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The political arena

Woman or black: Don't vote along stereotyped lines

Editor, The Times:

I am amazed by the attitudes of some depicted in "For local fans of Clinton, campaign is personal and 'extremely emotional,'." Times, Politics, May 20].

I do admire Sen. Hillary Clinton for overcoming so many of the obstacles that women our generation had to deal with, and I definitely would have supported her if not for the inspiring presence of Sen. Barack Obama. But for Nobu Sanusi to say she is upset by "women who don't support women" is ridiculous. By her reasoning, all African-American men should support Obama and all white men should support McCain. Exactly what choice should African-American women make?

But what is really upsetting to me is the attitude of those like Shannon de Rubens, who says she will not vote at all if Obama is the nominee. I'm sure that when the convention is over, Clinton will exhort her followers to support Obama. For her supporters to do otherwise would be giving the OK to the last eight years, because, make no mistake, a John McCain administration will be a continuation of George Bush's policies.

Obama and Clinton have very similar policies, and remember, Abraham Lincoln had less experience at his inauguration than Obama has now. We must keep our eyes on the prize, which is a Democratic president in 2009.

—-- Susan Wulfestieg, Seattle

Look deep within

I find it quite discouraging to read that many women supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton will be so hurt and angry if she is not the Democratic nominee, that they will not vote in November while African-American supporters of Sen. Barack Obama state that if he is not the nominee, they will sit out in November or vote for McClain!

How illogical it is to make your selection based upon gender or race instead of whom you consider most qualified.

—-- Martin Paup, Seattle

Perfume or smoke?

Someone please tell former President Bill Clinton that the reason Sen. Barack Obama mustn't talk to Hillary Clinton about the vice-presidency is that Barack will lose his base if he does. The reason people are drawn to Obama is that he offers a change from the gutter politics of Karl Rove, the Bushes, James Carville and the Clintons.

That crowd has been used to blowing smoke in the voters direction, and telling them that it's perfume, for so long and so successfully, that they believe their families own the White House. The only reason that Obama will have any difficulty in soundly defeating Sen. John McCain in November will be because the Clintons have joined the Republicans in poisoning the water of electoral politics.

Obama has drawn amazing crowds wherever he and his terrific workers spend time. Those crowds include longtime Democrats, like me, great hordes of young people, many independents, and even some Republicans. Obama has also turned out large numbers of disaffected blacks, tired of being manipulated by Democratic old-style politicians and their minions.

Obama has found an unprecedented level of support from common people. No one has ever been able to run their campaign on small gifts, as Obama has. Few people have developed the legions of campaign workers that Obama has mustered.

The Clintons thought it was good enough to tap their rich friends. With Obama, we are seeing a new day in American politics, one that promises to clean the befouled and befuddled streets of Washington, D.C. That will be a gigantic task under any circumstances; it requires workers committed to the vision of change Obama has so powerfully declared.

—-- Robert Stevenson, Port Townsend

Don't stop talking

The Bush administration's belief that the United States should never talk with its world adversaries, as Sen. Barack Obama has suggested, is absolutely ludicrous! Any parent, married person or educator realizes that problems at any level are never resolved without communication with the other party, whether you like them or not.

Parents cannot solve issues with their children without bringing them together to discuss their differences. Married people must communicate or divorce, educators must bring staff, children -- and sometimes parents -- together to mediate and settle disputes.

This incompetent president's philosophy of "don't talk with your adversaries" has only shown his willingness to send more than 4,000 of our young men and women to their deaths in an unnecessary war without even an attempt to resolve differences through open dialogue. Is Iran next? I can't wait until President Obama is in office!

—-- Gary Wilson, Shelton

Powerful propaganda placement

As the presidential campaign heats up, the powerful GOP political propaganda machine will soon be kicking into high gear.

I'm talking about the blatant fear-mongering that occurred in the last presidential race. As a result of such shameless tactics, more than 60 percent of Americans became convinced that most of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Iraqis, when in fact none were.

I would hope that this time around, most voting Americans will have come to their senses and resist being taken in by such dangerous nonsense.

—-- Dave Richards, Bainbridge Island

Lose the battle and the war

Sen. Hillary Clinton now claims she is losing because of sexism. Not because voters want someone who can impress conservatives, not because she voted for the [resolution] that enabled President Bush to attack Iraq, not because of any aspect of her campaign.

There are currently 77 female members of the House of Representatives, 16 female senators, and eight states have female governors. One of the most pro-Obama states is Washington, which has two female senators and a female governor. Sen. Clinton seems to be asserting that Washington is sexist.

I'm not seeing that.

—-- Danny Goodisman, Seattle

For the party, not the person

I am amazed that no one has written about the heady rumor of Sen. Hillary Clinton being touted as vice president. Perhaps after her statements about Robert Kennedy we will not hear anymore on this subject. In case we do, could someone please write that the only reason Bill Clinton seemed to "float this balloon" was to give Hillary a better opportunity to run for president yet again in 2012! The thought of uniting the Democratic Party was never mentioned. It is another tribute of Sen. Clinton only thinking about herself and not was is best for the party-- or for the country.

Bill Clinton's presidency was historic on many levels. As a country, we did some things well and some things poorly. Now we need to move on. No one "deserves" to be president and as a country we will certainly survive without Hillary Clinton leading us. Please make sure to keep account of what is actually best for us as a country, not what may be best for Hillary, or for Bill.

—-- Benita Staadecker

Old-boys network

Thank you for "For local fans of Clinton, campaign is personal," [Times, page one, May 20], an article on local women leaders supporting Sen. Hillary Clinton. The article states all the thoughts and feelings I have had over the past months watching the treatment of the first female candidate to have a real chance at winning the presidency.

From the press that seldom gives Clinton a fair hearing to the arrogant Obama supporters who think only they know the true candidate, I have indeed felt invisible, as I have so many times throughout my life when my contributions were discounted and ignored.

As for voting for Sen. Barack Obama if he is the nominee, I also am withholding my support. I have been a staunch Democrat all my life, but I very likely may not vote for president in November. My resentment will not evaporate with a few conciliatory words from Sen. Obama, who has shown himself to be sexist on a number of occasions.

Sen. Clinton is more experienced and more capable than Sen. Obama by a mile, yet she is asked to give up her quest in order to "unify the party." Sounds like the old-boys network to me.

As long as Clinton is in this race, I will be with her; if and when she withdraws, I will go home and tend my garden.

—-- Virginia Rogalsky, Bellevue

Don't dream for this ticket

Years ago I read a quote: "Bill Clinton may not be the worst president we ever had but he is the worst person we ever had for president." I agree with that. A lot of women expressed support for Sen. Hillary Clinton when she "stood by her man" -- not me! Some people say she "represents all women" -- no way!

A letter writer last week wondered why "women wouldn't vote for Hillary because she is a woman." Isn't that sexist? Now Bill and others think Obama/Clinton would be a "dream ticket" and I don't think so! In fact, I will vote for Sen. Barack Obama if anyone except Hillary is on the ticket. FYI, I am a 63-year-old white woman.

—-- Rae Holman, Seattle

Stop your crying

Memo to Sen. Barack Obama: Methinks thou protest too much. Or how about if the shoe fits, put a sock on it, and open mouth, insert foot, or other mixed metaphors? Bottom line, stop your damn whining about how mean the president was in speaking to the Israelis about the false promise of trying to appease our enemies.

Never once did the president refer to you by name, or any of your defeatist weasel cohorts, yet you're all throwing a hissy fit about how the president is picking on you. If you really want to be president someday, grow up, because President Bush's criticism will be the least of your worries. If you can't handle some hard, honest criticism, how in the hell are you going to take care of the real problems we face? Is crying your strategy for all issues?

—-- Les Iwamasa, Seattle

Exploitation

Human trafficking not prostitution

Thank you for "Study sounds alarm on human trafficking in Spokane area" [Local News, May 13]. It is especially critical to highlight how human trafficking impacts Eastern Washington. However, the author of the article inaccurately uses the terms "prostitution" and "human trafficking" interchangeably.

It is extremely dangerous to equate the two, because not all cases of prostitution involve force, fraud or coercion, which are the cornerstone elements of human trafficking. Framing prostitution and human trafficking as one in the same creates more harm than good for survivors of human trafficking.

Trafficking into prostitution is commonly misperceived as the predominant type of trafficking. In reality, about 46 percent of persons trafficked into the U.S. are forced into sex work, while a combined 47 percent are forced into other forms of labor, such as domestic servitude, servile marriages, agricultural labor, sweatshop work and restaurant and hotel work.

While it is important to address forced prostitution, ignoring other types of labor erroneously prioritizes one type of exploitation over another. Lumping "prostitution" and "human trafficking" into the same pot only perpetuates the misconception that trafficking is all about sex.

—-- Liezl Tomas Rebugio, Anti-Trafficking Project Director, Seattle

AP exams

Cracks in the foundation

Four Bellevue high schools make it to the top 100 schools in the country, and the student body reaction is simply nothing. Once I walked through the front doors of Bellevue High three years ago my sophomore year, all I have seen is Advanced Placement classes pushed and pushed. In many instances, there is no "honors" class for students to choose from. Students have the option to take either regular or AP.

There is no "in-between," and that truly shows the weakness in the Bellevue School District high-school curriculum. Even when a student tries to drop an AP class and move into a regular one, it is a momentous task. Once you are in the class, you are literally stuck there for the rest of the year. While many look up to Bellevue for its AP program, the public does not see that students are at times forced to stay in an advanced class that drags them down both emotionally and academically. Instead of worrying about the school's ranking, our School Board needs to realize what is best for each individual student and not the image of the school.

—-- Robby Bernicchi, Bellevue

Take the class, not the test

The ranking of top high schools is not a fair measure of how well schools perform. From what is printed in the report, it seems that the ranking is based on the number of AP exams that are taken. It does not tell you what percent of the students pass the exams.

Having that as a measurement does little to tell the community the quality of the education children are receiving. It would be like ranking school success based on how many students eat salad with their lunch and dividing it by the total number of lunches served. To judge school success, reporters should go into the schools and find out what the kids are doing with what they learn. Does the education that they are receiving turn the children into citizens who are productive, caring and responsible adults? Or does the education system produce a future generation that is just measured by the exams they take.

It seems that we live in an era where our education system is good at weighing the baby, but does a lousy job at feeding it.

—-- David Zwiren, Bellevue

Good enough?

A sigh of frustration

I believe Jim Vesely got it exactly right when he described Seattle as "good enough"; it is, after all, just another American, "make-do" city, only with ( for now, anyway) ferry boats and Seattle Center ["The sighing of America: a time to take a breath," editorial column, May 18].

What he may be missing, however, is that a good number of us citizens are not sighing with him; our heavy breathing is from frustration and disappointment. Maybe it's disappointment in ourselves for buying into the hype of Seattle as "progressive," "advanced" or "world class." Frustration, that our voices and election results don't seem to guide mayors or city council members, or newspaper editors for that matter, toward our visions of "special" and "unique."

Are the vacating corporate addresses, mentioned in another section of Sunday's edition, taking a breath or are they frustrated? Maybe they don't have emotions, they just react. Many of us, however, could never leave what must be one of this continent's truly special locations, geographically speaking; we just should have paid more attention to Emmett Watson and his "Lesser Seattle".

—-- Bob Hollowell, Seattle

Rewards campaign

Take the bus

Regarding the "rewards" campaign to get people to drive less ["Leave the car at home and be rewarded, Nickels urges," Times, Local News, May 21], I have a message for Mayor Nickels: Let's start with you. Set an example and start taking the bus to City Hall and your various daily appointments. No excuses about time constraints. Let us know how you're doing in three months.

—-- Mary Ann Kae, Ballard

Medical marijuana

Pot facts, not opinion

I am a firm believer that medical marijuana can be helpful to many different people with many different disabilities. I know of many cases in which people get addicted to painkillers like OxyContin, when they could have fixed their problem with marijuana.

I used to use marijuana recreationally, and I can honestly say that I think 35 ounces per two-month period sounds like a whole lot ["Medical marijuana: How much is enough?" Health and Family, May 21].

The fact of the matter is that I -- or anybody other than a licensed physician -- have no facts or evidence to include in this case. I think that this issue is best left in the hands of the health-care professionals and not with the people who base their decisions only on opinion.

—-- Parker Rieckelman, Shoreline

Gay marriage

A slippery slope of rights

Concerning Erik Tavares' letter to the editor opposing gay marriage ["Glass houses for sale," Northwest Voices, May 25]; it can reasonably be stated that a consensual but incestuous relationship between a father and his daughter probably didn't start when the daughter turned 18 and that the father had used his influence over his daughter as a child to convince her that nothing was wrong with an incestuous relationship. That's called child abuse.

As far as polygamy goes, I have no problem with a man 18 or older marrying more than one woman 18 or older. If he can convince the women to buy into his plan and doesn't dip into the public purse to support his family, more power to him!

Tavares thunders against the courts for enforcing the rights of all couples regardless of sexual orientation to enjoy the benefits of marriage. I'm sure that he feels that the Supreme Court was being an "activist court" when it decided the 2000 presidential election too, and I have no doubt that Tavares holds particular scorn for the for the "judicial activism" exemplified by Brown v. Board of Education.

Yes, the Supreme Court should have told the Brown family to appeal to the legislature to allow their daughter and other black children to be educated alongside white children. The Brown decision was the start of this slippery slope of judicial activism. Once African Americans had their rights recognized and enforced by the courts, then the next thing you knew women, Hispanics and other people wanted their rights recognized and enforced too.

—-- John Gray, Bellingham

Homosexuals in the military

Do ask, do tell

I am thinking of our men and women serving in the military. As a lawyer and judge, I have had to recognize and overcome many biases in my lifetime. But I faced them honestly, admitted when a stereotype was operating and then looked at the actual facts, without the shortcut of prejudgment. It is time to do that in the military.

Where once being gay might have presented a security risk, because it could subject someone to blackmail, that is no longer true. These days, a policy like "don't ask, don't tell" presents a security risk, because it promotes the keeping of secrets and has such harsh penalties for truth-telling.

It's time to put being gay on the same plane as any other status, such as being single, married etc. If a person is engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior whether straight, gay or otherwise, the military has mechanisms for dealing with it. We need to tell the president, Congress and the military to abolish "don't ask, don't tell."

—-- Faith Ireland, Justice Washington Supreme Court (Ret.), Seattle