Letters To The Editor

CHURCH AND STATE

You can’t repeal bill of rights

Re: “American heritage forged in christian beliefs” by Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin (July 27).

Rankin displays a supremacy of religion which is forged within the principles of the American Heritage Party of Washington State, which is affiliated with the U.S. Taxpayers Party, whose state coordinator, Dan Eby, lives here in Stevens County.

The American Heritage Party’s preamble contains the following: “We further acknowledge that we are a Christian nation as confirmed by the United States Supreme Court which ruled in 1892…that our laws and our institutions must be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of Mankind …” and as confirmed by human experience and as evidenced by history that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

Rankin wishes to restore his republic, as do many in Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties, to a time of the pilgrims and whose elected officials would be of godly virtue implementing the Ten Commandments as the rule for civil government.

This abolishment of freedom of religion, speech and assembly would be counter to the Declaration of Independence. The light that was supposed to have shined on us would dim quickly.

Elected government officials are not to favor their religion over that of others. It’s obvious Rankin has forgotten this and his beliefs as an elected official reinforce my belief that church and state must be vigilantly kept separate in order to protect and preserve the religions and heritages of all people. James Gordon Perkins Colville

Religion made into political ploy

Amendment 1 of the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” What could be more clear?

Yet politicians such as Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin (Roundtable, July 17) cloak themselves in religion in order to get elected or re-elected.

By promoting religion in government, Rankin opens the door for any religion to be in government. The result of Rankin’s reasoning is the racist residents that can be found in North Idaho. This small, but troublesome, group also believes in a Christian nation. May we all thank the almighty, who through the wisdom of our founding fathers separated church from state.

Teach tolerance. Glen D. Jones Liberty Lake

IDAHO VIEWPOINTS

Post Falls should invest in pool

Post Falls has long lingered in the shadow of Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. The city has struggled to find its own identity. Now, at the turn of the century, things are finally falling into place as Post Falls is on a meteoric climb to overshadow Coeur d’Alene, if for no other reason than population.

Post Falls voters can soon vote on the purchase of a swimming pool that would greatly enhance the city’s services. It’s a bargain that would be impossible to duplicate. The $400,000 asking price is half the pool’s value. The bond for this is approximately $10 per year on a $100,000 home.

The city currently has little to offer the public. The city park is great for three months of the year and “park and rec” does a fine job of offering sports - great for those who participate. But the pool would be a year-round center for the synchronized swimming, high school and USS-sanctioned teams, for exercise classes (seniors’ included) and for public use. There would be little competition with membership/dues-charging fitness pools.

Most cities, even smaller ones, have city pools. It’s about time that Post Falls starts shouldering the mantle of being the modern city that it is and not just a traffic light between Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. John J. Johnson Post Falls

Do not raise sales tax

No to a sales tax increase. Let them find some other way to expand the jail. Sometime before the first of the year, I was thinking about buying a new pickup. We would like to replace the stove and fridge. If the sales tax increases, we won’t buy it in Kootenai County.

Whose fault is it the jail is overcrowded? The downtown melee was caused mostly by the city when it passed the stupid ordinance where you can drink on the sidewalk downtown but not in the city park. That’s a new low. What happened to the guy who was going to show the city how to stop Richard Butler? Did we get our money back? I have lived in Coeur d’Alene over 50 years and the last year is the worst I have seen at City Hall. Passing bad ordinances, can’t make a decision without the help of outside people. As far as the teens go, they have just as much right downtown as anyone else, including the business people. Oscar S. Peterson Coeur d’Alene

RIGHTS AND RADICALISM

ACLU protects everyone’s rights

There is no greater supporter of human rights than the American Civil Liberties Union. Despite that, ever since we won the Aryan Nations the right to march down Coeur d’Alene’s Sherman Avenue on July 10, the ACLU has received criticism from some human rights activists.

Why? Is it fair or appropriate to criticize an organization for defending everyone’s right to free speech? Are not the freedoms of speaking, thinking and believing among the most precious of human rights?

Consider the alternatives to defending free speech on equal terms for everyone. Should we let our elected leaders decide who gets what rights? what if David Duke is elected president? Should we let him decide?

Of course not. The Bill of Rights was enacted specifically to protect the rights of minorities, whether Aryans or African-Americans - despite the wishes of the majority, whatever they may be.

The ACLU takes a lot of heat from the left and the right. I suppose that’s to be expected because it’s typically the civil liberties of the minorities that are violated. And when defending the constitutional rights of a minority, observers sometimes confuse that defense with the actual message of that minority.

The ACLU depends entirely on the support of private, voluntary donations. When people confuse our mission, we lose support. And when our friends in the human rights community criticize us, it can hurt in more ways than one.

If you believe in us, we need you to support us and join. Jack Van Valkenburgh executive director, ACLU of Idaho, Boise

Misfits’ rights are to be honored, too

I don’t understand why there’s such a flap being made over a small group of misfits, i.e. the Aryan Nations, wanting to have a parade. Aren’t they humans, too, albeit dopey ones? Don’t they have the same rights as the rest of us, as guaranteed by the Constitution?

I don’t agree with their goofy ideology but the world has always had ignorant people and I kind of think it always will. That’s the nice thing about America - there’s room and rights for even stupid folks. And if I read the report correctly about the last parade, the protesters were the ones breaking the law, by crossing the police barriers. So, who’s the criminal and who’s the law-abiding citizen?

Let’s suppose Louis Farrakhan and his white-hating goons wanted to have a parade down Sherman Avenue. I think the city officials would be falling all over one another trying to see who could be first to get the red carpet rolled out for him and his henchmen. I think it’s a safe bet the entire region wouldn’t be able to do enough to welcome that bunch. Wanna bet? Dee E. Vaughn Sagle, Idaho

Don’t let evil win by the inch

The Aryan Nations is getting lots of coverage on TV and in The Spokesman-Review. That is exactly what those people want. To them, that is attention and notoriety.

I used to tell my daughter and son that sometimes you’ll see or hear things you feel are not right. Well, that’s the time to turn your back on it and say no, I don’t want any of this. Because the more you are around it, hear it and see it, the more you’ll become accustomed to it.

So, Richard Butler at his last parade didn’t cause any big problem. So, we’ll let him have another march and give him lots of coverage. And every time we do this, it’s helping him recruit young people who have lost their direction and are easy targets for the likes of the Aryan Nations, cults, etc. Leta L. Donahoo Spokane

Parade had witnesses from the past

Was the Aryan Nations march in Coeur d’Alene really that few in number? Not necessarily. If you looked closely, you could see the ghosts of six million Jews and countless other millions of minorities who were so cruelly enslaved and exterminated, and were also marching. I did.

Could you hear their cries for their rights - for the right to live and for the lives of their fathers, mothers, children? I did.

As a veteran of World War II, with Patton’s 3rd Army from Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, the Rhine, Germany and Czechoslovakia, I witnessed firsthand what atrocities persons of this ideology are capable of. It is ironic that we must provide a haven for this misguided and ill-informed group of misfits. To honor the likes of Hitler and his beliefs is sick and beyond normal reason of any kind.

Did you see those ghosts marching? I did. Did you hear their cries for their lives and the lives of their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children? I did. C. Ray Allen Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Money back to the people a good idea

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed its tax cut. If it survives the Senate - very unlikely - it will be vetoed by President Clinton, who favors a free-drugs-for-seniors bribe instead. From all the media accounts, the GOP is stealing from the treasury to give to the rich.

Well, whose money is it anyway? It’s the hard-earned income from working people all over America and it belongs to them, not to the treasury or Clinton. Currently, American workers struggle under the largest peacetime tax burden in the history of our country. When Clinton took office, the feds took just 17.8 percent of our economic output. Today, that share is 20.7 percent.

Does this tax cut favor the rich? I’m not sure who the rich are, but probably. After all, that’s who pays most of the taxes in this country. Those who earn between $75,000 and $200,00 make up just 13 percent of the population. But last year, they paid 35 percent of the taxes. However, the estate tax provision will also allow millions of families to keep their farms and small businesses instead of having to sell them when the patriarch dies. Further, it will allow the 84 million Americans who currently own stock to keep more of their investment dollars for retirement needs.

I think the American worker can better decide where to spend these dollars than 535 members of Congress, don’t you? Hal R. Dixon Spokane

Tell people how the books are cooked

Why aren’t reporters asking the tough questions regarding the alleged federal budget surplus?

I’ve read several articles in this newspaper and have seen numerous television news stories about President Clinton and Congress fighting over the budget surplus. Clinton wants to spend it on prescription drugs and Congress wants to give it back to the taxpayers.

If I’m not mistaken, the government has not yet generated a budget surplus. Years ago, a bipartisan commission formulated a plan to keep the Social Security system going at least to the year 2050. They markedly increased payroll taxes to build up a surplus in the fund to be used when the big bubble of baby boomers hit retirement age. To my knowledge, these excess receipts totaled $126 billion this year while the rest of the government will come in at a deficit of approximately $33 billion.

There has been much discussion recently about privatizing some of the Social Security fund, i.e. investing in private stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. The questions raised by reporters is, “where will these funds come from?”

The answer is obvious. We’ve been generating Social Security surpluses for years and years. The question that should be asked is why are we using those specifically earmarked funds on general government operations?

Don’t responsible news organizations have the obligation to ask obvious questions like this? Why are government and the news media cooperating with each other to purposefully hide the budget facts from the ordinary public? Lee M. Kvalheim Spokane

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Lack of diversity a weakness

Spokane ranks next to last for business and careers, according to Forbes Magazine (May 31). The recent economic forum of Spokane business leaders concluded that more high-tech businesses are needed, and to get them, more high-tech employees need to be attracted to live there.

The chief roadblock seems to be Spokane’s lack of diversity. According to the 1990 census, Spokane is 93.3 percent white. In contrast, many of the sharpest high-tech entrepreneurs these days come from India and Pakistan. The programmers and engineers come from all over the world, from many races and cultures. A good many are gay and lesbian and they have settled in No. 1-rated Seattle, where their families and their rights are protected. Are they going to feel welcome in Spokane?

Spokane is looking at its diversity mix. The Spokesman-Review recently published an in-depth article on diversity. Business leaders have spoken up in favor of encouraging diversity. The City Council just passed an ordinance protecting some basic rights for gays and lesbians. These are small but positive steps.

Unfortunately the Nazis of Hayden Lake cast a long shadow in the Inland Empire. The effort to overturn the ordinance protecting gays and lesbians further smudges the image of Spokane. By contrast, Seattle’s already rich diversity is positively promoted by government, churches, schools, and business. How can Spokane compete?

Spokane has a lot to offer. It’s a good place to live. However, until Spokane’s businesses, government, schools and churches put out a welcome mat big enough to embrace all people, the city will still rank next to last. Janice Van Cleve Seattle

OTHER TOPICS

Child care idea has merit

After reading an article about the Deer Park School District offering before- and after-school child care for kindergartners through fifth-graders, I thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if many schools would do the same? Maybe teenagers who want a job would be interested in taking care of the younger children before and after school.

Since school hours and most job hours differ, this would solve the dilemma for working parents as to a safe place for their children when they have to go to work. Betty J. Dethloff Mead

Donohue’s story a treat

I was so pleased to see your feature on Dan Donohue. We had just returned from Ashland where we saw Donohue give his excellent performances and were thrilled to see that he is a home town boy.

However, we thought that home town was Walla Walla because we lived there when Donohue was in college and saw him perform many times on stage. He was a standout at Whitman College and that is not easy because they have many talented students each season.

Congratulations to Donohue and his parents. And thank you, Spokesman-Review, for the chance to read about another Spokane standout. Nancy Parker Spokane