Tara Dowd, I have been reading and agreeing with your editorials in the Inlander. Your sharp opinions are right on target. Although, I am of the opinion that the final paragraph in your Jan. 12 article ("The Landed and the White") was somewhat fuzzy. According to the DVD What A Way to Go, a panorama of all we are losing as climate change coupled with greed destroy this planet, the narrator does expect that some humans will survive the holocaust, for what that is worth. Homo sapiens will not be extinct yet. I think of this when I read your final paragraph, "Indigenous people of America have been surviving presidents ... for 228 years." Yikes.
When I try to consider all the suffering, all the human cultures and languages that have been destroyed by colonialism and imperialism, all the squandered and wasted human resources represented by those innocents whose lives and minds have been hollowed out, if not extinguished, before they could contribute all those wonderful gifts that are the birthright and potential of all spirits born... I find myself wondering if strength and resilience are the booby prize. Why can't each individual be fully cherished and loved and nurtured, and their unique talents cherished? Some of us will survive, but at what cost?
OK, enough with that. My primary reasons for writing you are, first, to say I am glad you are part of Spokane's journalism scene. And secondly, to elaborate on your mention of getting big money out of politics. There is currently being brought before a number of state legislatures, including Washington's, a bill to have a national meeting of state legislatures to draft a constitutional amendment [to get money out of our elections]. Several states have already passed such a bill. Olympia considered looking at it last year, but the Senate Republicans did a sort of pocket veto that killed it.
It would be amazing if you could encourage your readers to talk to their own elected representatives in Olympia and pressure them to pass this bill. There are activists all over the state, including Spokane, who are already involved in this effort. The beauty of this method of changing the law of the land is that it bypasses the Beltway bubble. Local legislators are more responsive to their base. I suspect you might already be aware of this bill, this movement. Please help it happen by asking your readers to contact the state legislators who represent their districts.
Stay strong girl.
Katherine Shellorne
Spokane, Wash.
Reactions to a blog post reporting that bills sent by Spokane police to all three presidential campaigns that made stops in Spokane last year (with Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Bill Clinton) remain unpaid:
Zach Holland: Did they have a contract? If not, then that's the city's fault.
Julie Cochran: Maybe start billing carpetbaggers up front BEFORE they hit town... If they haven't paid, then cancel the event...
John S Pardee: Next time they are on their own.
Garry W Campbell: Trump hasn't paid his bills or taxes in 60 years, so neither should we. He is, after all, our new role model.
Landon Johnston: Next time tell them they're not welcome. ♦
