📢 Cascadia Voices 06/13/26

‘In order to form a more perfect Union’: If the whistle, boom and crackle of fireworks in your neighborhood hasn’t been enough of a signal, we’re just three weeks away from the nation’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To mark that occasion, Cascadia Daily News plans a special print section for its July 3 issue that celebrates the U.S. Constitution — whose drafting and ratification followed the Declaration and the fight for independence — with special attention given to the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

As part of that special section, CDN wants to hear from its readers regarding their thoughts on this milestone anniversary. How are you celebrating the semiquincentennial? Are you celebrating? Upon reflection of those 250 years, what is your opinion of the nation, its triumphs and its failures? Will the nation see its tricentennial? What will America look like by 2076?

Use those prompts as a starting point or take a different tack, but tell us what you’re thinking.

The usual rules apply: Be civil, have a point, make it clearly and, fittingly, in 250 words or fewer. Email: [email protected].

The public discussion of the shape of the criminal justice system in Whatcom County continues with a guest commentary, published June 7, by Andrew Reding, who served on the county’s charter review commission and was a human rights expert for the U.S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security. As the county continues planning and debate over spending for construction of a new jail, Reding suggests reconsideration of county policy on pretrial release of defendants, citing analysis of 57 studies that found that detention before trial doubles the odds of convictions and guilty pleas and triples the odds of incarceration. The bond to fund the jail passed with the caveat from voters that its proceeds would be split between the jail and diversion and social programs that can reduce the need for incarceration: “That promise remains within reach: through pretrial release for the vast majority of defendants, diversion of people struggling with addiction to treatment, and court-date support services to reduce the failure-to-appear warrants that now account for 1 in 6 bookings. Fewer people unnecessarily detained means fewer beds needed, a less expensive jail, and no booking restrictions,” Reding writes.

Whatcom County Council’s at-large member Jon Scanlon, in his May 31 guest commentary, reports that the council has been wrestling with issues of growth — with an estimated 65,000 more residents living here by 2045 — looking to address where folks will live and work and how they’ll get around. Key to that work, he reminds us, is the participation and ideas of the county’s current residents. Specifically, Scanlon is encouraging people to attend Comprehensive Plan discussions set for June 16 and 23 and a public hearing on July 14. “So how do we make housing more affordable, create good jobs, support local businesses, protect what makes Whatcom County special, and pay for the services people rely on? The best answers will come from this community,” Scanlon writes.

I do not need to chronicle ICE's contempt for law, lying, cruelty and murder for CDN readers. Nor the fate of the 50 human beings who died in ICE detention custody since January 2025.

Council member Ben Elenbaas opposes the moratorium. He called the moratorium "do-nothing grandstanding." He claims that the moratorium is not necessary. Elenbaas' desired result — no moratorium — would leave to county staff the need to interpret and apply the vague county code. There is an open question about whether the current code could reasonably be applied to support such a permit.

Elenbaas has been a county council member for years. It is hard to believe he does not grasp the difference between leaving a matter to staff discretion and a specific legislative prohibition that removes discretion.

It is wrong to leave this question for planning department staff to resolve. The proposed legislation would remove any staff discretion to permit ICE facilities. It is a substantive change that matters.

Grant of a permit for an ICE detention facility could result in a protracted dispute, litigation, local protests, increased law enforcement costs and other negative consequences best avoided. Independent of the moral imperative to oppose ICE's lawlessness and violence, the moratorium may well save the county money. It is responsible governance.

Jim Smith
Bellingham

Read more letters to the editor here.

Submit a letter to the editor (250 words max) or guest commentary (500–800 words) online at cascadiadaily.com/submissions.

Whatcom County Council is considering proposals to limit the use of personal fireworks in its unincorporated areas. Council member Kaylee Galloway has proposed limiting fireworks to July 4 and Dec. 31 and shortening the period for fireworks sales to agree with state law.

‘Insure domestic Tranquility’: Alongside the nation’s political partitions, Americans also increasingly differ on how to view the nation’s history, even as it approaches a milestone 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic’s deputy executive editor, in “How American Gave Up on its Own History,” writes in the magazine’s July issue that the inability to agree on a common historical narrative — one that deplores the nation’s past sins but still feels patriotism for its accomplishments and ideals — could endanger the country itself. Among those Appelbaum talks with for his article is Western Washington University history professor Johann Neem, who came to America from India with his parents when he was 3. Neem, a frequent author of commentary and speeches on history and political discourse, told Appelbaum he remains hopeful Americans can rediscover that shared narrative. Writes Appelbaum: “The American story — the whole American story — deserves to be told. People are hungry to hear it. History, Neem told me, shapes how we understand the moment we’re living in, and ‘makes it possible for us to see where we’re going.’”

‘Provide for the common Defense’: Appelbaum’s Atlantic colleague, Tom Nichols, asks in “Pete Hegseth, Cornball in Chief,” why, with America at war, the secretary of defense treats his work as cosplay, using belligerent taunts and wearing combat gear for a helicopter ride and dressing his children in military uniforms for a D-Day ceremony in France. It’s cringy. And dangerous: “His behavior is more than unprofessional: It carries risks. Every cringe-inducing statement, every moment of military dress-up, every ostentatious chin-up, sends a message to America’s enemies: This is what the American secretary of defense thinks his job is, so don’t worry—this is not someone you have to take into account.”

‘Pursuit of Happiness’: Sunny day lawnmowing play list: “Gone,” Miles Davis; “Night Train,” Oscar Peterson Trio; “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” The Beatles; “When We Collide,” k.d. lang; “I Loves You, Porgy,” Miles Davis; “Polly,” Nirvana; “Sweet Potato Pie,” Ray Charles and James Taylor; “You’re a Big Girl Now,” Bob Dylan; “Copland: Rodeo,” Leonard Berstein and the New York Philharmonic; “The Troubles,” U2.