Letters to the editor: Republican legislators, wolves, women’s rights
Republican legislators
“R” legislature has decided that the governor should not be able to do things they disagree with, so let’s strip his powers. “R” legislature has decided that the health districts making pandemic decisions for the public based on the best available scientific medical information is a bad thing without their approval, so let’s strip their powers. “R” legislature has decided that if they disagree with a legal opinion of the duly elected state Attorney General, they should be able to use “our” taxes to window shop for a lawyer who will agree with them. “R” legislature has decided that citizen ballot initiatives are a bad thing (think Medicaid expansion) so when one passes, they do everything they can to water it down and/or put so many requirements on it as to render it toothless. In fact, “R” legislature thinks citizen ballot initiatives are so bad that they should change the rules to get one on the ballot so that one county with 0.02% of the state’s population would be able to squash the whole thing. I thought “our” legislature was supposed to work for us. Looks more like they’re saying, we work for “R”selves.
Chris Lowe, Nampa
Protect wolves
Please contact your legislator now to oppose the bill to remove most hunting regulations for wolves in Idaho. Do not believe the myths about wolves. They are not as harmful as many want you to believe. Harm to livestock is less than 1%, and ranchers don’t want to tell you about the higher percentage of livestock that die from disease or other issues. Plus, ranchers are reimbursed by taxpayers for any livestock lost. Wolves are being killed by inhumane ways of trapping and snares, shot from air to protect deer and elk for the hunters to kill. Idaho spends lots of money on hunters and ranchers but what about the people that love wildlife and believe in nature taking care of wildlife. Wolves are a keystone species; they hunt and kill animals that are weak and/or diseased. Wolves are only 5-15% effective at making a kill when hunting. Idaho does not use science in the killing of wolves. The bill wants to kill down to a total of 150 wolves, yet they are not able to estimate how many they have very well right now. Numbers vary by hundreds. There is no control when there are no regulations. Speak for wildlife!
Laura Williams, Cascade
Women’s rights
In 2009, I was in a meeting with an insurance representative and six coworkers, five female. I’d never been insured. The chart of premium costs read down according to age, columns for male and female. I asked the representative why my premiums were higher than for men my age. He stammered about maternal care. I offered, because women have babies? The leaden silence in the room passed. The purported choice between a necessary product with discrimination included and no product at all was the daily view of all our lives; we had to accept it, and because we did we lived disempowered. The physical, financial, and emotional burden of potential motherhood is unseen, embedded everywhere. Inequality. Patriarchy. 74 cents to the dollar, 20 bucks a month on Tampax, 40 for birth control, 15 for a pregnancy test, a choice between a manure sandwich or none at all while our brothers eat peanut butter and jelly. Losing the godsend of Planned Parenthood (H220) chokes the best horizon of choice we have. The unlawful six-week abortion ban constricts it to a pinhole (S1085). Men, this is unacceptable. Women, demand your rights with this legislature or be left with none.
Ann Ford, Boise