Letters

Magistrate unfairly maligned

I am writing concerning the ill-informed and unfair attacks on Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno as it pertains to the pretrial release of Charles Wallace.

He faced one count that had a sentencing guideline range of 24-30 months when he was released with conditions. Her order was never appealed by the government for good reason. The law requires the release of a person facing trial under the least restrictive condition or combination of conditions. Conditions imposed must be the least restrictive, but do not and never have required a guaranty of an appearance or safety.

Hindsight is always 20/20 when we have a tragedy such as what happened on June 19. Judge Imbrogno’s decision, based on the charge before her at the time, was reasonable and consistent with the law, and is reflective of her seasoned and respected decisions as our U.S. magistrate for over 20 years.

Mark Vovos

Attorney at law

Spokane

Trace debt to origin

Congress shall have the power to coin money and regulate the value, according to Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Before 1913, various forms of money were tried. So in 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was formed. Many members of Congress were away for the Christmas holidays and the appointed board was made up mostly of bankers.

The national debt was just over $1 billion. By 1920, after World War 1, the debt had risen to $24 billion. By 1960, after World War II and the GI Bill, the debt had reached $284 billion.

The Federal Reserve system had never been audited, so during April 1975 hearings, a bill (HR 4316) to require an audit was introduced in Congress. Many favored this resolution, but with a great deal of pressure from the banking lobbyists it was not passed.

By 1981, our federal debt had passed $1 trillion and was growing exponentially as the interest rates tripled.

By 2012, our federal debt has reached $15 trillion and is growing at a rate of $1 trillion per year. Wow!

Gerald W. Ray

Spokane

Rodgers’ firing was wrong

As president of the Museum Trustee Association, a national organization dedicated to educating and inspiring museum trustees, I have been following the problems of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture board in their firing of Director Forrest Rodgers. I worked with Forrest for several years at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Ore., while a trustee on the board, and feel not only was the process of his dismissal completely wrong but that he deserved better treatment as a person.

An executive committee has no right to dismiss a museum director. It is the board’s responsibility to hire or fire a director. It also appears a minority of the board held Forrest up to goals he was unaware of and after the fact blamed him for not meeting their goals.

He should be rehired, given clear goals and objectives and reviewed on a regular basis. In fact, the board itself should also be subject to its own evaluation and reviewed on a regular basis.

I hope this issue is resolved quickly and the museum can get back to its primary mission.

Jim McCreight

Beaverton, Ore.