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The Northern Light • October 15 - 21, 2020
Letters
The Northern L ght The Northern Light is published weekly by Point Roberts Press Inc. Locally owned and managed, the company also publishes the All Point Bulletin, covering Point Roberts, Mount Baker Experience, covering the Mt. Baker foothills area, Pacific Coast Weddings annual guide, and the summer recreation guide Waterside as well as maps and other publications. Point Roberts Press Inc. is a member of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, Chambers of Commerce of Bellingham/ Whatcom County, Birch Bay, Blaine and Point Roberts and the Bellingham/ Whatcom County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors. Letters Policy The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor. Please include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters are limited to 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank-you letters are limited to five individuals or groups. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Consumer complaints should be submitted directly to the business in question or the local chamber of commerce. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published. Email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com. Publisher & Managing Editor Patrick Grubb publisher@pointrobertspress.com Co-publisher & Advertising Director Louise Mugar lmugar@pointrobertspress.com Editor Oliver Lazenby oliver@pointrobertspress.com Reporter & Copy Editor Grace McCarthy grace@pointrobertspress.com Reporting Intern Ian Haupt prpintern@pointrobertspress.com Creative Services Ruth Lauman, Doug De Visser, production@pointrobertspress.com Office Manager Jeanie Luna info@pointrobertspress.com Advertising Sales Molly Ernst sales@pointrobertspress.com
General Editorial Inquiries editor@pointrobertspress.com The Northern Light 225 Marine Drive, Suite 200, Blaine, WA 98230 Tel: 360/332-1777 Vol XXVI, No 18 Circulation: 10,500 copies
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Next issue: Oct. 22 Ads due: Oct. 16
The Editor: Recently, there has been expressed more concern for the elderly since the Covid-19 pandemic. It may be timely to establish a group to protest what other concerns this age group has. It could be referred to as ELM (Elderly Lives Matter). All members of this group have an existing condition – they were born. Most of the individuals would probably be considered “old geezers,” someone between old and dead. The following are some concerns: If receiving an enhanced flu shot is recommended, then why aren’t the shots readily available? A lot of these folks own and have lived in the same home for many years. What has become apparent for a number of these folks is they can’t afford to own the home because of the increased assessed value, living on a fixed income and hiring help for maintenance. If they sell and wish to move to a smaller home on a smaller lot, none appear to be available in Blaine. The need to travel some distance for medical issues becomes a problem. The loss of the ability to drive requires public transportation and for some, this is new and scary and requires a considerable amount of time. Friends help but they’re not always available. It is imperative the proposed medical facility is constructed in Blaine. An ELM protest march might be a first and unique. The distance would be no more than one block. Porta-potties would be in abundance. Aid vehicles would be required in order to hold the march. Some of the participants might have unique means of transportation. But, in all seriousness, Blaine has a large population of elders (and your mother taught you to respect your elders). An effort is required to see their concerns are serious and need to be addressed. Dennis M. Olason Blaine The Editor: I have been hearing political commercials for Alicia Rule and Sharon Shewmake on my Pandora station for the last couple of weeks. I kept hearing “paid for by New Direction PAC.” Being the curious person I am, I decided to look up this political action committee. This search led me to the Public Disclosure Commission website, you can do a web search and type ‘PDC plus any candidates first and last name’ to see how much money they have raised, and exactly who and where it is coming from. This was very eye opening. I highly recommend every voter do this. These two ladies who are running to represent Whatcom County have a lot of money coming from Seattle, Olympia and out of state – most of their donations are also from unions. Why? You will have to answer that for yourself, but some of these donors are the same big money groups that tried to push into our schools the alarming comprehensive sex education curriculum that many of us fought hard to get on the ballot, instead of having it just mandated for our local children. When I looked up the contributions of the other two ladies running to represent Whatcom County, Jennifer Sefzik, and Luanne Van Werven, I saw vastly more personal donations from real local people like you and I. Do yourself a favor and know where the money is coming from for who you think you want to vote for, and ask yourself if that money represents you and your family’s interests. Does their “new direction” line up with your values and what you want for Whatcom County? Shelly Button Blaine The Editor: Over the last weeks I have seen flyers and TV ads that make false and misleading
statements about Sharon Shewmake’s position on “defunding the police.” These ads say she is in favor of defunding. That is just not true. On September 16, Ms. Shewmake clearly stated her position. You can find her statement on her Facebook page. As the Position 2 State Representative in the 42nd Legislative District, Sharon has consistently voted for budgets that fund law enforcement and she will continue to do so. Yes, she is in favor of increasing mental health resources for those in mental health crises and that is an area where law enforcement wants and needs assistance. But, more than just being pro law enforcement, she has obtained funding for Whatcom County’s Crisis Stabilization Facility. It is very disappointing to see these flyers and ads that include lies and distortions coming from a PAC exclusively funded by the state Republican Party. We need differing ideas but in these times, some choose the low road. These kinds of lies, divisiveness and political dirty tricks are not what the citizens of Whatcom County deserve. Therefore, I am calling on Sharon’s opponent Jennifer Sefzik to publicly distance herself from these lies and dirty tricks, and clearly and unambiguously disavow the PAC, the flyers and ads. Such behavior is not appropriate. Sefzik knows better. We deserve better. Truth has become a rare commodity. Sharon Shewmake tells the truth. That makes her a valuable representative for all of this county’s residents. Let’s play fair. Sue Berkman Blaine The Editor: Are you aware that Friends of Libraries groups have their own national week of recognition and celebration? They do. And United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association will be coordinating the 15th annual National Friends of Libraries Week on October 18-24, 2020. What an appropriate time to extend a huge thank you to the Friends of the Blaine Library. Their help and support through the years has been instrumental in making our library a much loved and well-used hub of the community. Back in early March, The Blaine Friends were excited to see their sizeable investment in the hiring of the Johnston Architects/King Architecture team result in a beautifully designed library building for the Blaine community. Then the pandemic hit. While disappointing indeed that the project has been put on a temporary hold ever since, the Friends continue to work in the background, busily planning next steps. As we celebrate this group of individuals who have worked countless hours – some over the course of 10, 20 or amazingly, 30 plus years – would you please consider joining their team in support of our Blaine Library? Many of you have discovered the wealth of library resources for the first time during these latest months. Others have been awaiting our building reopening, anxious for access to many of the library’s critical services. Your help will be needed more than ever as we venture in to a recovery period and face a future library project. Please consider joining the Friends of the Blaine Library today, and have fun while sharing your skills and talents in promoting the value of the public library in your community. Debby Farmer Blaine The Editor: My Biden supporter friends are not fascists. Fascist believe in a powerful central government that assumes responsibility for all outcomes and results in a utopian society. Trump supporters believe in capitalism, individualism, reduction in government
control of our lives, and know life cannot be made perfect by politicians. Fascists are militaristic. Trump supporters appreciate that he brokered Middle East peace agreements and is the only president in 40 years to not start a new war. The Trump Doctrine would no longer have America involved in endless wars that kill thousands of Americans and incur enormous debt. Fascists suppress opposition. They tell you what words you can use, overturn elections, cancel the lives of dissenters, demand allegiance to their ideology, and attack people who wear clothing or hats that express opposition support. Trump supporters believe it is wrong to make people afraid to express their beliefs and know where the road to vilifying fellow citizens leads. Fascists governments disarm civilians, making them more vulnerable to oppression and easy targets for criminals. Trump supporters are for the right to bear arms. Fascists erase and re-write history. Trump supporters do not believe controversial statues should be destroyed because they provide an opportunity to learn from our history rather than repeat it. Fascists perpetrate genocide. Trump supporters are anti-genocide. They oppose their taxes going to fund Planned Parenthood, founded by racist eugenicist Margaret Sanger, with the majority of their abortion clinics in minority neighborhoods. Nazi fascists had Aryan privilege laws that rewarded people based on race. Trump supporters are against laws that give preference for race because America should be a meritocracy. I support Trump because he built a great economy and will do so again, supports law enforcement, is getting us out of endless wars, is brokering peace in the Middle East, enacted justice reform that helps minorities, will hold China accountable and has an America-first attitude. America is great and I do not want the Biden-Harris-AOCBernie coalition to fundamentally change it. I do not think my Biden supporter friends are fascists. I think they are good people who are uninformed or consumed with a blinding hatred for Trump. Dave Berry Birch Bay The Editor: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it/America 2020. Harris/Biden administration’s America? Public knowledge that Biden will be short term. Biden wanted a woman of color. Harris’ parents are from India and Jamaica. Isn’t it “racist” to choose by skin color? Harris openly supports open borders, thus creating sanctuary cities, like Seattle, while eliminating ICE. Entering the U.S. illegally is breaking the law. Sanctuary cities say it’s OK to break the law since ‘we’ll hide you and pay for your needs’ with taxpayer dollars. Harris supports the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) to pay bail for those unable to pay. This sounds very philanthropic but the obvious fact is, any criminal who chooses to break the law should know you can be arrested and sent to jail. MFF says cash bail discriminates, is oppressive and targets folks who can’t afford bail. Once again, you break the law then there are consequences and one might be jail. Wouldn’t that fact alone be a deterrent? How many violent protesters got a “get out of bail free” card? Harris praises Black Lives Matter, a Marxist organization, and supports Planned Parenthood. Yes, Black lives matter, in fact, all lives matter. However; Planned Parenthood has more clinics in largely Black neighbor(See Letters, next page) Please send letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com no later than noon on Monday.
