09/04/08 Letters to the Editor

GOP changes ideals

To the editor -- So when did the Republican Party change its ideals? Today we learn that the Republican vice president selection Gov. Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter is expecting a child and her parents are "thrilled." Wasn't this the same party that was outraged when a fictional character, Murphy Brown, was in the same condition and unmarried? What happened? When did it change its opinion on this issue? Suddenly it's OK for unmarried 17-year-old high school students to be with child? And this is the party that says it is all for "family values" and "moral character." Those rules are for us "regular" people to follow; not the elite politicians.

Give me a break. Sure sounds like they speak from both sides of their mouth. Oh, but wait; they are, after all, politicians: Ahhh, now I get it, anything to try to get elected. Women are so dumb they will vote for any women. Well guess what, Republican Party: That is not true. This woman votes on the issues, on which you have apparently changed your position without letting anyone know. So typical.

ELIZABETH ROSS

Yakima

More housing

To the editor -- I read the Aug. 15 story, "New Yakima development draws ire of neighbors" with interest. My wife and I attended a meeting at the Allied ArtsCenter a few years ago where John Puccinelli defended Jude Doty's ill-fated enterprise of hauling derelict houses from the area around Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and dropping them in our neighborhood. There was a greater good to be served, after all; Yakima needed the housing, and it would be affordable. Now David Sjule wants to drop a Tuscan-style, multifamily, gated community at the foot of Mr. Puccinelli's neighborhood.

I don't understand Mr. Puccinelli's opposition. Carriage Hill resident Ron Hatfield was quoted as saying, "Apartments are totally out of the question. You just don't see apartments around here." Doesn't that speak to the need in the neighborhood?

Where do the working poor go to rent in Carriage Hill? If anything, I would expect Mr. Puccinelli to argue for increased density and fewer amenities, maybe even subsidized rental units.

I've heard John Puccinelli talk the talk. Now I'd like to see him walk the walk.

PHILIP TRAUBE

Yakima

Dreams into reality

To the editor -- We are who we are. Born into this world not by choice but by the hand of providence, our ethnicity, gender and features are selected long before our first breath. Yet ours is the choice of who and what we wish to be in life. The world may try to dictate and categorize what station we should be placed in simply by how we look. But it is up to each individual to prove the world wrong. To break the chains of preconceived notions, to lay bare the ignorance and prejudices of the past, to banish forever words used to degrade the soul.

It is within our power to change the world for the better, for dreams are not just dreams. Once they are realized, they become reality. When the heart and soul are added to the innate ingenuity of man, nothing can stand against us. Let us not walk into the future hoping for change. Let us pull the future into the present and bend it to our collective will.

TROY A. CLARK

Union Gap

Vigilant neighbors

To the editor -- Re: Alan Taylor's Aug. 16 letter, "Fed Up With Crime."

I totally agree with his stance on crime. Just recently I sent a letter and a photo of a stop sign tagged "Clyde" in Old English lettering to the Yakima County Sheriff's Department. This particular stop sign was not the only sign in the neighborhood that was tagged. The sign has been replaced and I thank Deputy Brian for contacting me about this important matter.

We have to team together. Please neighbors, be observant and contact local law enforcement when you observe suspicious signs of malcontent. We have to be forever vigilant to help stop crime and someone's intent to commit a crime.

I thank Mr. Taylor for writing his letter. He inspired me to express my thoughts on crime. I guess Taylors think alike.

MARJIE TAYLOR

Yakima

• The Classified Marketplace
• • Announcements
  • Public Notices
  • Legal Notices
  • Merchandise
  • Yard Sales
  • Animals
  • Finance

• Newspaper Ads
  View All