Letters To The Editor

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Kaun told rest of Nethercutt story

I noted with concern the recent editorials by Editor Chris Peck and Opinion Editor John Webster praising Rep. George Nethercutt for his performance during his first term.

I wish everyone in the 5th Congressional District could have heard Democratic candidate Susan Kaun’s ringing indictment of Nethercutt’s Gingrich-clone-like performance, which she delivered at the 5th District’s Democratic Caucus on May 18. If so, I don’t think they would be very receptive to Peck’s and Webster’s praise.

I was thrilled to find that there is a candidate who has carefully documented Nethercutt’s adherence to the extremist agenda of House Speaker Newt Gingrich on education, the environment, Medicare, Medicaid and programs to protect women and children; a candidate who can express her message with vigor and compelling eloquence.

If she gets a chance to deliver her message to the 5th District electorate, Nethercutt’s undistinguished congressional career will be brief - as it should be. Neil S. Hutchens Colville, Wash.

Working hard for wrong things

I’m appalled at Editor Chris Peck’s column (“Nethercutt has grown into his role in House,” Perspective, May 19), in which he applauds Rep. George Nethercutt.

Peck’s opinion might be different if he were a poor, single mother or a victim of catastrophic flooding caused by overlogging.

Nethercutt claims to treat people with respect and dignity; to listen to what people have to say. But besides being rude and inconsiderate to people not in his tax bracket, Nethercutt has ignored those who stand up for public health, safety and the environment.

To make matters worse, his voting record in Congress proves that he really doesn’t care what the public wants.

Peck says Nethercutt has worked hard. Well, yes, he worked hard to undermine the Clean Water Act that protects our drinking water. He worked hard to gut funding for cleaning up toxic waste sites. He voted to suspend environmental laws that protect our healthy national forests from excessive logging.

Nethercutt also voted to exempt polluting industries from obeying environmental safeguards. He worked hard to stop funding for family planning, social and health services. He voted to give special rights to special interests such as polluting industries and multinational corporations.

Does this sound like a congressperson who is concerned with Spokane and who listens to and respects others?

Before Peck pats any more politicians on the back, he should look closer at the their voting record. Maybe he’d find that Nethercutt isn’t such a swell guy acting in the public’s best interest, but rather one who’s acting in behalf of big corporations and campaign contributors. Lupito Flores Spokane

Separation argument faulty

In her May 12 letter (“Separation doctrine of recent origin”) Laurel Durkee correctly cited evidence that official government support of Christianity persisted well after the adoption of the First Amendment. However, she erred in using that evidence to support the notion that Christianity and our government were never intended to be separate.

While drafting the First Amendment, the framers specifically rejected a proposal to include in it the name of Jesus Christ, because it was argued and accepted that the same principles of liberty and fairness used to protect minority Christian sects must apply to non-Christians as well.

Unfortunately, strict enforcement of those lofty principles simply wasn’t politically possible for many years. Remember that it was an era in which constitutional principles were ignored in support of slavery, an institution frequently justified through the literal interpretation of Biblical scripture.

If the Washington State Patrol were to stop enforcing the speed limit on Interstate 90, that wouldn’t invalidate the law. Likewise, the spirit of church-state separation can not be invalidated by an early history of non-enforcement. Kay Hayes Greenacres

OTHER TOPICS

Tridentine one of many Mass forms

I regret needing to suggest that Michelle Lowell (“Bring Tridentine Mass back here,” Letters, May 21) is in error about the Tridentine Mass.

The very name indicates that it came out of the Council of Trent, which instituted the Counter Reformation. That Mass was never in general use until after 1600.

The liturgy and language of the Mass have changed many times over the centuries, but the essence of the Mass is always the same. The demand for a return to the Tridentine liturgy is merely to suit some parishioners’ taste. The fact is that Bishop Skylstad is doing what the overwhelming majority of his faithful want him to do, and we applaud him for it. Edward B. Keeley Spokane

Story was more ‘myopic’ journalism

Staff Writer Carla Johnson’s article of May 12 (“Better building blocks?” News) was less than supportive. Although we at Lakeside High School believed she was at our school to feature our four-period days as the innovative, productive schedule that it is, it appears she was really looking for whatever bit of dirt she could sweep out of the corners of our school.

Amber Sandman, a sophomore at Lakeside, doesn’t deserve the negative picture Johnson painted of her. After following her around for one full day, Johnson focused on one weak moment when Amber found herself fighting sleep. Amber told me that she had difficulty staying awake in the dark, stuffy classroom, but only during one portion of a slide presentation, not the entire class period.

It seems to me if anyone is to be criticized for having her eyes closed it is Johnson.

Interesting to me is a similar complaint from another disappointed reader, Michael Hanly (Roundtable, May 19). “WSU, Pullman coverage ‘myopic”’ is sadly the same kind of journalism (and I use that term loosely). Why does it seem that the mission of some staff writers of The Spokesman-Review is to trash teachers, students and public education as a whole?

You can find good and bad in every school and indeed in every walk of life. For any negative element you may scrape up, there are at least 100 positive, newsworthy stories waiting to be told. What is the purpose of constantly looking for the bad? Furthermore, what is the purpose of looking at an entire school with myopic vision? Maria DiBartolo Lakeside High School teacher

Deadly program good for nothing

“You can’t let nature just run wild,” said Walter Hickel, an advocate of Animal Damage Control (ADC). This may be a motto for the program, but wouldn’t “a deadly cure” be more truthful?

ADC gets $38 million in funds each year and it has yet to solve the problem that started it. It was started to protect livestock and eliminate public nuisances and threats to public health. Tom Skeele, executive director of Predator Project, even admits that the work they are doing is simply killing predators, primarily coyotes, and he’s “quite convinced it’s not resulting in the end goal of protecting livestock.”

In 1994 ADC killed 85,571 coyotes and thousands of other animals for a total of 784,398. This same agency has killed 164 eastern timber wolves, which are a threatened species, and a gray wolf, which are endangered.

In the 64 years of its existence the result has been a steady slaughter of wildlife, and frustrated ranchers complain they are still losing livestock to predators. Livestock losses have been reduced to some degree, but not to the point where ranchers stop screaming.

Domestic animals are being lost to some of “control” methods, which include steel traps, snares, aerial gunning, poisons, M-44 “coyote getters” that inject a lethal dose of cyanide directly into the mouth of any animal that triggers the device, and smoking predators from their dens so they may be shot or bludgeoned to death.

Although ADC insists it is humane, it’s still a 64-year-old experiment that hasn’t worked. Jessica Parks Cheney