Letters to the editor for March 7
Treat the pandemic as a war
We have lost more Americans to COVID-19 in one year than we lost in four years of World War II and yet politicians are still not treating this pandemic as war.
In Gov. Inslee’s Jan. 18 press conference, he introduced industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, of Kaiser Permanente fame, as having built Liberty ships during WWII, some even here in Washington. That’s right, Kaiser and a host of other shipbuilders built Liberty ships all over the country to meet war-time demand. When Boeing could not meet the demand for B-17s, they collaborated with Douglas Aircraft and Lockheed to boost production.
After WWII, when Russia shut our supply corridor to West Berlin, the Allies launched the Berlin Airlift that supplied the Allied controlled part of Berlin with food and fuel through the winter of 1948-1949.
Compare that with today. COVID-19 vaccine is produced in only a couple places in North America with production lagging. Logistics of distribution are atrocious with a winter storm shutting down distribution and resulting in the cancellation of numerous vaccination sites here in Washington.
If vaccine makers can’t meet production targets, they should collaborate with other pharmaceutical companies the way Boeing did with the B-17. If commercial carriers are shut down by weather, bring in the Air Force — they land planes in Greenland, Alaska, and on the ice in Antarctica. How many doses of vaccine could be delivered by a single Globemaster at Joint Base Lewis-McChord?
It’s time for politicians to think outside the box so they don’t keep us boxed in.
Michael Riley, Olympia
Why people listened to Rush Limbaugh
Re: “Conservative Talk Radio Provocateur Dies At 70” written by Robert D. McFadden and Michael M. Grynbaum in the New York Times on Feb. 17.
The Left just didn’t get Rush Limbaugh. Even in death Rush couldn’t escape the left-wing hate. Mr. McFadden’s was just another hack job on someone who had accomplished much. Like most liberals, McFadden didn’t understand Limbaugh.
Unlike most pundits on the left, Limbaugh didn’t put himself on a pedestal. Rush always talked about his listeners, his audience, not his fans. Rush understood that not everyone who listened to him agreed with him, and yet they listened. People listened to Rush because he was entertaining, he was different, he was informative. Rush always appreciated his audience. Rush offered a conservative point of view that the Left just could not abide. Rush displayed his great sense of humor, something the Left are lacking.
Mr. McFadden failed to mention Limbaugh’s philanthropy. Rush was generous with his money. Rush raised and gave away millions of dollars to multiple charities. Also not mentioned was the series of children’s history books Rush put out to help correct the left-wing propaganda being fed to our children.
McFadden compares Limbaugh’s show to others, the fact that Rush had no side kick, no staff of writers. Exactly. When you listened to The Limbaugh Show, you got Rush, and he was talking to you. People didn’t just listen to Rush because they agreed with him, they listened because he was good.
Jack T. Moore, Lacey
Invest in sidewalks so people with disabilities can get where they need to go
I live in Lacey and use the bus and paratransit service. There often aren’t adequate sidewalks at bus stops, and so it’s dangerous to roll on and off for me as a wheelchair user. Sometimes I’ll have to get into the street to get on or off the bus, which is dangerous.
I believe that the sidewalks are in much worse repair in Washington state than other places I’ve lived. One example of this is the sidewalk near the entrance to the Capital Mall. There’s a tree that has uprooted the sidewalk there, and it makes the sidewalk so dangerous that I sometimes go around the block to get in the mall. If you hit a bump that you weren’t aware of because it was hidden on the other side, your chair could really jolt and cause serious injury.
And the lack of lighting at night makes it even more dangerous, since I’m not able to see cracks and bumps in time to avoid them.
We also need to make sure public transit can get us where we need to go, recognizing that it’s the only transportation option for many of us. I would like to see more transit systems adopt a “zero fare” approach like Intercity Transit, so that the cost of a bus pass isn’t a barrier for people who need to get places.
As our elected leaders discuss how to invest in our transportation system, I want them to consider the needs of people who can’t drive.
Mitchell Chong, Lacey