Letters To The Editor
SPOKANE MATTERS
Criticisms of Powers groundless
Kathleen Nuffer’s Sept. 3 letter portraying John Powers’ party affiliation as contradictory doublespeak is rife with inaccuracies and misrepresentations. Let’s look at the facts.
Nuffer says Powers claims membership in both the Democratic Party and an independent party, which is wholly inaccurate. Powers is a moderate Democrat, which is evident in his collaboration-based campaign.
Nuffer implies that because Powers’ yard signs stand beside Republican candidates’ signs, he’s a typical pandering politician. The fact is, Powers’ appeal transcends party designation and many Republicans acknowledge he is the mayoral candidate best suited to deal with the broad range of issues confronting the city.
As for Powers’ claim that he is “the only independent candidate,” one need only review the candidate’s history to realize that his statement is accurate. Powers is an independent-thinking Democrat who is not limited to the position of marching in lockstep with or taking direction from any political party or group. Furthermore, his broad range of support bolsters Powers’ appeal across the political spectrum and from all parts of the community.
This appeal can be attributed to his call for dialogue, not derision. A dialogue that includes business and labor, North and South, downtown and the neighborhoods, and the city and county - not the narrow, one-sided views of well-financed, 11th-hour political operatives.
Powers is the only candidate who will provide an atmosphere conducive to moving Spokane forward. I will vote for Powers. Timm Ormsby Spokane
McCaslin approach enlightened
When Kate McCaslin first took office as county commissioner , I heard many negative comments. I’m happy she has done so well and proved the naysayers wrong.
Something most people don’t know is that when she took office, McCaslin took the time to visit every county department. Not for a quick walk-through but taking time to county employees, officers and directors, with genuine interest in what each department does.
I understand that doing this was unique among recent commissioners. I was impressed. There are many county departments, so it must have taken some commitment of time and scheduling to get to all of them.
McCaslin has done an outstanding job as commissioner, showing herself to be a responsible,dedicated leader. I hope she is re-elected. Evelyn R. Easley Spokane
HEALTH AND SAFETY
That’s some expert you’ve got there
We need to look at the “expert” to whom Don Caron refers in his Aug. 31 letter. Dr. William Hirzy is vice president of the National Treasury Employees Union, Local 280. This is a labor union responsible for representing employment issues - it is not a scientific organization and carries no scientific credibility. It has also never taken any official action regarding fluoride. Hirzy’s comments are his opinion, not that of any nationally recognized professional organization or research facility. His Senate “testimony” was also his opinion, not that of any agency or research facility.
The fluoride he refers to is a byproduct of the fertilizer industry, not a hazardous waste product. The actual levels of the contaminants Caron suggests is far less than one part per billion and requires special measuring devices to even establish that level. The EPA-accepted levels are 10 ppb. There is no FDA approval because fluoride is not a drug but a naturally occurring element.
The truth is after 50 years of research regarding every claim thrown in its path by the anti-fluoridation movement, the adjustment of the fluoride level in water is still the safest, most effective, least expensive means to provide access to preventive dental care. Randy Otterholt, D.D.S. Spokane
Don’t be herded into a decision
All who are going to vote yes for fluoridation this November should check out www.fluoridation.com/index.htm. I was once pro fluoride but mostly out of ignorance. I did what my family doctor and dentist told me to do - give my daughter fluoride supplements and gel to brush on her teeth.
Then I became curious due to the recent debate. There are hundreds of web sites out there but this one caught my eye and there are also pictures which are very disturbing.
Although what I have read mostly deals with water fluoridation, I have also quit giving my daughter the supplements. She has some darkening of her teeth and her dentist does not know why. Could it be fluorosis? I am not taking any chances.
It is time we start thinking for ourselves, do our own research and be more informed, instead of blindly following others. There is enough fluoride in food, juice and even toothpaste, why do we need it in our water, too? If I have made the wrong choice by stopping supplements, that’s something I will have to live with. But to do something that may be dangerous to her health just because someone tells me to would be much harder to live with. Karen D. Masiello Spokane
PEOPLE IN SOCIETY
Welfare is up to the individual
Re: “Welfare reformed - badly,” Sept. 4.
Welfare reform isn’t about what our government can do for us, it’s about what we can do for ourselves. As women, it is our responsibility to finish our education and job training before starting our families, thus ensuring future economic stability for our children and ourselves.
As potential wives and mothers we need to find men who will make excellent husbands and even better fathers for our future children. Children need and deserve both a mother and a father. We need to marry men who take pride in supporting their family, pleasure in nurturing and watching their children grow with love and happiness in a stable home life, and who obey the spirit as well as the letter of our laws.
The same may be said of women as wives and mothers.
No exemption is needed for college students receiving public assistance, regardless of grades. Working for what we have is part of becoming self-reliant and finding our place in the world. Our children will grow up understanding we each are responsible for our own happiness and well-being.
Like the commercial said: No one plans to fail; they failed to plan. Ellen G. Martin Liberty Lake
Welfare is what the passive rely on
I’m not trying to be insensitive to Quinn Learn’s situation (Letters, Sept. 4), but when I was applying for graduate school, my sons’ mother decided to not stay around, leaving me with a 2- and 4-year-old. Instead of withdrawing my application, I went ahead, working 20 hours a week, completing my studies with passing grades and was a good father.
I may have sacrificed slightly with my academics; instead of being a 4.0 student I was a 3.7 student. I did all this with no financial support from my ex-wife. The only thing I did sacrifice was some old baseball cards that I occasionally sold for the weekly groceries or gas money.
My sons seemed to survive. My oldest is a senior in high school making plans to attend the University of Washington next year and my youngest is playing football and basketball this year as a high school sophomore.
So, although it was very difficult for two or three years, it was well worth it.
Maybe Learn’s situation is different but it seems to me that if someone has a dream, they find a way and don’t make excuses or look for a helping hand. Finding a way against all odds, that is what the American dream is made of. Making excuses and looking for a handout, that is the welfare way. Steve C. Allen, M.S. Spokane
How about senior reality TV?
Since we have become a nation of voyeurism, perhaps CBS should plan their next program in the home of a senior citizen. Cameras could be focused on the senior receiving his or her $445 Social Security check and spending the next few days trying to figure out what bills to pay.
In this great economy the cost of living has risen dramatically in the past two years, mainly because of utilities and prescription drugs. The senior can be seen and heard going through the stressful ordeal of deciding whether to enjoy a nourishing meal, stay warm or extend their life another month through needed medication.
The senior who lives for two months without dying from hunger, cold or lack of medication will earn a million dollars. Then, they can have their photo featured in the “Got Milk?” ads. Roberta R. May Osburn, Idaho
`High standards’ are unjust meddling
Regarding the Sept. 1 commentary, “Shame on those who can’t tolerate Scouts’ high standards,” I have two questions: The author works for the Family Research Council. What does hostility toward homosexuals have to do with family? Also, what qualifies irrational hostility toward homosexuals as “high standards“?
The Boy Scouts decision to discriminate against homosexual leaders supports irrationality and is cruel. The author clearly believes men have no right to “have sex with other men.” I was under the impression that sex is an unregulated area where people have the right to make their own choices and, as long as they don’t hurt anybody, it’s nobody else’s business. As long as a person does his or her job it is perverse to dig into their sex life, no matter what that person is - Scout leader, president of the United States or congresswoman from Idaho. People obsessed with other people’s sex lives are the real perverts.
I am a little confused about vocabulary. If somebody said that the proliferation of firearms in the United States makes no sense and that the situation changed dramatically since the Second Amendment was written, so it’s outdated that all guns should be registered and their ownership strictly regulated, this person would be immediately labeled an enemy of freedom. If, on the other hand, people are classified based on their sexual orientation, it’s called “high standards” that clearly do not interfere with freedom. Or do they?. Peter C. Dolina Veradale
Booing of Scouts outrageous
How did sex get to be such a big part of politics that it’s OK for youths to be booed at a Democratic convention by adults who are supposed to be leaders and role models?
It is the Boy Scouts’ right as a private organization to exclude whoever they feel may not be appropriate for a children’s program. And the Supreme Court agreed with this right. If anything, it may have proved the Boy Scouts is a good judge of who is right for its program.
If donors like the United Way and state of Connecticut withdraw funding, they are responsible for any discrimination involved.
I am neither Democrat nor Republican. I am a conservative independent. I believe the Boy Scouts has a right to exclude whoever it feels is not appropriate. The homosexual population and its left-wing supporters has a right to voice objections to this in an adult manner. They have a right to start their own Boy Scouts organization - and I have a right to voice my objections to that.
I don’t believe in a bunch of immature adults heckling youths, probably proud young Democrats, who came to pay tribute to their country.
This party needs to get a handle on these members before they ruin the entire party. For shame! Louise C. Stamper Spokane
Pitts wrong about Christians
Leonard Pitts, Jr., ought to know about rights (“Half-baked be thy game, Bubba“). As an African-American, he knows all too well the struggle for freedom of expression. Ironically, he cannot fathom why Christians ought to care about publicly acknowledging God through prayer. If we recognize God on our currency, why are we afraid to do so at a football game or graduation ceremony?
Contrary to Pitts’ assessment that prayer should remain in the closet, it has always been both a public and a private act. In its most elementary form, public prayer is the recognition that we are a thankful people … a privileged nation. Indeed, Christian conservatives are acting on the belief that the Supreme Court decision to limit public prayer is wrong. It is wrong just as past legal decisions to limit the rights of African-Americans was wrong.
Pitts’ view of history is myopic. It is Christians who are largely responsible for instituting higher education and hospitals throughout this land. We started the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and hundreds of relief and care organizations like World Vision. Contrary to popular belief, liberals do not have a monopoly on caring for the less fortunate. Conservative, caring Christians have been there all along. Liberal Christian-bashers like Pitts need to remind themselves that the Mother Teresas of this world were not only Christians they practiced what Christ taught about prayer and compassion. Don S. Otis Sagle, Idaho
PRIGGEE
Priggee provokes the right people
I was delighted with Milt Priggee’s Aug. 31 anti-National Rifle Association cartoon. I’m even more thrilled to see all of these NRA members so worked up and developing ulcers over it. Specifically, I refer to Dan B. Acree’s comments (Letters, Sept. 7) stating that “the NRA stands for law and order.”
I hardly think so. It is the NRA that wants to legalize armor-piercing bullets, whose only function is to kill people wearing bullet-proof vests (i.e. police officers).
Also, the wording that offended these people so deeply is not even Priggee’s own. He got it from the film, “Planet of the Apes.” It figures that the narrow-minded gun lovers can’t even comprehend a well done spoof when they see it. Kurt V. Roylance Spokane
Diversity of views healthy - buck up
I am having a hard time understanding what all the commotion is about. Milt Priggee is an extremely talented political cartoonist. As such, it’s his job to illustrate events and views that may stir up controversy.
I am not saying I agree with Priggee’s views but some people do. Everyone has opinions and none are right or wrong. Opinions are based on a person’s perspective and differ from person to person.
I suggest these Priggee haters have a little more of an open mind and respect others’ views. If anything, maybe Priggee’s cartoons are used by The Spokesman-Review to balance its usual right-wing conservative nature. Tera Inman Spokane
CHURCH AND STATE
Treaty article for real
Revolutionary War hero Marquis De Lafayette said that “if the liberties of the American people are ever destroyed, they will fall by the hands of the clergy.” If that ever happens, the clergy will have received help from Wayne Lawson (Letters, Aug. 29).
Lawson has once again incorrectly denied the existence of Article 11 of the Treaty With Tripoli, which states, “The government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion.” It is true that Article 11 does not exist in the original Arabic version of the treaty. In its place, the Arabic version contains a crude letter from the Dey of Algiers to the Pasha of Tripoli. However, it was the Joel Barlow translation, not the Arabic version, which was unanimously ratified by the U.S. Senate, signed by President Adams in 1797 and then delivered to Tripoli.
In fact, the Barlow translation was read aloud to the U.S. Senate. And when President Adams signed it, he proclaimed: “Now be it known, that I John Adams, president of the United States of America, having seen and considered the said treaty do, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, accept, ratify, and confirm the same, and every clause and article thereof.”
James Madison asked, “Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity in exclusion of all other religions may establish, with the same ease, any particular sect of Christians in exclusion of all other sects?” Chris Farnam Spokane