Letters To The Editor

Government and politics

Social Security notions wrong

The column by Michael Tanner, the Cato Institute director of health and welfare studies (Opinion column, June 14), makes this 84-year-old long-time subscriber uneasy.

First, he errs when he refers to the Social Security contributions of American workers as taxes. They are not taxes. They are contributions, matched by those of employers, for an insurance policy which protects the workers and their families from the day they begin contributing until the day they retire and start drawing lifetime benefits.

Those workers most in favor of presidential candidate George W. Bush’s proposal are certain to be crying for the money they will blow on unwise speculations when they do reach retirement age.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are today investing surplus funds when they can afford to. No man or agency denies them that right. But those who contribute to the Social Security insurance who feel any responsibility for the welfare of their dependents must be grateful for the program introduced by President Roosevelt over 60 years ago. Fred J. Meyer Coulee Dam

Gore not leader we need

Al Gore said, “The last time Moses listened to a bush, his people wondered in the wilderness for 40 years.” It goes to show that Gore knows even less about Moses than he knows about illegal campaign money from the Buddhist monks.

What is obvious is that Gore and his followers are the ones who have been wondering in the wilderness for the last eight years. A wilderness full of lies, broken promises, deceit, “Wag the Dog” wars, plus scandal after scandal. Do we really need this “inventor of the Internet” to lead this country? Joe Wollman Odessa, Wash.

Health education funds well spent

Re: “Diet inquiry more big brotherism” by P. Norman Nelson (Letters, June 12).

I find it incredible that Nelson doesn’t think that the government has a legitimate interest in the health and well-being of its citizens. I suspect that Nelson is just using this as another excuse to bash the Clinton administration. He claims to be worried about his tax dollars being spent on this activity. I would remind him of the adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I’m sure Nelson sees as many obese people as I do. Does he not realize that heart disease, diabetes and stroke, to name a few, are often the results of an improper diet? I am sure the modest amount of funds spent to prevent and educate the public are minuscule in comparison to the billions spent on Medicare/Medicaid and other government programs to treat these diseases.

It will be interesting to see what the local conservatives have to complain about next year when Bill Clinton becomes a private citizen. Maybe they will focus on Hillary if she is in the Senate. Let me give them a scenario to their worst nightmare: George W. Bush is elected president and sends the economy into a tailspin with the Republican tax cuts for the rich agenda. Hillary is elected to the Senate, and Bush spends four years looking over his right shoulder as she becomes a national icon. Bush becomes a one-term president, and we get our first woman president in 2004. I can think of no set of circumstances that I would enjoy more. Gail Parke Jr. Post Falls

People in society

Curt Messex like many volunteers

Community participator Curt Messex passed away June 14. Adam Lynn wrote a nice article about him, but articles like that can never say enough. Messex took part in his community because he cared. He didn’t complain; he acted. He gave of himself.

In his efforts, he depended on facts, logic and reason rather than on emotion. He was persuasive but was openminded enough that he, in turn, could be persuaded.

In his caring, participation and leadership, Messex represented a fair number of folks in Spokane with the same traits. The public hears about some of the more prominent ones that lead groups like Focus 21 or the Symposium Series, but there are many more like Messex. They are the ones whose names rarely get into the media: they chair smaller groups; they organize neighborhoods; they lobby for parks; they generate programs to help entrepreneurs; they initiate projects for better lowincome housing or seniors’ programs; they promote arts districts.

Most commonly, these folks aren’t paid for their work. They do the things that many of the rest of us would like to do if we just had enough time.

While people like this rarely act out of pride themselves, as a community Spokane can be proud that we have them. It’s just one of the many things we can be proud of.

Curt Messex had a lot of heart, and he made a difference. In the end, that’s a lot to say for anybody.

Thanks, Curt. Tom Hargreaves Spokane

Today’s drug plague stems from ‘60s

The methamphetamine series was horrifying, as is also, of course, the broader plague of drugs in America with all it attendant consequences. In searching for the “why” of the situation, isn’t it proper to ask what the origins are of this vicious and devastating phenomenon?

Remember the guru Timothy Leary?

Remember “Tune in, turn on, drop out”? Remember “If it feels good do it”? Remember Woodstock?

These are merely part of the behavioral package that was ultimately delivered to the American people during and after the 1960s.

Behold the legacy of that generation.

They have given us political correctness, a denial of freedom of speech and thought; deconstruction and relativism, making a mockery of the concept of “truth.” A hate-filled program ironically aimed at ending “hate,” with their definition of what constitutes this particular crime. This means there is good hate and bad hate. They hate intolerance.

An acceptance of the belief that the ends justify the means. Intellectual dishonesty now camouflaged as spin. “Do as I say, not as I do.”

These believers are now the movers and shakers who currently dominate our lives. They control the school systems, the majority of the media, most of the governmental structure. Smug and arrogant, they divert criticism by offering evidence of the good they have done, some of which I agree with.

But let them also stand up and acknowledge and remedy the negative consequences of their philosophy and its current laws.

Deliver us from Haight Ashbury. Bernard E. Bobb Pullman

Other topics

Hate message bad for our young

After reading several articles on Dr. Laura Schlessinger, I have become sickened. I cannot believe we are allowing our children to see this stuff. What happened? Are we not facing enough negativity? Are the crimes, drugs and disasters not enough? Why subject them to hate as well?

By placing the e-mail address stopdrlaura.com within your pages you have taken the step to end this. I thank you for doing so. I feel that our children deserve to know that the world can be a better place if we all stick together. Maybe they will see that it does not matter who or what you are. Could it be possible to teach them that not all people are full of hate? Why must we add another log to the fire? Isn’t it time to put the fire out?

We can do something in one second that can change everything forever. Once again, I thank you. We have to stand by our children and stop the things that will only hurt them in the end. Jeremy D. Gould Veradale

Reform, not biotechnology is needed

As a molecular geneticist who studies plant biology, I have become increasingly alarmed at much of the rhetoric used by my colleagues to justify the current rush to commercialize advances in plant biology. A typical example was supplied by R.J. Cook’s Roundtable commentary, June 4.

Biotechnology is not “needed to help feed the 8 billion people projected to be on this earth by 2030.” Malnutrition and hunger are problems brought about by poverty, not food scarcity, and major increases in food production will not be required to keep pace with population growth. Reducing post-harvest spoilage, particularly in the developing world, has much greater potential for achieving dramatic increases in the global food supply than does even the most aggressive application of biotechnology.

Although we as a culture often want to place our hopes in a technological magic bullet, it is the difficult path of working toward political and economic reforms that will lead to the land reforms, fair wages and infrastructure development that bring true food security. It seems highly disingenuous of the biotechnology industry to try to evade the many legitimate environmental and economic critiques of new genetic technologies with appeals to feed the hungry. Doug L. Lammer Pullman

Daughters did not deserve that

I’m disappointed in the article on the Daughters of the American Revolution. English’s first mistake is she states that members are traced directly to men of the American Revolution. Many of the ancestors are women.

In the past five years, nearly 1,000 citizens of this region have been recognized for acts of service, heroism, patriotism, courage and scholarship. Many thousands of hours of service work and magazines and other gifts have been donated to the less fortunate of the community.

At state level, the organization donated $500,000 in scholarships, erected several monuments for Lewis and Clark, donated several thousands of dollars to the Memorial for World War II Veterans and supported educational institutes. On a national level, the contributions of the organization have been astronomical. They were the organization during WW II that organized the nursing corps, raised billions of dollars and provided their national facilities for a makeshift hospital and headquarters. They’ve donated millions of dollars in scholarships, support schools predominantly helping underprivileged and abused children, and are a primary supporter of America’s Promise. This does not take into account the millions and hours spent in archiving artifacts, preserving history, genealogy, or how many thousands of people they helped to become American citizens. English did a lot of work to find negative information. I am sad she chose to report so negatively on such a fine organization. For every negative article she found there are at least 10 to 20 positive ones she totally disregarded. Rae Anna Victor Spokane

Lost child photos belong on Page 1

A little 5-year-old girl, Diana Calhoon, disappeared near her school on Monday. This was reported on page 2 of the Region section. I almost missed it.

Why wasn’t this printed on the front page with her picture as large as two City Council members trying on sweatshirts? Where are your priorities?

Thank God she was found. But if she hadn’t been, her story would have been all we’d be seeing. In the beginning is when such stories should be in the headlines. Katherine V. Flores Spokane

Reserve junior parade awards

I love the Junior Lilac Parade. Seeing all the young people so talented and full of joy! My own daughter was in it back in the 1970s, and it gave her a lot of confidence and pride.

I do have a concern this year, though. My understanding is that the Junior Lilac Parade is for junior high and elementary school participants. I was shocked and troubled when the Lilac Festival royalty float took first place in the float division. The girls are all seniors, and the float was professionally made. How is that fair to the middle schools and elementary schools that work so hard with meager resources? It’s delightful to have them in the parade - but to be contestants? This win was discouraging to all the other junior float makers. Gail Kegley Spokane

Education

Alternate education just as good

I agree with John May (Letters, June 15) when he says that Tom Addis can do what he wants with his money/car. However, I’m disturbed that May seems to think that anyone going to alternative school is a lesser person for it.

I have a son in alternative school and many of his friends go there as well. Many of these students go there simply because the classes they truly need for their education are full or unavailable. The teacher at Chewelah (Wash.) Alternative School is one of the finest. I know my son has gained from this.

Yes, May, he has an alternative job and an alternative bank account with an alternative credit card, and he’s had this account long enough that it says “preferred customer since 1996” on his checks. He’s enrolling in an alternative college to become an alternative registered nurse and hopes to get an alternative bachelor’s degree - and he’s only an alternative junior in school. He works very hard and paid for his own alternative car with his own alternative money.

Some of the classes in regular high school in Chewelah are held at the elementary school because of the lack of space. Advanced classes are usually full. Many students are assigned to classes they didn’t request, or are given another year of basic classes.

The law says my son could drop out, but he chooses to make something of himself.

Maybe you should learn more about alternative schools before you begin to ridicule these students. Mike Amich Chewelah, Wash.

Alternative schools are normalcy

Well, John May (Letters, June 15) seems to think that children who attend alternative schools should live in some sort of alternative world, with alternative jobs and alternative families. He has the crazy idea that the regular school system is a normal, natural childhood process, instead of an alternative reality, a man-made invention more closely resembling incarceration or military duty than real life. What else explains the violence within it?

Alternative schools are the closest thing to normal life the school system has to offer. Kids who choose to attend these alternative schools should not be required to pay any “consequences.” Life is made up of choices! After all, the winner and top two finalists in this year’s national spelling bee were attending the largest “alternative” school in existence: they were all home schooled! Constance R. Sirchuk Nine Mile Falls

Wilson is not doing the job

Re: Ira Holcomb’s June 8 letter. With regard to how much Superintendent Jerry Wilson has improved schools in Riverside School District, good lord, Holcomb is comparing what the school was in 1941 to what it is now? I feel like a dinosaur myself. I graduated in 1944 from another small school district, and that school has grown over the last 56 years as well - without Wilson.

There has been several superintendents over that period in Riverside. And, yes, Wilson has been responsible for some of the improvements, I am sure. After all, he’s being paid nearly 75 percent of what the president of the United States is receiving in salary. However, as an “autocratic leader” (read: dictatorial), as quoted from previous Spokesman-Review reports, he outgrew the job quite a while back. He was that way as a teacher when I had children attending Riverside. I now have grandchildren and great-grandchildren attending Riverside schools. I still live and pay taxes in this district. Wilson hasn’t changed in his ways of doing business. He hasn’t grown with the district and should be replaced.

We are proud of our schools, our teachers and our students, and we want improvements for them. It’s just that simple.

The sports complex is great but what about the science program? And, as the teachers are complaining, what about the 24-year-old textbooks our children are using? What about those moldy classrooms which cannot be used? No, Wilson is not doing his job. Nor are the school board members. Ike Fortner Chattaroy