Letters for May 12, 2023
New city buses well-designed
This letter is to express my delight and pleasure in the new Spokane Transit buses on our streets. The designs of blue, green and white are very nice and the all purple routes are dramatic and really cool. These colors also stand out well in front of our many pine trees.
Congratulations to those who made the design decisions for the buses. They contribute to the beauty of Spokane even on gray days, and it makes me feel good to see them. Thanks!
Burma Williams
Spokane
Citizens don’t want book ban
I would like to second the letter from Elizabeth O’Halloran (“Liberty Lake library ordinance,” May 2) regarding book banning by the City Council. She is absolutely correct.
A far-right element is trying to take power from us, the citizenry. They have been informed that the community does not want book banning, nor do we want the City Council to usurp the duties of the library board.
They need to take a break and look at what their responsibilities are. Then they need to stop trying to impose their extremist doctrines on us.
Terry Olson
Liberty Lake
History matters
Must we suffer the angsty rhetoric about “fascism” again? This time some are screeching that term about the East Bonner County Library Board election among other things and their usage of it is just as factually and historically incorrect as it was in the last election cycle. I would challenge those using labels to understand the history and true meaning of the words.
The word fascism is derived from the Latin fasces, a bundle of rods surrounding an ax which was used by Roman magistrates as a symbol of governmental authority. It referenced the federal nature of the original Roman governmental structure, signifying strength emanating from a collective will.
The 20th century political ideology known as fascism emerged from a similar homage to collectivism rooted in the early 20th century Italian trade unions known as fasci (plural of fasces). The radical socialist Benito Mussolini adopted the term when founding the Italian Fasces of Combat to similarly symbolize the collectivist principle inherent in socialism which he reorganized around national identity.
Like socialism and communism, the ideological underpinning of fascism is the subordination of the individual to a collective political identity organized around ethnicity, class and/or nationality. It is distinct from its collectivist cousins only in that it advocates state control over the means of production for the benefit of the collective as opposed to state ownership of them, a devilishly clever, if minor, distinction.
I hope we can be more accurate in the use of the term going forward.
Anita Aurit
Sandpoint
And risk losing their base?
In response to “North Idaho schools risk losing staff, schools and programs if levies fail,” May 2.
Conservatives are consistently voting against paying for public schools. I hope the new levy attempts in North Idaho pass, but I won’t be surprised if they don’t. Conservatives are afraid that if their children are taught to think, their base will shrink.
David Teich
Spokane Valley
New speed limit proposition
I think there should be an acknowledgment that the speed limits posted and what the drivers actually drive are not the same. To solve this inconsistency, I suggest that the following speed limits be accepted. The 20 mph speed limit be upped to 25-35 mph. Similarly, the 30 mph to 35-plus mph; the 50 mph now the new 55-65; 60 mph (interstate in city), not more that 75. On the interstate, the same as on the German Autobahn. Any speeds are acceptable, but be careful of driving in the outside lane. This topic has no reference to the excess noise of car mufflers.
Don Carlton
Spokane