Letters To The Editor
LAW AND JUSTICE
Judge thwarted people’s effort
“The Stars and Stripes Forever,” by John Philip Sousa, played on the Fourth of July by the Boston Pops, raised goose bumps on my arms. That march, played for the first time in 1897, is what it is all about. What a great country, and how fortunate we are to live here, in the good old U.S. of A.!
It’s ironic that on July 3, Judge Salvatore Cozza handed down his decision against Priorities First, which would have granted a public vote on diverting taxpayer money to the River Park Square parking garage.
My regrets to the thousands of voters who signed the initiative. And to the large number of voters who signed the initiative and will read Cozza’s decision, I have no answer.
For the citizens who will not read his decision, one only has to read to Page 2, which says, “Following the adoption of Ordinance No. C31823 by the City Council on Jan. 27, 1997, the petitioners began to gather signatures for Initiative 97-1, which would essentially repeal Ordinance C 31823 if approved by the voters of the city.”
As you remember, the city issued a number for the initiative on Jan. 10, 1997. We commenced gathering signatures that day.
Is there a solution to all this? A return to the citizen concept of legislation is what people representation is all about. We shall continue to fight. Dick D. Adams Spokane
Andrews case a bust from the start
As a juror for Joseph Andrews’ first trial, I want him to know that I wish him the best and will pray for him in the coming days.
After the first trial, I wrote to Spokane County Prosecutor James Sweetser telling him I didn’t think he had a case. There was no physical evidence to link Andrews to the crime and the main witness lacked credibility. Sweetser’s only response was to tell the media that the jury hadn’t understood the case.
Yes, I understood. I understood that a person is not condemned to death or life in prison on what was offered as “evidence.” I think Sweetser hoped that in Spokane a jury would convict a black man who was a drug dealer just to get him off the streets. Of course, I do not condone Andrews’ drug dealing, but that was not why he was on trial.
After our jury was dismissed, a court administrator told one of the jurors that we had “wasted taxpayers’ money” by not coming to a verdict.
Let’s get this clear: If anyone wasted taxpayers’ money, it was Sweetser, by choosing to try this case - not only once but twice.
The defense attorneys, “Dutch” Wetzel and Kevin Curtis, and the investigator, Sandra Brewer, are to be commended for their thorough and careful presentation of the case. Elizabeth C. Carras Spokane
Sentence ‘far too lenient’
I watched poor, sweet Jeanette Bergman weep as her sentence for operating an appalling puppy mill was read . Pend Oreille County District Judge Chuck Baechler was far too lenient with this two-time offender.
To make Bergman and her husband Sven really understand the suffering they caused, their incarceration should have included an experience similar to the one they subjected their animals to.
It is disgusting to think that, given the terms of their sentences, they can crank up their business in two years. We will no doubt be seeing them again. Robert L. Crouch Spokane
Bergmans’ penalty insufficient
Until judges in this state are willing to enforce animal protection laws, animals will continue to suffer at the hand of people like Sven and Jeanette Bergman. The only good thing to come out of this trial was release of the dogs so that they may enjoy the good life all animals deserve.
Many puppy mill operators are already busy on the Internet, telling everyone to be sure to move to Pend Oreille District Judge Chuck Baechler’s jurisdiction. That way, no matter how many atrocities you subject your dogs to, all you’ll have to do is forfeit that batch of dogs and lie low for a while. Then, it’s back to business as usual.
I hope people who care will also be on the Internet warning everyone about the Bergmans, so maybe they won’t be able to cross the state line - again - and set up another puppy mill.
The Bergmans should have had to spend the maximum time in jail, paid the maximum fines and been prohibited from ever owning or selling dogs again.
Anyone who feels what happened to the Bergmans is fair is as guilty of animal abuse as they are. M. Louise Long Spokane
IN THE PUBLIC EYE
Need special place for special trash
Most people would agree that people in public life, ideally, would be people to look up to and admire. But I think we’re missing a good bet by not exploiting the other side of the coin.
You don’t have to be a good guy, a hero or a splendid character to rake in the big bucks and become world-famous. All you need is a strong body and good hand-eye coordination. Character, morals and pride mean nothing.
I would like to see a Hall of Shame, like the Hall of Fame for other athletes. Obviously, the first candidate would be Mike Tyson, convicted rapist, woman beater, mugger and ear biter.
No. 2 would be O.J. Simpson, who is searching high and low for the killer of his wife and her friend.
No. 3 would have to be Dennis Rodman, he of the green hair and tattoos. He has kicked and punched his way into the hearts of America and made his presence even more appealing by cross-dressing in some of the loveliest frocks and gowns I’ve ever seen.
Then we have the dopers, gamblers, spitters and lesser luminaries.
I don’t think professional wrestlers should be included in the Hall of Shame. Maybe they could have their own Hall of Silliness, with scowling, screaming and neck vein bulging as criteria for entry. These people are multimillionaires being supported by the paying public. If you’d like to see more of these sterling characters, just keep on supporting them.
Thirty million dollar purse. Three million dollar fine. That’ll teach him. James T. Kane Hayden Lake, Idaho
Hospital picking on doctor
The article on Dr. Mark Frazier has my dander up.
Frazier was my father’s doctor. My father highly respected Frazier, not only for his rare medical talent but also for his honest and forthright manner. My father’s judgment of people was excellent, and he had total respect and admiration for Frazier.
Sacred Heart Medical Center should keep its big nose out of it.
Since when is it against the law to say you want something bad to happen to your boss? So long as it’s not followed by an action, I see nothing wrong with it. If everyone who ever wished that his or her boss would go away was arrested, there would be no one left in any office to work. It’s just like school kids who wish that their school would burn down before the big test. They would never do anything to make it happen; it’s just a foolish thought. Frazier is said to have made an inappropriate statement. If he did, it doesn’t make him a criminal.
Frazier has every right to his First Amendment protection. He should be able to say and think whatever he wants to as long as it is not followed by a criminal act.
Sacred Heart is using its power and influence to push Frazier around. I hope Frazier sues the hospital. B.A. Smeltzer Spokane
Frazier’s skills shouldn’t be lost
It saddened us to read the two articles in The Spokesman-Review (June 25 and 29) concerning a Spokane physician.
In 1985, Sacred Heart Medical Center asked Dr. Mark Frazier to head a team of physicians and other specialists to diagnose and treat an illness that left me in a coma. In addition to being a kidney specialist, Frazier was a physician of critical illnesses. In a week, they diagnosed and started treatment for TTP, a rare blood disorder that involved the clustering of the red blood cells. Survival could mean living the rest of one’s life in a vegetative state. We believe Frazier was one of a few doctors who had experience with this problem.
I was in a coma for six weeks, then spent a month in intensive care. I had many transfusions, surgery, etc. I wasn’t supposed to survive. I do believe in miracles and in physician excellence.
Frazier was appreciated and respected by Sacred Heart. We don’t know the facts about his difficulties, but it seems most unfortunate that a peaceful, wise resolution of difference was out of reach. Destruction of a productive life so that no one ever again benefits from his work seems so unnecessary and wrong.
My husband and I are grateful to Dr. Frazier and other members of the team, as well as to the intensive care nurses, for my reasonably good health these last 12 years. Lee A. Schaller Pullman
PEOPLE IN SOCIETY
‘Lazy bums’ in for a shock
As I read about all of the problems the habitual hangers-on in the welfare system will face, I could not help but notice all of the support folks connected with the enterprise. There must be a gazillion folks employed in just making sure the less fortunate (aka lazy bums) get their fair share of the working man’s money. Poor babies!
Are they, too, about to join the ranks of the unemployed? Will they have to get a real job? My pacemaker-driven heart bleeds for them. My guess is that when they look around in the real world, they will have a rude awakening. They won’t be able to con the unwed teenage mother into stretching the truth so as to qualify for yet another giveaway program:
“Can you name the father of the child?”
“Well I could but his folks would be mad. Besides, you owes me!”
Boy, it’s going to be tough out in the real world. But fear not; you, too, have the golden parachute. You can qualify for five years of handouts.
At age 71 and having never seen the inside of a welfare office, it sometimes grinds me a bit to see what the government gives away to able-bodied folks who just like to play the game and beat the system. Charles E. McCollim Spokane
Paulsen knows how to live well
Regarding your article on Helen Paulsen and her Paulsen Building home above the clouds (Doug Clark column, July 1), it is comforting to know that there are still those in the world who know how to live with dignity, grace and beauty.
Although I am sure that I will never meet Paulsen in person, I shall wish her continued long life, health and the ability to enjoy her beautiful surroundings. John G. Hacking Ione, Wash.
FIREWORKS
Bring back fireworks freedom
Thank you, editor Chris Peck, for sticking up for another one of our lost freedoms: fireworks.
I am a senior citizen who has seen many freedoms completely taken away or drastically curtailed. I think the worrywarts are the ones who should be curtailed. This was a most forgettable Fourth of July.
The worrywarts need to get off the fireworks, seat belts, helmets, etc., kick and go on with the higher priority projects. Return the fireworks to us. K.C. Spacy Spokane
It’s a burning desire, all right
I had to read editor Chris Peck’s pro-fireworks column (“Keep sparkle in the nation’s birthday party,” July 6) twice to realize that he wasn’t joking. As I was reading it the second time, the news was reporting on a 2,000-acre fire started by a single firecracker.
His reasoning is great, too. He tells us, in effect, It may be illegal, but since everyone is doing it anyway, we might as well make it legal.
There is a growing movement to make “America the Beautiful” the national anthem. I’m sure Peck will want to keep the bombs bursting in air. Jon E. Christopehrson Spokane
MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
Fans of filters just don’t know
Today (July 6), I see three letters in the paper about the Spokane Public Library’s choice not to use filters. As someone with a great deal of experience in the computing and the Internet industry, I must say that I find these letters entirely off-base.
On the subject of filtering, let me tell you with certainty that filters in a public library will do more harm than good. First, achieving a high percentage of blocked sites requires a filter to block by keywords. Many times, these programs block pages with “sex” and/or “breast” in the text. This means pages about AIDS or breast cancer research are often filtered out.
Second, bypassing these programs is easy. At a Radio Shack my friend worked at, he wanted to show me a game but his boss had left with the passkey. It took me less than five minutes to bypass the security.
On the subject of the striking-down of the Communications Decency Act, letter writer Bruce C. Wakeman should be ashamed. If he had done his research, he would have found that the following could be considered indecent under the legal definition of “indecent”: the Bible, “Catcher in the Rye,” information on sexually transmitted diseases, cancer (the dreaded B-word again) and even “The Wizard of Oz.”
As to morality, not a single one of you has the right to force your views of morality on the people of Spokane or this country. So please, don’t. Benjamin M. Kosse Sandpoint
Smut is a legitimate concern
I am horribly concerned over Joan E. Harman’s response to Penny Lancaster (“Worry about violence, not smut,” letters, June 24). Harman claims that Lancaster is obsessed about smut but turns around and, in effect, tells Lancaster what she should be obsessed about. Harman thinks information on bomb-making, racist material, etc., is more harmful.
The information so readily available on the Internet is frankly quite unnerving. But it’s wrong for Harman to say that racist and militia material are things to worry about but smut that any child can find with ease is not. Harman is calling Lancaster’s concerns less than hers. She is deciding for society what is the lesser of the two evils.
Neither party is wrong for being concerned. If we care about our society, we should be concerned about what enters our home, our mind and our children’s minds.
I choose not to have the Internet, just as I choose not to have HBO or the Spice channel. My life is not empty or less intellectual because I have made these choices. In fact, I am more fulfilled without all the crap. And if you need information, go to your library.
For Lancaster to express her concerns is fair and just. People shouldn’t be put down when standing up for what they believe is right. I commend her! If pornographers can invade our computers and shove their crap down our throats, it’s time for people to start shoving their good, moralistic views out into society. Lisa L. Green Coeur d’Alene