Letters for Tuesday, June 21st

Republican’s illogical response to gun reform bill

According to Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, “The majority aims to make it harder for all law abiding citizens to protect themselves while failing to address the causes behind these mass shootings.” To date, there have been no examples of lives protected or saved by a citizen with an assault weapon. But, the major cause for high body counts at mass shootings is military style weapons like the AR-15 with large magazines that shoot lethal rounds with deadly results.

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, says, “more firearms in the hands of law abiding citizens make us all safer.” In Uvalde, a large number of armed officers with stood by outside the classroom for over an hour waiting for tactical gear before rushing the shooter, because he had an AR-15. It’s hard to expect that teachers armed with hand guns, dressed in everyday garb, would have the bravery or necessary training to quickly attempt what these officers didn’t.

And then there’s Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. “What this bill does is take away Second Amendment rights, God-given rights, protected by the Constitution.” What about protecting the right of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” stolen from the 21 victims, their families, and classmate survivors of the attack. And, God-given right! Unlikely. Even if it were, God would certainly change his mind after seeing 19 innocent children’s and two teacher’s souls entering heaven with bodies mutilated and decapitated by this weapon.

Sterling Leibenguth

Spokane

Personal responsibility

Our Founding Fathers chose for our new country to be self-governing. This laid a responsibility upon its future citizens not required of those governed by a single authority such as a king, emperor or dictator. When we choose to listen to only one voice, no matter how persuasive, or when we choose to forgo casting an informed vote, we reject that personal responsibility and provide support for those who seek to control us through our government.

Janet R. Norby

Spokane

Is democracy lost?

Many people fear our democracy could be lost. Is it lost already? One definition of democracy is “majority rule.” We haven’t had majority rule for a long, long time. Opposition to wars. Restricting voting rights. Health care for all. Maternity and family leave. National minimum wage. Gun legislation. Women’s reproductive rights. The list goes on and on.

One party professes to be the party for life. They have been against gun legislation, which could prevent thousands of deaths. They (including our own representative) did not even vote to support President Biden’s emergency powers under the Defense Production Act, to provide baby formula for families.

I think the other party believes that life begins at conception and ends at birth.

It is time our government starts listening to the majority of citizens. The “loud” minority should not be ruling our country.

Sue Luppert

Spokane

War of words

All the military veterans I have spoken to in our area are very upset about the idea of removing the monument to Ensign John Monaghan in downtown Spokane. So, it came as a surprise when several veterans told me they talked to the leadership of VFW Post 51 and were told the post was not going to get involved in the controversy. In fact, they learned the post is thinking about changing its name! If that’s true, I’d suggest they consider calling it the Benedict Arnold VFW Post, since they have carried the Ensign John Monaghan name with pride since it was formed in 1915.

What I can’t understand is why a group of veterans that have faced the enemy in shooting wars won’t stand up for a truly brave and honorable veteran that died in battle. This is just a war of words and they can’t find the courage to defend the truth? I am bitterly disappointed by this because I thought VFW 51 stood for something more than bingo and special suppers. I guess I was wrong.

Thank heaven there are other veteran organizations in our area that are willing to step up to the plate and tell the real story about Ensign Monaghan in Samoa. We can’t let falsehoods being spread by radical activists based in the Seattle area win the day.

Hazel Hoeft

Spokane

A broken society

In a letter to the editor, Larry Smith says “to try and take away our rights is even more evil than shooting down a bunch of children.” Smith adds that the AR-15 bullet is “only” 15 grains heavier than a .22. Mr. Smith, I would invite you to tell that to the parents of the children decapitated by gunfire in Texas. I invite you to inform the parents who had to give DNA to identify the babies they sent off in the morning ostensibly to learn but ultimately to die in a horrific hail of gunfire. His letter begs the question those parents likely already taught their now-dead babies: Just because you can do something, like owning an AR-15, does that mean you should do it?

A society that allows an untrained, unlicensed 18 year old child to buy two weapons designed only to destroy as quickly and efficiently as possible, is broken. I would say that the apologists for policies that allow this slaughters are “even more evil than shooting down a bunch of children,” but nothing is more evil than that. Nothing. Want proof? Ask the parents of the babies senselessly ripped apart by AR-15 fire in Uvalde. They’ll give you the only honest answer that matters.

Barbara Williamson

Spokane

Financial plight of newspapers

Yes, newspapers need financial help. Here is my idea. I support The Spokesman-Review as a digital customer, but I can’t buy a digital subscription to every worthy newspaper or magazine that throws up a pay wall whenever I want to read an article. I propose “Pay-to-Read.” This website would take deposits and deduct a small amount each time an article is read by a subscriber to the service. Newspapers allowing access would get the collected total each month, less a small fee. This is an opportunity for a digital entrepreneur to make money, promote responsible journalism, and help our struggling newspapers.

James VanderMeer

Spokane

Coeur d’Alene

So North Idaho is in the national news again, not for its beauty or the wide range of activities, but for a motley gang of gay-and-gun fixated, Trump worshipping “patriots” and their “pastor” backers.

Ted Wert

Sagle

A suggestion

As a naturalized U.S. citizen, I found it heartwarming to read the Spokesman article (“Newly minted citizens rejoice,” June 15) about foreigners being sworn in as new citizens during the naturalization ceremony at Avista Stadium.

Contrast their positive hopes and feelings for our country, including the anthem and flag, with the negative sentiments and actions of professional athletes like Colin Kaepernick, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, and Gabe Kapler, current San Francisco manager, who have profited immensely from living here all their lives.

Here’s a suggestion for these critical guys, (and like-minded teammates) go play sports abroad and tell us how that works out for you.

Joseph Harari

Spokane

Your stimulus checks came with a cost

What is the cause of inflation and who is to blame? Biden wishes to blame Putin. Certainly it is not hard to understand that a contraction in the supply of oil impacts the price of gas, but this is not technically inflation. Such supply and demand issues are constantly driving prices for millions of products, some up and some down. However, without an increase in the money supply, supply and demand for all products balance and overall prices are stable.

Milton Friedman famously said it best, “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, in the sense that it is and can be produced only by a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output.” This increase in the money supply is precisely what has happened with excess government stimulus, massive spending, and an endless appetite for even more spending with the Green New Deal and Build Back Better Plan, all purchased with new money supplied out of thin air compliments of the Federal Reserve (quantitative easing).

The issue is obviously very complex, and I believe the spenders in Washington like it that way so as to bamboozle the American people, spend whatever they like, and blame Putin. However; there is no doubt, government spending and borrowed money is to blame for our current inflation. Inflation is the government’s tax on you. They spend what they like and you pay for it at the pump and the grocery store rather than on Form 1040.

David Barnes

Spokane Valley

Jan. 6 hearing

How, perhaps the question is why, was one the most historic events in modern history, the Jan. 6 Congressional Hearings, not covered on the front page of this newspaper on June 10?

Mary Fagan

Spokane

Really?

Our nation came within a hair of loosing our republic and the best you can do is page 9 (“Jan. 6 hearings open with focus on Trump’s role in Capitol riot,” Jan. 10). Really?

We aren’t out of the woods yet. We have a whole group of folks that it is still OK to hang our vice president, that overturning an election is OK as long at it their election choice, that taking away election access for people of color, the elderly, the disabled is just fine, that the president who almost was successful in his coup attempt is being considered as the Republican candidate in 2024.

At what point is this important enough to actually call out Fox News and Newsmax for not even making an attempt at coverage of these hearing. May I remind you that Benghazi hearings went on was reported on for weeks when there really wasn’t any there there.

Have you no shame?

Allison Sharp

Spokane