LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Slow down for kids and wildlife

I was driving up McKenzie Highway. It was a straight stretch of road, so I could see far ahead.

A gray squirrel was on the pavement and an SUV was approaching from the other direction. I slowed down to let the squirrel make its way across the road. No cars were behind me, so there wasn't any danger. The driver of the SUV didn't slow down, even though he had more than enough time and no cars were behind him.

At the last minute, he tried to avoid the squirrel, but it got caught between the wheels, was hit and skittered into the middle of the road. The driver kept going, never slowing down.

I stopped to move the squirrel off the highway. Its eyes were open but it was unresponsive and blood was coming out of its nose. Otherwise, it was perfect.

Please slow down for children, road crews and wildlife. Nothing you need to do is so important that another needs to die for it.

JOANNE VINTON

Eugene

Germany declared war on U.S.

Patrick Du Gard (letters, Oct. 13) compares the events that triggered our country's entry into World War II and those that followed the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

For him, and for many others who learn their history on the vitriolic side of the radio dial, our unprovoked attack on Nazi Germany in the months after Pearl Harbor established a precedent that justifies our more recent unprovoked attack on Iraq. Du Gard forgets that a German U-Boat had sunk an American destroyer, the USS Reuben James, on Oct. 30, 1941, weeks before Pearl Harbor.

This act of war was not sufficient to shake our country from her isolationism, but Adolf Hitler waited only four days after Pearl Harbor to declare war on the United States, at a time when we were at war only with Japan. We were forced to fight Germany as well.

Du Gard's justification also fails when we compare the scale of events in 1941 to those since 2001. Our country was attacked in 1941 and war was declared upon us by nation-states aggregating millions of people and representing vast military potential; our national welfare was at stake. In stark contrast, the Sept. 11 attacks were carried out by a handful of zealots whose supporters may never be revealed.

Righteous anger can be very satisfying, but our nation's future well-being and that of our world requires more than twisted logic and selective memory. Launching cryptic, convenient, self-serving wars defiles everything we ever claimed to stand for.

SCOTT M. FRANZEN

Eugene

Darwin's work strongly backed

Most of Ed Heaton's assertions (letters, Oct. 13) are completely or partially incorrect, but I would like to correct a common untruth that I have heard from many others besides Heaton.

Heaton states that "mutations demonstrate a net loss of genetic information, not a gain, with neutral or negative results, not positive." Both of these statements are completely incorrect. One well-known form of genetic mutation is Down syndrome, which occurs when the 21st chromosome is triploid rather than diploid; thus, a net gain of genetic information.

The claim that all genetic mutation is neutral or negative is even more incorrect. No mutation can be assessed as positive, neutral or negative outside the context of the organism's environment. Evolution works on the principle that random recombinations of genes in a population will produce some organisms that are better suited to the environment than others; these organisms are therefore more likely to survive and reproduce.

Mutation need not even play a role, although it certainly can. Darwin's finches are a classic example of this principle. The diet that is available on the various islands in the Galapagos varies widely, and the same species of finch varies slightly from island to island, with beak shapes and sizes suited to the food supply of their respective environments.

The scientific community has amassed a wealth of information in the past 150 years supporting Darwin's basic principles. To say that his theories have "received no help and offer a person no hope" is ludicrous.

ISAAC DICKMAN

Eugene

Create a Department of Peace

In America, we are at war, a war that is draining our national energy into a huge black hole. You might think that I am talking about Iraq, and it is true that after almost five years of war in Iraq we will have spent over $250 billion, about $50 billion per year.

However, that is less than 12 percent of the $425 billion we spend per year on domestic, interpersonal violence. This includes the judicial system, security systems, medical costs, urban decay, property loss, productivity loss and rehabilitation of shattered lives.

In the United States, youth homicide rates are more than 10 times that of other leading industrialized nations. In 2001, almost 21,000 homicides and 31,000 suicides occurred; and almost 1.8 million people were assaulted, while about 323,000 harmed them- selves.

We are at war with ourselves! The weapons manufacturers love us. Violence is our only answer to anger; anger is our only answer to frustration. We don't know how to live nonviolently. It is long past time for a little prevention.

Legislation for a Cabinet-level Department of Peace to research, articulate and facilitate nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflict is in Congress now - H.R. 3760, which has 60 co-sponsors including Rep. Peter DeFazio, and S. 1756. Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith need to be urged on to sponsorship, and the Peace Alliance Web site (www.dopcampaign.org) deserves your enthusiastic and unwavering support.

DAVID HAZEN

Eugene

Evolution is crucial to science

The concept of biological evolution has been, over the last 150 years, the most studied, analyzed and critiqued principle in the biological sciences. Not once in all this time has it been successfully refuted in a credible, peer-reviewed study.

At the same time, countless studies, papers and research programs have supported it unfailingly. Evolution has become a fundamental component in understanding botany, biology, paleontology and a host of other life science "-ologies." Its critical importance in these areas of study cannot be overstated.

Every significant scientific organization in the United States has issued statements supporting biological evolution. Go to www.natcenscied.org for a complete list.

Those who would tout the idea that "science can't prove evolution" (letters, Oct. 13) should do the research. But the biological sciences are deeply complex subjects, and college-level courses in biology and zoology aren't easy. Expect long hours in the lab, late nights in the library and tough exams requiring all-nighters.

And there is no shortage of supporting evidence to go through. Professor Edward Larson of the University of Georgia stated in a recent talk that a typical city library holds several years' worth of reading material supporting evolution.

Lots of work to do if you want to be scientifically educated. And the body of knowledge supporting evolution is growing every day.

THOMAS COLLET

Eugene

Yellow signs brighten the day

I am writing to express my appreciation to whomever is putting up all those wonderful little yellow signs with the uplifting and encouraging messages on them. Since I don't know who it is, this was the only way I could express my approval.

I usually drive the same way to work every day, and I began seeing the signs about six months ago. I enjoy the messages, and when a day has been particularly rough or depressing they really are a little beacon of light.

The person who is creating them seems to be very wise and empathetic. Things like "Forgive Yourself" and "Love Your Wife" or " Encourage Your Grandkids" are good messages for any town, any generation. Seeing them day after day causes you to remember them, and you actually may begin to think in those terms if you didn't before.

So thank you, dear person! I can't speak for everyone, but you certainly do put a little more light and consideration into my day and I hope you will keep it up for a good while!

JUDITH SALYER

Eugene

Study fossil record of whales

I would like to invite Ed Heaton (letters, Oct. 13), who suggested that science can show no evidence of evolutionary intermediates, to learn about whales.

There's a very good fossil record of the transition of small land animals to large aquatic whales.

This is not a new idea. In fact, it predates Charles Darwin's writings, but it has been confirmed by recent discoveries of fossil animals whose body shapes are a series of intermediates between modern whales and their four-legged ancestors.

But we don't need to rely only on fossils to understand how whales evolved. The biology of living whales reveals that they weren't always smooth-skinned swimmers. Think about how a land mammal such as a greyhound runs, with its back curving and straightening, and you can imagine why a whale's muscles and spine move its flukes up and down instead of side to side like a fish.

The fetus of a whale in the womb has hair and sometimes external ears, though an adult whale doesn't, and many whales have small, useless hind legs.

Finally, whale genes are most like the genes of animals predicted by the fossil series to be the closest living relatives of whales - a group that includes, for example, horses and elephants but not kangaroos, cats or seals.

This well-supported evolutionary history of whales is an example of the kind of information that Heaton chose to ignore and perhaps would rather the rest of us didn't know about either.

SUSAN BASSHAM

Eugene

Kyoto pact didn't make sense

The Oct. 13 issue of The Register-Guard brings yet another alarmist editorial on global warming.

How is it that among all the urging to ratify the Kyoto Protocols, it is never mentioned that China and India are totally exempt from its global warming standards?

China, especially, uses massive amounts of coal, the dirtiest possible fuel, to further its economic boom.

For the United States or any country to tie its own hands while allowing the two most populous nations on earth no restraints is economic sui- cide.

No one with a modicum of common sense can support that.

MARK VAN NORMAN

Eugene

LETTERS LOG

Letters received in past week: 154

Letters published: 62

What's on readers' minds: Letter volume was below average again this week, but there was no drop-off in the intensity of the opinions. Top topics included Eugene's proposal to create an auditor and civilian review board to oversee police activities and Lane County's efforts to adequately fund law enforcement. Liberals and conservatives continued to call each other names in the debate over the Iraq war and President Bush's performance.