Letters To The Editor

Thu., Nov. 16, 2000

Washington state

Plans for predators unsatisfactory

Re: Halfway houses for sexual predators.

The state Department of Social and Health Services came to Spokane in September, asked for comments and formed a criteria committee with representation from several areas of concern and community representatives from east and west. The state overwhelmed representation with staff to facilitate and lead the conversation.

The committee came up with less than had been offered in the first place.

Communities are at risk. Where are our constitutional rights? It seems the only rights considered are the offenders’.

Small police forces cannot accommodate the request for five-minute police response. They cannot leave areas of responsibility if committed already.

The quarter-mile buffer zone has been dropped to line of sight. This is poor; they can use anything as a barrier - trees, hills, dirt piles, covered windows, whatever. So, folks, look out next door. It’s called contractual housing.

Monitoring devices were promised - an alarm trip system if they should leave premises without permission. We need for them to have global tracking systems like those used on Alzheimer patients. Hang the cost.

Contact DSHS, legislators and the governor. Give them your opinion and what you think they should use for maintenance until release of a predator.

Go for one strike, you’re out for sex offenders. Keep our families safe.

These are the worst of offenders. If they escape they may not leave the area as regular prisoners do. After all, what are they in jail for? Think. Judy Abbott Medical Lake City Council member, Medical Lake

Government and politics

Alleged Bush win was a mirage

Vice President Al Gore should not concede the presidential election before the Florida recount is finished.

On election night, Gore was said to have won the electoral votes in Florida, then it was taken back and Gov. George Bush was said to have won Florida’s electoral votes. Gore was gracious enough to concede then, only to find out Bush was not the winner.

The announcement of Bush’s win of the presidency was premature, inaccurate and inappropriate. Gore realized the race was still on, the will of the people does matter and he had no reason to concede. He is ahead with the popular vote and the Electoral College.

If Bush wins the electoral vote, Gore will concede then, for he is a gracious man.

Bush has never been an absolute, clear winner. We were given false information and it created an illusion of victory.

Bush needs to remember that since Florida is governed by his brother, any rush to judgment or interference with the Florida recount is a conflict of interest, so he should not push this issue. He should be patient and wait for the Florida recount results. It is the will of the majority. Susan E. King Spokane

Hand count not all that’s unreliable

Wow! Is it too late to change my vote to George Bush? All that talk about being a “uniter,” “a candidate with integrity,” someone who would bring the country together, yada, yada, yada, was scaring me. But now, Bush puts America first by calling a hand count “unreliable” after having signed into Texas law a bill providing for a more reliable hand count in close elections.

Now, that’s the kind of doublespeak I’ve grown accustomed to hearing from Washington, D.C. Like I said, can I change my vote? Randy D. Thies Colbert

Total Florida recount sensible

I’m not an Al Gore supporter but I must admit his suggestion to hand count all Florida votes seems about the fairest, most precise method of counting ballots. While a Bush win would clearly be in the best interest of the country, it should not come as the result of an illegitimate count.

With an eye to preventing further problems with network projections, hanging chad, etc., I would suggest voters, especially West Coast voters, obtain absentee ballots and cast their votes a day or two before election day - while their votes still count. Voters are perfectly capable of checking and removing hanging chad. Absentee ballots should probably be sent to the voters with a spare ballot to allow for mistakes.

As for The Spokesman-Review editorial board’s recommendation requiring absentee ballots be mailed several days prior to election day, there are other things to be considered besides immediate results. Voting early decreases the likelihood of the process being poisoned by bogus, last-minute allegations a candidate can’t defend him or herself against.

Additionally, if any parties have not clearly stated their case by a week prior to election day, they are not very effective communicators. On the other hand, there should be no requirement that absentee voters cast their votes any earlier than walk-in voters just for the sake of fast returns. Jim Hundrup Spokane

Underinformed states of America

How did so many get so far knowing so little? I have watched coverage of the campaign, election and dispute with amazement. Everybody from the candidates to the news anchors and pundits has referred to this nation as a democracy, a pure democracy, a representative democracy and a constitutional democracy.

A democracy is a system that governs by majority rule.

It’s often referred to as a mobocracy that is tediously slow and inherently unfair because 51 percent of the people can take away the rights of the other 49 percent if they so vote.

To the best of my recollection, and unless a constitutional convention was called while I was on vacation, we live in a constitutional republic.

I am 47 years old and if I can remember my seventh-grade government classes, why can’t Vice President Al Gore, Gov. George Bush, Dan Rather, Wolfe Blitzer and all the rest of the so-called pundits? Furthermore, why are the citizens of our republic so shocked to learn of the Electoral College? Uninformed remarks made by the man on the street show us that, for most, they thought their votes directly counted toward the election. Not true! This observation is further reinforced by use of the term “electorial college.”

Isn’t it time we learned the basics of the system we live under? This lack of accuracy and misunderstanding could be more consequential than you think. You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone! John M. Duty Deer Park

`Counting’ means so much more

What’s wrong with hand-counting ballots in Florida? Why should anyone be concerned with a Democrat-controlled Florida county having its Democrat-hired supervisors instruct its Democrat-hired employees to review the ballots? Would anyone suspect the Democrats of being less than honest?

With a little more time (or perhaps they have been able to do it by now) the Democrat Party bosses in those Florida counties will be able to steal enough votes to put Al Gore in the White House. Ron Garrett Spokane

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.