Letters: When I tell people I’m from Idaho, all they ask about is the far-right | Opinion

We just returned from our first international vacation in 3 years. It was wonderful to be traveling again after COVID.

In the old days, when I mentioned to fellow travelers I was from Idaho, I would get the usual wisecracks about potatoes or a comment about BSU’s blue turf. This year comments were different – and, surprisingly, it didn’t matter if they were from the United States, Australia, the UK, Canada or elsewhere.

Today, if you’re from Idaho, be prepared for comments and intrigue about the religious far-right and their efforts to ban books. Or the North Idaho College’s Board of Trustees’ efforts to run the college into the ground by losing accreditation. Or certain Idaho politicians embracing white supremacists.

Idaho is a beautiful state with many intelligent, well-meaning citizens. Unfortunately, a minority of people with fringe political beliefs are giving our state a nasty reputation – both domestically and abroad.

William Rice, Boise

Wind energy needs to go somewhere

I empathize with the objections to the wind farm near the Minidoka National Historical Monument. However, a decision that affects many people must reach a balance. And, global warming is real, serious, and immediate. It is going to get worse unless we make changes now. With every investigation, the seriousness of the situation is confirmed.

There is no single solution. Use of wind power is an important part of the mix.

Some Idaho politicians say we shouldn’t use our land to generate power for export. Yet, huge portions of similar BLM land are used for cattle grazing, to produce beef to ship out of the state. Idaho leaders have been unambiguous in their support of extractive industries, such as mining and forestry, that use our land and water to produce raw materials for shipment. This argument is so inconsistent with their past positions, it is probably worth asking what the real objection is.

Perhaps reinstallation of the earth berms around the camp would help visitors feel hemmed in and isolated the way Japanese Americans felt there, while mitigating the visual impact of the turbines 2 to 5 miles away.

Karleen Davis, Boise

The firing squad? You must be kidding

Here we go again. The wizards in the Legislature are trying to figure out how to kill a man for the least amount of money. Wise up Idaho. We have one man waiting, and has been waiting for 38 years for this to happen. He has exercised his pleas for keeping the state from doing this.

Now is the time to face facts Idaho, the death penalty is a waste of time and money for all of us. Every few years we drag out the morbid details of the crime causing emotional pain to the family of the victim. We then wring our hands because we don’t have the “acceptable” way to execute the convicted. In the meantime, the entire bill is on the state taxpayer.

It seems that finding a murderer guilty and imposing a life sentence with no chance of parole would be the most cost-effective way for this individual to meet the end of life. We sure wouldn’t see him every few years to rehash the story. The victim’s family would have the satisfaction of knowing he died alone, behind bars and thinking of his crime to the very end.

Firing squad? Oh brother.

Scott William Murray, Boise