Refuting right-wing lies
Cindy Agidius’ column (Tribune, Jan. 12) destroys assumptions about her being an open-minded, honest editorialist. She calls for persons like me “to move on” from the past.
On Jan. 6, 2021, it’s a fact that Nancy Pelosi had no power to call out the National Guard, even if Donald Trump asked her to. The Capitol Police Board, officials who decide whether to call out the Guard, decided not to until the violence had gotten out of hand. There is no evidence that Pelosi asked the board not to call in the Guard, but Agidius still harps on that lie.
Agidius writes that although “many in the crowd” of Jan. 6 protesters were “surprised as it turned violent” (key word is “turned”), the “out-of-control behavior is what we all watched in the Black Lives Matter” demonstrations in Portland and Seattle. Can she not see the implied dishonesty in such distorted characterizations?
The 300,000 sex-trafficked immigrant children is another lie. Yes, 32,000 immigrant children did not show up for court dates; another 291,000 were not issued court dates at all. That leaves 313,000 immigrant children not officially accounted for. But to assume that they are all “sex-trafficked” is a distortion, a lie. Aaron Richlin-Melnick, policy director at the American Immigration Council, told the BBC that though there “are valid concerns” about “exploitation ... many, hopefully even most, are safe with caring sponsors.”
How about a pact, Cindy? Stop repeating right-wing lies about the past, and we’ll quit trying to show you the truth.
D’Wayne Hodgin
Moscow
A ridiculous proposal
Washington state HB11-52, is a stupid attempt to deal with a serious problem. It would penalize the gun owner if a criminal steals his gun and uses it to commit a crime. This assumes the thief has been caught and has admitted to or been proven to have stolen the gun. The thief has committed two crimes. According to this ridiculous proposal, because the thief committed the first crime, the victim will be penalized for both crimes.
Please explain this logic so this former soldier, great-grandfather, author, factory executive and voter can understand. It says if someone breaks into my home, car or my coat, steals my legal gun and commits a crime, I could be charged as a felon, fined $1,000 and serve jail time, losing my rights to vote and own a gun.
The bill suggests that unless I virtually encase my home in concrete, making it impossible for me to access my guns to prevent someone from stealing my guns, I’m not doing enough to prevent gun crime. If Washington’s ridiculous Democrat Legislature passes this, idiot Gov. Bob Ferguson will sign it.
Then I am at risk of being arrested for someone else committing crime.
Will these geniuses make car owners liable if someone steals their car and uses it to rob a bank, drive drunk or run over a citizen? If so, they could make laws charging the guy’s Jockey shorts manufacturer for failing to prevent the crime. This is no more ridiculous than HB11-52.
Rick Rogers
Clarkston
