Suspicious behavior

Well, well,well, did anyone win anything at the Chevy dealer last weekend, other than afree ride to the OCJ? Here’s what happened to me when I went to claim my bigprize. First they wanted to see my driver’s license to verify that I was theperson who was on the flier. Okay so far. Then the salesman walks over to thecopy machine and makes a couple copies of my license. I’m not positive, but I’msure he likely handed one copy to the guys in the office behind the one-waymirror window. Have any warrants the salesman asks? Nope I answer, not even aspeeding ticket. At this point I noticed a feller sitting 10 feet across fromme, straight faced with a look that he was ready to pounce if he got thesignal. After that I was asked where I worked, if I smoked, etc.

            Comeon you guys. What’s with all the questions and ID check unless for the purposeof busting people, or even just determining who’s who? I can understand a scamwith fliers to people who actually have warrants, but not a GM dealer. GM isthough, for now, federally controlled via their bailout so maybe it was figuredto just use one of the government assets. If this was legit then we’ll bewaiting to see just who won the big prizes.

            Anymoreit seems, when people go to town, “especially” suspicious looking characterslike me, we have to first get past the gestapo cop who would probably pull usover if we have too many bugs on our windshield. Obstructing vision you know.Oh, but what they’re really looking for is suspended licenses cause those finesare just about as high as a DUI – 12 in last week’s paper, or about 90% of districtcourt stats. Hmmm, are we serving to protect or serving to collect? Then attimes I see deputy dog parked in town, where they have no jurisdiction. Are werecording the local snitch who’s wearing a wire, perhaps? Go to the hardwarestore and a Homeland Security guy is probably watching what we buy. You know,bomb-making stuff or grow operation supplies, that sort of thing. They’re theguys roaming around with one or two items in a shopping cart and pretending tobe looking at stuff.

            Well,we can still write to our local paper anyway, but where the line needs to bedrawn is on sneak and peeks. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’san allowance through the wonderful Patriot Act that allows the boys to sneakinto our homes when we’re gone and peek at our computers, books, etc.Hopefully, they have better things to do. In my view the Patriot Act is nulland void and is an act against the supreme law of the land, the U.S.Constitution, to which all law enforcement swear an oath to uphold.

            Thething is, these people are all drawing a large paycheck, on our dime, to keepus “safe.” I know, ha ha ha! Put yourselves in the position of us locals.Everywhere we go we see you badge-people who many of us feel could just go awayand we really wouldn’t miss you, including all of you border people. Are ourcountries really that much different to warrant ridiculous searches and denialsof entry? Didn’t used to be that way. I know, they have created so manybogeymen now that everybody is scared to death.

            Thereal terrorists are the ones who control the purse strings of the world andreside in ivory towers in New York, London and Paris. Oh and the latest, BinLaden is dead, but they had to bury him at sea and won’t have the DNA testsback for a few weeks. Sure got all the drunken youth stirred up… USA! USA!Wonder if that’s why it was released at 11 p.m. Sunday evening, or should I saytweeted. That’s all we saw on the news and my guess is they were all into theircups. Come on, does anyone really believe these guys who have orchestratedevery major war in history? All I will say is the owners of the Federal Reserveare not about to roll over because we all of a sudden busted theircounterfeiting scam. We probably better buckle up.

            Don’tforget that, “harassing the people and eating out their substance,” was one ofthe charges against the British in the Declaration of Independence. And not tomention that the country is basically broke. Military and law enforcement areplaces that considerable fat could be trimmed.

            Asa side comment, I don’t think anyone should be allowed to vote that hasn’tstudied the Constitution and passed a test on it. This alone would solve manyproblems.

Bob Nicholson

Oroville

Direct democracy

            Theelections of fall 2010 have long been over, and the new members of Congresshave been in their seats since January. Nevertheless, it still appears thatthere are openly hostile relations between various members of Congress and thetwo political parties as a whole. This comes at the expense of the greatcitizens of this fine country, who want and need to be more involved with thedecision making of our nation, above and beyond merely voting for those whowill make all of the decisions, which is very little power indeed.

            Wemust remember that a functional democracy, at least in the USA, must inviteeveryone to join in the process of domestic governmental decision-making, andat least initially, will require a transition from a representative democracyto a direct democracy. This kind of governmental evolution would end, or atleast substantially impede, the bureaucratic paralysis and voter anger/apathythat has been present in our society for the past few decades.

            High-levelpoliticians must remember that an elected
and divided government whose membersare constantly bickering amongst themselves, while ignoring the will of thepeople, cannot forever last.

Ray Gattavara

Auburn, Washington

Grasping at straws

            Think the”birthers” have been dealt a fatal blow? Think again. Sure, the ones in thewater clinging to the life raft might let go, but the ones in the raft willnever bail out. Why? Because the Obama-haters will never give up ondiscrediting him. Why? Because they can’t stand the fact he’s not like them, orany past president. Why? Because for years, rich white men ran the show. This”change” is just unacceptable to so-called “patriots.”

            So nowTrump and crew want to see Obama’s academic records. Grasping at any strawsthat pop up. Get real, put the hate on the back burner, turn off the heat andmove forward.

            DonaldTrump is a modern day “Wizard of Oz.” No more, no less. Larger-than-life withhis loudspeakers and “scary” projections. We all know who was behind thecurtain. A charlatan. With enough ego to over fill thousands of his minions.Anyone who takes him serious must think his “reality” show is real too.”Carnival barker” indeed! Add buffoon.

Poignantly,

Dan Dixon

Oroville

Cuts erode healthcare

I have been associated with the Washington State NursesAssociation for over 30 years and spent 20 years serving in a leadershipcapacity as a volunteer. Since I retired and came to this wonderful area, Isee and hear about the issues facing all of us and many of these issues are thesame however some are very different from those who live in the largemetropolitan area of the State. 

If our elected officials in Olympia further erode programsfor our citizens in this state healthcare  services will suffer immensely.These decisions currently being made in Olympia will effect all of us and so weneed to be both informed and speak to our elected officials.  Call yourrepresentative and talk to them about why we need to maintain these services. 

 We all know OkanoganCounty is the largest county in the State and has a population and services for a high percentage of low to medium income residents. And so, let’snot forget the thousands of very poor people in our community. Health Careprograms are in serious trouble and so here are some facts.

The Washington State Nurses Association generates this data. Theirlobbyist are working endlessly for better healthcare for all of us. IfWashingtonians face the cuts with the budget as projected this is what we willsee.  

Impact on Real People

• 60,000 people losing their coverage through Basic Health Plan (with 130,000 people on the current waiting list for BHP)
• 120,000 people losing adult dental care
• 20,000 people cut from chemical dependency, mental health, and medical services with the elimination of Disability Lifeline (formerly GA-U)
• 16,000+ children could lose Apple Health care coverage
• 80,000 people losing hearing and vision services
• Over 50,000 women with high risk pregnancies losing maternity support services
• 20,000 people losing physical, occupational and speech therapy
• 14,000 people losing podiatry services
• 2,600 people losing hospice care
• 71,000 people losing access to interpreter services 

WSNA’s priority inpreserving key health safety net programs

Bydenying these services, Washington taxpayers stand to experience higher costsdue to increased emergency room visits and more expensive treatment of chronicillness that could have been better managed or prevented.  WSNA supportspreserving the infrastructure of safety net programs including:

• The Basic Health Plan:  With the number of uninsured in Washington at a record high, the BHP is the only affordable option for WA residents who are self-employed or whose employer does not offer coverage. (BHP Fact Sheet)
• Apple Health for Kids: This program provides health coverage for low-income children. Washington has secured millions in new, flexible federal funding because of the state’s leadership in providing health care for children. (Apple Health Fact Sheetl)
• Disability Lifeline: This is the only source of medical care for individuals who are unable to work and don’t have access to employer based insurance coverage or the individual market. (Disability Lifeline Fact Sheet)
• Community Health Centers: The community health center model is uniquely designed to address the health care needs of vulnerable and underserved people and communities. They are a cost effective alternative to emergency rooms and a safety net for the uninsured.
• Interpreter Services for 70,000 plus residents in Washington State.