Letters

Mill Creek garage sale

Great memories are made despite hassels

There are some negative side effects regarding our bi-yearly garage sales. Apparently someone bought a couch bed and while hauling it away the davenport fell off of a truck and the new owner just threw the damaged furniture on the sidewalk and then fled away. I can only guess that association fees helped pay for these remains to be hauled away to a legal dumpsite.

But even with some negative stories about the sale, we all have a fable we can share about a memorable day.

It was 1993 when Karen and I purchased our dream house, and we picked the first Saturday in May to move from Lynnwood. We had no idea that we picked one of the worst days to do so.

After crossing Bothell-Everett Highway I came to a stop. To my surprise traffic was still. It took about 15 minutes to reach the stoplight for Village Green Drive. When I made the turn some young “greeters” approached the U-Haul and asked me to donate to their non-profit organization. The request took me back, but not as much as the 20 minutes I spent creeping along the seven-tenths of a mile to our new house.

After packing most of the night before and loading the truck that morning we were tired and grumpy. So when we made it to our house and started to unload we were not ready or patient when bargain hunters constantly asked if this or that was for sale. After five minutes, I was ready to say: “You can take all this stuff. I want out of here!”

We lived through that and now enjoy the sales days. But anytime I hear from someone that they are moving into our collective neighborhood, I am not reluctant to tell the new neighbor about 1993.

CHUCK WRIGHT

Mill Creek

Library funding

Taxes shouldn’t support access to Internet porn

I do not support taxes to fund the Mill Creek Library. Please give the library to someone else.

Pornography is easily accessed at this library. I do not go to this library and neither does anyone in my family. If I could take my taxes and give it to a more responsible library I would.

This library has been talked about on radio and also on the news with Tony Ventrella. Please make this library go away from Mill Creek support.

ELAINE CRAIG

Mill Creek

National politics

Free-trade atmosphere is hurting the economy

The North America Free Trade Agreement was passed by Congress, even though at least 75 percent of all Americans opposed it. President Bush II has continued to “engineer” trade agreements guaranteed to export more American jobs, as he kowtows to the desires of multinational corporations to reduce their labor costs.

Job losses under George W. total more than 2.6 million. Manufacturing has suffered hundreds of thousands of layoffs; and small businesses have been wiped out by federal “free trade” policies, which are actually “managed trade” policies for the benefit of special interest liberal corporations.

Under real free trade, prosperity is enhanced by the free market. Phony free trade agreements have worsened the decline of family farms and ranches.

Our government is encouraging big business to move production to Mexico, China subsidized by tax breaks, credits, and guarantees by the Commerce Department and Export-Import Bank, and returning their cheap-labor-made products back to the U.S.. NAFTA is thus used to lure our scientific and high tech leadership away with devastating effects to our economy, as millions of Americans are downsized out of our most productive jobs which are increasingly out-sourced overseas. High paying value-added knowledge jobs are also disappearing.

It isn’t about free trade; it’s about power and conspiratorial plans to rob America of independent political authority. It’s a trap for foreign domination of our economy and government. It will create an economic regional bureaucracy toward a New World Order or socialist/communist government.

Only rejecting new free trade treaties by Congress can reverse the trend.

WILLIAM DUDSON BACON Lynnwood

Bush presidency has been an unfunny joke

We’ve recently had White House frivolity over weapons of mass destruction. Can we expect an encore?

The Bush media flaks have a wealth of comedy material. How about the humor in these? The war in Iraq? Unending terrorism and new atrocities with mounting American and Iraqi deaths. The actual chances of democracy. Afghanistan slipping away.

They’ve got more for laughs. The loss of well-paying jobs? Their replacement with low-wage, employment. The increasing cost of heath care, education, and housing. The deficit. The vision of bankrupt social programs. The assault on environmental safeguards. CIA operative Valerie Plame. The deception on the Medicare prescription bill.

Stop it, really. You’re killing me.

ED MIKEL

Brier

Thank you

Article highlighted

Cascade concert

On behalf of Cascade Symphony Orchestra, I would like to thank you for publishing the article about our concert. We regret that we did not make it clear when we delivered it that the byline should read “Marsha Hicks.” Next time we will do better!

We are grateful for the pictures by Chris Goodenow and the article by Patty Tackaberry about our “Electric Conductor,” Maestro Michael Miropolsky, and its featured location on the first pages of the Out and About section! Would that we could have such wonderful coverage for each of our four concerts per season! Such articles and pictures do more than advertise the concert. They stimulate interest and help build our audience. We believe exposure to classical music and expansion of the audience for the performing arts is beneficial to society in more ways than we realize, and we greatly appreciate your help in promoting us.

ROBERTA McBRIDE

Cascade Symphony Orchestra