Life, liberty and my pursuit of happiness are collectively hosed

On a very sad day — the day after Election Day — my senses were further accosted by The Seattle Times article that “No God” bus ads begin this week [“Atheist group to meet in Seattle,” NWWednesday, Nov. 4].

The Freedom From Religion Foundation convention hits town on Friday, and I feel as if the whole thing was planned around Tuesday’s election.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness still mean a lot to a lot of people.

Life: Why would a candidate try to disqualify an opponent for King County executive based on her view that life is more precious than anything? There is nothing in the job description addressing any issue so personal as one’s view on abortion.

Liberty: Initiative 1033 would have reduced taxes, but it failed to gain the necessary support. More taxes mean less freedom.

Pursuit: Be happy as a heterosexual, and be happy as a homosexual. Expanding approval and tax support for a system that is not sustainable should not be on a voter’s ballot.

So I lost. I lost on every issue, and now there are buses on my streets that say “No God.”

The saddest part of all, is that my neighbors in the Puget Sound don’t see what I see as the danger in their choices.

— Pam Schmoll, Bellevue

Mixed emotions with election results

With the exception of out-of-touch Nick Licata winning re-election [“Four take commanding leads,” News, Nov. 4], I was extremely elated with the election results.

Dow Constantine soundly trounced right-wing Republican Susan Hutchison, and Tim Eyman loses again.

Eyman blamed outspending by his opponents. Well, Eyman, guess you should have used those campaign donations for TV ads instead of pocketing them.

I am mostly elated that Referendum 71 looks like it will pass, although I am equally saddened and disappointed that it wins by such a narrow margin.

I really thought Washington was a state of tolerance and acceptance of different lifestyles, but I guess too many people are reluctant to relinquish their attitudes. Thank heavens there were enough of us to send a strong message that we do not tolerate anti-gay-rights activists here.

Washington can now remain a state where all are welcome and treated equally.

— Holly Homan, Seattle

Hoping R-71’s lead holds

Rarely a day goes by that one newspaper or another does not have an article about someone who is suing a diocese of the Catholic Church for pedophilia by a priest [“Clergy sex abuse alleged,” NWWednesday, Nov. 4].

Yet this religious institution, which protected and transferred these priests from church to church, has the gall to take a public stand against the human rights of people to marry and have legal rights because they are of the same sex.

I cite the public campaign launched by the Catholic Church in California in 2008 and Maine in 2009 [“GOP picks up governor seats; Maine tosses gay-marriage law,” page one, Nov. 4] in opposition to a very basic human right — the right to be a family.

I am proud of the way many Washingtonians voted on Referendum 71, and hope the lead holds.

— Susan David, Kirkland

Close political races = significant opposition

The election is over. Thank goodness. At least the political ads aimed at two-digit IQ levels have ended.

But alas, the barrage of explanations about why results were askew from expectations is just beginning [“Big victory stuns challenger in race for city attorney,” NWThursday, Nov. 5].

Losers will read all sorts of fascinations into their failures. Worse yet, the winners and their pundits will claim they were elected by a landslide, or that people have overwhelmingly spoken.

Let me remind all that even President Obama was elected by a mere 7 percent with the rest being divided.

Effectively and unfortunately, political leader philosophy interprets this to mean you can ignore the remainder of the populace until the next election period.

We need to have a rubber stamp with the word “idiot” engraved on it to identify the foreheads of these people. No wonder so many citizens are so angry.

And what ever happened to what’s best for the country, or representing all of the people?

Foolish thinking I guess. Now where did I put that rubber stamp?

— Albert Chukitus, Kirkland