Letters for Feb. 28, 2023

Spokane drivers

I’ve read a few letters regarding Spokane vs. foreign (California) drivers. However, as such a foreigner, I have a compliment and a pet peeve about Spokane drivers.

First, kudos for Spokanites’ winter driving skills.

My pet peeve however, is when Mr. Spokane driver either paces me or hovers in my blind spot. I’m going 35 mph up Appleway and the only car on the road. Mr. Spokane is coming up from behind only to slow to my speed and ride right next to me. It happens every day. Why?

You were going faster. Why not just pass? Are you lonesome and want company? Are you trying to symbolically prove you’re as good as the next by matching bumpers mile for mile?

It’s not safe – here’s why:

What if another driver enters our path? What if a child or an animal or a bicyclist rushes out? Where could we go to avoid a collision? Off the road? Into oncoming traffic? Into one another? It’s not OK. Stop it!

Or maybe you prefer to ride in my blind spot where I can’t see you at all? That’s even worse! Please pass me or stay behind! Try to get with it.

While we’re at it, why is the “zipper merge” such a mystery? Two lanes are merging into one. It’s not a left-wing conspiracy. Wait until the lane ends. One car from the left and then one from the right and so on. Wow! Look how nice the traffic flows!

Tom Topping

Millwood

Representation for my taxation

It turns out the skin on my backside is just fine since LGBT+ folks have been able to marry. Same with my learning to use a few preferred pronouns. I’m just fine when Black lives matter and refugees are allowed to contribute to my community. I’m alive today because of the Affordable Care Act and hope social security and Medicare survive for my near future.

The thing that chafes my backside is taxation without representation. I am currently suffering from taxation without representation because I am not a lobbyist or big donor to my congresswoman. I’m willing to hedge a bet that readers here are also underrepresented.

If I could eliminate the problem of money in politics, I might not feel like I’m living a hostile corporate takeover. If I could eliminate the problem of money in politics, I could at least think that I have more of an equal footing with the corporations and special interest industries that my congresswoman represents. I won’t be voting for Cathy McMorris Rodgers until I see an effort toward campaign finance reform and anti-lobbying plan.

I would also appreciate a say in the appropriation and how my taxes are used. I admit to being a bit of a conscientious objector with the way my congresswoman spends my tax dollars.

Janet Marugg

Clarkston

Liberty Lake Library

We’ve followed the ongoing discussions surrounding the role of the City Council and the board of trustees of the Liberty Lake Municipal Library. We have watched with increasing concern, the council move toward a breach of trust regarding its role and that of our libraries.

Government was built on separation of powers. We have structural barriers that prevent government from abusing its power. The City Council, in considering ordinance changes that would place it in a position to override library board decisions, places politics in front of the public interest. The council is necessarily, sensitive to political change. The library board must be removed from that. The board’s purpose is to establish policies that both support the library AND the community.

The growth and prosperity of the Liberty Lake Municipal Library is attributable to the diligence and stewardship of its board of trustees. The City Council already has appropriate power to shape the library by appointing and/or recalling the membership of the library board. Moving toward more direct policy oversight will place the library in the middle of ever shifting political winds that will diminish the relevance of the library’s board of trustees and compromise its ability to perform its mission.

Jefferson said, “An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.” Help preserve that dynamic system and allow our community’s libraries to operate without unnecessary interference.

Paul Schneider

President, Spokane County Human Rights Task Force

Spokane