Letters to the editor for Thursday, Oct. 30

Bring Congress back in session

I have called to urge Rep. Michael Baumgartner to appeal to his leadership to bring the House back into session. By having Congress out of session for such an extended period of time, he is allowing the president to rightly joke that he is both President and Speaker of the House, and that Congress has no power over him.

What is that saying about our congressman? Either Baumgartner accepts:

1) The executive deserves this much power, and the U.S. still has free and fair elections. This would give a potential Democratic president the same amount of power in the future. Or;

2) The executive has this much power, and that’s OK because he does not expect that the executive will ever be replaced by someone of the other party in the future. The system will be set up so that, despite popular opinion, it will be almost impossible for someone from a different party to be elected (i.e. no longer free and fair elections).

Neither of these views represent the spirit of the U.S. Constitution. My message to Baumgartner: Bring Congress back in session, and take back your Article 1 powers, including Power of the Purse, Power to Declare War, Power to Conduct Investigations and Power to Tariff.

Colleen Robisch

Otis Orchards

Remove Lime scooters downtown

A couple days ago, a letter to the editor described a mother’s experience of shopping downtown with her children and ended up having to explain to the 3-year-old why people were sleeping on the sidewalks and had blankets over their heads. As I recall, she was reluctant to return to the streets of downtown Spokane again. Why are retail stores having difficulty attracting customers?

But here is another reason. It’s a Thursday or Friday night. Movie night for some, shopping for others. Or maybe just browsing with the kids and Grandma. But all of a sudden there is a pack of teens (four, five or six) zipping, weaving, popping wheelies on Lime scooters on the sidewalk. Traffic lights are ignored. The people who may enter a store decide it’s not worth the hassle. “I don’t want Grandma or the children to get hurt.” I can go to a park with the family and shop online.

There is not a day or evening that I do not encounter scooters who want to use the Parkade garage as a playground. I shouldn’t have to be confronted with threats from teens and adults who ask why. DUH. It is a place of business. Customers expect safety and possible damage to their vehicle. Do I really have to explain why?

Grocery stores now have carts that lock wheels if attempting to exit the parking area. The city needs to do the same thing for Lime scooters and bikes. It is not the business owner’s responsibility. If the city wants to attract a younger demographic, fine … but not at the cost of businesses. Is the revenue resulting from Lime (under $200,000) a year worth the loss of downtown customers? Customers who would spend much more than $200,000. How much do the scooter riders spend?

It’s time to get scooters off the streets and sidewalks of downtown and let shoppers shop. You can’t get a handle on drug addled streets/homeless people on the streets, but you can do something about an impediment to drawing customers to the stores and shops of downtown.

Jim Bickel

Spokane

Thank you for Paul Graves’ words

Every time I read something by Paul Graves, I feel proud that I am an ordained United Methodist clergy. In the 1960s I lived with my family in Nashville while serving on the National Methodist staff. As a citizen and concerned parent in this city where seemingly all our neighbors were racist, I created interracial day camps, and I marched to the courthouse steps and sang “We shall overcome” supporting Martin Luther King Jr.

While a student at Boston University in the early ‘50s I studied and became enamored by Howard Thurman with whom I met weekly in a discussion group with a dozen other students. (on rare occasions including MLK Jr.) Thurman was a key mentor of Martin Luther King Jr. and one called by many, “The Godfather of the Civil Rights movement.”

Graves references in this article to Jesus as a subversive are profound and accurate as he says that on six occasions Jesus is quoted as saying, “…but I say to you” when he challenged Hebrew (Old Testament) scripture!

At age 97, I am confined to my retirement center. I still take every opportunity to share with other residents and my family through emails, and to others thanks to Zoom, etc., what Graves so eloquently writes in these articles.

I’m grateful to the Review for offering the insights of such a profound man as Paul Graves.

Robert P. Crosby

Spokane