Letters for June 25, 2023

Hypotension is real

This letter is addressed to all medical personnel who are interested in learning about a little known illness called hypotension. I have hypotension and wear a medical bracelet. It can be as serious as hypertension but is much less recognized.

According to the Mayo Clinic, where clinical trials are currently being conducted, it is widely misunderstood and underdiagnosed. Only 200,000 people in the US have been diagnosed with hypotension.

I am one of those people now. After five hypotensive crises, thanks to Sacred Heart Hospital and Dr. Leuders from Minnesota, I am well on my way toward recovery. Everyday, I learn how to manage and thrive through trial and error with help from the medical profession.

It makes me wonder how many others have to die, needlessly, due to underdiagnoses. I hope medical students take an interest in helping those with low blood pressure issues, by listening carefully and not dismissing patients as suffering from anxiety. Not everything is a mental illness. Many of us have physical symptoms, which are being ignored. It is time to bring back the dignity to patients that we deserve.

Erika Hizy

Spokane

Tax cheats benefited

The federal debt ceiling crisis was averted but tax cheats benefited.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contained $79 billion for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); $45 billion of it was to audit individuals or businesses making more than $400,000 annually, to catch those not paying their taxes. Funding cuts for many years rendered the IRS largely unable to audit the wealthy. Currently, the amount in taxes owed but not paid totals nearly $7 trillion over a decade; three-fifths is held by top 10% of taxpayers, more than one-quarter by top 1% (Brookings Tax Policy Center).

U.S. House Republicans’ Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 spelled out their initial demands for raising the federal debt ceiling. That act shows their hypocrisy: they claim to want to cut federal spending, but their act would have eliminated the $45 billion targeting tax cheats that would more than pay for itself. The final debt ceiling deal cut $21.4 billion from that $45 billion.

Did House Republicans, especially Cathy McMorris Rodgers, simply want to protect their huge donors, even if they’re tax cheats? She not only received more from Political Action Committees (PACs) than any of the other 800 or so House candidates in 2022, but her nearly $3 million from corporate PACs exceeded the runner-up by nearly 40% (Committee for Responsible Politics, www.opensecrets.org.)

McMorris Rodgers is reported to have called this proposed IRS auditing as harassment of taxpayers. Is she critically dependent on her excessive money advantage to win?

Norm Luther

Spokane

‘Stick with Trump’

“Stick with Trump.” This should be the 2024 campaign rallying slogan. It’s like former VP Mike Pence recently said, it is a sad day for America when a former President of the United States is held accountable for his actions. Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy are pushing for the defunding of the FBI and the Department of Justice because they are involved in a partisan witch hunt to discredit Donald Trump. The Socialist Communist Democrats will be pushing for free health care and free college education. How awful. Under Donald Trump, there will be more government control over a woman’s right to get an abortion. This should make the majority of the women in America happy. Kari Lake and Marjorie Taylor Greene are saying that Trump supporters should grab their AR-15s and go out and join a state-run well-regulated militia to show support for Donald Trump. The more AR-15s in public will make for a more peaceful society. Donald Trump praises North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un for being a forceful leader. He also praises Vladimir Putin for standing up to Ukraine’s attack on Russia. Remember that the best two indictments against Donald Trump are yet to come, the January 6 insurrection at our nation’s capital and the election interference in the state of Georgia. We need to know where Cathy McMorris Rogers stands when it comes to support for Donald Trump. Stick with Trump and watch the Republican Party turn into a pile of ashes.

Rick Johnson

Spokane

Remembering combat death of Monaghan

Overlooked on Memorial Day was the sacrifice in combat made by Navy Ensign John R. Monaghan. He was killed while helping defend the legitimate King of Samoa that rebels wanted to assassinate during the Second Samoan Civil War. Monaghan was from Spokane and embodied all the virtues expected of a Navy officer, and more.

In the 1890s, the Medal of Honor was not given to officers, only enlisted, so the Navy did the next best thing. Two Navy destroyers were commissioned in his name, both a testament to his courage. Two Marines and one sailor received the Medal of Honor for the same battle that cost Monaghan his life. The first USS Monaghan (AD-72), sponsored by his sister, was commissioned in 1911. It served honorably in WWI as a u-boat hunter.

The second USS Monaghan (DD-354), sponsored by his niece, was commissioned in 1935. It served honorably in WWII in the Pacific and was awarded 12 battle stars. In December 1945, the ship was caught with Admiral Halsey’s fleet in Typhoon Cobra. The USS Monaghan, USS Spence, and the USS Hull were sunk. Of 250 crew members on the Monaghan, only six survived.

The Monaghan statue must not be removed. It is a memorial not only to a true hero, but to those seamen who are forever entombed in the Pacific. We must not allow a completely false narrative provided by activists to condemn and diminish the legacy of a brave and honorable patriot.

Hazel Hoeft

Spokane