LETTER: That isn't me, Ray

Mr. Ray L. Fink published a letter that was entirely filled with erroneous assumptions. The reason why? He has never met me. Not once in our individual lifetimes have we held a personal conversation about anything, political or otherwise. What he knows of how I think, can only be based on any letters that I have written and were published to the Coeur d’Alene Press. Mr. Fink should have confined himself to addressing the contents of these published letters, instead of trying to create a fictional individual to attack. He can only be embarrassed by the fact that his letter to the editor was reprinted to the following blog: http://jeh15.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/thank-you-ray-l-fink/ with my online response.

Now for the particulars. I was born in Coeur d’Alene on April 14, 1954, at Lake City General Hospital. I have been a native of Idaho for the last 60 years. When I entered the U.S. Army, it was in March 1979. I served in Cold War Germany from 1979 to 1983. I went on to serve in the Army Reserves, 659th Engineering Company, from 1983 to 1991, when I was given an honorable discharge. I had been more than 10 years out of the service when I moved with my now late mom, Grace A. Harman to Dalton Gardens. After her death by lung cancer, I returned to Coeur d’Alene where I now reside.

No, I am not gay. No, I am not a “liberal” or whatever passes for the political definitions of “liberal” today. As far as I know, I have never held “superior views” to other people. However, being a person who has read a lot of books, magazines and so one in my lifetime, I should instead say, that my views are well informed. It is not my problem if Mr. Fink wants to feel “threatened” by the fact, that other people can express a diversity of opinions. That is why this country is a democracy and has been one, since the day the Bill of Rights was ratified into law. And yes, whenever corruption in government is pointed out by various media outlets, then I will say what I think of it and publish my views accordingly. And for the people in this state, who push religion as a basis for their so-called “conservatism,” then corruption in government — robbing a collective Peter to pay a private Paul — is not what you should be voting for. Hypocrisy never has been morally justifiable.

Also, I am the author of the Kindle book on Amazon.com, “Are You a Space Alien?”

JOAN E. HARMAN

Coeur d’Alene