LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard Oregon is addicted to gambling In Florence, Gov. Ted Kulongoski Theodore R. "Ted" Kulongoski (born November 5 1940, in rural Missouri[1]) is an American Democratic politician. Since 2003, he has served as the Governor of Oregon. He was re-elected in 2006. established his readiness to ignore local concerns to enable a casino. That set the stage for his sale of off-reservation casino rights in Cascade Locks. Coupled with adding video slots to the lottery, it's clear that Kulongoski is committing Oregon to increased gambling dependency despite the odds-on certainty that long-term costs will far outweigh any temporary cash benefits. The governor has bought the industry sales pitch that casinos are inevitable. He ignores the growing tide of political awareness that tribal gambling laws have been abused and casino gambling is out of control. That tide may well bring with it remedial federal changes that lessen the negotiating threat of a casino in Hood River The Hood River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Approximately 25 mi (40 km) long from its mouth to its farthest headwaters on the East Fork, the river descends from wilderness areas in the Cascade Range on Mount Hood and flows . Ironically, Kulongoski's justification for the Cascade Locks deal is the millions it will provide for low-income, college-bound Oregonians - ironic because it ignores the concern about gambling among youth. That's in addition to all the other concerns - gambling addiction, higher rates of crime, bankruptcy, family abuse, divorce and even suicide. Not even an apparent violation of the Oregon Constitution The Oregon Constitution is a U.S. state constitution, the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon. It was ratified on November 9, 1857, and took effect when Oregon achieved statehood on February 14, 1859. Differences from U.S. slows down this governor, who relies upon procedural pettifogging pet·ti·fog intr.v. pet·ti·fogged, pet·ti·fog·ging, pet·ti·fogs To act like a pettifogger. See Synonyms at quibble. [Back-formation from pettifogger. to keep the constitutional challenges of citizen-plain- tiffs from being presented to the courts. Was Buckminster Fuller anticipating Kulongoski's Faustian pact in warning that, "Those who play with the devil's toys will be brought by degrees to wield his sword?" ARNOLD BUCHMAN Florence Why wasn't attack called rape? The Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital and the largest city of the American state of Ohio. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. , story (Register-Guard, April 13) was very disturbing on many levels - one of them being that the story did not refer to the attack on a developmentally disabled female student as rape and assault and battery. The source of this article should be informed that a woman being forced into having sex is being raped. Is assault, battery and rape something that we send high school criminals home for? The foundations of sensibility, discernment and justice are crumbling around us. This is someone's daughter. This happened a month ago, and there are still no charges! The students videotaped it. What more do the authorities need? If these charges are true, then I say they call for the death penalty. Bury the travesty judgment of Roper vs. Simmons, and let us rid ourselves of this evil in our land. MATTHEW B. SHEHEE Eugene Bus rapid transit
Expanding Lane Transit District's new bus rapid transit system is a nice idea. Swift-moving buses whisking people to and from central locations with fewer stops sounds like a big improvement over standard bus service. Throw in prepaid passes, green lights and dedicated lanes, and it's positively fabulous. It's the principle behind the system that's flawed. Give people a faster alternative to the regular bus service, 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. the recent article, and they'll be more likely to stop driving their cars. LTD LTD 1 Laron-type dwarfism 2 Leukotriene D 3 Long-term depression, see there 4. Long-term disability would do well to really think about the reasons why people ride its buses - and why they don't. It's likely that most of the folks who ride the bus either can't drive for reasons of money, disability or age, or choose not to out of concern for the environment. It's also highly likely that most folks who can drive do. For the vast majority of the driving public, it's about independence and convenience, not the lack of a slightly better alternative to bus service. While these are assumptions on my part, if true they demonstrate that LTD has grossly misunderstood its market and the needs of that market. Further, it appears willing to spend an incredible amount of money on what, at best, could be called a risky investment. Small businesses, being the group that will bear the brunt of the cost for this new system, may benefit from becoming openly and loudly involved in the process, whether they support the idea or not. ROBERT HARRIS Robert Harris may refer to:
Eugene The age of cheap oil is over The two recent headlines (Regis- ter-Guard, April 12) were a remarkable juxtaposition juxtaposition /jux·ta·po·si·tion/ (-pah-zish´un) apposition. jux·ta·po·si·tion n. The state of being placed or situated side by side. : wages are stagnant, and fuel prices are spiking. This is one story, not two. The first article describes as optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op an economist who says "employers can't ... keep up with the oil-price increase." The other article quotes an economist saying, "Longer term, there are other factors, such as China's appetite for raw materials, that could continue driving energy prices higher." It's over. The age of cheap oil is over. Cheap oil has powered almost every aspect of modern civilization. It underlies farming, shipping, personal transport, plastics; when the price of oil rises, the price of everything else is close behind. It is past time we collectively address how we will respond. JOHN FLANERY Eugene U.S. drug prices out of control A recent AARP AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan national organization dedicated to "enriching the experience of aging"; membership is open to people age 50 or older. Founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus as American Association of Retired Persons, AARP now has over 30 million study stated that during 2004, the price of the 200 most popular drugs in 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. increased by 7.1 percent, double the rate of inflation. These same drugs increased by 7 percent in 2003. This is untenable, especially for the elderly, poor, underemployed un·der·em·ployed adj. 1. Employed only part-time when one needs and desires full-time employment. 2. Inadequately employed, especially employed at a low-paying job that requires less skill or training than one possesses. and unemployed. It is one of the reasons that health insurance costs are screaming upward at a rate that will soon preclude all but the wealthy. Why is this happening in the United States and not elsewhere? Is it the strong drug lobby in Washington, D.C.? Are our elected officials more interested in the large political donations from drug companies than in representing people? It certainly seems so when the price of Lipitor 20 mg, which is produced by Pfizer, sells locally for $3.53 each and the same strength Lipitor, also made by Pfizer, sells for $1.49 in Australia and New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland. . In Canada, it sells for about $1.89. President Bush said that he was against negotiating domestic drug prices. I, too, believe in the free enterprise system. So politicians need to let the system work! They need to stay out of it and quit making deals behind closed doors at the expense of their con- stituents. EDWARD SCHULTZ Eugene Journalists are liberal; so what? James T. Bryant (letters, April 11) would have us believe that because the media are liberal they can't be trusted. He quotes figures that say that, by their own admission, journalists and college professors are 89 percent liberal. Well, why would it be otherwise? Aren't professors and journalists deservedly considered to be members of the intelligentsia in·tel·li·gent·si·a n. The intellectual elite of a society. [Russian intelligentsiya, from Latin intelligentia, intelligence, from intellig ? If 89 percent of these erudite er·u·dite adj. Characterized by erudition; learned. See Synonyms at learned. [Middle English erudit, from Latin professionals have chosen to be liberal, it would seem to be a sound choice, and Bryant does the press an injustice when he infers that because journalists have certain political leanings, they can't be fair in their reporting. Perhaps he considers presenting the truth to be unfair if it is not to his liking. As secretive as the current administration is, we wouldn't have a clue of what is happening behind those closed doors were it not for those journalists who believe that it is their duty to inform the populace of what is happening to their country. If they didn't do it, who would? Many letters in The Register-Guard label it as a liberal paper. The fact that Bryant gets published so often proves otherwise. FRANCES FISCHER Springfield A suggestion for comics page The comics page of a daily newspaper is a page largely or entirely devoted to comic strips. Other features that frequently appear on the comics page are crossword puzzles and horoscopes. Other special pages in newspapers include the sports page and the society page. There have been numerous letters to the editor concerning placement of the comic strips
Mallard Fillmore is a comic strip written and illustrated by Bruce Tinsley. The strip follows the exploits of its title character, a politically conservative anthropomorphic green-feathered duck who works as a reporter at " and "The Boondocks" in the classified ads instead of on the comics pages. I have a suggestion for The Register-Guard: Please make room for James T. Bryant's letters on the comics page instead of the editor's mailbag. He makes me laugh. MARK TAUBENKRAU Eugene Volunteers make a difference I am the volunteer coordinator at ShelterCare, a local private nonprofit agency serving adults with mental illness, survivors of brain injury and homeless families with children. This week, April 17-23, is Volunteer Appreciation Week. I would like to express deep, profound appreciation for our 58 volunteers and interns  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . . I am amazed a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. at the commitment that they show in their work, considering that the work they do is challenging and they are not being paid for it. It is truly inspiring. Just as important, the residents at our 10 sites are very thankful for the effort the volunteers give. They realize that this contribution comes from the heart and is driven by the desire to make a difference in this world. GENE OBERSINNER Volunteer coordinator ShelterCare Eugene Student's letter inspirational I write to say what a beautiful letter Latricia Hampton wrote (Register-Guard, April 12). It touched my heart in a big way. Coming from a background very similar to hers but never getting to go live with others, I am happy she was able to find her way into a better life. She is a smart and beautiful person. I can see she will achieve all her goals in life. I hope author Dave Peltzer knows how wonderful he is as well, for I am sure he has changed more than one life in a positive way. God bless them both! TERRI O'DONNELL Eugene |
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