LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

A one-size-fits-all political view

I decided who I was going to vote for a long time ago, and that's who I'm sticking with. I'm voting for my guy because:

1) He's honest. His opponent lies.

2) All the negative stuff the other side is saying about my guy is untrue. All the negative stuff our side says about the opponent is 100 percent factual.

3) My guy will guide this country to a brighter tomorrow. The other guy will lead us down the road to ruin.

4) I can relate to what my guy says, but everything that other guy says ticks me off.

And another thing: I just can't stand those people in the opposing party. They're so out of touch with reality.

RICK ESTESS

Veneta

Kerry achieved much in Senate

Recent letters to this page have accused John Kerry of lacking accomplishments during his 19-year Senate career. The truth is Kerry has accomplished much for this country as a senator.

On domestic issues, in 1985, Kerry was one of the first congressional Democrats to support the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget act, steering the Democratic Party toward fiscal responsibility that is lacking under George Bush. In 1994, Kerry was a key force behind passage of anti-crime legislation that led to the hiring of 100,000 more police and a steady decline in violent crime during the late 1990s. In 1996, Kerry was one of the Senate's most outspoken advocates for the last raise in the federal minimum wage.

On foreign policy, Kerry pushed forward the 1986 Senate investigation that uncovered the Iran-Contra scandal, revealing that members of the Reagan administration were illegally selling arms to Iran to fund rebels in Nicaragua. In 1992, Kerry and John McCain initiated negotiations with Vietnam that resulted in its cooperation in accounting for POWs/MIAs and normalization of relations.

On the environment, Kerry has steadfastly opposed drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Kerry was a principle contributor to the Clean Air Act of 1990 that has curbed acid rain. He authored an amendment to the 2002 federal budget that bolstered renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change research.

Now, that's a resume worthy of a president.

MARK CHERNAIK

Eugene

Criticism of Israel's plan unfair

In their Sept. 15 editorial regarding Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza strip, the editors again distinguish The Register-Guard as one of the more blatantly hostile newspapers towards Israel in this country.

While making brief mention of four years of unremitting terrorist acts and suicide bombings that have left approximately 1,000 Israelis dead - the statistical equivalent of about 50,000 murdered Americans - the editors find fault with the Israeli government for deciding to conduct unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and four northern settlements in the West Bank. Calling on Israel to coordinate its activities with the Palestinian leadership that embarked on this campaign of terror would be like asking the United States, after 15 more terrorist acts of Sept. 11 proportions, to coordinate its response and actions with those who perpetrated the terrorism.

Israel, like the United States, is an imperfect yet healthy democracy, and its citizens are engaged in incredibly difficult questions regarding their future and their relations with the Palestinian people, the other victims of the cruel and corrupt leadership of Yassir Arafat and his cronies. Calling Israel's fight against this terrorism part of a cycle of violence is blatantly unfair; criticizing a nonviolent step like unilateral withdrawal even more so.

It is my hope that editors will stop choosing to blame Israel first, no matter the context, and provide readers with the candid but fair opinions it proclaims to offer.

HAL M. APPLEBAUM

Eugene