Fulcher’s shame
On Jan. 6, Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo chose to honor their oath to defend the Constitution and acted to defend our great democracy. Congressman Russ Fulcher betrayed his and joined a crowd of representatives seeking to demolish that democracy.
As a young soldier more than 50 years ago, I took pretty much the same oath and, with maybe a small lapse or two, have worked very hard to honor the promise that I made.
Fulcher took his oath just a couple of years ago and has now shown that, to him, it was just a joke.
History will not soon forget the names of those who dishonored America, and the Fulcher name will be sure to appear on this wall of shame.
Dennis Baird
Moscow
Just like Mussolini
It is very interesting that many supporters of President Donald Trump were (and many still are), convinced that a Democrat as president would result in capitulation to communism. Are any of those supporters worried about democracy’s fall to fear fomented by baseless allegations?
Do your research. This is the same way a fascist, Benito Mussolini, turned a parliamentary democracy in Italy into a dictatorship. Be very careful what you wish for.
Russell Gee
Lewiston
Open warming center
I am writing this letter to open the eyes of the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley community.
In regard to the winter season, I recently was at the Steps for Life. The only problem was it was not open as a warming center. I would have cried if my tear ducts weren’t frozen from the negative temperature of below freezing, sleeping two nights at the building where a caseworker works diligently to provide an opportunity to eagerly help the poor and those who really do need help.
I’m not sure if this community understands the effects of cryogenics and freezing the human body. I did a compare and contrast video slide in high school. It truly wouldn’t take minus-360 to freeze tissues and vessels that are used to keep the human body alive.
The community frowns deeply and weeps terribly when it loses loved ones, family and friends. When one says to another, “Be warm,” and gives them not a coat to be warm, their words become useless.
I as well as many others believe in our community.
Imagine if it were you and realize only some are gods. The rest are human and their needs are not met in prisons or jails. The homeless community uses drugs to cope with living amid other mental and emotional imbalances
Please Lord Jesus, king eternal, and those who are Christ’s followers: Please open the warming center and Drug and Alcohol Anonymous. Don’t be afraid to live.
Buck Basey
Lewiston
Could not get through
Recently my very dear friend was taken to an adult care center. While there, I received a call from him that he had dialed my number by mistake and would soon call again.
Over the next several weeks, I called the center many times to speak to my friend. Every time I called, the operator said I would be transferred to his room phone. And every time I would be put on hold while being forced to listen to endless advertising. ...
I would listen for six or eight minutes then hang up and call again, explaining my frustration. The operator would then transfer my call to the nursing station and I would wait to be put on hold again with a repeat performance of advertisements.
In those several weeks of calling, never once did I get to speak to anyone except the operator who transferred my calls.
My friend died without me ever getting to speak to him, to tell him thanks for his many years of friendship, of telling him how I enjoyed the times we played our jam sessions — him on mandolin and me on guitar — or to tell him how we, his friends, were praying for him on an ongoing basis. We never got to speak one single word to him in his time of need before dying. ...
Is there not some authority to prevent this from happening to others? ...
Ted Downs
Lewiston
Troubled by politicians
I’m troubled by Americans who support politicians who believe it’s OK to:
1) Outright lie.
2) Instill distrust of our U.S. intelligence agencies. These include people of the highest caliber and education. They pass background checks back to their kindergarten teachers and are indisputably patriotic.
3) Degrade opponents with childish name calling.
4) Dismiss newspaper organizations with more than 100 years of reporting the news — good or bad — truthfully.
5) Support use of U.S. military troops to clear a park of peaceful Americans or advance into a city having First Amendment protests. This use of military force violates the Constitution. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark A. Milley realized this during his walk behind President Donald Trump to St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Equally troubling is what elected Republicans want:
1) Lowering taxes on corporations and higher- income earners below that of working families. ...
2) Allow taxes to be diverted from public schools to private and religious schools.
3) Refusing to give Americans a $2,000 stimulus to combat the poor economy. These members of Congress earn $175,000-plus (and benefits), yet spent 182 days at their offices last year. ...
More than 72 million American voters support Republican leaders who have ignored and refused medical actions that have resulted in 381,000 American deaths and about 23 million infections. ...
Food banks are helping an estimated 86 million people. ...
Unemployment is at 12.8 percent. ...
An estimated 8.5 million small businesses have been lost.
Your votes for Republicans supports this. ...
Ron Lamb
Asotin
Mental health intervention
On Dec. 8, an excellent virtual panel program was presented on crisis intervention team training — what it is, who participates and its impact on services to persons in mental illness crises.
Retired Moscow Police Capt. Paul Kwiatkowski, Moscow Police Chief James Fry, Latah County Sheriff Richard Skiles as well as Laura A. Thayer and Teresa I. Shackelford of Region II Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spoke of their roles and experiences with the crisis intervention team program.
The question and answer session, moderated by Latah County Commissioner Kathie LaFortune, included excellent questions from the audience, followed by discussion among the panelists.
The panel was sponsored by the Latah County Human Rights Task Force and the Moscow Human Rights Commission.
The Palouse Advocates on Mental Illness thanks the panelists for their informative presentations, expanding community awareness about the role of our law enforcement officers in their work with people experiencing mental crises and the followup efforts of our health and welfare providers.
We also acknowledge the work of the panel coordinator, Sharlisa Davis, who worked tirelessly with the panelists, the moderator and the University of Idaho team, which provided the platform for the program.
Davis is a leader in this region and the state of Idaho for peer support, education, outreach and advocacy about mental illness and the need to work together to provide compassion and care to persons who live with mental illness.
Lorraine Cline
President
Palouse Advocates on Mental Illness
Clarkston
Stop showboating, Aaron
On Jan. 6, insurrectionists, inspired and encouraged by President Donald Trump, attacked the U.S. Capitol and boldly assaulted our democracy. This was an unprecedented assault on the rule of law and our republic by sore loser Trump’s quasi-fascist base.
On the same day, Lewiston’s elected state representative, Aaron von Ehlinger, was the only Idaho legislator speaking to a Boise crowd of a similar ilk to the D.C. thugs called MAGA girl.
He was joined by local John Birch Society conspiracy theorists casting doubts on our electoral system, praising Trump’s call for violence as a solution to his electoral loss, fellow conspiracy theorist Ammon Bundy and using violence in general as a means to a political end.
Von Ehlinger declared he will “never forget nor will I ever forgive the people ... the traitors that stole this election” at roughly the same time the violent attack on our Capitol ensued in D.C.
Is this the job of a state legislator? Does this represent the values of our community?
To pile on the president’s fraud and parrot Trump’s deluded claims he was cheated?
This rally was an unveiled attempt by an ideologue to garner glory from fellow extremist ideologues in Boise who are not his constituents.
I hope every voter in the 6th Legislative District who does not embrace this kind of violent extremist rhetoric will write von Ehlinger and demand he stop showboating for Trump’s most extreme and violent base and get busy representing our district in Boise.
Richard Kremer
Lewiston
Cowards
Republican state and federal legislators across America:
I see now:
l President Donald Trump’s continually lying.
l His racism and support for white supremacy.
l His evil acts against immigrants.
l His disparaging of people with disabilities.
l His bullying of women and female legislators.
l His many unethical and immoral acts.
None of that was enough to pull your support and adoration from Trump. Only when his terrorists invaded the Capitol and threatened your lives did you feel it was time to pull Republican support.
You are cowards and anti-American.
Darcy Miller
Pullman
Narrow thinking
Standing above the crowd, we look through our toilet paper rollers to pick out the man in the red shirt or the blue shirt, and decry the other simply because we are so narrow in our thinking that we are fearful of what we might learn. I’m not a Democrat or a Republican,
My values are conservative.
I am a God-fearing Christian.
What would happen if we all just grew up a little, which would mean a little bit less “self.”
Hmmm.
Greg Broemeling
Juliaetta
