CAPITOL MALL
Show support for freedoms
The chilling effects of the proposed rules and regulations concerning the Statehouse exterior and interior were thought to be outdated after the fight for civil rights in the 1960s. The controlling behavior of those who put HB 693, the bill regulating the use of the Statehouse and its grounds, into law violated the respect that is commonplace in American society. However, despite the bullying efforts of those who created HB 693, Idaho lawmakers did a good job and made a step in the right direction towards constitutional rights of free speech and assembly.
To keep Idaho laws free from erroneous rules and unnecessary restrictions, I ask for you, the Idaho citizen, to come to the public hearing that was promised to Idahoans. Use your right to free speech and assembly to protect your right to free speech and assembly. If you want to show your support, the Senate committee hearing on these rules is today at 8 a.m. It is not yet known if public testimony will be accepted, but it is known that supporters of keeping our constitutional rights safe will be speaking. Show up and be present, we are strong in numbers.
LEROY FISCUS, Boise
SEN. MIKE CRAPO
Senator handled his arrest properly
As a lifelong diehard Chicago Democrat, I want to commend Sen. Mike Crapo for the way in which he has handled his current trouble. Sen. Crapo immediately admitted wrongdoing, blamed no one but himself and seems ready and willing to accept the consequences of his choices. He did not claim to have used “bourbon-laced tobacco,” nor “a wide stance.” He simply admitted he was wrong, which shows great courage and integrity. I also don’t believe that Sen. Crapo’s religion should play any part in this scenario. After all, how many of us have done things that were “against our religion” at one time or another during our lives? As someone much wiser than me once said, “He who is without sin should cast the first stone!”
That being said, Sen. Crapo, I still believe that your vote against Hurricane Sandy disaster relief was also a very bad choice!
GLADYS A. ASHLEY, Eagle
A shameful headline
I’m no Mike Crapo supporter, but your headline ridiculing his current plight with alcohol shames the Statesman, not the senator. Real news is happening these days; go after it.
HELEN WILSON, Boise
Consider the plight of ‘losers’ and ‘takers’
I was impressed with Mike Crapo’s statement to the press regarding his DUI. There was none of the typical protestations of innocence while an expensive lawyer worked to beat the rap, only apologizing and asking for forgiveness after the appeals ran out. To have to publicly admit his wrongdoing, pay fines and lose his driver’s license for a year was certainly embarrassing and will be inconvenient.
However, just consider what a greater impact this same penalty might have on a single mother trying to keep a job across town and get a child to day care. People who have resources aren’t necessarily better or more moral people, which sometimes feels like the underlying theme of some conservative arguments. Without a car or a job, it can become extremely hard to pay your fines, make your court required classes, etc. Some of those “losers” and “takers” conservatives decry might just also have made some mistakes or had some bad luck as well.
Mr. Crapo was a standup guy about his criminally poor decision. I would ask that he use this situation to imagine how bad this could be without a big bank account and a hired driver.
NANCY BASINGER, Boise
IMMIGRATION
The rape of a nation
Steubenville, Ohio, rape case vs. the illegal immigrant rape of America: what’s the difference? On Jan. 8 on CNN, Bob Fitzsimmons, the attorney for the rape victim, used the idea that whenever there is an uninvited entry in another’s body it is a rape. I agree! I also point out whenever there is an uninvited entry of a foreign person into the body of the United States of America, that is also a rape. It is a form of rape of my sovereign country. Where is the outrage by the talking heads on television and radio? The constitutional attorneys? The police and military who are charged with enforcing Article 1, sections 8 and 10 on “repelling invasions?” The body of America has been raped 12 to 20 million times since Reagan’s amnesty for the last wave of sovereignty rapists. Our elected politicians, who, when we gave them their jobs, promised to support and defend our country from all enemies foreign and domestic. Whenever someone, uninvited, invades your personal body or your country, it is still a rape!
DAVID SMITH, Boise
MILITARY
A perpetual state of war
The Jan. 2 article, “Warrior Class,” states that military leaders and politicians worry that fewer enlistments will cause Americans to become desensitized to the risks and stresses of military service. To remedy this, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) supports the return of the military draft. To me, it seems quite absurd that the solution to the problems of hardship among military members is to have more people bear such hardship rather than reducing the number by only engaging in war when absolutely necessary. The idea that a draft is even acceptable is particularly disturbing as it implies that the government owns us and can send us to die in a foreign land whenever it sees fit.
In reality, what is causing Americans to be desensitized toward war is that the military is in a perpetual state of warfare. It is no longer an emergency, but a seemingly permanent way of life. But perhaps an even bigger reason is that Americans have been shielded (and distracted) from the financial consequences of war. I guarantee that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would have ended long ago had Americans been forced to pay the bill upfront instead of through debt and inflation.
TATE FEGLEY, Meridian
SALMON
Dam huggers won’t bargain
Terry Flores’ Dec. 12 Reader’s View was shamefully misleading about four dams on the lower Snake River. The dams do not maintain aluminum plants, irrigate Idaho farms, or provide thousands of jobs. Instead, they provide a tiny amount of power (already replaced), costly shipping (taxpayer subsidized), and in Lewiston, six barging-related jobs.
And they are lethal for wild Idaho salmon. Don Chapman (hydropower consultant), Bert Bowler (retired Idaho Department of Fish and Game scientist), Jim Martin (retired ODFW fisheries chief), and hundreds of American Fisheries Society members say removal of the four lower Snake dams is necessary to restore wild salmon runs.
Only industrial users of the river disagree, including Ms. Flores (Northwest River Partners), Bo Downen (Public Power Council) and Steve Wright (Bonneville Power Administration). These people are willing to disregard wild salmon and all the jobs, families, and towns that rely on sustainable fisheries.
Facts: The four dams produce little power, mostly when it’s not needed; only 13 farms in Washington state pump from one reservoir; barge traffic on the Lower Snake has dropped 75 percent; aluminum plants have closed or moved. Idaho habitat is intact, and waiting for salmon. The four dams are the big problem.
Salmon advocates are ready to negotiate; “dam huggers” won’t.
DICK DAHLGREN, Ketchum
PIERS MORGAN
Response beyond the pale
It is true that Alex Jones came across as a crazed ideologue in his confrontation with Piers Morgan.
On the other hand, Piers was not to be outdone in the craziness department. The next day he had a panel of anti-gun advocates and Buzz Bissinger of the Daily Beast suggested that Piers take Alex up on his boxing match challenge and show up with an automatic weapon and shoot him.
To this Abby Huntsman (Huffington Post) responded: “I’d love to see that … (laughter) in uniform.”
Then Piers Morgan showed approval, stating: “I’ll borrow my brother’s uniform.”
Alex Jones was just overly aggressive in presenting his case but the Piers Morgan peace group talking of killing Jones was beyond the pale.
Piers argued with Jones that the super-strict gun control measures in Britain led to fewer gun killings. True, but North Korea has virtually zero domestic gun deaths. Is that where we want to go? He overlooked the unintended consequence that England and Wales lead the Western world’s crime league, with nearly 55 crimes per 100 people and your chances of being mugged in London is six times higher than New York.
JOSEPH DEWEY, Boise
