Letters for June 20, 2023

Ten Commandments have much to teach in schools

In a Texas school district, a group proposed that the Creation narrative of the Bible be taught in schools. They also want to allow Christian prayer and the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms.

As a United Methodist clergy, I speak positively to all three.

First, I would encourage the story in Chapter 2 of Genesis and creation stories from all Indigenous tribes to be taught. I would not support only teaching the Hebrew story.

Second, the Supreme Court settled the issue of prayer long ago. It is legal in schools. What is not legal is for the administration of the schools or the state to write a prayer (as the New York Board of Regents did, which resulted in the decision by the Supreme Court) and demand that all students pray it!

Third, the Ten Commandments and the 600 laws following in the Scriptures, offer huge learning possibilities about this Hebrew nomadic group.

Students would learn that the Hebrews accepted that there were other gods!

Unless their teachers were forbidden to tell them, they would learn what the word “adultery” means in the commandment. This would introduce sexual education into the classroom. They would learn that the commandments were tribal and were influenced by values in other tribes.

They would learn about the situational ethics around many of the commandments such as “Honor thy father and mother.” They would learn much, that is of course, if they were not just posted for political purposes, but also taught historically.

Robert Crosby

Spokane

Most serious part of the Trump indictment

This letter is responding to the June 14 frontpage article on former President Trump’s indictment (“Trump pleads not guilty to 37 felony counts in federal case”). The article ignored the most important issue in the indictment: the protection of the nation’s most highly classified military and atomic secrets. Instead, the article focused on the obstruction of justice.

My having had security clearances for the Department of Energy, I know that some of those documents should have been stored in a safe in a 24-hour guarded building. Even some documents should have only been available for viewing with a guard in the room. None of the classified documents should have been shown to anybody that did not have an FBI-investigated and -approved security clearance. This is the reason why the indictment is issued under the Espionage Act of 1917. People have gone to prison for the reckless handling and security of classified documents.

There is no acceptable excuse for this type of behavior, because it could cause the unnecessary loss of United States citizens’ lives. According to the indictment, Donald Trump willfully showed highly classified military secret documents to people who could have been hidden foreign agents. This is not that much different than when Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg gave nuclear secrets to Russia, and they were executed.

George Clark

Spokane

Spokane Humane Society has forgotten its mission

The administration and board of directors of the Spokane Humane Society has allocated $200,000 in initial funding (as per the published building permit) to turn the Red Barn dog training facility into plush administrative offices.

As of today, there is no training facility replacement other than utilizing outdoor space regardless of weather. I keep thinking about how that $200,000 could go toward repairing the deteriorating and hazardous dog kennels. Or how they could finally hire a dog trainer or behaviorist to help the dogs become more desirable, adoptable pets, because dogs are staying way too long at this facility. Or how they could hire more staff to ensure that the dogs are exercised and socialized daily.

The executives have perfectly functional quarters. The dogs do not. And now there is no place to train or socialize them either. How does an administration that prioritizes their own comfort over direct support to the animals serve its stated mission of “to enrich the lives of companion animals through support, education, advocacy, and love.”

Sharon Simmons

Spokane

The buck stops with Trump, not Biden

I can hardly believe The Spokesman-Review printed an op-ed suggesting Biden should pardon Trump (“Biden should pardon Trump to heal U.S.”). The authors of this piece use all of Fox News’ obfuscation techniques to hide the fact Trump is responsible for his own predicament.

The op-ed asks the question “What about Hillary or Hunter?” I would ask them, how many congressional hearings were held concerning Hillary and how come there was no evidence of wrong doing found?

Thiessen and Pletka write that Trump’s indictment put our nation in uncharted territory. No, Trump put our nation in uncharted territory, not only with his alleged violation of the Espionage Act, but also by fomenting a coup against the United States government (indictments likely to come). Trump’s continued claims that the election was stolen from him have been completely debunked by every state in the union.

These indictments are not selective prosecution, as stated in the op-ed, they are the actions by the Justice Department doing their jobs and ensuring that no one is above the law. If the Justice Department were not to prosecute violations such as those that Trump is accused of, that would embolden further disrespect of the law and undermine the belief that this country was founded on the rule of law. If this unsettles the right wing, they should take a class in high school civics.

David Randall

Spokane