Letters To The Editor
SPOKANE MATTERS
Thank you for generosity and help
In November, the students of Whitworth College organized a citywide relief effort for hurricane-ravaged Central America. Project CARE, as it was named, was a huge success. A few weeks ago, 5,000 pounds of flour and more than 500 boxes of food, clothing and medical supplies were transported down to Honduras and Nicaragua.
Over $18,000 was collected from caring individuals and generous businesses throughout Spokane. This money was sent to World Vision and Young Life organizations for help in rebuilding communities.
The students of Whitworth College could not have been this successful without the help from the Spokane community, which is why I am writing this letter.
I extend our gratitude to everyone who made our effort a success.
Many churches and community centers served as collection sites for the donated items. The media enabled us to communicate our plan to the residents of Spokane. The students, faculty and staff of Whitworth College volunteered time and energy to collect, sort, package and send donated supplies.
Perhaps the greatest contribution of all, though, came from the people of Spokane who donated extra food, clothing, medical supplies and money to help those in need. The people of Central America are very grateful for all of our efforts.
On behalf of the students of Whitworth College, I thank all of those who participated in and supported Project CARE. Selby J. Hansen president, Associated Students of Whitworth College
You made Tree of Sharing work
I offer my thanks to some very special people in our community. I have seen what a difference their contributions can make to a child, a family, a person just down on their luck.
To everyone who made donations of their time, food, money, toys, clothing a gift for the Tree of Sharing - thank you! You have brought joy to a child, food to the hungry and warmth to the cold. You truly are the Santas of the world.
Also, I would like to thank those who brighten my holidays with their Christmas lights. I appreciate your hard work.
To all who have helped make someone else’s Christmas better, thank you! May the new year bring joy and all that’s good to you and yours. There is a Santa - it’s all of us! Phyllis M. Koch-Troncale Spokane
In the fullness of time, perhaps …
If the recent article about the Davenport Hotel renovation project for the past several years is any barometer of “progress,” I guess we could expect the hotel to be open and going full bore about the same time we see the first concrete being poured for the north-south freeway! Sherm Blake Spokane
BUSINESS AND LABOR
Many people just don’t understand
I must admit that when I read Ron W. Lueck’s Dec. 25 letter, “Suck it up, Steelworkers,” several colorful metaphors spewed from my mouth.
After the initial shock wore off, I came to realize how grateful I was to him for writing it, because so many people like him don’t realize the truth about the strike.
I, too, was one of those “lower-income people in this town” after my move back to Spokane. I took the opportunity for lower-income people, swallowed my pride and went back to Spokane Community College, on public assistance and food stamps. I earned a two-year degree, graduated in 1995 and went to work. Three years later, my wage matches the average wage of the Steelworkers who have given 21 years of service. Yet, I do not put my life on the line, work in unsafe conditions, work shift work or worry about being away from my family on holidays.
I know this because my husband is one of these Steelworkers who has given 21 years of service, along with a donation out of every paycheck he has earned for “lower-income people.”
The truth is, Kaiser employment is not the good-paying job that includes exotic vacations and eating out a lot that many people like Lueck think it is. And the Steelworkers on the picket line are not looking for people to feel sorry for them. They are there for a much more worthy cause. That cause includes fighting to save jobs and for fair and safe working conditions for everyone. Noreen M. Newbill Spokane
IN THE PUBLIC EYE
President goofed - get over it
Whatever happened to the country “of the people, by the people and for the people”?
President Bill Clinton made a mistake. How many members of Congress have made a mistake? How many American citizens have made a mistake?
Why can’t we - the American people, especially including congressmen and women - think of the good he has done for this country?
So many American citizens need help in so many ways. Yet look at all the millions of dollars being spent unnecessarily on one mistake. It just doesn’t make sense. Give the nation a second chance and let’s get on with life! Dian B. Lee Spokane
Don’t brush off the legalities
Re: “Censure is the decent thing to do” (Opinion, Dec. 27).
The editorial board and Opinion editor John Webster have a right to their opinion. Reasonable men may differ and in this country, even unreasonable men can voice their opinions.
But Webster misrepresented Clinton’s offense. He minimized it as merely covering up an affair and he attacked Clinton’s accusers for their “lip-smacking zeal about the other guy’s sexual sins.” That is propagandizing, not reasoned argument.
Clinton almost certainly lied before a grand jury, and if he’d just wanted to cover up an affair he could have remained silent, as the Constitution allows. To avoid political fallout, however, he chose to gamble and lied. Wanting him out of office for that is not “sexual McCarthyism.”
Before the senators try him for this felony, they will swear an oath as jurors. Every day in courts across America, thousands of jurors and witnesses are also administered oaths. Public officials take an oath before assuming office. Unless those oaths are legally binding, this country won’t be ruled by law.
If found guilty by the Senate, Clinton must be removed from office. Not as punishment - he can and should be tried in criminal court later - but because lying under oath is unacceptable in the presidency, and nothing will keep Clinton from doing it again, about anything, if he remains president, and will guarantee that some successor will do so.
As for Webster, misrepresenting issues and impugning motives contribute nothing useful to the debate. Edwin G. Davis Spokane
Partisan nature of this is plain to see
Lately, every TV talk show has a conservative voicing Reese Larson’s (Letters, Dec. 29) same party line argument, that they are following the “letter of the law” and not the polls.
I’m sure everyone using that argument is aware Rep. Henry Hyde was following the polls when he opted for a Republican impeachment of President Clinton - the polls which indicate 56 percent of Republicans favored impeachment.
Today’s Congress is the first in 40 years controlled by Republicans. Does Larson believe there were no circumstances during those 40 years similar to the current one for which a Democratic-controlled Congress could have attempted a partisan impeachment using the excuse they were only “following the letter of the law?”
No, we didn’t elect Clinton to be a king. And he isn’t one. Nor did we elect the Republican Congress to be henchmen for the Moral Majority - but it is. C.R. McKinney Spokane
Good people help keep hope alive
I’m glad to end 1998 and look with hope to a better 1999. This year saw the loss of several uncommonly caring friends; people who made the world a much better place for their presence and will be sorely missed.
Another reason I won’t miss 1998 is the disgusting spectacle Congress has made of our country.
Here in Idaho, we have our own congresswoman who also committed adultery and lied about it. It appears that if you are in the “right” political party, your adultery is forgivable; and as long as you don’t take an oath, it is OK to lie about your affair also. This is some lesson we are teaching our children!
It was sad, but refreshing, to see Bob Livingston’s resignation after his conscience bothered him enough about being a hypocrite. It would have been quite a miracle if our own congresswoman had the same integrity!
On a brighter note, a special thank you for all those who ran honorable campaigns in 1998 without resorting to lying and mud-slinging; especially to Larry Belmont, who could have stooped to the low level his opponent did but chose to behave with higher standards. Even if you didn’t win, you are still heroes.
May God bless all of you who, in spite of great opposition, continue to try and make Idaho a safe and healthy place to live. Lucy M. Foeller Post Falls