Address grievances
It seems certain members of the Idaho Legislature do not want the consequences of economic inequality displayed where they cannot ignore it. And they’re willing to violate the First Amendment to do it.
I’ve got a better way to get rid of the occupiers: Address their grievances. Rebuke the courts and reimpose limits on corporate donations to political campaigns. Make it harder for corporations to pay the CEOs thousands of times more than their blue-collar employees. Make it harder for employers to lay off workers. Do this, and the occupiers will slowly drift away, as their causes are achieved. Voila, you got rid of the occupiers and didn’t have to violate the First Amendment.
Businesses: If you want to help this, get ahead of the Idaho Legislature. Cease and desist from corporate donations to politics (employees can still make individual donations). Put a cap on how much you will pay CEOs. Cut budgets from the top down. Avoid the appearance of excesses. If there are no excesses to correct, there won’t be regulations.
TRAVIS BREWER, Boise
Pay your bills and go
Boise’s “occupier” forces have certainly kept the community on the edge of their seats, as we wait patiently for something good to happen. For instance, in other cities, such as in San Francisco, protesters have thrown bricks and Bibles at police officers from the roof of a hotel, injuring several officers. Those in New York City have “occupied” the West Park Presbyterian Church and urinated on a cross, stealing a baptismal font worth $12,500, all as part of their socialistic movement. (See Fox News Jan. 23, “Occupiers throw bricks, allegedly urinate on cross” by Todd Starnes). We wonder what’s in store for us here in Boise.
Perhaps it’s time for us to reevaluate the fruits of their labors, especially in light of the utility bills generated by this socialistic movement and paid by us taxpayers. One solution before they pack up and leave is that their costs can be passed back to them in the form of community service, as they certainly don’t represent the rest of the 99 percent who struggle in the unemployment lines, working hard to make ends meet while raising families.
JOHN VAN KIRK, Boise
Not an emergency
People all over the U.S. are struggling with foreclosures, job loss, loss of benefits, high debt, poor or no health care, homelessness, anxiety and even fear about their future and their family’s future. These problems are no different in Boise, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Orlando, Denver, Chicago, New York ... any place that comes to mind. For that reason, the Occupy movement in Idaho has come into existence to be a voice for these issues. We are concerned with the actions of a government that is responsive to corporate demands and monied interests of the few at the expense of the rest of us.
I would think that, of all the important state business for which the Idaho Legislature is supposed to be responsible, the peaceful vigil of Occupy Boise would be at the bottom of the priority list. Yet it appears that Rep. Scott Bedke of District 27 thinks that ending this expression of free speech is an emergency, that the condition of the grounds (lawns everywhere are looking shabby at this time of year, Mr. Bedke) takes precedent over the constitutional right of the people to peaceably assemble. What a shame!
MARY REALI, Boise
Let’s pop a bubble
After glancing at the paper on Jan. 18, I was preparing to bake some granola, including roasting some nuts. I was reflecting on the story about legislation aimed at the Occupy Boise scene. Conventional wisdom holds that you cannot define a thing by negation. However, Mr. Bedke is apparently undaunted by the prospects of completing the task and has locked onto a mission-critical “Our Lawn is not for camping” first step.
Congratulations, Occupy Boise for this heightened attention — just when we might have forgotten you. Good luck to the Legislature in deciding what direction to focus its gaze. Perhaps a law saying that the state Capitol is not a place for vacuous bubble blowing? Now, back to roasting nuts. ....
HOWARD OLIVIER, Boise
