Letters to the editor: Ukraine restrictions, Kitchen Collective, to Crapo and others

Ukraine restrictions

Helping another democratic country is admirable, like in Ukraine’s war with Russia. However, our aid of weapons limits them to only fight in the Ukraine, not to harm anything over the border in Russia. Putin must love that restrictive use of our weapons. Russia lines up all their armament just at the border in Russia and proceeds to shell and bomb everything in Ukraine. Energy sources, food resources, water supplies, killing people, and destroying everything in the country.

This policy can only have one outcome because Russia won’t run out of rockets, nor do they care how many they kill.

So, what are we doing? I see no way Ukraine can win with aid and restrictions. “Don’t go to a gun fight with a knife and one arm tied behind your back.”

Roger Michener, Boise

Kitchen Collective

I would like to talk about a great program here in the Boise Area called the Boise Kitchen Collective. This project has helped feed numerous unhoused individuals every Wednesday at Rhodes Skate Park from 5-6 p.m. All of the food is purchased and cooked by citizens in Boise who have a yearning to help and get to know the unhoused population in our city. They are constantly needing new donors and are appreciative of anything anyone can do or donate. Not only does this help our unhoused population, it also shows great community action.

Cidney Bunch, Meridian

To Crapo

Thank you for your email concerning our country’s mental and behavioral health services. They are swamped, partly due to Covid and often involving the young.

Acknowledging that truth, why do you insist that the gun you have made widely available to these same troubled people has nothing to do with the slaughter of school children? It has EVERYTHING to do with these shootings. Two little kids in Uvalde had their heads blown off, senator. Other bodies were so mangled they could be identified only by matching their DNA with that of their terrified parents.

Regarding the Uvalde shooter, why were there no background checks? He had been threatening teenage girls online. I honestly believe that you, Sen. Crapo, would have wanted to check the 18-year-old kid’s online history before selling him an AR-15-type rifle. I have to believe that you are a well-meaning person.

Still, you and your Republican colleagues have enabled shooters to be armed with AR-15-style rifles and body protection well beyond the capacity of our local police to confront them.

Why? To quote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: “because you can?”

Dody Dozier, Moscow

Support Ukraine

Don’t turn away from the fight for freedom in Ukraine. If they lose to Putin, he will invade other countries with no end in sight. I’m tired of the news filled with war footage and stories, but I force myself to continue to read and watch.

Please support our government’s actions of supplying weapons, money and humanitarian aid. The citizens of Ukraine are giving so much more, even their lives. I don’t want to wake up in a year or so and find our young men and women fighting in this war. We must continue to support Ukrainians as they fight for their country’s, and perhaps our, freedom.

Kayla Dodson, Boise

Support innovation

Small business owners like myself thrive on competition in the marketplace. It pushes companies to innovate and provide the best products and services to consumers. Unfortunately, Big Tech companies like Amazon, Google, Meta and Apple are stifling competition with monopoly practices that crush small businesses.

The online marketplace used to be a tool for small businesses to grow their customer base, create jobs, and test new ideas. Over time, Big Tech companies have become so dominant that they can gatekeep the online marketplace by disadvantaging competitors and swallowing their profits. They also use monopolist rent-seeking behavior that increases costs to consumers and provides worse products than in a competitive environment. Bipartisan members of Congress saw Big Tech companies skirting antitrust regulations, so they drafted the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S 2992) to safeguard businesses and consumers.

Senator Crapo, Senator Risch, and Congressman Fulcher must support S 2992 to protect Idaho business owners and consumers. Our economy is built on innovation, which can only happen when we protect competition and prevent unilateral market power.

Erik Berg, Boise

Hateful sermon

Joe Jones, pastor of the Shield of Faith Baptist Church in Boise, should be ashamed of his hateful sermon against gays. It was devoid of anything Christlike and more of a call to arms to the wingnuts.

Preacher Jones should read Matthew 25 where Jesus separates the sheep and the goats in the judgment. He tells of the destiny of each of his professed followers as based on “as you have done it to the least of these you have done it unto me.”

Preacher Jones should go into a closet that some gay person just came out of, close the door, and pray for mercy. He is going to need it on judgment day.

Thomas Loop, Nampa

COMPETES Act

Failure to promote the best and brightest to join our STEM workforce threatens our global competitive advantage. Thankfully, lawmakers can take steps to ensure America remains the global leader in innovation and next-gen technology developments needed to support national security and the economy in the 21st century.

The House-passed America COMPETES Act and Senate-passed United States Innovation and Competition Act would promote these goals and differences between these bills are being debated by Senators Crapo, Risch, and their colleagues as we speak. However, only the COMPETES Act has provisions that would retain international talent in STEM. Without these reforms, our nation will not be able to keep up with global competitors like China and instead send U.S.-educated talent to man the cybersecurity efforts of adversaries like Russia.

The backbone of our country is our people, and I encourage Senators Crapo and Risch, who are on the Conference Committee, to find a compromise between these bills to ensure foreign-born STEM provisions are included.

Ivan Castillo, Nampa