LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard Catholic dissidents have choices It has recently come to my attention that many Oregonians are unhappy with the position of several Catholic bishops requesting that those who work against the teachings of the church should avoid communion. Though the church has made no secret pertaining to its doctrine on life, Oregonians still are in shock when the church chooses to reiterate its stance. While religious tolerance once meant tolerating and accepting all religious stances, it now means tolerating all but your own. In the spirit of idealism, I would like to offer a moderate proposal: If you are publicly working against the teachings of the church and feel resentment for its disapproval, then don't be Catholic. Currently, there are close to 60,000 Protestant denominations. I'm sure there's one that fits the pro-death, pro-war side of life. If there isn't a denomination that fits your taste, follow in the footsteps of the Lutherans and Society of St. Pius X The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is an international society of Traditionalist Roman Catholic priests. Its official Latin name is Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X, which means "Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X". and start your own faith movement. If Christianity just isn't your cup of tea and there's no religion that fits right, then you'll be happy to hear that in Oregon you won't catch a sideways glance for being neo-paganistic and becoming your very own personal pontiff. Either way, this isn't the Dark Ages, and the Constitution still stands. You're welcome to choose any faith or no faith at all in this great land. MICHAEL J. LICHENS Lichens Symbiotic associations of fungi (mycobionts) and photosynthetic partners (photobionts). These associations always result in a distinct morphological body termed a thallus that may adhere tightly to the substrate or be leafy, stalked, or hanging. Eugene Don't equate Jews with Israel Lucius Gent's May 27 letter stating concern for victimized Palestinians in Gaza is appropriate, but his association of Israeli actions with all Jews is not. Gent's letter expresses a classic anti-Semitic position in its call for the Jewish people to condemn Israel, warning the Jewish people that failure do so marks them, somehow, as supporters of terrorism. "Jewish" and "Israeli" are not synonyms. Anti-Semitism is a harmful form of stereotyping in which the alleged traits or acts of certain individuals - or a state, Israel - are applied collectively to an entire people: the Jewish people. Once the collective personality or stereotype has been established, it is applied to individuals. In anti-Semitic discourse, then, every Jew is potentially both a bearer of the group character and a part of some evil conspiracy. Israel is a sovereign state SOVEREIGN STATE. One which governs itself independently of any foreign power. with the right to self-determination - including, unfortunately, the right to make mistakes. We might wish to criticize those failings, but that criticism should be directed at Israel, not the Jewish people. No consensus exists among Jews in their evaluation of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his government. Neither the Jewish people nor American Jews American Jews, or Jewish Americans, are American citizens or resident aliens who were born into the Jewish community or who have converted to Judaism. The United States is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. should be held accountable for that government's actions. Some perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda were Catholic priests This is an annotated list of men primarily known for their work as Catholic priests. Catholic priests who are mostly known for their non-priestly work should be placed on other lists. and nuns. Does that imply these acts were Catholic and demand condemnation by the Catholic people? In arguing for human rights, let's not Let's Not is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in Boston University Graduate Journal in December 1954. It was written for no payment as a favour to the journal, and later appeared in the collection Buy Jupiter. perpetuate ancient wrongs. MATTHEW DENNIS Eugene Memorial would honor bravery In response to the article "Board to revisit veteran's request" (Register-Guard, May 28): I am disturbed by the controversy surrounding the building of a memorial to graduates of South Eugene High School South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that later served as Eugene's city hall. who died in Vietnam. I find the concerns of students that such a memorial would glorify war and honor those who kill others to be quite far from the truth. No war memorial serves to glorify war, but rather to remind people of the tragedy it brings. As a 2002 graduate of South Eugene, I know several young men who attended school with me who have fought and are now fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know that there is nothing glorious about the war they are fighting, but I strongly feel that they deserve all the honor and respect we can give them. Many of the young men who fought and were killed in Vietnam were fresh out of high school and were never given a choice. How can we not honor the bravery of these men with something as wonderful as a memorial? I see nothing inappropriate about placing such a memorial on school grounds. In this time of war and political strife, I think that it is especially important to remember the past, in order to make changes in our future. I commend Adrian Vaaler for his efforts and sincerely hope that the students of South Eugene will come to see what a memorial can really stand for and that they will accept the honor of having this one built on their school grounds. AMANDA KNOWLES Eugene Bush isn't responsible for 9/11 I read the letters to the editor every day. A few common occurrences have been bothering me. First, I see numerous references that President Bush has not attended any funerals of fallen soldiers. Does anyone really think Bush doesn't care about the soldiers? Could it be the fact that if he did go to the funeral, he would be overrun by protesters displaying a replica of his head on a platter or in a noose? Is this what people would want to see at their son or daughter's funeral? Secondly, why are people blaming Bush for Sept. 11? President Clinton had eight years to deal with Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden: see bin Laden, Osama. . Clinton says he couldn't find a way to take him from the Sudanese government. Yeah, that's right! Bin Laden was offered to the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , but Clinton said we didn't have any legal grounds to take him. What? He was at war with us at that very time. Sen. Joe Biden This article is about the United States Senator from Delaware, for other uses of the name, see Biden. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. , a devoted Bush hater, admitted that they knew he was responsible for the incident in Somalia. They knew bin Laden was at war with us. Guess what? I don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. about any of this partisan hogwash hog·wash n. 1. Worthless, false, or ridiculous speech or writing; nonsense. 2. Garbage fed to hogs; swill. hogwash Noun Informal nonsense Noun 1. ! Here's a fact. The responsibility for Sept. 11 rests squarely on the shoulders of bin Laden and company. When you go to vote in November, ask yourself if you want a president who plays the partisan blame game or a president who ignores the partisan game In combinatorial game theory, a game is partisan or partizan if it is not impartial. That is, some moves are available to one player and not to the other. Most games are partisan; for example in chess, only one player can move the white pieces. and takes action against the real causes of Sept. 11. TOM MURPHY Mur·phy , William Parry 1892-1987. American physician. He shared a 1934 Nobel Prize for discovering that a diet of liver relieves anemia. Springfield Revise attitudes about sex Obsession and fear dominate our culture's attitude toward sex. I propose a simple three-part solution to our sexual dysfunction sexual dysfunction Inability to experience arousal or achieve sexual satisfaction under ordinary circumstances, as a result of psychological or physiological problems. : 1) Accept differences of belief. If you have a strong belief about sex, practice it, don't preach it. If you don't condone sex before marriage, fine, but don't label everyone who believes differently from you a sinner. If you enjoy sleeping with numerous partners, fine, but don't label virgins and sexual monogamists as prudish or repressed re·pressed adj. Being subjected to or characterized by repression. . 2) Stop living life in fear. If you want to have sex, assess the risks and benefits and accept the outcome of your actions. Everything in life worth doing has dangers and rewards. So does sex. Safe sex is a misnomer misnomer n. the wrong name. MISNOMER. The act of using a wrong name. 2. Misnomers, may be considered with regard to contracts, to devises and bequests, and to suits or actions. 3.-1. ; so is a safe life. 3) Take responsibility. To address disease, talk with your partner, visit your doctor, know your body, wear condoms. Married people should take the same precautions, because marriage guarantees nothing. Many married people have affairs, lie to their partners and increase the risk of disease transmission. To address pregnancy, our society should develop a birth control pill birth control pill n. See oral contraceptive. birth control pill Oral contraceptive, see there for men that inhibits sperm production as the female pill prevents ovulation ovulation /ovu·la·tion/ (ov?u-la´shun) the discharge of a secondary oocyte from a graafian follicle.ov´ulatory o·vu·la·tion n. The discharge of an ovum from the ovary. . Partners would be equally responsible, suffer the same expenditures and endure the same hormonal changes. To avoid a broken heart, communicate your needs to your partner. Teach children sex is a part of life. Most of life's problems could be solved if everyone respected differences of belief and took responsibility for themselves. HEATHER McCONOCHIE Eugene Read entire Second Amendment Evidently, Lois Bowen (letters, May 27) has decided that only part of the Second Amendment fits into her world view. Five minutes of research would reveal to her that the framers of the Constitution did not want the federal government to be able to disarm state militias. Thus they wrote: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Twenty-seven words. It is very easy to read only the section that supports your position and to ignore that inconvenient part about the militia - and to attack PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, for daring to actually read the whole amendment. Who is really distorting the Second Amendment? JIM Jim Miss Watson’s runaway slave; Huck’s traveling companion. [Am. Lit.: Huckleberry Finn] See : Escape SCHMIDT Eugene Measure 11 protects citizens "Measure 11 distorts justice," Wayne Miller's May 25 letter, in itself is a grievous distortion of facts. Miller would like you to believe that Oregon judges play a microscopic part in the courtroom and that the power lies entirely in the hands of the prosecutor and Measure 11, thus allowing for no judicial discretion when determining whether sentences are to run concurrently or consecutively. That is pure nonsense! According to Oregon Revised Statutes The Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) is the codified body of statutory law governing the U.S. state of Oregon, as enacted by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and occasionally by citizen initiative. The statutes are subordinate to the Oregon Constitution. 137.123: "A sentence imposed by the court may be made concurrent or consecutive to any other sentence which has been previously or is simultaneously imposed upon the defendant." In essence, if a defendant is convicted of 11 10-year Measure 11 crimes, the judge has the power to decide whether he or she serves anywhere from 10 years up to 110 years. In addition, Oregon judges also have the power to decide whether to accept common plea bargains, an agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor. Although it rarely happens, the judge can then depart and levy his own sentence. Miller also insinuates that just because the egocentric egocentric /ego·cen·tric/ (-sen´trik) self-centered; preoccupied with one's own interests and needs; lacking concern for others. e·go·cen·tric adj. defense attorney Gerry Spence claims that prosecutors in every federal case create evidence, it must be a fact and true of all prosecutors in all levels of government. Absolutely absurd! Measure 11 evolved because innocent victims of crime were watching violent criminals walk away with a slap on the wrist. We now have a fair and balanced "Fair and Balanced" is a trademarked slogan used by American news broadcaster Fox News Channel. The slogan was originally used in conjunction with the phrase "Real Journalism. justice system that protects the law-abiding citizens of Oregon. ANNE PRATT Springfield |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion