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LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
The Editor:
On behalf of Trinity Community Lutheran Church, I would like
to say thank you to Thrifty Foods of Tsawwassen for their donation
of 50 pounds of strawberries for our Strawberry Social, which
was held on June 12.
Thanks to Joan Linde for her capable leadership and her crew
of angel helpers, who hulled the berries and made shortcake the
day before the event. The cool weather did not deter the many
members and friends who showed up to eat the generous portions
of whipped cream, berries and cake.
Thank you Joan, thank you helpers, thank you to all who continue
to support Trinity’s ongoing ministry in Point Roberts.
Ruth Liukkonen
Point Roberts
The Editor:
I am writing in regard to the letter in the June issue of the
All Point Bulletin from Errol E. Povah.
I would strongly suggest that Mr. Povah put this in his pipe
and smoke it. Why don’t you stay home in Delta, Mr. Povah,
wrapped in your cocoon of self-righteousness; you have many places
there, apparently to slake your thirst and bore others with your
pontificating; i.e. your beloved Beaches, Bunkers and Rose & Crown.
Any dollars you spend here will be lamentably negated by your
whining and belly-aching, spoiling any good time other patrons
might hope to have. So stay there with your gloom and doom statistics
- while trying to remember that tobacco is still legal. I haven’t
touched a drop in over 11 years, but boy - to listen to a pompous
speech maker such as yourself makes me want to tilt a few back!
Ever heard of live and let live? You freely admit that you have
your share of smoke-free zones - enjoy them. Don’t torture
the rest of us.
Better yet, enjoy a cheeseburger with your pint. Since you are
statistically obsessed, don’t forget that recent studies
show obesity is fast out-running nicotine as an epidemic health
risk. In my own personal experience, I have had six people die
of alcohol-related problems - zero to smoking.
Finally, shame on you for trying to shame Nick Kiniski by using
the oh-so-lame dad card, in a transparent control-freak effort
to get the world to conform to what you presumptuously feel is
the ‘right thing.’ Butt out (yes, pun intended).
Patti Vopnford
Point Roberts
The Editor:
I’m a southerner, and where I come from the oft-repeated
refrain is “Fogit? HAYUHL!!!”
As you might presume, our illustrious Fedstapo is about as popular
with me as a piranha in a hot tub. In fact, I’d go so far
as to say I even think Northern California, Oregon, Washington
and Alaska should secede from the bastion of neuronically challenged
pulchritude known as Los Estados Unidos, while British Columbia
and Alberta should secede from the fascist enclave known as Canada.
We can make Victoria the capital of our new country, and flip
the bird to the US and Canada, and best of all- do away with
the damn border crossing between the Point and Tsawwassen.
Now that I have your attention, I bet you wonder what has me
so riled up. Here’s what happened. I’m sure many
of you can relate.
The other day I was taking the day off, just trying to unwind
from my busy schedule of innumerable phone calls, emails, radio
shows, and publication deadlines, and I ran various errands in
the lower mainland. I bought a weed whacker at Canadian Tire
in Richmond, some groceries at Thrifty Foods, some rose fertilizer
and two bags of steer manure at Harris’s Nursery.
I went for a nice relaxing swim at Winskill Aquatics Center,
and used the sauna and hot tub, just before recrossing the border.
I knew Action _______ was probably in the booth because the line
was really long and as I inched closer I groaned inwardly, wondering
if I was going to run out of gas because the needle was clearly
indicating that I was riding on fumes. My back teeth were swimming
too, and I had to damn near tie a knot in it.
Who knows what makes anyone tick? Maybe this guy was in the marines
or something, I don’t know. Maybe he had a super authoritarian
mother or father or maybe he pulls his boxers up a tad too high – I
don’t know and I don’t want to know, all I know is
that some border guards act as though they have about three working
neurons on a good day and I have to wonder when they’re
going to all be replaced by robots made in Japan. Some of them,
on both sides probably, deserve to have their cars driven off
Lily Point, and if those concrete pylon barriers weren’t
blocking the path, I’m sure by now there would be about
50 border guards’ cars at the bottom of the cliff, from
both countries.
By now ya’ll probably wonder if I’m the nephew of
Osama Bin, (negatory muchachos) so I might as well just let you
know why I’m feeling this need to sound off.
He spied the pile of stuff I’d just bought and I was groggy
from my AC being broken and made the colossal mistake of letting
him know I had two bags of what the Canadians euphemistically
refer to with straight faces as “Steer Manure” in
the car.
How could I have been so stupid? Hadn’t I read The Dictocrats
- Our Unelected Rulers by Omar Garrison? Hadn’t I read
James Bovard’s outrageously humorous, but all too true
tome How the Government Screws You From A- Z?
Action knows damn well I wasn’t going to eat the damn steer
manure, so why did he hassle me over it? Simple. Because he could.
Because he’s got a badge and a gun and (by his reckoning
anyway) more power than God Almighty.
Let’s look at this from a standpoint of mad cow disease.
Is there any evidence that anyone ever got Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) from eating tomatoes or other vegetables
grown with the aid of steer manure? Hell no, in fact, there is
no evidence that there’s any more incidence of BSE in Canada
than in the USA, while there is evidence that there is only one
North American Herd.
To be fair to the border guards, they’re not all on my
S list, only a select few of them are. Most are pleasant, friendly,
and not on power trips. I have enjoyed numerous good conversations
with them, and respect the tedium they must endure, having once
been a toll collector on the Garden State Parkway (New Jersey)
I hope none of them, including Action take this letter the wrong
way, but if they do, I’m beyond the point of caring. I’m
already red flagged in the computer for being a run of the mill
rabble-rouser, and as far as I’m concerned, they can add
this complaint to the voluminous file the FBI already has on
me. I just don’t care.
I’m not going to be anonymous either, because I have the
right to freedom of speech and even though Bush’s grandfather
Prescott Bush was a direct supporter of Adolph Hitler, and George
the Second isn’t any better, some way, some how, we shall
overcome!! Trust me, sports fans, a day will come when we can
once again provide our gardens with the fertilizer of our choice,
and if that be BS, so BE it!
We just don’t need any more of this bovine scatology!
Want to join the Point Bob Independence Committee to Spearhead
the Revolt Against the Mutant Paper Pushers of the U.S. and Canada?
Want to form a new country and break away from these slack-jawed
microcephalic non-entities and their string-pulling fascist masters?
Sign on to the IAHF email distribution list at http://www.iahf.com
and pierce the veil of all the illusions!
In the spirit of the glorious Fourth when we can guzzle suds,
gorge ourselves half to death on anything we choose to ingest,
go fishin’ without licenses, drink wine before its time,
snag “illegal” crab, blow up firecrackers, gawk at
the parade and generally get blotto to forget about our enslavement
from the power mad paper pushers from hell!! Yeeeeeeee-haw!
John C. Hammell
Point Roberts
The Editor & U.S. Representative Rick Larsen:
Recent cutbacks in Point Roberts border personnel are having
a severe impact on the economy of our community. These impacts
are detailed in the June edition of the All Point Bulletin,
copy enclosed for your reference.
In your re-election campaign literature, “Good Communities
are Worth Keeping Safe,” you describe your continuing efforts
to secure additional funding for added law enforcement personnel
for the cities of Sumas, Lynden and Blaine. There is no mention
of your efforts on behalf of Point Roberts, but the effects of
the recent “cost cutting” measures at our border
will hardly result in increased safety or economic security here.
Point Roberts has recently lost the advantage of experienced
customs inspectors due to their replacement by new, inexperienced
recruits. This has resulted in longer wait times at the border
and needless interrogation of local residents who regularly cross
the Point Roberts border.
Local businesses depend on increased volumes of summer traffic
to sustain them during the winter months. Long wait times are
bad for tourism. Until recently, seasoned customs personnel at
the Point Roberts border have traditionally allowed expeditious
passage of locals known to inspectors. The result has been faster
processing and shorter wait times for tourists coming down from
Canada to patronize businesses in Point Roberts.
In addition to the inconvenience of long border line-ups, Whatcom
County sheriff’s deputies recently issued over 100 citations
over a long weekend for minor traffic infractions, including
the new $101 fine for failure to wear seat belts. Why would the
average tourist spend an hour in a border line-up to visit a
community where he and his family would be hassled by local law
enforcement?
Your campaign literature speaks expansively about your efforts
in extracting large amounts of taxpayers money to increase border
security. Your efforts have not benefited Point Roberts.
If you are truly committed to “keeping communities safe,” a
positive step would be to use your political influence as a U.S.
Representative to reinstate the seasoned Point Roberts customs
inspectors who lost their income, benefits, and retirement as
a result of your government’s latest “cost cutting” measure.
John Lesow
Point Roberts
The Editor & Mr. Thomas W. Hardy, Director, Field
Operations, Customs and Border Protection:
I have been contacted by a number of my constituents regarding
the recent cuts to other-than-permanent (OTP) personnel at the
northern border. I have included correspondence that I have received
concerning this matter. I would appreciate your attention on
this important issue.
According to the enclosed letters, a number of Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) personnel were recently released from full-time
hours. Many of the border officials worked at the border for
a number of years. While I understand the need to keep costs
down, I do not believe that budget cuts should fall on the backs
of these hard working individuals who want to continue to serve
their country. Many of these individuals have families in Whatcom
County and have no other means to support them. I urge you to
do all you can to find permanent positions within CBP for these
personnel.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward
to your response.
Rick Larsen
Member of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Please send
your letter to: P.O. Box 1451, Point Roberts, WA 98281
or fax (360) 945-1613.
E-mail:editor@allpointbulletin.com
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