Starting next week, the word count for Letters to The Editor will change to 150 words. Please submit letters to letters@daffodilpress.net.
The Editor:
In a Feb. 5 letter, the author states she has seen a lot of "President Trump bashing" and praises his policies. She says we should "be honest enough to acknowledge the good that has come from his first year.” OK, let's be honest.
Prices are higher and consumer confidence lower. Manufacturing is down and tourism was way down last summer, including at Birch Bay, because Canada hates us now, thanks to Trump. Any new tax deductions will be offset by rising prices, higher health insurance premiums or loss of health coverage altogether.
Scott Bessent, Trump's treasury secretary, called the Trump Accounts ($1,000 "baby bonus") a "back door to privatizing Social Security." As of this writing, the Trump Accounts have not yet launched, and let's not forget the $2,000 check he promised. As far as I know, nobody has received it.
Under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the price of insulin was capped and certain prescription drugs were reduced for Medicare beneficiaries. Trump signed an executive order on Inauguration Day in 2025 attempting to reverse the reduced drug prices signed into law by President Biden.
Trump promised, if elected, he would stop the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. Instead, he repeats Putin propaganda and insults Zelensky. He hinted he wants to develop beachfront property in Gaza, stating he wants to make it the "Riviera of the Middle East." Yet another opportunity to enrich himself.
The author defended ICE by stating, "We are a nation of laws." We are also a nation of immigrants. We need new immigration legislation that allows immigrants to work without being brutalized by the federal government.
Trump came into his first term on the heels of paying a lawsuit settlement for his fraudulent Trump University. He started his second term with several criminal charges pending.
The very people who voted for a convicted felon, adjudicated sexual assaulter, insurrectionist and life-long fraudster are the same people who proclaim the loudest that "we are a nation of laws" when it comes to people crossing the border without authorization.
What some call "Trump bashing," I call being honest.
Susan Medina
Birch Bay
The Editor:
I usually prefer tea to coffee, finding coffee to be bitter, acidic and prone to leaving an aftertaste for hours. But Kaleo Day's carefully blended cold brew coffee is a notable exception. Whether served cold or hot, it is smooth, mellow and absolutely delicious. Stop into the Koa Table Cafe in Birch Bay and try a cup; you'll be glad you did.
Jennifer Plombon
Blaine
The Editor:
I hope this letter gives more people the opportunity to think about current events, and the choices you will make for yourself, your family and your country’s future. Sometimes we have to question our blind faith in politicians. It’s really OK to do that.
There are enough similarities between 1936 Nazi Germany’s international and domestic policies and America’s current international and domestic policies to ask the following questions.
Please consider the current statements and behavior of our president, vice president, the Cabinet, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate, conservative Supreme Court justices, Fox News, the doctrines of the white Christian national Project 2025, as well as a number of billionaires who also support the Project 2025 goals.
1. If it were 1936 and a choice to be made, do you think today’s U.S. led by Donald Trump and Steven Miller would have supported the fascist Axis powers or the Allied forces at the start of WWII?
2. How would you personally vote on questions one and three?
3. In 2026, do you think the U.S. would support Putin’s fascism or the NATO allies in an armed conflict?
Need a hint? Please read Project 2025, or its AI synopsis.
Given the choice of democracy, the Constitution, a welcoming nation for people from all walks of life, and a worldview that all people deserve the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; I know exactly how I would vote and which global power I would support.
I’d support the Allies and oppose fascism. How about you?
When I peacefully stand on the corner waving an American flag and holding a sign, I’m telling the world my answer to the three questions. When some people drive by flipping me the bird and screaming profanities, I get it loud and clear how they would vote. Sadly, my understanding of Nazi sign language is not that good, but I do know their answers to the three questions when they fly the bird with their arm outstretched.
Ron Snyder
Blaine
The Editor:
Next Monday, March 9, Blaine City Council will discuss the future of the historic Plover ferry. I encourage those who value the Plover’s traditional role in our community to attend Monday’s meeting and voice their support for its continued service.
Since its restoration in 1996, Drayton Harbor Maritime (DHM) successfully operated the ferry for 26 years, providing local students with summer employment and offering children the chance to earn "honorary captain” certificates, piloting the Plover in Drayton Harbor under close supervision of the captain and crew.
Following a 2022 U.S. Coast Guard inspection that identified hull anomalies, DHM was the only bidder to do the repairs. Like an old house, there were many unknowns. DHM’s bid quote was just a wild guess as to what the job would cost. More damage was revealed than the bid quote covered, including replacing one-third of the keel, repairing a leak in the engine’s oil pan and more. The cost overruns exceeded the original bid quote.
When DHM asked the city manager for additional funds to accomplish the repair, the request was denied. To complete the repair, DHM spent $30,000 of its own funds, draining its bank account. DHM was now bankrupt and not financially able to bid on the contract to operate the ferry. The city’s refusal to pay for the legitimate additional cost overruns resulted in the unintended consequence in which the city is now maintaining and operating the historic ferry.
This is an endeavor that is not their skill set and apparently too costly to continue.
Richard C. Sturgill
DHM founding director
Blaine
(Editor’s note: This letter reflects the writer’s account of events and should be read as opinion.)
The Editor:
Once again, the PeaceHealth system has made decisions that will impair the treatment of the most vulnerable at the end of life.
For over a decade, a team of talented, highly trained Advance Care Planning coordinators across the PeaceHealth system have helped patients develop advance care directives to address wishes for care if and when they are unable to speak for themselves. Designating a health care advocate and having an advance directive is essential to obtaining high-quality, cost-effective, compassionate, patient-centered healthcare. Yet PeaceHealth, citing budget challenges, has now cut this service, shifting the burden of this task to already overworked physicians and nurses.
The outcome of this decision will be reduced participation in advance care planning, which in the long run will result in more unwanted interventions, increased financial costs and emotional distress for both families and clinicians.
Raise your voice to protect your own healthcare choices. Contact PeaceHealth and recommend the reinstatement of the advance care planning program.
Marie Eaton
Bellingham
