Letters To The Editor

HEALTH CARE

Constitutional arguments lacking

Richard H. Stalter’s letter of Aug. 4 contains some strange reasoning trying to defend universal health care as a constitutional right. Life requires more than just health care. Does Mr. Stalter believe we have a right to universal food, clothing and shelter supplied and funded by the government?

Along with life, the Declaration of Independence lists liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Does this mean it is unconstitutional for everyone to not have universal access to sports cars, ski lodges and private jets?

If Mr. Stalter would read the entire Declaration of Independence and not just a portion of the preamble, he might realize Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers were concerned with the government taking away rights. Government is to be a protector of rights, not a provider.

The Constitution lists and describes some specific duties and powers of the federal government. The Bill of Rights ends by saying if it isn’t on the list, it’s not the business of the federal government.

Nowhere in the Constitution do I see the power to set medical fees, ration health care, apportion doctors, define the doctor-patient relationship, or anything else in Clinton’s socialist health care plan. Taking the earnings of a working individual to pay for the health care of someone else sounds like involuntary servitude to me, and that is specifically prohibited. David H. Wordinger Airway Heights

Veterans hospital care first class

I must respond to the letter criticizing the Veterans Administration Hospitals (“First, fix veterans hospitals,” Roundtable, Aug. 4). My experience is certainly not the same as the treatment and conditions that the writer describes. I have had eight major operations and seven that could be considered minor in Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Spokane.

Spokane’s veterans hospital is clean and well maintained. Staff members vary in ability, as is the case in any medical facility, but I found that from front desk to nurses to doctors and technicians that they are helpful and caring. When the staff doesn’t include a specialist a patient needs, the patient is referred to the local medical community for help. The veterans hospital is understaffed but definitely considerate of patients, as I have observed in many visits.

I have discovered that treating hospital personnel with respect can make a visit more pleasant. A smile, a please and a thank you can make it a better experience for everyone.

I always anticipate a wait before seeing the doctor or technician. When a person considers the quality and cost of the medical care given, this is certainly not much to expect.

If the writer were to make an attitude adjustment before visiting the hospital, the visit would turn out to be a more positive experience. P.J. Clark Veradale

End prejudice, cover mental ills

Many thanks to Arlene Levinson, who wrote the article, “Mental health gets short shrift in reform bills” (Aug. 6). I thought I was all alone in my feelings.

I recently spent close to a month in the mental wing of a local hospital for manic depression. I have two medical insurance policies that have always paid what they say, and also my psychotherapy bills. I thought I had nothing to worry about. To my surprise, my two insurance companies paid my hospital and doctor bills only partially. It seems they have a ceiling on mental, drug and alcohol treatments. I call that pure prejudice and I am mighty unhappy.

I feel no stigma about my disease, and neither do my family and friends. I know I am fortunate. This has to change for those who do, for this is a disease. I hope Mrs. (Tipper) Gore can put this point across to our people in Washington, D.C., before the health bill is passed. Dianne Geary Colfax, Wash.

Eliminate clause and we’ll be sorry

Regarding the advertisement by The Alliance for Managed Competition (Aug. 8), which addresses Rep. Tom Foley and requests him to eliminate the any-willingprovider clause from health care reform:

This is guaranteed to accomplish two things: guarantee fat profits for the major insurance companies and limit your choice of physicians.

I strongly suggest that you call the number listed, 1 (800) 842-0283, and tell Rep. Foley’s office that you emphatically want to see the any-willing-provider clause remain intact in any health care reform legislation. Tom Ryan Spokane

THE MEDIA

Seek truth from Liddy? No thanks

Kenneth D. Rhudy (Letters, Aug. 8) asks us to seek the truth from alternative right-wing sources. Among his desired sources is G. Gordon Liddy. Since Liddy is an unrepentant burglar, I guess this would be considered “alternative.” But even as a liberal, I can think of at least a couple of reliable, trustworthy, conservative reporters, and Liddy is not one of them. Carol May Spokane

Gay advocacy shocking, disgusting

Those who advocate promotion of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle have found themselves a local champion in Spokesman-Review editorial staffer Anne Windishar (Opinion, Aug. 5). What a disappointment! What a shock! This kind of sick thinking is surfacing in some amazing places, and I’d like to believe it is only ignorance, rather than career ambition, that motivates such disgusting displays of pandering and licentious drivel. It would be laughable if it weren’t so damaging to society. Kurt L. Kromholtz Spokane< IN THE PUBLIC EYE

No wife beater is any kind of hero

In answer to Donald Jones’ letter of Aug. 2, yes, O.J. Simpson is a hero, but only as an accomplished athlete. As an individual he is something less than a man and has been ever since he first battered his wife. That act is a matter of public record and, by doing that - repeatedly, I might add - he automatically made himself a prime suspect in her brutal murder.

How Mr. Jones can say that O.J. will always be a hero when it’s common knowledge that he used his excessive size and strength to beat Nicole Simpson is beyond me.

Also, I’m tired of hearing that this trial is a “black vs. white” thing when, in fact, it’s all about the taking of two lives and seeking justice for those victims, no matter who the killer is or how much celebrity and money that person has. If he’s guilty, we should all hope his money doesn’t buy his freedom. After all, not even a death penalty for the murderer will make up for the loss and wrenching emptiness that will be felt by the families of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman to the end of their days.

If O.J. is found guilty and the American public continues to hold him up as a hero, then shame on our sick society. Marlene Brazington< Spokane

Football professionals hardly heroes

Regarding O.J. Simpson as being a “hero,” I suggest Donald Jones (Letters, Aug. 2) sit down and think of what being a hero really is.

In most people’s minds a hero is a person or persons who has done something outstanding for their country, military, state, etc.; one who has risked his or her life to save or help others during war, flood, earthquake, fire, etc.

If running a football up and down a field while making millions of dollars for himself constitutes being a hero, there must be millions of them here in the United States. James M. Higley Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Get into the game early

OK sports fans, here’s the deal. The lineup was published in Sunday’s (July 31, 1994) Spokesman-Review. The players have been identified and now we can go to work.

We must learn about them from newspaper articles, television, radio and, most of all, personal appearances. They will be, at one time or other, in a public forum at which we will be able to ask questions of them.

The process is much the same as learning about the contestants in the World Series or Super Bowl. We all want to bet on the winner, and this time the wager is your vote.

Some players will be eliminated in the primary, on Sept. 20, by people who don’t cast ballots. To make sure your vote counts when needed, you must vote in that primary so that your player will be in the general election on Nov. 8.

There’s even time to become a team member for the player of your choice. This will give you an opportunity to vote for your player and enhance your odds of winning.

Now, you may find yourself asking, “What if I don’t place my bet?”

The answer is easy: We all lose. Jon J. Tuning Spokane

Credit Gorton with keeping base

Some people give Rep. Tom Foley credit for keeping Fairchild Air Force Base open. That cannot be true.

When the Base Closure Commission came to Spokane for testimony, Foley, Sens. Patty Murray and Slade Gorton and others testified before that group. From a purely objective point of view, the members of that commission were looking at three main points: military value, return on investment and environmental impact on the community.

Sen. Slade Gorton made the most cogent argument for keeping Fairchild open, based on the three main points listed above. Foley reminisced about old times with some of the commission members, and Murray babbled. If anyone deserves credit for keeping Fairchild open it is Gorton; not by political pressure or because of old friendships but by knowing the facts and articulating those facts to the people making the tough decisions.

The Base Closure Commission is an independent group that is supposed to make those decisions in a nonpolitical and nonpartisan manner. Congress gave authority to that group because Congress did not want the responsibility for doing it. It did not want the political repercussions from making the difficult decisions of closing military installations. Therefore, if Tom Foley was responsible for keeping Fairchild open, that would mean that he was tampering with an independent commission and we, the voters, would not re-elect someone who did that. Bob Blum Spokane

S&Ls debacle a Texas-sized mess

Committees from the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have each spent the better part of two weeks investigating the administration to find out who told whom what about Whitewater and when.

No crime was committed. No money was lost to taxpayers.

Rep. Henry Gonzales, D-Texas, is chairman of the House committee. One of the most critical questioners was Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.

The General Accounting Office has reported that 57 percent of all losses from criminal fraud occurred in Texas. Failed Texas savings and loans account for 41 percent of all federal money spent in savings and loan bailouts, which totaled $161 billion and was still climbing two years ago.

Texas S&L bailout losses, to which Congress has paid no heed, will cost every citizen $2,200.

Little Rock’s Morgan Guaranty would have barely qualified as a drive-up teller window for the giant Texas S&Ls. The partisan savaging about Whitewater is like lassoing mice while ignoring the stampeding longhorns that have run off with the S&L Ranch. Scott W. Reed Coeur d’Alene

SPOKANE MATTERS

Problem is attitude of the young

The July 18 incident involving Police Chief Terry Mangan and 19-year-old Ryan Evarts raises a concern far more serious than Chief Mangan’s violation of department standards. That concern is the prevailing attitude which influences the conduct of some of our young adults. As a parent deeply concerned with the disrespectful tone many young people project today, I can empathize with Chief Mangan’s reaction to Evarts’ alleged disparaging gesture. Unfortunately, as in many scenarios today, there is a tendency to rush to the defense of the offending party, rather than to defend those charged with the responsibility of enforcing codes of conduct.

Perhaps Evarts’ behavior reflects the current philosophy that seems to guide many of our young people:

Rules are meant to be broken.

Authority figures, whether teachers, police or parents, are targets for irreverence rather than respect.

Self-esteem should be served on a silver platter, rather than be earned through diligence and the traditional work ethic.

I have great faith that our young people can and will become responsible adults, but only if we support those entrusted with teaching and enforcing acceptable codes of conduct and personal responsibility. Mary Beth S. Nethercutt Spokane

Market parking not main issue

Parking a problem at the Spokane Market? Someone is using this simple excuse to stop the development of one of the most exciting and folksy attractions of Spokane.

Parking would not be a problem if the parking spots with meters on Sprague, Riverside and Main are used. Besides, when was the last time you could find a place to park at the Seattle Market?

We need the market right where it is to utilize and enhance Spokane’s vision of rebuilding on the past. Lou Carver Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Ugliness will follow Haiti invasion

One wonders if there is any reason other than the White House campaign that is increasing public support for an invasion of Haiti. Such a military operation might provide some solutions for the Clinton administration, but it has no potential to help the vast majority of Haitian people, the poorest people in our hemisphere.

While truth is the first casualty of any war, the poor are the ones who suffer most. In fact, an act of war is probably the only way that the quality of life for Haiti’s poor could be appreciably diminished.

My opposition to an invasion does not mean I oppose action regarding Haiti. To the contrary; I have favored U.S. action to restore President Aristide since he was ousted. If the U.S. government became involved in the kind of observation and accompaniment that several Spokanites have done with church and human rights groups, the coup would be doomed.

I will forgo charges of racism, but must insist that our classism is nurturing the coup and its fruit of murder and torture. U.S. politicians and diplomats accord every courtesy to the elite oppressors of Haiti, even as they describe them as “morally repugnant.” The longsuffering people of the majority are given no more than a moment of supplication from their barbed wire corrals.

We have much to answer for in Haiti. We’ll have a lot more ugly history there in the wake of an invasion. Nancy Nelson Spokane

So much for owls being nearly extinct

Dr. Erran Seaman, Olympic National Park biologist, recently testified that there are at least 200 pairs of Northern spotted owls in the Olympic National Park. He also states that there are another 200 to 300 individual owls in the park. His written testimony was submitted as result of a lawsuit the Clinton administration filed against the Anderson & Middleton Logging Co. for attempting to harvest timber on its private property, where spotted owl habitat was found.

In 1990, the Spotted Owl Conservation Plan, headed by renowned wildlife biologist, leader of the president’s illegally operated Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team and current chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Dr. Jack Ward Thomas, estimated the spotted owl population in the Olympic National Park to be at 10 pairs. On that kind of “scientific” information the Clinton administration proceeded to dedicate some 9 million acres of the most productive softwood timber-producing forests in the entire world to the recovery of spotted owl populations, which reduced the timber yield from that region by over 80 percent.

Apparently the spotted owl recovery effort was never needed. A 1,900 percent increase in four years is not indicative of a species that is “on the brink of extinction.” Jim Rathbun Libby, Mont.

Clarification:< The opinions expressed in Anne Andersen’s letter of Aug. 3 were her own; they were not representative of the Lake Roosevelt Water Quality Council Management Committee.