Letters To The Editor

Spokane matters

No Rack means fewer parkers

The lack of use of the River Park Square parking garage is very obvious. Before the new development project, most of my friends parked at the River Park Square parking garage to shop at Nordstrom. The store at that time had many casual clothing departments, costume jewelry and, best of all, The Rack. The paper often advertised Nordstrom sales and customers flocked to the garage to park.

The new store has lost its appeal by becoming too upscale. Furthermore, The Rack has been moved to NorthTown, when it could have been located downtown in a shop adjacent to the new store.

It doesn’t take a marketing genius to understand the problem with revenue at the new garage. Mary Ann Darrow Spokane

Hot Network foe paranoid

Re: “Say no to Hot Network” (Letters, July 30).

Mike Carpenter’s letter has to be the most ridiculous letter that you have ever printed. Does the term paranoia come to mind? Michael B. Schieche Spokane

People in society

Homosexuals maintain boundaries

Re: “Scout issue about necessary separation” (Letters, July 26).

How many heterosexual men do you know who would sleep in a tent with your 14-year-old Girl Scout? None, I bet. For one thing they usually have better boundaries, and for another thing no one in their right mind would want to share a tent with a bunch of giggling girls (or boys).

Perhaps even more important is the fact that any male would know that being the leader of a bunch of Girl Scouts (or Boy Scouts) leaves him vulnerable to charges of inappropriate behavior over the slightest thing. Homosexual men know the same thing.

It is inappropriate to assume that just because a man is gay he will be unable to maintain the same boundaries as a heterosexual man. Homosexuals are not slathering wolves in sheep’s clothing, lurking in every locker room, restroom or campsite waiting to catch a peek at some poor unsuspecting heterosexual. The gays and lesbians I know are very respectful of others and would in no way take advantage of a situation such as you mentioned in your comment.

Proper boundaries would dictate that the camp leader has his or her own tent - no matter what their orientation. Using a trumped-up concern for campsite sleeping arrangements to advocate for intelligent and discerning separation is nothing but homophobia in its purest form. Sharon D. Noel Spokane

Cyclists deserve respect of motorists

The other day, while riding my bicycle along a Spokane Valley street, a motorist blared his horn and shouted as he passed. I pulled alongside him at the next stop light and asked what the problem was. “You don’t belong on the street,” he shouted. “Get your bike on the sidewalk where you belong.”

I’ve had to deal with my share of misinformed, inattentive and malicious drivers in the past few years. One incident, when an inattentive young driver made a sudden left turn across my path cost me nearly two years off the bike recovering from broken bones and other injuries. I have no desire to repeat that experience.

Educating misinformed motorists like the one I met is perhaps a first step. Bicycles do belong on the road. When a bicycle is on the road, the rider is required to follow the same traffic rules as motorists. Cyclists deserve the same respect and courtesy that other motorist do.

When you see cyclists on the road, please allow them their share of the road and pass with caution. Understand that regardless of fault, the cyclist always loses in a bicycle-motor vehicle accident. Marc Mims Veradale

Unhappiness shows in arguments

Reading Jeff Colliton’s column of July 29, I think he is aiming at the wrong people. What he is basically saying is that the new City Council majority does not act in the best interest of the city of Spokane. It does not, but wasn’t that clear even before some of those councilmen got elected?

They did not run to build something but to stop, to destroy, to fight. To vote for them was not a rational decision but an emotional act of unhappiness. Why?

The July 30 Roundtable page has some comments about the case of federal agent Lon Horiuchi, people believing that they live in a police state. Do they really understand what a police state is? Yes, taken logically those statements don’t make much sense, but try to figure out what they say about the authors. Do you think they demonstrate overall happiness?

If something is a problem in this area I think it’s the fact that many people are not happy with their lives - and so they go and fight pornography, gay rights, nudism, the government, the Cowles gang, etc. with arguments that make no sense at all.

We should not try to convert them but to help them to enjoy life. I only wish I knew where to start. Peter C. Dolina Veradale

Please return Ginger

I hope the person who stole our lovely, orange, 6-month-old kitten reads this letter. His brother, also orange, is now pining and misses him sadly. They were such a wonderful delight, chasing one another around the yard.

The one that is missing was taken on the evening of July 27, at about 8:30. Ginger never came back, and he would always return. We kept calling, but no Ginger.

He is cute and beautifully marked. We got the two kittens purposefully, so they would always be together. The other kitten, Marmalade, is very sad. My wife is heartbroken and keeps crying.

We ask whoever took Ginger to please return him to his rightful owners. No questions will be asked. Please just drop him off in our yard so that the other kitten can have his brother to play with and he will start eating properly again.

We are both senior citizens. These two kittens have been a joy and have given us something to live for, and helped my wife to get better after a long period of illness. But now someone has taken this away.

We paid to have them both neutered, they have all their shots and registration. That costs quite a lot of money.

We miss Ginger very much, and so does Marmalade. Charles E. Auton Spokane

Other topics

End fishing in the Columbia

Re: “Salmon plan calls for sacrifices,” (July 28).

How about a cessation of fishing in the Columbia and its tributaries (including the Snake River)?

When the whales were threatened with extinction, wasn’t there a halt placed on killing them? The dams may kill salmon, but the gill nets and hooks, and over fishing most definitely kill fish! If a moratorium on fishing is not even considered, then the parties involved with the arguing over salmon recovery methods are just yakking to hear their heads roar. Dave W. Spilker Greenacres

Another look at Microsoft

Re: “Microsoft pilloried for doing logical, useful things well” (July 23).

I do agree with Peter Dolina that splitting Microsoft isn’t the best move. However my reasons for this differ from his.

Splitting Microsoft will do nothing to stop its predatory monopoly. Microsoft is not being pilloried or repressed like the Jews as Dolina seemed to imply. Instead, Microsoft is being sanctioned for attempting to eliminate all competition and the innovation that comes from that.

Dolina defends Microsoft’s practices by saying that the more in sync the computer is, operating system and applications, the better the products. This sounds good but in reality it would be a nightmare. No matter how much a company tries it would not be able to make every type of program well. The user would inevitably have to put up with the inferior products or buy a computer for his word processing, another computer for his 3D-rendering, yet another computer for his home video editing and a fourth for his games. If Microsoft were the only computer manufacturer and application writer at the beginning of the personal computer era, we would be stuck at DOS 2000. There would be no reason to invent the graphical user interface, which Microsoft did not invent.

Dolina then started to talk about the Active-X technology which is like Sun Microsystems Java. Java also did not originate from Microsoft. If no sharing of Java occurred there would be no Active-X.

Sharing is the only way for all to benefit. I hope this classic kindergarten lesson is rediscovered. Daniel A. Pauw Spokane

Stop fiddling, time’s running out

“Lack of electricity, water hurting Kenya” (July 24) states that Kenyans are allowed water in their houses two days per week and are suffering electrical blackouts that last four to five days at a time.

Dr. Mark Kingwell, University of Toronto philosopher and futurist, and military consultant Robert Kaplin, in his new book “The Coming Anarchy,” state that what’s happening in Africa today is going to occur in the United States in the not-so-distant future. This country is already experiencing drought conditions over 35 percent of its area; crop failures; massive wildfires; rolling brownouts; pestilence in the forms of rats, disease-bearing mosquitoes and grasshoppers; upsurges in drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, pneumonia, staphylococcus and sexually-transmitted diseases; difficulty in military and police recruitment; and increasing incidents of societal rage.

In the history of mankind, there’s never been a huge country that did not separate into smaller countries. The Soviet Union dissolved, Quebec threatens to secede from Canada, the Chinese coast is withdrawing from the interior regions and a flood of illegal Mexican immigrants is engulfing the Southern states.

The estimated cost of the defective Star Wars system is now at $100 billion. If the United States were truly serious about national defense, it would spend that money sensibly, on such items as border patrols, pest controls, immunization research, desalination plants and rain collection systems, electric cars, solar panels and increased salaries for police and military.

We are literally running out of time. We need to take action now. Contact your government officials and tell them to stop fiddling while Rome burns. Margaret E. Koivula Spokane

Educate to reduce gun accidents

Gun owners have always said education and enforcement of laws will reduce accidents and gun crimes. I was happy to see the recent study from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“Life expectancy rises to record level in U.S.,” July 25) verified what we’ve known all along.

Better enforcement of laws makes sense. Mandatory sentencing of criminals with guns should be federal law. In Richmond, Va., where they have mandatory sentencing, the police chief says their homicide rate dropped nearly 80 percent in one year. We shouldn’t be pampering and protecting violent criminals, we should establish mandatory sentencing guidelines without the opportunity to plea to lesser charges. This needs to start with violent juvenile offenders. Catch them when they’re young and punish them severely. Statistics prove that if they aren’t properly punished, they continue their life of crime and escalate the severity of their crimes.

Education is the way to reduce accidents with guns. Gun owners are more aware of the importance of safe storage since it has become a topic of the anti-gun people. Mandatory safe storage is unenforceable, but with increased awareness we have made a huge difference.

Even if you’re not a gun owner, your kids need to know what to do if they find a gun at a friend’s house. Eddie Eagle, the GunSafe mascot, teaches “Stop, don’t touch, leave the area, tell an adult.” What young child doesn’t love a lovable animal with a good message? As a community that cares about children, why aren’t we teaching this message in schools? Robin Ball Sharp Shooting Indoor Range & Gun Shop, Spokane

Don’t let campaign dissuade you

I read with mixed feelings the article,“Vets tell recruits: `Think again”’ (July 29).

As legislative chairman for the Spokane Chapter of The Retired Officers Association, I have written many letters to our federal politicians and several to The Spokesman-Review regarding inadequate health care access for older retired military members. Our national and local organizations, along with others, have made incredible efforts to work within the political system to try to right the wrong being done to those military retirees who are Medicare-eligible and who are being denied health care benefits that they earned through many years of service to our nation.

I became aware of the billboard movement through my e-mail contacts in the retired military community. I had not, however, seen the exact wording until the article appeared in The Spokesman-Review.

I am incredibly saddened that some of my comrades in arms have felt the necessity to resort to an anti-recruiting message. I recognize the situation is desperate for many of our older retired colleagues or their survivors, especially those who served in the ranks. Many cannot afford to purchase necessary medications. However, those who would join the services today need to know that there are strong organizations like TROA and millions of Americans who do care about those who have served our country in uniform and who will not give up on the fight to ensure that the adequate health care that was earned and promised is actually funded by Congress. This will be fixed! Charles Latimer, Lt Col., USAF (retired) legislative chairman, Spokane Chapter, TROA

Church and state

Freedom from religion protected too

Re: “Anti-God types violate Constitution” (Letters, July 27).

William Hall’s claim that the ACLU, the Supreme Court and others have succeeded in banning all religion from public life and are therefore violating the First Amendment of our Constitution is a thoroughly unsubstantiated claim.

He believes he’s not free to practice his religion in public, and he quotes a part of the First Amendment to support his argument (that Congress can make no law “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion).

Let’s test Hall’s theory. Can Hall go to any church he wants, any time he chooses? Yes. Could Hall quietly pray to himself in a public school, courtroom or any other public venue? Yes.

Hall’s theory is obviously incorrect. You can practice your religion in public. What you can’t do is use various arms of the government to foist your religion upon others. This is why teachers can’t lead a classroom in prayer and why tax dollars can’t be used to support any particular religion.

This is supported by the other part of the First Amendment that Hall conveniently left out: Congress can “make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” meaning that it can neither forbid nor encourage the practice of any religion.

Not all Americans are Christian, Hall. I have no desire to have your religion forced upon me in public venues using my tax dollars.

Hall’s concept of freedom of religion belongs in a theocracy. Americans, however, live in a republic where freedoms are cherished and protected - even if it means freedom from someone else’s religion. Russell R. Wright Post Falls

Good Bible students consider context

Well done, Kimberly Hargrove (Letters, July 29) on demonstrating an ability to look up interesting verses in the Bible.

True students of the Bible also take into consideration the context in which the verses are written. Unless you are a member of one of the tribes of Israel, in that particular time period, these laws are not for you. Serious Bible scholars interested in understanding know that.

A couple of laws that are for everyone today are found in Matthew 22:36-40 and Matthew 5:43-48. Too bad everyone does not live by these laws, literally. Elesa T. King Spokane