Letters to the editor: Protecting children, fentanyl, precinct strategy, campaign signs, citizenship

Protecting children

There is something fundamentally and morally wrong with a nation that works harder to protect a fertilized egg than a living, breathing, smiling child.

Kathy Dawes, Moscow

Fentanyl

I recently attended a memorial for a young man who died from fentanyl poisoning. Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 56,516 overdose deaths reported in 2020 (nida.nih.gov). You would think that with such a crisis, our emergency departments would be testing for this substance regularly. They’re not. I imagine it saves the hospitals money. They do test for propoxyphene, also known as Darvon. The FDA took this medication off the market in 2010. They probably test for this because the test is cheap. If you work at, or seek health care at one of the local hospitals, you might ask why they aren’t testing for it. One of the reasons so many are dying is because the drug is not being tested for. Fentanyl is showing up in heroin, counterfeit pain pills and tranquilizers, methamphetamine and ecstasy. The young man took a pain pill, went to bed, and never woke up.

Scott Watkins, Nampa

Campaign signs

If I understand the recent Statesman article, candidates have 48 hours after an election to gather roadside signs up. If they remain after several weeks, either ACHD or ITD will collect them. If the candidate doesn’t claim them, those two organizations will dispose of them. All of this at taxpayer expense? And NO repercussions for the candidate or campaign? Except that they may lose their signs, but leaving them by the roadside for weeks means they didn’t care much for them anyway. Future candidates: if you exhibit that you care so little about how my tax dollars are spent, you have indicated that you won’t care much about your responsibilities if elected. If you think that taxes are your personal slush fund, I don’t want you in charge of any of them. You didn’t have any trouble plastering those signs all over for weeks leading up to election day. If you and your supporters are so lazy that you won’t collect your litter in a timely manner, you are not someone I want looking after what’s best for my community. In short, if I see your sign out there more than one extra week, you have lost my support. Forever.

Curtis Stoddard, Eagle

Precinct strategy

The recent column “Keeping Idaho’s elections boring amid GOP prying” references a “disturbing” article about Republican plans that “...have the potential to seriously disrupt elections.” The source material includes a recording of Republican strategists discussing how to ensure that polling place workers include Republicans and that they be well trained to discern possible voting irregularities and have a well-established path to escalate any concerns. Also referenced is the Precinct Strategy which is a movement intended to encourage Republican voters to get involved at the grass-roots level of the party and to exhort others to get engaged and to vote. Seriously, do any of those strategies to enhance voter participation and election integrity seem particularly disruptive, sinister or nefarious? Please realize that much of what is written or broadcast these days ranges from slanted to wholly misrepresentative of the facts and worthy of extreme skepticism. As Sharyl Attkisson says, “Do your own research, make up your own mind, think for yourself.”

Steve Dunlap, Boise

Citizenship

Becoming a U.S. citizen isn’t just about signing a paper and you’re in. The process is complex and time consuming that could take years to get your green card. It takes so many requirements to be eligible for naturalization, tons of paperwork and computer work, and the financial pay is now $1,170. Not every Latino or non-citizen have family members in the U.S. to help them with this process, which is why we have to make this easier for those out there with no help. Making this process harder makes it easier to be deportable, not have any job associated with the government, and no health care, etc. We know and can already identify the barriers to citizenship, all that is left to do is get the government to help with this problem.

Daniella Pedraza, Caldwell