Letters for Aug. 11, 2022
Unconstitutional legislation
During the 2020 legislative session, numerous Idaho residents testified against legislation that would create a trigger law making nearly all abortions a felony. Citizen after citizen testified that the legislation was unconstitutional. But the legislators did not listen, and section 18-622 became law. On Aug. 2, the U.S. Justice Department filed suit against Idaho stating that Idaho’s restrictive abortion law conflicts with federal law “requiring doctors to provide pregnant women medically necessary treatment that could include abortion.” So yet again, Idaho will be required to spend taxpayer funds defending yet another unconstitutional law.
I have a better idea. Let’s make Idaho great by respecting and trusting women to make their own decisions about their own bodies. Idaho women are strong and independent and perfectly capable of making their own medical decisions without any interference from politicians. To make this a reality, I am making sure to vote this November for candidates that respect and trust women. I vow to work against any legislator who thinks s/he should have more control over my body than I do. Will you join me in making Idaho a welcoming and nurturing state for all women? I hope so.
Heather Stout
Moscow, Idaho
An alternative dream
After reading the Aug. 4 “Patriotism” column by Sue Lani Madsen (“When it comes to patriotism, we may need a miracle”), I was carried away by the thought of how unpatriotic Martin Luther King Jr. was in his famous 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech!
In 1960, the U.S. ice hockey team won an Olympic gold medal. Three years later, when MLK reminded America of its injustices, hoping to move the nation into a “more perfect union,” his speech should have screamed for more patriotic hockey players.
“I have a dream that communities and schools nationwide encourage and produce more ice hockey winners” to whip up patriotic support for America! After all, he should have suppressed real history (especially about our African American fellow citizens) in favor of promoting positive threads in American history.
Life and experience are best understood when history illuminates the future. It is not about exposing quagmire to humiliate. That is how we become a better nation, by learning and not repeating past mistakes. A statement that has changed my life into a heaven on earth is, “The past should make you better not bitter.” How’s that for a miracle!
Phil Zammit
Spokane
Student loan ‘forgiveness’
In response to: “Retiree’s loan forgiveness catches national attention” (July 31), Dr. Gonzales is clearly an intelligent, hard-working woman. Few have the passion and drive to earn a PhD. But she went through all those classes still graduating without the basic financial skills to understand the fundamentals of debt? She didn’t know that making just minimum payments on huge debt would result in paying substantially more than what was originally borrowed? Paying even a modicum of attention to periodic loan statements would have told her that. A free call to Dave Ramsey would have told her that.
Per the article, in 2008 when her loan payment was adjusted to $827, it was actually LESS (as a percentage of income) than it had been. At this point, why didn’t she make extra payments and designate these to be applied directly to principal? Many borrowers do that. At $270,000 per year, she was in the top 5% of earners. Millions make less yet manage to pay their debts. She could have rid herself of that “backpack” earlier and felt all the pride and accomplishment that comes with making that final payment. Better than being saddled with huge loans for college? Minimize or avoid debt altogether by taking longer to get through and “paying as you go.” It’s possible.
Finally, calling it “debt forgiveness” is a euphemism. It still has to be paid, it’s just that someone else will be paying it. Her debt has been transferred to us.
Rebecca Davis
Spokane