Justified Right strikes again
Justified Right
By Timothy Hunt
In the last Justified Right, I misspelled Larry Morrison’s name; the error was mine alone and I apologize for it.
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On December 26, Kathy Evans of Coeur d’Alene (LTE) said repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will lead to “more beatings and abuse of gay soldiers,” which I hope is not true. Ms. Evans seems to believe that gays and lesbians have incredibly powerful libidos and are looking lustily at all members of the same gender. My experience has been quite different; the gays and lesbians I know do not engage in casual relationships. I believe gays and lesbians are no more sex crazed than heterosexuals.
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Unus Vocate, also of Coeur d’Alene (LTE, 1/12) visited “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” which he says will lead to “sex in the showers, in the dormitories, in their rooms, in their tents, at the motor pool, at the recreation center” and other places, perhaps including the front lawn at the PRESS. The only reason we have sex, he claims, is the propagation of the species and since homosexuals do not propagate. . . the argument is predictable. Mr. Vocate crescendos to fortissimo: “Damn that immoral Obama and the rest of the fools” who fail to see that our military cannot function with openly homosexual troops in its rank. I have no comment; simply reproducing the words is sufficient.
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In a New Year’s Eve LTE, Walter Litman of Coeur d’Alene accused “the progressives who control our schools” of teaching kids more about “how to feel good about mediocrity” than “to think critically.” His solution is to “go back to teaching about the greatness of the American idea and ideal; to focus in our schools about the great things we have done” and a few other things. He also says the problem with schools is a spending problem, not a taxing problem, and that “more taxes on the rich are more taxes on all of us.” He claims he is “not bashing liberals or progressives” but you sure could have fooled me. I don’t think his charges are fair. Furthermore, I have no idea who these “progressives” might be or, for that matter, why taxes on the rich are taxes on all of us.
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Also on New Year’s Eve, Sherman D. Randolph of Coeur d’Alene, calls the draft plan for McEuen Field a “scam.” He asks if any of these people (presumably the members of the committee) have ever “been to this field in the summer when families” gather there. I have reviewed the committee membership and have concluded there is not a scammer in the lot; furthermore, I suspect a number of them have visited the field, including Mr. Eastwood, City Parks Director. Mr. Randolph also says that “the LCDC, mayor, city council, Hagadone Corporation and downtown businesses are salivating at the prospects of getting their hands on control of this property.” There are some pretty nice people in those groups and I know a lot of them; I have never seen any drooling. Interestingly, the PRESS editorial on that same day said, “The new year won’t be one bit better than the old one if we can’t treat each other with respect” and when the argument has been made, “look your opponent in the eye and shake hands.” I would have problems shaking hands with someone who had accused me of being mendacious and perpetrating scams.
Claire Sullivan (Coeur d’Alene) in a LTE on 1/5 thanked the PRESS for publishing “the names of the committee to redevelop McEuen Field. Now we know who to fire, sue, and generally hold responsible for this idiocy.” Ms. Sullivan is entitled to her opinion, of course, but the committee in question had no idiots in its membership and so likely did not produce idiocy; in other words, those who disagree with her are not necessarily idiots and those who agree are not necessarily sages. She suggests that elected officials will be voted out of office for their views; one can only hope that the majority of voters do not select their leaders based on one issue. Ms. Sullivan also suggests that people who do not like things the way they are “can close the drapes and leave.” I have lived in Idaho more than twenty three years and detest the smugness that comes from certain residents about people who disagree with them. I have no opinion on McEuen Field but I have strong views about what people should write about one another.
Also on McEuen Field was a letter from Russ Bohn of Athol (1/12) in which he implies the proposed plan for the Field will bring parking lots and non park uses; it appears to me that Mr. Bohn holds a pretty narrow definition of “park.” The designs sure look like a park to me, though different from the current one, it is true. Mr. Bohn’s description of the downtown area includes a mediocre and over-priced dinner, lots of tourist trash for sale, forlorn store fronts, over-zealous cops and predatory parking patrol drones. Gosh, he sure is lucky to live in Paradise. He also claims a conspiracy behind a plan that has nothing for the local taxpayer except the bill and is designed to draw tourists, sell boat rides and condos, and rent rooms. He says he is glad he is not a taxpayer in the city and, I imagine, lots of local residents are, too.
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Ray Fink of Santa (also a letter on New Year’s Eve) says that “Liberal ideology is they seem to loathe the country and blame it for everything wrong in the world.” He also says Liberals (he capitalized so I will, too) “want FOX News off the air” and want “conservative radio shut down.” I might take some of that seriously when the Conservatives (note I capitalized for fairness) start their version of the ACLU. I have never once heard one liberal call for shutting down FOX or silencing any radio personalities. The problem might solve itself, however, if FOX and Rupert Murdoch keep raising their broadcast rates to cable and satellite delivery systems.
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Hats off, by the way, to “Hoot” Gaylor of Coeur d’Alene who, in making a case for the Tea Party, is “civil and respectful,” words lifted from that same PRESS editorial on New Year’s Eve. Alas, he lost some of his good behavior points for a second letter on Jan. 12, in which he says, “The left in this country doesn’t seem interested in a conversation” and accepts only its own version of the truth.
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January 2 was not such a hot day for the PRESS Opinion page. LTE writer Marty Frantz wrote that TSA is under siege by an angered populace because we are subjected, among other things, to “sexual harassment” which, I think overstates the case on several levels. The searches may be overly intrusive but I doubt sexual harassment is on the minds of TSA employees.
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On the same day, Bill Hummel of Post Falls says the county is building a new trade school because “They say they need more college.” Is Mr. Hummel arguing against KTEC? If so, KTEC is a secondary school level, not college.
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Jarrod Meaux has issues with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. His letter is vague but his complaint of “excessive force” on several occasions is serious; still, it is hard to accept blanket criticism of the Department without specifics.
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David Long of Bayview (LTE, 1/5) wrote about public education that “the solution is not to pour more money into it, as it has been proven in several other school districts across the country” where “the quality of education has fallen and the costs continue to rise.” I have seen this statement before and commented about it; I certainly do not hold that additional funding will cure all problems with public education but no one has yet named these school districts that spent more and achieved less. As readers, we cannot properly evaluate letters that do not cite sources for their claims.
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Also on 1/5, Clint Bower of Coeur d’Alene (LTE) called for a new audit system, “maybe a private company—that could keep track of our tax dollars.” I found a letter on the Internet from Dan English to the County Commissioners and Citizens of the County (March 18, 2010) that accompanied the County’s annual financial report and contained these words: “Idaho state statute requires an annual audit by an independent audit firm” which in this case was LeMaster and Daniels. I have worked with many auditing firms and, unfortunately, an audit does not always uncover all that we might hope. What the County may have to change is the terms of the audit. We may have to (shudder!) spend more money to buy more audit. Mr. Bower will perhaps be relieved to learn that what he suggested is already being done.
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Del Cameron (LTE, 1/5) is concerned that people can send “the PRESS a letter and in that letter is a bald-faced lie, being palmed off as fact.” I assure Mr. Cameron that if he will bring such instances to my attention, we will unmask them in this column, created for exactly that purpose. Now as to people who are “paid to produce propaganda,” the operative word is propaganda and we need to know what that word means. The lines between public relations, persuasion, and propaganda are very gray but many purveyors of them do care about the truth. Accepting money for writing on behalf of an issue is not in itself evil.
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K.A. Stone of Athol (LTE, 1/9) wrote that the government lies to us by using only grocery prices to determine inflation. I had no idea whether or not that was true so I checked with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to see just how they figure the Consumer Price Index; Stone’s assertion is quite wrong. Virtually all of the items he (or she) listed as not included are indeed figured in the tabulation of inflation. Our leaders may indeed be “a bunch of liars and thieves,” as Stone claims, but not for any deficiencies in determining inflation.
“Justified Right” is a commentary on errors that appear in the PRESS, mainly in letters to the editor and My Turn columns. To submit items, e-mail Timothy Hunt, at linotype.hunt785@gmail.com. Please include the date of publication of the error(s).