LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-GuardPrepare for a budget cut I was disappointed that the Oct. 15 report on property tax statements gave no explanation as to why taxes are going up even when property values are declining: because we the people voted to have it that way! Measure 5 in 1990 and Measure 57, more recently, have severed sev·er v. sev·ered, sev·er·ing, sev·ers v.tr. 1. To set or keep apart; divide or separate. 2. To cut off (a part) from a whole. 3. market value from the computation of property taxes. The news account mentioned the state Constitution without saying that the voters, within recent memory, put that into the Constitution. It did take the always-present shot at public employees, saying that the relatively level tax income "is crucial to pay for ever-increasing employee costs, including wage hikes, medical insurance and retirement benefits." None of this is much help to community colleges and their employees (to say nothing of the students and their families) that only receive 25 percent of our income from local property taxes (another 25 percent from tuition) and 50 percent from state general fund sources, which declined by 10 percent in the 2009 session. I understand the recently referred tax increases are polling to be defeated by a whopping margin. Why not - if we allow those tax increases to stand, they will only go to pay for "ever-increasing employee costs" and not to police, corrections, human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. , public schools and universities or parks - and kill jobs. We at Umpqua Community College Umpqua Community College (UCC) is a two-year public college located approximately five miles north of Roseburg, Oregon, United States. About 1,000 full-time students and 15,000 part-time students attend UCC. have already been advised to prepare for a budget cut following the February special session; I suspect Lane Community College President Mary Spilde has heard the same thing. BENTLEY GILBERT Community Relations 1. The relationship between military and civilian communities. 2. Those public affairs programs that address issues of interest to the general public, business, academia, veterans, Service organizations, military-related associations, and other non-news media entities. Director Umpqua Community College Roseburg Fight against hate crimes The City of Eugene Human Rights Commission is deeply distressed by recent acts of violence against homeless persons An individual who lacks housing, including one whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations; an individual who is a resident in transitional housing; or an individual who has as a primary residence a in our community. The commission believes each individual has inherent worth and value. Hate, violence, harassment Ask a Lawyer Question Country: United States of America State: Nevada I recently moved to nev.from abut have been going back to ca. every 2 to 3 weeks for med. and bias affect all of us, and threaten community support, safety and security. Threats to homeless persons are illegal. Hate crimes, including harassment and bias incidents, are crimes motivated by the prejudice of a perpetrator A term commonly used by law enforcement officers to designate a person who actually commits a crime. targeting a victim because of the victim's perceived association with a group. These heinous hei·nous adj. Grossly wicked or reprehensible; abominable: a heinous crime. [Middle English, from Old French haineus, from haine, hatred, from crimes are often done to induce fear and intimidation among specific targeted groups. Prosecutions of hate crimes against the homeless and other targeted groups carry extra penalties and help protect our community. Hate activity can test our community, and we all can play a role in effective response. Our collective effort is our greatest resource, and we must respond to these heinous acts. The Human Rights Commission encourages each of us to remain aware of violent predatory acts against homeless people. The commission encourages active reporting: If you see a violent act, graffiti graffiti Form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorized marking of public space by an individual or group. Technically the term applies to designs scratched through a layer of paint or plaster, but its meaning has been extended to other markings. , flyers, or hear hate or bias speech regarding our homeless population, or any other groups, please report it immediately. One way to document such atrocious acts, if you are a witness, is taking a photo via mobile phone or noting any information about perpetrators, hate activity, or events and sharing these as soon as possible with the Eugene Police Department or the Equity and Human Rights Center. HOLLY LEMASURIER Human Rights Analyst City Manager's Office Eugene No money to open jail Sandra Mattson is the latest misinformed letter writer (letters, Oct, 1) to blame the early release of Paul Reid Paul Reid may be:
Mattson thinks the current board should just "fully open the jail and forest work camp." Does she not understand that there isn't anywhere near the money for fully opening that jail, and there hasn't been for many years? Within just a couple years, there won't be enough money to fund any jail beds, if something isn't done soon to bring in more revenue. Mattson doubtless also doesn't know that the forest work camp was closed because Congress changed the rules to prohibit use of federal timber dollars for such camps. Commissioner Rob Handy should be commended for taking the time to be sure of the state revenue picture before making a final budget decision this spring. If Mattson were a commissioner, we'd be in a world of hurt right now after she'd "fully opened the jail and forest work camp" without a clue about how to pay for it all. MIA MIA n. A member of the armed services who is reported missing following a combat mission and whose status as to injury, capture, or death is unknown. [m(issing) i(n) a(ction). NELSON Eugene Another Ponzi scheme A fraudulent investment plan in which the investments of later investors are used to pay earlier investors, giving the appearance that the investments of the initial participants dramatically increase in value in a short amount of time. ? I have been taxed for years to support a Medicare system that I object to on grounds including the mismanagement mis·man·age tr.v. mis·man·aged, mis·man·ag·ing, mis·man·ag·es To manage badly or carelessly. mis·man  age·ment n. of the money, the lack
of constitutional authority for government to operate such a program,
and the massive abuses and inefficiencies that seem to be inevitable
when government assumes roles for which it was not designed. These
issues made me skeptical of the promise that my involuntary
"contributions" to Medicare would provide decades of care for
my elders and guarantee me that same care when my time came.
The system became geometrically more costly than promised and joined Social(ized) Security among the great bankruptcy-bound Ponzi schemes of all time. Still we must pay for both, conscious that superior private options are prohibited. Now we are invited to turn our entire health care over to this same government, because it will somehow provide better than the private sector. Now for the final irony. When objectors try to prevent this next stage of government takeover, we are lectured in Mailbag letters like Walker Ryan's, telling those who don't like "socialism" they should be "giving up their evil Medicare benefits" or "not sign[ing] up for Medicare benefits when the time comes Adv. 1. when the time comes - at the appropriate time; "we'll get to this question in due course" in due course, in due season, in due time, in good time ." It's as if our only morally consistent position is to say "Oh, yes, big government, please keep taxing us for the old failing systems, give us no options, give us none of the money you promised us, and while you're at it, tax us into the next phase of this utopian vision." NORM FOX Springfield Dumbing down the curricula New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times columnist Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman (born February 28, 1953) is an American economist. Krugman, a liberal, is currently a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University. (Oct. 12, "U.S. getting a failing grade on education") laments the decline of education in America. He apparently blames a reduction in funding for much of the problem. I'll suggest a far more disturbing culprit: the "dumbing down" of curricula at all levels. I could rail about the revisionist re·vi·sion·ism n. 1. Advocacy of the revision of an accepted, usually long-standing view, theory, or doctrine, especially a revision of historical events and movements. 2. claptrap that passes for high school "history" courses these days. But let's look at some recent course offerings by our colleges and universities. To cite a few: "Tree Climbing Tree climbing consists of ascending and moving around in the canopy of trees. Tree climbing is safe when done with the proper training and equipment. Use of a rope, helmet, and harness are the minimum requirements to ensure the safety of the climber. ," "Video Game Studies," "Queer Mobility," "Movie Appreciation" and a host of other courses that include the word "studies" which are basically useless in the real world. The best example is a course appropriately called "Stupidity" offered by a private college in California that costs nearly $40,000 per year to attend. The course description says, among other profundities, "Stupidity is neither ignorance nor organicity." The parents who are footing the bill apparently graduated from this institution with honors. When a college graduate with this kind of "education" shows up at your door, pay him for the pizza and tip him a couple bucks. JERRY RITTER rit·ter n. pl. ritter A knight. [German, from Middle High German riter, from Middle Dutch ridder, from r Springfield |
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