"The House has no business using taxpayers' time and money to endorse a religious holiday"

Keep religion separate

Soured eggnog

Editor, The Times:

In regard to Monday's editorial, "Send Jim some eggnog":

Rep. Jim McDermott was partly right when he said that House Resolution 847, honoring Christmas and Christianity, was a waste of time, but he missed the more important point: The House has no business using taxpayers' time and money to endorse a religious holiday — any religious holiday. The First Amendment is clear: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

In light of that, HR 847 is as sour as rancid eggnog. The earlier House resolutions praising Diwali and Ramadan were likewise inappropriate. The "wall of separation" exists to protect religion from U.S. government as much as to protect U.S. government from religion.

As are many representatives, I am looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with my family and church friends. However, Congress is not a church group, and while they're working on the public's dime they should stay the hell away from my religion.

— Greg Frost, Seattle

None of your business

Bravo for Charles Krauthammer's column, "Knee deep in religion," [Opinion, Dec. 17].

As he said, the only right answer to many questions involving religion and politics is "none of your damn business." Like questions about one's sexual life, bathing habits, underwear and race, religion is out of bounds. Sure, one's religious beliefs, if any, will have some bearing on one's moral feelings, but for goodness sakes let's keep private religious stuff out of the public domain.

— Jeff Douthwaite, Seattle

The Democracy Papers

Beef up news section

Thank you for the excellent article on newspapers in Sunday's Opinion section ["Journalism 2025: Mainstream media must change their ways"].

You at The Seattle Times could begin by providing more news. Not only is the front section only eight pages or so; it often gets sadly truncated by intrusion of sports news onto the front page. You have a perfectly good sports section for that.

Please, save the pathetically small front section for national and international news.

— Gene Anderson, Lake Forest Park

Clear-cutting

Army does it right

It's unfortunate that it takes catastrophic events like the flooding in the Chehalis River watershed to remind Washingtonians of the stupidity of clear-cutting. ["Mudslide damage spurs look at logging practices," Local News, Dec. 16].

Steve Ringman's photos lay bare the hypocrisy of Weyerhaeuser's stewardship claims. It's a public-relations tactic common to corporate timber interests: parade a few visible "green" programs and "scenic" set-asides from their vast holdings in the media, then go on with a scorched-earth policy where no one notices.

For a lesson in serious sustainable forestry, I suggest Weyerhaeuser consult the Army. They've been admirably managing 43,000 acres of working forest at Fort Lewis for decades. Needing to maintain the forest environment for military training operations, the Army practices selective thinning. When their forest was designated critical habitat by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, they tweaked their management program to conform with best practices for maximizing biological diversity. Now, they're certified sustainable.

Given what we know about the relationship between the clear-cutting of mature forests and erosion, flooding, degraded water quality, declining fish populations and climate change, why does the state continue to allow it?

— Mary Ann Kae, Ballard

NRG product

We follow the rules

Your article "Primed by civilians, troops become test subjects" [news, Nov. 18] was misleading toward my company Neuro Resource Group (NRG) and our InterX 5000 series products. NRG lives within the full letter and spirit of the regulations without exceptions. The not-so-convenient truth is that NRG is an innovative startup company doing the "right" things the other companies in your broader exposé were not.

We do not cut corners; NRG is an FDA-registered manufacturer that received 510(k) clearance on our devices that are used by clinicians worldwide. Our products are not experimental. Our device falls within the broader category of TENS, Transcutaneous Electrical Neurostimulation, which has been a therapy staple in physical-therapy offices, hospitals and clinics for more than 30 years.

NRG has advanced this therapy through a new modality and an improved delivery system that has produced fantastic results. NRG has over 10 clinical trials that show these improved results, including a recently published peer-reviewed study in the British Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

For a very young company we have much to be proud about. We have a great line of products that are bringing real pain relief to those who have been treated. Our fine company and its dedicated employees who have been playing by the rules will now suffer the consequences because of your article.

— Sean E. Browne, president, CEO of Neuro Resource Group, Plano, Texas

Floating ferries

Replace hulls?

I recall sometime back that I read in The Times that a naval/marine architect recommended that the Port Townsend ferries solution is to replace the hulls with new ones and use the same top structures ["Ferry options would all be costly," Local News, Nov. 27].

This would mean faster time and less funds for the current ferry replacements. In addition, the wonderful crafted upper areas fit in well with the image of our Victorian village. They seem to be in very good condition and would continue to be an asset.

No, this is not an immediate fix but does make more sense than all of the proposals that I've read about.

— Sandy Guinup, Port Townsend

Boston Toy Party

Get the lead out

In the Odds and Ends column under "Today in History" of the Sunday Times was an item to denote the anniversary of the famed Boston Tea Party.

That gave me an idea. Maybe we consumers should have a "Boston Toy Party." Darn, that would kill all the marine life. I know, print all the dollars going to China with lead-based ink. We could pay all the American corporations based in China and the Chinese manufacturers with lead dollars. Maybe that would give more "weight" to our opposition to shoddy goods and dangerous products flooding our markets.

— Shirley Malloy, Mountlake Terrace

Sold his soul

Political turncoat

Fred Jarrett sold his political soul for the price of a seat at the head table ["Once-mighty GOP on the Eastside takes another hit," page one, Dec. 14]. And for that act of political expedience he deserves the Benedict Arnold Award for 2007.

His new political "friends" should bear in mind that turncoats cannot be trusted and when anything or anyone blocks their overpowering ambition or advancement, they will betray anyone standing in their path to greater recognition.

Let us have a moment of silence while we contemplate a step in the decline of the greatest political system in the history of mankind.

— Merle Hanley, Seattle