LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard Stop shouting; start debating Dave Wooten's guest viewpoint (Register-Guard, July 20) was right on the money. So many people on both sides of the political spectrum seem to think that their, and only their, opinion is valid and any contrary viewpoint is wrong, immoral and ignorant. If you don't believe me, just read any day's letters to the editor in this newspaper. Our great country stays great because people differ and challenge each other. We seem to have strayed from raising the level of debate to shouting and calling each other liars and stupid. If we are to make any progress in bridging the gap between ideologies, we need to stop shouting party lines (pun definitely intended) and start listening to what others are saying. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , stop judging, open our minds and start finding common ground. All this chest-thumping and name-calling serves no purpose other than to divide. If you truly consider yourself progressive, then be just that - open to all opinions, lifestyles and points of view. Those who are not open to this dialogue may call themselves progressive but in reality are as closed-minded as any person they label as a neo-con. Stop the shouting and start the debate. And Wooten should keep espousing all his points of view. In my opinion, this town needs fewer progressives and conservatives and more moderates. MICHAEL MAGEE Eugene Division Street is dangerous The speed of westbound traffic on Division Street is unbelievable. Cars coming around the curves by Fred Meyer are traveling at 40 mph or more in a 30 mph zone. They make it a life-challenging event trying to exit the supermarket parking lot. Heaven help the driver who just wants to go to Albertson's from Fred Meyer, or vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. , and attempts to cross over. Even the eastbound drivers coming from River Road tend to step on the gas and dare anyone to try to get on the street. Then, they have the audacity to blow their horns at you for even trying to escape in one piece. I'm sure the Eugene Police Department is busy with murderers, dope addicts, car thieves and patrolling school zones for those who might exceed 20 mph at midnight, but couldn't they just spare one officer, say for one hour a day about 1 p.m., to check this out? I see they recently had a radar trailer down on Lynnbrook Avenue so drivers can monitor their speed and adjust accordingly. Why not put that gadget up on Division where it might wake some fast drivers up? LYNN SALMON Eugene DeFazio can't win Iraq debate Over the last month Rep. Peter DeFazio Peter Anthony DeFazio (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician. He serves as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Oregon, representing the 4th Congressional District and is currently serving his 11th term. wrapped himself in the flag and sparred with Jim Feldkamp Jim Feldkamp is an American conservative politician. A Republican, he was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives in Oregon's 4th congressional district in 2004 and 2006. Both times, Feldkamp was defeated by long-term incumbent Peter DeFazio. over who most supports our military veterans and whether DeFazio's voting record is accurate. A shrewd politician, DeFazio knows that you can't go wrong wrapping your arms around a veteran. However, DeFazio's public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most smokescreen won't work when his own actions are remembered. When the Democrats ran Congress and Vietnam veterans This article is about the French band. For veterans of the Vietnam War, see Vietnam veteran. The Vietnam Veterans were a six-person French psychedelic group that released six records in the 1980s. The band was praised by many alternative music publications. returned suffering from Agent Orange, did DeFazio plead for their benefits? Or Desert Storm, when servicemen returned home stricken by Gulf War Syndrome Gulf War syndrome, popular name for a variety of ailments experienced by veterans after the Persian Gulf War. Symptoms reported include nausea, cramps, rashes, short-term memory loss, fatigue, difficulty in breathing, headaches, joint and muscle pain, and birth - any recollection of DeFazio crying out for them? The real question is whether DeFazio supports President Bush's efforts to take out enemy terrorists and their bases, using our military overseas. With his documented antiwar an·ti·war adj. Opposed to war or to a particular war: antiwar protests; an antiwar candidate. record, he will flee this debate. It's one he can't win. Most Oregonians support the liberation of 50 million Iraqis and Afghans from repressive theocratic the·o·crat n. 1. A ruler of a theocracy. 2. A believer in theocracy. the regimes and sadistic sa·dism n. 1. The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. 2. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. dictators. They also support providing our troops with the best equipment to get the job done. Yet DeFazio has voted against these things "These Things" is an EP by She Wants Revenge, released in 2005 by Perfect Kiss, a subsidiary of Geffen Records. Music Video The music video stars Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage. Track Listing 1. "These Things [Radio Edit]" - 3:17 2. . As Feldkamp exposes his record, expect DeFazio to escalate his personal attacks on Feldkamp while dodging the question he doesn't want to answer: With his constant criticism and lack of support for our president and military leaders, has it crossed the congressman's mind that he might be undermining the morale of our troops overseas? GERY VANDER MEER a. 1. Simple; unmixed. See Mere, a. os> n. 1. See Mere, a lake. 1. A boundary. See Mere. Springfield Pay closer heed to Eisenhower I was amazed to read the July 19 letter from Tom Tracey urging 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. to emulate Nazi Germany. Tracey wrote that "the U.S. military could take the Saudi oil fields This list of oil fields includes major fields of the past and present. The list is incomplete; there are more than 40,000 oil and gas fields of all sizes in the world[1]. with an effort commensurate to that which it took the Wehrmacht to overrun Poland." For those who have forgotten, the German invasion of Poland was one of the greatest war crimes in history, launched with the phony pretext that Poland was about to attack the much stronger Germany. A U.S. attack on the Saudi oil fields - the world's largest - is more likely to trigger nuclear war than to bring about democracy or cheap gas prices. Tracey also urges President Bush to ask "What would Eisenhower do?" In 1953, President Eisenhower's administration toppled a democratic government in Iran - a huge mistake that is one of the root problems with current Middle East politics. By the end of his term in office, he had come to understand that war is the problem, not the solution. Eisenhower's farewell speech A Farewell speech is a speech given by an individual leaving a position or place. They are often used by public figures such as politicians as a form of conclusion to the preceding career (such as that given by Ronald Reagan); or as statements delivered by persons relating to to the nation on Jan. 17, 1961, warned us that "This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience American Experience (sometimes abbreviated AmEx) is a television program airing on the PBS network in the United States. The program airs documentaries about important or interesting events and people in American history, many of which have won impressive ... In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced mis·place tr.v. mis·placed, mis·plac·ing, mis·plac·es 1. a. To put into a wrong place: misplace punctuation in a sentence. b. power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic process." MARK ROBINOWITZ Eugene Goal is to preserve dunes site As a former real estate appraiser A person selected or appointed by a competent authority or an interested party to evaluate the financial worth of property. Appraisers are frequently appointed in probate and condemnation proceedings and are also used by banks and real estate concerns to determine the market and real property manager for Alameda County in California and as a future resident of Florence, I offer my perspective on the Florence sand dunes purchase. The market value of the site for development will depend upon what development, if any, will be allowed; and what density and uses may be allowed. Lane County acquired this site by default in a property tax delinquency sale as there was apparently no prospective buyer willing to purchase it at the tax sale price. The tax sale price would be a good indicator at best of the upper limit of its market value. The tax sale price was probably established based on the taxes owed, delinquency charges and possibly accrued interest Accrued Interest The interest that has accumulated on a bond since the last interest payment up to but not including the settlement date. There are two methods for calculating accrued interest: 1) 360-day year method, used for corporate and municipal bonds. . Such a price could have little relationship to market value. The value of the site as restricted for public use is a different matter. For one thing, bringing about such use would be a common goal between city, county, state and federal governments. This is a transfer between government entities in the best interest of the public. The value of the site is really the subject of negotiations and not an appraisal. A gracious offer has been made to the city of Florence based on preserving this site, undeveloped, for perpetual use by the public. It could just as well have been made to the county. I hope that the government entities involved will just sit down and negotiate preservation of this beautiful site. WILLIAM B. IDE William Brown Ide (March 28 1796 - December 1852) was a California pioneer and president of the short-lived California Republic. Biography William Ide was born in Rutland, Massachusetts to Lemuel Ide, a member of the Vermont State Legislature. Veneta Terrorists attacking capitalism On the front page of the newspaper (Register-Guard, July 10) were analyses of terrorism and the war against terrorism which suggested that it could last for hundreds of years. I think it's time we Americans look at our part in the terrorism. The philosophy of self-interest and competition seems to favor greed. Greedy ambitions inspire defiance. Defiance inspires the use of force, which escalates the defiance. The Muslim jihadists are defying the greed of atheistic a·the·is·tic also a·the·is·ti·cal adj. 1. Relating to or characteristic of atheism or atheists. 2. Inclined to atheism. a capitalism. Since the collapse of godless god·less adj. 1. Recognizing or worshiping no god. 2. Wicked, impious, or immoral. god  less·ly adv. communism, capitalism has become godless.
Greed drives the gross domestic product, not faith. Game theory has
given a mathematical proof for self-interest and greed. Until there is a
mathematical proof of mutual-interest and altruism, we can expect
endless greed and endless defiance.
This is an ironic reversal of Christian charity and Muslim submission, showing the popularity of darkness. MARTIN POLOTNIK Eugene Is I-105 project really complete? The contractors who completed the Interstate 105 repaving did a wonderful job. Considering the amount of work that had to be done, it went very quickly. They completed the job ahead of the completion date and ahead of budget. They were rewarded with a bonus for their early completion. Why, then, are the new lanes on the outside still closed? JOHN CULVER Springfield Study says marriage in trouble According to the National Marriage Project report, marriage is in trouble. Divorce is up, and cohabitation A living arrangement in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term relationship that resembles a marriage. Couples cohabit, rather than marry, for a variety of reasons. They may want to test their compatibility before they commit to a legal union. (gasp!) is up. Do the pious folks at the Family Research Council, the Oregon Family Council and their offshoot, the Defense of Marriage Coalition, know about this? Are they actively and tirelessly working to combat this alarming trend? Are they concerned about the breakdown of the family unit? Are they worried about the children? Where is the momentum to stop opposite-sex couples from shacking up? Isn't shacking up emulating the infamous homosexual lifestyle? The report also notes that couples who marry are more committed to each other. What logical reason is there for not offering every couple, gay or straight, that chance to stay together? HALLIE EDWARDS Marcola Seems like a double standard Why is it OK to burn the American flag, which is occasionally done here and frequently done abroad, but it is a huge controversy to flush a Quran down the toilet - which probably never happened anyway? JIM BACHELDER Springfield |
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