Letters: House Bill 256 will sound the death knell for the arts in Idaho | Opinion
Here’s how House Bill 265 will shut down the arts and artistic expression in Idaho and cost the state millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. The bill is written so broadly and subjectively that it jeopardizes any artistic expression deemed “patently offensive to an average person applying contemporary community standards.” Who determines “contemporary community standards,” and what is the criteria? No performing arts groups will run the risk of crossing that line for fear of civil lawsuits that could cost tens of thousands of dollars just because someone was offended by the pushup bra in Grease or a musician’s or cheerleader’s hip thrusts. Say “bye” to high school theater productions, the Shakespeare Festival, cheerleader performances, the Idaho Ballet, Treefort, visiting Broadway shows, concerts and other artistic expression — plus the jobs and revenue they generate.
The arts are essential to a thriving culture and a robust economy. In 2019, production of arts and cultural goods and services in the U.S. added 4.3 percent directly to the nation’s GDP, totaling $919.7 billion. That revenue benefited Idaho.
And what’s the cost of creating a cultural wasteland, killing performing arts careers that could bloom here and gutting the creative spirit in Idaho?
Diane Schwarz, Boise
Dominion case reveals lies
The only thing stolen in 2020 was critical thinking and common sense.
As the Dominion case against FOX has revealed we have been getting lied to and misled by many politicians and the media.
The latest version is Sen. Crapo’s newsletter regarding “Protecting Hardworking Taxpayers from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Overreach.”
What Crapo conveniently leaves out is the $80 billion for the IRS is mostly to replace retirees and hire to improve customer service so you can talk to a human in a reasonable amount of time.
The portion to be used for enforcement is targeted at citizens who make over $420K a year. If you look at the Idaho government’s own breakdown of wealth in the state, only 1% or less make over that amount. So, it’s clear who Crapo is working for with his gaslighting.
I would prefer Crapo work to get money out of our politics so our politicians work for all of us and not just their rich donors.
Don’t be a sheep. Dig into what our politicians and news media are saying and get to the truth.
Barry Roth, Eagle
Drag has long history
Scared, are we? Many recall 1950s and 1960s drag skits in the Junior League fundraiser galas. Great comedians sashayed creatively, with wonderful makeup and costumes. Consider various scenes from Disney’s Fantasia. Men dressing as women and vice-versa have been a theme or act since Greek times and in Shakespeare. Interfering with artistic expression on Idaho public property is HB 265’s goal. It is likely not constitutional in how it restricts speech. Sure feels like overreach in the name of protecting Idaho children. Who certainly can access much more exciting or questionable stuff on their mobile devices all day and night.
Kay Hummel, Boise
Don’t cut trees for billboards
I am an outdoor preschool teacher. Daily, I watch three to five-year-olds make discoveries as they climb trees and rocks. They haven’t forgotten the importance of nature.
HB271, regarding landscape control permits, suggests that some of us adults have forgotten. It asserts that those bulky billboards we see along the freeway take precedence and would allow sign owners to remove public trees.
Trees are assets. They ease and lessen the amount of water that floods our streets during a storm, provide shade that lowers cooling bills for buildings, increase the value of homes and businesses, and studies have shown that the more trees there are in an area, the lower the crime rate. Landscaping facilitates healthy communities.
We must take action by contacting our legislators to let them know that we oppose HB271. To cut down a tree for the sake of a billboard is frankly silly, and to undermine the natural infrastructure that trees provide is uneducated. If we want to keep this area thriving for our children, we must oppose this bill.
Lorren Oesch, Caldwell