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Veteran votes

We're the swing vote

Editor, The Times:

I think Christopher Parker was right when he said Republicans should not take the veteran vote for granted in November ["Veterans could be the swing vote," Times, guest commentary, July 7].

He noted that President Bush earned 55 percent of the veteran vote in 2004. I would suspect that Sen. John McCain, with 22 years active service and decades experience on the Senate Armed Services Committee, will earn a substantially higher percentage of the veteran vote.

Sen. Barack Obama never served in the military, has not even visited Afghanistan and visited Iraq only once during the pre-surge period. The Democrats will not talk about the presidential role as commander in chief because of the glaring differences that exist between the candidates with respect to leadership, experience and knowledge of military affairs.

Parker has studied the Democrats' playbook well: Try to paint McCain as a third-term President Bush. But McCain is not George W. Bush, just as Obama is not Jimmy Carter. McCain has a 25-year track record on the Senate, while Obama started running for president after 143 days' experience in the Senate. None can say that McCain lacks experience. However, Obama has virtually no experience in military and foreign affairs.

Nationwide, there are about 25 million veterans and more than 1 million active-duty military, Guard and Reservists. Washington state has more than 640,000 veterans, more than 50,000 active-duty members and numerous Guard and Reserve members. If you factor in family members, more than 1 million voters will be very concerned about the choice for commander in chief. These veterans will turn out in November at higher rates that the normal voting public.

In the coming months, you will hear from more veterans and their families. You will hear from heroes, Gold Star parents, those who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. As a voter, you should take the time to ask a veteran or active-duty member just who they think the next commander in chief should be. Yes, I believe that veterans will be the swing vote in November, and my unofficial poll shows that more than 75 percent will vote for McCain.

— Doug Roulstone, retired U.S. Navy captain, Snohomish

Seattle parks levy

Put it on hold

I have supported and actively campaigned for nearly every park and open-space initiative since Jim Ellis, patriarch of the community, asked us to save our farmland in the late 1970s. I am proud of the legacy Ellis, Gene Duvernoy, president of the Cascade Land Conservancy, and so many others have left for future generations. As we grow — there are now 6.7 million of us in our state and 4 million in the Puget Sound region — we must pursue a path that responds to this growth and the history of the region.

We have been riding around on our grandparents' transportation infrastructure for decades. Our roads are clogged, our bridges are failing and we have done very little to maintain or grow our transportation system. Sadly, the region rejected light rail in a 1968 vote when the federal government would have paid 80 percent.

Therefore, I believe a vote on light rail, the Pike Place Market and the housing levy are more important than another parks levy in 2008. I encourage our council to be realistic and recognize the real and cumulative impact of the tax stack, as in your July 6 editorial ["Overwhelmed at the parks," Times]. The parks levy must wait.

— Mark Sollitto, former North Bend city councilman, Seattle

Feel-good stories

Write more, and add a kids' section

My name is Hannah. I am a fourth-grader at Stevens Elementary. I am writing to you because I love your newspaper. I just have a couple of complaints.

It is just that my mom and I agree that the newspaper needs something ... well ... happy. I mean, I love your front-page stories and all, and my favorite part of your newspaper is the editorials. It's just that so much of it is about war, elections, politics, democracy, death, etc. Maybe you could include something about people collecting toys for children in Iraq or people feeding the homeless, just to name a few ideas.

Plus, there isn't a lot for kids like me to read except for the puny kid's section in the comics. The comics are boring, and sometimes they even say swear words. I would love to be a writer for a special kid's section called The Seattle Times Kids, if you like my idea and decide to use it. I think that it would be really great for me to write for a kids' newspaper for you, because I know what it feels like to be a kid, so kids would understand me better.

— Hannah Farrell, age 10, Seattle

Medical panel

Coverage of virtual colonoscopies a must

Your July 7 story ["Medical procedures rated by state's expert comparison shoppers," Times, page one] raises several serious concerns about Washington's Health Technology Assessment program, most especially, its highly subjective approach to issuing life-or-death medical-coverage decisions.

While your article suggests that CT-scanner manufacturers were the only ones to criticize the decision to deny coverage of virtual colonoscopies, the committee was in fact advised by many other groups (including the scientists who are currently conducting related clinical trials) to delay its decision until forthcoming research was released.

It is troubling that a group described as "embracing evidence-based medicine free of overt interference from political and economic interests" would ignore the serious concerns and pending evidence presented by experts and make a premature decision to deny coverage for virtual colonoscopies, which the American Cancer Society recently included in its colon-cancer-screening guidelines for patients age 50 years and older.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 60 percent of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented if everyone age 50 and older were screened regularly. So, when colorectal-cancer screening remains underused, with more than 50 percent of the population getting no screening, it is important that we remove barriers to screening — not restrict access. Increasing colon-cancer screenings is exactly why virtual colonoscopies are now part of ACS' recommended guidelines.

But, unfortunately for public employees and Medicaid recipients, the decisions of a bureaucratic panel seem to trump emerging data as well as patient advocate guidelines.

— Andrew Whitman, vice president of Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), Arlington, Va.

Semaj Booker

Quit glorifying the boy

When the first story about Semaj Booker sneaking onto commercial airlines hit the media, I was appalled by the way he was glorified in the articles. What a smart young man! Isn't he wonderful?

After conning his way onto the commercial flights, he was released to his mother's custody without punishment. The story also reported that, previously, the boy had stolen his neighbor's car, led police on a high-speed chase and crashed the car. After committing these multiple crimes, he was driven home to his mother by police.

Not long after those events, he once again went to the airport and passed illegally through security and almost boarded another plane. Again, the articles complimented him on being such an intelligent and inventive lad and, again, he was simply released to his mother.

Am I missing something here? Don't we try to deter this type of behavior rather than encouraging it with complimentary articles about this juvenile delinquent? Those were front-page stories. After reading them, I could only shake my head and contemplate the destruction he will inevitably cause in the future. He had already endangered the public in a police chase, destroyed private property and caused a serious breach of security at an international airport, yet the media treated him as some kind of young folk hero.

Now he's back in the news, arrested for burglary, malicious mischief and making false statements. ["Boy, 11, arrested in break-in," Times, Local News, July 8]. It's no surprise to me. The only surprise is that the story was tucked away in a tiny block on page three this time. I wonder why.

— Greg Dawsey, Everett

Balanced voices

Times kudos

I applaud you for the two letters in favor of the assisted-suicide law and the three opposed to the law in Monday's letters to the editor ["Assisted suicide," Times, Northwest Voices, July 7]. This is great!

I know your newspaper will be read more by Western Washington readers, and I predict it will grow in circulation and ad revenue to help your newspaper's bottom line, if you continue to provide this balance to all your editorials in letters to the editor.

Keep up the great work!

— Tim Saye, Bothell

Senate Resolution 580

Stop co-sponsors Cantwell and Murray

I find it incredible that our senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, are both co-sponsors of Senate Resolution 580. That resolution, which is moving through the Senate, authorizes and encourages acts of war by President Bush against Iran. A companion bill, House Resolution 362, is moving through the House. Who has Iran attacked? What has Iran done to anyone, ever?

They have every right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. They are signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. National Intelligence Estimate found no recent work on nuclear weapons.

What have we learned about the lies leading up to the Iraq invasion? Who is convincing Cantwell and Murray to co-sponsor such a hideous, arrogant and un-American document? Every Washingtonian should demand that their names be withdrawn immediately as co-sponsors of Senate Resolution 580.

— William Waugh, Bellevue

Pride Parade

Thanks, Gov. Gregoire

Sunday, June 30 was a great day for the Seattle lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and allied communities ["Marchers soak in the sun, gay pride," Local News, June 30]. Hundreds of thousands crowded the streets of downtown Seattle to celebrate diversity and show that Seattle is a welcoming place for all peoples.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the day, however, was Gov. Christine Gregoire's participation in the Pride festivities as Grand Marshal. As a 23-year-old who is well aware of the history of intolerance against the LGBT community in our country, it is really encouraging to see elected leaders showing their dedication to equal rights.

That such strong leadership has emerged in the course of the past several years gives my generation hope that, when we are old, our grandchildren will not believe there was ever any question at all as to whether LGBT citizens should have full, equal rights.

— Andrew Kohler, Mercer Island

Metro Transit

Passengers don't want wrapped advertising

Concerning your editorial "Keep Metro Rolling" [Times, July 7], I am disturbed that you are telling Metro Transit to "get over" their objection to full-wrapped advertising on Metro buses. It was in response to the public's objection to this manner of advertising that Metro decided to do away with this source of income growth.

I realize that your newspaper exists because of it's advertising, but buses are for transporting people and should not be considered moving billboards. Nothing is worse than looking out a bus window that is partially obscured with a mesh-like paint covering used for an advertising message.

— Leon Harman, Seattle

Rossi vs. Gregoire

Dino's posters insulting to Seattle

I was driving home to Seattle from Montana this weekend and saw several Dino Rossi gubernatorial campaign signs along Interstate 90, just west of Spokane. The thing that caught my eye was the tagline: "Don't let Seattle steal this election!"

That's an extremely divisive statement to make about the largest city in our state, particularly when Rossi will need a sizable number of Seattle votes to have any chance of winning the governor's mansion. It seems to me he doesn't realize (or maybe he just doesn't care) that the governor's job is to represent the entire state.

I, for one, won't vote for someone who doesn't seem to care about representing Seattle as governor — not just because I live here, but because Seattle is an important city that contributes hugely to the state as a whole and, arguably, more than any other.

Thankfully, we live in a state and country where the person whom the majority selects, wins. It's apparent that the majority didn't like Rossi last time around, and I'm confident the smart voters everywhere in the state (not just in Seattle) will make sure that's true in 2008, as well.

— Richard Bradford, Seattle

Fatal hit-and-run

A call for witnesses

Someone out there took the life of Daren Dougan June 26 while he rode toward his home on his motorcycle ["Renton man dies from injuries suffered in hit-and-run accident," Times, Local News, July 4].

It is believed that a light-colored SUV turned in front of him and fled the scene. The accident occurred at approximately 11 p.m. on Talbot Road South near South 45th Place in Renton. It is also assumed that the vehicle would have sustained damage to the passenger side.

In addition to this horrendous crime, it seems that a number of other drivers may have filed by and failed to stop. Daren's chances of survival faded with every passing car.

As the police do their work to trace the whereabouts of this vehicle, I ask those drivers who chose not to stop, not to get involved, to think about what they may have witnessed that night and whether there's anything they might know that could help police in their investigation.

As Daren's distraught father said in an interview with KOMO News, "Search your heart and think about your own. Think of your own son or daughter, or brother or sister laying in a bed, in a coma."

It is time for all of us to dig a little deeper, past our own interests, past our own desires and think about how each of us has a responsibility as citizens of this planet to reach out to one another, to lend a hand when you see one is needed, to leave our world a better place by being a benefit to society, to always — first and foremost — do the right thing.

And in that vein, if you know something that can help bring some closure to Daren's family and friends, please step up now. Never hesitate to do the right thing. Restore my faith in humanity and call the Renton police if you have any information about what happened to Daren Dougan on the night of June 26.

— Lori S. Kraft, Medina