LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard Bush team has strengths The recent spate of stories and editorials depicting the incompetence of the Bush administration leads me to an observation: One must understand someone's motives and goals before judging his competence. The administration excels at meeting the demands of the economic interests that placed it in power, including paying lip service lip service n. Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: to the tasks our form of government was designed to perform but which don't directly provide or protect wealth. It's really competent at flowing money to the already rich by stripping away worker, consumer, taxpayer and ecological protections. It's great at spurning the concerns of countries that might have supported the administration's foreign policy but would have wanted to share the resources to be secured by the neo-conservatives' goal of economic imperialism Economic imperialism is the term used to describe the application of economics to the so called non-economic aspects of life such as crime, marriage and war.[1][2] See also
1. through military intervention The deliberate act of a nation or a group of nations to introduce its military forces into the course of an existing controversy. . The administration's working hard at finding excuses to attack Middle Eastern countries, handling the wars it's already involved in so that a permanent military presence in key oil-producing areas will be required. And the administration's competent at gulling those who believe their God gives them the right to meddle med·dle intr.v. med·dled, med·dling, med·dles 1. To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere. See Synonyms at interfere. 2. To handle something idly or ignorantly; tamper. in people's private business and to dictate the limits of scientific inquiry. SANFORD SILVER Eugene Bishop's compassion welcome According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. article in the Oct. 29 Register-Guard, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently stated, "Witch hunts and gay bashing Gay bashing is an expression used to designate verbal confrontation with, denigration of, or physical violence against people thought to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered (LGBT) because of their apparent sexual orientation or gender identity. have no place in the church. There are many wonderful and excellent priests in the church who have a gay orientation." The article concluded with the observation that homosexuals should be treated with compassion and dignity. This enlightened position is in stark contrast to the anti-gay position taken recently by a speaker at the Catholic Gonzaga University (Register-Guard, Oct. 31), who claimed that homosexuality is "a self-destructive activity." I can only hope that Catholics everywhere will heed the bishop president's words of wisdom and compassion. CAROLINA MARLINO Eugene Otters need healthy wetlands We appreciated reporter Susan Palmer's excellent article on the increased incidence of river otters in the West Eugene Wetlands - and her reference to Judy's otter research in Colorado (Register-Guard, Oct. 29). The article illustrates the vitality of an emergent biodiverse community. Because otters are in the top tier of the food chain, they are a key indicator of the overall health of their resident ecological community The term ecological community can refer to two different things:
Certainly, otters are cute, playful and intriguing. But they require sufficient high-quality food in their home range; they are sensitive to the quality of wetland and riparian riparian adj. referring to the banks of a river or stream. (See: riparian rights) environments they inhabit for their non-aquatic behaviors of resting, elimination, predator aversion, mating and denning; and they are susceptible to pollution in the watershed they inhabit - largely manifested by human activity. We have an opportunity and an obligation to honor the wealth of biodiversity that the forethought fore·thought n. 1. Deliberation, consideration, or planning beforehand. 2. Preparation or thought for the future. See Synonyms at prudence. of wetlands preservation in west Eugene has wrought. River otters have long home ranges - up to 38 linear miles of watershed in Judy's study area - often used as thoroughfares among resource communities. Otters are conscientious to draw on resources along their home range judiciously, to minimize their impact on the ecology. As stewards of the wetlands, we owe it to them to be equally judicious in protecting them from human disturbance, particularly the imprudent im·pru·dent adj. Unwise or indiscreet; not prudent. im·pru  dent·ly adv. development of thoroughfares of our own.
Hooray for the otters! Let's preserve their new home in perpetuity Of endless duration; not subject to termination. The phrase in perpetuity is often used in the grant of an Easement to a utility company. in perpetuity adj. forever, as in one's right to keep the profits from the land in perpetuity. . The greater good of a biodiverse community demands it. DAVID BERG David Brandt Berg (18 February, 1919 - October 1994), frequently known by the pseudonym Moses David, was the founder and leader of the religious movement formerly called Children of God, now called "The Family International". JUDY BERG Eugene Does Wildish have a conflict? In his Oct. 28 guest viewpoint, Gary Wildish repeats some tired arguments in favor of building the West Eugene Parkway The West Eugene Parkway was a proposed re-alignment of Oregon Route 126 through the western parts of Eugene, Oregon and its suburbs. Highway 126 through western Eugene currently runs along several surface streets (including West 11th Avenue); this route is well-known in the Eugene . He fails to mention, however, that the parkway would illegally use land originally purchased with federal Land and Water Conservation Funds, would cost twice what was claimed in the 2001 election, and would bisect bi·sect v. bi·sect·ed, bi·sect·ing, bi·sects v.tr. To cut or divide into two parts, especially two equal parts. v.intr. To split; fork. a contiguous wetland that taxpayers have spent millions to protect. Most surprising was his - and The Register-Guard's - failure to disclose Wildish's potential financial stake in the project. Wildish is described simply as a Eugene native and a member, in the early 1980s, of a West Eugene Parkway Citizen Advisory Committee. One might be forgiven in thinking that Wildish has been retired to his recliner for the last 20 years, penning the occasional op-ed piece. I've read elsewhere, however, that Wildish is still working, currently for Chambers Construction and, I'm assuming, has some connection to Wildish Construction - two businesses that stand to make millions from the parkway and related work. When such a personal financial stake is involved, is it unreasonable that guest viewpoint authors disclose that interest? JONATHAN PLUMMER Eugene End doesn't justify the means I believe President George Bush is an honorable man, that he sincerely believes his actions as president have been in the best interest of our land. But does the end justify the means? President Bush needs to level with us. Why, indeed, did we invade Iraq? Why has he put the flower of our youth in harm's way harm's way n. A risky position; danger: a place for the children that is out of harm's way; ships that sail into harm's way. ? So far, the war in Iraq has claimed the lives of 2,000 of our service men and women, maimed maim tr.v. maimed, maim·ing, maims 1. To disable or disfigure, usually by depriving of the use of a limb or other part of the body. See Synonyms at batter1. 2. 15,000 soldiers. And we are told we must stay the course. Enough with smoke and mirrors! Will the president please tell it like it is? We may surprise him, we may agree. For sure, the end does not justify the means. JANET POLAND Eugene Condemn land for hospital site Instead of letting PeaceHealth constantly define the site agenda for a new Eugene hospital, how about having those who are empowered to represent the public do the job that they are supposed to do? Let the Eugene City Council decide where the hospital should best be located and use the power of eminent domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in to make sure that the public interest is served. A couple of alternate locations could be designated, and occupants of the property would be compensated for the land taking. If the land cost is too high for the hospital organization, the city might retain ownership of the land and use its investment position to benefit the public. From what I can tell, the city has been reactive rather than proactive in the location process leading to endless delay, increased cost and bad feeling all around. To me, a downtown location offers the greatest public benefit in terms of access, convenience and ancillary benefit - adding life to the downtown core. The city should not act as bully, but neither should it act as doormat where a noncompetitive and essential public service is involved. PeaceHealth got what it wanted all along. A rural campus, but in another city. Eugene needs move on and decide what is best for its residents. ROBERT A. OLSEN Eugene Beliefs depend largely on birth There are 2.1 billion followers of Christianity, 1.3 billion followers of Islam, 851 million of Hinduism, 375 million of Buddhism, 25 million of Sikhism, 15 million of Judaism, 7.5 million of Baha'ism, 6.4 million of Confucianism, 4.5 million of Jainism, 2.8 million of Shintoism. All of this, of course, is give or take a few. What religious or political theories we swear are the absolute truth depends almost entirely on an accident of birth. Whether you will be an Orthodox Jew or a liberal one, whether you are Amish or Lutheran, even whether you vote red or blue will depend into whose cradle the stork stork, common name for members of a family of long-legged wading birds. The storks are related to the herons and ibises and are found in most of the warmer parts of the world. dropped your plump little butt. When I was a little girl, we put sugar on the window sill to lure the stork to bring his bundle His bundle n. See bundle of His. to the room and cradle mom had fixed for a baby. It worked. Once it turned out to be a baby boy, once a baby girl. SVEA SVEA Slowly Varying Envelope Approximation (Sandia Labs) GOLD Eugene Evolution a suspect explanation Webster's Dictionary (1967 edition) defines evolution as "the theory that all species of plants and animals Plants and Animals are a Canadian indie-rock band from Montreal, comprised of guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woodley.[1] They are signed to Secret City Records. developed from earlier forms by hereditary transmission of slight variations in successive generations." Further, scientists have told us that this process required hundreds of millions of years to produce the great variety of life that we have today. There are many significant problems with this position. For example, techniques such as radiometric dating are based on assumptions that are not generally publicized. To estimate a date prior to the beginning of written records, one must assume that the dating clock has operated at a known rate that has not changed. Second, it must be assumed that the clock's initial setting is known - how much of the substance that was to decay was there to begin with. Third, the clock must have remained undisturbed by environmental change such as humidity, temperature or atmospheric composition. Yet these dating techniques used to estimate the age of the Earth are held up as accurate and reliable! The point is this: that if the age of the Earth is based on assumptions, and if compelling evidence indicates that the Earth is not billions of years old, then evolution cannot be true. There are over a hundred other problems that I know of that make evolution suspect as an explanation for the origin and diversity of life. DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. E. ABBALE Eugene |
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