Letters to the Editor for Nov. 6

Thanks Sens. Murray, Cantwell for supporting SNAP

The most well-known U.S. food program is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It’s the best line of defense against hunger in the U.S., serving over 42 million people a month.

At RESULTS we work to strengthen and expand the food stamp programs. 90% of people receiving SNAP benefits are seniors, people with disabilities, and working families with children.

SNAP benefits have not kept up with the cost of food and yet some members of Congress want to cut benefits. Protecting and valuing children and seniors and people living with disabilities should cross party lines.

Thank goodness that Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell have voted against cuts to vital programs.

Perhaps now is the time to ask Representative Baumgartner why he voted for cuts to people in his district needing food.

Andy Clarke

Gig Harbor

‘War is good business’

Editor’s note: This letter erroneously had missing information due to an inputting error and is rerunning in full.

Council members Betsy Wilkerson and Zack Zappone propose spending $88,000 for 2 sonic cannons for “crowd control.” I suspect that the crowd targeted is that of the activist community, whose ranks recently swelled to thousands for the No Kings Rally.

Over the past two years, we members of Jewish Voice for Peace have worked with other local progressive groups to protest the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel and the U.S. and the arms industry. Despite a phony “ceasefire”, it still continues daily through killing and starvation.

We also collaborate on the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement against Israeli and other industries vital to its aggression. One of those is the U.S. firm Genasys, which would sell Spokane this deadly equipment. Do we want the police to possess/play with this anti-civilian toy? Leaving it up to an officer’s whim to use it?

“War is Good Business.” It’s the biggest chunk of the federal budget, prize to the plutocrats. I submit that the greed of the arms industry underlies most of the wars raging around the world today. These expenditures are primarily to benefit the munitions industry, not the client nations in its grip. Domestically, the victim is the U.S. with its notorious rank of “Number One” in civilian deaths, most conspicuously school children, from unregulated sales of assault weapons.

Dr. King described us well. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

We’ve arrived.

Morton Alexander

Spokane

National issues need to be front page news

What is the perspective of news reporting of The Spokesman-Review editorial board? Many of the daily events happening throughout the U.S. are alarming and seriously affect our lives and our futures. Things like the loss of our health insurance, racist government decrees, attacks on American citizens by masked and armed men, and lies told by government officials. Yet coverage of these events majorly appear on the back pages. However, front page stories include things like rural cemeteries and parking garages. I don’t get it!

Norman R. Coffman

Spokane