Genius? Very savvy? Hardly
For Gazette and other readers, who have not witnessed the terrible and unnecessary cruelties of war, all any American has to do is turn on his/her TV. In the case of Russia’s (Putin’s) war on Ukraine, it is my opinion it is the result of a mentally unbalanced dictator wanting to demonstrate his military power for no valid reason. Reinventing the USSR is not a valid reason!
For those readers, who are still Trump and his ilk supporters, Trump and his former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, have described Putin’s actions as “genius” and “very savvy.” Question? Is killing and displacing helpless people and their children because you can “genius”? I believe that’s the way despot dictators and wannabe careless autocrats think about human life.
We citizens in the U.S. have lived in a progression of civil rights, the Rule of Law and many freedoms in our democracy. None of these democratic amenities would be available to us, if we were governed by a dictatorial autocrat. Yet, many voters still inexplicably support Trump and his lying ilk.
If a U.S. citizen wants to peacefully protest on almost any subject in America, it’s OK. But in Russia, 6,700-plus (March 1, 2022) peaceful protesters of the Ukraine war have already been arrested and imprisoned in just six days, even though many Ukrainians under siege are relatives of the protesting civilian Russians. One might recall, then U.S. President Trump disallowed continuation of a peaceful citizen protest in Lafayette Park, Washington, D.C., on June 1, 2020, though nobody was imprisoned.
It is mind-boggling to me that millions of now free Americans with democratic amenities would consider re-electing Trump president, considering his support of Putin in Helsinki (July 16, 2018) over Trump’s own intelligence advisors, and now describing Putin as “genius” in his war against Ukraine. What’s so mystifying is everyone knows Trump cares only about himself!
Richard Hahn
Sequim
Parking needed for festival
I am writing about the incredible parking problem at the Sequim Sunshine Festival. I arrived about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday (March 5) and immediately noticed that all roads adjacent to Carrie Blake Community Park were blocked off with “No Parking” signs.
I proceeded to the main entrance parking area, which was completely blocked off. A woman fiercely guarded the barriers, letting me know that the parking lot was full. I acknowledged that, gestured to all the “No Parking” signs and in frustration asked where I was supposed to park. The woman’s facial expression completed closed down and she turned her head and gaze away from me as if to say that I no longer existed.
I was amazed to be treated in such a fashion. Evidently the festival organizers had provided no outlying parking. It could have been a field far away with shuttles running back and forth. Instead, the organizers put rude people at the barriers who couldn’t be bothered to contritely say, “I have no idea where you can park.”
I drove into the adjacent neighborhood, where I was informed I was parking my car at my own risk since the man’s mother-in-law was such a terrible driver that pulling into their driveway would mean crashing into my car. I physically showed him where my car ended and their driveway began. I was not blocking the driveway. He continued his argument. I was polite and pulled away from the front of his house, even though it was legal to park there. I had had enough and did not feel like trying to find a house with a friendly, disinterested homeowner. I didn’t want to be berated again.
I left and drove home to Port Angeles. Today (March 8), I was informed by my sister that in the background of the park is a grassy area for soccer games and additional parking. That is where she parked. If the uncaring parking lot attendant had been able to say, “There may be some parking by the soccer fields.” What a difference that may have made.
Suzanne M.B. Hayden
Port Angeles
