KIRO 7 News Staff reported late afternoon April 20 that Lakewood’s mayor “admits he’s responsible for an online social media post criticizing enforcement of Washington’s statewide coronavirus shutdown and blaming Gov. Jay Inslee.”
Good for Mayor Anderson.
While apparently the entirety of Anderson’s claims cannot be considered as accurate, his charges alleging heavy-handedness – let alone enforcement that appears arbitrary – on the part of the governor reflects an anger directed at the state’s top official that is not undeserved.
Golf courses are closed but cannabis stores are open?
Holding a fishing pole in a boat 100 yards – even six feet (which doesn’t happen) – from another boat on public waters is not allowed but ensuring the ingredients are available for joints and blunts is?
Why is cannabis in this coronavirus climate considered ‘essential’ for consumers?
In Ontario it’s not.
But it was.
When cannabis producers in the Canadian Province of Ontario discovered they’d made the initial cut announced March 24 as ‘essential’, preening like a peacock their pontifications were annoyingly pompous.
We’re listed “just after retail and wholesalers who provide bedding, food, and shelter to animals, and just before petrol stations,” cannabis providers said as they strutted about.
They quoted Ontario Premier Doug Ford as saying that mental health and addiction experts deemed it “absolutely critical” to keep these stores open.
“There are people out there with addictions and we’re here to support them,” he said.
Well, no more.
Apparently, Ontario wants to maintain its position as the province with the second longest life expectancy index in Canada.
Cannabis sellers who once strutted are now shuttered.
Not in Gov. Inslee’s Washington.
Cannabis stores are open, golf courses are closed.
Purchasing products to put in your pipe and smoke it is legit, putting a worm on your hook is not.
Good for Lakewood in opening parks – including its boat launch – beginning April 21.
Now, how about a letter addressed to the governor – printed here in this publication for Lakewood residents, taxpayers and voters to read – that the Mayor and City Council want the locks removed from the gates that allow access to boating and fishing?
Or close cannabis stores.
Good luck on the Guv actually seeing a letter written to HIM and even if it is sent Certified Mail. His staff intercepts everything and will NOT allow him to see it if it might offend his “highness”.
I know this to be the case, because this last summer I tried to enlist our ecologically sensitive Guv to step in and stop the Waughop Lake Alum treatment. He NEVER saw my letter.
It was, instead, sent to the WA State Department of Ecology who sent me a reply that was almost verbatim to what they had sent to me earlier in the year when I formally protested the City of Lakewood’s application to do the Alum treatment.
Now….we allllll know how that worked out, don’t we?
Yep….
Mr. David Anderson,
Thank you, Mr. Anderson and Mayor Anderson for speaking out. Once again Governor Inslee who supports dope appears dopey himself.
Now that dope is legal in Washington, our Governor’s thinking and behavior makes me wonder if he is smoking joints in his capital office.
Dope yes, but fishing and golf no. That’s dopey.
Joseph Boyle
Connect the cannabis hypocrisy:
1. Cannabis retailers exempted from closure – According to an 8:35 a.m. updated article in the Tacoma News Tribune today, April 23, by Lauren Kirschman, GOP gubernatorial candidate Joshua Freed filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday naming Gov. Jay Inslee as a defendant in his capacity as governor, declaring Inslee – in his partial closure of businesses unconstitutionally “carves out broad exemptions for 162 types of secular commercial and recreational activities from this ban, including `cannabis retailers’…”
2. “Legalize home delivery of marijuana” – That was the opinion expressed by The Tacoma News Tribune Editorial Board (TNTEB) April 15.
3. TNT writes “We need your help” – in an email today, April 23, the TNT pleads, “The coronavirus is devastating our local community and our economy.”
‘Please send money to us,’ the TNT writes.
After all, says the TNT, we are here “protecting our communities.”
Every employee, journalist, reporter, columnist,and staff are full fledged democrats. Some are liberal and some are socialists but not one is conservative or for that matter independent. I have read the TNT for over 60 years and have seen the changes. It use to be a great newspaper but now they stand behind the L A Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, and New York Times (all democrat controlled) cherry picking what column hates or are against President Trump the most and prints it.
The TNT is good for local, obits, and comics. Notice I even left out sports. Very pathetic sports pages now, even the E edition and that was before the coronavirus.
Notice the weather is now reporting the high at 1pm instead of 5 pm?
I get more honest news from the Wall Street Journal and they at times attack President Trump but at least give good information on our President when he deserves it but you won’t see anything good about our President in our local paper. It’s a shame.
I feel sorry for people who just read this TNT paper, watch CNN or local tv channels and take their news as honest and fulfilling. It definitely is not.
Two men walking through a cemetery at night, one of them whistling.
“Why are you whistling?”
“To keep away the ghosts.”
“I don’t see any ghosts!”
“See! It’s working.”
This is an allegory for what Inslee and much of the country’s leaders are claiming with their overreaction in shutting down the economy and taking credit for the limit of corvid19. While there are no “ghosts” there are certainly unnecessary consequences related to the economy and disease. Here’s what we know. 80+% of those with covid19 are asymptomatic or not significantly affected so this isolation really doesn’t do anything for them health wise, but the shut down for them is catastrophic economically. Indeed resent research indicates that the number of infected individuals might be 85 times higher (Stanford U study) that thought previously which would raise the asymptomatic into the high 90 percentile. It makes no sense to lock down the state to “protect” those who, even if contracting the virus, would be asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms. We don’t do this for any other disease.
It may also be counterproductive since isolating so many who have contracted the virus who are asymptomatic along with those who have not contracted the virus but who would be asymptomatic should they contract it, reduces the potential for “herd immunity” and increases the likelihood of a secondary surge in the virus after these restrictions are removed…..if ever.
So what about all those hospitalized with serious symptoms and who die from the virus. Since we do know about the 80+% mildly affected that leaves the remaining 20% (perhaps a much smaller number relative to those already infected) who are seriously infected and the small number among them who die. They are elderly with health issues which is confirmed at all levels of government. It is they who need the protection and support and a state wide lock down diffuses that emphasis, protection and support among millions instead of the relatively few thousands that need it. So keep whistling as you walk through this “grave yard” and while you can claim credit where little is due you can also assure yourself that the crisis will be longer and more severe both for the economy and public health than if you had used an intelligent focused approach to the problem.
There would be MORE fatalities and sick people. Take it from one who knows with a family member who died from the flu. Don’t underestimate common sense & science. The governor is acting on the behalf of all the citizens of this state!
I am so tired of these inane rants. I’m really unhappy that they are appearing on this venue which in past has been an information venue, not a political venue.
https://thesubtimes.com/2020/04/23/westside-story-30-years-of-disagreement/comment-page-1/#comment-121602
Unfortunately, everything has become political; some more so than others, like this piece, because it was written by a politician. I despise politicians. I agree with George Carlin: I don’t vote. I don’t encourage idiots. As much as I dislike doctors and hospitals, I would trust them over politicians any day.
I wrote it. I am not a politician. Wouldn’t stoop that low.
As a mayor, you are a politician, stop denying your status.
JC, I can understand how you might believe otherwise but my name is David Anderson. I wrote the article for which people, like yourself, are commenting in this thread. Don Anderson is the mayor. That is not me.
If you don’t vote you get what everyone else wants whether you want it or not.
You’re wrong. Perhaps I want those things too. Typical politician’s thoughts…
I get the rant in a sense but the point of social distancing is clear.. recreational weed is of my opinion non-essential but so is ice cream. But because some people use marijuana for medicinal purposes such as pain relief for cancer patients or those with glaucoma, lies the irony: as ice cream is considered food wether we could arguably agree to disagree that it is essential to some … both can affect our health or simply Relieve our stress. (I am not a pothead- and sadly I am lactose intolerant… so I Don’t enjoy either options) – golfing- I understand the sport because I too enjoy playing it, but if we reopened that, not everyone get to enjoy it because not everyone plays golf at that it is expensive . (A rich mans sport) then there comes the comparison rant about being unable to open other recreational activities like making basketball hoops available at parks. And fishing- can you imagine what the crowd would be like if this was available. With limited activities and people looking for things to do.. I bet it would be like another Costco run where you get there not expecting everyone to be there at once and then the line is wrapped up about 2 blocks back. I mean I may not have the best analogies, or examples but my point is.. damn if you do and damn if you don’t.. safety is priority… everyone is following protocol.. all it takes is one cough and it starts all over again.. do you really want to risk it because weed shops are opened but you can’t go fishing?