Online-only letters
Extreme makeover
Nightclub is now church
Editor, The Times:
Regarding “Troubled Belltown nightspot to become evangelical church” [Times, Local News, Oct. 23]: It’s true that “several downtown churches unable to stop a decades-long decline in membership have sold to developers” and moved.
We’ve been sad to see them go. But Plymouth Congregational Church has been around for 137 years and we’re one of those growing, “vibrant congregations” Pastor Tim Gaydos envisions.
We love the city from Sixth Avenue and University Street and live out a little different sort of Christianity than that of Mars Hill Church. We welcome people from all different places on life’s journey to join us as we worship God, love one another and stand with the marginal people of the world.
That approach to faith has drawn us to Seattle’s homeless population; so Plymouth members founded Plymouth Housing Group and Plymouth Healing Communities, two award-winning nonprofits that make life a lot better for thousands in Seattle.
We’ve been around a while, so to Pastor Gaydos and the Mars Hill congregation we say, “Welcome to the neighborhood.”
- Allen Hilton, senior minister, Plymouth Congregational Church, SeattleBread and circuses
Reincarnation of nuclear reactor
Regarding “A nuclear reactor’s next life: Tourist destination?” [Local News, Oct. 22]: A museum to glorify the creation of the first weapons-grade plutonium? How about a museum showing the first cause humanity made to annihilate itself?
I know: We could put photos of survivors and the destruction the people of Nagasaki endured - this would also look nice on the walls of the boat tours. In the museum bookstore, we could sell the 80 volumes of survivors’ experiences collected after the war. Or we could collect statistics on the repercussions of all that “scattered radioactive Iodine-131″ the American people endured.
Also responses from scientists that were duped into believing Nazi Germany was continuing to seek nuclear weapons; just research professor Joseph Rotblat. He was the only scientist to walk off the Manhattan Project after discovering Nazi Germany was no longer seeking nuclear capabilities.
Or, better yet, we could put up a huge timeline that shows where the state of the planet is now in regards to the nuclear-arms race. Personal accounts of those who lived during the terrifying Cold War era - pictures of kids under their school desks.
I think a museum similar to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, which graphically leads you through the Holocaust, is more fitting to “honor” this part of American history. The Museum of Tolerance is designed to teach the destructive and evil nature humanity possesses in order to prevent such things from happening again.
When considering honoring those people who built it, just talk to the pilot who dropped the first atomic weapon. His son had a very different story to tell… and it surely wasn’t filled with patriotism.
“What happened at B Reactor is roughly equivalent to the discovery of fire and putting a man on the moon,” said Wally Greager, who worked at the B Reactor.
Eliminating the option for war, thus respecting all life and believing in mankind is to me more comparable to the discovery of fire.
- Stephanie Araiza, SeattlePolitics of war
Don’t pull the trigger
Think today: Who are the nuclear-armed countries? Of those, which have ballistic-delivery capability? Which of those countries are aggressors today? And of those, which is the most unstable leader with a finger on the trigger?
Look in the mirror: Who do you see? Contact Congress. Bring change.
- Douglas Orton, Des MoinesSicker than blood
According to “Iraq’s oil: the plot thickens” [News, Oct. 30], Kurdish leaders have “… granted an oil concession to Hunt Oil, a U.S. company close to the White House.”
Weapons of mass destruction, removing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, spreading democracy, Sept. 11, etc., etc. Yeah, right. One need look no further for the real reason American troops are fighting and dying in Iraq.
The plot sickens.
- Dave Richards, Bainbridge IslandPlot of imagination
Just imagine what it would be like if wars were funded the way school districts are, and if school districts were funded the way wars are.
What a concept.
- Marilyn Thompson, ShorelineDUI frenzy
Universal guilt
“Correct me if I am wrong, but that is not accepting responsibility” [Northwest Voices, Oct. 24] and ” ‘Why was a woman with a DUI record driving on Interstate 5?’ ” [Northwest Voices, Oct. 13] have displayed the widespread and unfair demonization of anyone involved in a drunken-driving case.
Driving impaired by alcohol is obviously unacceptable, just like any other form of reckless driving - illegal in itself - and can result in serious injury, property damage and death.
Comparing that action to premeditated murder or assault, calling for “public humiliation” and claiming that DUI offenders are more dangerous than convicted killers, on the other hand, are all clear examples of the unreasonable and intellectually lazy attitudes that have allowed for the large-scale, unfair and unconstitutional treatment of those accused of driving under the influence.
Those suspected of DUI are forced to submit to breath or blood tests. Failure to do so is used as evidence of guilt, despite the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination. Tests are taken before access to a lawyer is allowed. Breath and blood samples are not required to be preserved by law enforcement - which doing is both possible and affordable - and reviewed at trial; any other form of legal evidence must be made available to the defendant’s legal team.
Blood alcohol testing over .08 changes the usual assumption of innocence to an assumption of guilt, and the burden of proof is shifted to the defendant. Indeed, even if it can be proven that the defendant was not impaired, simply having tested over .08 is punishable as DUI.
Although fortunately not true in Washington, many states allow sobriety roadblocks by police - stopping presumably law-abiding citizens without reasonable suspicion. Other states also deny trials by jury to those accused of DUI, despite the prospect of long sentences and heavy penalties.
Driving drunk and endangering lives is clearly criminal and needs to be prevented. However, the sort of zeal bordering on hatred that has been promoted by the likes of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and widely adopted in America can do nothing but erode everyone’s rights. The goal is to convict everyone who’s guilty, but the real result is the ability to convict anyone at all.
Preventing alcohol abuse, providing safe alternatives to - already very dangerous - cars and deterring infractions through fair and reasonable punishment should be our focus; instead we have resorted to assuming guilt and denying compassion.
- James Mackenzie, SeattleCrime and punishment
Yet another person has died due to a repeat drunk-driving offender who has been allowed to get behind the wheel again [”Not guilty plea for wrong-way I-5 fatality ,” Local News, Oct. 22]. She killed the passenger of a car while driving her vehicle the wrong way on Interstate 5, and may claim the life of the other driver before the dust settles - he’s barely hanging on.
Here’s the good news if you’re the 27-year-old wrong-way driver, Cerrissa Christensen: She may only have to serve 78 months in prison if convicted on all charges! Take a third off for good behavior and she’ll be back behind the wheel before you know it! I’ll drink to that.
When will this state ever get its act together and make sure someone like this never drives again? She killed an 18-year-old young woman and will for sure scar her19-year-old boyfriend for life, if he survives. And yet the drunken driver may only get 78 months.
She killed someone; you could probably get more time for holding up a bank! Now ask yourselves, which crime has done more harm? Which one will have a longer-lasting effect on those close to those harmed? If she was drinking at a bar, the families of these two young people should be allowed to sue that bar for every dime they can get.
Heads need to roll here. Maybe, just maybe, some folks in Olympia will grow some big brass ones and pass some legislation dealing with this horrific crime. Then again, probably not. They’re too busy being wined and dined by some PAC or some such organization. My bad.
- Steve Drake, SeattleMath-teacher shortage
Put two and two together
After reading “Program targets math-teacher shortage” [Local News, Oct. 20], I was struck by the downstream response to this problem.
The reality is, you get what you pay for. Other sectors are competing for math- and science-minded graduates with similar skill sets, and to attract quality math teachers, school districts will have to offer competitive rewards to vie for these candidates.
This program is a tiny Band-Aid on a gaping wound, and will likely neither create nor attract passionate math or science teachers - certainly not in the numbers we need!
As a society, we need to recognize the overarching effects of undervaluing our teachers and therefore undervaluing our children and our health as a country. Studies show basic education plays a key role in determining the health of our country as a whole.
What’s necessary is a fundamental shift in values from short-term needs, such as putting a teacher in every classroom; to the long-term investment in assuring high-quality education; and health and opportunity for every child in the country.
However possible, increasing compensation and morale among the teachers of this nation would be the first step.
- Lisa Querido, student, Portland, Ore.Lessons of youth
A Boy Scout’s tale
Thank you very much for “Scouting teaches positive lessons that guide participants for life” [guest column, Oct. 24]. As an Eagle Scout, I share the sentiments of guest columnists Brian Davis and Bruce Montgomery about how the Boy Scout program instills a sense of morale, leadership and responsibility in our youth.
The Boy Scouts of America served as one of the prime influences on who I have become today, personally and professionally. I retain fond memories of hiking trips, weeks spent at Boy Scout Camp, completing Merit Badges and teaching the next generation of Scouts how to continue to grow and carry on the Scouting traditions.
Today, I look forward to my young son reaching the age where I can pass on some of my knowledge and love for the Scouting program by teaching him how to tie a bowline, build an igloo, cook in a Dutch oven, and lead a group of Scouts on a successful camping trip.
Like other organizations, the Boy Scouts has had its troubles and strives to correct its problems in an effective way that is best for the young Scouts it serves. Our society is always changing, and the Boy Scouts - like several other groups - has worked to change and adapt its policies and procedures to meet coming challenges and continue to strive to be the best youth-based organization it can be.
- James Bach, Bellevue