{"id":102778,"date":"2009-12-24T13:57:38","date_gmt":"2009-12-24T18:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattletimes.nwsource.com\/html\/northwestvoices\/2010587494_reviewingholidayheadlines.html?syndication=rss"},"modified":"2009-12-24T13:57:38","modified_gmt":"2009-12-24T18:57:38","slug":"reviewing-holiday-headlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/102778","title":{"rendered":"Reviewing holiday headlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enjoying an overly politically correct Christmas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Irv Sutley\u2019s maneuvering to get stars removed from Christmas trees has gone too far [\u201cStar that resident found offensive is removed,\u201d News, Dec. 23].<\/p>\n

Not only has he diminished Christmas for San Francisco residents by forcing them to consult with attorneys, Sutley has incurred California taxpayers an expense they cannot afford with their already insurmountable economic problems.<\/p>\n

How long will it be until we all start receiving notices to remove Christmas ornaments from our windows because they are visible from public streets? How long will it be until these anti-Christmas and anti-Christian meddlers succeed in banning Christmas altogether?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just a matter of their finding the right legal interpretation of the already misunderstood First Amendment to the Constitution.<\/p>\n

This is the first time I have become disturbed enough over this issue to feel the need to push back. I haven\u2019t decided yet what action is necessary or appropriate, but I will be giving the matter some thought.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Scott Wall, Vashon<\/em><\/p>\n

Hollywood films destroying U.S.? No, hypocrisy is<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks to Mark Miloscia for his astute analysis of the current U.S. predicament [\u201cA brand of self-interest that is unsustainable,\u201d Opinion, guest commentary, Dec. 21].<\/p>\n

I was under the impression that our problems stemmed largely from Reagan and Clinton-era deregulation, corporate-owned politicians, and a growing plutocracy due to an increasingly regressive tax system.<\/p>\n

Who knew that it was actually due to not enough people being married and all of us watching too many Hollywood films.<\/p>\n

Now, what a curious thing it is that Miloscia, who clearly recognizes the value of wedded couples, voted against the everything-but-marriage act, and is opposed to gay marriage.<\/p>\n

When you sanctimoniously pontificate on how we, the people, are failing, and then you make that kind of hypocritical contradiction, you have lost the argument.<\/p>\n

He then closes his missive with the phrase \u201cWith God\u2019s help, we\u2019ll do better!\u201d<\/p>\n

I have a different suggestion: With reasoned judgment, progressive public policy, and an active, educated voter base, we\u2019ll do better.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Coulter Leslie, Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n

Stormwater sample resembles dark drip coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Randy Shuman\u2019s quote, \u201cOil\u2019s effect is much more toxic, by orders of magnitude\u201d in the article \u201cBig sewage spill, lesser impact\u201d [NWSunday, Dec. 20] helps capture the bigger water-quality problem \u2014 stormwater pollution.<\/p>\n

Millions of gallons of petroleum wash into our lakes, rivers and Puget Sound when it rains, releasing toxic substances that threaten our health and environment.<\/p>\n

Just last week, during the first rains after a weeklong dry spell, I collected stormwater from an Alaskan Way Viaduct downspout. It was equivalent to drip coffee in color, containing grit and suspended particles.<\/p>\n

Petroleum perhaps? Most likely, since petroleum products account for about half of all stormwater pollution.<\/p>\n

City and county governments are required to complete stormwater projects, but don\u2019t have the funds to complete them. That means higher property taxes, utility rates, and fees on developers.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Rein Attemann, Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n

Biking his way into the new year<\/strong><\/p>\n

As an avid bicyclist, I enjoyed reading \u201cMaking America\u2019s largest cities safer for bike riders\u201d [Seattletimes.com, Editorials \/ Opinion, Neal Peirce syndicated column, Dec. 20] and agree that we really need to improve our roads to properly and safely accommodate bikes.<\/p>\n

In Europe and elsewhere, bicycle riding is ubiquitous and a stress-free method for cheap transportation that can dramatically reduce our demand for imported oil, greenhouse-gas emissions, noise and accidents \u2014 especially in the congested areas of our cities.<\/p>\n

Bicycling also improves the general health of our population.<\/p>\n

However, unlike in Europe, many members of the driving public are not respectful of or careful around bicyclists \u2014 and sometimes vice versa. Penalties need to be stiffened, and the laws enhanced to ensure better safety and mutual consideration as bicyclists and motorists share the roads.<\/p>\n

We do need to construct wider bike lanes with a better margin of safety, and perhaps build more biking and walking trails to separate pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists altogether whenever possible.<\/p>\n

All in all, this is an investment that will benefit our society greatly.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Pravica, Henderson, Nev.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enjoying an overly politically correct Christmas Irv Sutley\u2019s maneuvering to get stars removed from Christmas trees has gone too far [\u201cStar that resident found offensive is removed,\u201d News, Dec. 23]. Not only has he diminished Christmas for San Francisco residents by forcing them to consult with attorneys, Sutley has incurred California taxpayers an expense they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102778\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}