LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard Young people can cause change I was one of 375 other people arrested in front of the White House protesting the war on Sept. 24. Only one other person arrested was younger than 18. I was taken aback when I read an article on The Register-Guard's front page about Oct. 22 high school students protesting the potential division change for their sports teams. I realize the significance of the whole division shift, but come on. We need to get our priorities straight. Our government has spent $260 billion on the war in Iraq and the U.S. death toll has hit 2,000. I respect all of the students for getting out and trying to make a change, but it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a we start working on changing things that are much larger than sports. We're growing up, and with that comes some responsibility. Our parents won't be around forever, and it's time we took a stand against a government leaving us with a potential draft and a legacy of debt. It's the younger people who can make a difference, but to do that we need to focus our time and effort. It's great to see people my age getting out in the community and voicing their opinions; and right now we need you down at the Federal Building every Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. It's an opportunity to support the people who have been there every week since the beginning of the war and say that you also agree. It's time to end the hostility in Iraq. RIVER DONAGHEY, freshman 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. Eugene Map information was incorrect We should not invade any country we cannot find on a map. The Register-Guard's front page mistake in labeling Pakistan as Afghanistan on Oct. 22 violates this minimal rule of international politics. Pakistan is a coastal nation of 160 million people and is purportedly our ally. Afghanistan is a landlocked landlocked adj. referring to a parcel of real property which has no access or egress (entry or exit) to a public street and cannot be reached except by crossing another's property. nation of 30 million that we have invaded. The newspaper's confusion again calls into question why we are hell-bent on sending brave but astonishingly a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. unquestioning troops into nations we do not understand. RICHARD KRAUS Eugene Movie ads, prices out of control I love going to the movies. The beauty of cinematography cinematography: see motion picture photography. cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special on the big screen, the surround sound An audio recording and playback system that uses five or more channels plus a subwoofer channel. See 5.1 channel and 3D audio. , the opportunity to turn off the stressors of my usual work and be entertained is something my wife and I try to do frequently. The movie theaters - both local and nationally, with the exception of the Bijou - have finally driven me away. Not because of the quality or content of what Hollywood produces, but because of the crass commercialism and greed of the movie media. I am sick and tired of arriving for a movie on time, being charged a ticket price that has risen faster than the cost of the gasoline to get there and paying more for a sack of popcorn than a home-cooked dinner. I don't object to any business making a fair and reasonable profit, but I feel gouged. I am tired of being forced to watch commercials for Honda, Coca-Cola, the Marine Corps and countless other advertisers before I can watch the movie. Last night, I suffered through almost 40 minutes of commercials and previews before the movie started. I've had enough. I can watch commercial TV at home with fewer commercials per hour and go make popcorn for about 3 cents or rent a video for a couple bucks. So goodbye Regal, goodbye Cine- mark, hello Blockbuster. Let me know when the theaters dump the commercials and charge a reasonable price for their product, maybe then I'll be back. But I doubt it! JAMES BURKE James Burke may refer to:
Eugene History has away of repeating I believe God looks out for us. If Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, land-locked harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, W of Honolulu; one of the largest and best natural harbors in the E Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity are many U.S. military installations, including the chief U.S. had happened six months later and it had taken the same amount of time to defeat the Axis, both Germany and Japan would have had the atomic bomb atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy). The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex. and World War II would been different story. Although I love President Franklin Roosevelt, I have always thought God pulled a few strings to get us somewhat ready for World War II. President Roosevelt had an advantage over a lot of Americans. He could see past the end of his nose. History has a way of repeating itself. FLOYD F. BLASER Eugene Iraq invasion is a stunning mess My husband and I had a little disagreement about James T. Bryant's Oct. 23 letter to The Register-Guard. He said he thought it was a brilliant satire, because the guy couldn't actually be serious. I said, "No dear, there really are people out there whose thinking is so convoluted convoluted /con·vo·lut·ed/ (kon?vo-lldbomact´ed) rolled together or coiled. that up is down." I think Bryant is one of those magical thinkers who live in their own reality and only venture away from Rush Radio long enough to call other people names like "immoral lib" - whatever that's supposed to mean. Americans are waking up to the fact the Iraq invasion is not a success. It's stunning mess. That's why President Bush's popularity is at its lowest point ever. WENDY MECHLING GILDEA Springfield Writer is a brilliant satirist It has been said that confession is good for the soul. Therefore, I freely admit to being hoodwinked, bamboozled and duped by frequent letter-writer James T. Bryant. After reading several years' worth of his letters, I mistakenly concluded he was just a typical right-wing extremist. Then, on Oct. 23, he not only proclaimed Iraq a "stunning success," he repeated it twice more. In the words of an obscure country-western song, "I wuz sittin' in the dark with mah head jes' stuck in park when suddenly the lights came on." That "stunning success" flipped the light switch for me. Now I understand. Bryant is the most brilliant satirist since Jonathan Swift. Keep 'em coming, Jimmie. KENNETH JANOWSKI Florence Is search for agreement silly? Political polarization polarization Property of certain types of electromagnetic radiation in which the direction and magnitude of the vibrating electric field are related in a specified way. offers a seductive se·duc·tive adj. Tending to seduce; alluring: "his sad and fastidious but ever seductive Irish voice" John Fowles. temptation: Attack those who disparaged us. When we yield to that temptation, aren't we actually helping to destroy what we claim to hold most dear? What if we could somehow reach out in brotherhood instead? After every publication of one of my letters here, I receive a thick envelope with many pages of scripture and special instructive verses highlighted in yellow. There is no name or return address. While this person highlights God's harshest admonitions to support the leaders he has chosen for us, the letter is a form of reaching out. He or she is clearly striving to save me. Recently, surrounded by gung-ho Marines and leather-clad biker-vets, I attended the opening ceremonies for the Moving (Vietnam Memorial) Wall. The zeal of the "ours is not to question why; ours is but to do or die" believers was palpable Easily perceptible, plain, obvious, readily visible, noticeable, patent, distinct, manifest. The term palpable usually refers to some type of egregious wrong, such as a governmental error or abuse of power. . At first sight, it does look like a wide gulf between them and those of us who sometimes get suspicious of our government and snoop for facts. So, do we just continue lashing out a striking out; also, extravagance. See also: Lashing at them for perpetrating all those rotten lies? In a fit of laughable naivete na·ive·té or na·ïve·té n. 1. The state or quality of being inexperienced or unsophisticated, especially in being artless, credulous, or uncritical. 2. An artless, credulous, or uncritical statement or act. , I found myself visualizing a huge Lane County summit of those of us right- and left-wingers who are more committed to establishing and building on our common ground than to ripping (1) Converting an audio CD from its native CD-DA format to MP3, AAC or some other compressed audio format. When the term was coined, it had a perverse meaning. Many loved the idea they were "ripping off" the music industry by making copyrighted works available in a compact format apart the fabric of our so-called democracy. Isn't that silly? GRAHAM H. LEWIS Eugene Focus on real revenue solutions I take issue with the newspaper's spin on the county's budget problem. Why does the newspaper keep reporting (Register-Guard, Oct. 20) that patching the roof will fix the crumbling foundation? The county's structural deficit requires a comprehensive solution, one not solely tailored to collect public safety revenue. A recent survey by the county's pollster poll·ster n. One that takes public-opinion surveys. Also called polltaker. Word History: The suffix -ster is nowadays most familiar in words like pollster, jokester, huckster, found that 62 percent of voters would approve a business tax dedicated to public safety when coupled with a property tax reduction. But let's be honest: The whole point of garnering more revenue is to resolve the deficit, since it's clearly not being accomplished any other way. How does collecting a tax with one hand only to return it with the other achieve that? I'd like to see The Register-Guard research and report rather than just publish the county's sophisticated sales pitch. Seventy percent of the county tax dollar is already spent on those services we refer to as public safety. Meanwhile, we continue to neglect early intervention ear·ly intervention n. Abbr. EI A process of assessment and therapy provided to children, especially those younger than age 6, to facilitate normal cognitive and emotional development and to prevent developmental disability or delay. , prevention, poverty reduction and programs proven to reduce recidivism recidivism: see criminology. . Only 7 percent of the county property tax dollar is spent on health and human services Noun 1. Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Department of Health and Human Services, HHS - the services that make a society safer in the long run. Health, well-being and safety will continue their downward march if we just keep fixing the shingles shingles: see herpes zoster. shingles or herpes zoster Acute viral skin and nerve infection. Groups of small blisters appear along certain nerve segments, most often on the back, sometimes after a dull ache at the site; pain becomes and overlooking the foundation. KATE DAVIDSON Eugene Sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. will keep going up When is Lane County going to wake up and get rid of the current tax-happy, we-want-all-your-money-in-the-name-of-crime-stopping county commissioners such as Anna Morrison, Faye Stewart and Bobby Green? Take a look at California, where the sales tax started eons ago at 1 percent and is in many cases up to 9 percent statewide! There are so many other alternatives to look at, but the commissioners, with the exception of Pete Sorenson, want Oregon to become a northern county of California at this pace. Say no to re-election to these tax-happy people. MICK FRYE Monroe |
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