Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

OK, Spokane, you’ll get yours

I am really disappointed that Mayor John Talbott lost his bid for strong mayor. I guess I just don’t understand much. I have always believed Talbott and Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers stood for open government and tried to put an end to the behind-closed-doors kind of government Spokane is so well-known for.

I have always believed Talbott was in our corner, helping protect the little guy. In the process, a lot of infighting ensued on the council because there are still those who believe we should have a nice council where everyone agrees with everyone else and the public hasn’t a clue what’s going on or where their money is being spent. Is it worth it? I don’t think so.

Watch for yourselves. You will see that again we will not know what is going on. Our taxes will go up and certain people and organizations will benefit from all this. It won’t be the public. It almost seems that if anything is to be progressive and good in this city, it has to cost an inordinate amount of money, and some special group will benefit on the side.

Talbott, I appreciate you and your hard work on my behalf. I appreciate Council Members Rodgers, Steve Eugster and Steve Corker for not continuing the status quo. I guess Spokane will get what it deserves. Mike Etten Spokane

Enjoy great play at NC

For all those who enjoy good theater at a great price, I urge you to attend “Dead End.” Tom Armitage and the cast and crew at North Central High School have produced an outstanding rendition of this complicated and intricate play. The students have spent countless hours in set design, practice and production. They are to be applauded for their great work.

This play, pitting rich against poor in Depression-era New York City, still speaks to us today. The play has three more shows, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door or business office at North Central. Spend a wonderful night at the theater and see some of the positive aspects of youth involvement. Louise Chadez Spokane

IN THE PAPER

Prompt amends commendable

You are to be commended on your rapid response and efforts to apologize to Father Robert Spitzer. I am sure that your newspaper in no way was responsible for your former employee who was so negligent in her poor and inappropriate choice of a bunk headline. One would certainly hope that she was not promoting her agenda at your expense.

Thank you for taking the time to visit the book signing as well as the appreciation dinner for the priests. John Sicilia Spokane

Spitzer remains true to beliefs

Father Robert Spitzer, by his gracious forgiveness of The Spokesman-Review for the egregious headline in the Nov. 8 edition, is demonstrating a strong principle of his life.

Community members I have spoken with are puzzled and saddened that this terrible use of the word “Nazi” could have stayed in print before publication.

Spitzer demonstrated his total commitment to human rights and to the respect of all religions, including Judaism, when the Anne Frank Exhibit was housed at Schoenberg Center at Gonzaga with many public events being held at Gonzaga.

The Spokesman-Review took quick action by publicly apologizing and taking direct action. But I think it is going to take some time for those of us who are literally sickened by this headline to heed Spitzer’s words. Sheri Barnard Spokane

Make full disclosure the rule

The Spokesman-Review is to be congratulated for the excellent manner in which your editor handled the accidental and mean-spirited “Nazi priest” headline (“Headline prompts apology to GU’s Father Spitzer,” Nov. 9).

This incident revives the question of whether the media, or anyone for that matter, can be objective. As Cardinal Gibbons wrote eight decades ago, for a human to know something is to form judgments about it. Imagine, as an extreme example, a reporter trying to write an objective feature story on suicide, the Holocaust or the resurrection of Christ. Impossible!

Rather than continuing the charade of objectivity, perhaps we should move toward full disclosure by newspaper owners, editors and reporters of their world view and even specific issues in which they advocate a position.

While such frankness with your readers might double the length of the masthead, it could increase their trust in your paper because they could easily answer the question, “Just where is he coming from?” as they read a story. In fact, such disclosure might be crucial if your industry is to withstand the competition of the Internet as a source of news. Marshall Fritz Fresno, Calif.

We appreciate people’s concern

We at The Kaufer Co. thank the scores of concerned people of Spokane and the surrounding area who called our store throughout the day on Nov. 8. We appreciate your concern over The Spokesman-Review headline in regard to Father Robert Spitzer’s appearance for a book signing at our bookstore that evening.

We thank Father Spitzer for being so gracious, forgiving and understanding. His attitude is truly an example for all. We also thank Chris Peck, editor of The Spokesman-Review, for being present the entire evening at Kaufer’s to answer any questions and ease concerns.

Philip Kaufer opened the first Kaufer’s store in Tacoma in 1904 and we have been in Spokane for well over 50 years. In the beginning, it was a much-needed source of Catholic books and supplies. Today, The Kaufer Co. operates in several cities, yet maintains its family roots with a fourth generation of owners and managers. We have expanded to meet the needs of individuals and institutions of many Christian denominations, and we are very proud to have a solid relationship with the Jewish community in Spokane, whom we also thank for their understanding and graciousness. Catherine Paul and Ed Sinclair The Kaufer Co., Spokane

`Retraction not good enough’

Your Nov. 9 retraction article is not good enough! I cannot believe you did this. Father Robert Spitzer is a driving force here in Seattle and at Gonzaga University for living an ethical life. Your paper better have a full investigation of how this slipped by editors, copy checkers and the final review, as well as on whose computer the copy was written. With all the problems that the Spokane and North Idaho area has had with neo-Nazi’s I would think you would be more careful to not damage your area with serious mistakes. Daniel P. Hogan III Seattle

Unfortunate gaffe mishandled

Spokesman-Review management seems to have overreacted to intern copy editor Robin Moody’s sophomoric indiscretion in writing a bogus headline in the Nov. 8 paper. Firing intern Moody for this idle excess appears vindictive and self-serving of the paper.

Unhappily, The Spokesman-Review resorted to typical knee-jerk, top-down corporate management style in trying to remedy the problem with firing Moody. When The Spokesman-Review accepts young interns fresh from “think outside the box” “question authority” campuses, does the staff also accept the fact that the very term “intern” infers a supervisory and mentoring program to help young professionals grow?

I suggest that The Spokesman-Review reinstate Moody with full pay and implement the following organizational mentoring on her behalf: 1, Reprimand her in keeping with the seriousness of the mistake.; 2, Assign her to be mentored by iconoclast-in-residence D.F. Oliveria; and 3, Give her a chance to prove that she has the right stuff to be a journalist. Can The Spokesman-Review give Moody the same grace of forgiveness that Father Robert Spitzer gave her? If not, the paper’s corporate managers should give her a copy of Leviticus 16:6-10 from the Bible in her severance package so she will know that indeed she has served the organization well by being a scapegoat. Merle R. Craner Cheney

Paper wrong before, during, after

A huge blunder was indeed made by the copy editor. Robin Moody should have never dummied such a headline, let alone carelessly used words like “Nazi.”

However, the news story indicated that Moody was an intern, which means Spokesman-Review editors should have monitored her progress and coached her. If they had, the error might never have appeared in the paper.

To editor Chris Peck, I say nice mentoring. Sure the error was serious, but it got past your so-called seasoned editors, who you said should have caught it. But they didn’t, so they, too, should be held accountable. Instead, you pin the whole thing on a novice, making her the epicenter of something that will “reverberate throughout the world of journalism.” As if you or anyone else at The Spokesman-Review has never bunked. Speaking of errors, have you been watching election coverage, Peck? And what’s an intern doing writing headlines, anyway? Mark A. DeSorbo technical journalist, Nashua, N.H.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

U.S. victim of the bad and stupid

What a fitting conclusion to this truly pathetic Clinton-Gore administration. Their contempt for the institutions that have made this the greatest country in the history of the world is a national disgrace.

Now, with the encouragement of those who support their loathsome behavior, the contempt has spread like a cancer to our election process, which now resembles that of a Third World country. This most recent humiliation has created two new categories of “victims”: the dumb, and proud of it, and those just too stupid to vote.

For eight years these professional, lifelong nonproducers have lived like royalty at taxpayer expense. As an American (overtaxed) taxpayer I would be happy to contribute to their continued public housing expense at a federal penitentiary.

Let the fumigation begin! Dick Powell Hayden Lake

Gore making election `a mockery’

I am thoroughly disgusted with the way Vice President Al Gore is making a mockery of our elections. The votes were counted in accordance with Florida state laws - twice! And now they want to resort to an antiquated and subjective mystic guru method?

The Gore camp has deluged the gullible press with misleading information and fuzzy interpretations of the law in an effort to confuse equally gullible people.

If the people of Florida had a problem with the balloting, the questions should have been raised before the election. They should have educated themselves about the process. Voting is a personal responsibility.

We should not keep counting until Gore likes the results. Especially not selectively in only Democratic counties. All of this is destroying the Clinton-Gore legacy of a booming stock market and a sound economy. A select few people in Florida are being used as pawns in a game that holds the whole country hostage. All this because Gore is terrified that he won’t have a job next year? Are you proud of this person?

The results are obvious. Florida should certify the election, declare the winner and stop tearing this country apart. Carol V. Paul Edwall, Wash.

Stubbornness par for the course

No one should be surprised by Vice President Al Gore’s efforts to keep counting in Florida. Gore has been described by an aide as someone who always thinks he is the smartest person in the room. If you are Gore and you are always right, then it’s unthinkable to admit defeat even after two counts have verified the election?

This is the legacy of the Clinton-Gore administration - the belief they are above the law, smarter than the people, better than the process.

We didn’t hear a peep about voter fraud or poor ballot design when the voters’ choice was Clinton and Gore. Apparently, Gore didn’t care about the voters’ civil rights when thousands of ballots were thrown out in previous elections. Every election has flaws. The process is the best on Earth. Nonetheless, despite a thorough recount, Gore is unwilling to accept the people’s voice. His tactics denigrate the national election process.

Take all of the corruption - from the Gore fund-raising practices to Clinton’s red-faced, finger-wagging, into-the-camera lie to the American people, add in last week’s litigation and posturing - and we glimpse the kind of power Gore seeks. It is a close-your-eyes-and-let-me-be-in-charge power that talks down to Americans, denies facts, disputes voter counts and supersedes the constitutional voting process of the greatest nation on Earth. Truly, Gore is sprinting toward a ruinous path for America.

Is it possible that Gore doesn’t have enough character to concede, just as Clinton didn’t have enough character to resign? A.L. Johnson Deer Park

Don’t settle for thrown-together job

After thousands of Floridians were effectively deprived of their constitutional right to vote, both presidential candidates should stand up for every citizen’s right to have her or his vote count. Let’s urge Vice President Gore to remain steadfast in his quest for a fair election. Let’s challenge Gov. George W. Bush to join the call for a just resolution.

A president-elect must truly reflect the will of the voters. No president should take office as a result of a process corrupted by incompetence.

Let’s stand with the people of Florida and the entire country to demand that Florida officials uphold the integrity of the electoral process in that state. Sherry F. Frenger Spokane

IDAHO VIEWPOINT

Speak up about Hayden project

On Nov. 21, at 4 p.m. at City Hall, 8930 Government Way in Hayden, there will be a hearing before the City Council regarding a special use permit and variance requested by Hayden Country Ridge, L.P. & Whitewater Creek Inc. They have requested this to build a 45-unit apartment complex.

The site is located on the three acres behind the Cotton Club to the east just north of City Hall and City Park. Surrounding this entire property is residential properties to the north, east and south on Orchard, Cuff and Government Way, respectively.

Putting an apartment complex there would create major traffic problems. Government Way would have to be used for access. This access would go south of the Cotton Club and north of City Hall and City Park. Figuring at least one vehicle per unit and visitors, this would create a major safety problem for park and City Hall visitors.

Add in drug and drinking problems that have plagued this area and you have a recipe for disaster. Property values will plummet.

A better use would be some single-family residences of the same lot sizes as the surrounding residential area. These developers do not care about our neighborhoods or our children’s safety, only about profit.

Being a Los Angeles transplant I can tell you the only thing the community will gain from this complex is increased crime, deflated property values and property owners who will move, leaving Hayden with a slum. I urge all to attend this hearing. Chris Walthour Hayden

ADOPTION

Birth mothers need full details

It was painful to read the Nov. 9 letters. This isn’t the first time I’ve been criticized for speaking up about the reality of my adoption experience. I’ll continue to speak up and take the heat until it’s safe for all mothers who’ve lost children to adoption to tell their stories.

What better time than Adoption Awareness Month to present the side of adoption that people are least aware of? We all know how happy people are to gain our children; it’s adoption loss stories that never get heard - not just my story. There were seven mothers like myself and three adoptees participating in that art show. When our adoption stories are finally printed, in a less-than-sympathetic news article, and a week later met by a barrage of protest that we dare speak our truth, is it any wonder so many remain silent? I was capable of caring for my daughter in the supportive, loving, extended family where I raised my sons. I needed more information than: “adoption is wonderful.” When I try to supply young mothers with the information that would have saved me from a lifetime of emotional pain and psychological damage, it’s clear that society would still have them limited to the same misinformation I had to use when making my tragic decision.

My life wasn’t a mess before adoption but that’s the only conclusion people will jump to as long as stories of adoption pain and loss are silenced by the attitudes expressed on Nov. 9. Kay Russell Spokane