Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Evil paper victimizes gullible citizenry

We not only have dirty air in Spokane, we have dirty politics. I’m so tired of The Spokesman-Review brainwashing those unable to think for themselves. Doug Clark’s April 26 column was just too much.

We all know the downtown business people, The Spokesman-Review and their puppets on the City Council want to promote economic development without regard to the citizens’ health and welfare. The Spokesman-Review currently controls the media, politics and government in Spokane. The bashing of everyone who opposes their wishes is getting out of hand.

Why would Dave Sabey have anything to fear if downtown is revitalized? With more than half our population living below the poverty level, do you think these low-income people are going to shop at the upscale shops proposed for River Park Square? Besides not having the money to buy upscale clothes, where would one go in Spokane to wear them? We live in this town because we like the casual lifestyle. If we want to dress in designer clothes, we can live in a more sophisticated city.

I know the River Park Square developers are gearing up for the tourist and convention trade, and another controlling influence in Spokane, the Barbieris, are buying up all the hotels they can.

The proposed Lincoln Street bridge, which we don’t need, is tied into the River Park Square development. We have six bridges in a one-mile stretch over the river downtown. I think that’s enough. It’s time for another daily paper in this town that will give us facts, not opinions. My favorite is The Inlander. Alice C. Johnson Spokane

Incinerator efficient, effective

It disturbs me to read all of the negative comments being printed these days concerning Spokane’s waste-to-energy facility. The Spokesman-Review recently published an article quoting a citizen who claims that we should not “foul our own nest” when it comes to garbage disposal. I agree - nobody wants garbage in their own back yard - but it seems to me that the waste-to-energy plant actually helps in this regard.

Without the plant, Spokane would have to either bury its trash here, to contaminate our aquifer, or send it to somebody else’s back yard (out of sight, out of mind). Using the incinerator reduces the volume of garbage being placed in landfills by 90 percent by allowing us to bury only ash (and recycle non-burnables like metals) instead of whole waste. It also creates salable energy which provides a source of revenue from our otherwise inert garbage.

Spokane built the waste-to-energy facility and we are obligated to pay for it whether we use it or not. The opponents of the plant should focus their energy on actively promoting recycling and reuse programs to reduce the amount of waste being burned, if they harbor such concern about our environment. In doing this, they can do something effective rather than fruitlessly crying over that which cannot be changed. K.R. McClane Spokane

Thank you, Bloomsday volunteers

We would just like to say thank you to all the Bloomsday volunteers for helping to make Bloomsday happen. We would also like to express thanks to all the people along the race course who turned their sprinklers and hoses on the runners. You rejuvenated us and helped us finish with style. Teresa Cooper and Shawn Green Colville, Wash.

GAMBLING

Bad precedent in Kalispels’ plans

Even though the Kalispel Tribe may have been done wrong 100 years ago, it doesn’t justify their being above the law now.

If they’re allowed to build the Airway Heights casino, it will set a precedent that a native tribe can buy any parcel of land or building and open a casino. This wouldn’t be so bad if they operated by the laws of the state and the jurisdiction of the gambling commission. Unfortunately, this isn’t their intention. Mini-casinos now operating are limited to 15 tables and are allowed to play only card games, with the maximum limit of $25. Tribal casinos can have unlimited tables and play for as high as $2,500. They also play craps, roulette and slot machines.

Carnival Resorts is footing the bill for this casino and I believe they’re using the Kalispel Tribe to open a casino in the Spokane area. The legal mini-casinos in the area are currently paying heavy taxes to local governments but the Kalispel Tribe will be exempt.

Does anybody really believe the profits will go to the tribe? Is Carnival Resorts investing $17 million because they feel any social responsibility toward the Kalispels? I truly believe the gambling conglomerate is trying to use a potential loophole in the law to establish themselves here.

Native tribes, with their smokeshops, firecracker stands and their casinos have circumvented the law for years. It’s time that they start thinking of themselves as citizens of the state and abide by the same laws as the rest of us. Max Montecucco co-owner, Silver Lanes Casino, Spokane

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Good same-sex marriages beneficial

The Milt Priggee cartoon depicting what marriage means was right on the money. When will people who are so adamantly against single-sex marriage realize that sexual relations are only one small part of a much larger picture?

Loving, caring relationships that recognize the commitment of two people should be encouraged and celebrated. Gays and lesbians should have the same rights as the rest of the population. The ones who rail against such marriages speak of “family values,” “traditional marriages” and biblical prohibitions. Any family that is loving and provides a sense of well-being is valuable. Many traditions - racism, sexism, slavery, etc. - have gone the way of the dinosaur, as should the unfounded fears of people who oppose same-sex relationships and marriages.

As for the Bible, I was under the impression that part of the first article of the Constitution assured us of “freedom of religion,” which also includes freedom from other people’s religion. Rita Bierley Cheney

Homosexuality is rejection of God

I agree with Nelson De Partee’s idea (Letters, April 26) that being homosexual is not something that you’re born with. In the Bible, Romans 1:18-27 clearly states that being attracted to someone of the same sex is a result of turning your back on God.

A hundred years ago there were very few gay/lesbian people because it was simply not accepted. Lately, it has become so popular it’s almost a fad. The issue is not being more open-minded or accepting, it’s ignoring God’s law. And by letting homosexuals marry, all we’re doing is encouraging them.

As a sophomore at Lewis and Clark, I am used to meeting and talking to all kinds of different people. I do not consider myself intolerant in any way. But I do believe being gay is a chosen sin, just like adultery. Stacie Kafflen Spokane

Young writer exhibits uncommon sense

How, at the tender age of 15, did Nicki Thompson get so smart? Her letter of May 1 was a breath of fresh air amidst the rot engendered by homophobic hate. If, at this early age, she is discerning enough to sift through the hype and misinformation, then there is, after all, a small ray of hope that her generation has more sense.

I’ve practically given up on my own generation, as they seem unwilling to even examine new evidence, often when the proof exists within their very own families.

If everyone would remove their blinders of hate and fear of anything different, this world could be such a nice place for all people. God gave each of us a brain, but we must realize that each was differently programmed. We all do, however, have the ability to use it - if we only would.

If Nicki is typical of her generation, which I hope she is, then she’s lightyears ahead of people in the one preceding. Carole Rendall Spokane

Cleaver lifestyle better than today’s

Re: “Shared family duties fit her to a tee” by Barbara Roessnee (April 26).

Ladies, do you want to be called “guys”? I give credit to the many women who work because they have to, but not to those who choose unnecessarily to work outside the home.

Give me the good old days when a wife made breakfast and lunches, and got her family up and out of the house on time, giving her husband and each child a kiss on their way out. Then, she had all day to do the many household chores she had to, but no one was there to tell her what or when. She even found some time to relax and/or have lunch or coffee with the girls.

After school she welcomed her children home and sometimes took them to after-school activities, and still had time to wash her face and welcome her husband home from his work. The family usually had dinner and a visit together. Afterward, the children did their homework or played or read or watched a little TV, and the husband relaxed or did his vocational activity. After the children were ready for bed, there was reading and then mom and dad had time to visit together and relax. There were wonderful weekends with the family.

Of course there was stress at times and there always will be, but I prefer the good old days. Bobbie E. Cullitan Spokane

THE MEDIA

Headline a ‘culture of death’ outrage

Never has The Spokesman-Review’s inability to keep its editorializing separate from news reporting been any more apparent than with the May 2 headline, “Abortion protester sentenced.” The person who wrote that headline exposed his/her personal political agenda for all to see, while the editors made like the three monkeys - covering their eyes, ears and mouth so they could hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil.

The headline is egregiously misleading and totally unrelated to the sentencing of a convicted arsonist to treatment! It is nothing but another attempt to “criminalize” everyone who does not side with the politically correct culture of death.

I suggest The Spokesman-Review seek some much needed help for its editorializing addiction. Perhaps it could post a few news articles on the Web and sponsor a contest among fifth- and sixth-graders for the best “news” headline. For this article, students might have suggested, “Physician’s wife convicted” (that’s juicy enough to get attention) or “Former GOP candidate sentenced” (immediate Spokesman-Review staff salivation) or, heaven forbid, just a very straightforward, “Local arsonist sentenced.” Howard A. Stetson Spokane

Nude scene brings on sinking feeling

Was the nudity in the epic drama “Titanic” really necessary? I personally do not think so. This is a highly recommended movie for viewers of all ages. Many families attended this movie. Yet, some parents are finding it necessary to cover their young children’s eyes during the explicit scene. I feel it was inappropriate for children to see.

My female peers and I were embarrassed by this scene. One friend even felt it ruined the movie for her. Another moviegoer told me of an incident of a teenage boy sitting nearby, who made embarrassing remarks during that scene, adding to the embarrassment that the moviegoer had already felt.

The focal point should have been the necklace, not the woman’s body. The woman could have been wearing an elegant dress and the scene would have been just as effective. In fact, if she’d been wearing a light-colored dress, your eyes would have been drawn to the necklace. The way the scene was filmed, people’s attention was drawn to the woman’s body rather than the jewel.

Most women, hopefully, would have more respect for their bodies than to pose nude in front of a total stranger they had just met the day before. I don’t understand why Hollywood has the need to put so much female nudity in movies. Many movies today contain unnecessary nudity. I don’t feel the nudity in “Titantic” added to the quality of the movie. Katharine Overhauser Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Multiple death threats? Oh, pshaw

Now, let me see if I have this right. A 14-year-old student at Glover Middle School made a written threat against the lives of six teachers and she is being sent home for an extended summer vacation with a recommendation that prosecutors charge her with third-degree malicious mischief. Since the article stated she will be advanced to high school next year, am I to assume that she will not be responsible for any further academic work or that it will not make any difference if she fails all her classes?

Is this taking the threats seriously? What a deal. I hope this doesn’t catch on. I may not have anyone in my classroom by June.

I can hardly wait to see what our judicial component does with this, if we ever hear about it.

I realize that both educational administrators and the judiciary are regulated by the Legislature and we elect them. I guess there is some truth in the old saying, “No man’s life, liberty or property is safe while the Legislature is in session.” Patrick W. Carroll Spokane

Scandalmongering taken in stride

During the years of Roosevelt and Eisenhower, there was plenty that the press and other politicians could have called up to use against them: Roosevelt’s liaison with his secretary, the full extent of his disability and Eisenhower’s indiscretions during the war.

But ours was a more civil, patriotic country then. We needed them to get us out of the Depression, win wars and point us towards prosperity. The country came first. “Getting the goods” on them was not what it is today.

Today, we have political deconstructionism gone wild. So, Speaker Newt Gingrich and his gang run the Clintons out of office. (He ran Jim Wright out of the House speakership the same way he’s trying to oust Clinton. Have you heard his daily speeches lately?)

What will we have then? Who would want the job? Can anyone bring a clean record to the office? Vice President Al Gore would get it automatically, but they are already picking on him. Gingrich? Not a chance. His low approval ratings indicate that his scorched-earth approach to political foes is fully understood by the public. In fact, the public is exhibiting the most civil and patriotic attitude. While the press and Clinton’s political opponents dig into his indiscretions, the public has taken the high road, realizing this country needs the kind of leadership he is providing.

Let’s hope we can begin to elect politicians who will put the common good of our country first. It will take voters who begin to show their genuine concern. Perhaps the polls tell us that they already are. Richard V. Evans Spokane

What about American holocaust?

A holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis on the innocent peoples of Europe in World War II was truly barbaric and brutal. But for Americans to call this event “the Holocaust” is deceptive.

The American holocaust , which began with Columbus and the Spanish and continued with the French and English, and lasted nearly 400 years, exterminated more than 200 million people. It involved the systematic mass destruction of entire New World societies. It was a devastating saga of death, disease, misery and barbaric ruthlessness by Europeans, including our heroic leaders of the American Revolution and beyond, until the aborigines were nearly annihilated by the end of the 19th century. Lawrence B. Denny Cheney

Taxes should keep on truckin’

Studies have shown that by far the greatest amount of wear and tear on our roads is caused by heavy trucks. And our leaders wonder where to go for repair funds. Gene Oakley Moses Lake