Dear Watchers

Dear Watchers:

The petition letter from http://www.JohnKerry.com (“Rove Must Go”) illustrates too well the problem with the Democratic Party and U.S. politics today. The problems we face are not just one of Karl Rove’s innumerable dirty-tricks. Our problems cannot possibly be solved by asking Bush to “fire one of his staff” as Kerry suggests.

It is time to acknowledge the total corruptness and malfeasance of the entire Bush/Carlyle/Neocon regime. Their self-serving arrogance has left more than enough evidence of corruption, lying and profiteering to bring criminal charges to the bench. Our country has been gutted to their ends, and hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured, based on their lies.

Due to election tampering, media manipulation and propagandistic lies, Congress has now been stacked to where impeachment is impossible; and we are left with judicial inquiry as our last resort.

We cannot survive three more years of this corrupt regime, while waiting for moderates and conservatives to recognize the obvious, and for political change to evolve. We don’t need to “Ask Bush to Fire Karl Rove.” We need the entire Bush Gang sent to jail for crimes against the U.S. people and crimes around the world.

For the Democratic leadership to weakly “request” that one staff member be “fired” illustrates their total abdication of total responsibility as an effective opposition party.

John, if you ain’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

Dear Watchers:

I am outraged that Joseph Edward Duncan III was allowed free after repeated sex crimes and then kidnapping the Idaho girl, Shasta Groene, and presumably killing all of Shasta’s family except for her father and another older brother.

It shows again that neither the registered sex offender program nor our justice system is protecting us. Our jails and prisons are so over-crowded that many convicted of other crimes are not sentenced to prison time, and overworked police make no effort to catch many criminals wanted on warrants.

What is filling our jails and prisons? It is our illegal drug policy, which we continue year after year with no evidence of reduction of illegal drug use. On the contrary, meth labs are increasing.

The first step in solving a problem is to admit what the problem is. I submit that one part of the problem is that we are a nation addicted to legal drugs to make us feel better. One can seldom listen to commercial television for an hour without ads by the multi-billion dollar legal drug industry promoting legal drugs. It’s only a small step from legal drugs to make us feel better to illegal drugs to make us feel better.

Whatever happened to the guts to live a clean life?

We’re happy to report that Ken Ryan of the Bagelry provided funds for our August County Council voting reports. Thank you, Ken! He joins Jonathan Block of A.G. Edwards, who continues to provide funds for our City Council voting reports. Terra Organica has offered a trade-out credit for a Port of Bellingham voting reporter. We feel honored that the community backs our efforts.

Whatcom Watch is looking for a person to cover the port commission meetings. Commissioners have two scheduled meetings a month, the first and third Tuesday at 3 p.m. Whatcom Watch only covers roll call votes and most of those occur at the first meeting. We can’t pay for this position; instead, we offer a credit at Terra Organica. Each vote listed in the paper will receive a $5 credit. For the first six months of this year, Whatcom Watch listed 73 votes at nine meetings. Sixty of the votes took place at the first meeting of the month.

On another note, to those who read Whatcom Watch and haven’t yet subscribed, please consider sending in the subscription form on our back page. It’s easy. We need your help to continue publishing our paper.

Remember, for a $35 or more subscription, we’ll send you our sexy Whatcom Watch t-shirt. It’s a Naked Clothing hemp t-shirt, sporting a colorful and alluring George Jartos illustration.

Dear Watchers:

I find the upcoming vote on whether to add fluoride to Bellingham’s water supply a powerful example of the polarization of America. Like many, I was surprised our water didn’t already have fluoride added and originally saw those opposed as alarmists. Having taken the time to do some reading, however, I now understand why medicating an entire population through our water supply is probably not the best system of delivery and should not be encouraged, even with the best of intentions. The real issue, in my opinion, is how each side is so determined they are right, so bent on repeating their views over and over again, that any discussions which might provide fluoride for children, the main goal of proponents, is lost in the sound and fury.

Surely there must be other options, alternatives that will address the main problems (including excessive use of soda pop and other dietary problems contributing to childhood cavities) and not resort to putting something in everyone’s water. The democratic process should provide forums for such discussions, but too often in America today, there seems little hope for compromise and sane solutions.

I’m asking Bellinghamsters to imagine what is possible if we talk together sensibly. I’d like to see some group (like those informed through the pages of Whatcom Watch) schedule conversations to work toward solutions which can be embraced by everyone. I’m still optimistic we can agree on common ground and combine the science on both sides of this debate to craft a workable, cavity-free future for us all.