4 Wednesday, June 23, 2021 Columbia Gorge News www.columbiagorgenews.com OPINION The opinions expressed in the letters below are “your voice,” and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Columbia Gorge News, its staff, publisher or advertisers. YOUR VOICE Constitutional attack In regards to the H.R.1/S.1 bill, some information: Same bill is a di- rect attack on the U.S. Constitution because it: 1) Cripples voter I.D. laws mak- ing it easier for non-citizens to vote illegally. 2) Forces states to unconstitu- tionally give felons the right to vote the moment they leave prison. 3) Institutes same day voter regis- tration causing massive voter fraud and election day chaos. 4) Prevents election officials from removing ineligible voters from voter rolls. 5) Lines the pockets of politicians by publicly funding campaigns and loosening regulations on campaign expenses. 6) Strips states of their consti- tutional roles in drawing congres- sional districts and gives same to unaccountable “independent” commissions run by Democrats. 7) Abolishes your fist amend- ment right to free speech and to criticize the government. Look at Nevada for an example: A) Not legally registered ballots jammed through, required signa- ture matches ignored and ballots created after election day. B) At least 9,000 people not living in Nevada voted there, and C) More than 100,000 people were sent ballots even though they moved or were dead. If passed, H.R.1/S.1 will take the Nevada model of voter fraud and cram it down the throats of all states nationally! This evil bill is not fair nor right. Don’t let it pass, stand with these senators who are against this bill and encourage them. Bruce and Nikki Amoss Snowden EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the Nevada Secretary of State, no evidence was found to support allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 elec- tion in Nevada, as described above. What’s next Does Donald Trump, as a civil- ian, want to replace our flag? All this after a lot of veterans, both men and women, lost their lives and/or became disabled as I have! This is un-American and it hurts. Trump needs to go to another country where nobody has freedom of speech or movement. Donald Trump is only a dictator and wants to be king of all! A proud American veteran, Steve Cochenour The Dalles Misunderstood symptom For months I have been pon- dering a local lawn sign which reads “Pray to End Abortion.” In 55 years, I have yet to hear or read any pro-choice thoughts which suggest abortion is something good like a hot fudge sundae or surf and turf dinner. Abortion has been present- ed as a black and white issue as to whether or not the government has the right to tell a woman and her doctor what to do. I believe our country is looking at the issue from a completely incorrect perspective. The large number of abortions in the U.S. suggest they are merely a symptom of a much large problem. As a healthcare provider, I propose that many abortions performed in the U.S. are the result of unwanted pregnancies caused by deeper psychosocial and psycho emotional issues. Specifically, women who seek abortions have often been abused in some way. Considerable professional research suggests drug and alcohol abuse and engaging in promiscuous behavior is often tied to issues of abuse. Poor choices caused by low self-worth lead to bad results, including unwanted pregnancies. I wonder how many of the rough- ly 1 million annual abortions in the U.S. would be performed if all the religious, social, and legal efforts to eliminate them were redirected Coyote Flower A coyote looks out from a lush green field along Fifeteenmile Creek Road south of The Dalles. “They seem to pop up and bloom everywhere,” he said of the small, dog- like predators. Photo courtesy Gary Elkinton toward ensuring young women were not abused, raped or treated as second-class human beings. I bet we wouldn’t be talking about abortion. Steven Kaplan Hood River regulate local laws regarding home- less camping on public spaces. This bill would allow the homeless to camp and live on public property. It says that such local laws must be objectively reasonable as to time, place and manner as applied to homeless persons. This means that the activities cannot be outright banned or restricted! They can only be reasonable regulated as to where We were recently in Walla Walla, or when or how. This has two huge effects on cities enjoying dinner at Walla Walla Steak, celebrating our 51st wedding and counties. It allows a person to challenge the reasonableness of the anniversary. There was a table of law, and receive attorney fees if they young ladies next us, moms and daughters, attending a sports event are successful in that challenge. A challenge for cities or counties in the city. When we asked for our could be very costly in attorney bill, the waiter said it had been taken care of. After bribing her, she fees and the cities/counties ability to regulate “tent cities” such as indicated it was the ladies seated those that are plaguing Portland is next to us. I hope they read this diminished. newspaper to find out that they The term “objectively reason- made a very special evening even more special. With all the strife and able” is vague, and can be subject dissension going on in the world, it to interpretation depending on really comes down to people, who geographic locations and courts. are good everywhere. Thank you Homeless camping on public very much for your very personal, property poses a danger to nearby very appreciated gesture. neighborhoods because many of Rick Peenstra the homeless suffer with men- Kennewick, Wash. tal illness and substance abuse. Communities are forced to “put up” with the garbage, crime and bad As Juneteenth becomes a federal behavior of those who are homeless campers. holiday, it’s amazing to watch one This bill is no solution to the of the corner stones of our consti- tution in action. That all people are problem! It places yet another costly burden on tax payers and created equally. For a large part of is detrimental to communities our history, that was not the case, and neighborhoods around with African Americans enslaved and brought to the U.S. against their the state. Contact your District will. It’s something I can’t compre- Representative and Senator and hend as my family history does not ask them to vote against House Bill 3115. Lets find a better, long term include that level of pain. solution to the problem of home- Continuing to live up to the ideals of those enduring words “All lessness, substance abuse and men- are created equal” will only make tal illness that doesn’t endanger the us stronger and more cohesive as livability of cities and communities a nation. There’s still a lot of work across Oregon for the majority of ahead but it’s good to celebrate our Oregonians. Representative Anna shared victories. Williams District 52, 503-986-1452, It’s frankly one of the most patri- Senator Chuck Thomsen District 26, otic things I can imagine to be able 503-986-1726, Representative Greg to see the federal declaration of the Smith, 541-676-5154. Kari Goben Juneteenth National Independence Cascade Locks Day Act. I’m not fully sure how to commemorate the day yet other than to continually educate myself to the complex history of African Americans in the U.S. This letter is to respond to the Black Lives Matter! May 19 paper that raised concerns Avery Hoyt about the PAC (Political Action White Salmon Committee) that Heidi Parr formed when she ran for Hood River County School Board. The author was concerned that Residents of Hood River, Wasco by virtue of having a PAC, that and Sherman county, take note! Parr was controlled by “outside Oregon House Bill 3115 is being interests” and that these interests considered by the Legislature to Good people everywhere “should not bring their agendas to our schools." Oregon law requires that any candidate that runs for office is re- quired to form a PAC if they exceed $750 in campaign contributions or expenditures. The fact that Parr simply complied with Oregon law (did her opponent?) has nothing to do with origins of her support or outside agendas. If the writer is really concerned about PACs and their influence on the school district she need look no further than current school board member Chrissy Reitz. Chrissy maintains a PAC (Chrissy for Oregon — Orestar) that has a balance of more that $24,000. Its left over from her unsuccessful run for State Senate. The PAC was funded by a myriad of outside interests, including tens of thousands of dollars from teacher unions. Does this special interest slush fund influence Chrissy’s actions on the board? Could it have been a contributing factor to the generous Take note Missing birds? For the first time in memory all the little birds that visit our feeder in Odell have disappeared for the last six weeks. Are others noticing the absence of little birds (sparrows, chickadees, goldfinches)? What has Continued next page Want to write a letter? Created equally Political funding contract that the board just ne- gotiated with district teachers? A contract with significant pay and benefit increases for teachers who remained employed during the COVID year, while our local private sector experienced finan- cial distress due to shutdowns and restrictions? Maybe the letter's author will join me in requesting that Chrissy Reitz dissolve her PAC while she sits on the school board to remove the appearance of outside influences bringing their agendas into our district. Rick Larson Hood River Columbia Gorge News encourag- es readers to submit letters to the editor for the weekly opinion page. Letters on all topics are welcome. Writers must include their name and hometown (for publication) and daytime phone number (for verification, not for publication). Letters from an agency or group must be credited to the author or a contact person. Anonymous or “name with- held by request” letters are not accepted. Letters must be 350 words or fewer; generally, the briefer the message, the better. Opinion pieces longer than 350 words may be published as a guest commentary at the discretion of the editor. Letters are published as space allows, and efforts are made each week to provide as much space as possible. Deadline for letters is noon on the Friday prior to publication. We reserve the right to edit all letters: Letters must be civil. Vulgar or inappropriate lan- guage will not be considered, nor Regional news for the Gorge malicious, false or misleading statements. Letters attacking an individual, rather than an opinion, are not acceptable. Letters criticizing a particular business over a particular com- plaint or grievance will not be considered. The opinions expressed in letters are “Your Voice,” and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Columbia Gorge News, its staff, publisher or advertisers. Letters may be submitted online at www.ColumbiaGorgeNews.com: Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Submission Forms,” then select “Letter to the Editor.” NEW — Letters also may be sent via email to Letters@ gorgenews.com. Or mail your letter “attention editor” to any of the Post Office boxes listed at bottom of this page. 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