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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 13, 2022     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 13, 2022
 
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GUEST Washington can’t wait By League of Women voters of Mason County all it climate change, ' or global warming: we are seeing the effect of carbon we put into Earth’s at- mosphere with our industrial emissions, traffic and razing of tropical rainforests. Warm- ing is coming far more quickly than scientists predicted even a few years ago. Top climate scientists are studying the relationship be- tween global warming and extreme weather. Consider what we have seen in recent months: I Multiple tornadoes I devastated the Great Plains and upper Midwest. The Dec. 15 tornado that left a 223- mile path of destruction re- sulted from the nation’s first December derecho, an ultra- strong storm system with “unprecedented access to very warm, humid air that flows northward,” the National Weather Service said. I The announcement that the demise of the West Ant- arctic Thwaites Glacier poses ' the world’s biggest threat of sea-level rise. The ice shelf . that’s holding it back from the ever-warmer ocean could collapse within three to five years, raising sea levels by nearly feet, scientists reported Dec. 13 at the Ameri- can Geophysical Union’s fall meeting. I Eighty-nine large wild- fires in Washington. The .Northwest Interagency Co- ordination Center reported that 2021 saw more. and ear- lier fires than 2020. The fires burned 3,346,713 acres in two Seasons. That’s 5,230 square miles burned. I A deadly heat ddme in late June that brought three days of temperatures in West- ern Washington ranging up to 1 10 degrees. We can let fear and worry paralyze us or we can respond proactively to protect our planet from further climate disasters. ‘ One of three Washington “can’t wait” measures before the 2022 legislative session, Ho'use Bill 1099, would re- quire the state’slargest and fastest-growing counties and the cities within them to re- duce greenhouse gas emis— sions and vehicle miles trav- eled.-It would require entities covered under the Growth Management Act to plan for climate change mitigation and resiliency in order to address the adverse effects of climate change on people, property and ecological systems. The League of Women Voters of Mason County sup- ports the Washington Can’t Wait initiatives, which also include full funding of House Bill 1220 to ensure housing equity, and passage of Senate Bill 5042, designed to close the “vesting loophole” in the Growth Management Act so counties cannot expand urban Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 Shelton-Mason County Journal Page A-5 growth areas into farmland L ,. and natural habitat. We can- not afford to lose more farm— land to urban sprawl, and we need to maintain forests to sequester carbon.- The League of Women-Vot- ers believes climate change is a serious threat to our na- tion and our planet, and that individuals, communities and governments must continue to address the issue. Our elected officials and leaders at the 10- cal, state, national and global levels must take the need for carbon emission reductions and climate resiliency seri- ously. Each of us has a carbon footprint that we can choose to ignore or choose to reduce. We can act individually and together to stop our planet from changing beyond recog- nition, beyond livability. and thunderstorms that continued from page Do it for Betty White Editor, the Journal, For anyone who is not dialed into Twitter, on Jan. 17, which would’ve been Betty White’s 100th birthday, as a tribute to Betty White, people are asked to contribute to the local animal shelter of their choice in her name. It’s called “The Betty White Challenge.” She was known for her love of animals and this will be a wonderful tribute to her legacy. So, I just wanted to let every- one know that Shelton has both a cat/ kitten rescue and a no-kill dog shelter that could use your donation. Won’t you please join me? _. How to make a donation to the cat/ kitten rescue: . kittenresq.net/checks-or-cash. The Adopt-A-Pet Dog Shelter: adoptapet—wa.org. Adopt—A-Pet also has a special medi- cal fimdraiser in progress right now, as all dogs taken in receive medical care to restore their health before they are put up for adoption -— including resolution of skin conditions, restoration of weight, surgery to repair broken bones, just to name a few. Medical care in was expensive, so they can really use your help. Adopt-A-Pet also has a Facebook presence (adopt-a-pet of Shelton Wash- ington) that can. receive donations. Betty White was truly a national treasure. Let’s make her proud and d0- nate to one of these very worthy local animal rescues in her name. Shari Bray Tahuya Arizona vs. Washington Editor, the Journal, The Seattle Times recently had a front-page story headlined, “COVID has killed 10,000 in state.” read the ar- ticle and studied the enclosed charts and graphs. The story was very sobering as it described the last two years of the pan- demic and its effects on our state. It just so happens that had recently saw 'a “factoid” about the number of CO- VID deaths in Arizona being at 23,000 in that state. wondered why there was such a large difference in the COVID death numbers between the two states. Both states have about the same population, million. Both states each have their ownfully running COVID ca— sinos. Essentially, COVID is still COVID in each state. In the first half of the pan- ’ demic, everyone knewto mask up, social distance, quarantine, wash hands fre- quently, avoid large crowds, and do the contact tracing. In the second half, we got vaccines to go along with the do’s and dont’s of the first half. doubt that the virus likes to kill more people with sun tans (Arizona) than those who don’t have sun tans (Washington). What is the root cause reason for the 13,000 difierenée in COVID deaths be— tween the two states? I finally started to zero in on the reason. believe is has to do with state government leadership in each state during the. course of the pan— demic. Washington has a Democratic governor and a Democratic state legisla- tive majority. Arizona has a Republican governor and a Republican state legisla- tive majority. Historian John Barry stat— ed that in a pandemic, “People of author— ity need to speak the truth concerning the pandemic and not manage the truth concerning the pandemic.” feel that for the last two years, Washington authorities are basing their COVID decisions on science (truth) and thatArizona authorities are basing their COVID decisions on political ideology (managing the truth).Briefly, will state a phrase from the Declaration of Inde- pendence and from the preamble of our . Constitution. “... Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ...”and “... promote the gen- eral Welfare ...” respectively. A person needs to be alive to have liberty and to chase happiness. So life (being alive) is a prerequisite to these other two men— tioned rights. Sometimes governments need to step in to help “promote the gen- , eral welfare”of the people like building a water-treatment plant, schools, helping in a natural disaster, funding research for vaccines or in a pandemic issuing ‘ mandates telling the people what to do or not to do in order to stay 'safe. Arizona has taken a course during the pandemic based on individual rights. Essentially saying to wear a mask, or wash hands, or get vaccinated is an indi- vidual personal decision and not a state mandate. ask you the readers, is this policy telling the truth or managing the truth in relation to COVID? Washington has taken a course during the pandemic based on science for guidance. Essen— tially using existing first-hand pandemic .' scientific data to chart a decision-mak- ing course, using mandates. to help en- sure the safety of the people. ask you the readers, is this policy telling the truth or managing the truth in relation to CO- VID? Both approaches try to helpthe people but which approach really helps prevent‘the loss of life from COVID? The Arizona approach is flawed in that it has a total reliance on people’s rights and the belief that the people will always do the correct thing in the pan- demic. For the last two years, all of us have been playing in the COVID casino Journal Letter Policy The Journal encourages original letters to the editor 'of local interest. Diverse and varied opinions are welcomed. We will not publish letters that are deemed libelous or scurrilous in nature. All letters must be, ' signed and include the writer’s name, address and daytimephone number, which will be used for verification purposes only. All letters ‘ are subjectto editing for length, grammar and clarity. Toc’submit a letter, email editor@ma‘soncounty.com, drop it off at 227 W. Cota-Stfi, . .or mail it to PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. and all of us have made decisions for ourselves and others to game or actu— ' ally gamble with COVID. The people of Arizona using their right of self-deter- mination have gamed and gambled with COVID and an extra 13,000 are now CO- VID dead. The Washington approach is also flawed in that there is a belief that people will not do the correct thing ever dur- ing a pandemic. Therefore, Washington has pushed COVID mandates on people to provide for their general welfare whether the people wanted the mandates or not and. not letting the people make their own choices. Essentially the people in Washington were told by mandates notto game or play in the COVID casi- nos and as a result there are currently 13,000 living Washingtonians that can bitch and moan that their rights have been abused. can guarantee you that there are 13,000 families in Arizona that really do not give a damn about pandemic politi- cal personal rights and that they’all wish their family member was alive and well and with them today. People, stay smart. Better yet, stay alive. Earl W. Burt Bremerton One year later Editor, the Journal, One year ago, the Washington, D.C., riot occurred. All 574 riots over the last two years were wrong; many caused deaths and property damage. To Demo- crats and left-wing media, riots were just antzfa and BLM expressing their political anger; damage and deaths were unfortunate. I - , However, the DC. riot was the second coming of Pearl Harbor and a replay of I 9/11. President Joe Biden said this riot was, quote “under the gravest of threats as the Constitution, our Constitution was under attack. Dems plan changes to election laws, eliminate the Electoral College, pack the Supreme-Court all by sleight—of-hand rather than votes even though our Constitution says “no.” Do Democrats approve of Biden’s policies?Are 2,000,000 illegals corn- ing across our border, unvaccinated, unmasked, uninvited, including MS-13 gangs and Middle Eastern terrorists good with you? Perhaps Biden’s open borders allowing human trafficking and drug smuggling is OK even though the leading cause of death of the crowd is drug overdose from fentanyl smuggled from Mexico? Possibly you liked the way Biden abandoned Afghanistan, leaving 1,000 Americans behind, but bringing home dead American warriors? With no thought of taxpayer money, Biden aban- doned an $80 billion airbase and all equipment. Do you love inflation? Maybe it’s a lack of goods as over 100 ships wait unloading? You probably like Biden’s shutting down schools; it was good for the kids, socially and academically. I’m sure Dems approve Biden’s Build Back Better; especially hiring 87,000 new IRS agents; obviously Biden believesmost of us are tax cheats. With Biden’s lead, many big-city prosecutors now refuse to prosecute offenders of many crimes. The common factor? Rather than equal justice under law, Biden ignores some ' laws. Instead of democratically inspired legislation, he orders mandates. His goal is Marxism; his boogie man is Trump; his hero is Saul Alinsky (“Rules for Radicals”). Do Democrats have buyer’s remorse? ’ Analyzing the lefi’s lack of response to all of Biden’s failings shows their reasons for silence. Many disagree with Biden but haven’t the guts to say so. Many agree with me but are too afraid to say 50. Democrats, will you write a letter agreeing with me; will you write a letter supporting Biden’s screwups; will you write a letter attacking me personally; or will you get a beer and turn on the Cartoon Network? Ardean Anvik Shelton Correction 1 The Mason County Auditor’s Office will conduct it’s Risk Limit- ing Audit of the Feb. Special Elec- tion on Feb. 10. An incorrect date was listed on Page 8 of the Special Election Voters Guide.