Letters To The Editor

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Seniors missed out on ‘spring swing’

Re: “Nethercutt catches up” (April 3):

When the congressional recess began March 21, I expected frequent updates on U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt’s activities, but apparently there was nothing newsworthy to report. Finally, staff writer Jim Camden described the Spokane Republican’s “spring swing through his Eastern Washington district.”

Camden said Nethercutt “is never far from constituents who want his ear on important issues.” Although the congressman talked to credit union officials, farmers and school kids, it seems he missed the ears of senior citizens who might ask him the really tough questions.

We would ask Nethercutt if he supports reducing the Consumer Price Index through legislation, which would reduce Social Security COLAs (cost of living adjustments) and increase taxes. Or does he support the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ procedures for adjusting the CPI without politicizing the issue?

We’d surely ask, “When will Congress begin working on the Medicare solvency problem?” Then we’d ask Nethercutt if he supports increases in Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs. If he does, we’d ask for specifics: How much of an increase in premiums, co-insurance and deductibles does he support? We’d remind him that Medicare beneficiaries already pay high out-of-pocket costs - an average of $2,600 per year.

With this spring break ending April 7, it’s time to contact Nethercutt in Washington, D.C., again. Urge him to oppose any efforts to legislate a reduction in the CPI and to begin working on a bipartisan solution that will extend Medicare’s solvency. Congress must work out the details now. This problem is too urgent to defer any longer. Elinor Nuxoll Spokane

Gingrich’s Stealth junket ironic

Congress is faced with completing a budget package for President Clinton to sign shortly. At the same time, the Republican majority is arguing for less spending and more tax cuts, portraying the president and Democrats as wasteful spenders.

How ironic to see Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and nine congressmen whisked away on a $15,000 trip to Lockheed’s unveiling of the F-22 Stealth fighter, with taxpayers picking up the tab.

The F-22 Stealth was designed 10 years ago when tensions between the Soviet Union and United States were intense. The F-22 is a modified Stealth bomber to counter sophisticated Soviet aircraft by being undetectable by radar. The price: $71 billion for 438 planes.

Is this really necessary when a democratic Russia has been reducing its military arsenal for the past five years? The end of the Cold War has relaxed the threat of war between the United States and Russia tremendously.

First things first. We need to create more jobs and continue to strengthen American families’ ability to educate and provide for their children. Furthermore, we need to continue toward balancing the budget.

Is this shopping spree really necessary? Dennis Pasquale Spokane

Refuse China trade, not NAFTA

The April 5 snow job article on the loss of jobs to NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) did not have the facts to support this claim and was, therefore, an obvious anti-NAFTA sell job.

No one is going to argue about Mexico’s labor costs being dramatically lower than ours. But as we all know, this also was true before NAFTA. U.S. companies always have been free to establish plants in Mexico. The loss of U.S. garment industry jobs to countries with cheap domestic labor has been going on for years. But NAFTA is an easy target now and the blame is placed on it without the facts to back up these claims.

K-L Manufacturing Co. owner Mike Doohan does have a legitimate complaint when he says, “In China, they are paying workers $1 for an 11-hour day. I can’t compete with that.” China, the world’s biggest dictatorship, increases its power and supports its army by the use of forced labor - much of it with young children who are forced to work in repressive conditions.

Meanwhile, our $35 billion trade deficit with China is more than double what it is with Mexico.

How can we continue to pour billions of our dollars into a very repressive dictatorship that enriches its leaders on the backs of child labor? Let’s leave NAFTA alone and quit buying all goods made in China. Let us also petition our congressmen to establish very tough tariffs against any and all goods coming from this forced-labor country. Dick McInerney Spokane

Gore no Truman

Why isn’t Vice President Al Gore deeply ashamed of consorting with Li Ping, the butcher of Tiananmen Square? Could you imagine Franklin Roosevelt’s vice president cozying up to Adolf Hitler? Gore is definitely not of the same caliber as Harry Truman. Kathleen L. Miller Spokane

Send a message to China

I just read A.M. Rosenthal’s column on China’s persecution of Christians. Folks, the solution is simple: Don’t buy “made in China” goods.

One of the major imports is toys. I can’t believe the humongous piles of stuffed and plastic toys that populate my grandchildren’s rooms. Most, they unwrap, lay aside and may never pick up to play with again.

I don’t advocate no toys for our young’uns, but some moderation certainly would be in order. Personally, my gift for birthdays and Christmases is a small, inexpensive toy, a $50 check and a silver round to be saved and used for after-graduation and educational needs. Their parents are most grateful, certainly now that the cost of a college education is becoming so expensive.

Yes, we can do something about China’s crackdown on Chinese Christians and dissidents - cut down on the toys and increase the savings. Another hidden benefit is: The more saved, the more there is for American business to borrow, to invest. That might just get a job for that new debt-free graduate. What a gift!

No, we don’t wring our hands and curse the Al Gores and Bill Clintons for not coming down hard on the Chinese. A silent, grass-roots revolution by we the people will do a much better job. The Chinese are smart and greedy. They’ll get the message fast and changes will be made quickly. Plus, if that $35 billion trade deficit could be pared down a notch or two, another economic headache would be pushed aside and we’d all be better off. Harry G. Merrick Chattaroy

LAW AND JUSTICE

Bailed out on a weight excuse?

Well, Tom DiBartolo got out on bail. First, the police were so sure this fine sheriff’s deputy could never commit murder and certainly would not kill his wife, whom he professed to love more than life itself.

Now, we read that he needs to be free on bail because he is losing weight and needs to be home with his children. Has he been thinking of his children? The older ones, who can understand exactly what their father is accused of, are going to have to live with this the rest of their lives.

Then there are the letters the young child wrote. What 9-year-old writes a pleading letter and refers to dad as Thomas DiBartolo? Who put him up to this?

I know of no other accused murderer being released on bail because of weight loss. If he is the one who shot his wife, let him sit in jail where he belongs. Let’s not play favoritism because he was a good cop. Carol Walters Spokane

DiBartolo not indigent

Thomas DiBartolo is indigent? (The Spokesman-Review, April 9) The American Heritage Dictionary’s definition of “indigent” is “a destitute or needy person.”

I am appalled that DiBartolo is out on bail. But as Spokane County Commissioner Kate McCaslin said, he posted $125,000 - he must have assets somewhere. How many really indigent people get what he is receiving?

He made his choices, and as sad as they are, he ought to pay for them - not the county. If any money is going to be coming from the county, it should go to his children. They are the ones who literally are paying for his actions.

I cannot believe this is even being considered. What about a public defender? It seems to me that this is what the option is for real indigent people. Heather Freeman Spokane

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Meat, chicken additives best avoided

In response to the front page article about girls entering puberty early:

It has been known for years that girls with an increased dietary intake of estrogenlike materials and their strong chemical composition (such as fried chicken includes) have been known to undergo sexual development at an early age.

When I was in school in Kansas City, we saw a lot of inner-city youngsters and a few who were diagnosed as precocious puberty. It was a very well-known fact - but not stated much - that eating a lot of fast foods and meats caused this problem.

The reason? Chickens are totally loaded up with estrogenlike hormones to make them lay eggs. To eat these chickens is the same as taking estrogen compounds and pills by mouth. These additions to chicken feed should be banned. I don’t think any meat is fit for consumption any longer.

Unfortunately, if this study had stated the facts, it would have been hidden quite quickly.

This well-known fact was not talked about in our medical group and our medical school, but it was understood. We recommended that one child we had seen be taken off of a meat diet, and a lot of her symptoms disappeared. Harvey Fritz Moses Lake