Re: "Why They Hate Us" by Laura Onstot (September 3)
Dang those environmentalists and big-city politicians who try to run the lives of farmers when they know nothing at all about farming. I'm glad Laura Onstot knows enough about it to write the article. Having grown up on an Iowa livestock farm, I still was able to learn something from her story—that in Hobart, Washington (and nowhere else in the world, I'd guess), there are farmers asking the price of a bushel of hay. [Whoops, we meant 'bale.' Sorry, Clem (and everyone else who wrote)!—Eds.]
As for the family on May Creek who watched their stream turn into a bog—you don't suppose that had anything to do with the way the land along the creek was used, do you? Bank erosion from grading and grazing, animals trampling the creek, livestock manure fertilizing reeds and grasses in the stream? Or was it all the fault of those big-city environmentalist/politicians? The primary nutrient feeding rural land-use protests these days has little to do with farming and much to do with real estate. It's money: Where there's a rural protest against environmental land-use regulations, there's someone nearby who wants to short-plat, subdivide, grade, build, and sell. Don't think so? I'll bet you a bushel of hay.—Clem
I find it absolutely astounding that at a time when King County faces a $90 million budget deficit, the county plans to spend $5.5 million on a drainage project that will benefit a handful of landowners—NONE OF WHOSE HOMES ACTUALLY FLOOD!!!—just so they can save on their horse-food bills.—Eco Buccolic
Environmentalists' biggest mistake is they think the protections they seek are free. That government jurisdictions, like King County, have an obligation (and the authority) to accomplish environmental objectives regardless of impact. In other words, the common good outweighs the individual good.—Tom Carpenter
These comments are directed at a certain class of liberal. You guys preach diversity, but are completely clueless when you have to deal with someone who is actually different. If someone supports the life of the unborn or the sanctity of marriage, you scream that we're imposing our values on you, yet you seem to see nothing wrong with imposing your values on people whose lives and livelihood you don't understand at all.—Jeff T.
Ironic to see this headline after an encounter I had on my bicycle trip through the Cascades this past weekend. I took a photo of the Dino Rossi for Governor sign by the road 15 miles from Wenatchee. The bottom of the sign says, "Don't let Seattle steal this election." I couldn't believe it. You're worried that the citizens of Seattle who share the same state might vote to try to democratically elect someone—and this is "stealing"? Anyway, it was a stark reminder of the urban/rural wedge (and the way the Rossi campaign is trying to drive that wedge deeper to rally rural voters). From my experience and ideals, "us" vs. "them" is at the heart of most local and global problems. Hope we can keep finding common ground that protects the real interests of rural families.—Destiny Williams
Re: "Neighbors in Arms" by Aimee Curl (September 3)
I don't think there's anything wrong with walking your neighborhood at night to help prevent crime, but aren't you inviting trouble by announcing to the world that you're walking around with guns? And if this group finds it, how will they respond, exactly? Is someone in this group going to pull out a gun if they see a drug deal (or think they see a drug deal)? Make a citizen's arrest? What's scary to me is the lack of training and the impression left that this is a vigilante mob. Why not leave the house without a weapon and call the police if you see something suspicious?—Daniel Smith
What's missing from this article is race. By the sound of people's names, this sounds like whitey vigilantes fed up and scared of living in the diverse neighborhood that is Beacon Hill. People running around with guns and terrorizing people of color is nothing new, it's just an adjunct to the Seattle Police's harassment. Which, incidentally, happens constantly on Beacon Hill. –Katie
The area being patrolled is one of the nastiest places in this city and the cops won't do squat about it. I'm bothered by crime in this neighborhood, but when I voiced this concern on another Beacon Hill blog on a post which dealt with crime rates in our area, another poster accused me of being a white yuppie (not either) and racist.
So, thanks for doing this article so that I could get this off my chest. I'm sure I'll get called a white yuppie (OK, I'll take the white-yuppie paycheck if you're offering). I don't see how being concerned about the safety of your neighborhood has to do with what race or tax bracket you're in. THAT sort of thinking implies that any nonwhite person doesn't give a damn about their community—and THAT, Beacon Hill whiners, is racist thinking.—Beacon Hill Res.
