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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 23, 2023     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 23, 2023
 
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Page 4 Shelton—Mason County — Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 I " Keeping an eye on skater girl and child without judging, but it can be a liberating activ- ity. Be the observer. Drop your ego, shut up, turn off the sensors that require you to criticize. Let a scene play out in front of you. Watch. Listen. Here’s a scene I wit- nessed some summers ago: A woman who looked to be in her mid-20s was standing at the entrance to a cross- walk on a downtown street around dusk. I was in my car, stopped at a red light, when the woman caught my atten- tion to my right. The woman bore a full backpack, she had a beverage in one hand, and one foot was on a skateboard while her other foot was awkwardly try- ing to propel the board as she entered the crosswalk. On her left hip, she balanced a child, maybe 2 years old. The woman was trying to It’s hard to watch humans 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, physical address and daytime phone number, which will be used for verification purposes only. All letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. KlRK ERlCSON THESE TIMES work out how to balance her load. She repositioned her foot on the board, moved the child higher onto her hip and bent her standing knee more. Her position looked wobbly. My parental eyes wid- ened, and I feared she’d fall and the child would be hurt. I imagined the beverage, perhaps coffee, spilling and burning the child. I imagined calamity. I watched. The woman figured out the balance and a quarter of the way across the intersection, her pushing foot went onto the board and she began to roll easily to- ward the curb. In an instant, she went from ungainly to gainly, like 'a kite that had just caught the wind. The air puffed up the bangs of the child’s hair, and the child glowed. She rolled up the curb cut and stepped off the board ef- fortlessly. The light turned green, and I turned left, driv- ing slowly to the next inter- section so I could keep an eye on the pair. She alternately pushed the skateboard with her feet along the sidewalk and rode it to a bus stop, where she stepped off the board, dropped her backpack, and put down the child and her beverage. The child climbed on the skateboard and scooted along the sidewalk while the wom- an stretched and ensured the child didn’t go astray. The light turned green and I went. My initial take was this woman was endangering a child. I didn’t give her credit that she could do what she was trying to do. And here’s the thing about such criti— cism: It’s often hypocritical. I was sometimes accused of putting my own two —— now grown - children at risk, but I knew it was behavior I could do safely and that my boys would enjoy. But to some, it looked dangerous, just as the woman on a skateboard with a child looked dangerous to me. I stewed when people ac- cused me of being reckless with my children, and that woman on the skateboard likely heard similar sermons. (For the record, just one of my boys ever had an emergency room visit, and that happened with a babysitter.) I can hear the tut tuts. There are obvious cases where a parent puts a child at unnecessary risk. Those cases do require judgment and ac- tion. But we’re not talking about that here. We’re talk- ing about instances of paren— tal acts — a woman holding a baby while riding a skate- board, a father holding a son upside’down by one leg — that exist in a gray zone, where there’s a likely potential for fun and a less-likely potential for harm. Instead of seeing a woman imperil a child, I couldhave instead seen a woman show- ing a child a wonderful time on a summer evening. I Email Kirk Ericson at kirk@masoncounty.com LElTEll'S 10 THE annan Marxist Democrats" Editor, the Journal, Democrats and politics are difier— ent today. Democrats embrace woke politics and critical race theory social issues. Their textbook is “Rules for Radi— cals” from America’s leading Marxist, Saul Alinsky Alinsky’s rules were meant to change politics. Democrats believe America has social issues so use Alinsky’s rules to fix these problems. Marxists use these rules to cancel our Constitution. Defund the po- lice is an heir to the violent Marx— ist movement when anti—war protesters threw bags of feces at returning Viet- nam veterans rather than protest politi- cians who funded the war. Democrats march locks'tep with Marxists. Here are three of Alinsky’s rules“ First rule: “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.”VGood citizens protest cops rather than politicians who set police policy, judges who practice turnstile justice, and prosecuting attorneys who advocate no-bail laws. TVand print reporters show the violence and looting of protests, implying everyone agrees with protesters. Naive Democrats can ’t see that they’re being played by the ‘ - Marxists. Third rule: “Whenever possible, go outside the experience of your enemy.” Marxists attack our justice system claiming bail laws are racist. Prosecu- tors and judges release looters faster than store owners can clean up the Sinitonillaamtnuutn lloumal uses 492-800 POST MASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason County Journal, P.0. Box‘430, Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by the Shelton-Mason County Journal at 227 W. Cota St, Shelton, Washington. Mailing address: PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone: 360-426—4412 Website: www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid in Shelton, Washington. mess. Thieves are repeat ofi’enders, not poor people stealing bread. This enriches career criminals. It’s not pro— mating justice. Gullible Democrats ac— cept violence, promote bail reform, and replace cops with social workers, but it ain’t working. Fentanyl deaths, murder statistics and open borders are proof of Democrat injustice. Fifth rule: “Ridicule is man’s most important weapon.”Biden calls Re- publicans MAGA terrorists. Democrats won’t debate issues. Facts are their en— emy; truth is our ally. Letters to editors often attack writers rather than poli— cies. An Agate reader wrote a snarky letter using lots of big words proving only she owns a dictionary and a the- saurus. She claims she rarely reads op- posing letters. Is she afraid of facts, log- ic and truth?A wise person would read and respond factually to unfriendly let- ters rather than hide. Watch responses to this letter as proof of rule No. 5. Republican Nikki Haley is run— ning for president. Unlike President Joe Biden, she’s experienced in foreign policy as ambassador to the United Na— tions. Unlike Biden, she has leadership and executive experience as governor of South Carolina. Unlike Biden, she would face disasters like the chemical spill in Ohio or spy balloons head-on. Unlike Biden, she will close the borders and stop the illegal importation of fentanyl. Unlike Biden, Nikki has principles, brains, integrity and guts. Unlike Biden, she’s honest, experienced, intelligent, responsible, courageous and articulate. Owned and published by Shelton—Mason County Journal, Inc. The Journal is a member of the Publisher: John Lester Advertising: , Theresa Murray, Ad Representative She’s reminiscent of John F. Kennedy, when Democrats had honest politics and honorable candidates. As a point to ponder, a Marxist assassinated JFK. Ardean Anvik Shelton Regulations save Editor, the Journal, There is a small town in Turkey called Erzin that was about 70 miles from the recent tragic earthquake epi- center. Residents and officials say Erzin suflered no deaths and saw no buildings collapse in the powerful temblor, and they credit a long-standing determina- tion not to allow construction that vio- lated the country’s building codes. There was some damage to buildings, but again no deaths or injuries. civil servant worker ofErzin said everyone knows that they live in a ma- jor earthquake area. He cited the insis- tence of the current mayor and previous ones not to allow buildings that failed to meet construction codes of the country" to be put up. He also said that whenever officials realized there were buildings that had been illegally built, they would get them taken down. He also said some of the local people living in the illegally built buildings were really mad about having them torn down. But he said the mayor held firm, knowing that a major earthquake could come one day. And it did. Front office: I Dave Pierik, Office Administrator Karen Hranac, Customer Service Washington Newspaper Publish- Delivery: ers Association. Newsroom: Jon Garza Justin Johnson, Editor David Olson SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Gordon Weeks, Reporter Niel Challstrom $79 per year ($55 for ‘six months) for Mason County addresses and $99 per year ($70 for six months) outside of Mason County. Single issue price $2.00 Matt Baide. Reporter Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter Kirk Erlcson, Columnist/ Proofreader Shawna Whelan, Photographer Composing room: Kim Fowler, Advertising Design Linda Frizzell, Advertising Qesign Building codes, seat belts, smoke detectors, COVID vaccines mandates, drinking water watersheds, no lead in paint, no more use of PCBs, recalls on dangerous toys or swings, sewage treatment plants, building codes for bridges, availability of MSDS sheets for hazardous materials, septic tank regulations, wearing safety glasses and hearing protection and full protection gear, food inspections for eateries, mo- torcycle helmets, speed limits on streets and highways, vaccine requirements ' for school children, sprinkler systems in buildings, fire code stairwells in build- ings, fire alarms in buildings, and the list just continues and continues about controls for industry and individuals. When people and contractors and politicians play games with building codes and safety regulations people will get hurt and some will die. I want to commend the mayor and previous may— ors of Erzin, Turkey, for standing firm about the building codes in their town. . It took courage and moxie to go against the greedy and the powerful and the corrupt to have the building codes 'en- forced. And as a result of their actions people in their town did not get hurt or die. People, please stay vigilant that our building codes and public safety requirements are being followed and enforced. Earl W. Burt Bremerton :22; LE1TERS, page 5 Creative Director: Lloyd Mullen All regular editorial, advertising and legal deadlines are 5 pm. the Monday prior to publication. To submit a letter to the editor, email editor@masoncounty.com. Officehours: 8 am. to‘5;p.m.r «Monday to‘Tnursday. Closed Fridays, Saturdays. Sundays, and major holldays.