Letters for Sept. 1, 2023

Trump does not care about you

For those of you who believe Donald Trump is the Messiah, look at the booking picture from Georgia.

This is a man who does not care about you. A man who would not be a president who was or is “of the people, by the people, for the people.” He cares only for himself. If you are an American who does not agree with him, he will not represent you. He will hate you. If you are not attractive, he will not let you into his circle. It is a picture of someone who is deranged. Kind of reminds me of a German chancellor in the 1930s.

Jim Bickel

Spokane

How to solve border crisis

The border crisis is completely stupid because we have the ability to solve two problems at once. These migrants, immigrants and refugees are asylum seekers looking for sanctuary to escape the violence from roaming gangs in their own country. All they need is a job. By opening the border, the computer chip manufacturers in California can set up shop in these countries to compete with Taiwan.

Max Tuggle

Spokane

Prayer should unite

Prayer is a uniter, not a divider. We pray for politicians to have the grace to know how to unite together for the betterment of all. Politicians need to put aside their personal agenda and work to find a middle ground that works. It’s a challenge to every voter to choose wisely the leaders who will lead with wisdom and have the insight to understand our needs. Our voting choices will decide whether the winning candidates will help or hinder. We pray that the leadership we vote for are the voices with traditional values.

Marlene Larson

Spokane

GOP obscures the truth

“The first casualty of war is truth.”

In America’s first Civil War, Confederate rebels were loath to utter the dreaded “s-word,” instead describing slavery as “our peculiar institution” to soften the brutal inhumanity of chattel slavery. They insisted that they fought for “states’ rights” … a state’s right to hold slaves, of course.

As America’s second Civil War unfolds, the GOP dare not bring itself to employ this simple piece of truth to describe the events of Jan. 6: conspiracy to incite violent seditious insurrection. Republicans choose the innocuous euphemism “the people’s right to gather peacefully to redress grievances.” An armed mob, dressed in modern military battle garb, erecting a gallows, a riot in which people lost their lives. To excuse the conspiracy to float a false slate of electors in seven separate states, they toss us this red herring: These are politically motivated charges. Instead of recognizing the time-honored judicial tradition that ‘no man is above the law,’ they cling to Trump like an addict clutches his dime-bag. “The first time is tragedy; the second time is farce.”

The first Civil War was America’s bloodiest war. This second Civil War is America’s most shameful moral gaffe.

Bruce Market

Spokane

WA Cares will offer lifeline to elderly workers

It was discouraging to see Elizabeth Hovde’s Aug. 23 guest column (“Dishonest sales suggest WA Cares is a bad gamble”) painting an inaccurate picture of our state’s new long-term care benefit, WA Cares.

If you can afford to pay for private corporate long-term care insurance (and don’t have a pre-existing condition that will likely result in a policy denial), or can pay out of pocket for long-term care expenses, lucky for you. But the fact is 90% of people do not have long-term care insurance.

Most people also don’t realize, until it’s too late, that Medicare and health insurance do not pay for things like home care, help with meals and medication, getting dressed, medical equipment, or home modifications like ramps, a walk-in shower, and grab bars.

As a governor-appointed member of the Washington State Council on Aging representing Eastern Washington, I hear about families struggling to afford the care they need to keep their loved ones safe. They are in desperate need of basic services, and financial resources to access long term care. Too many are facing the challenge of caring for a loved one who needs help because of a serious injury, illness, disease or the normal limitations that can come with age.

Up until now, the only safety net available was Medicaid, which requires you to drain your family’s assets down to less than $2,000 to qualify. But starting in 2026, WA Cares will be able to offer a lifeline for workers when they face the inevitable need for help someday.

Karen Kiessling

Pullman

Blinded by stadium lights

Thousands of Spokane residents enjoy and attend baseball at Avista Stadium. Since these games are played in the evening, they are made possible by huge artificial lighting mounted on poles. These lights are aimed anywhere from 45 to 70 degrees (my guess) toward the turf to illuminate the field.

The problem with this lighting design is that, while it floodlights the stadium, it also lights up both the south and north hills, resulting in colossal light pollution till the games end and are turned off about 10:30 p.m. There are also thousands of residents who enjoy and are fascinated by the night sky which is essentially ruined whenever a baseball game is going on.

I am not against any illumination whether it be for work, pleasure or security. My point is that any lighting should be confined to the perimeter of your intended property and not blinding others. Now that Avista Stadium is up for substantial upgrades, I hope light pollution is seriously considered, especially on aiming them down close to 90 degrees or shielding … maybe even hanging down from cables between the poles. Other businesses (e.g. railroad) should mitigate their light pollution, too.

Phil Zammit

Spokane