Secret life of George Santos: Congressman should keep lies and delusions to himself | Opinion

The Secret Life of George Santos

James Thurber’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was published in The New Yorker in 1939. Americans have delighted in this short story over the decades, chuckling about this ineffectual man drifting off into his farcical fantasies to “save the day.”

Walter Mitty daydreams he is commander of a “Navy hydroplane” single-handedly maneuvering through a storm. Mitty is actually driving his nagging wife into town to her hairdresser. She scorns Mitty for driving too fast. Doesn’t he remember she is uncomfortable going over 40?

Mitty drives past a hospital and imagines himself hearing the hospital’s world-class surgeons expressing their great admiration for him as a doctor. The doctors are preparing to operate on a good friend of the President of the United States. When a machine in the operating room breaks down, Mitty fixes it with a fountain pen. The doctors beg Mitty to operate on their patient. And so on.

The difference between Walter Mitty and U.S. Representative George Santos is that Mitty kept his fantasies secret. Rep. Santos wrapped up his fantasies into an impressive resume and winning political campaign. A “Mittyesque” foundation, fraught with peril. Nothing to chuckle about now for millions of Americans.

Glenna Lee Malanca, Gig Harbor

Swirl, sniff, sip and spit?

Re: Washington bill would lower legal blood alcohol level limit

Reducing Washington’s legal blood alcohol content limit while driving to a level of no more than .05 percent is an outstanding and long overdue way to save more lives on our roads.

Indeed, most of the rest of the world has already come to this same and sane conclusion. Canada, our immediate neighbor to the north, has this legal limit. So does Germany, famous for its beer. Likewise in Russia, noted for its vodka. Believe it or not, it is also the law of the land in France and Italy, both renowned for their wines.

We can be proud of Washington state for finally catching up with this safe and sane wisdom of so many other countries.

According to The News Tribune’s reporting, though, the Washington Wine Institute actually opposes the lower limit of .05 percent. Do vino aficionados actually think that their currently conducted wine-tasting parties are more vital than keeping drunk drivers from killing additional innocent people?

Anyway, aren’t wine connoisseurs simply supposed to “swirl, sniff, sip and spit”?

Thomas Hoyle, University Place

Build an airport where it’s wanted

Imagine that our state had just one airport to serve all of Washington — a hub for the whole state at a local and even global level. Why would it be acceptable for our community and leaders to settle for an airport that operates beyond flight-related capacity and needs comprehensive modernization and expansion, like Seattle-Tacoma International Airport?

SeaTac’s ongoing modernization efforts, while laudable, fail to address expansion, which the airport will eventually need to meet growing air traffic demand. Local and state authorities should continue improving SeaTac to meet growing air traffic demand.

Moreover, our local leaders should heed their residents’ concerns about air traffic and noise and reconsider their controversial plans, which include considering two Pierce County locations and one Thurston County location for a new airport. Tacoma and Olympia residents’ opposition to the controversial airport proposal due to genuine quality of life concerns means those concerns should take precedence.

Port authorities should consider airport-suitable site proposals in areas that allow travel and trade with minimal disruptions. Can airports, regardless of their size and scope, and local communities embark on coexistence? It is possible as long as the positive impacts outweigh the disadvantages.

Erick Dietrich, Olympia

Use existing airports or build from scratch? This Puget Sound question is a math problem