Thanks for the laughs

After rereading and pondering Lee Lefler’s vilification of Rich Landers (April 17) and glorification of that storied American tradition of wiping out wolves, I’ve concluded that The Spokesman-Review has uncovered an unheralded satirist in the mold of Mark Twain, H.L. Mencken and James Thurber.

When can we expect more?

Ted Wert

Sagle, Idaho

War on drugs fruitless

Leonard Pitts Jr. in his column on April 23 had a new idea. The issue of legalization of drugs came up in the recent conference in Colombia. President Barack Obama stated it was not the answer to the international drug problem.

If drugs were legalized, prisons would be emptied, the billions of dollars spent on combating drugs could be used on our roads or bridges or even education. Pitts pointed out that in 1914, 1.3 percent of the population was addicted to drugs, and 1.3 percent of the current population is addicted.

What has the war on drugs accomplished? I know it’s a controversial subject, but maybe it’s time to think about it.

Joyce Callaway

Medical Lake

Continuous hostility tiresome

I can hardly wait for the campaign for the highest office in the land to end. Six more months of personal attacks, name calling, disparaging the truth and astonishing attempts to limit women’s and voters’ rights.

Recently, Dick Cheney called President Barack Obama an “unmitigated disaster,” and Mitt Romney advised the president: “Start packing!” Contrary to that crude behavior, President Obama wished Romney “Good luck!” during his primary run.

It’s difficult for me to accept the fact that some wish the president to fail – meaning the country should fail?

Lately, Rick Santorum called the president a “snob” for wanting all Americans to have a higher education. Yet education leads to wisdom. It is the way out of poverty. It helps keep us free. Without it, we cannot secure America’s leadership in the competitive global environment.

What will it take to set aside the extreme dislike and hostility? Our founders disagreed on many issues, yet still came together to build a nation. Do we have the same courage to face our future, as did they?

Our challenges are very real. Our children are watching us. How will they judge what we are doing? How will they judge what we have done?

Halina Slobodow

Spokane

Stop building near airports

As a former air traffic controller, I can tell you that one of the great concerns for an airport is the surrounding homes or businesses. It’s a matter of convenience for some businesses, but completely unnecessary for housing.

I once worked at a Marine base in California and watched a multitude of housing developments encroach on the airfield. An additional concern about the potential for a disaster involving an aircraft crash became a daily worry for every controller.

In a few short years, we were completely surrounded by homes, and then homeowners began to protest the proximity of overhead flights via arrival and departure routes that were designed for the safety of pilots, passengers and airplanes.

Homeowners only cared about themselves. Frankly, I thought they were some of the most selfish and stupid people on the planet.

There’s no real reason to build homes close to an airport. I hope all building near Fairchild Air Force Base and Geiger Field is stopped in its tracks.

Lives will be saved. I guarantee it.

David Bray

Spokane