Letters To The Editor

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Confound the spoilers of politics

The clear winners this year are the voters who discovered they really do have power and chose to exercise it. It was so exciting to read about waiting lines and the high voter turnout.

The clear heroes are the candidates who put their personal lives and jobs on hold for months while working incredibly long hours, seven days a week. They paid an emotional, physical and financial toll. We could not have our democratic process without their help.

The clear villains this year are the special interest groups and political parties that stooped to new lows locally and nationally to practice the contemptible politics of personal destruction.

I fervently hope voters will reward this unacceptable behavior by withholding donations, demanding reform and, finally, by focusing their votes to counteract the intent of such ugly attacks. We should call or write them and tell them what we think about their behavior. Join the effort to demand clean campaigns and curb special interest attacks. They do it because they think it works. Let’s change their mind.

Kudos to The Spokesman-Review and Inlander for their efforts to give candidates the opportunity to tell the public about themselves, to all the TV and radio stations that scheduled debates on air, all the citizen groups that hosted candidate forums and people who boosted, rallied, volunteered, pounded or waved signs, donated, endorsed, registered voters, stuffed envelopes, walked, called and took a stand.

Give yourself a hand. You made it happen! You rocked the vote! Valerie R. Smith Spokane

Florida foul-up shakes my faith

I have never missed voting in an election. In 1972, I was among the first 18-year-olds to exercise my precious right. My vote has always been one of my most valued possessions - something I guard jealously and never take for granted. I always have felt our free elections are inviolate, something sacred. Vote fraud was for countries struggling to get it right or those ruled by despicable tyrants with no conscience or concern for the will of the people.

With this Palm Beach County situation in Florida, I strongly feel our constitutional rights have been violated. “Not mine!” you might say. “There was no problem here in Washington state or Spokane.”

Do we dare allow election fraud or error to stand anywhere without challenge? If we stand idly by when there is injustice, we are guilty of subverting our Constitution and probably deserve whatever inept government we get.

No matter who earned your vote on Tuesday, will you ever feel completely validated casting your vote again?

My patriotism and loyalty to my birthplace and our democracy will never fade but my faith in our election process has been seriously tarnished and forever changed. What a shame - just when we were making progress in eliminating voter apathy!

Whoever becomes president in January, I will feel like the Lone Ranger has donned a black hat and the bad guys have been left in charge of our country. Nancy Jo Doubrava-Dull Medical Lake

Infamous ballot looks OK to me

I have viewed the questionable Palm Beach ballot on the Rush Limbaugh web site. If people have trouble figuring out the ballot why don’t they ask the people who are there to help, like I do? I see nothing wrong with this ballot. The arrows point to the candidates in question. Wesley Storer Spokane

Failure to give it up unseemly

I am disgusted by the behavior of Vice President Al Gore. Conceding an election and then withdrawing the concession less than an hour later is ridiculous.

I think the rest of the world is mocking our election process today because of Gore’s greed. Gov. George Bush is rightfully our next president because he won this election. The fact that Gore is considering filing a lawsuit to contest the outcome of this election shows he is a sore loser who would rather shame our country in the eyes of the world than concede defeat.

I hope those who voted for Gore will realize by his behavior, and the behavior of his party, that he and his party are concerned only with dividing this country, not unifying it. How can you govern a nation that you have divided?

Bush has faithfully shown that he is a unifier, not a divider. Let’s hope this circus in Florida will end soon and Gore will concede with grace. Meredith Turney Harrison, Idaho

Libertarian Party moving up

Thank you for covering the Libertarian Party and Libertarian candidates during the campaign. I would have liked more coverage, of course, but understand ours is a minor party.

Rather, it was a minor party. Since three statewide candidates received at least 5 percent of the vote, the Libertarian Party is now a major party in the state of Washington. I would like to have seen a mention of that in the paper on Nov. 8, as well as coverage of vote totals for Libertarian candidates.

What about the U.S. Senate race where Slade Gorton and Maria Cantwell were only 3,000 votes apart as of Nov. 8 and Libertarian Jeff Jared received over 45,000 votes - 15 times the difference between them?

I encourage The Spokesman-Review to increase its coverage of our state’s newest major party. Ron Lahr Spokane

THE MEDIA

End the projections, predictions

There is a solution to the confusion caused by the networks making premature predictions of the election outcome. We need a law stating no predictions as to the outcome of the election can be made until the very last poll closes in the United States. And then they can only report the outcome of the votes and not project a winner until each and every vote is counted.

I’m sick of news being sent to us in the form of projections and editorials. They no longer report the news, they now create it. Am I the only one who feels this way? Ken A. Rogers Spokane

Media have gone too far

It is time to rein in the media. Tuesday night’s performance by all the major networks and cable media organizations on election coverage was remarkable, especially for the number of bad calls.

The news media are using polls to make news, which is not what polls should be used for - especially true when the information had not been analyzed. It seems the media are intent on being first, regardless of the validity of the information. The problem with making bad calls early in the evening is its effect on voters where the polls are not closed. What will those people think when the media say it’s all over and they haven’t voted yet? I suspect many will not vote.

In general, the media do a fair job. But in the last few months the use of daily tracking polls has gotten old and their accuracy appears to be a major problem. This one is going to bite the media pretty good and may cause Congress to take action to keep the media from calling elections until all polls are closed.

You only have yourselves to blame. Wayne Lythgoe Colbert

OTHER TOPICS

Support Scouts food drive

Last Saturday, I was feverishly and nervously working in my driveway on a project that was time sensitive and that many others depended on me for. I was freezing and wet, as the weather was extreme, with high winds and drenching rain. At times I had to break for few minutes, to go inside and warm my hands. At the same time, I was questioning my sanity.

Then I noticed a small boy walk by and place a plastic bag on my door. By the time I got to the door, the bag had blown down between the shrubs. I picked it up and read that it was for today’s Boy Scouts of America food drive, for the Spokane Food Bank.

I was touched by the fact that this little boy was braving such severe elements to do his duty to his community. I could go inside and warm up. He could not do that. I wondered how many of these bags had blown away in the high winds that day.

At a time when our community is dealing with the tragic deaths of innocent children and trying to heal, what better way can we demonstrate our appreciation and pride in them than to reward their valiant deeds under such severe conditions? The weather forecast for this Saturday is for worse conditions than last Saturday.

We can accomplish two charitable deeds in one small effort. We can provide food for the less fortunate through a long, cold winter and we can reward the noble effort of so many great children in our community. If your bag got blown away, use any kind of plastic bag. Place canned goods only in a bag and hang it on your door by 9 a.m.

Let’s not miss this great opportunity to prove to our youths that good deeds do not go unrecognized and without reward. Allan LeTourneau Spokane

We must get past divisiveness

Election times bring vicious attacks of human beings upon one another. Now we all need to join in healing the wounds and learning to work together in peace and harmony. But how shall this be done?

To achieve reconciliation with one another we must move past material sense to spiritual awareness, which is something beyond physical sight and sound. This involves being willing to change our present belief that what is right in front of us is the truth to an openness to look at people and life in general through different glasses. This involves being open to seeing harmony as the spiritual reality and discord as the material unreality.

As we begin a new way of looking at other people, seeking for the spiritual reality within, we shall make significant progress toward resolving some of the enormous problems that threaten human existence. Unless there is a definite change in our consciousness of life permanent change will continue to elude us. Tom Durst Spokane