To the editor:
From Newsweek columnist Anna Quindlen’s “The Last Word,” April 14: “There is only one reason to go to war, and the architects of this one (Iraq) have never come close to satisfying it. It is that you have a cause so great that it justifies asking people to sacrifice their children.”
Jim Nevermann
Langley
Superdelegates must follow states
To the editor:
Twenty big Clinton donors recently tried to bully Nancy Pelosi into saying that superdelegates should NOT let the voters decide who becomes the Democratic nominee. This is the worst kind of insider politics, and it has to stop.
Rep. Larsen has not pledged his support to either candidate.
Sens. Murray and Cantwell are still pledged to Clinton. Please write to them and ask them to immediately honor and follow the will of the overwhelming majority (two-thirds) of Washington voters and announce their support for Sen. Obama.
Sen. Obama’s candidacy has already transformed our electoral process and has inspired huge numbers of voters, including many young people and Independents, to get involved and vote. The Democratic Party has a significant opportunity to restore our country’s vision, values and leadership in the world. It will be a shame if we squander this great opportunity. Please ask your representatives to support Obama now, help the Democrats have a united convention and win the election.
If the superdelegates overturn the will of the people, the Democratic Party will lose the support of many of its members and we will lose this precious chance to restore health to our democracy and our political processes.
Robert Kenny
Clinton
Time to stop with the gender card
To the editor:
I have thought long and hard about Margaret Armstrong’s letter in the April 16 Record. And a response is necessary.
No, the citizens of America, and the media, are not anti-Hillary because she is a woman. The “glass ceiling” was broken a long time ago and those who play the “gender card” are just clinging to a sinking lifeboat.
Hillary is rejected because she comes across as insincere and sound-bite oriented. It is obvious that she can not really accomplish all that she professes to offer to the electorate. Hillary is seen as non trustworthy based on her history in Whitewater, Travelgate and now the Bosnia “sniper episode.” Hillary carries too much baggage, most definitely in “Baggage Bill” and his attack statements.
Experience is important, and Hillary’s experience as an elected official is no more that Barack’s limited experience. Eight years as first lady does not mean experience in the job as president. The White House pastry chef has been there longer and he/she is no more qualified than Hillary.
Please put your “gender card” away and concentrate on something real and relevant.
Karl Seemann
Clinton
Hillary Clinton is the best candidate
To the editor:
I’d like to thank Margaret Armstrong’s letter to the editor (April 16) regarding Hillary Clinton and her amazing race for the White House.
I have kept quiet during the past few months watching and listening, with interest, to the debates, the caucuses, primaries, cartoons and jokes while my admiration for Sen. Clinton grows. I have long hoped that she would run for the presidential seat, anyway, as
I have followed her political career as an advocate of healthcare for all (she was ahead of her time then) and women’s issues, as well as being an intelligent, female representative of the United States familiar with, and respected by, many other heads of state across the globe, a resident of the White House for eight years, and so on and so on.
Yes, I am impressed with Hillary’s intelligent mind, sense of humor, unflappable wit and confidence. She is the female role model we have been waiting for. Strong, resilient, experienced, unending and resourceful energy. My vote is with Hillary.
Marilynn Norby
Langley
Column raised excellent points
To the editor:
“Between Classes” — This excellent column by Barbara Haupt and Philip Hofius is proof that the future of our region is in good hands.
The April 19 column; “Government is eager to hand out the big money,” was filled with information presented with common sense well beyond the years of these bright young citizens. We should all take notice.
Thank you South Whidbey Record.
Mary Vaughan
Greenbank
Delivery problems rate a new rhyme
To the editor:
This poem is for you — It’s not even in “sync.”
But it does let you know just what I think!
I got up this morning
And my coffee is hot,
I go to get my Record
And it’s NOT!
At seven it’s nowhere.
How can that be?
Is the carrier just late?
Or did they just skip me?
I call the phone number.
The answering box is full.
Seems like a lot of people
Like me, have no “pull.”
Now it is lunch time
And back I go to see
If the paper’s there
It’s NOT! Woe is me!
No garage sales today!
No letters to read!
How can this business
Ever really succeed?
Why don’t they hire
A responsible carrier?
They can’t find someone?
That’s even scarier!
No one on this island
This work is willing to do?
Or is everyone working?
That’s too good to be true!
But the office tells me
When I call in the week,
It’s just for one section
A carrier they seek
So if you live on Smugglers
Cove Road or nearby
Forget about a timely paper
Just call them up
And ask “Why? Why?
Why?”
Neta Lee
Freeland
Ban would limit women’s choices
To the editor:
It has recently been brought to my attention that a huge pharmaceutical company, Wyeth, which manufactures synthetic hormones for post-menopausal women, has succeeded in petitioning the FDA to ban alternative therapy “bioidentical hormones” from compounding pharmacies in the United States.
This has huge ramifications for women in this country. We will be forced to use only FDA-approved pharmaceutical hormones, which were shown in the National Institutes of Health 2002 clinical studies to increase the risk of stroke, breast cancer, heart attacks and circulatory disease (www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/women/pht_facts.pdf).
Note: That study caused Wyeth’s sales to plummet from $1.3 billion in 2002 to $880 million in 2004. Wyeth initiated their “citizen” petition in 2005.
Estriol, estradiol and estrone are the replacement therapy hormones that are being targeted. The FDA states that they are unaware of any credible scientific evidence supporting assertions that these products are a safe and effective alternative to FDA approved drugs (which have been clinically proven to be quite risky).
The FDA does not state anywhere that Bioidentical Hormone replacement therapy is actually dangerous. Instead, what they say on their web site is: “Indirect health risks include the possibility that patients will use ineffective compounded drugs instead of FDA-approved drugs that have been shown to be safe and effective.”
Clearly, that is a false statement, since the studies have shown considerable health risks.
Women have a right to decide for themselves if alternative therapies are effective for them or not, especially if there is no evidence that they are harmful. From what I can see, this is strictly a monetary decision, based on pressure from the drug companies. Concerned citizens should take a stand on this and do everything they can to educate themselves and take action.
Joan Govedare
Langley
Our supporters deserve praise
To the editor:
Thank you to our solar community!
We would like to thank Whidbey Sun and Wind for working with us, donating their time and expertise, and guiding us step by step through the entire process. Our project would have been unachievable without their advice.
We’d like to give a big thanks to Puget Sound Energy, Bonneville Grant Foundation and South Whidbey School’s Foundation for providing us with the much needed funds.
We’d also like to thank Hanson’s Building Supply for donating time and equipment for the installation, Lance Moore Electric and Dickerson Home Inspection. Tim Economu and Kelly Keilwitz deserve as much praise as we can possibly give for their correspondence and assistance from day one.
We’d also like to give a big thank you to the community members of all ages who participated in our workshop; their enduring enthusiasm and upbeat thirst for knowledge absolutely blew us away and completed the experience. Thank you again!
Trevor Martin, Dylan Fate and Jay Freundlich
South Whidbey High School
