Letters for June 14, 2023

Thanks to Gritman Medical Center

I am a Navy veteran and am in the program that allows vets to go to a local provider, and I go to Gritman in Moscow, Idaho. The VAMC has done a great job in approving the orders for my care, and the staff are great at both places – Gritman and the Walla Walla VAMC.

Julian Matthews

Lapwai, Idaho

Pay our fair share in taxes

Jennifer Rubin makes some excellent points in addressing areas in which the media should more aggressively demand answers from Republican candidates for president (“Six tough topics media must address in 2024 coverage,” June 7). As an example she cites GOP demands to cut the IRS budget, noting that cutting IRS resources to go after “rich tax cheats” would widen the deficit.

Ms. Rubin is careful to note that by “rich” she means those making more than $400,000 a year. This is an orthodox position among Democratic candidates, who promise to protect all persons earning less than $400,000 a year from any tax increase.

The U.S. Census Bureau says the median household income in 2021 was about $75,000. The Economic Policy Institute tells us the average income of a person among the top 10% of earners in this country in 2020 was $173,000.

I am all for being “tough” on the GOP. But shouldn’t Ms. Rubin and her media colleagues also ask Democratic candidates why someone with more than a quarter million dollars in annual income is not “rich” and must be protected from contributing more in taxes to help address the many serious problems facing this country?

Steve Faust

Spokane

Hate speech doesn’t help nation heal

Fatima Mousa Mohammed spoke at her commencement speech for the City University of New York Law School. She proceeded to claim that the U.S. was a white supremacist country and that Israel and the Jews were indiscriminately attacking and killing Palestinians. Further, she advocated a U.S. revolution and that the government and the police in the U.S. should be totally defunded.

I find it absolutely sickening that she criticized the very country that gives her the right of free speech and thought. Certainly the countries of the Middle East would jail or execute her for the type of rhetoric she decided to spew publicly against their governments. People that insist on this kind of rhetoric are the very ones responsible for the incredible divisiveness now present in the U.S. What happened to calm and well-documented and thought out debate on issues without the need for a violent and radical end? If we are to heal as a nation, then we need to move away from hate speech and a conciliatory and accepting approach to each other.

Barry Bauchwitz

Spokane Valley

Watering requirements

The Spokane City Council just continues to amaze me. This time by placing water restrictions on keeping our much-loved lawns green. I live in an area of the city with pure sand. No dirt, just sand. Watering every other day at 90 degrees results in a brown lawn. no matter how much water is put on it on the days we can water. There are more brown lawns, and full of weeds, this year than I have ever seen in this town. I’m sure the City Council is thrilled!

If the council thinks we don’t have enough water to keep our lawns green, why not put a moratorium on new residential housing? That makes more sense than penalizing current residents for wanting to make our city as pretty as it use to be. When I see the city start following its own rules in public spaces (lawns at parks, libraries, sports centers, etc.) then I might take them more seriously.

Oh, and forget the $73 million new transit “substation” downtown, and start doing some serious street repair. I think it’s time to replace this current City Council and slap a cap on new residential development.

Mike Noble

Spokane

Means to stop rampant shoplifting

Most every night the news programs show yet another “smash and grab” robbery of the various retail chain stores. It has gotten so bad that a number of Walgreens, Walmart and other stores have ceased operation in the very high crime areas of San Francisco, Seattle, New York and other cities that have decided to abandon the rule of law, defund the police, implement a no-money bail for those that “might” be arrested. Local government help for these retailers is unlikely. Let me propose an option would help reduce theft greatly.

Do it like Costco (i.e. customer membership cards required for entry to the store).

That membership card contains a photo ID and the same data as a driver’s license. A card reader at the secure entry and exit is scanned and time stamped. This would help identify potential theft. You might or might not get an arrest and conviction, but you could deny the thief any future access to the store.

Very high-risk locations could (should) employ secure double door entryway remotely controlled access and metering of small groups entering and exiting the controlled entrance and exit.

Dave Barker

Spokane