Presidential Candidates And Their Spiritual Advisors

So much has been made of remarks made by pastors Jeremiah Wright and John Hagee and their relationships with Barack Obama and John McCain. Is this really what we need to focus on when we choose a presidential candidate?

Are these relationships of equal importance when compared the issues that face our nation?

Is Obama's relationship with Wright more of an issue than Hagee's endorsement of McCain?

Jonathan Blake
White Salmon

Clintons in HR Tonight! Obama in Portland Tomorrow!

FYI:

Tonight -- May 17th!!!

Bill and Chelsea Clinton
Hood River Library

Rally starts at 7pm


Tomorrow -- Sunday May 18th!!!

Obama in Portland
Waterfront Park

Rally starts at 12:30 pm

Common Grounds Community Gardens in Bingen and White Salmon

Two community garden sites will open April 28th for gardeners:

• Humboldt in Bingen across from Daubenspeck Park
• Skyline next to Rhine Village

Garden plots range in length from 10-25 ft. and are all 4 feet wide. The cost is based on the length and includes water, tool use and soil amendments. Four by four fruit bins are available for children, seniors and physically challenged gardeners at $5. Registration for the plots began yesterday.

The gardens begin to fulfill the first priority identified by the Horizons program - to provide safe, sustainable food sources - and Common Grounds' sponsor WGAP (Washington Gorge Action Programs). Future plans include expanded sites, farmer's markets, communal food preservation site and more.

Gardeners registering yesterday represent a broad community with a strong desire to teach children to both garden and give as a third of the plots were dedicated to children's gardens and the Food Bank.

The volunteer Common Grounds team will have some non-GMO seed and starts available for the gardeners in the next few weeks. Organic practices and materials are utilized as much as possible.

Registration continues next Saturday, April 26, at both sites from 10 to Noon.

Volunteers are welcome!

Timi Keene

Police Response to Pharmacy Shoplifter

(Moved from comment section to a new topic)

Last Thurs. evening, while we had no police coverage in the city due to the mayor's decree, the pharmacy had a shoplifter. 911 was called, Mgr. Paul Doty chased the guy down after running all over the city. The police, finally getting authorization, dispatched an officer over a half hour later to respond. Turns out the guy was wanted on a parole/probation violation from a murder charge.

Is this what we're paying for?

Anonymous

Tonight ** Earth Hour 8:00 PM ** Lights Off!!

*** Earth Hour on March 29th ***

If you are reading this before 8pm on March 29th, you might consider joining in on Earth Hour.

On March 29th, whenever 8pm rolls around, over 350 cities in 35 countries, millions of individuals, the Sears Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, and 2,100 corporations including HP, Coca Cola and McDonald's, are all turning off their lights <http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1485/71/> .

It's less a measure to save a small amount of energy than it is to demonstrate solidarity with others about making a visible statement and agreeing that something needs to be done. Take some time to remember what darkness is, it's good for you. And when you turn your computer back on on the 30th, be sure to check back at EcoGeek for pictures of darkened skylines from around the globe.

Last year, Sydney Australia turned off its lights for an hour in order to, I guess, save some energy. Mostly, however, it was a statement. To see the combined effect of a lot of people agreeing that something needs to be done. The event was such a success that the World Wildlife Fund decided to take it global in 2008.

So on March 29th, whenever 8pm rolls around, over 350 cities in 35 countries, millions of individuals, the Sears Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, and 2,100 corporations including HP, Coca Cola and McDonald's, are all turning off their lights

From Ecogeek.org

Isn't It Time We Ended This War?

With the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War having come and gone, is it not time for us to end the senseless killing that has taken place over the last 5 years?

What have we accomplished with the 4,000+ American Soldiers dead, 29,000+ American service men and women wounded and the 89,000 Iraqi civilians killed?

In 1922, Winston Churchill, in a letter he wrote to David Lloyd George, termed Iraq an "ungrateful volcano"........what has changed in 86 years?

Jonathan Blake
White Salmon

Anyone Know The New Water Rates?

Speaking of accountability, does anyone have a clue what their new water rates will be?

Anonymous

Make Elected Officials Accountable

No matter what our political affiliations are, we have a responsibility to make elected officials accountable once in office.

If you want to find out how your senator or representative voted on recent legislation, check this page out every Sunday in the Seattle Times....

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004285705_rollcall16.html

If you see something you don't agree with then write them a letter or call their office!

If you are against supporting pork projects like the bridge to nowhere in Alaska, Patty Murray & Norm Dick's $4.5 million boat the Navy didn't even want or Doc Hasting's $300,000 pork barrel project the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser, then we need to speak up!

With the price of gasoline and other goods and services increasing, citizens are all forced to cutback in their personal spending........why shouldn't our elected officials in Washington DC do the same?

I am tired of "Business As Usual"!

Jonathan Blake
White Salmon

Presidential Race -- Truth, Fiction, Myth or Subterfuge?

FactCheck.org

In the run-up to the last presidential election, the false accusations, totally deceiving ads (not even mentioning Swift Boat Veterans for Truth) and dubious news sources, etc., made it extremely difficult to verify the credibility of anything said or reported.

That's when I found "FactCheck.org". This is truly a non-partisan information center for political fact-checking.

"The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels."

I recommend checking out this site and either subscribing to their newsletters or adding their feed in preparation for the upcoming primaries (or/and caucuses) and the presidential election.

http://www.factcheck.org/

ShadowGirl

Electronic Voter Registration

While doing research last Fall regarding the laws for issuing drivers licenses in the State of Washington, I came across a loophole in our Washington laws, RCW 29A.089.210 which governs drivers license and allows voter registration as well for illegal immigrants.

This is the letter which will appear in The Enterprise this week.

A while back I contacted our State Representative Dan Newhouse about drivers licenses being issued to illegal immigrants. One of the major problems about this is that the issuance of the driver's license generates the "Motor-Voter Bill" which allows the new licensee to register to vote without providing documents that prove they are indeed a citizen of the United States. Imagine my surprise when I read in the White Salmon newspaper "The Enterprise" on January 17 that the "State has joined Arizona and launched On-Line Voter Registration" which one can do if they have a driver's license. It says to learn more go to www.sec-state.wa.gov

Basically, the on-line registration allows anyone to register to vote as long as they have a valid driver's license or ID card. This has Voter Scam written all over it. I'm confused as to why the State of Washington allows illegal immigrants not only the right to have a drivers' license, but also an easy way to fraudulently register to vote. RCW 29A.089.210 allows the applicant to register to vote without a birth certificate or social security number. Illegal immigrants should not be allowed to have a Washington Drivers license period. And, no one registering to vote should be allowed to register without providing a birth certificate proving they are a naturalized citizen or citizenship documents. I want the Real ID passed by US Congress to be put into place in the State of Washington.

No wonder there were accusations of voter fraud in the last election, because there were in fact so many loop holes in this regard. This isn't a Republican or Democrat issue -this is a US citizen issue.

I received notification from Rep. Dan Newhouse that he is co-sponsoring a bill to close the loophole but the bill doesn't have a number as of yet. The bill must include an "in person renewal clause" in order to weed out from our voter registration those currently holding a drivers license who cannot prove their US citizenship. This is especially important given that Oregon has now quit issuing licenses to illegal immigrants so they may come into Washington to obtain a licenses.

I urge everyone to contact State Rep. Dan Newhouse and support him in rectifying this loophole. His e-mail address is newhouse.dan@leg.wa.gov

We must control our borders and our voting booths.

Dorothy Herman
White Salmon