Dear Editor,
Extremism Has No Place in Lewis County.
Local GOP Chair Mitchel Townsend's recent letter perfectly demonstrates why so many Lewis County residents are tired of extremist rhetoric that divides our community. His call for "confrontational strategy" and labeling neighbors as "destructive and degenerate" isn't leadership—it's the politics of grievance and fear.
Let's talk facts instead of inflammatory accusations.
Lewis County Democrats aren't destroying anything. We're the ones fighting for rural healthcare access while Republicans gut public health funding. We're supporting school levies to keep class sizes manageable while being lectured about "indoctrination." We're advocating for infrastructure investments that create local jobs while being told we hate American values.
Mr. Townsend claims we're stealing constitutional rights, but which party actually supports voting rights for all eligible citizens? Which party backs a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions? Which party believes in equal protection under the law regardless of who you love or what you look like?
His claim that Republicans are the "final guardians of liberty" would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous. This is the same party that wants government small enough to fit in your bedroom and doctor's office. The same party that gerrymanders districts to silence voters and passes laws making it harder for working people to cast ballots.
If Mr. Townsend wants to talk about an "unaccountable ruling class," perhaps he should examine how corporate interests have captured his party while working families struggle with rising costs and stagnant wages.
Here's what's actually destroying our "way of life": decades of disinvestment in rural communities, healthcare systems that prioritize profits over patients, and an economy rigged for the wealthy few. Democrats are fighting these real problems while Republicans offer culture war distractions and tax cuts for billionaires.
Lewis County Democrats aren't interested in "confrontational strategy"—we're interested in competent governance. We want to fix roads, fund schools, support small businesses, and ensure everyone has access to affordable healthcare. We believe democracy works better when more people participate, not when political leaders try to silence opposition voices.
Mr. Townsend's letter reveals exactly what's wrong with today's Republican Party: when you can't win on policy, you resort to fear-mongering and demonization. When your ideas don't appeal to voters, you attack the voters themselves.
Lewis County deserves better than politicians who see neighbors as enemies and governing as warfare. We deserve leaders who solve problems instead of creating them, who unite communities instead of dividing them, and who respect democracy even when they disagree with the results.
The only thing we're destroying is the notion that extremism and division are acceptable in local politics.
Respectfully,
Zac Eckstein
Chair, Lewis County Democratic Central Committee
Senate Bill 5375
Last Thursday, I attended the police Town Hall. It was very informative
and I think everybody learned a lot from each other, and I want to thank the
officers for doing that. In my view, Centralia is a vibrant and safe community. The
neighbors are wonderful, and I love living here. This evening, I want to speak about Senate Bill 5375 that would help stop
abuse and protect our children. Law Enforcement Workers, Public School Teachers, and other child protectors are required by law to report sexual and physical abuse done to children. But in Washington State, the current law does not apply to church pastors and clergy. Currently, they can keep the abuse secret, even from the child’s parents and guardians. In my view, this is a weakness in Washington's child protection laws and makes our state a target for this type of abuse. We, Must. Fix. That. Forty Seven other states have fixed this mistake, and so should we. In fact, the president’s pastor, Robert Morris, was just busted and indicted for crimes against a child due in part, to the fact that these laws exist in Texas and Oklahoma. Some people are concerned that normal disciplining of a child would be reportable under this law. It would not. The physical abuse that would need to be reported is defined in this document. It includes things done to children like throwing them, kicking them, burning them, and cutting them. Not normal discipline. Every other parent and guardian I've talked to feels the same, that our children should be protected. Right now, Washington State Senate Bill 5375 is working its way through the system. It will require pastors and clergy to join all the other child protectors, anbecome mandatory reporters of child abuse. Americans are right to be united on this: that we all want our children to be safe and to have a bright future. And I now ask each of you, if you would, please contact politicians John Braun, Peter Abbarno, and Ed Orcutt and ask them to support this law. Also, please, please, share this information with your loved ones and with your pastors and churches.
Thank you,
Ray Chapman-Wilson, Centralia
Here is the link to the WA state website to message WA State representatives
Abbarno, Braun and Orcutt
https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5375
Washington Senate passes bill to make clergy mandatory reporters of child
abuse
https://myedmondsnews.com/2025/03/washington-senate-passes-bill-to-make-cl
ergy-mandatory-reporters-of-child-abuse/
Robert Morris, former Texas megachurch pastor and Trump adviser, indicted for
child sex crimes
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/12/robert-morris-texas-megachurch-indicte
d-sexual-abuse/
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Dear Chief Justice John Roberts, I have been thinking about writing to you for months. I have never written to a judge before. But now things are happening in our country that come back to this Supreme Court. First, the Citizen’s United ruling determining money is speech has now enabled a Billionaire to purchase an election. Money is an addiction. People with lots of money want more money and then they want my money too. The moneyed class never have to worry about food, housing, education, childcare, healthcare, safety, saving for retirement, transportation, the care of family members and employment. For wealthy people the financial aspect of these concerns are non-issues. For the majority of us these are real concerns and areas where Government can help. Yet whatever little bit the very wealthy pay in taxes, relative to their wealth, it is always too much, even when their tax burden is zero. And so, they start to buy politicians and elections, initiatives and judges. Mr. Musk spent $250,000,000 + to buy a president and access to EVERYTHING in the government.
This destroys the premise of one man one vote. I do not believe Mr. Musk and the president are remotely interested in serving the American people. Government should serve the community. Mr. Musk and the current president think the government should serve only the interest of the moneyed class. Then there is the ethics debacle. I was shocked to learn the Supreme Court of the United States does not have a Code of Conduct and a Standard of Ethics- something every other level of the system of law and justice has. Apparently, no one oversees the conduct of the individuals on the court. And the failings are stunning. I was a staff nurse in a large hospital system for most of my working life, retiring two years ago. Every year without fail every employee was required to complete mandatory online education. One of the review modules concerned the organization’s Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards. It included reading the information, testing the information and after completion of these steps, providing a computer signature verifying you understood and agreed to comply with the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards.
The material covered expected behaviors, pertinent laws, conflict of interest, and the ways this information pertained to the employee and employees’ family members, activities and businesses. There was information on the process to ascertain if a particular situation would be in violation of standards and how to report a concern regarding a co-worker or superior. There was a phone line to make these reports, and they could be anonymous, or you could identify yourself. There was an Individual “the Integrity Officer” who followed up with ALL the messages and was available to advise. Situations were dealt with in real time. We were not allowed to accept individual gifts of any kind - including even a $25 gift card from appreciative families or patients.
The reason was it GAVE THE IMPRESSION good care was predicated on receiving a gift. This restriction on gifts extended to sales and pharmacy reps as well. EVERYONE from the CEO to the housekeeper had to take this annual review. If you didn’t you were taken off the schedule without pay until it was completed. And yet this Supreme Court of the United States has no requirements, no standards, no periodic review and believes you can oversee yourselves. Individual members accept international trips, homes, vehicles, and gifts valued at millions of dollars for years. No one says a word. Why was this allowed to happen? On this court there are members who do not recuse themselves from cases when their family members are participants in an insurrection or cases involving issues with a connection to a friend or donor.
Why are insurrectionist judges sitting on this court? THIS IS WRONG. To think a staff nurse and a housekeeper have a better understanding of appropriate ethical behavior and the pertinent laws is astounding. You should be ashamed. And lastly -the presidential immunity ruling. The court took this case and then ran out the clock so the slow wheels of justice could not turn fast enough to get this criminal man into court before the election. This is inexcusable. This man is hell bent on destroying the country. He wants to be a dictator. And this court has granted criminal immunity for anything he does as a presidential act. Maybe when you and your judges cross him, as will inevitably happen in some future ruling, and he decides to send Seal Team 6 after you and your family, or at a minimum, turns the trolls and the death threats on you, then you will begin to understand the consequence of this decision. In the eyes of a dictator everyone is replaceable.
What happens when one man is above the law? I fear the country is about to find out.
The pushed through confirmation of the most recent justice, by a corrupt senate after refusing to consider Obama’s nomination “because it was too close to the election” is another shameful chapter. There should not be a one standard for Democrats and another for Republicans.
Two of your members should never have been confirmed. Women who had the courage to come forward to report sexual harassment and sexual assault should have been listened to and believed. I know the confirmation of these members was done by the Senate-yet it rots the perception of the Supreme Court as a place of fairness and justice -especially for women.
For all these reasons I am disappointed and appalled. I remain very disheartened by the current Supreme Court under your leadership.
It is unlikely I will ever be before your court. I seriously doubt I will hear back from you, but I need to say these things. I am afraid for our Country, and for our Constitution. I fear for the preservation of the three branches of government. A madman is currently in the Executive Branch breaking everything even as I write, and this court helped put him there.
Your court is now the only institution standing between the Constitution and a dictatorship. Please act now!
Respectfully,
Mary Jean Marsh
PO Box 33
Chehalis WA 98532
I Am Angry
DOGE is all smoke and mirrors. Where is the evidence? The agencies and people who have been targeted were investigating Musk’s businesses which have contracts with our government. How convenient the Inspector General for USAID who was looking into his USAID Starlink contract is now gone and the consumer complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) about his companies will not be investigated. Each day Musk makes millions of dollars off these contracts, laws, safety, and environmental protections be dammed.
Musk says there will be suffering while the changes are implemented. I do not understand why the sick, elderly, famers, head start kids. hungry people, vets, disabled, researchers, park rangers and so many more are suffering while the rich are not discomforted in the least. And for what? To find saving to pay for a tax cut to benefit the richest among us. Are you kidding me?
Bill Clinton handed a budget SURPLUS to George W Bush who proceeded to squander it with (wait for it) tax cuts for the wealthy! Followed by TWO unfunded wars, one lasting 20 years and a recession. Then, after 8 years of crawling out from under that mess Trump passes tax cuts for the wealthy in his first administration, growing the deficit by 25% in 4 years. Did I mention that Trump and Elon will personally benefit from these cuts? The suffering groups? Not at all.
I am in favor of reducing waste fraud and abuse. What is happening is just a version of “Move Fast and Break Things.“ To actually reduce waste, fraud, and abuse requires forensic audits, an evaluation process and time. This is not happening. Instead, we have the following, (a short and incomplete list);
Firing IRS agents during tax season is stupid, idiotic and reduces income.
Firing park rangers before the season open harms the parks, decreases the income stream and hurts small communities around the parks who depend on tourism- like Lewis County.
Firing the people who keep the nuclear arsenal safe. Some jobs actually do need skills and competency. Loyal liars just won’t’ cut it.
Firing the Inspectors Generals who were embedded in these agencies by Congress (remember them)? whose full-time job was to monitor waste, fraud, and abuse. People who know what is going on and how to keep things on the tracks.
I have been a hiring manager. I have had to fire staff. The way the federal employees are being treated is cruel and unforgivable. If Elon wants to treat his employees like crap he can do so. The cruelty is the point, and he enjoys it. But we are talking about public servants who work for all of us and have not done anything wrong. They do not deserve to be treated this way. Losing your job is devastating. It should not be done with an email full of lies. This is not how you treat people- even when there is a compelling reason to let someone go. It is wrong.
I am just one person. But I am watching, and I am speaking out. What is happening is not OK. To the Republicans who control the courts, the Executive branch and the Congress. Get off your red b---s and do something about this out-of-control administration. Enforce the laws. Speak out. Say NO. Say “Enough.” Say “Impeachment”. Hold the line. Do your Damn Jobs. If you do nothing, being primaried by Elon will be the least of your worries.
Respectfully,
Mary Jean Marsh
PO Box 33
Chehalis WA 98532
“And so, it Begins”
King Theoden in The Two Towers from The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Mass deportations of 11 million people have started.
I believe this chapter will be another shameful stain on the soul of America, ranking right up there with slavery, the genocide of Indigenous people, and the Internment of Japanese Americans in camps during WWII .
The current Leadership and his team cry the undocumented “illegal” people BROKE THE LAW! This is rich coming from the First Felon to hold the office of president and a cabinet of people whose chief qualifications seem to be allegations of sexual assault, a capacity for lying and a willingness to leave one’s mind, conscience and spine at the door.
Deport actual criminals-the drug dealers, sex and human traffickers, thieves, and rapists. The orange pickers not so much. Discernment between the two groups requires investigation and actual law enforcement. Things this administration doesn’t care about. For those who have lived here working their often back breaking jobs -paying taxes, raising their families- Make a pathway to legal status and citizenship. Deportation is not the sole answer. (This country’s leadership should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.)
Our country was built by slaves and immigrants in the past. And immigrants are STILL building it. Immigrants work in Agriculture- planting, harvesting, packaging, meat packing, milking. (Do you like to eat?) Immigrants work in Forestry, Hospitality, Construction, Restaurants, Landscaping, Care giving in homes, care centers, and hospitals and much more. If you pull 11 million people out of these jobs, we are all going to feel it. This policy tears apart families, communities, economies and our nation.
Some of my immigrant great grandparents arrived here fleeing famine in Ireland. A situation created by a failure of the potato crop and the export of food to England by wealthy landowners. Never mind the starving Irish. My Ashkenazi Jewish grandparents arrived from Russia and Eastern Europe looking to make a better life for themselves and their children. Their families who remained in Europe perished in the Nazi gas chambers. All that is left is dust. The decision to come to this country is the reason I am even alive.
I want that for other families as well. A chance to build a life and make a better life for their children. Deport the truly dangerous criminals. Build a bridge for legal status and a path for immigrants who are contributing. We did it before under Reagan and the world did not end. We can do it again.
Mary Jean Marsh
PO Box 33
Chehalis WA 98532
Voters got it right voting
"No" to I-2124. As a worker or retiree becomes more needy for medical
help, they will be able to tap into the Long-Term healthcare fund. It might be
the difference to staying in your home or not. The fund will give you some help
with paying for various help. In home care giving, medical expenses, short-term
rehab, etc. People will be paying $.58 per $100.00, it's a pretty good deal for
this kind of coverage. Luckily the voters ignored the pleas of Republicans like
State Senator John Braun, who wanted us to vote "Yes" to severely
ruin the program. It's nice he can afford a long-term health plan that he
majority of us can't.
By
Brian Dow
Centralia WA.
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