Admit more refugees

Iceland, population around 340,000, has admitted 400 Syrian refugees. The U.S., population around 325,000,000, has admitted fewer than 20,000.

Based on population size, the U.S. would have to admit almost 400,000 Syrian refugees to match the scale of Iceland’s generosity. The fact that we have not done so, despite our responsibility for much of the mess and suffering in the Middle East, is reprehensible and further evidence of a moral vacuum in Washington.

We would not notice 400,000 Syrian refugees who might be settled in or near Crawford, Texas, where they could greet George W. Bush whenever he went out to cut brush on his ranch.

Gary Leiser

Sisters

Don’t count noncitizens

Thank you for including two sides in the recent op-eds on the contentious subject of citizenship and the census; it is almost unnecessary to even mention the disingenuous and untrue nature of the “progressive commentator” Madsen, in “A free country has no need to ask” (on citizenship).

It is incorrect on Mr. Madsen’s part because there is only one reason he would not support the citizenship question, which is that it would add still more representation for the House of Representatives due to population; it was not the Founding Fathers’ intention to allow a noncitizen (read “illegal”) census to influence representation.

This should be quite obvious to objective evaluations of this subject.

Charles McCoy

Bend

Support Walden

I read the recent front page article stating that seven Democrats are “lining up to oust Walden” in the May 15 primary. So, I am writing to urge all Republicans and hopefully all unaffiliated voters to support our U.S. Representative, Greg Walden. I know he’s been in office for a long time, but he has done many good things for the 20 counties east of the Cascades making up the 2nd Congressional District. And, get this … he is the only Republican from Oregon representing us in Washington.

If any one of the seven Democrats is allowed to defeat Walden, we Republicans will have zero representation in D.C. That’s zero, as in none. It’s hard enough that we have a Democrat in the governor’s office, that the Democrats are in the majority in the House and Senate in Salem and that our two U.S. senators are Democrats. We have one lone soldier in D.C. to fight for us. So, please Republicans, get out and vote. Make sure Walden keeps his seat.

Maralyn Thoma

Bend

Vote McLeod-Skinner

Jamie McLeod-Skinner will get my vote in the May 15 Democratic Party primary for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, a seat held by Greg Walden for 20 years. I believe McLeod-Skinner deserves your vote too. McLeod-Skinner stands out among the seven impressive candidates running in the District 2 Democratic primary. You can learn a lot about her and the issues she supports on her campaign website, jamiefororegon.com.

McLeod-Skinner and her family have deep roots in District 2. Since last July, she has been traveling all over the district asking folks what most concerns them and establishing dialogue that works toward consensus on issues that are important to all Oregonians. She knows that Central and Eastern Oregonians are concerned about access to education, access to good health care, access to good education, good jobs that pay a living wage, water rights, net neutrality and more.

McLeod-Skinner has the education and experience that will make her a strong advocate for those issues. She was twice elected to the Santa Clara, California, City Council. She recently earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Oregon focusing on natural resources and water law.

McLeod-Skinner is not only a good candidate for the May 15 Democratic Party primary for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District; she is a smart, well-educated, informed, energetic candidate who has the potential to defeat Greg Walden in the Nov. 6 general election. Please join me in voting for Jamie McLeod-Skinner for the Democratic Party’s 2nd Congressional District candidate on May 15.

Kathryn Wood

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