After 21 years in the Navy followed by minor roles in the public sector in North Idaho, I have a well-developed meter for measuring nonsense. It starts to quiver whenever any candidate starts talking. There is an ad running on area radio and television that makes my meter wrap around the peg.

If you believed those ads, you would think that the congresswoman from Washington’s 5th Congressional District was a positive tiger in support of veterans. It would appear she personally stormed the gates of “Fortress VA” single-handedly to get help for constituents whose Veterans Administration claims had been languishing for months.

If any of this were true, I’d send money to her campaign myself, even though I live in Idaho and we Idahoans have our own crosses to bear. But, alas, it just ain’t true. The congresswoman’s voting record clearly shows that she is not a friend of veterans or the military community. Any attempt to make it appear that she does support any issue of import to veterans and active duty military is an extraordinary distortion of facts.

Remember: The informed voter is the foundation of a strong democracy.

Gilbert Beyer, ETC U.S. Navy retired

Sandpoint