Father Tryphon spoke at Ryan Krug’s memorial service on Feb. 3. Many were moved by his remarks and asked that his words be posted on The Beachcomber’s website. His homily follows.
I agree with the calls for context when discussing the Second Amendment (“Amendment needs to be seen in its historical context,” Feb. 6). But I have a somewhat different take on the nature of that context.
While I am in full support of the cause and this fantastic project, I am disappointed that the manufacture of the stove parts will be done in China, instead of being done here in the United States (“Cookstove effort secures $4 million in financing,” Feb. 6). It seems to me that between the capable and creative minds at Burn Manufacturing Co. and funding from Overseas Private Investment Corp., they should be able to use U.S. funding to create U.S. jobs to manufacture the needed parts when jobs are needed so badly in the United States. Otherwise Burn Manufacturing Co. becomes just another U.S. company going to China for cheap labor.
For all those living in the vicinity of drug houses on Vashon, I would like to share a tool that was instrumental in quieting the activity in our neighborhood: taking notes and contacting King County Public Health and Environmental Services.
In rebuttal to John Williams’ recent letter to the editor (“Interpretation of amendment has strayed far from its roots,” Jan. 30), his literal and narrow interpretation of our Second Amendment is both misleading and uninformed.
The Jan. 30 issue of The Beachcomber included two letters to the editor that disagreed with an earlier letter by Jim Plihal, regarding interpretation of the Second Amendment, specifically the ability of the people to defend against tyranny. For clarification, John Williams (“Interpretation of amendment has strayed from its roots”) mistakenly claimed that Article II of the constitution is “also called the Second Amendment,” when, in fact, Article II creates the executive branch and is not an amendment at all.
I wonder how long Island Landmarks board members J. Nelson Happy and Mary Matthews are going to keep moving chess pieces around in order to avoid giving up their puzzling hold on the Mukai property. For those interested in getting a fuller picture of the prolonged stalemate, go to the search function at vashonbeachcomber.com and type in “Mukai farmhouse.”
Perhaps we (Vashon Island residents) could form a group to purchase the Rhododendron and run it back and forth between Vashon and Fauntleroy to take up the slack when the state does cut back on service.
On a recent Sunday afternoon my family and I saw the new movie “Lincoln.” I couldn’t help but be struck by several things.
I enjoyed the recent Beachcomber discussion of the Second Amendment. However, I must disagree with two statements made by Jim Plihal in his letter (“Violence caused by a murderer, not the NRA,” Jan. 23). He would have us believe that the purpose of the Second Amendment is “so the citizens can stand against the tyranny of government.” He also says the Second Amendment serves to defend the other liberties found in the Bill of Rights.
I agree with the author of a letter in last week’s paper that the National Rifle Association, as an organization, was not responsible for the Newtown massacre (“Violence caused by a murderer, not the NRA”). However, I have to strongly disagree with his interpretation and misquoting of Article II of the Constitution (also called the Second Amendment).
India Castle was a young woman I’ve known for many years, back from my old library days.
Regarding Bill Ameling’s defense of his use of inappropriate language at the recent park board retreat (“Beachcomber failed to provide context,” Jan. 16), I think that most would agree that the point taken in The Beachcomber’s Jan. 8 editorial still stands: words matter. Words matter, whether they originate with the speaker or come from a quote that the speaker chooses. I am as big an admirer of H.L. Mencken as the next person, but I wonder if Mr. Ameling would approvingly repeat some of Mencken’s writings on race or religion. Using an authority figure as an excuse to use improper words is behavior one would more expect of Bart Simpson than a parks commissioner.