Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

What’s unquestionable is hypocrisy

A rebuttal to “Decision unquestionably proper” by Penny Lancaster (letters, Sept. 17): We’ve fought 11 years of phony door ordinances, offering compromises each time. The City Council’s refusal to cooperate has proved its intent to close the business.

We now fight the constitutionality of a “configuration ordinance,” co-authored by Lancaster and carefully drafted to make it impossible to comply with. After years of ordinances, they resort to their big lies of child porn, racketeering, etc. The propaganda Lancaster and prosecutor Patti Walker spout comes from religious manuals on closing adult businesses, and they’d better have conclusive proof of their accusations. These outright lies will get their pious behinds in court for slander.

I also question the sincerity of a teacher spending every free minute worrying about the sexuality of other people. She calls us perverts, but she has sex on her mind more than anyone I’ve ever met.

On a talk show recently, she bragged she had a petition with 1,600 names. What’s that - three churches? Is Spokane controlled by the church?

Paying Walker $70,000 a year to harass a handful of businesses isn’t so outrageous when you consider the millions Spokane has spent the past dozen years pandering to puritans, keeping the bookstores in court. Across the country, courts are beginning to see through these blatant attempts at censorship. If people knew the real story and players behind this - not just the propaganda - they’d see the absurdity.

“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.” - Susan B. Anthony Lyle Knutson Spokane Arcades Inc.

Inviting a holy rollover?

Penny Lancaster so obsesses with pornography that she fails to understand precisely what is required to preserve the general health, safety and welfare of the community.

Pornography as a “sex-related crime” doesn’t begin to address the issue. And a special prosecutor who answers the prayers of a specific faction, such as the Coalition for Better Community Standards, is wasting tax dollars that could go to addressing real community concerns and standards.

In any case, Lancaster should review the public records of the Meese Commission’s findings on pornography. As far as the commission was concerned, any book, any music and any TV show or movie that contained any mention of sex or sexual innuendo was pornographic. Well, Lancaster, that includes the Bible.

The Meese Commission ultimately was seen as a joke because it was pointed out that the Bible contains highly erotic passages, such as the Song of Songs (or Songs of Solomon).

What if the Spokane community decided finally that it is fed up with Lancaster’s coalition and decided to send the special prosecutor in its direction? There would be valid grounds, of course - the Bible contains sexual material.

I suggest that Lancaster follow her own religious advice: Judge not lest you also are judged. Joan E. Harman Coeur d’Alene

Spokane, you’re looking good

I visited Spokane last week on vacation and found it to be a remarkable city.

The downtown area was clean and appeared to be safe. It was surprising to find that the downtown area is thriving enough to support department stores which remain open for business after 5 p.m.

I was particularly impressed to see that both children and adults appeared to feel safe while waiting at bus stops after dark. And the central transfer facility for the bus system was clean.

It was especially impressive to see that residents in lessexpensive neighborhoods, as well as those in expensive houses, take care to keep their yards clean. The people in your area must have a special pride in having a city which is well-maintained and relatively free of graffiti.

My home, Austin, Texas, is similar to the Spokane area in many ways (regional center of higher education, regional economic hub, interstate highway, multiple suburban shopping centers) and is noted by many people for its attractive lifestyle. However, our city leaders should look to places like Spokane for inspiration and ideas regarding infrastructure maintenance, infusing life into the downtown area after dark and keeping neighborhoods attractive. Jim Loyd Austin, Texas

Roskelley should stop meddling

Spokane County Commissioner John Roskelley is still at it. His idea of making minors criminals if they use tobacco is more social engineering. Who would be responsible for enforcing such a law? It is really a matter for parents to solve.

The concept that elected officials should feel responsible to pass laws establishing social values and social behavior is a familiar one. It is endorsed by most liberals, but it doesn’t work.

If Roskelley is that concerned about the health of young people, he should establish a law against greasy food while he is at it. Howard L. Jensen Spokane

South Hill needs east-west arterials

Your Sept. 10 account of costly vehicle collisions with property at the northwest corner of Perry and 37th Avenue draws attention to the South Hill’s need for more adequate east-west access.

Aside from 37th and Thurston - each marred by a 16-foot jog at one intersection - the only east-west arterial between the Second-Third Avenue couplet and 57th Avenue is 29th Avenue - a circumstance highlighted by the current closure of one of its four lanes (sometimes two of them) for street repairs.

A better solution is needed than the restrictions on left turns off 29th Avenue between Perry and Southeast Boulevard. As for the lack of a network of side streets, eastbound drivers bent on a left turn must proceed beyond Southeast Boulevard, and westbound drivers must proceed to Perry. Frank J. Kottke Spokane

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Overpaid or underpaid? Which is it?

The Aug. 29 Journal of Business included an article on the labor shortage in the construction trades. In it, Dean Haagenson, regional vice president of the Associated Builders and Contractors, indicates that part of the reason for a labor shortage is that careers in the trades are viewed as being underpaid.

In a Sept. 19 letter to the editor, Steve Foster, executive director of the Associated Builders and Contractors, writes that workers on prevailing-wage projects are overpaid by 25 percent to 30 percent. Is there a connection here?

Many contractors believe their employees should be paid a fair family wage and that by doing so, they will attract hard-working, qualified people, which, in turn, will result in quality projects done on time and under budget. Others, however, would pay as little as possible and then complain they can’t get enough qualified help.

If a worker on a prevailing-wage job makes $30,000 a year - and most do not - Foster would have you believe they are worth between only $21,000 and $22,500 a year. This, unfortunately, is the attitude of not only some construction companies but also much of corporate America: Pay as little as possible to the workers punching a time clock and reward those who already are at the top of the economic ladder with higher salaries.

Construction workers are real people, too. Look around and you may find some of them to be your neighbors. That is, unless your yearly income exceeds $50,000, in which case, most construction workers can’t afford to live in your neighborhood. Craig Gruenig Spokane

THE ECONOMY

Consumers hold the key

Multinational corporations have changed capitalism. Small businesses and laborers are the losers; we see shops close and lines lengthen at food banks. Foreign policy has contributed to the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, but consumers have the key to restoring these jobs.

America has been a land of vast materialism. Products were cheap because we weren’t paying the external costs, such as energy consumption. We loved buying new merchandise and expected it to be inexpensive. Wages rose in the United States, but Americans wouldn’t pay the increased price of goods. Manufacturers had to cut costs, making cheap labor overseas irresistible.

We get nervous realizing how many products are foreign-made, but we want open trade. It’s great to have specialties from around the world, but the bulk of our purchases should be acquired from local providers. Instead, we buy products that are shipped thousands of miles, using tons of fossil fuels. The environmental costs of this polluting system are passed to our children.

Our standard of living should reflect qualify of life rather than how much stuff we buy. As responsible shoppers, we can consider whether it’s best to buy the cheapest product. If retail stores don’t offer ethical products, we can shop catalog companies such as Seventh Generation, which provides good employee conditions.

We’re caring people, and our choices are the key to a sustainable future. It’s more satisfactory to have one shirt made by someone fairly compensated than five made by child labor in a factory which ignores its polluting smokestack. Sara Holahan Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

President scores one for the people

One of the best-kept secrets of the Republicans in Congress is a grand plan and drafted legislation to scrap our national parks and federal lands by returning all lands, and the authority over them, to the states. The result would be their destruction by powerful oil, mining and coal interests.

President Clinton has beaten them once again with a pre-emptive strike, creating the Escalante National Monument in Utah. Thank you, Mr. President. Gib Keithly Spokane

Be strong enough to support Perot

At last, front-page confirmation of Ross Perot’s prediction: that “giant sucking sound” effect of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

Thank you for publishing the series by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, which closely mirrors statements made by Perot’s 1992 and 1996 campaign infomercials and books.

Our nation has a negative net worth - we owe more than we own. It no longer can be “the economy, stupid.” Intelligence, skills, integrity and commitment are the qualities that will be required to stabilize our finances. The obvious choice? Reform Party candidate Ross Perot and his running mate, respected economist Dr. Pat Choate.

Journalists and political strategists enthusiastically and vindictively have engaged in juvenile name-calling regarding Perot. We’ll soon discover whether voters in 1996 are strong enough to withstand the peer pressure created by this media effort. If not, we will doubtless experience a devastating economic collapse, rendering all other issues irrelevant.

The Perot-Choate team has been allotted far less campaign money than the major candidates, and Perot is prohibited from contributing as much of his own money as will be necessary to win. I’m sending a check to Perot ‘96, P.O. Box 96, Dallas, Texas, 75221. Please join me in this important effort. Vera Ambuehl Spokane