LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard GOP memo story underplayed I was deeply disappointed that The Register-Guard relegated the April 7 story "Senator's aide admits to Schiavo memo Terri Schiavo Related articles & documents
This is a huge story, as Republicans and their apologists have been denying the memo as a Democratic forgery for weeks. The issue is hardly settled with one aide's resignation. Brian Darling Brian Darling (born in Andover, Massachusetts, 1965) is the director of United States Senate relations for the Heritage Foundation. He obtained national news media attention when forced to resign as legal counsel to Republican Senator Mel Martinez of Florida after admitting that he and his boss, Sen. Mel Martinez
Melquíades Rafael "Mel" Martínez , R-Fla., have close associations to House Majority Leader "Hot Tub Tom" DeLay through the Alexander Strategy Group. Republicans should not be allowed to shrug this off as yet another action by one bad apple. This administration has been producing quite a pile of bad apples, and the stench is becoming unbearable. Exploiting the family struggles of a brain-damaged woman for political gain and then lying about it is the type of hypocrisy we have come to expect from Republicans. Unfortunately, congressional Republicans are attempting to gain even more unprecedented power this month through the "nuclear option" to overturn the filibuster filibuster, term used to designate obstructionist tactics in legislative assemblies. It has particular reference to the U.S. Senate, where the tradition of unlimited debate is very strong. It was not until 1917 that the Senate provided for cloture (i.e. rule in the Senate. They cannot be allowed to continue such brazen disregard for American values and hostility toward checks and balances. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Republicans must be held accountable for their corruption and deceit. ROBERT ADAMS Robert Adams or the diminutive, Bob Adams, may refer to: Athletes
Eugene Newspaper has anti-gun agenda Seems like every month an editorial condemning the National Rifle Association National Rifle Association (NRA) Governing organization for the sport of shooting with rifles and pistols. It was founded in Britain in 1860. The U.S. organization, formed in 1871, has a membership of some four million. Both the British and the U.S. graces The Register-Guard. The piece printed on April 6 condemns Republicans for allowing the Clinton gun ban to expire, so now anyone can stroll into a gun shop or show and buy an assault weapon. There is a gun show coming up in Eugene. How about if the editorial writer strolls down to the show and tries to buy an assault weapon without proper ID and a background check? Now, about this gun-manufacturer-immunity-from-lawsuit business: If I threw my assault carpenter's hammer through the window of your house and struck you, would you sue Stanley Tools? If you were riding your bike on the streets of Eugene and I hit you, will Ford be hearing from your attorney? Now, about the four weapons the editorial listed as mass murder tools: Yes, they look like military weapons, but their internal workings are the same as modern hunting rifles. If the newspaper were not so blindly partisan on this issue, a field trip to a local gun store might aid journalistic accuracy. This store might also mention that Kalashnikov is the designer of the AK-47, not a separate weapon. Sorry, I did not mean to confuse the editors with some facts. Let's be honest about The Register-Guard's real agenda - suing the gun and ammunition manufacturers out of existence, and hatred of the NRA NRA (National Rifle Association of America) organization that encourages sharpshooting and use of firearms for hunting. [Am. Pop. Culture: NCE, 1895] See : Hunting for backing President Bush. PAUL TYLER Cheshire Mayor's Crusade Breakfast? Bravo to Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin for his forthright commentary on the explicit Christian proselytizing of the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast (Commentary, April 10). If the event is actually the Mayor's Crusade Breakfast, the grotesque discourtesy involved in inviting the rabbi defies understanding. Unless Kitty Piercy "Kitty" Piercy is the current mayor of Eugene, Oregon, sworn in January of 2005. The press dubbed Piercy's election part of a "shift to the left" for the Eugene City Council. is really House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in drag, I expect that things will change for the better. Anyone concerned about the role of religion in civil society ought to read Bob Welch's series of columns on the subject, which represent a Christian's genuine effort to improve our community. They should also read Sam Harris' recent book, "The End of Faith: Religion, Terrorism and the Future of Reason," which discusses the subject of religion in civil society better than any other I have read. The government and the mayor must treat all religious beliefs equally while acting in their official capacity. If the day comes that a Wiccan and a Buddhist are the featured readers and their words are treated with respect and appreciation by the audience, then we will know that the breakfast has become a civic institution worth keeping. Otherwise, let's call it the Last Breakfast and leave the crusades to churches. ALAN CONTRERAS Eugene Check out interfaith services Rabbi Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin's article (Commentary, April 10) illustrates the schism schism, in religion: see heresy; Schism, Great. created by those who aren't content to honor their neighbors, but are determined to force-feed their religious ideas. This is frightening, because those ideas are having strong political overtones that are affecting our national and international relationships and actions. "Yitz" is my friend and more. Every time I see him, I am reminded that I, as a Catholic, am linked to him in many ways, including the fact that the historical Jesus This article is about Jesus the man, using historical methods to reconstruct a biography of his life and times. For disputes about the existence of Jesus and reliability of ancient texts relating to him, see Historicity of Jesus. was a Jew who preached that we should be judged by our acts, not our words. As a business professional in Denver, I was sufficiently appalled by the record of the Coors family in terms of reactionary politics, racism and business practices that I refused them as clients. So why was Adolph Coors Adolph Herman Joseph Coors, Sr. (February 4, 1847 – June 5, 1929) was a brewer who started the Adolph Coors Company in Golden, Colorado in 1873. Early years IV chosen as the keynote religious spokesman, and who chose him? I suggest that the beautiful interfaith services on the 11th of every month at the First Christian Church First Christian Church can refer to:
v. in·sin·u·at·ed, in·sin·u·at·ing, in·sin·u·ates v.tr. 1. To introduce or otherwise convey (a thought, for example) gradually and insidiously. See Synonyms at suggest. 2. their belief systems into the community and body politic BODY POLITIC, government, corporations. When applied to the government this phrase signifies the state. 2. As to the persons who compose the body politic, they take collectively the name, of people, or nation; and individually they are citizens, when considered take a chance and visit. It is a way to enlarge the spirit, not restrain it. Also, a visit to Temple Beth Israel Beth Israel, which means "House of Israel" in Hebrew, could refer for:
GORDIE ALBI Eugene Improvement district unwanted The city of Eugene proposes forming a local improvement district for River Avenue, ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. to upgrade the street to urban standards. The danger in looking at this proposal in isolation is that approval will likely exacerbate tensions between the city and its neighbors in River Road and Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. . The Oregon Department of Transportation will be undertaking a Belt Line Road corridor study, with closure or alteration of the River Avenue/Division Avenue interchange a possible outcome. Thirty-two of 33 property owners in the proposed district are against this proposal. The prudent course would be to postpone or cancel implementation of this project, which Lane County Commissioner Bill Dwyer called "a Cadillac when a Chevrolet will do." More broadly, this proposal fails to address the concerns of River Road and Santa Clara residents summarized in the report of the City Council-appointed Urban Services Committee: trust, voice, equity and collaboration. Eugene and Lane County need to take a step back in order to move forward with building trust and im- proving relations with neighbors in River Road and Santa Clara. There are short-term (efficient and equitable delivery of urban services) and long-term (annexation) issues that require engagement of the citizenry cit·i·zen·ry n. pl. cit·i·zen·ries Citizens considered as a group. citizenry Noun citizens collectively Noun 1. . An attitudinal shift on the part of government and staff is the first step to healing the rifts in trust. Backing off the ill-timed River Avenue LID proposal would be a prudent first step. ROB HANDY Eugene End Democrats' obstructionism ob·struc·tion·ist n. One who systematically blocks or interrupts a process, especially one who attempts to impede passage of legislation by the use of delaying tactics, such as a filibuster. Forget all the talk you've heard about GOP leaders in the Senate looking to change chamber rules to defeat filibusters of conservative nominees to the federal courts. All they really need to do is restore chamber traditions. The Constitution gives the Senate the power to offer "advice and consent" on nominations to the bench, but liberals have interpreted that to mean that they have the power to "obstruct ob·struct v. To block or close a body passage so as to hinder or interrupt a flow. ob·struc  tive adj. and
prevent" qualified jurists The following lists are of prominent jurists, including judges, listed in alphabetical order by jurisdiction. See also list of lawyers. Antiquity
No less a liberal icon than California's Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (born June 22, 1933) is the senior U.S. Senator from California, having held office as a senator since 1992. She is a member of the Democratic Party. has acknowledged that the Democrats' filibuster abuse is not the honest thing to do. Of course, that was back in 1999, when Bill Clinton was in the White House and she believed that "it is our job to confirm these nominees. If we don't like them, we can vote against them." Now she's a leading filibuster proponent. The bottom line: Restoring Senate tradition to end the minority's obstructionism must happen sooner rather than later. That's the message our senators need to hear from us. ANN KNOX Harrisburg Racism one form of injustice To people concerned about racism and diversity in Eugene I want to ask: Are we concerned about social injustice Social Injustice is a concept relating to the perceived unfairness or injustice of a society in its divisions of rewards and burdens. The concept is distinct from those of justice in law, which may or may not be considered moral in practice. and human suffering? I ask because I see racism as one form of social injustice. Others in our community are poverty, sexism, bullying, no access to health care, homelessness and war. The list is long. People of all colors experience injustice and pain. Our common experience of human suffering could provide more fertile ground than it currently does for the building of bridges toward mutual understanding and actions for social justice among different cultural groups. There is a negative consequence to asserting general statements such as "this is a racist community" or "everyone is racist." It puts some people on the defensive and thereby inhibits opportunities for feelings of compassion and the ensuing desire to take action. We do not have to experience identical forms of oppression and pain to care about the suffering of others. An example from our history was Harriet Beecher Stowe. After losing a child to illness, in her grief she felt an affinity with the suffering of slave mothers cruelly separated from their children. In response, she joined the abolitionist movement and wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin Uncle Tom’s Cabin highly effective, sentimental Abolitionist novel. [Am. Lit.: Jameson, 513] See : Antislavery ." Was she trying not to be racist, or was she trying to help stop the suffering of fellow human beings with whom she felt connected? The distinction could be important. Let us not judge each other by the color of our skin but by the content of our character. KARA STEFFENSEN Eugene U.S. didn't go to war for oil When I noted in The Register-Guard that the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the Eugene-Springfield area had moved up to $2.30 per gallon, I got to thinking: Does anyone recall exactly what the price of gas was at the time some 20 Muslim terrorists consumed thousands of gallons of jet fuel in the act of incinerating 3,000 people in the World Trade Center? The reason why I pose the question is because there were many shortly after that who didn't like the idea of our going after the other terrorists where they live. These same folks - mostly liberals - said that we were just going to war for the sake of oil. As those folks drive into their favorite gas station and pay $23 for 10 gallons of go juice, perhaps they would care to rethink what they said was our reason for going to war. ROGER N. PAGE Eugene LETTERS LOG Letters received in past week: 183 Letters published: 62 What's on What's On (Traditional Chinese: 熒幕八爪娛) is a weekly half-hour TV series that airs on Fairchild Television. Format Originally started in 1996, the show is currently the longest-running program in Fairchild Television history. readers' minds: A more eclectic blend of topics motivated letter writers this week. Skyrocketing gasoline prices were on many minds, with some writers darkly speculating that the end of cheap oil would be a catastrophe of near-biblical proportions. Writers in a region that's home to two large state universities also debated the meaning of a recent study indicating that liberals far outnumber conservatives on college faculties. |
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