03/15/2017

To the Editor:

Since the election of President Trump it's been exciting to see democracy in action throughout the nation; even here in Sisters expressed in our Nugget Newspaper.

Understandably disappointed in the loss of their candidate, people spoke out through words and actions and that is their right. It is disappointing however to see one term in particular used indiscriminately to express personal feelings: "Nazi."

Okay, how many Democrats/liberals, gays, immigrants, women, transsexuals, Jews, or Muslims has Trump slaughtered, gassed, or tortured since being elected? ZERO? How many unborn babies have been slaughtered since Roe vs. Wade? 55 million-plus.

While I support the millions of women that marched, I believe expressing their need for dignity would have been much better served had they not worn the vaginas, some really huge, on their heads. I don't even want to envision a similarly orchestrated men's march for dignity!

When President Trump sought to implement tighter vetting for immigrants from seven countries designed as high risk for ISIS infiltrators by President Obama, the extent of rage instigated by the liberal press and Democrats in Congress in my opinion was over the top. Seems logical that we'd want to prevent those that wish to kill us from sneaking into our country. Approximately 109 individuals were inconvenienced in the initial rollout. As a veteran all that rage, to me, appears someone misplaced given 425,000 vets are unemployed and 39,400 of those homeless. Where is the rage for that "inconvenience"?

There were numerous declarations for freedom of speech rights on both sides of the fence but it seems ironic that one side had their "Invisible" guide instructing how to shut down the free speech of the other side; acutely demonstrated in town halls throughout the country. The Constitution seems to be THE one common link for "morality" claimed by all. Given that I'd recommend a great online course called "Constitution 101" free to all at online.hillsdale.edu.

Jeff Mackey

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To the Editor:

"I voted for Trump. I hope I don't lose my health care."

I get why you did. The exchanges aren't working, and the subsidies didn't cover your rising premiums. Trump promised he would fix it. Me, I had my doubts. But if you ask me what Clinton's plan was, I couldn't tell you.

So now we know. The Republicans plan to transfer money from the working class to the rich. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center says nearly everyone in the top 1 percent, who earn more than $774,000 a year, get a tax cut, averaging $33,000. Those in the top 0.1 percent get an average tax cut of about $197,000. Insurance companies can charge what they want and deliver what they want, or not. Their CEOs get an even bigger tax cut. Take away subsidies. Take away expanded Medicaid and the health care jobs that came with it. Give tax credits to people who don't need them.

I don't care who you voted for. When Trump was elected, I vowed to do everything in my power to keep you from losing your health care. I don't need a tax credit. I need neighbors who have health care, including mental health care and maternal benefits.

And I need your help. Here's where to find Greg Walden: https://walden.house.gov/. President Trump is at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20500. You don't have to march or wear a pink hat or stand outside an office screaming. Call, send an email, write a postcard - not a letter, they spend two weeks getting clearance.

Tell them you're not falling for this con. President Trump and Congressman Walden promised they would fix this. Hold them to it.

Willa Goodfellow

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To the Editor:

A recent editorial in the Bend Bulletin on skydiving at the Sisters airport presented some of the issues, however, it inaccurately characterized residents' concerns as NIMBYs (not in my back yard) "fighting" the skydiving operation. For clarification, readers of that article should know the following:

1. Noise concerns are expressed, not only by neighbors living in the vicinity of the airport but from as far away as Black Butte Ranch.

2. The skydive company co-owners are mistaken in saying that the Save-Our-Skies (SOS) group is unwilling to work out a compromise.

There have been numerous efforts made by SOS to discuss such measures as varying flight patterns or limiting hours and days of operation. These have been met with intransigence on the part of the airport owner and manager, believing, inaccurately, that they cannot place any restrictions on the skydive operation. Calls made directly to the skydive office were transferred back to the airport manager by whomever answered the phone. The skydive company owners may not be aware of SOS's attempts to discuss their concerns directly with them.

Representatives of the Sisters Rural Advisory, LLC (the umbrella organization for the Save-Our-Skies efforts), and Sisters Eagle Airport, have recently engaged a professional to conduct a "mediation assessment" to measure readiness of the parties to enter into a positive and constructive dialog. It is SOS's sincere hope and expectation that mutually acceptable mitigation of excessive skydive plane noise will follow.

Dan Kromer