Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON STATE

Study shows I-676 is not needed

The message the gun grabbers want you to hear is we must save our children from guns. What they fail to say is that in the last decade, accidental death and injury to children by firearms has been dropping in a period when firearm ownership doubled.

The goals the gun grabbers want to achieve have been happening already, without government licenses and penalties. A recent study by the Police Foundation, National Survey of the Private Ownership of Firearms, paid for by taxpayers, reveals the bias of the anti-gun crowd. It attacks the use of firearms in personal protection.

This survey claims that the defensive use of guns by law-abiding citizens is rare. The survey found only 1.5 million defensive gun uses per year from its own data, and also claims that only 630,000 lives are saved annually because of the use of personal protection firearms.

That doesn’t sound rare to me.

How many of those 630,000 were children? The study states that from 13 incidents they estimated 315,000 accidental shootings occur annually. Their conclusions are: “over 300,000 is a large number of accidents” but “1.5 million self-defense uses” and “630,000 lives saved are “rare” and “unreliable.”

How many people will die because they could not get a license and gun in time to stop a criminal attack? How many of those who die will be children whose father or mother could not protect them from criminal attack?

How many liberties will you give up to have security? Vote against Initiative 676. Paul Alan Claussen Spokane

Gunless people are genocide bait

Gun control has cleared the way for at least seven major genocides in this century, in which 56 million people - including millions of children - were murdered.

Gun control in America likely has Nazi roots. It has repeatedly led to Nazi-type results: a disarmed citizenry and then a mountain of corpses.

An armed citizenry is the only defense against government officials bent on mass murder. U.S. troops would not be needed to remove murderous regimes in Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda and Yugoslavia if each of these countries did not have gun control laws under which the average person is disarmed, and so easily butchered, by those who monopolize control of firearms. Terry Squier Veradale

If initiative passes, costs go up

If Initiative 676 becomes law, all handgun owners had better be ready to dig deep into their bank accounts if they want to keep their guns. If you think a government license and eight-hour safety courses come cheap, guess again. Also, with the community property laws of this state as they are, the spouse of that gun owner is also considered an owner of that gun. So married gun owners, prepare to dig deep into your bank accounts twice.

Now you say, “All we have to do is pass the test and we won’t have to worry about the eight-hour course.” Don’t kid yourselves. Those people want your guns and that test will probably be worded in such a way that the most ardent gun enthusiast won’t be able to pass it. Right now, nobody but the anti-gun people have the slightest idea of what that test is going to consist of. You can bet it will be a dilly. If the average married gun owner gets off with a minimum of less than $250, I’ll eat sour grapes soaked in stale milk.

Another point: Everything I have observed concerning the anti-gun people is that in all of their endeavors they always function through deception. I doubt if they have the least idea of what it means to tell the truth. Andy L. Ferrera Spokane

IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Congratulations, ‘Mr. Ambassador’

Congratulations to our great Tom Foley on his appointment as ambassador to Japan.

Foley’s brilliant mind, deep sincerity, wisdom, his unfaltering kindness and devotion to duty make him a wonderful man. And what is truly miraculous about Foley is that with all his many other natural gifts, he is still a very humble human being.

Thank goodness the world recognizes Foley as one of the most competent statesmen of our time, and rightfully so.

From those of us who will always love you, Mr. Ambassador, God’s blessings. Sally M. Jackson Spokane

Better a sharp eye than a flying fist

Re: the mother who ran up and slugged a stranger who was talking to her child. I have this question: What was a 3-year-old child doing tagging 20 feet behind its mother in a crowded mall? She could have avoided this incident by keeping control of her child. Sharon F. Beck Spokane

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

After the book barbecue, darkness

Re: the Aug. 29 editorial by Opinion editor John Webster concerning Spokane School District 81’s “ringing its institutional hands” about whether “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Huckleberry Finn” should be required reading for high school students. I’d like to add another novel, “Moby Dick,” to District 81’s list of questionable books. After all, the idea of Capt. Ahab’s obsession with relentlessly pursuing a poor dumb fish with intent to kill has to be offensive to marine life aficionados everywhere.

Better yet, let’s clean out all the libraries, toss some gasoline on the books and have one big communal weinie roast. It would be great fun until the fire burned out and we were all surrounded by darkness. Robert W. Bordeaux Medical Lake

School choice is in use and it works

Letter writer Fonda Mondoux is a little bit right. School choice is not a cure-all. It is, however, a good way of expanding choices for parents, reducing the burden of growth facing our government schools and increasing funds available to them. Smaller class size and more dollars per student - isn’t that a good thing?

School choice means the 60 percent of government school parents who are happy with their children’s education win and the dissatisfied 40 percent get to choose a private alternative.

Will every parent get exactly what they want? Of course not. Will the private system occasionally fail? Of course, just as the government system now fails in some cases. Will parents, children and teachers in both systems benefit? Yes.

Don’t be fooled by claims this is an untried idea. It’s in use in many cities and states and has an extraordinary success rate. Wisconsin’s Gov. Tommy Thompson recently described many of the successes his state has seen. For more information, see http://edreform.com/ on the World Wide Web.

Tell your legislators to support school choice. Donald F. Morgan Post Falls

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

What Gorton’s doing is wrong

Re: “Gorton targets Indian sovereignty” (Aug. 28).

My husband and I are Republican and we generally support the conservative view. We are not American Indian. However, we are shocked and extremely disappointed with Sen. Slade Gorton for the riders he attached to the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee bill last month, which would do damage to American Indians.

We took this country from the Indians by force and scurrilous methods. We broke treaty after treaty. They deserve more than the pittance they receive in exchange for a country. The tribes are struggling to raise their people’s standard of living and become self-supporting. They deserve encouragement rather than road blocks.

Are there any treaties or promises of the United States that are held sacred? Haven’t we taken enough from the American Indian people? Cleo A. Clark Spokane

Gorton exhibits ethics deficit

Praise to The Spokesman-Review for giving front page placement to Timothy Egan’s brilliant disclosure of Sen. Slade Gorton’s long-running vendetta against Native Americans. Why this very successful descendant of European invaders chooses to use his influence to harass the victims remains a mystery.

The minuscule amount budgeted to redress the loss of property and decimation of this proud race is small compensation for the sorry history that is now being told with some objectivity. The most recent example: the impressive PBS documentary about the Oregon Trail. Indian people often helped the trekkers of the trail. They resisted only when food supply was wiped out and land confiscated. One historian described the treatment of Indian people as “near genocide.”

The good news is that more and more Indian people are preparing themselves to become part of the society at large. However, the time for full assimilation, assuming that is desirable, has not yet arrived.

We fortunate relatives of the European pillagers still have an obligation to help. Shame on Sen. Gorton for not having developed the ethic that recognizes that duty. Ross Woodward Spokane

Backsliding in anti-drugs effort

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna Shalala perceived a “glimmer of hope” from the government’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, released Aug.6.

While the report stated that overall use (marijuana, hashish, cocaine, heroine, hallucinogens, inhalants) among adolescents age 12 to 17 declined from 10.9 percent to 9 percent from 1995 to 1996, the bad news is that the percentage of teenagers who think cocaine use is risky also declined from 63 percent to 54 percent from 1995 to 1996.

Shalala might have noted that four years into her boss’ presidency, drug use among adolescents is significantly higher than when he first took the oath of office, even though he inherited drug abuse policies that steadily decreased illegal drug use by teenagers from 1979 through 1992.

Drug use by adolescents soared after he slashed the staff of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by more than 80 percent.

And as for the mentioned government report, a separate survey of drug use by the University of Michigan, found that marijuana use continued to escalate among youths in 1996, contrary to the federal government’s results. It is in this context that the relatively modest improvements in 1996 must be understood. Charles L. Herrmann Sagle, Idaho

Tax cuts unfair to the wealthy

The White House spin on the recently passed tax cuts is out. The 20 percent of Americans with the highest incomes got 50.3 percent of the tax cut dollars and the 60 percent of Americans with the lowest incomes got 23 percent.

The press is summing it up as we’ve all come to expect them to: big tax cuts for the wealthy, chicken feed for the poor. And now, what nobody will report. The highest-paid 20 percent of Americans pay over 70 percent of the nation’s tax load so their tax relief of 50 percent is proportionately much less than it is for folks in the bottom 60 percent. The bottom 60 percent are responsible for less than 10 percent of the nation’s tax burden. Yet, with 23 percent of the tax cut dollars going to them, they’re getting a huge reduction relative to their current burden.

President Clinton was even partially successful in providing tax rebates to people who don’t pay income taxes - a ploy that has been accurately portrayed as an increase in welfare.

If the 20 percent of Americans paying 70 percent of the nation’s taxes received 70 percent of the tax cut, it would be fair. As things stand, we’ve done nothing to slow America’s march toward the Democratic Party’s vision of a socialist America. Jim A. Dowell Spokane

REMEMBRANCE

How will this woman be honored?

And so God has wrought a truly wonderful juxtaposition. Amid all the Diana hype, the Diana coverage, the Diana breastbeating, the artificial Diana grief, God has chosen to bring to an end a truly significant human life - that of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Whereas Diana’s fame was built upon physical beauty, wealth, publicity and artificial social standing, Mother Teresa’s was built upon her ceaseless and energetic care for the most unfortunate of God’s children.

Will there be Mother Teresa television specials? Coverage of her funeral? Will a monarch speak of her to her nation? Will millions across the world rend their hair and wear sackcloth and ashes?

I think not. God is watching, I believe, to see who, at the very least, catches the irony. Patrick Benapfl Post Falls

Diana ‘now an angel’

Diana. She was royalty. Expected to be a saint. A princess of a human.

Now an angel. Blythe M. Jacobs Post Falls

IN THE REGION

Harris, Republic are innocent

Staff cartoonist Milt Priggee’s Aug. 31 editorial cartoon expresses disgusting taste and slights the integrity of the Republic, Wash., citizenry. We constitute a largely peaceful, hard-working and law-abiding community of people who support the humane attitude of Sheriff Pete Werner toward Kevin Harris. In his defense, Harris has earned our trust and loyalty through several years of proven honesty, love of family, dedication to local business growth and community service. We would never support a criminal murderer.

Anyone who has met Harris instantly perceives quiet gentleness of character. Furthermore, the support he received from this community at Ferry County Courthouse showed only the tip of the iceberg of how many folks would have demonstrated but couldn’t.

I believe Harris is innocent of capital crime and that this gentleman must be restored to personal integrity and freedom. The future civil stability of this geographic region also commands this act of justice. Jim R. Watkins Republic, Wash.