Letters To The Editor

Thu., Jan. 11, 1996

From Roundtable (Monday, January 15, 1996): A letter writer recently and incorrectly mentioned that U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt lacks an e-mail address. In fact, Nethercutt has one. Here it is: grnwa05@hr.house.gov

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Youth: It’s later than they think

“Teens rise, but don’t shine” (Spokesman-Review, Jan. 2) struck a nerve in me. I’m not really sure if I captured the whole meaning of this article, but it seems to me that these researchers almost want us to have school start about 10 in the morning. Wouldn’t that be nice? But then, that would mean in order to get a full school day in our precious children would have to be in school until about 5 in the afternoon.

So what’s the solution? Let them off at 3 p.m. as usual? Why not? We have let them have so many rights already, why not let them decide what time they want to start school?

When, or if, they ever get jobs, are we going to let them decide what time they will go to work, or let them set their own salary?

The kids coming of working age nowadays think that it is below them to start out at minimum wage. They want to start at the top of the ladder.

Whatever happened to “early to bed, early to rise”? Twenty-five years ago we went to bed at 9 - no ifs, ands or buts. No radio, no television, no noise, just lights out and go to sleep, so that the next day you would be refreshed and ready to face the world.

The attitude of kids today is ridiculous. It doesn’t matter that all of the things kids have to endure prepares them for the real world of the working class, blue collar or domestic workers, which is where 90 percent of them will wind up. We need good, old-fashioned, honest, hard-working people in this world. Randy Jolibois Spokane

Melatonin antidote: gumption

Re: “Teens rise, but don’t shine,” melatonin is supposed to be a drug that controls the sleep cycle and researchers are finding that children are going to school too early. Apparently, they are still in their sleep cycle at 8 or 9 in the morning. It must take a lot of willpower to overcome that zombie-like condition for the first couple of hours.

Won’t going to sleep a couple of hours earlier do the job? What if they went to bed at 9 p.m. and got up at 7 a.m.? That’s 10 hours of sleep. Would they still be sleepy?

If you are a teenager, aren’t you allowed to go to bed that early? Maybe if every student went to bed early enough for a long enough period of time, say 100 years, then maybe the research findings would be more consistent with starting class at 8 a.m. or, heaven forbid, even earlier?

Though researchers may find it unnatural for teenagers to get up early for class and perform at their peak, I do believe it is an important character-building time where they must figure out how to fake that alert look and fight, with sheer willpower, the horrible melatonin, sleep-depriving hormone. Those students who are flexible and imaginative can find a way to deal with that painful hormonal menace to education.

Naturally, these students will be strengthened to handle new challenges in life because they will not have looked for the easy way out. Philip L. Stack Medical Lake

Such sympathy for a spoilsport

Columnist Doug Clark obviously has either very limited knowledge or some deepseated resentment toward the Greek system, or both.

The most important time of the year to a sorority/ fraternity is rush week. The only way to have a successful rush is to have “all hands on deck” doing all the hard work necessary. (This is sometimes difficult to accomplish in the middle of an eight-day drunk, but generally it does get done.)

Most of the members of a house must sacrifice a job or some other meaningful commitment to get back for rush week. Some probably even give up wages of more than $50 a day and might even have student loans. (Except for the girls of Clark’s sorority, who only have give up pool time at Daddy’s country club.)

It is difficult for me to believe Summer Vail couldn’t somehow work a few days or parts of days of rush into her schedule at the end of the summer. But, if she couldn’t, she should pay the $400 as stated in the rules she was obviously aware of. This is surely chicken feed to her parents, or she would not have become a sorority member in the first place, correct?

When you join an organization you play by the rules, even if at times the rules seem unfair. You don’t hire an attorney and file suit.

This lesson may even serve you well later in life, Summer Vail. In the meantime, I suggest you head up the study program for new pledges and take advantage of the positive things the Tri Delts can offer you. I wish you success in your veterinarian career.

Which fraternity were you in, Clark? Jim O. Howell St. John, Wash

Correction

Ronald Emil Nordstrom’s letter of Jan. 9 mistakenly made reference to the Washington State Patrol. The officer involved in the accident was actually a member of the Spokane Police Department.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Clinton story ‘buried’ on page 7

In line with your usual practices, you filled the Jan. 5 front page with a color picture from the sports section, a story on a stuffed bear, and a mildly interesting story about swamped mortuaries and graveyards.

You buried an article about Hillary Clinton, which mentioned more White House lies, illegal influencewielding and chicanery, on page 7. It was the only news article on this subject and it was buried in the midst of two pages of ads.

Biased reporting? The only real surprise is that the article got into your paper at all. Ray H. Johnson Mead

Creeps stalking first lady

Republicans and conservatives look pathetic as they salivate over Hilary Clinton’s miscues.

So the first lady yelled about the travel office. If an aide thought there would be hell to pay for not doing what Mrs. Clinton wanted, that was his problem. What some staffer thinks the first lady wants and what the first lady orders are two different things. History is littered with bumblers who thought they were acting in the best interests of their leaders.

So Hillary Clinton billed Madison Savings and Loan. That’s what lawyers do. The number of hours she billed them for can easily be characterized as minor. Partisans love to argue semantics, especially partisans who created the whole savings and loan fiasco while fattening their campaign war chests off its excesses.

So Hillary said no to a witch hunt that wanted her entire business record opened to public scrutiny, simply because she is the first lady. Where I come from, a less than candid no is a polite way of saying “none of your business.”

One kind of liar is the one who labels legal representation as criminal and uses the majesty of Congress to harass a political opponent. Get a real issue, you paragons of rectitude. Run against Bill, not his wife. Jack O’Dea Colville, Wash.

Battle lines easy to understand

The ongoing budget battle between President Clinton and Congress has been difficult to understand. Simply, this battle is between those who believe this country will be best off in the long run by promoting policies leading to strong economic growth (Republicans), and those who believe that this country is best served by having a policy of redistributing income from one segment of the people to another (Democrats).

In the short run, it’s very simple to assume that those who are the net gainers (welfare, Social Security, Medicare and other recipients) along with many government workers who stand to lose their jobs, will support President Clinton. People who see everincreasing bites being taken out of their paychecks (sellers of small businesses who lose most of what they worked all their lives for through capital gains, and young people who are tired of seeing their future spent now) will support the Congress.

But before you join Clinton’s band, take another look farther out in time. You don’t have to do a lot of complicated forecasting, or even rely upon someone else’s forecasts. Just look at France. After a dozen years of experimenting with socialism the country is virtually broke. When the government finally had to admit it and resort to such draconian measures as huge tax increases and reductions in entitlements, virtually the entire country went on strike.

At best, Clinton’s philosophy will keep two people on welfare now so six will starve in the next generation. Hal Dixon Spokane

Clinton obstructs needed budget

Many people are condemning the Republican congressmen for not funding government on a continuing basis until a budget compromise is reached. My hat is off to them for doing what they said they would do when they ran for election in 1994. If they were to cave in it would be more government as usual.

In November, President Clinton said he would go along with the seven-year balanced budget agreement if Congress would vote for continuing government as usual. Congress voted to fund government for a period of time. What happened then? Clinton started to waffle. He wanted all services, including Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and welfare funded, with growth to continue as usual. That rate is in the 10 percent to 12 percent range. Republicans only want to fund the increase in the 3 to 5 percent range.

You have to feel sorry for the workers who are caught in the middle of this. Maybe they should start venting their anger where it would really do some good - at President Clinton.

All Clinton would have to do is to agree to slow the rate of growth, and give some sort of guarantee that he would not waffle again, and I’m certain Congress would pass a continuing resolution. All I can say to the House members is: Hang in there. You have a lot of supporters out here. Ed Weilep Spokane

Pull Gingrich & Co.’s franchise

A message to our congressional representatives in Washington, D.C., especially Rep. George Nethercutt, the “great listener” who continues to buck the national trend in refusing to get an e-mail address:

We, the voters of Washington state, hold you Republican congresspeople responsible for the continuing, mindless government shutdown. Were it not for your year’s record, I could call this stunning arrogance. Given your past outrages, this business of presuming to force a president’s hand through outright blackmail is simply business as usual.

At the voting booths next fall, voters nationwide will remember the indignities inflicted on fellow citizens such as Ruth Scott, the Commerce Department employee mentioned in the Jan. 4 story, “An unnatural disaster.”

Fellow citizens, the government is us, not some distant and alien “them.” Only shifty conservative propaganda has made it seem that way.

We in this state did not elect House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and his soulless attack upon government workers and the president we did elect is an attack upon us. Let us resolve to throw his minions out of office at our first opportunity. Michael Hanly Pullman

Republicans are at least trying

After reading the letter by A.K. Stirling on Jan. 5, I had to respond.

When he criticized D.F. Oliveria and Newt Gingrich about “The Contract with America,” I’d say, it’s about time something is being done. He says the country always has done better under a Democratic government. After 40 years of giveaway programs with a $5 trillion debt, is it any wonder? Elmer F. Tonn St. Maries, Idaho Cuts apply to increases only In staff writer Lynda Mapes’ front page Sunday article, she says, “The federal government is poised to cut billions over the next several years from the money it sends the state for programs like Medicaid, transportation and housing.” This is not true!

There is a decrease of the amount of increase, but no decrease in dollars. Unless you can identify one decrease in dollar amount, your article is false. George Stahly Colville, Wash.

WASHINGTON STATE

DSHS spending is an open book

This is in response to “The poor deserve equal protection” (Opinion, Dec. 15).

I agree that replacing federal mandates for social services with state-managed block grants could lead to inequities among the nation’s poor. However, I take exception to the claim that the state Department of Social and Health Services can’t explain to taxpayers how it spends its budget.

Not only are we required by law to be accountable for how the budget is spent, we absolutely agree that taxpayers have a right to know how their dollars are spent.

DSHS’ sophisticated accounting system allows staff to monitor expenditures at every level. Each month, executive managers in each program examine expenditures to ensure the department doesn’t disburse more than allowed.

About half the department’s 1995-97 operating budget of $10,048,514 comes from the federal government. Not only are we accountable to state taxpayers but to taxpayers across the country.

The biggest part of our budget - 35 percent - provides medical services to 668,200 people, most of whom are children. Economic Services, which administers public assistance programs, uses 21.2 percent of the total budget. Aging and Adult Services, which provides nursing home and other long-term care for the elderly and disabled, has 15.7 percent of the total budget.

The department spends more than 70 percent of its budget on children, the elderly and disabled and the state’s poorest people.

Staff salaries and benefits make up 15 percent of the total DSHS budget. During the past four years, the department has reduced administrative staff by 1,355 while increasing direct client service staff.

The DSHS budget is only 25.9 percent of the total state budget. Lyle Quasim, secretary Department of Social and Health Services, Olympia

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