protects you. Who am I, the one you will be protecting? I am the caregiver to the third-grade teacher you had who helped you turn your life around. Or maybe I am the first responder that saved your wife’s life when she was hit by a drunk driver. Maybe I am the retired doctor that delivered your granddaughter. Or maybe I am the nurse who helped your father when he had a heart attack.

Then again, I could be the teacher that your son, who is so excited about starting the first grade, will have. But he will only be able to go to school if we can get this virus under control.

I encourage you to follow the sheriff’s words “don’t be a sheep.” Think about the people in your community that are important in your life. Wearing a mask demonstrates that you are not a sheep, but that you have joined with others to show you are a loving, caring responsible member of the community!

Burt Sarver, Lacey