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Letters for Jan. 30

Let’s just debate every amendment

Representative Michael Baumgartner has quickly learned the political ropes regarding how to avoid hot issues, such as his punt that the 14th Amendment is “worthy of debate and clarification from the courts.” Does he know that this amendment has already been tested in the courts? Or does he fear retaliation from President Trump?

Does this mean that all the amendments are worthy of debate and clarification from the courts? If so, I would propose more clarification about the First Amendment, such as, does it protect the hate speech we see on X? Or would Musk put money into a primary against him?

What about the Second Amendment? Are weapons of war what the authors had in mind regarding the right of the people to keep and bear arms? The muskets at that time weren’t that different from an AK-47, right? Perhaps this is worthy of a debate? Whoops, what would his new Republican hardliners think?

Gosh, what’s left? Oh yeah, the immigrants. Who cares about them? Republicans don’t seem to, billionaires don’t, so let’s go after them. Just ignore the fact that 32 other countries guarantee birthright citizenship. By the way, Trump got this wrong. Some of our immigrant workers may leave the country, which is the goal of the threat. I just hope Republicans don’t prefer apples, because without our immigrants, who would pick them? Wonder how that would affect our Washington economy? Let’s study and debate that.

Anne R. Alexander

Liberty Lake

DEI another name for Christian values

Here’s an idea for those in Idaho, and in other states, who are alarmed at their governments’ authoritarian actions. Why not just call DEI actions for what they really are – that is, an attempt to implement gospel values.

It wouldn’t cost that much to replace placards on university office doors that say “diversity, equity and inclusion” with ones that say, “Christian values.” As a bonus, DEI programs are also good for capitalism.

I suppose the problem with this idea is that today’s Republicans/MAGAs are not fond of either Christianity or capitalism.

Maeve Griffith

Spokane

Libraries shouldn’t be feared

The Community Library Network, along with other public and school libraries, are under assault. Why?

What are the people who advocate for defunding them and criminalizing librarians, publishers and writers afraid of?

How many of those who benefitted in their professional careers and personal lives from libraries are now fearful?

It’s all under the guise of “protecting the children.” Fear that a preteen would come across or be told by a trusted friend of a book that would help them cope with a difficult situation in their lives. Or that abuse, no matter the form, overwhelmingly is at the hands of family members in positions of authority and/or trust. The FBI crime statistics will shock you and debunk the many red herrings.

There are those that believe parents cannot be trusted with that responsibility … a certain new director stated, “… it is incumbent on us to do this. This kind of nonsense, this cultural Marxism, has to stop and it has to stop now. We are not going to allow it to happen in Kootenai County.”

I grew up with a bookmobile. I was eager each week to gather as many new books as I was allowed. It opened new worlds, new perspectives and if I came across new information that seemed at odds with current themes of the times, I had loving grandparents and willing teachers to help me develop critical thinking skills.

Jeff Webb

Post Falls

Keep felons off our streets

I would like for someone to explain to me why we have people with multiple felonies roaming the streets of Spokane. How many felonies does it take, if any, to put a person in prison for life or an extended period? Is this criminal justice reform? Washington is ranked second nationally as the most dangerous state with a crime rate of 3,763 per 100,000, according to FBI crime data, all under the watchful eye of former Attorney General Bob Ferguson, now governor. His plan is to hire more police officers. When a fire hydrant springs a leak, you don’t go out and buy more buckets. You fix the leak.

Mike Ryan

Nine Mile Falls

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