Holiday season

Pay it forward

“‘Tis the season to spend money!” Television crams its commercials down our throats and newspapers are stuffed with ads and ad inserts all screaming for your attention and your money.

I have been thinking about this situation since school started in September when stores were already pulling out the Christmas stuff.

Having spent most of my adult life in the media, I know exactly why print, television, cable and radio do what they do and why. They have to make a living just as any other business and they do a great job of keeping us informed.

What I don’t understand is why some people think only about themselves and not of their fellow man.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of men, women and children in our Kitsap community who need a helping hand. They need food and drink, shelter, warm clothing, medical and dental care.

What I propose in this letter is that for each man, woman and child in your family or you, as individuals, buy one less gift for each family member and friends and make a contribution to the organization of your choice or several organizations within our Kitsap community.

HANK MANN-SYKES

President

United Way of Kitsap County

Election aftermath

Perhaps Dino Rossi did ‘win’

Faced with a “budget” deficit of nearly $6 billion, Governor Christine Gregoire said she would fund programs and services mandated by the Constitution and not “discretionary” programs. Good call Gov., sounds just like Dino. After all, the scope of authority of the government is actually defined by the Constitution. The “discretion” allowable under the Constitution relates to how mandated functions are completed not how many more functions government might wish to assume or spend money on.

The governor will find it easy to achieve her “Fund Constitutional Mandates” budget objective and find a way to reduce the tax burden on the people of Washington. Since there is no mandate in the Constitution for Growth Management Act (GMA) she can eliminate that funding guzzler and the departments that feed at the GMA trough (like CTED and Ecology). She also could do away with a bunch of health insurance mandates. A side benefit will be a sharp reduction in the number of lobbyists hanging around the capital.

If the governor can find the courage to do the job she was actually hired to do, “We the people” get what Dino promised.

JACK HAMILTON

Silverdale