Mourn civilians on all sides of Gaza war. Peace can only be achieved though justice | Opinion

Peace in Israel will require justice

Hamas, religious extremists whose brutality was on full display in their massacre of Oct. 7, are not part of the only answer in this troubled land: a just peace in two independent states. Neither are the religious extremists in the current Israeli government who have called for a nuclear bomb in Gaza as a final solution.

The original sin of Israel was the ethnic cleansing of 700,000 Palestinians in 1947-48 through terror, massacres and intimidation to create a majority Jewish nation along with the myth, like in South Africa, that Israel made an ‘empty’ land bloom. The illegal appropriation of Palestinian land has continued, through force of arms to this very day with racist settlers backed by the Israeli military murdering and intimidating with impunity in the West Bank.

Land stolen, a people left to rot for generations in squalid refugee camps while Israel lied about halting settlement expansion for five decades so that dreams of a ‘Greater Israel’ can be a fait accompli.

Not one more US penny for Israel until it agrees to leave the occupied lands and scrape all illegal settlements. Give the Palestinians the homeland they deserve. Justice and Peace, always inseparable.

Scott Cook, Boise

Consider all-mail voting

Imagine the taxpayer dollars that could be saved if everyone voted by mail, the same way we pay our taxes, register our vehicles and conduct business every day. No more polling places to rent; no more paid workers to set up and take down polling equipment; no more costly and controversial voting machines to purchases and maintain; no more recruiting volunteer workers to run polling places; no more paid poll security persons, just more printed ballots, accurate voting information, instructions and bulk mailing permits. Imagine the improved convenience and security of voting by mail. No more wondering where to go to vote, no more driving on slick roads in nasty weather to vote, no more getting off work to vote on a one day only, 12-hour window election day, and no more standing in long lines for a long time to vote. More time to research all the candidates who claim to be Republicans, more time to become an informed, responsible voter, all in the privacy, comfort and safety of your home for the price of a stamp. Who knows, maybe totally voting by mail would increase the number of Americans willing to participate in our American democracy.

Steven Shake, Caldwell

End the firing squad before it’s used

Justice is never advanced in the taking of a human being’s life. Idaho has recently become the fifth state to authorize the firing squad as a method of execution. Killings by firing squads are visibly violent and bloody, potentially traumatizing victims’ relatives and other witnesses as well as executioners and staffers who clean up afterward. The death penalty via the firing squad not only takes away a human being’s life, but it strips away the humanity of each person involved in this punishment. In the Constitution, the Eighth Amendment states that prisoners will not receive cruel or unusual punishment. The firing squad directly goes against this right of all human beings. It is an unethical and inhumane form of punishment. A pull of the trigger and a human’s life is violently stripped away. Humanity is within us all and the Constitution gives this protection to each prisoner against cruel and unusual punishment, although the firing squad goes directly against it. Action must be taken to the Legislature to save the humanity within each individual involved in this unlawful punishment.

Piper Braun, Boise

Time for Simpson to go

I think it is time for someone to step up and replace Rep. Mike Simpson. He has never seen a continuing resolution he doesn’t love. He does not try to get any concessions from the Dems. He just goes along to get along. That in my opinion is the definition of a RINO. We are essentially bankrupt as a country, and it means nothing to him. If he can explain to us how he intends to solve our fiscal crisis I would be glad to hear. Closing the government down doesn’t make anyone lose any wages, as they are all paid in full when shutdown is over. We are currently at a balance where all our income will not cover interest on the debt. Does not seem to make any difference to him that he has helped place all our kids and grandkids under a debt they will not get out from under. Is there not someone that is willing to step up and run for the seat he just occupies but doesn’t fulfill his duties?

Keith E Pugh, Boise

Infrastructure bill helping Nampa

About two years ago President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It is benefiting Nampa by helping fund a water recycling program and a study to improve railroad crossings. Railroad crossings may not sound glamorous, but they are important. There are 18 railroad crossings in Nampa and many of them are dangerous for pedestrians. One near my home on Railroad Street is even dangerous for cars. It’s very narrow and has no space for pedestrians. I hope the city uses the money wisely to study the situation and recommend improvements that can be made.

As for the water recycling program, well it sounded pretty yucky to me, but I looked it up. Water will be treated by the city to remove things that are not water. Then the water will be put into the irrigation water supply. This recycled water will be used on crops and yards, maybe even help during low water years.

I’m glad to get some of my tax dollars back from the Federal Government in the form of infrastructure improvements.

Sarah Butler, Nampa

Work to promote food security

Tell me how this ends? What if the US experiences prolonged droughts, crops suffer pests and pathogens, or America’s dependence on imported fertilizers falters?

To fight climate change, the USDA Conservation Reserve Program promotes locking up another nine million acres reaching almost thirty million acres, paying landowners not to produce Browse the USDA CRP site and discover the USDA has sustainable farming goals. Why not Sustainably use, where appropriate, this ground?

China has a large strategic grain reserve. The US has none. Russia is the world’s top exporter of wheat and fertilizer. Ukraine’s grain exports have fallen.

Read “Weaponizing Wheat” the Winner of the 2023 Secretary of Defense National Security Essay Competition. A Palouse Wheat Country native authored this winning essay.

Don’t hesitate to contact our politicians regarding America’s food security. Ask them to promptly institute a substantial Federal Strategic Food Reserve, starting with the easiest part — grain.

Gerald Edward Weitz, Viola