Letters To The Editor

WOMEN AT HEART

Gathering informative, not offensive

I was at the Met on the night of Sept. 16 and was not offended by anything the women on the panel had to say (Letters, Sept. 24, “Verbal violence intolerable”).

My sister and I attended hoping to get information on our physical and mental outlook as we grow older. We found the presentation very informative and at times we laughed very hard. We are working mothers who are trying to survive in today’s society.

The panel made it very clear they could not go into detail on a lot of matters because of the time limit and the amount of information. There were many pamphlets for further information available and foundations you could contact if you needed more assistance.

I’m sorry some women in our society live such closed lives they cannot take what information is given and learn from it. The issues that were discussed are very real to women. I applaud them for giving us such an enjoyable evening which was informative and lighthearted. I look forward to another one.

The program was free. Those who were offended, please stay home next time and do not embarrass yourself by misinterpreting the point of the program. Cheryl Gilmore Spokane

‘Women at Heart’ wonderful success

On Sept. 16, more than a dozen women from the Advanced Care Unit staff at Deaconess Medical Center and I attended the Women at Heart seminar at the Met. The speakers were excellent. It was a real treat to hear such high-caliber speakers and for free, too. Catherine Tuttle did a wonderful job of moderating the event.

We were amazed to read Jamie Rogers’ letter about her perception of “verbal violence” at the event. We missed the “audible gasp” and the “uncomfortable silence” she spoke of. Our perception was that the woman asked a question, didn’t accept the speaker’s response and expected the speaker to talk at length about a subject she hadn’t expected to address. If there was an audible gasp it was relief that Tuttle had handled the situation so well.

Perhaps Rogers hasn’t attended many seminars and doesn’t realize that most seminars have a time restriction and only allow a certain amount of question-and-answer time.

We thought the evening was a wonderful success and hope to have the opportunity to attend more of these seminars. Barbara Hill Spokane

RELIGION

Christianity got us out of Dark Ages

George Thomas (Letters, Sept. 21) is incorrect to equate Christian ideas of heaven, hell and moral responsibility with the “myths from the darkest age of human evolution.” It was, in fact, Christianity which brought humanity out of the Dark Ages. The idea that an intelligent God created an intelligible universe founded the scientific quests of men like Gallileo, Newton, Pascal and Einstein. And we all know what criminally insane, backward, misguided, absolutist, anti-authority, immature men they were (to use Thomas’ description of religious people). The idea that humans are the climax of creation, made in God’s image, sparked the renaissance in art and literature.

When Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” with rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” he assumed humans were morally responsible beings created to live in a relationship with God as friends and children, not as the gods’ slaves.

This view of humanity acknowledges that people are imperfect, even corruptible. We built a democratic government to hold our leaders accountable.

Our responsibility for our choices necessities the existence of hell, even if hell is nothing more than what we make our world when we live selfishly. God provided a way for us to escape hell by coming in the person of Jesus to tear down the wall that our selfishness and distrust built between us and God, opening the way for us to restore a relationship with our creator. That relationship is what heaven is all about. Michael Liljenberg Spokane

New testament can provide answers

I am responding to George Thomas’ letter, “Dark Ages thinking unfortunate.” After all, some readers desire more than the secular whitewashing they are bombarded with daily. Thomas’ letter begs a series of questions which I shall take the liberty to ask.

So the concept of heaven and hell originated in the Dark Ages, some 400-plus years after Christ? Mental patients and prisoners become such as a result of their Christian faith? Christian militia movements have been roaming the country for almost 20 years, presenting free Christian-oriented plays on state-run college campuses? The founding fathers and indeed billions of others throughout history were and are “backward cult members” with 7-year-old mental capacities?

As a child I fantasized about “angels, orgies, witches and demons”? A belief that our world is inhabited by both good guys and bad guys is a “childhood myth” I just can’t let go of? The Christian faith I have developed as an adult without any kind of religious upbringing is nothing more than the tomfoolery of my youth?

The “darkest ages of human evolution” you say? Am I correct in presuming this indicates the absurdity of the creation theory but confirms the atheistic presupposition that there must have been some primordial soup?

God “killed his own son?” If the Bible on your planet contains the New Testament, Mr. Thomas, try reading the next page or two before writing any future critiques.

May God strike down your pride and anger, and bless your heart, mind and soul with the truth. John D. Pier Spokane

SPOKANE

Downtown unsafe after dark

Jim Loyd of Austin, Texas, wrote (Sept. 23) about how clean and safe Spokane is. I disagree with him.

I was downtown last week and it was anything but clean. Downtown is not safe, and there is a lot of graffiti on downtown walls. Life after dark downtown is dangerous, not safe. I think Loyd is wrong. Heidi Eaton Spokane

Everyone has their rights

This is a rebuttal to the Sept. 23 letter by Lyle Knutson, representing Spokane Arcades Inc.

As a citizen of Spokane County, I have rights too - the right to help rid ourselves of the garbage you promote in our communities and in the otherwise great city of Spokane, of which I am very proud.

I don’t believe you wish to get the message. Decent people in our communities don’t want what you represent here.

We should use any legal means to rid our city and community of you and others like you. Or maybe we should go back to using tar and feathers. Joyce Jensen Spokane

SPOKANE TRANSIT

STA wants your suggestions

Patty Roberts’ request for implementation of accessible service on the No. 12 U-City Limited Route (Your Turn, Sept. 21) comes at an excellent time. Next spring STA will receive new low-floor accessible buses. These buses will replace non-accessible buses on non-accessible routes such as the No. 12 U-City Limited.

We encourage our customers to voice their opinions on which routes should next be designated accessible. This is one of the best ways for our staff to plan where those buses can be best placed and used by our customers.

If Roberts and others would like to express their desire for specific routes to become accessible, please contact me. We will certainly use all requests and suggestions in selecting the next accessible routes. Teresa Stueckle, customer relations manager Spokane Transit Authority

OTHER TOPICS

Trade is just common sense

Remember the 200-mile carburetor? Every fourth person in the country knows someone who knows someone who’s seen a carburetor that can make a car get 200 miles per gallon - mostly up hill! Trouble is, no one actually has one of these wondrous devices. The excuse is that sinister powers, usually the oil companies, have conspired to buy the patents and stop production.

This belief persists despite the fact that no one has ever found a way to stop patent infringements or the black market. If these things actually existed, every city in the world would have bootleggers making and selling them by the thousands. Fact is, nether the carburetors or the conspiracy exist.

Authors Donald Barlett and James Steele must subscribe to the “carburetor conspiracy” school of thought. One of our most proven economic truths is the “law of comparative advantage.” Stated simply, people and nations will produce those goods they are best at producing, and trade with others doing the same. Even if one producer is better at everything, trade will occur because no one is going to send products to someone without getting something of equal value in return. In our case, we export agricultural and high-tech products, and import low-tech goods and loans that finance our national debt. We trade because it makes everyone more efficient and creates wealth. Barlett and Steele notwithstanding, trade is not a conspiracy to make the rich richer, it’s simply common sense.

But then, “carburetor conspiracy” nuts will believe anything. Jim Shamp Cheney

Unions help, not hurt

It seems lately that all I’ve been hearing about unions is negative. I’ve been in a union for 25 years, my dad was in the union and my son is in the union. I cannot see where they have hurt us in any way.

I cannot see the evil in a 40-hour work week or an eight-hour day. A family health plan seems like a good idea to me. What’s wrong with a safe work place or a decent wage you can support a family on? Having some job security isn’t the worst thing that could happen to a worker. A good pension at the end of your career could make retirement a little more enjoyable.

The unions help provide these little things. That is why they were established in the first place. I can only hope we never return to the conditions of work before unions came along. Bill Carter Newport, Wash.

Make parking next improvement

In a span of about 30 years, the old wooden seats at Joe Albi Stadium have been replaced, an exceptionally fine press box has been built, two new playing field carpets have been put in, the lighting has been improved, and the parking fee has been raised a couple of times. However, cars are parked in a weed patch and a cloud of dust is stirred up in the process of parking and at departure time after the games.

I also had to have my car’s front-end realigned because it dropped into an unmarked hole.

Why can’t the management arrange to blacktop the parking lot, using some of the money collected for parking? It could be done a little at a time, beginning with the area next to the stadium and gradually surfacing the big lot. Lloyd R. Oberst Spokane