Editorials / Opinion

Before the movie “Mary Poppins” came out the longest word in the English language was supposedly “antidisestablishmentarianism.” The word was coined in the middle of a heated political fight in Britain over the “established church,” namely the Church of England (frequently referred to outside of the U.K. as the Anglican Church). Not surprisingly, a lot of people…

The notion that Hobby Lobby is attacking women’s rights by choosing to “opt out of covering…legitimate health needs” is absurd ["Yes, (some) corporations can pray — and you’ll all pay," Opinion, June 30]. Hobby Lobby has stated clearly that it opposes only those forms of contraception that it sees as abortive, like the morning-after pill.  It…

Americans need to wake up to the epidemic of gun violence [“At SPU, grief without despair,” Local News, June 7]. For too many years our elected representatives have been pushed around by the bullies in the National Rifle Association. The widespread availability of guns and the nuts who will use them in shootings, such…

Guest columnist William R. Maurer ends his guest column concerning the U.S. Supreme Court’s McCutcheon ruling with the following statement, “ … for proponents of open and unrestrained political debate, the decision is something to celebrate.” [“Supreme Court McCutcheon ruling protects political speech,” Opinion, April 8] The Supreme Court’s McCutcheon decision will now allow…

If the rich decide elections, it’s due to a lazy electorate

Syndicated columnist Gail Collins seems to feel that because the Supreme Court has allowed larger political donations, the rich now have more leverage in political elections [“Surprise! The rich won one,” Opinion, April 6].

Hey, are any of us forced to base our votes on TV ads, billboards and bumper stickers? Do the Koch Brothers (or any other billionaires) force us to vote for the candidates they support?

Or do all citizens have the opportunity, not to mention the responsibility, to inform themselves regarding all the candidates and issues?

If the rich determine the elections, based on their donations, it is due only to the laziness of the rest of the voting public.

Richard Askren, Seattle

Democracy sold to the highest bidder

There is just something so unseemly, wrong and even slimy about the Supreme Court’s rulings on

The Supreme Court ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC directly conflicts with the First Amendment [“McCutcheon decision unravels campaign finance regulation,” Opinion, April 6]. The amendment states that no law should be made which would abridge the freedom of speech. In a large-scale society such as ours, this requires that all people be given equal…

“Ruling loosens reins on political donations” [Nation & World, April 2] should have been titled “Ruling severs reins …” The U.S. Supreme Court has done the nation a great favor: finally removing any doubt that our democracy is dead. What a huge relief. No longer do the vast majority of Americans need to cling…

Paul Tong / Op Art

The Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood consolidated cases [“Hobby Lobby case a slippery slope,” Opinion, March 30] are providing the U.S. Supreme Court with an opportunity to double-down on its extremely unpopular and unwise Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling (which created the notion that a corporation has the same protections as real person under the first amendment).

This time it’s about religious freedom, wherein the plaintiffs seek exemptions from established laws for a corporate entity based on the personal beliefs of the corporation’s leader.

While it surprises me that

Marriage equality now On March 26-27, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two historic cases concerning gay marriage [“Obama urges court to toss Calif. ban on gay marriage,” News, March 1]. There has been tremendous momentum around the issue of marriage equality over the last year. Loving, committed gay and lesbian couples want to marry for…