Letters To The Editor

CITIZENSHIP

Voting your right and opportunity

When this country was founded, the right to vote was only given to the landowners in other words, the wealthy. As we developed, that right was allowed, after much turmoil and strife, to expand, first to working class white men, then to women, and then, finally, to adults of all races and economic status. This came about through social protest, hard work and many personal sacrifices.

This right was taken extremely serious by most of our predecessors. They firmly believed that to vote was not only a right, it was an obligation.

It now appears that voting is considered a waste of time. Most adults now feel their vote would not count, therefore, they do not vote. We constantly hear comments expressing the idea that the person to be elected has already been chosen by the big money people.

Is it not evident that we as a country have made full circle, letting our voting rights and obligations be taken back by the people with the most money and political influence? Or did we simply hand those rights over?

I am not advocating any political party or agenda. I am not criticizing the wealthy. I am only advocating the people stand up and proclaim their desire to take charge of their country by the easiest and most obvious way: voting.

We did it once, we can do it again! Stanley E. Hutchison Deer Park

SPOKANE MATTERS `Architectural acne’ sends bad message

In the world of advertising, image is everything.

That’s why the billboard industry is trotting out its favorite arguments against the proposed billboard ban. Those in it want to convince you that billboards are essential to the economic health of the region.

I’ll be the first to admit that billboards are essential to their economic health. Those brand new steel monstrosities they’ve built are a big investment that can bring in big bucks. And the older, smaller billboards are cash cows that will clutter the region until they fall down due to old age and neglect.

But when it comes to the economic health of the region, billboards are a bad case of architectural acne. They tell potential employers that the region doesn’t care how it looks.

That disregard for the regional image subtly drives away potential employers who would hire hundreds more employees than the local billboard industry. And when it comes to potential high-tech employers, a billboard-cluttered region is one of the things they want to flee.

If we want to preserve and enhance the region’s image as a good place for these employers, a countywide billboard ban is a good start. In 10 to 20 years, the architectural acne will be gone and Spokane County will lead the way to regional image improvement. Dennis R. Dickens Spokane

Surprise - cronies OK with pay hike

Re: “County considers pay raises.”

Let’s see, a citizens committee composed of people “appointed by nonjudicial elected officials” - doesn’t that mean the county commissioners? Doesn’t the word “cronies” fit the definition better than the doublespeak used here?

I personally do not know any average citizen, much less nine citizens, who would vote unanimously to increase salaries in Spokane County for elected officials. These officials already rake in three times the average Spokane County income. The panel cited other counties’ salaries as being higher, but did they compare the average income of working people in those counties? Or the tax base?

There is something morally and ethically wrong with elected officials appointing friends to determine elected officials’ salaries, possibly even legal violations. But then, who are we citizens to take our concerns to? Our elected officials?

As a voter, I am beginning to feel powerless when those we elect thumb their nose at us and rob the public coffers in broad daylight with impertinence. Chris H. Miller Spokane

ENTERTAINMENT

`The Omega Code’ exhibits quality

You don’t have to be part of an organized religion to benefit from the message the “Omega Code” sends home. This movie is truly an eye opener that anyone in search of quality entertainment will enjoy. It’s about time a movie came out that is worth the money they ask!

I really hope all the people who complain about the lack of decent entertainment nowadays will take the time to go see the “Omega Code.” You may have a problem with the fact a Christian organization produced this movie but once you see it, you’ll get over that. This is no B flick. Come on, Spokane, look around. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see it’s time for change.

Go see this movie. You will not be disappointed. Cecelia VanDenKooy Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Campaign finance reform a necessity

Having spent many years in business, I am all the more a believer in the Golden Rule. Unfortunately, there is another interpretation of the Golden Rule that seems to prevail when it comes to our country today: He who has the gold makes the rules.

So, who really runs our government? Until we come to a sensible solution for campaign finance reform, our so-called government by the people is, in reality, government by the powerful. Why is this? How could this happen?

It’s because we the people have copped out. We don’t want to send $10 or so a year to fund campaigns to elect our public servants. We don’t vote because we believe one vote isn’t going to make a difference. What if everyone who ever felt that way went to the polls, had good choices and cast their vote? Could it change things? What if each individual becomes an owner of our country because of being willing to pay for it?

We need to unite as citizens and step up to the plate. Let’s get campaign finance reform on the ballot - or write it in if we have to. Sally English Green Coeur d’Alene

`Christian nation’? Look again

In his Oct. 23 letter, Ira Lee White writes, “The U.S. Constitution declares it to be a Christian nation.”

Wrong! The words God and Christian, much less the term “Christian nation,” are nowhere in the basic Constitution or any of the amendments.

The first sentence of the Declaration of Independence contains the words, “Laws of nature and of nature’s God.” The second sentence contains the word “Creator.” The next-to-last sentence contains this phrase, “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world.” The word “Christian” does not appear in the Declaration of Independence. Charles E. Wood priest of the Episcopal Church, Spokane

Support asbestos reparations act

The Northwest Mining Association (NWMA) urges federal lawmakers to pass a bill that offers a solution to the problem of fairly compensating people who suffer from asbestos-related diseases. Recent hearings before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee for Administrative Oversight and the Courts confirmed the need for The Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act of 1999.

This bill focuses on the people who’ve been injured by asbestos and deserve compensation. It moves the problem out of the courtroom while allowing the people affected to gain some peace of mind and the treatment they need.

Former asbestos-industry companies will compensate victims through an administrative system that will equitably distribute the benefits. It’s a fair and straightforward approach that will increase the amount of money going to those suffering from asbestos-related diseases.

The association has long been concerned that asbestos litigation and regulatory controls have been driven more by fear than fact, and politics rather than medical science. Vast sums of money have been spent on legal sparring, while those suffering from health problems receive only a pittance.

It’s time to focus on providing treatment and fair compensation to those harmed, rather than providing full employment to a handful of asbestos lawyers. This view is supported by no less an authority than the U.S. Supreme Court, which has called on Congress to pass a legislative solution.

The Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act of 1999 is a bipartisan bill that recognizes people affected by asbestos are dealing with a health and legal problem, and sets things straight. Ivan Urnovitz, special projects director Northwest Mining Association, Spokane

Clinton liable to do anything

The founders of our nation set up a republic, or representative, form of government. To conserve freedom, they created three equal branches of government like a balance wheel: Congress, judicial and executive branches.

President Clinton now grabs 40 million acres of land into a socialist power movement - ignoring Congress, like he did in his Bosnia bombing war where thousands are left destitute. It is being suggested he probably will next proclaim an executive order to tear down our dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers.

Our freedoms face perilous time over the year ahead. Donald B. Reed Spokane

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Givens seeks reverse racism

The Oct. 23 Opinion piece by Jeanne Givens, “Colleges, universities leading way,” could more appropriately have been titled, “Colleges, universities leading way to racism.”

The buzzword “diversity,” which is constantly being mouthed by so-called civil rights activists such as Givens, is simply a euphemism for the blatant promotion of racism. Her statement that the University of Idaho “has a long way to go” in recruiting minority students since minorities make up only 2 percent of the student population, is really a lament that there are too many white students. In her well-intended but misguided attempt to favor minorities, Givens is promoting a race-based policy as more important than scholastic achievement or merit.

If we want fairness and justice to prevail for all, we must provide opportunity for all on a color-blind and race-neutral basis. By promoting a race-based quota system for the universities, Givens is clearly an advocate for exactly that which she claims to abhor - the placement of race as the most important and compelling aspect of one’s life, i.e. racism.

For a white person to simply point out the injustice associated with affirmative action is to immediately be tagged as a racist and a hater. The true racists of North Idaho are those who conclude that there is something inherently wrong with the racial mix of the university reflecting the racial mix of the population of the state of Idaho. Will D. Murray Spokane

Perversion of Christianity expressed

Re: Penny Lancaster’s letter of Oct. 20. What a typical pseudo-Christian response, to accuse anyone of being spiritually or morally bankrupt. She should read the real Bible, not her version of it. Ever heard “judge not, lest you be judged”? It is ironic to me that I spent six years in the military protecting her right to ignorant free speech. Paul W. Flanary Spokane

Custody matter not that one-sided

Apparently, syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker ignores history as well as current reality. It was only in recent decades that women were seen as the primary care givers during divorce and thus could be granted custody of the children. No doubt, there were women who used this to their advantage. But, the reality is that divorces are messy, ugly affairs because the “angry men” Parker wrings her hands over need only declare the wife incompetent to be a mother and gain custody of the children. Parker apparently sees one side of this, hers. But, before she can declare herself an expert on the family, maybe she’d best look at some uncomfortable facts. Joan E. Harman Coeur d’Alene

THE ENVIRONMENT

Don’t accept forest quackery

Re: D.F. Oliveria’s excellent Oct. 22 editorial, “Vanity, thy name is `Slick,’ as ever.”

The most critical issue is forest health. The “protection” Ken Sands advocates is protection from forestry thinning, controlled burns and harvesting to reduce the fuel load. It is the protection of faith healers, who protect their children from vaccinations, antibiotics and antiseptics. The children sometimes die. So will our forests, in catastrophic wildfires.

Also, Dr. Patrick Moore, a forest ecologist and founding member and former head of Greenpeace, says that growing renewable and energy-efficient trees for harvest is the most environmentally friendly use possible for public land. Trees turn solar energy into a beautiful and useful material that is far better for the environment than any substitute.

Before urban-based, eco-colonial, anti-forestry groups all but stopped management in our national forests, the U.S. imported about 17 percent of our wood and wood products. We now import 35 percent from Canada alone and some from Scandinavia, Chile and even New Zealand, 8,000 miles away. Some of the Canadian timber comes from the Arctic, where trees take centuries to reach marketable size. Trains loaded with Canadian wood wind south through our forests, once the most productive on Earth, where far more trees now die, rot and burn than are harvested. Edwin G. Davis Spokane

Clinton on the right track

I support the new move by President Clinton to keep logging roads out of our remote public forests. We in Washington are blessed with some of the last, best pristine national forests in the country. Despite decades of abuse by the logging industry and the millions of taxpayer dollars spent on thousands of miles of logging roads, there are still some pristine roadless areas left in our beautiful state.

Areas like Kettle River Range generate more dollars through repeated recreational visits than through a one-time clearcut. But in addition to economic value, national forest roadless areas contribute to our quality of life as well. These pristine forests are critical for clean water, wildlife and outdoor recreation. Clinton is indeed giving a gift to future generations right here in Washington by moving to protect them. David Robinson Curlew, Wash.

We urge support of Clinton plan

We support President Clinton’s move to keep logging roads out of remote areas - especially the Abercrombie-Hooknose and Kettle River Range.

Our Earth is in dire need of our respect and careful stewardship. It is a gift which we must respond to with thoughtful care and not misuse. We hope Rep. George Nethercutt and our senators will support this plan. Deanda and Don Roberts Spokane

So, quit eating salmon

The answer is simple! For all the people who want to tear down the dams and are so worried about the fish, quit eating salmon! If there isn’t a market for the fish, there would be millions heading up river to spawn. Next time you sit down to a salmon dinner at your favorite restaurant, think about the fish you’re so worried about. Marvin Gates Deer Park