LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard United we stand, divided we fall I hear so many comments today about the 2,100 military killed in Iraq, but does anyone stop to think of a few other facts? Nearly 3,000 innocent people were killed on Sept. 11, 2001, for no logical reason. During the Civil War, 600,000 were killed, with one battle having more than 2,000 people killed in an hour. This 600,000 is more than have been killed in all the wars in which 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. has been involved, from the Revolutionary War through the current Iraq war Iraq War: see under Persian Gulf Wars. Iraq War or Second Persian Gulf War Brief conflict in 2003 between Iraq and a combined force of troops largely from the U.S. and Great Britain; and a subsequent U.S. . Stop and think a little bit before you engage your mouth to spread propaganda. All of us regret the loss of lives, but at least the military knows what it's getting into - unlike the Sept. 11 victims. Too many people just spout whatever someone has fed them. There is an old saying that we need to heed: "United we stand, divided we fall." Many people around the world and in the United States either didn't learn or have forgotten their history. Maybe they will be lucky enough not to live to regret it. Another old saying is that "figures don't lie, but liars do figure." Take heed Verb 1. take heed - listen and pay attention; "Listen to your father"; "We must hear the expert before we make a decision" listen, hear focus, pore, rivet, center, centre, concentrate - direct one's attention on something; "Please focus on your studies and and think before you speak, or you might live to regret it. CHARLES E. PHILLIPS Eugene Hierarchies influence opinions Reporter Anne Williams' "Report on schools shows mixed views" (Register-Guard, Dec. 5) indicates that parents and staff at Eugene School District Eugene School District (4J) is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It serves the city of Eugene Elementary schools
Life was fruitful, viable and fair for white males in the 1960s and life is still fruitful, viable and fair for heterosexual couples. But ask women, non-white males and non-heterosexual couples and you will hear a different perspective, as the Alternative School Review Team found when it asked co-located neighborhood schools. My involvement as a parent in another of Eastside's co-located neighborhood schools (before Parker allowed me my most productive research on hierarchies) became the basis for the book "Clueless clue·less adj. Lacking understanding or knowledge. clueless Adjective Slang helpless or stupid Adj. 1. at the Top." Unlocking the often elusive hierarchies in school choice is the key to a better future for our children, a goal all of us share no matter where we send our kids. HARRIET CHILDRESS Eugene Gowins' portrayal is respectful Nick Sixkiller (letters, Nov. 15) has made it his goal to keep Nancy Gowins from portraying Sacagawea because she is not Native American. Her performance is nothing but respectful and honors a great woman in American history. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. of anyone else who does this. Her performance is very moving. Although she performs in many civic settings, one of her biggest venues is the schools. In his efforts to stop her, Sixkiller has sent letters to all of the schools in the area. I am asking parents and educators this: In a society where we are supposed to honor diversity, how can we tell someone they cannot give a presentation because they are the wrong color? Will we have to tell our kids that they cannot be in a school play because they are the wrong color? What will Sixkiller tell Native American kids if they are not allowed to play Abe Lincoln or Ben Franklin? Will there be any parts for them to play? I think we need to send our kids a positive message and let them learn that racism is wrong and Sacagawea was a great woman. We're all American, right? 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. KJOSNESS Eugene Midwifery midwifery (mĭd`wī'fərē), art of assisting at childbirth. The term midwife for centuries referred to a woman who was an overseer during the process of delivery. In ancient Greece and Rome, these women had some formal training. services important I am disappointed by McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center's decision (Register-Guard, Dec. 9) to no longer offer midwife-assisted births at the community hospital. Michele Bouche, a certified nurse-midwife, and her associates successfully attended the birth of my children in 1994 and 2005 at McKenzie-Willamette and in 1997 at Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). Hospital - when their ability to deliver at McKenzie-Willamette was similarly denied due to the lack of OB-GYN backup. Midwifery offers a personal, natural process for bringing new life into the world. For my family, our pregnancies and births were very relaxed, natural and pleasant because of the midwives. During my pregnancies, Bouche twice referred me to specialists who provided excellent care; however, I was very happy to get back to the midwives for the medical, emotional and supportive care supportive care, n medical and other interventions that attempt to support and make comfortable rather than to cure. they uniquely provide. Unlike some doctors who treated my pregnancy as an illness or injury, the midwives treated our pregnancy as a natural process. I applaud Dr. Jan Stafl for his progressive attitude and practice over the years. The challenges I see lie with the health care industry in general, throwing up roadblocks to what it considers alternative health care. I challenge McKenzie-Willamette to explore options to keep midwife services supported at their hospital. Outside-the-box thinking could result in creative ways to better serve the hospital's clients. Isn't this what progressive health care is all about? COSETTE REES Springfield U.S. troops are brave, honorable I agree with the sentiment of Nolan Nelson's Dec. 10 letter: The Marines who died aren't boys. The brave souls who make up our nation's Marine, Navy, Air Force and Army are much, much more. Call them many things: courageous, hero, honorable, proud. But to this proud Army parent, Spc. Daniel W. Cook - with all of his medals, awards and currently serving in Iraq - is still and will always be ... my boy. CHRISTINE STEADMAN Eugene Hire a private security patrol My family and I enjoy seeing the holiday decorations and bright lights the residents of Park Grove Lane put up each year. And, I agree it would be unfortunate if a few individuals were allowed to ruin the spirit of the season for the rest of us (abuse) for The Rest Of Us - (From the Macintosh slogan "The computer for the rest of us") 1. Used to describe a spiffy product whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2. . However, I object to the Park Grove Lane residents' request that the Eugene Police Department add more patrols in their neighborhood. Are they suggesting their expensive holiday decorations are more worthy of protection than my neighborhood and my family? And why should my taxes pay for their added security? My suggestion is that they hire a private security firm to patrol their neighborhood and let the Eugene Police Department protect the whole city. That way, the police might be able to actually catch the perpetrators. SARAH Sarah or Sarai: see Sara. Sarah (flourished early 2nd millennium BC) In the Hebrew scriptures, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. She was childless until age 90. LASZLO Eugene 'Ecoterrorism' a loaded term A few years ago, Paul Watson
Paul Watson (born December 2, 1950) is the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and is a significant, albeit controversial, figure in the environmental of Sea Shepherd The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-profit, non-governmental, primarily maritime and self-proclaimed policing organization, that says it undertakes campaigns guided by the United Nations World Charter for Nature (1982) and other statutory laws protecting marine species was a keynote speaker at the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference The Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) is held annually in early March at the University of Oregon Law School in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The conference is a gathering of environmental activists, advocates, and students from across the United States and the . Watson was known for ramming and sinking ships engaged in illegal whaling operations. Property destruction has been used in the context of campaigns of nonviolent resistance nonviolent resistance: see passive resistence. to oppression by Mahatma mahatma (məhăt`mə, –hät`–) [Sanskrit,=great-souled], honorific title used in India among Hindus for a person of superior holiness. Mohandas Gandhi is the best-known figure to whom the title was applied. Gandhi, Phillip and Daniel Berrigan Daniel Berrigan, S.J. (born May 9, 1921) is a poet, American peace activist, and Roman Catholic priest. Daniel and his brother Philip performed non-violent protests against war and were for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. , the Danish resistance to Nazi occupation and others. Was Gandhi a terrorist? I would say no. He neither used nor threatened to use violence against humans or other living beings. With its Dec. 9 front-page headline, "Ecoterrorism ecoterrorism or ecological terrorism or environmental terrorism The destruction, or the threat of destruction, of the environment in order to intimidate or coerce governments. probe nets 4 with ties to Lane County," The Register-Guard appears to confuse arson occurring within the context of a nonviolent campaign with terrorism. Use of the term ecoterrorism helps to perpetuate a climate of fear and obedience - just the thing for an authoritarian leader like President Bush who seems to condone condone v. 1) to forgive, support, and/or overlook moral or legal failures of another without protest, with the result that it appears that such breaches of moral or legal duties are acceptable. the systematic use of torture. Clearly, the newspaper has taken a strong stand against torture and would not intentionally act as an enabler. Please be more careful. DAVID DUEMLER Eugene Tax contains hidden agenda It has occurred to me that the Lane County Board of Commissioners is yet again playing games with our taxes. The proposed introduction of an individual and corporate income tax (or 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. ) may indeed be a solution to the serious underfunding of public safety but, as often happens, there are hidden agendas in their proposal. The inducement to reduce property taxes as part of this change may well garner more voter support; however, reducing the property taxes by $1 per $1,000 of assessed value will also give the county an easy back-door way of increasing the property taxes later without any vote or input from the public. Beware politicians offering tax reductions. As the tax laws stand now, government agencies are limited on how much they can assess and tax property, and most of them have reached their statutory limit. By introducing an excessive income tax and thereby reducing the property tax, the county commissioners will be giving themselves the ability to later raise those property taxes back to their limit and regain that $1 reduction. You can bet it won't take long for them to re-levy that $1 and bring our property taxes right back to where they are today. This way they get both: income tax and maximum statutory property tax. Why can't they just ask for what they actually need instead of playing these games? LES BLUM Springfield Young women deserve praise Bravo to Elyce Embery, Kristin Zebrowski and Sarah Zebrowski (Register-Guard, Dec. 9) for helping the homeless at Christmas. These three enterprising young women are showing that it does not take a lot to care. I admire them for making cards and scarves and distributing them throughout the city. I wish them the best for this holiday season. JUDY ADAMCYK Eugene U.S. should consider reparations reparations, payments or other compensation offered as an indemnity for loss or damage. Although the term is used to cover payments made to Holocaust survivors and to Japanese Americans interned during World War II in so-called relocation camps (and used as well to Some people want our troops to come home from Iraq because the war was a mistake; others want them to stay until the war is won. Neither side seems to care about the welfare of the Iraqi people on whose account our government and the pro-war populace professed - at one time or another - to have gone to war. If we really cared about bringing democracy and a better way of life to Iraq, we would be concerned about the legality and implications of Proconsul Proconsul, in zoology Proconsul, extinct group of apes, now considered a subgroup of Dryopithecus. Proconsul fossils have been discovered in E Africa. It is a probable ancestor of the chimpanzee and lived from 12 to 25 million years ago. Paul Bremer's "100 Rules." These rules were so firmly established by the occupying powers and so hard to change that many or most seem to have survived the new Iraqi constitution. These rules govern everything from banking, investments, copyrights and business ownership to taxes, the media and trade. They were established for the benefit of Western corporations at the expense of the Iraqi people. If we cared about democracy and the Iraqi people, we should be discussing how much and how we should pay them - not their U.S.-supported officials - for restoring water, electricity and employment, and how we can help them gain control over their own reconstruction efforts. Why aren't such discussions taking place? If we have been simply lazy or ignorant, we can still change our ways. If we are unwilling to discuss reparations to Iraq, however, we should recognize ourselves for the power-hungry colonialists that we are. Shame on us! JETTE FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) See free software and open source. FOSS - free open-source software LETTERS LOG Eugene Letters received in past week: 176 Letters published: 59 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: Two wars - one real and one perceived - dominated letter submissions this week. Letters suggesting that secular activists have declared a politically correct politically correct Politically sensitive adjective Referring to language reflecting awareness and sensitivity to another person's physical, mental, cultural, or other disadvantages or deviations from a norm; a person is not mentally retarded, but "war" on Christmas made that the No. 1 topic, followed by the question of whether to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq or stay the course President Bush has set. Other topics receiving multiple letters included Bush's threat to veto legislation banning cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody and the debate over 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 . |
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