Opinion letters for Friday, April 11, 2025

Thank you, local librarian

This is National Library Week. Instead of honoring our library system and library employees, the current administration has recently cut congressionally approved funding of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, put the staff on administrative leave and appointed a new director. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent federal agency that provides federal funding and grants to libraries and museums across the country. This can include assistance with grants for rural, tribal, and prison libraries, professional training for librarians, archiving state historical materials, and other innovative community programs.

So, this week let’s thank local librarians (public and school) for giving us the entertainment of books, music and movies. For bringing us programs that allow us to learn from each other. For striving to give us access to resources which allow us to make informed decisions. For serving all citizens, regardless of background. Thank you.

Marla Grimsrud

Spokane

Baumgartner is not doing his job

Dear Mr. Baumgartner, I have received all your emails, including the one Friday night. There are so many things to reply to that I have been paralyzed.

DOGE is illegal because only Congress can create a department. Likewise, closing the Department of Education, USAID, Voice of America and the Peace Institute is illegal, too. You must know that Congress holds the purse strings. We expect you to make our voice heard to correct this. And according to law, all previously funded projects must be carried out.

Our justice system has worked pretty well for about 240 years. I am proud to live in a state that pushes back on goons not in any uniform, wearing face masks, and arriving in unmarked vehicles snatching people off the street. I am OK with deportation if there has been a fair hearing.

Why are people attacking Tesla dealerships? Because you, in Congress, are not doing your job.

Of course, I am going to the protest (last Saturday) in Spokane. I hope it gets your attention.

Bob Curry

Deer Park

Keep the Peace Corps

The unelected DOGE has entered the Peace Corps’ offices. Peace Corps, an independent agency, has a small budget with a very large impact. The budget is less than 0.01% of federal spending. The volunteers get paid a small stipend, enough to live on in the country they are assigned to. They typically live with a local family, so they don’t need a lot. Many volunteers work as teachers; others work in health care, agriculture, forestry, or development work to improve the host-country people’s economic situation. The volunteers learn the local language and culture, and when they return to the U.S., they share their experiences with the American people. It is important to know how the rest of the world lives.

My husband and I were Peace Corps volunteers in a small country in West Africa. We ran a tree nursery and worked on forestry projects in nearby villages. The skills we learned applied to our later jobs; we learned to do a lot with very little. Talk about efficient government.

Many of my returned Peace Corps volunteer friends used their gained experience and skills to enter careers as public servants back in the U.S., including as teachers, or working for federal agencies. Some continued to work internationally, for example, responding to refugee crises across the world.

Peace Corps volunteers are well-respected and appreciated in the countries where they work. The budget is a small price to pay for friendship with other countries.

Michelle Eames

Spokane