by Dick Pilling | Oct 18, 2023 | Letters to the Editor
You know, I’m really getting tired of our elected representatives’ inability to function as… well… our elected representatives. And all members of congress, irrespective of party, are equally responsible.
Quite frankly, their continual blame-gaming, scape-goating, and attention-seeking posturing looks like an attempt to avoid making the hard decisions required of a mature governing body and, truly, this is nothing less than a dereliction of duty and a disservice to the electorate.
The most important of these “hard decisions” include those required to fund those government functions that ensure that the administration performs to the benefit of the citizenry and, sadly, this is not happening. In fact, if they don’t get off their collective butts, the government may shut down.
After some thought, I formulated a plan that would compel them to focus on the nation’s problems and develop logical solutions in a reasonable time instead of simply preening and posturing before their supporters.
Firstly, temporarily relocate all 535 members of congress to a large field, house them in military pup tents, provide them with a large communal tent in which to conduct the nation’s business, and allocate them 3 sandwiches and a gallon of water per day.
And, also, grant them access to 50 porta-potties.
After a week of congressional non-action, half of the porta-potties will be removed and, shortly after that, I suspect that the budget will pass.
But, if it takes longer than that, we’ll know what our politicians are full of … both figuratively and literally …
by Dick Pilling | Jun 26, 2023 | Letters to the Editor
Sometimes I am just in awe of the smart people that are employed by the current administration. I only wish that, occasionally, they would share some of their wisdom with me.
Like, upon what rationale do the smart people base their self-assured assessments that we, as a country, per executive order, can eliminate our reliance on the internal combustion engine (ICE) in favor of zero emission vehicles by 2035 at which time “all new privately-owned light duty vehicles sold being 100 percent zero emissions.”
And, further, that “all privately-owned light-duty vehicles with ICE engines will be phased-out and will be replaced with 100 percent electric vehicles by 2050.”
These smart people must know that, currently, there are approximately 278 million vehicles in the U.S. (as of 2021, forbes.com) and we would need to generate up to 50 percent more power if they were all converted to electric and, of course, this number will increase in the future as vehicle production is now trending up (usafacts.org).
Of course, these smart people must know that more than a million new public charging stations will be required to keep the projected quantities of EVs on the road (here.com/learn/blog/us-ev-charging-stations).
Moreover, these smart people must know that, even without the added burden of these additional charging stations, America’s power grid is ever more unreliable and struggles to provide the energy currently required and operators are warning of imminent “rolling blackouts” (Wall Street Journal, fee.org).
Looks to me that our transportation infrastructure — and our electrical grid — is increasingly at risk.
But I am not one of these smart people
by Dick Pilling | Feb 26, 2022 | 250 Words, Letters to the Editor
For the past 35 years, nearly every U.S. president has given a State of the Union speech attesting to the fact that the state of our union is strong.
And then provided examples of how strong it is and, unsurprisingly, tried to take some personal credit for this state of strength.
I suspect that President Joe Biden will, in the spirit of past such addresses, make similar assertions, but I am not sure what examples of strength he will be able to cite and seek recognition for.
Maybe he could speak to our booming economy, but he can’t, because it ain’t — unless you favor inflation, now at a 40-year high, and skyrocketing prices.
And it would be great if he could cite how crime has decreased, but he can’t, because it ain’t.
In fact, statistics reflect that crime, particularly violent crime, is spiking in cities across the country.
Perhaps he could point to the U.S. being energy independent, but he can’t, because it ain’t.
Of course, it was for a while until we managed to wreck our fossil fuel industry and become dependent on others.
He could brag about our powerful military, but he can’t, because it ain’t.
Not when an out-gunned, under-manned, ill-equipped army ran us out of Afghanistan.
As a patriotic citizen, I would like to believe that, during Biden’s administration, our country has improved economically, strengthened militarily, and continues to be respected by our friends and feared by our enemies.
But I can’t, because it ain’t.
by Dick Pilling
by Dick Pilling | May 3, 2021 | Letters to the Editor
President Trump wanted immigration to reflect America first priorities by restricting it to immigrants beneficial to our country, where would-be émigrés bring something to the party.
What a concept.
His “Build America Visa” (BAV) concept prioritized self-sufficient, English-speaking applicants with skills and/or education who would not be a burden to the economy but, rather, a blessing; a help not a hindrance.
Further, he discontinued the prevailing visa allocation system wherein 88 percent of entries were based on family connections/humanitarian purposes with a mere 12 percent allocated to skilled workers able to benefit the country.
You know, like, those who would put something into the pot and not take something out.
Under BAV, 55 percent of visas would go to pot-putter-inners with the rest allocated to the assorted wishers, whiners and wanters that appeared at the border and likely to be pot-taker-outters.
A good start.
Complementing BAV were Trump-initiated “Safe Third Country” agreements with Central American countries requiring asylum-seekers to remain in intermediate countries pending resolution of their cases thereby halting caravans of uneducated, future welfare recipients demanding sanctuary at our border.
Not to mention his “Migrant Protection Protocols” pact with Mexico thereby initiating a shared effort to control our shared border.
What?
Diplomatic coups from the supposedly undiplomatic Trump?
However, immediately upon election, amongst a deluge of decrees, Biden eliminated Trump’s attempts at preserving border security and effecting pro-American immigration but, instead, vowed to increase refugee admissions to “meet global need.”
Prompting the question, will immigration become an invasion?
Or has it already?
Dick Pilling
Port Angeles
by Dick Pilling | Dec 7, 2020 | Letters to the Editor
We all know that the press routinely demonizes President Trump as a racist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic bigot but, given the gains made by the GOP among these various demographics, it would appear that at least some members of these particular cohorts choose to disagree.
For instance, media stalwarts Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper as well as certain leaders of the Democrat party – Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden – have repeatedly termed President Trump – and his supporters – as racist. (more…)
by Dick Pilling | Nov 23, 2020 | Letters to the Editor
As one grows older, one notices that certain tragic events seem to recur periodically. Happily, with the knowledge bequeathed by age and experience, one can keep these incidents in perspective no matter how dire they seem to be at the time.
For instance, I remember the Asian Flu of 1958, which killed some 116,000 Americans and which, at the time, was about .07 percent of our population. Definitely serious but certainly not the end of the world. Life went on and we did not cower. (more…)
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