Letters To The Editor

Sat., July 13, 1996

WASHINGTON STATE

Whitehall attuned to many issues

Kudos to The Spokesman-Review staff for a fine job in following all the candidates for state and local office. With so many people on the campaign trail it can be crowded, but Jim Camden and company do a nice job keeping track of the players.

I’m especially pleased with the extensive and fair coverage given to 3rd District state representative candidate Ken Whitehall. Thanks also to people who have written to this page expressing their support for the Whitehall candidacy. They know he is committed to the crime issue, through prevention and deterrence methods.

However, I am concerned that Whitehall might be labeled a one-issue candidate. Admittedly, crime will be the focus of the Whitehall campaign, since his fiancee was murdered by juveniles in late 1994. But there are several other issues Whitehall is prepared to address, including economic opportunity, community investment, health, welfare and education.

Whitehall’s thoughts on public education are very important to me because I teach at a public high school. Over half of our state budget is spent on education but only about half of that ever gets out of Olympia. Whitehall says that is grossly unacceptable. He wants to slash the red tape and divert our tax dollars from bureaucrats and toward the classroom, for students, teachers and technology.

Whitehall knows the issues facing the 3rd District are interrelated. Education affects economic opportunity, which affects welfare, which affects crime. Ken Whitehall is, indeed, a candidate for all the issues. Scott Carlon, campaign manager Committee to Elect Ken Whitehall, Spokane

Halt animal rights extremism

It seems the animal rights groups are everywhere in 1996. They’re trying to ban all fishing, hunting, animal research, animal agriculture and more.

If you think you are safe, check some of the following goals of the animal rights movement as published by them in Animal Agenda:

1. “We are firmly committed to the abolition by law of animal research.” This means no more AIDS research.

2. “We call for the eventual elimination of all animal agriculture.” This means no more hamburgers or leather shoes.

3. “Commercial trapping and fur ranching should be eliminated.” This means no more fur coats.

4. “Hunting, trapping and fishing for sport should be prohibited.” This means no more wild meat or baked trout.

5. “We strongly discourage any further breeding of companion animals, including dogs and cats, and commerce in domestic exotic animals for pet trade should be abolished.” This means no more pets of any kind.

6. “We call for an end to the use of animals in entertainment and sports.” This means no more movies with animals or rodeos.

The list just keeps going.

This year the antis are trying to ban cougar hunting with hounds and bear hunting with bait or hounds in Washington. I have never hunted cougars or bears, but that won’t stop me from voting no on I-655 because we all must stick together or be defeated one group at a time. David Hayward Jr. Valley, Wash.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Grass: It’s profit vs. health

In spite of the fact that hundreds of doctors have said otherwise, the grass growers are still trying to convince us that making us sick is good for us.

Growing grass seed is not like the beautiful lawns that we have around our homes.

In order to harvest the seed it has to grow tall and dry out. When it is harvested, it makes as much dust as harvesting any other grain.

When it is burned, it fills the sky with harmful particulates that cause children to develop asthma and people with lung problems to be confined to bed.

After it is burned, harmful particulates and black ashes blow around in the air and blacken our streams for months.

The smoke is bad enough, but the toxic particulates remain in the lungs and continue to do damage for months after the burning has stopped.

The grass growers can still grow grass without burning. It will just cost them a little more to get rid of their straw. Leo K. Lindenbauer, D.C. Spokane

Armed park visitors would be safer

Recently I read of another American being mauled to death by a bear in one of our national parks. It seems that such attacks are increasing in our national parks.

I have often wondered why we have to be left so vulnerable to wild animals in our parks. Stiff fines could be levied against anyone discharging a firearm in our national parks other than for the protection of their life.

This makes it very convenient for the Park Service. At the same time, however, it makes it risky for people to walk around in our national parks without any type of real protection against wild animals, some of which are vicious towards humans. Bob Smith Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

It’s about the economy and fairness

Here it is, an election year with all the party rhetoric. Who will do the best job? It’s hard to guess. Instead, let’s look at some of the issues.

If you’re a wage earner, look at where the candidates stand on raising the minimum wage, which is at its lowest buying power since World War II. Perhaps with its passage some of the 57.9 percent of workers with two incomes could quit to care for the children under 18 years of age whom they support.

Working over 40 hours a week without overtime pay (S112) could help no one except employers. Imagine working 60 hours this week, 40 next week, 60 the following week and off the next week - all for the same monthly pay you used to get for a regular 40-hour week.

Then, finally, it’s time to retire. Your Social Security will be too slim to live on, but how hard will it be with no benefits or pension from your old employer?

Forty-one percent of workers have no defined pension plan. Can they really afford to retire so the younger people can have jobs?

Find out the facts, then vote for the one who supports your bread and butter issues. DeNiece Cooper Spokane

Where the beef is: Unaccountability

Rogue nations with doomsday weaponry, terrorist attacks on U.S. military personnel overseas, uncertainty in Bosnia and the Middle East - so how does the rapid response team at the White House respond? They send out Buttman!

If V-chip Willie and the Family First Choir are so concerned with the real issues, then why is Buttman front and center? Sure, Bob Dole takes tobacco money, but Vice President Al Gore’s family grew tobacco and made a fortune. Gore lost his sister to lung cancer. Dole lost his brother to emphysema. They both smoked, even though a warning sticker on each pack they inhaled said it might kill them. If only they hadn’t inhaled.

This one issue illustrates the difference between conservatives and liberals - accepting responsibility for your own actions. If I eat Big Macs every day for 230 years and then end up looking like Bill Clinton in running shorts or, worse yet, I have heart problems, who is responsible? The liberals would say McDonald’s, for encouraging me to eat those Big Macs. The conservatives say I should be held personally responsible. But, personal responsibility means fewer lawsuits, which means fewer trial lawyers, which means less money in Clinton’s campaign chest.

Lawsuits are what V-chip Willie’s biggest supporters, the trial lawyers, count on for survival. They need to make other people responsible for your own choices and they need to make others pay for your lack of accountability. So, kick back and have another Big Mac. That big old belly sure isn’t your fault. Gary Tyacke Spokane

‘Sensible’ is the operative word

A recent letter writer used the term “paranoia” to refer to those opposed to a constitutional convention to develop a term limits amendment. I do not think one has to be psychotic to be against such a convention.

The Constitution, Article V, is vague about the whole process. It does not provide for a convention to be limited to just a single purpose. Once the delegates are convened there is nothing to prevent them from going on to other issues, such as abortion, civil rights, taxation, etc. This might be fine if the resulting amendments favored your side but there is no guarantee they would.

How would the delegates be selected? Should they all be people who favor term limits? If so, the convention would be stacked and reasonable opposing arguments would be overlooked.

Should they be appointed? If so, by whom? Or, should they be elected? The Constitution is silent on all of this.

After the convention the proposed amendment(s) would still have to be approved by 39 (three-fourths) of the state legislatures. This would happen only if there were strong, widespread support for term limits by the people. But if this were the case we wouldn’t need an amendment - we could vote out those long in office at the next election. Robert Forman Colville, Wash.

Poor got richer under Reagan

Andy Kelly submits frequent letters attacking the Republican Party as the party of the rich. He is long on emotion, short on fact. The Reagan years are a favorite target of Kelly’s.

He says the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. He’s only half right. Everyone got richer, especially the poor. The lowest 20 percent of real household incomes increased by 68 percent from 1984 to 1989. The highest 20 percent also increased, but only by 19.2 percent. It was a result of the Carter years that the poor got poorer. The lowest 20 percent of incomes decreased by 14.2 percent from 1979 to 1983.

Kelly also perpetuates the myth that Reagan slashed taxes for the rich. He confuses tax rates with actual taxes paid. In 1981 the top 5 percent of earners paid 35 percent of federal income taxes. In 1991, the top 5 percent paid 43 percent. President Reagan doubled the personal exemption, increased the standard deduction and tripled the earned income tax credit, eliminating income tax liability entirely for over 4 million low-income families. In 1981 the lower 50 percent of income earners paid 8 percent of federal income taxes. In 1991 they paid only 5 percent.

Kelly states that Republicans have fooled the men but not the women. Perhaps the Democrats have fooled the women but not the men - except for Kelly.

The above statistics were provided by The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Hal Dixon Spokane

Women shouldn’t support Clinton

I am embarrassed to be a woman. Recent reports have stated that women prefer Bill Clinton over Bob Dole nearly two to one.

Why in the world would you vote for a man who has cheated on his wife (more than once) - not including all the other sleazy, illegal and underhanded acts he has committed as a human being?

What has he done for you, as a woman? He says all the right things, tears up and looks so sincere. Have you fallen for it? I am appalled.

You whine about being victims and not getting respect. Now you are trying to elect a man to the highest office in the country who has a history of abusing women.

I am confused. Nancy J. Keller Spokane

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