Something missing in parade

There was something missing in the 2023 Sequim Irrigation Festival Parade. That would be the veteran organizations that traditionally are among the first entries to lead the parade down Washington Street.

The VFW, American Legion Post 62, The Legion Riders, and the Marine Corps League Detachment 897, pulled out of the parade when it was discovered that their positions were changed from among the first to 63rd to 75th.

Veterans are a proud group and for as many years as I can remember, the crowds along both sides of Washington Street have cheered them on as they passed by at the head of the parade.

With the breaking of that tradition, those veterans collectively decided to show their disappointment by not participating in the parade.

For many of us it was sad to think that if it weren’t for the veterans, there would not be a parade.

Mark Schildknecht

Commandant, Mount Olympus Detachment 897-Marine Corps League

Seeking wisdom

Sometimes I am just in awe of the smart people that are employed by the current administration. I only wish that, occasionally, they would share some of their wisdom with me.

Like, upon what rationale do the smart people base their self-assured assessments that we, as a country, per executive order, can eliminate our reliance on the internal combustion engine (ICE) in favor of zero emission vehicles by 2035 at which time “all new privately-owned light duty vehicles sold being 100 percent zero emissions.”

And, further, that “all privately-owned light-duty vehicles with ICE engines will be phased-out and will be replaced with 100 percent electric vehicles by 2050.”

These smart people must know that, currently, there are approximately 278 million vehicles in the U.S. (as of 2021, forbes.com) and we would need to generate up to 50 percent more power if they were all converted to electric and, of course, this number will increase in the future as vehicle production is now trending up (usafacts.org).

Of course, these smart people must know that more than a million new public charging stations will be required to keep the projected quantities of EVs on the road (here.com/learn/blog/us-ev-charging-stations).

Moreover, these smart people must know that, even without the added burden of these additional charging stations, America’s power grid is ever more unreliable and struggles to provide the energy currently required and operators are warning of imminent “rolling blackouts” (Wall Street Journal, fee.org).

Looks to me that our transportation infrastructure — and our electrical grid — is increasingly at risk.

But I am not one of these smart people …

Dick Pilling

Port Angeles