Letters to the Editor, Week of March 6, 2024

Editor,

Please join us in voting “Uncommitted Delegates” in order to stand in solidarity with the Immediate Ceasefire Movement and to hopefully spark an Open Democratic Convention this August. This primary election is the only chance we have to choose whom our delegates may vote for at the Democratic Convention. The “Uncommitted Delegates” option allows us to vote for the party but not bind our delegates to any one candidate. This enables delegates to vote for the best nominee in the party, one they believe can campaign energetically and lead us to victory in November, rather than confining delegates to any one candidate. And, it is the best protest vote option we have to send an unambiguous clear message to the president that his support of the slaughter of tens of thousands of Palestinians has to end — now!

While write-ins may feel good, they are discarded and are neither strategic nor constructive. Your voice and vote get silenced by ending up in a trash bin.

Let us come together and demand that the Democratic Party does better! Our choice does not have to be “old” or “evil.” This is our one and only opportunity to share our strong collective voices to proclaim “no more.” Just say “no” to Joe by voting “Uncommitted Delegates” in the Washington Democratic Primary on March 12.

Kristina and Mike Heintz

Bellingham

Editor,

Growing up in Hamburg, New York, the birthplace of the hamburger (It is. I did the research; lived a half mile from the county fairgrounds where it was invented), I’d say that Mark Saleeb’s review of local burgers (CDN, Feb. 20. 2024) is well done (!) if a bit constrained on the criteria.

While there’s no accounting for taste, for those seeking diversity, I suggest a lamb burger with blue cheese, though lamb’s pricey and not offered much on town menus. Alternately, it would be grand to see roast beef on weck (Kimmelweck, that is — a hard roll with carraway seed and coarse salt), another Buffalo-area delicacy that, unlike wings, hasn’t flown this far west, yet. Or what about another fairground favorite: hot Italian sausage with fried peppers and onions on a hard white roll? 

For vegans, portobello with mozzarella is as juicy as any ground meat burger.  Who’s got the best black bean burger? Or salmon burger? Or crispy chicken sandwich? Anybody?

Take Saleeb’s advice. Avoid the chains.

David A. Czuba

Sedro-Woolley

Editor,

Riley Sweeney, at one point, seemed to contribute something to the community through his work for the City of Ferndale as communications officer. He was a game spokesperson and seemed to be involved with interesting initiatives that were well-publicized.

Then, as CDN readers on Sept. 22, 2022, may recall, he shared some mixology tips about a disgusting discharge from the Ferndale Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Nooksack. Said Sweeney, “You could put a cup there and drink what comes out of it, if you wanted to. It’s actually cleaner than the river water it’s going into.”

Later, CDN’s own B. Hammer was right to challenge Sweeney to actually drink this concoction, which I don’t recall him ever doing, but I’ve wondered ever since if this peacocking isn’t what landed him the ABC Recycling gig. If he’d actually consumed the water, he might even be a public relations executive at Boeing today, explaining to us how a door plug isn’t really necessary for an enjoyable, in-flight experience.

Mr. Sweeney, grab the pen from over your ear, write down the number that would purchase back your dignity, and perhaps the county residents affected by the purveyor of Canadian metal detritus that employs you will be willing to start a GoFundMe — so you can quit embarrassing yourself.

Chris Resor

Vancouver, Clark County

Editor,

It was a bit hilarious but predictable to read Eugene Robinson push half-truths and outright lies in his screed against Donald Trump, concerning Trump talking to a group of Black conservatives. Of course, along with these fabrications, he also left out the fact that [former President Donald] Trump has been a friend to the Black community right up until he decided to run for president, which then caused crazed leftists — like Robinson — to scream racist!

For instance, he received an Ellis Island award along with Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali. I just watched a video from years ago when Jesse Jackson thanked Trump for helping his organization by giving them a building for free. And there are many other examples.

One of the lies was that Trump called neo-Nazis “fine people.” Other than the neo-Nazis and Antifa, there were quite a few other people at Charlottesville and some of them wanted the statue removed and others did not (probably for historical reasons).

Shortly after talking of “fine people on both sides” Trump also said, “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally.” For some strange reason, the ‘ole dinosaur media, the Democrats and the left (but why repeat myself?) decided not to tell you that part.

Why would that be?

Allen Peterson

Bellingham

Editor’s note: Trump’s full comments, made at a news conference in August 2017 in the wake of a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and subsequent death in a counter demonstration by an assailant driving an automobile through a crowd, were broadly reported by national media at the time.

Editor,

Having had the pleasure of leaving the madhouse of America for a couple of months, coming back is like stepping back into a bad made-for-TV political/sci-fi/horror show. Except not just one conservative mind has flown east or west, all have apparently flown over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

The viciously debilitating mental illness ravaging the Republican party has not abated with their devilish messiah more bat-guano inclined than ever and the rest of the party seemingly frozen in something akin to a mass epileptic absence seizure.

Everywhere one goes outside the country, formerly supportive allies lament how far off the path America has fallen, except in dark places like Russia, Syria or Iran where they are in gleeful reverie over our plight.

While Paxlovid is doing wonders for COVID-19, this hideous MAGA virus is in dire need of a vaccine/treatment/therapy/miracle to jolt cognitively impaired pachyderms back into something close to reality. But anyone with a functioning brain is lying if they don’t worry it may have already metastasized beyond reversal.

Michael Waite

Sedro-Woolley

Editor,

Have you been left behind by your society? Do you harbor grievances and look for a savior who is sympathetic to your cause? Choose carefully. Watch out for this familiar pitch.

Make me your dictator and I will be your retribution. Let me remind you who your enemies are: immigrants, educated elites, Joe Biden, Democrats, RHINOS, judges and prosecutors who want to hold me accountable for my criminal acts, people who want to take your guns away. I’m still the legitimate president and therefore above the law. I will remain president for the rest of my life, so get used to it.

Who are my friends and allies? Vladimir Putin, Kim Jon Un, members of Congress who take orders from me, judges who delay my trials until after the election, rioters who tried to find and hang Mike Pence, people who buy my stuff, foreign “investors” who support my businesses, all those who bow down and worship me.

According to the Bible, Satan offered Jesus the world but Jesus turned him down. Look what happened — he got crucified. Don’t be a sucker. Load up your AR-15 and join the movement to Make America Great Again — Again.

R.I.P America.

Mark Ashworth

Bellingham

Letters to the Editor are published online Wednesdays; a selection is published in print Fridays. Send to letters@cascadiadaily.com by 10 a.m. Tuesdays. Rules: Maximum 250 words, be civil, have a point and make it clearly. Preference is given to letters about local subjects. CDN reserves the right to reject letters or edit for length, clarity, grammar and style, or removal of personal attacks or offensive content. Letters must include an address/phone number to verify the writer's identity (not for publication).