Letters

Research needed

Having read the article Extremes Of Opinion by Gordon Forgey in the April 18th edition it appears Mr. Forgey either completely missed the point the Brocks were trying to make or used them to try to sensationalize a point. If Mr. Forgey had taken the time to speak with the Brocks I venture he would have been hard pressed to attach Extremist opinions to them. His article would have then been written to build on their attempted communication that 1) Yes we are over taxed and 2) Yes we need to return to a govt of the people, by the people, for the people. Govt should be the servant of the people but has become their master in too many ways.

Mr. Fogery, the Brocks are far closer to the middle of the road than your article suggests. The Brocks carried two signs while the men back East carried two backpacks. Who had the extreme opinion and who had the extreme delivery method for their opinion?

Your article said there are two extreme views on government, both being wrong and I agree with that opinion. I do not however approve someone being thrown under the bus with either category before the research has been done to show they are truly in either category.

This is an opinion page and printed opinions ought to be based on research of truthful factors involved.

Terry Carlson,

Pullman

School safety

Why does human nature allow us to think that we should play off the fears of others to pass construction levies to replace doors to school buildings that have kept our students safe for numerous years? These same doors have kept our students safe before and after the numerous school tragedies that have occurred in this country.

What is different now? Reinforced entryways in Connecticut did not deter one deranged individual, so why should we think that they would stop anybody here? These derelict doors could have been replaced as part of the last construction levy, but apparently they were not deemed insufficient or unsafe at the time and a third gymnasium for a declining enrollment won the day.

Besides being a taxpayer, I drive a school bus for the Colfax School District, and it is nearly impossible to remove a student from the bus for disciplinary issues.

I have been hit and kicked by students in the past, and yet they are allowed to continue to ride the bus.

Any time the driver is distracted by a student, the likelihood of a traffic accident increases exponentially.

Thus, every passenger’s safety is put in jeopardy.

Removing the chronic problem child from the route would increase the safety of all the other children and would only cost a minimal amount in lost ridership funding, not $250,000.

The possibility of a bus being involved in an accident is much greater than the likelihood of a school rampage.

This safety issue is something that we should have complete control over and yet we do nothing.

Why? Unfortunately, stopping a deranged individual is something we will never have control over regardless of the amount of money we throw at the problem, and yet we are willing to do it anyway?

Why is it that individuals feel good about themselves and think they have really accomplished something special when they crack open their checkbooks and pay more taxes for a cause that they believe to be worthy?

Todd Imerson,

Colfax

Does Not Think

Though I shook the dust of Whitman County from my feet last year, I still try to read the Gazette. I was shocked at how Mr. Forgey included the two “citizen Patriots” peacefully and honestly protesting our overreaching government in his Editorial on the Boston Marathon bombing. It just boggles the mind.

My sincere congratulations to the Brocks for pointing out the obvious — the fact that not only is our Constitutionally “limited government” completely out-of-control, but that we citizens are greatly overtaxed. The Brocks should be proud that they exercised their right “peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.” They are true Patriots and we need more people like them to take action!

Mr. Forgey, on the other hand, doesn’t understand that what happened after the bombing (in effect a state of Martial Law) was a testimonial to just how out-of-control things are. Our tax dollars should never be used to take our liberties away.

Forgey owes an apology to the Brocks for even mentioning them in the same article with those who perpetrated that crime.

Carolyn Kiesz,

Moscow

It worked

Re: “Tax Day Observance” photo and caption on the front page of the issue of April 18, 2013

The caption under the photo quotes Mrs. Brock assaying “Our purpose is to cause people to think”. Well, Mrs. Brock, it worked with us.

We thought again about all types of taxation and regulation by local, state and national governments in this Great Nation and we came to the same conclusion that we always have when we thought about these subjects.

We realized again that we really like:

—Great and accessible schools and colleges

—The control of discrimination against all elements of our society

—The best law enforcement and military in the World

—That our neighbors who are less fortunate than us have some assistance from the Government for medical needs and bad times

—Good roads and highways

—Parks and recreational facilities, local, state and national

—Other benefits that are way too numerous to itemize here

Much of the above needs continued improvement. Most of these improvements can only be accomplished by government action which may include additional or adjustments to laws, regulations and taxation. We consider that compliance with laws, regulations and paying our taxes to be a patriotic duty, and we are willing to pay and do even more if they result in improvement in the above areas.

I couldn’t agree more with Gordon Forgey’s editorial in the same issue of the Gazette. We consider extremes of opinion to be just plain wrong .... no matter which side of the political spectrum a person is on.

A lack of government regulation and taxation is well shown by the condition of our society in the 19th century represented by child labor, robber barons, a large population of destitute citizens, destruction of our environment, rampant, violent discrimination against elements of our society, etc.

At the turn of the 20th century we and many others feel that Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican President, started the evolution of our society by regulating businesses as in monopoly busting, formation of our national park system, promoting a respect for our environment, promoting equality of opportunity for all citizens and much more.

He and others started the evolution of our modern society and we need to continue to improve on it as we have since then.

We need government laws and regulations to limit people’s natural instincts to maximize their own positions to the detriment of others.

Anyway Mr. and Mrs. Brock, thanks again for bringing these issues to our attention. You have made us feel wonderful about taxes and our government’s the best on Earth so far. We know that we usually never think about the great benefits that taxes, laws and regulations bring to all of us.

Our society continues to evolve in the right direction as we see it. We are all in this together whether a particular individual likes it or not. But, we will always fight for your right to carry signs and publically demonstrate.

That’s the American way.

Richard & Jerilee Stanton,

Colfax