Letters: August 17, 2017

Qualified?

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers said at her Aug. 10 Town Hall meeting, “I support Donald Trump because, because, because he’s a disrupter and we need to change DC. I continue to support him.” When a later question about Donald Trump was asked, she said, “Donald Trump was elected POTUS. He won the election and I’ve already told you why I support him.” So, being a disrupter is McMorris Rodgers qualification for POTUS? Another woman recently disagreed with her when she said she thought the POTUS should be: “Someone who knows his job and takes it seriously.

Someone who understands the issues a president faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters.

Because when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military in your command, you can’t make snap decisions.

You can’t have thin skin or lash out.

You need to be steady and measured and well-informed.” That woman was Michelle Obama.

It is quite clear to 67% of Americans that agree with her.

Donald Trump is not an honorable man and he clearly isn’t qualified to hold the office of POTUS. McMorris Rodgers says he’s qualified.

That’s just one of the many reasons why we know she’s not qualified to be our Representative.

We will do our part to truly change DC by voting her out of office in 2018.

Pat Bates, Clarkston

Last mile

Back in 2010 Chattanooga's city-owned electric utility started laying fiber optic communications cables to all their customers (both their homes and businesses). A recent economic study by the University of Tennessee said "EPB's fiber optics network in its first three years saved $130.5 million in power outages, boosted business energy efficiency by $234.5 million and spurred $461 million in new business investment."

Let's do what Chattanooga has done here in the quad-cities region. We have a leg up on them in that we have the Port of Whitman laying middle mile fiber all over. Let's see if we can get our electric providers (Clearwater Power Company, Inland Power, and Avista) to step up and give us the last mile!

Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), said "Just as FDR helped illuminate rural America 80 years ago, a similar opportunity exists today, broadband access is limited across much of the Nation's rural landscape." The NRECA recently tweeted "First, electricity. Now, broadband. Co-ops are investing in #ruralbroadband where others won't to improve our members’ quality of life."

Cooperative.Com is reporting that "Economic activity in the nation’s heartland has experienced its sharpest decline since the Great Recession, according to a monthly study of the rural economy." Apart from the bread and circuses we are subject to daily from the media, rural America is in trouble and needs a shot in the arm. We need to stop the "Bright Flight" - the young fleeing to urban centers - so that they can participate in the digital economy and enjoy enhanced digital services.

One of my interests is in using drones to photograph fields in support of precision agriculture. A 100 acre field will generate in excess of 5,000 megabytes of picture data. Uploading this to an online analytic site can take over night.

We have great quality of life here, but if your definition includes subscribing to an online video service you're out of luck. Even though Netflix has more subscribers than Cable, we can't enjoy this given the rural broadband choices available presently.

High speed broadband to the home is attainable. We just need the last mile to make this a reality. Our electric providers are in an ideal position to do this; they have the poles (it doesn't have to be buried) and the right of ways.

Chuck Petras, Farmington