Letters for Tuesday, March 17

Masked man comes to my door

Show your face. Last week a process server came to my house to subpoena me for a court case where a party needs me to be a witness. The specific case doesn’t matter for the purpose of this letter. I didn’t open the door. The delivery person was wearing a safety vest and a balaclava. I didn’t open the door. I won’t open a door to someone who I do not know and who doesn’t show identification or a warrant. More importantly, I will not open my door to someone who doesn’t show their face. I shouldn’t.

Anyone who has been stalked by a creepy boyfriend or anyone who knows the tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be afraid. I’m afraid. It’s not just about me but about the safety of all of us. Don’t open the door.

People who need our “help” should be willing to be identified. Don’t open the door. If you are coming for me or asking for my help, I want to know who you are, and I want to bear witness to your actions. Show your face. Everyone should be known for who they are and what they do. A trusting society doesn’t send masked men.

Recent actions of ICE are scary to many and have life-threatening consequences. A process server in a civil case shouldn’t have to wear a mask because they are afraid of me.

Karen Mobley

Spokane

Diplomacy, development keep America safe

Spokane has a deep respect for those who serve our country. With families connected to Fairchild Air Force Base throughout our community, we understand the sacrifices military service requires and the importance of keeping Americans safe.

That’s why the international affairs budget matters. Contrary to common misconceptions, it is not a blank check to other countries. Instead, it funds diplomacy, development, and humanitarian efforts that help prevent conflicts before they escalate into wars requiring U.S. troops.

Strategic diplomacy strengthens alliances, stabilizes fragile governments, and addresses crises like food insecurity and displacement (conditions that extremist groups often exploit for recruitment). By investing in development and humanitarian response, the United States can reduce instability in vulnerable regions before violence spreads.

This approach is also cost-effective. Diplomacy and development programs cost far less than military intervention. Preventing conflicts through strategic engagement reduces the need for boots on the ground, lowering the likelihood of deployments for American service members.

For communities like ours that deeply value military service, supporting diplomacy and development is another way to support our troops by reducing the chances they’ll be sent into harm’s way in the first place.

Ellyse Osborne

Spokane

Baumgartner’s war

Michael Baumgartner now owns the Iran war. He voiced his support for Trump’s war of choice, cautioning to “… never enter a conflict the American people cannot clearly understand.” None of Trump’s incoherent, often conflicting reasons for war pass muster and are even undermined by our own intelligence agencies.

War is often something we tolerate as vague background noise. “Not MY problem!” Our kids didn’t get killed in Kuwait trying to serve their country and go to college, trusting that they wouldn’t be put in harm’s way as a distraction from a failing economy or a sex-trafficking scandal, or as a pretext to nationalize elections. Our schoolchildren did not become collateral damage from a U.S. Tomahawk missile strike. Even our newspapers require letters to the editor demonstrate a direct impact on the local community.

Then it dawns on us. Airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base get sucked into the conflict. Gas prices increase 9% at the pump and drive up the cost of anything shipped. Fertilizer costs 30% more. Roughly $1 billion per day is spent on the war while 400,000 Washingtonians lose health insurance because Republicans refused to extend subsidies. Food insecurity is on the rise due to cuts in SNAP benefits.

Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” This war is our problem.

Barry Linehan

Spokane

Eastern Washington needs Mr. Baumgartner

Michael Baumgartner is a politician that has served Eastern Washington well, by fighting to lower taxes, safeguard elections, reduce the cost of living and making our communities safe. He is a Republican politician serving as the U.S. representative for Washington’s 5th Congressional District. He represents Eastern Washington. Previously, he was a Washington state senator and a diplomat. He’s a good man and I’m confident in his judgment. Eastern Washington needs Mr. Baumgartner. I hope the people re-elect him.

Robert Gerard Bruce

Spokane

Where’s Baumgartner? No town hall in over a year!

Eastern Washington needs a congressman who will meet face-to-face with a wide range of constituents, even those he disagrees with.

Since Rep. Baumgartner was elected in 2024, a great many 5th District residents have voiced their commonsense concerns about his flawed politics.

It turns out they have been consistently right on the big issues and Baumgartner has been consistently wrong.

He would be wise to listen to those who are against his ill-advised and stubborn support for disastrous and failed policies.

Some examples:

Our cost of living keeps going up, including food, health care and basic needs.

Tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court recently declared to be both illegal and unconstitutional taxes.

Devastating economic effects of the BBB Bill (Billionaires’ Benefits Bill).

Taking over Greenland and even possibly Canada.

Brutal excesses by ICE and DHS that we have all seen on social media and the news.

After Rep. Baumgartner’s last town hall meeting in March 2025, a full year ago, he called many of his constituents “unhinged lunatics.”

That is what he thinks of people who were exercising their constitutional rights. There’s an old saying in politics – “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Baumgartner needs to stand up for his views in front of his constituents, even those that disagree with him. It’s time for more town halls across the entire 5th Congressional District as we head into the 2026 election.

The 5th District deserves nothing less.

Richard Sola

Spokane

Baumgartner offers informed representation

Steve McNutt’s letter (March 4) attacking Congressman Baumgartner on tariffs is clever but misleading. McNutt quotes Baumgartner’s own 2025 column expressing reservations about tariffs and then treats this as evidence of hypocrisy. It’s actually evidence of honesty. Baumgartner has been transparent that he has concerns about tariffs and their impact on Eastern Washington’s trade-dependent economy. He has said so publicly, in writing and during town halls. He runs polls in his newsletter asking constituents for their views. That’s not “dizziness” – it’s our congressman listening and thinking rather than simply grandstanding.

The procedural votes Mr. McNutt references were about the broader question of presidential trade authority, not an endorsement of every specific tariff. The vote was a political stunt that had no chance of becoming law. Baumgartner must have known that.

Mr. McNutt likely won’t acknowledge that Baumgartner has actually engaged with the complexity here. Workers at Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane welcome tariff protection. Our wheat farmers need open export markets. A good representative balances those interests rather than posturing from the cheap seats.

Mr. McNutt may want a congressman who ignores nuance and just votes “no” on everything. The majority of us, however, prefer thoughtful and informed representation.

Susan Wilmoth

Spokane

SAVE America Act doesn’t save anything

Voter fraud is not a problem in Idaho or the United States. I am very upset that the House of Representatives voted to pass the SAVE America Act because it will create barriers for people like me to register to vote. I am an older American and do not have a passport. I also don’t drive but I do have a Star ID card.

The problem is the name on my birth certificate doesn’t match my current identification. Finding the paperwork to track my name change will be a challenge. We don’t have widespread voter fraud in America and the SAVE America Act creates unnecessary burdens for voting in our elections. If our senators vote to pass the SAVE America Act, they could stop someone like me from being able to vote for them in coming elections.

Lynne Schnupp

Boise

Hanging on for the laughs

I laughed out loud while reading Ammi Midstokke’s “Backwood girl congregates.” Her description of attending a gathering with a gooey pastry hidden in a paper bag was hilarious! The dilemma of trying to retrieve the pastry without making noise or disturbing others felt like a scene straight out of a Mark Twain story. I am definitely cutting this piece out to reread whenever I need a good laugh.

Julie Rosenoff

Spokane Valley