Pact With Evil Is Never Good

Tue., June 16, 1998

Doug Floyd Interactive Editor

Having lived under totalitarian rule, Peter C. Dolina of Veradale has some exacting ideas about what constitutes raw evil and tobacco companies don’t particularly measure up to his standard.

Still, Dolina appreciates the spirit in which Carolyn Aldridge, president of the Cancer Research Foundation of America, regretted loudly that a donation her organization accepted turned out to have come originally from the Phillip Morris Co.

So, Bagpipes asked last week, when do principles (anti-smoking) should override pragmatic benefits (important research)?

“Every time!” Dolnia responded emphatically. “You can’t close a pact with evil to do good, because you will be used eventually. This I know from my native Czechoslovakia where you had to make those decisions in the face of real evil represented by the communist regime and its different branches.

“However, Phillip Morris and the tobacco industry is not worse than any other industry and it’s unfair to single them out as the devil incarnated.”

The river runs through here

Local officials in Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County went to court to keep the Environmental Protection Agency from expanding the Bunker Hill superfund site and studying downstream contamination. Such a move might harm Lake Coeur d’Alene’s image and the locale’s reputation as a recreational destination.

On the Washington side of the line, state agencies welcome a broader study to mining’s historic impact on the Spokane River watershed.

A state boundary notwithstanding, Kootenai and Spokane counties have more in common than divides them. Why, then, such disparate views about a water system both communities use?

Return on investment

Sunday’s Parade Magazine carried its annual survey of salaries earned by a random selection of Americans.

For instance, Charles Bickley, a store manager in South Carolina, makes $17,016 a year. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld makes $66 million. Seinfeld and other performers - actors, singers, athletes - consistently make tons more than people who actually produce things or deliver useful services.

Meanwhile, a news report out of Nigeria credits public enchantment with the nation’s World Cup soccer team with mitigating political and sociological turbulence.

Do entertainers perhaps actually earn their millions?

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.