Letters To The Editor

WASHINGTON STATE

Peck understands service, people

I was thrilled to see The Spokesman Reviews’ opposition to Initiative745 and its support of public transportation. As a local bus driver, I know the importance of buses to our citizens. Every day I see people with a wide range of reasons why they cannot or choose not to use a personal automobile - visual problems, recent strokes, heart attacks or developmental disabilities. Some like diabetics or epileptics have restricted licenses, sometimes only temporarily, but these conditions could affect us all at some time in our lives. Others simply choose to take a bus to work and use their automobiles for errands, recreation, volunteer activities and so forth, thus helping lower pollution and congestion.

One candidate running for office this year is a strong supporter of public transit, Jim Peck. He has attended rallies, gone door-to-door with “No on I-745” pamphlets, spoken at many gatherings and helped with phone calling on this issue. I know him to be a person of high integrity and honor - traits he also showed in his 22 years of active duty military service. I know him to be a person who studies the issues and has exceptional energy, and also dedication to a life of service to his country, community and to others in need.

Please vote for Peck so the Valley can have a vigorous, strong voice for the next four years. Mary Beth Olson Liberty Lake

We need progress, not `Bottleneck Bob’

If you’re tired of a senator who works hard at not working, one who opens an office only once every four years at campaign time, and one who has never held a town hall meeting to listen to the concerns of his constituents, then join me in supporting Jim Peck for the 4th District Senate seat.

Let’s start the new millennium with a man who will get things done for this side of Washington. Peck is committed to maintaining a home district office open Monday through Friday in the Valley, and holding a minimum of four town hall events each year. He is not beholden to special interests or lobbyists and cares about our long-term quality of life.

Our current senator, Bottleneck Bob, says he “throws himself in front of trains” to stop change. What he is really doing is keeping the prosperity enjoyed by most of the country from reaching us here. We don’t need “protection” from prosperity, we need a senator who will do all in his power to increase our opportunities. We need a strong voice for the Valley, now more than ever. Richard Reed Spokane

Trapping initiative invites trouble

Initiative 713, which attempts to abolish commercial trapping, poses a serious health threat to humans as well as domestic and wild animals. Several years ago in the Northeast, public health officials began observing an increasing incidence of rabies exposures attributable largely to raccoons and, to a lesser extent, foxes and skunks. This epidemic, which has exposed both humans and domestic animals to rabies, has now moved westward as far as Michigan.

Animal rightists who interfered with the efforts of animal control officers to trap raccoons and who mounted a successful campaign to destroy the raccoon fur market caused the problems in the Northeast. Now, these out-of-state animal rightists are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to impose I-713 on the citizens of Washington state!

The cost: Children not allowed to go outside in areas where rabid raccoons have been seen, pets attacked by rabid raccoons, a school invaded by a rabid raccoon, raccoons that mutilate themselves while dying of rabies, and most notably, the need to spend $1.6 million inoculating children in New Hampshire who were exposed to kittens that were exposed to the rabies virus. Even without such an extreme exposure, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that it cost New Jersey counties an additional $1.2 million for rabies control in the raccoon rabies epizootic of 1990.

Vote no on I-713. Robert C. Speth, Ph.D. College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman

LAW AND JUSTICE

Punishment doesn’t fit the crime

I’ve learned this from the Yates trial: In Spokane County you can murder at least 13 people and only receive a life sentence if caught. Could Spokane County make some arrangement with the state of Texas to have our future murder trials held there? They have a better grasp of what punishment to apply to a convicted murderer in Texas. I don’t like my tax dollars being spent on supporting convicted murderers for the rest of their lives. Robert D. Cooper Spokane

Guilt admission saves killer’s life?

I was floored by the irony of the Oct. 20 headline, “To save his life, killer admits to 13 murders.”

Hello! Anybody home? I think that whoever is making up our laws and enforcing them should give us our money back. Doug F. Naugler Spokane

Life sentence serves the purpose

I pray every day that with the arrest and sentencing of Spokane’s serial killer, Robert Yates, Jr., his victims may finally rest in peace.

Yates will die in prison. The sentence imposed for his heinous crimes will leave him many years to live with the agony and heartache he has caused his victim’s families, not to mention his own family. Is this not a punishment worse than death?

A death sentence for Yates would only promise years of appeals that would rub salt in the wounds of the families that have suffered enough. A life sentence will have Yates wishing he were dead. Do we want to do him any favors? Kelly J. Michels Spokane

LAW ENFORCEMENT

As we said, mostly cops on paper

Judging from the reaction from the Spokane Police Department, staff writer Mike Roarke’s story on the federal Community Oriented Policing Services program has ruffled feathers downtown. Ironically, the department’s response reinforces the central finding of our report: The Clinton administration’s claim that COPS has put 100,000 new police officers on the street is false.

SPD’s “rebuttal” notes that they received $4.2 million in COPS grants, which were intended to fund 56 new officers to patrol the streets. The SPD says it has used some of these funds to add 25 officers, with the remainder “on reserve” until it can come up with matching funds.

According to data in our report - data supplied by the SPD to the FBI - the ranks increased by only six officers from 1994 through 1998. Regardless of which number you use, the actual number of officers added is far fewer than the 56 “funded” by COPS.

That jibes perfectly with our findings. The COPS office bases its boast of adding “100,000 new cops” on the assumption that every position it funds is filled. As soon as it cut the checks to Spokane, Washington, D.C., bureaucrats tacked another 56 to its tally of new cops on the street.

Based on the SPD’s own reports, at least 31 - and as many as 50 - of those 56 new cops exist only on paper. Those numbers simply reinforce our report’s conclusion that the multibillion-dollar COPS initiative is largely a paper tiger. William Beach The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.

Aryans parade

Editor’s note: Interactive Editor Ken Sands asked Idaho readers how the community should respond if at all to Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler leading another march through downtown Coeur d’Alene, scheduled for Saturday. Here are a few of the responses.

Silent curbside protest best

When people turned a blind eye to Hitler in the 1930s they were following the “ignore them and they will go away” school of thought. That led to the deaths of millions and World War II. If we were to line the streets and silently turn our backs on them, that would be the most effective response. Gil Beyer Sandpoint

Deny Aryans reaction they desire

As a young police officer I learned that when a woman gets an anonymous obscene phone call, the solution is to gently set the phone down, go about your business for about 15 minutes and then hang up the phone. The individual calling finally will realize there is no one on the line and will not call back, as their reason for calling is to get a reaction, even if it’s outrage.

Richard Butler is our area’s obscene phone caller. The best way to deal with him is to not give him the reaction he craves, by letting him march alone. Tad Leach Coeur d’Alene

A hiss before dying

With the loss of the Aryan Nations compound, I suspect this march is the group’s death rattle. Hopefully, they will disperse like chaff in the wind. Bob Hoffmann Moscow

Butler was railroaded

I plan on marching with him. Why? Because it’s not about white supremacy, it’s about freedom of speech! If you followed his trial closely, I’m sure that the facts came out that he had nothing to do with the Keenans. But because he exercised his right to speak his mind, he lost everything. We no longer live in a free country. David Stelly Careywood

`Ignorant buffoons’ don’t attract me

I plan to pointedly ignore these ignorant buffoons. I also intend to keep pointing out that they are ignorant buffoons. James A. Foster Moscow

Quieter, private response is better

I really don’t like this man and what he and his people stand for. However, experience has shown me, that adverse or hostile attention shouted at anything, be it good or evil, only succeeds in drawing more people to investigate for themselves. My question might be: Do we truly want to draw more attention to white supremacists and provide all this free publicity to further their cause?

Do we ignore them? Of course not. But, neither should we give them so much publicity and attention.

Perhaps the right response is no response. At least no vocal and publicized response. Maybe those people who receive all this objectionable mail ought to get together and have a quiet and spiritual book burning, to send all of that expensive mail up in smoke with a prayer and let the spirits who really are in charge deal with them. Bonnie Spalding Sandpoint

Aryans have a right to march

Like it or not, these people are American citizens and, when properly licensed to do so, have a right to parade. Your newspaper is continually shoving “diversity” at its readers. As far as I’m concerned, this is nothing but liberal smoke. Many of us have moved away from the socalled diversified cities to get a renewed breath of fresh air, away from the “diverse” world! Thank you for alerting me to this little parade. Perhaps I will attend my first Aryan demonstration. Probably not, though. R.D. McCormick Post Falls

We will be there to sing, pray

I’m involved with a group of people who plan to nonviolently protest the Aryans this weekend. It doesn’t sense to me to ignore the Aryan evil when it is paraded on the streets of Coeur d’Alene. Obviously, not everyone agrees and I respect those involved in the struggle for human rights who have a different opinion.

The Aryans clearly see silence as acceptance and have for 20 years in this community. Some courageous voices have spoken out against the Aryans over the years but much of the community has said or done little in public opposition to the cancer of racism in this community.

Martin Luther King complained about the “appalling silence” of the good, churchgoing people in the South during the civil rights struggle. For me, the appropriate response to the Aryan display of hate is to show up for the parade, sing or pray in the Aryans’ presence and counter, as much as possible, their hatred. Also, we need to counter the anger of any demonstrators who may want to fight the Aryans with their own message of hate.

History has shown, as with the actions of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, that the only truly effective way to deal with hatred and racism is to nonviolently stand up to it. People are welcome to join us in our protest as long as they have a commitment to nonviolence. Tom Hearn Coeur d’ Alene

Don’t give them publicity they crave

I would like to see a total media blackout. They feed on the negative publicity because it appeals to the type of person they like to attract. I think it is a total lack of responsibility by the media to give them any coverage at all. If they do not get any attention their purpose is defeated. I hope no one shows up and there is no coverage. Wouldn’t that shock them! Dale Snipes Sandpoint

Small, displeased crowd best

It would be best if we could ignore them. But that will not happen in downtown Coeur d’Alene. With that in mind, there should be people in attendance who will show a negative reaction. Not to the point physical confrontation (that’s what they want). Just to let them know that they are a small minority and we will not tolerate their actions or beliefs. Larry Betts Troy

Ostrich approach no good

I don’t feel that ignoring the parade is a good choice. The community should see what this group stands for and who marches representing them. They also should see the reactions of their fellow citizens and those coming from out of town. Ignorance is never knowledge, is it? Jesse Lassandro Coeur d’Alene

Ignore their parade, not their mischief

There is a time to ignore the Aryans and a time to stand up and them know that wrong is, thankfully, still wrong. Ignore them in their parade. They want the attention. Don’t give it to them. But when a crime is committed, give them the attention through the courts. Linda C. McCaslin Rathdrum

I will stay away, as should media

OK, the Aryans are going to march again. So what? The only reason to march is to be seen. What if everyone stays away? Can you imagine Richard Butler and his minions marching along an empty street? No spectators, no media, just a few bozos supporting Hitler’s ideas and finding no one wants to watch. That would send a much bigger message to these people than shouting or displaying placards. In fact, I believe they like to have opposition during their marches - it probably makes them feel like martyrs. Having a rally somewhere else also plays into their hands because it shows they are driving the event. I won’t be there. Can we say the same for The Spokesman-Review or any other news organization? Gary Cummings Moscow