Letters To The Editor

LAW AND JUSTICE

Death for drug dealers

I was deeply disturbed by a recent article reporting that a house in Spokane where illicit drugs are sold has had an average of one police visit a month over a period of six years.

This is an indictment of our legal system beyond compare. The hue and cry about drug enforcement and rehabilitation is just that and nothing more. Our safety and security will continue to be threatened until we finally get serious about putting illicit drug dealers and manufacturers out of business for more than a few weeks.

I strongly support drug treatment program but believe the strategy should concentrate on eliminating drug dealers - permanently, if necessary, when they involve our children and I don’t mean imprisonment. It works in Moslem-dominated countries. William H. Allison Medical Lake

Brutal measures gain little

Tom Hayes (Letters, Nov. 29) suggests application of Islamic law punishments to dissuade criminals. He suggests amputation, stoning, flogging and beheading as “harsh but eminently effective.”

If the procedures were effective we would not be reading about their continued application in such supposedly crime-free countries as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan, etc. I agree recidivism is probably low (lowest among those who have been beheaded) but there is no evidence the crime rate by the nonmutilated has ever declined.

When public hanging was the punishment for pickpockets in England, pickpockets plied their trade among the large crowds that would assemble to watch the fun.

Electrocution, lethal injection and life in prison without parole are equally effective in preventing recidivism among those who are so punished; there is no indication that new perpetrators are deterred. Max Bromberg Hope, Idaho

But it’s not a rote rule of law

I was taught from an early age and in public schools that “the spirit of the law” and not the letter or rule of it was the true foundation of justice in a free society. A system of law that allows for the mitigating circumstances of each case and condition is essential to a democracy because that upholds the individual citizen as equal to the state and any institution.

The much-used phrase, “rule of law,” has only recently been popularized as a kind of truism by an increasingly powerful organization of self-interested lawyers and a populace bewildered by continual division and alienation. And to call this rule of law, as Paul W. Kahn does in his Nov. 28 commentary, our national myth is truer than he supposes. It is a national fiction.

For over 200 years, until now, our process of democratic election has worked extremely well and efficiently, Electoral College and all. Left alone, without the rigidness of the letter of the law superseding the Constitution or common sense, it and our heritage of justice will continue to do so.

Ours is a nation of humans and we make mistakes. But guided by the spirit, the compassionate intention of the law, we are able to correct them. Under a rule of law we are bound to mere blind obedience. LaVona Peabody Keller, Wash.

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Hurwitz ripping us of again

Citizens of the Pacific Northwest should be outraged with CEO Charles Hurwitz of Maxxam and its subsidiary, Kaiser Aluminum. Here is a man who cost American taxpayers $1.6 billion with his failed Texas Savings and Loan. Instead of investing in his bank, Hurwitz spent his money to buy Pacific Lumber in a hostile takeover, raided the company’s pension fund and used that money to buy Kaiser Aluminum.

Now, Hurwitz is ripping off Northwest citizens by selling, at a huge profit, the power that we subsidize for the aluminum industry; thereby putting workers out of work and again hurting our local and regional economy.

How dare Kaiser run its slick PR ads on TV and radio saying how it has changed, that it’s now a better company. Does Kaiser think we are stupid and can’t see what it is doing?

Wait and see. This is just the beginning of more jobs to be lost and more power sales. Hurwitz doesn’t care about people or the communities he hurts. Money, money, money is all he cares about.

When are we going to learn that our freedom and rights as citizens are being lost to corporate greed and the Charles Hurwitzes of this world? Susan Sampson Greenacres

Kaiser selling power and baloney

I guess Kaiser Aluminum’s latest ploy at improving profitability includes huge newspaper ads and television spots touting “exciting” changes. No wonder Kaiser has decided to sell off more vital power these attempts at winning public sympathy don’t come cheap.

Kaiser’s ad in the Nov. 22 Spokesman-Review is especially insulting, coming as it did two days after the company laid off 130 Mead Steelworkers who had endured 21 months of company lockout, with some of those having quit other jobs to come back and start moving forward.

I wish the newspaper and television stations would refuse to run these rosy-picture ads.

Yes, Linda Tasca, “Kaiser is changing.”

Yes, Kaiser has “broken down barriers.”

Yes, Kaiser has broken our trust. Ruby A. Carney Spokane

GOVERNMENT

Why does Bush fear vote recount?

Why are the media so critical of Al Gore’s desire to get an accurate count of the votes in Florida? Surely you would like to think that the media would be impartial in their reporting of the recounts.

Why don’t Republicans want a recount? Do they know of irregularities that may come to the surface? George W. Bush’s brother is the governor of Florida and may be protecting his party by not wanting any recounts.

Bush, on practically every commercial in the final month of the campaign, was telling us how he trusts the people. Where has all that trust gone? After all, those citizens of Florida voted for his brother to be their governor. Why doesn’t he trust them as much as he says he trusts “all the people”?

As for Gore, he has as much at stake as his opponent and he is placing his trust in the recount of the Floridians’ votes. So why doesn’t his opponent trust a recount? They are being done with both sides checking the recount.

Could it be that Bush feels he has already bought and paid for those votes? Andy Kelly Spokane

No longer the party of Lincoln

It’s clear to me that Al Gore has defeated George W. Bush in Florida, if only they would count the votes.

An article I read recently discussed the bitterly partisan political parties. No more moderate Republicans like George Romney or moderate Democrats like Tom Foley. In the South, this fact has something to do with what’s going on in Florida. All the Southern racists in the Democratic Party (“yellow dogs”) who were only there because they couldn’t stand the party of Lincoln (Republican) have now moved into the Republican Party. And those political vagrants have a history of stealing and suppressing votes. They thought nothing of suppressing the black and poor vote for more than a hundred years. Blood was shed in the South during the 1960s just to get blacks registered to vote.

It’s pretty scary to think that the Republican Party may soon be in charge of our civil liberties. Look at how Supreme Court Justices William Rehnquist, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia voted on a recent Fourth Amendment case. They think the police ought to be able to set up arbitrary roadblocks to stop and search any citizen for any reason, any time.

In my 40 years of voting, I’ve never felt cheated by the process, although I’ve often been on the losing side. I will never accept Shrub Junior as my president. It will be a stolen presidency. George Thomas Spokane

Paranoia is not a civic virtue

Face it, you Republicans just aren’t happy unless you’re feeling victimized. Everybody is out to get you: teachers’ unions, labor unions, OSHA, the EPA, affirmative action zealots, the IRS, the U.N., “anti-gun nuts,” abortion rights activists, those crazy tree huggers and on and on. And now it’s that evil Al Gore, trying to steal the election from poor little George Bush.

If Gore manages to “steal” anything from George’s brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, and the rest of the Republican juggernaut in Florida, he’ll deserve it. Frankly, I have much more faith in our system than to believe anything is going to get stolen from anybody. What with the 24-7 media scrutiny this circus is getting, Gore couldn’t lift an ashtray from a Holiday Inn without the whole world knowing about it in two minutes.

Gore has done nothing illegal in challenging the Florida election results and, for that matter, neither has George Dubya. This is the closest election in the history of the republic and both candidates are going to do whatever they legally can to win.

So far, it’s a fair fight. There are simply too many lawyers and judges involved for it to be otherwise.

Nevertheless, you Republicans sanctimoniously insist that some crime has been committed. Well, I suppose that’s what happens when you paint a target on your back and view life as an us-against-them proposition. It must be quite frightening to have so many enemies. Rick Riddle Post Falls

Problem starts and ends with Gore

All that is happening with this election 2000 can be fully understood and seen in perspective through my children’s video. It is a Veggie Tales video, “Larry-boy and the Rumor Weed.”

If you have not seen the video try to find a copy and watch it. Al Gore is like the carrot that starts the rumor. The media are the like the weeds that pop up everywhere. And George Bush is like Alfred, who cannot understand why no one is listening to him. And the court is like Larry-boy, trying hard to fix the problem in its own bumbling way.

Gore is saying that Bush didn’t win because all the votes haven’t been counted. The votes have been counted just like in all the elections prior to this one. The people voted for and elected Bush. But by spreading the rumor that they haven’t been counted, it is undermining our next president’s creditability and turning the public against him.

Unless Gore repents of his wrongdoing in starting this, then the weeds of dissent, the stock market going down and all the other problems that come with this disarray is going to continue to drag this great nation down. Jeri Cass Newport, Wash.

Our democracy is working well

Re: Ted Farr’s letter, “Poor example being set,” Nov. 27.

Sorry, but this is a nation of laws. Farr may have been a coach but he apparently failed to learn that occasionally there are plays reviewed on film. What’s going on now is an example of that and democracy at its finest hour.

We do not need innuendoes coming from what looks to me like a professional using terms such as “henchmen,” or media, including this newspaper, that show bias.

There have been many irregularities in Florida and most likely in every state in the Union because of a flawed system that will be corrected under laws. Rather a magnificent day in our lifetime to be sharing the experience with all people.

When all is settled, the votes have been counted again, and if we eventually find an illegitimate president is in office, how do you suppose that will affect this country?

Let’s sit back and enjoy the process, rather than knock it. In this close of an election, big deal. Neither candidate will accomplish one iota in office.

We will all learn just how important our votes are and you can bet your bottom dollar the next election will reflect that. Will Gates Mead

OTHER TOPICS

Adults model disregard for life

As I read “A catastrophe” on Dec. 2 stating that the animal shelter’s staff had to kill 223 cats in October alone, I asked myself - where do children learn a disregard for life? Too many children are being exposed to the death of an animal for any number of reasons usually unacceptable when applied to people. If we can so flippantly blame video games or song lyrics, in their abstract form, for the shootings made by our children then blame can certainly be placed on the adults in our society who exhibit such disregard for life in real terms. There are no abstracts at play here. Robin G. Johnson Colville, Wash.

Benson cartoon good satire

Having moved from Phoenix to your beautiful city of Spokane five years ago, I was delighted to see The Spokesman-Review regularly carrying Arizona Republic syndicated cartoonist Steve Benson, a state treasure in Arizona, on its Opinion page. Suddenly, though, Benson vanished without explanation. I thought you’d dropped him and I was one unhappy camper. So I was elated to see my favorite cartoonist back running again in your newspaper a few weeks ago.

I take issue with John M. Lyons’ letter of Nov. 24 condemning Benson’s “Slobodan Milosebush” cartoon of Nov. 19, which Lyons considers “outrageously insulting” to Gov. George Bush and so demanded from you a public apology for having run it.

Surprisingly, Lyons and I are of similar political persuasion. What apparently separates us is an ability to recognize satire when one sees it and the common sense to refrain from that inexcusable propensity, when one is presented with news not of one’s liking, to shoot the messenger.

I’ve found yours to be a fine newspaper offering a wide variety of opinions on its editorial pages. I suspect you’ll never be influenced by little minds with narrow points of view.

More from Steve Benson - please! John A. Pfeffer Spokane

This time, make it your back yard

Your inference that residents surrounding the Avista turbine project near Rathdrum are engaging in “NIMBYism” is unfair. It suggests that everyone should be ready to sacrifice quality of life in the interest of the greater good. The greater good in this case being Avista and all Avista customers.

In fact, this group’s actions made the original project better. Our efforts prevented the placement of 5 million gallons of diesel over the aquifer. Even Avista representatives now agree this was for the best. By having opposition to the development of the turbines, everyone got a better result. There are still problems, the largest being noise. We will continue to call Avista’s attention to this problem in hopes of mitigating it.

It’s true, we do not want our area to become a haven for gas-fired turbines. One project led to two and now, it appears, to an expansion of the first. There are bound to be more. Why not place it in Washington? I guess it’s just easier to force Idaho residents to sacrifice for the greater good.

It’s important to remember most of us nearby were here prior to the turbines. Our homes and quality of life have been compromised without any real consideration for the loss. So, when the keepers of the greater good come to your door, I’m sure you’ll give freely. Kevin Sharrai Rathdrum

FDA, drug makers set parents up

Re: “Herb effects” by Julie Sevrens Lyons (IN Life, Nov. 28).

Herbs are drugs in whole form and must be used with wisdom. However, the wisdom necessary is not being properly shared with the American public.

The article states, “Accidental overdose was the most likely reason” for 6,313 children poisoned by herbal supplements last year, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

I agree that parents don’t know which herbs are safe for their children or what dosages are best. This is primarily the fault of the federal Food and Drug Administration, which, in trying to control the ever-growing natural food industry and curtailing its productivity, has not allowed the herbal companies to list the usage of the herbs, the symptoms they are useful for or the dosages appropriate for therapy. Parents then are forced to guess at dosages or go by the advice of undereducated health food store people.

The information is available and widely distributed in other countries. But the United States, it seems, is run and funded by the pharmaceutical companies.

By the way, most natural supplement companies are now owned by major pharmaceutical conglomerates, which distribute herbal pills in the fancy bottles with high-tech marketing ads, as mentioned in the article.

For correct information on herbs and other natural supplements, contact a qualified professional, such as a doctor of naturopathic medicine, a licensed acupuncturist or homeopath. Letitia M. Watrous doctor of naturopathic medicine, Spokane