It’s time to embrace gerrymandering
It’s time for Washington Democrats to abolish the Washington Redistricting Commission and join California and Virginia in redistricting their states to resist Donald Trump’s efforts to rig the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans are redistricting in Texas, Missouri and South Carolina to eliminate Democratic representatives. Washingtonians could have responded in the same way without the commission.
All Republicans have brought to 21st century America is government debt, two failed wars, a recession, a mishandled pandemic, and a failed insurrection. This week, the Trump administration lifted export controls on America’s most advanced computer chips and allowed their sale to China. The chips, called Nvidia H200, are six times more powerful than chips currently used by China in artificial intelligence computers and missiles. No longer; in exchange for a share of the revenue, Trump will allow the Chinese to use our computer chips in their weapons.
Through it all, Reps. Dan Newhouse and Mike Baumgartner have supported Trump. Without the World Radiocommunication Conference, we could have their seats gerrymandered and filled by Democrats.
Christopher Nutter, Tacoma
Traffic hazards in University Square
I am writing this letter because the traffic situation in college towns has reached a point where it is not only inconvenient, but seriously disruptive to the daily lives of students. When my family moved into our house ten years ago, moving to Bridgeport was a simple, automatic task. Now this is an exercise in patience and probability. I would often sit at the same stop sign for close to ten minutes, watching the steady stream of cars waiting for their chance to get on.
This congestion not only makes mornings annoying; This makes them unpredictable. Despite leaving earlier and earlier, I was still late for school through no fault of my own. Taking the bus isn’t the solution; it’s the same problem, just with more people and less personal space. When we finally got moving, it felt like everyone on board had given up on the day.
As a local high school student, I can see that our infrastructure was not built for the amount of traffic we have now. I hope the city government takes this seriously. Students should not have to consider near-impasse situations just to receive an education.
Alex Bachman, University Place
Stop funding genocide
The United States has provided $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel over the past two years. Our tax dollars are the engine driving the genocide in Gaza.
The United Nations, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, B’Tselem (Israel), Physicians for Human Rights Israel, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, and the Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide have all accused Israel of committing genocide.
Amnesty International recently said Israel “continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza despite the ceasefire.” Hamas has released all the hostages and Israel has not stopped killing Palestinians, which clearly shows that those who say “all Hamas has to do is release the hostages” are lying on behalf of a genocidal regime.
These actions sparked the largest anti-war movement since the invasion of Vietnam in the 1960s. Now, as then, calls for justice, accountability and equal rights are ignored, especially by politicians eager to accept money from a foreign lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
What would it look like if, instead of giving billions of tax dollars to Israel, we invested them in our schools, health care, infrastructure, and small businesses?
Michelle Reed, Bonny Lake
