Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

This scamming must stop

Now that our city management has received unearned raises from our elected council and weak mayor, it’s time to play the tax, project and ballot game. Here’s how it works.

Impact fees from builders and developers won’t generate enough loot in one year to blacktop a driveway, plant two trees and buy a manhole cover. Then how do we fix our streets and keep our cars from falling into potholes?

Irving Reed, the city’s director of engineering services, is spinning his program as “the road map to recovery.” This map is easy to read! Let’s put on the fall ballot a bond issue to fix our ignored and in horrible shape streets for taxpayers to fund to the tune of $20 million.

This elected bunch also wants to expand our already heavily subsidized and in debt Convention and Ag-Trade Center. But guess what? They know the voters would vote a resounding no to the $50 million, debt-ridden fiasco, so they will use our city credit card, called councilmanic bonds, to plunge us further into debt.

Question: Where has all the money gone over the years that was earmarked for street care and maintenance?

Answer: the funds were mismanaged and now this socalled “road map to recovery” will again tap our bank accounts to pay for poor planning and spending for other than the intended purpose.

When are we going to tell them to stop and when will we demand accountability from the mayor, City Council and city manager? Jonathan Swanstrom, Sr. Spokane

Pay, performance not linked

Editor Chris Peck said about city managers and their wages that “we get what we pay for” (“City managers still underpaid,” Opinion, April 12). I assume he means that if we pay more money we’ll get better people or that the people we have will do a better job.

Now that’s a bill of goods the ones who are looking for raises are trying to sell us, but I’m not buying it.

I would look for the manager who says, You’ll always get 100 percent from me - my best effort no matter what I am paid. Now, who wouldn’t want that guy on his staff?

To assume a person does a better job because he is paid more is a reckless assumption born from a greedy pocketbook. Just because some city over the hill pays more for its manager doesn’t mean it has a better manager, which is where Peck’s logic is taking us. It just means that city is paying more to get the job done.

I wonder, if the paper were to pay Peck more money, would he then do a better job? Emery Wold Spokane

AGRICULTURE

Riveland action precipitous

I raised bluegrass for 16 years until my retirement in 1992. Many crops didn’t return what a wheat-pea rotation would. I chose bluegrass because I cultivated the soil less, erosion was less, fertilizer is used accurately, bluegrass filters air and water, and there is less of a time squeeze both in the spring and at harvest.

I used fire to reduce weed chemicals, harmful bugs and mildew, and to lengthen the useful life of the crop. I found it quite difficult and expensive to establish and maintain a new field in our dry area.

I tried to reduce the emissions by removing half of the straw. The timing of the burn was controlled by the weather and recommended practices - gentle wind, dry straw and no burning on weekends or holidays. I required that my neighbors be through harvest and I had an adequate crew. Burning was only possible on a few days.

The burn seldom lasted more than two hours, with the smoke going high, mixing with the atmosphere and moving to the east, where it dissipated over a lightly populated area.

I believe state Department of Ecology Director Mary Riveland was impulsive in eliminating an industry without considering the whole picture. The benefits of grass growing will be eliminated if her directive is enforced.

Such a dramatic action must be in response to clear, scientific danger to a segment of our population, and with such action we should expect direct improvement to that segment. Improving air quality for seven to 10 days is unlikely to do so. Bert Scholz Colfax, Wash.

Why does paper want to hurt farmers?

Your April 14 article on farm programs was written with the same disregard and disdain for Washington wheat farmers that almost all your articles are written.

I have heard a veritable cry go up from ag producers throughout the region, summarized here in my words:

Why is The Spokesman-Review so determined to hurt agriculture and make farmers look bad? The paper has proven itself an enemy of everyone who is dependent on healthy natural-resource industries. Who is dependent? Everyone.

The Spokesman-Review has earned this suspicion and disrespect. Don Phillips, president Washington Association of Wheat Growers, Ritzville

ABORTION

Holocaust of infants wrong, too

The April 15 Review featuring the picture of 15 children at Temple Beth Shalom carrying candles in memory of 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust shouted a powerful statement.

Pete Caruso (“Clinton wrong to veto abortion ban,” Letters, April 16) wrote with equal poignance, condemning the holocaust of abortion - 1.5 million a year in America. Of particular horror is the partial-birth abortion, where the deliverer physically arranges the child to be born breech and only the head is in the birth canal. At this point of a live birth the “doctor” inserts scissors into the base of the child’s head and extracts the contents. Why? For fetal tissue research?

How can a civilized society condone this assault on a defenseless child? Is the horror of child killing any greater in Auschwitz than America? Why is Klaus Barbie called the Butcher of Lyon for his child killing and Dr. Haskell is a “hero” for performing this procedure over 1,000 times during the second and third trimester, mostly for the sake of convenience?

In Webster’s 1828 dictionary, holocaust is defined as “whole burnt offering.” A more current definition includes “complete destruction of a people.” Why is our nation infatuated with the culture of death? Concerned parents and educators speak out when young children’s literature includes descriptions of infanticide and euthanasia, and they are called censors.

We wonder why respect for life is nil. Why there are children without conscience is a mystery to us.

“Not only for every idle word, but for every idle silence must man render an account” - St. Ambrose. Donna Kuhn Spokane

Don’t acquiesce to this wrong

On April 10, President Clinton vetoed the bill banning partial-birth abortions. A nurse described to a Senate committee the procedure, done only between the sixth and ninth months of pregnancy:

With the help of ultrasound, the doctor snagged the baby’s feet and drew the child down the birth canal until only the head remained inside. This baby was a perfect little boy. His little legs were kicking, his little hands were opening and closing. The doctor shoved surgical scissors into the base of his skull, spread them a little, inserted a catheter and sucked out his brain. The little body jerked and stiffened. He wasn’t anesthetized. The doctor dragged the body out and threw it into a pan where it quivered and jerked until the little heart stopped beating.

The following Sunday I went to church thinking people would be very upset by this miscarriage of justice. We didn’t even have a moment of silent prayer for that little child or for the president. And 500 to 700 of these slaughters are done every year.

If the Christian is silent, where is the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals? If dogs or cats were being treated this way there would be marches in the streets, television cameras would be there, the procedure would be described over and over in grim detail. Aren’t people worth as much as dogs?

On the first Thursday of May, the National Day of Prayer, we’d all better get on our knees and beg forgiveness, for silence is the equivalent of consent. Winifred Edwards Greenacres

Veto goes against God’s word

I am deeply hurt and troubled by the recent action of President Clinton vetoing the ban on partial-birth abortions. As a believer in Christ, this action goes against the very word of God. Scripture teaches us that one of the things that God abhors are hands that shed innocent blood, and that “thou shalt not kill.”

Just how far will the abortion industry go in denying the sanctity of life?

What is even worse is having a president who lacks backbone and conviction to stand up for the truth. Do we dare trust him to run our nation for four more years? After this recent action, I shudder at the thought. David Carlson Spokane

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Rostenkowski is exhibit ‘A’

Sandy Grady’s column on April 18 (“Rostenkowski: the arrogance of power,” Opinion) hit the nail right on the head. Dan Rostenkowski is a perfect example of why so many of us clamor for term limits. Too many officials get caught up in the power and greed of D.C. when they stay too long. Sharon Ewell Spokane

Doing time is money

Re: Sandy Grady’s April 18 Opinion piece, “Rostenkowski: the arrogance of power. “

Don’t weep for Rosty. He’ll still draw his $96,000 yearly congressional pension; he always was lead dog when time came to raise pay or pensions. He’ll be one of the richest felons in Slammer U.

Had he been a military retiree he would have lost forever his rights to that pension before he entered Slammer U. That’s just another example of how Congress operates under laws different from what the rest of us are subject to. Jack Dunstan, Lt.Col. USAF retired Clark Fork, Idaho

Republicans alone curb spending

Some letters to the editor seem to reflect complete ignorance of the facts regarding taxes, government spending, etc.

In 1993 President Bill Clinton got Congress to pass the largest tax increase in the history of this country. Clinton made the statement, “A lot of you probably think I raised taxes too much. Then, I think I did too.” For once he told the truth.

He then increased federal spending by $464 billion. The Democrats in the Whitehouse and our governor believe the answer is spending more money (your money), then raising taxes. With the federal deficit just under $5 trillion, the big spenders need to go. Don’t you agree?

The Republicans, not Democrats, are trying to save Social Security and Medicare. It doesn’t take a village to raise a child, as Republican Dan Quayle said, it takes responsible parents. Eileen Deaton Spokane

We must all do our part: vote

It amazes me that we live in one of the freest industrial countries in the world, yet we rank second from the bottom for voter turnout (Congressional Research Service).

As often as people complain about how much the government is involved in our lives, I would think people would take time out from their busy day to learn about the issues. We continually cry for more control over our lives, yet only a small group tries to change things.

Our Constitution gives us the power to change our government through use of the vote, and yet only 55.9 percent of eligible voters turned out for the 1992 presidential election.

I think most people are happy to let a few do the thinking for them. Could it be that they really feel nothing can be done to change the direction our government is leading us?

If this is true, then maybe some militant groups are right in thinking the only way to change things is by resorting to violence. I disagree, but I do believe in voting power.

At the last congressional election we removed a lot of the old guard because they were getting way out of touch with the general public. Some of them were very powerful individuals who really didn’t believe they would be removed by voters. We got their attention, but I don’t believe we’ve made believers out of them yet.

I think the government will realize people are serious about how our government is run when all eligible voters cast their votes. Raymond S. Golden Nine Mile Falls

OTHER TOPICS

High-speed profits for oil companies

The past few weeks things have been happening that have left me totally befuddled and frustrated.

A few weeks ago, for no reason at all, speed limits that have been status quo for years were raised so as to convey people to their destinations somewhat faster then they had been used to. The reasoning from all these past years - that traveling at slower speeds uses less gasoline, causes fewer accidents and less pollution to the environment, etc. - are now out the window.

Now a few short weeks later the price of gasoline has skyrocketed some 40 cents a gallon and there is already an increase in highway accidents.

What really confuses me is if things are going along fairly smoothly at the old speed limits (fewer accidents, less pollution and better gas mileage), why all of a sudden is there this need for more speed when all it does is make more money for the oil companies? Duke Steinke Mead

Casinos not deadbeat havens

The continuous usurping of tribal sovereignty and the businesses tribes decide to establish to benefit their members never ceases to amaze me.

Now someone has done some very flimsy statistical comparisons for the most recent revelation, “Outraged parents and perplexed social workers say deadbeats have found a new haven: tribal gambling casinos” (“Deadbeats find haven in casinos,” News, April 9).

We need to take a look at the Department of Social and Health Services’ Support Enforcement branch. I understand this department is paid with government dollars.

The issue of deadbeat parents has been around a lot longer than tribal gaming facilities, so I find it farfetched to blame tribal enterprises that have been developed to help our Indian communities become self-sufficient and stay off of government handouts.

It’s not true that the labor force of these establishments consists mainly of deadbeat parents. The number 5,000 quoted in the newspaper article appeared to insinuate that.

These tribal gaming facilities aren’t responsible for irresponsible parents. I doubt the casinos’ employment applications would have a section that states deadbeats will be given preference. Get real.

In Helena Hayes’ situation, the article clarified that DSHS would not pursue her case. From what I understand, the agency has a specific department paid primarily with government dollars to do just that.

Let’s look at the flip side of my casino coin and see what percentage, if any, of state employees are deadbeats. Charlene Bearcub Nespelem, Wash.

Tobacco industry selfish, greedy

Michae’l Alegria’s “Smokers no longer have right to harm others” (Street Level, April 14) rejoices at the increased rights of nonsmokers, and I heartily agree with her.

These rights for healthier air have been won against a stubborn and powerful tobacco industry in an ongoing political struggle. This is the same industry that even now claims smoking poses no health risks, even though solid medical evidence proves the contrary; the same industry that used to use “doctors” in its ads.

“Coffin nails” as a euphemism for cigarettes entered our language in 1888, according to Merriam-Webster’s Ninth Collegiate edition. That cigarettes are harmful is hardly new information, but the tobacco growers still claim that primary smoke, let alone secondary smoke, is harmless.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle, including current presidential candidate Sen. Bob Dole, fully aware of the deadly dangers of smoking, have managed to capitulate and extend the tobacco subsides, using our tax dollars to enrich an extremely profitable industry.

I suspect that the resurgence of cigar smoking, with nationwide radio talk shows devoted to cigars, and new cigar clubs making it appear trendy for women to smoke them, have behind them the lush money of the tobacco states, which know full well that many of the people who take up the fad of cigars will soon switch to cigarettes.

These tobacco fiends are ever on the alert for new ways to convince us to poison ourselves, while enriching themselves almost beyond measure. Fred Glienna Coeur d’Alene