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Off the mark

Landslides caused by rainfall, not logging

Editor, The Times:

Recently, The Times published a thinly-veiled campaign speech by Peter Goldmark about risky logging ["Risky timber practices worsened December flooding," Times, guest commentary, Jan. 30]. This article demonstrates why Goldmark would be an unmitigated disaster as Washington's commissioner of public lands.

Had Goldmark taken an honest look at this area, instead of rushing to criticize the state's forest and fish laws and the current lands commissioner, he would have seen that landslides occurred in unmanaged areas with no recent logging, as well as in recently logged areas, on gentle slopes with absolutely no physical relationship to roads or streams and in buffer zones along creeks where logging did not occur.

Landslides occurred because many areas received more rainfall than scientists would expect once every 500 years. Yet Goldmark conveniently ignores this. His initial response is to sift through photos and cobble together just the right picture to accompany a campaign speech that bashes his opponent.

In contrast to Goldmark, the immediate reaction of our current commissioner, Doug Sutherland, was to organize help for the people suffering from the devastation of these floods. That is really all I need to know in order to make my choice for the upcoming election for lands commissioner.

— Tom Nelson, Mount Vernon

Picking and choosing

Regarding Peter Goldmark's recent commentary, it seems a classic example of someone cherry-picking certain information, while ignoring other information, to promote his particular agenda.

That flood event had far more to do with record-setting rainfall than with logging practices. There were many examples of timbered slopes giving way on that same day, one impressive example being the north fork of the Skokomish River, above Lake Cushman. That area is all national park — no logging — yet a huge amount of debris and trees came down and is now clogging up Lake Cushman.

I'm a tree farmer, and I think there are already plenty of hoops to jump through about logging on steep and unstable ground and near creeks and rivers.

— David Robbins, Lilliwaup

End of the line

It's electric

If running trains on BNSF tracks is such a good idea, why does the train company that owns the tracks want to sell them? ["Sound Transit gives rail line a boost," Local News, Feb. 2.]

Why run commuter trains on a track that is only wide enough for a single line? Who wants to be on a trail with noisy, polluting and unsafe trains?

Not only does the track run through many residential neighborhoods, it crosses the road right by Peter Kirk Elementary. It crosses many streets, including our busy intersection in Totem Lake (as well as in Renton, Bellevue and Woodinville), increasing traffic and safety woes.

The current proponents are proposing diesel trains, meaning we'll install trains that burn ever-dwindling fossil fuels that enrich the Middle East, belching pollution that exacerbates global climate change.

Sound Transit should build quiet, nonpolluting electric trains along our existing transportation corridors of Interstate 405, Highway 520, I-5, etc. By taking over HOV lanes (a misnomer, as two is hardly "high occupancy"), trains will provide real bidirectional mass transit instead of the 99.9 percent of cars that do not actually reduce traffic because they simply happen to contain a spouse, child or friend.

Let's not lose this great opportunity to add the jewel of a quiet, family-friendly, clean and healthy trail that will link to the Burke-Gilman Trail. Residents and commuters alike deserve better. We all do.

— David Wall, Kirkland

Seeing red

What's he doing here?

I am writing to express my displeasure regarding the statue of Vladimir Lenin in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle.

To have a statue of such a cruel dictator and tyrant in Seattle is just awful. It is disrespectful to the millions of people he killed. He ruined the lives of even more people in Russia and former Soviet republics for many, many years. He is a criminal at the same level as Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

I do not understand how the city of Seattle allowed installing this statue in a public place.

— Samuel Menaker, Bellevue

Shared account

Poor return

The United Nations is not a governing body, but rather a global alliance to fight fascism and oppressive governments that violate the human rights of their people. It is meant to prevent armed conflict, to "save in the common interest." However, if we accept these premises, the United Nations has failed miserably in its many attempts to live up to its promise.

For the entirety of its existence, the United Nations has stood by while countless injustices and mass violations of human rights occurred. In fact, since the United Nations was established in 1945, nearly 90 million people have died due to genocide.

The idea that the majority of nations on Earth, a planet of scarce resources, can act in "common interest" is a wrong-minded and naive concept of what reality could be. While the United Nations serves several important functions, the bottom line is that it has largely failed to live up to its main-stated goals. It is an overly-idealist and bloated bureaucracy with no true political authority.

Because of this, I think it's time the United States rethinks its investment in the United Nations.

— Andrew Jones, Normandy Park

Farm fresh

Carnivores, omnivores and herbivores can step aside

Thank you for your recent story on the Local Farms, Healthy Kids bill ["Bills' aim: Fresher foods for students," Local News, Jan. 29].

The "locavore" movement has been sweeping the country for the past year and recently has moved into our schools. The Local Farms, Healthy Kids bill (HB 2798/SB 6483) is a chance for Washington state to demonstrate its leadership to the rest of the country in this essential movement.

The bill will likely pass, but the funding is what is necessary to make this policy successful. Without funds, this bill will simply become another state mandate that requires schools to assess their programs without giving them an opportunity to right the wrongs they uncover.

Providing the necessary funds will be money well-spent by the Legislature, as every dollar spent on health promotion is worth a dollar in treatment.

I hope the Legislature takes the necessary steps in passing and funding the Local Farms, Healthy Kids bill to show renewed support to our small farmers and demonstrate that we care about the health of our children.

— Joe Campe, Seattle

Homegrown kids are healthy kids

I just wanted to express my support for the Local Farms, Healthy Kids bill currently in the state Legislature. This is an extremely important step in creating healthy, sustainable communities.

In supporting local farms, we stimulate the local economy and small farmers, and reduce impact on climate change in the reduction of packaging and transportation of the food. The impact will also be felt for years to come as eating habits formed in childhood often shape lifetime habits, resulting in healthier and more productive members of society.

Please support this bill and our community.

— Julie Loughran, student in the Masters in Public Health at University of Washington