Stump for Trump

This is my last-ditch effort to reach concensus of as many of my fellow citizens as possible.

Smartmatic is the manufacturer of the voting machines that will be used in 16 states, including our own. Its CEO is Mark Malloch-Brown. He is on the board of the George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. He is the same multi-billionaire who has financially ruined nations. Soros is likely Hillary Clinton’s biggest donor. With the Main Street media and the arrogant Republican elite, this is the most-incestuous group of ill will imaginable.

We have one last chance to stop them and the downward spiral. Don’t waste your vote on useless 3rd-party candidates. Those are only votes for Clinton. Vote as if your lifelong, cherished freedoms will dissipate.

Donald Trump’s word offend sensibilities along with the massive smear campaign against him. The Clintons leave a vicious trail of exploitation, mayhem and blood. Clinton will inherit the Obama pen of executive power, and she will have equally dangerous, handpicked Supreme Court justices The feckless Congress will become eunichs. We will have become a two-pronged branches of government, not what the Founding Fathers intended. Religion will be harshly dealt with. The Constitution will finally be seen as Al Gore’s “living, breathing document.”

Time to be timid is over. Time for reticence is through. Time of apathy is done. For you, your childen, your grandchildren, time for action is now.

We are thought of as a “Basket of Deplorables,” from her own lying lips. Find your hidden grit. Find your inner Patrick Henry. Make no mistake about it, we are at war for the soul of our beloved nation.

Bruce Hamphton, Marysville

Larsen for judge

Cindy Larsen is and has always been conscientious, dedicated and hard-working – from her days playing goalie for her high school soccer team and first base for her high school softball team to her years as a mother and Snohomish County Deputy prosecuting attorney.

For 20 years, I have watched Cindy excel both as the mother of three wonderful kids and at the important job of keeping our community safe and seeking justice for the victims of terrible crimes.

Cindy has also worked hard to save taxpayer money while defending the county in civil cases, and she became concerned about the limited treatment options and services for the mentally ill while representing county mental health professionals.

Cindy gives 110 percent to every job she takes on. We need a judge with the experience, expertise, dedication and work ethic that Cindy Larsen will bring to the Superior Court judge position.

And she is a wonderful daughter.

Alice Larsen, Marysville

Cartoon wrong

The Arlington Times took a step backwards in the fight for equal rights with your inappropriate “comic” about religious bias and same sex marriage.

Yes, Arlington has gay residents, and yes, they should be protected from discrimination. Disgusted with the Arlington Times.

Wendi Blanken, Arlington

Hurtful comic

The comic you published about the bakery and “Same-sex marriage” is absolutely disgusting. How dare you publish something so hateful, let alone about a member of your own town who has never been anything but nice to everyone who lives here, despite the discrimination he’s faced.

I am so utterly disgusted by this and know many people who are as well. I assume you’ll be getting other messages like this, and I hope you actually feel some hint of remorse for the deplorable “comic” you published. Go ahead and be a religious, bigoted snob on your own time, that’s your right, but to publish something directly targeting an Arlington native…shame on you.

“Comics” like this one are the reason people think the religious right are a bunch of prejudice a————.

If you don’t want people treating you like garbage because of your beliefs, then please don’t target and discriminate against a completely innocent and kind person just because he happens to be gay. I hope people stop buying and reading your paper. People like you are the reason why so many people born in Arlington like myself can’t wait to leave.

The only good part of this “comic” is that in an attempt to make members of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters look bad, you’ve only made yourselves look like sad, cranky, and evil human beings. And thankfully, the majority of Arlington agrees with me.

Rochelle Berg, Arlington

Comic prejudicial

My name is Matt Taylor, and I am writing you about a comic you published concerning baking cakes for gay people.

I have lived in Arlington my entire life. I played soccer as a child at Twin Rivers. I played in countless performances with Arlington High School’s bands. I volunteered hundreds of hours of my time with National Honor Society. I spent four years competing for our varsity cross country and track teams, leading my team to defeat some of the best high school programs in the Pacific Northwest.

And on June 12, I graduated from AHS with honors just hours after hearing that 49 of my LGBT brothers and sisters, people just like me, were massacred in a nightclub in the name of hatred.

It is important for the Arlington Times, as a prominent voice in the community, to understand that the issue it decided to speak out on is about so much more than cakes. By publishing that comic, the Arlington Times condoned LGBT discrimination and hate. I have always viewed Arlington as a safe haven. I always thought that despite its conservative tendencies, the community and its leaders would protect and support me. And I have been proved right in the past.

The majority of people in the community have been completely accepting and supportive to me and many people like me. I have had coaches and teammates and friends standing by my side without question since the day I came out. However, I am saddened to say I have not seen that same support from Arlington’s leaders and prominent voices. I am fortunate to say I have found other support systems. I am at Willamette University, competing for their teams and studying under their professors. But not everyone can say that. I am saddened to learn that I was wrong not for myself, but for those LGBT kids who remain in Arlington. Those who continue to pour their hearts and souls into a community who is apparently willing to turn their backs on them because of who they love.

Those who sit in fear of abandonment should they choose to reveal who they are to their community, just as I did. Those are the people at risk, not discriminatory bakers.

According to the Trevor Project, LGB youth are four times more likely than their peers to attempt suicide, while one in four transgender students report attempting suicide. When family or community rejection and harassment is taken into account, those numbers rise significantly. So when you publish something like that, do so knowing the message you’re sending and who you’re harming with it.

Matt Taylor, Arlington