How about a two-country division?
I am no expert and what I really care about in this conflict is the horrible suffering of both Israeli and Palestinian children. It seems to me that the only way for these children to be safe is the two-country division.
I also think the powerful countries in the region must step in to make this a reality, including financial aid to build up a functioning country for the Palestinians. By functioning, I mean their own government, not as a colony of another country and absolutely not as a terrorist base proxy of Iran.
My question for those of you who know the people: Are the people of Gaza particularly attached to the Gaza strip? Would they accept a trade with Israel for equal land in the West Bank? It seems to me it would be easier for both Israelis and Palestinians to have geographically united countries. Do you think both Israel and Egypt would be happy with this solution?
Helen Wootton
Moscow
Attention, Pullman homeowners
Last March, I wrote a letter about the proposed short-term rental policy being written in Pullman, objecting that it would be effective in all residential areas including single-family residences in R1 neighborhoods.
I sent the same objections to the Pullman Planning Commission. Someone must have read it there, but their response was to completely eliminate R1 zone designations from Pullman Code, which they will now recommend for approval, plus other code changes, including the awful short-term rental policy, to the Pullman City Council following the Pullman Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
R1 will now become “Minimal Density” which will also include duplexes and 4-unit townhomes. Single family neighborhoods in R1 designated zones will be eliminated. Your neighbor will now be able to sell his or her home to a person who can put a 4-unit townhome on that property. Those townhomes can then be rented for up to 30 days to up to 10 people, and then re-rented for another 30 days to another 10 people. One can only imagine the noise, traffic and parking, behavior issues and party garbage that nearby residents will have to tolerate.
For those who bought single-family homes and are enjoying their neighbors and relatively peaceful life here in Pullman, that is about to change unless we speak up to Pullman City Council members and Mayor Francis Benjamin. Contact Ariel Medeiros (ariel.medeiros@pullman-wa.gov) at the Pullman Planning Commission for the proposed code changes, and at-large Pullman City Council member Eric Fejeran (eric.fejeran@pullman-wa.gov) to voice your concerns. This is being done quietly without the approval of the Pullman single-family homeowners.
John Thielbahr
Pullman
Elected leaders should think before they speak
The election is over, but I continue to think about the use of the phrase “go back where you came from.” I worry that Sen. Dan Foreman and many others do not realize how harmful and destructive those words are. I can speak from experience since I have had a form of that said to me, as had my Japanese American husband.
One minute you are a part of the community — helping out, joining in, enjoying comradeship and friendships. Then — bam — you no longer feel that you belong. You begin to wonder what people really think about you and who you can trust and believe. It is not an actual physical blow, but believe me, the scar remains forever. Many would describe that remark as an expression of white supremacy or racism.
I sincerely hope that all of us, especially elected leaders, would stop and think before we speak, and remember that we are setting an example for others, especially our youth, concerning how to treat other people. We should do better so that our society will be better for them.
Joann Muneta
Moscow
Emotional vote will backfire
No surprises following the election as Donald Trump doubles down on becoming dictator by picking unvetted, unqualified cult loyalists Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbert, RFK Jr. and Pete Hegseth for key Cabinet posts! Trump told innumerable lies on the campaign trail but his insatiable need for power was never in doubt.
Do his voters really want to live under a dictatorship?
David Brooks argues persuasively (Spokesman-Review, Nov. 10, Opinion, Voters to Elites: Do You See Me Now? — The New York Times) that the working class justifiably feels forgotten so emotionally relates to Trump’s angry rhetoric. But neither Trump’s previous administration nor other Republicans have treated workers well. Vowing to make Barack Obama a one-term president, long-time Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell opposed everything Obama proposed to help the working class. Republican House leaders John Boehner and Cathy McMorris Rodgers followed suit; for example, they withheld a full House vote on Obama’s signature immigration reform bill — already Senate-passed — despite sufficient House votes for passage to become law.
And don’t expect the present Trump administration to help workers. He’s already appointed mega-billionaire Elon Musk, who contributed $118 million to Trump’s campaign, to lead the “government efficiency drive,” likely cutting millions from programs helping the working class. Trump praised Musk for saying he would fire any striking workers in his Tesla company, the only nonunionized US major automaker, and just hire new workers.
Many people vote their emotions. Working class voters, in particular, hurt themselves doing so; they win when Democrats win.
Norm Luther
Spokane
