Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Can’t fault councilman for working

Although I don’t agree with every position of Spokane City Councilman Chris Anderson, don’t pretend to know if he’s sufficiently diligent in his council duties and won’t pretend that my own view is shared by the electorate, in general, I remain impressed that he is the one elected official who consistently addresses my concerns. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has won the respect of many other voters on the basis of that alone.

As to any concern that he is wasting his talents driving for a movie production, I have two views:

First, if we don’t value a council position or a number of other “respectable” lines of work to pay them much beyond a living wage, whose fault is that?

In the second instance, I think I would have more respect for a common prostitute than some leading politicians or captains of industry, who seem more in the business of acquiring Olympian wealth and power at the expense of more decent people than in offering much of redeeming value (as exemplified in the latest issue of U.S. News & World Report). It’s worse yet if such folks are behind most of the nation’s social pathology, as speculated on in the magazine story.

In essence, I don’t think there is much work out there that is either beneath or above anyone as long as it’s honest work done by honest people.

Philip J. Mulligan Spokane

Make Democrats look foolish

Re: filling Rep. Dennis Dellwo’s 3rd District seat (Campaign ‘96, June 16): Tell your county commissioners to delay the politically motivated vote until Sept. 3, or send the names to the governor on Sept. 8 for approval. This will make the Democrats look like fools for filling this legislative position for doing no work.

If you want send a message to the Democrats’ Central Committee, vote for Ken Whitehall, the Republican candidate, or recruit an independent from the Reform or Taxpayers parties. No more back-room deals. Don’t vote for a Democrat, especially for position 2. Mark Marion Spokane

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Coverage of graduates helpful

I have just read the South, North, and Valley Voice editions of the June 6, special graduation issue of The Spokesman-Review. What a positive undertaking and what a great tribute to recognize all of the classes of 1996!

In putting these students forward, The Spokesman-Review also advances the teachers, friends and parents who support them. It certainly increases the sense of community among us.

On behalf of the school staff, parents and families of the students featured in the special sections, especially those in the Spokane Public Schools community, please accept our thanks.

A key assumption of our educational mission is that student success is vastly improved when students have contributive support systems. Your recognition of students accomplishments is an important part of that support system for students.

During one of the recent public conversations about education, someone said that “education determines more than anything else whether we will have citizens and leaders of honor and judgment, wisdom and heart … helping this nation to become what it has always been destined to be: the best hope of a free people to live together in an open, prosperous, and just society.”

Please convey our thanks also to the employees of The Spokesman- Review for their work on this special community effort. We will be happy to continue to help you sustain recognition of young people as they make their way to tomorrow. Gary A. Livingston, superintendent Spokane Public Schools

Elementary schools shy of PCs

The unequal number of personal computers in Spokane schools is evident not only in the high schools (“Need for PCs worse at Rogers,” Letters, June 19), but in elementary schools as well.

The elementary school where I teach has five personal computers; four in the library and one on a cart which we share from room to room.

The schools with more PCs obtain them as gifts from their parent groups or in some cases a local business will donate them.

A lot of parents in the community my school serves are barely able to keep their heads above water financially. Giving money to their school for PCs is not an option for them.

We feel fortunate to have the PCs we are using. To think of more is a luxury we only dream of! M.M. Wrigley Spokane

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

New citizens an impressive lot

Thank you for publishing the Associated Press article “Immigrants quickly adapt” in the June 15 paper.

The article referred to four recent outstanding citizens from Russia and referred to them as skilled professionals, rather than refugees. There were more of this caliber who could have been mentioned.

This spring I assisted 11 intelligent adults from the Ukraine and Russia. On June 10, nine passed the citizenship test to the tune of 100 percent and one scored 95 percent. They became citizens that same evening.

Did the Review not deem this important news? The city desk was contacted but did not send anyone to cover this event.

During the 17 years of my tutoring English as a second language, which included citizenship education, I have been astounded at the caliber of people we have helped and the quality of citizens Spokane should not underestimate.

A heartwarming welcome is due these people who leave their native land and are eager to work hard to fulfill their dream of freedom. Mae I. Schaeffer Spokane

Skip laws and use self-control

In response to Jonathan Myers’ June 13 letter, “Ban all tobacco products,” I get tired of people in this country blaming someone else for their problems.

What happened to self-control? If it hurts you or causes cancer, leave it alone. No one said you had to smoke or chew tobacco.

You know, everything we do nowadays causes cancer. Are we going to ban pocket knives, baseball bats, automobiles, airplanes and food? You know they all kill.

Don’t get the government involved in banning anything because by the time they do all the research that it takes to get it done they will have a whole bunch of other things on the list.

Just remember, if it bugs you, leave it alone. Use self-control. Ken Oenning Uniontown, Wash.

IN THE PAPER

Homophobia story thin gruel indeed

“Researchers find homophobia intolerance at WSU,” (News, June 16) was a classic example of taking a few facts and a lot of conjecture to build a byline.

The article was slanted, showing any gay student attending Washington State University as a victim. The reason? Out of several thousand students attending WSU, 12 picketed the gay and lesbian center, two students picketed a gay youth conference and the university did not extend a job offer to the lover of a woman to whom they did offer a position.

That is a laughable expectation I hope no school or company would fall into meeting. Regardless of sexual preference, employees should be hired on the basis of unique qualities for a specific job, not because their loved one is offered a job.

The research performed wasn’t elaborated on much in the article, except to say there was a range of bias against homosexuals. It was said that many students requested gays not make their sexuality known. This is the same requirement given to the military by President Clinton and hardly an example of homophobia.

What the entire article communicated is that any reaction to a homosexual, other than a welcome embrace, is intolerance. And it showed that as few as 13 protestors can make accusations in the form of headlines in your paper. Cindy Driehorst Spokane

LAW AND JUSTICE

Judge just followed the law

Re: The June 16 letter, “Sorry system invites vigilantism”: I believe it’s of utmost importance to understand that American society is structured around necessary laws protected by the United States Constitution. It is a constitution that protects everybody, regardless of race, religion or creed. It’s these very same laws that require a person to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Superior Court Judge Paul Bastine’s decision to dismiss various charges against me was based on professional conduct rather than personal feelings. He based his decision on laws that clearly represent themselves. These are the very same laws the public voted him into position to uphold.

Twisting laws into a version to satisfy those who aren’t interested in following the letter of the law would only prove to represent non-objectivity.

Such an act in itself would no doubt create law-abiding citizens to fantasizes about the value and benefits of a Ken Arrasmith brand of vigilantism. However, it would be a more discreet form carried out by those voted into positions of authority.

If it wasn’t for the laws being upheld by those who have the ability to maintain objectivity instead of passing judgment based on personal feelings, America would seriously be in trouble. Mark N. Kelley Spokane

THE ENVIRONMENT

Bias toward companies is clear

The Spokesman-Review’s editorial board, as represented by Opinion Editor John Webster, has been misrepresenting facts lately and stooping to name calling. This is on forest, health and mining-related issues.

Evidently, the board has a vested interest in promoting unregulated logging and irresponsible mining practices.

Some facts regarding the “scare tactics” of the Inland Empire Public Land Council’s Get the Lead Out campaign are:

Taxpayer money did not fund these projects, as Webster claims. The money was actually generated from state toxic water hauling fees. This information was given to him by council members before he wrote the editorial against Get the lead out.

Evidence presented in Get the lead out is easily more credible than Webster’s opinion-based statements. Call the IEPLC for its source, then call Webster for his.

1 million pounds of lead washed into Lake Couer d’Alene during the last flood. Webster would have us believe there’s no significant problem.

Facts surrounding Webster’s support of Sen. Larry Craig’s so-called forest health bill are irrelevant if there’s no forest health crisis. A supervisor from the Clearwater Forest in Idaho, James Caswell, has admitted his agency possesses no documents whatsoever to support any forest health crisis, and there’s no backlog of salvage timber to be logged.

It seems Webster and his editorial board blindly support the timber and mining industries, and subvert any information that could make them accountable for good stewardship of our public lands. J. Gary Kavanagh Spokane

Deforestation issue mischaracterized

Re: Joshua Tucker’s rain forest letter of June 20: While the destruction of the rain forest has been a constant topic for the last decade, this issue invariably tends to be misunderstood. The real danger is its lack of replaceability in the generation of oxygen that can be used by animals. This form of oxygen is O2.

Plants directly transfer carbon dioxide into the oxygen that we need to survive. Phytoplankton, on the other hand, change hydrogen carbonate to hydrogen and 2 carbonate molecules. These carbonate molecules tend to combine with calcium to form rock that eventually turns to granite. Since it is fairly difficult to breathe granite, we must instead rely on trees to create our usable oxygen.

Our atmosphere is made from 79 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. Trees also serve to help us regarding nitrogen. They use the nitrates in their production of energy, thus helping to reduce the amounts of nitrites and nitrates in the atmosphere. These compounds are both forms of acid rain.

I advise Tucker to take a chemistry class before he lectures others on the dangers of deforestation. While it is true that there is plenty of oxygen, it really depends on how it is combined with other elements that matters. While it is true that the law of conservation of matter states that “matter can be neither created nor destroyed,” it still must be made into a useful compound or element to benefit various lifeforms. Russ Carver Spokane

Tree killing reduces species

This is in response to Joshua Tucker’s June 20, letter “Rain Forest Issue Overblown.” It’s frustrating to read his reasoning for showing a lack of concern for the disappearing Central American rain forests.

While Tucker makes the valid point of oceanic plankton producing 70 percent of the world’s oxygen and this plankton being the major food producer at the bottom of the food chain, it is an oversimplified view of a complex issue.

The tropical rain forest is the biome with the richest species diversity, defined as the number of species in a given area. It is estimated that most of these species have not been described or classified. In a broader view, this means that a sizable but undetermined percentage of the world’s species are unknown.

The problem with the disappearing rain forest is not food or oxygen production, but species elimination. Besides the obvious reduction in possible medicinal applications, what does this mean to the human population?

It can be argued that a low species diversity is directly related to ecosystem instability. For example, the nineteenth-century potato famine in Ireland was caused by a single fungus that eliminated the potato crop for several years. In our ‘world’ ecosystem we seem to be selecting the species useful to our exponentially increasing human population.

An interesting side note: The forests of the Pacific Northwest are currently being cleared at a faster rate than are Central America’s rain forests. Joseph J. Schiessl Pullman

ABORTION

Unborn also deserve liberty

Joan E. Harman is reading history with the use of modern day labels such as conservative and liberal, which have different meanings today than in the past. Let’s do away with the labels and stick to the facts.

Christians were on both sides of America’s Civil War. The main issue was secession, not slavery. The abortion issue divides people regardless of personal belief.

To be consistent in my views on individual rights, one has to respect the right of the unborn, if one expects the law to protect those of us who are already here. If you believe in liberty, you must include those who are also on the way. Ellen Hodde Colville, Wash.