Letters to the editor: Fourth of July parade, education task force, breaching dams, Murgoitio Park, camping with dogs, COVID-19 statistics

Fourth of July parade

Thanks to the We The People families who dedicated 20 years of their lives to celebrate the birthday of our country, which we citizens of the valley enjoyed and benefited from their efforts. It’s a sad commentary on Boise that the capital of a state can’t be bothered to celebrate the 4th. It celebrates other events, some I support and some I don’t. Shame on the city of Boise for letting the parade go 20 years ago and now it’s gone again. But considering those who were in political offices then, and now, it’s no surprise that just about everything else is honored and celebrated except the birth of this country. Our heroic veterans and first responders are pretty low on Boise’s honor list as well. Thank goodness for surrounding cities who will still celebrate with patriotic parades. And Boise, fireworks are not enough. The social aspect of a parade is essential — getting together to make floats, to be part of a parade, to line up on a street to cheer. And nothing is more important than honoring our country and what freedoms we still are able to enjoy. Man up Boise, or continue to slide into Seattle’s image.

Leah Shaw, Boise

Education task force

How gullible are we Idahoans?

The “Task Force” would have us believe:

That Idaho teachers indoctrinate (blind acceptance) our schoolchildren with “lurking, insidious” communist, Marxist teachings.

That indoctrination is wrong, yet these conspiracists ask us to believe their hearsay without evidence.

That children should not learn the “left” way but should learn the “right” way.

That critical thinking is evil and will corrupt our children.

That teachers should ignore social justice and diversity.

That witch hunting is OK in Idaho, driving out good teachers and administrators, as though we haven’t lost a ton of teachers already.

That our children are not worthy of a good education starting early and ending in higher ed.

That it’s OK — Idaho is the 50th state in funding education, but there’s lots of money to defend unconstitutional laws and witch hunts.

My guess is, if we were to study bills introduced in legislation around the country, we would find Koch, Heritage Foundation, ALEC, etc. feeding extreme right bills into sycophantic groups like Idaho Freedom Foundation who then, with tons of money, feed them into gullible legislators and threaten them with their index.

And what’s behind all of this — privatization of education?

Let’s not drink the Kool-Aid.

Lois Morgan, Boise

Columbia Basin Initiative

I’m entering my junior year at Boise High. I always went to Redfish Lake as a kid, but I never knew why it was called that. For Idaho’s ecosystems to thrive and survive, we need our anadromous fish. The only way to ensure we have a sustainable population of salmon in Idaho is to breach the four Lower Snake River dams. It’s time for a long-term economically efficient sustainable energy future for the Pacific Northwest. These dams are pointless and 100% replaceable for all parties that use them. That’s why I support Congressman Mike Simpson’s Columbia Basin Initiative, and I’m calling on Senator Mike Crapo to do the same. I urge readers to call Crapo’s office and tell them how they feel about Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead. Everyone has an important story on this issue, and our elected officials need to hear them!

Ashlyn Lowenthal, Boise

Murgoitio Park

Save Murgoitio Park. The city of Boise is currently considering trading a 160-acre promised park complex for .. wait for it.. more Foothills land. Southwest Boise residents want what has been promised to them. Our own “jewel.” Many of us don’t want to drive 30 minutes to the Foothills. Southwest Boise is nothing but sprawl and franchise restaurants. Southwest Boise residents have not waited 20 years to have some backroom deal made to steal our park and replace it with more homes. We want our park and want the city of Boise to keep its promises. We need the park for our residents and infill development that has already occurred. This tract is an irreplaceable jewel in a sea of blight and worth more than “another piece of foothills property”. Our city’s plan to buy the entire boise front has become tiresome. Our residents want parks that are evenly distributed and want the city to keep its promises. Our current mayor and council likely all live in the North End of Boise. Surprise!

Keith Severance, Boise

Camping with dogs

Please have your dog wear a red bandana when camping or hiking in the Idaho wilderness. This is particularly important if the dog has a wolf-like appearance.

Richard Reimann, Boise

COVID-19 costs

During the entire pandemic, the Statesman has been taking a partisan activist role, pushing for more government and less individual liberty. Back in the fall, headlines every day were screaming about a hospital crisis being imminent, yet the hospitalization statistics published in the fine print in the same articles showed a steady decline in hospitalization numbers. The Statesman editorial this morning (Friday, June 18) is another example. In this editorial about Idaho’s economic success “coming at a cost,” your editorial board cherry-picked some very deceptive statistics about infection rates in Republican-led states vs. Democrat-led states, and implied that California, Washington and Oregon in particular had been more successful against the virus. The authors even used Massachusetts as an example of success. But if you look at the COVID-19 fatality rates, a different picture emerges, with Idaho and Utah far ahead of California, and reasonably comparable to Oregon and Washington. On the other hand, Massachusetts, along with blue states New York and New Jersey had the highest death rates in the entire U.S., well over double the rate in Idaho, and almost quadruple the death rate of Utah. These statistics are available on Worldometer, and make your editorial appear dishonest.

Mark Weaver, Kuna