LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Letters received in past week: 158

Letters published: 56

What's on readers' minds: Letter volume dropped significantly during the Thanksgiving holiday week. For the first time since the Nov. 7 elections, a local topic generated the most letters. Dozens of letter writers weighed in on the tragic shooting death of 19-year-old Ryan Salisbury, who was killed in a confrontation with Eugene police during an apparent psychotic episode at his home. The overwhelming sentiment of letter writers was that society must do a better job of strengthening services to mentally ill citizens, including crisis intervention that doesn't depend on law enforcement.

Congress needs term limits

The liberals are not even in power yet, and they already look much like the ousted Republicans.

Seems Rep. John Murtha is no Mr. Clean after all. Seems House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi wants to reward friends rather than put American voters first. Just wait until we learn more of what the old guard has been up to. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Politicians spend tens or hundreds of millions for a seat in Washington. Time to put a stop to huge contributions from corporations, unions and other special interests. Time to limit all politicians to two terms, same as the president.

Find any and every way to eliminate career politicians of every stripe, and we will finally get people to work for America rather than themselves.

DAVID Z. POKVITIS

Springfield

Pacifica Forum demonized

I've been reading with interest the criticisms leveled against the Pacifica Forum. While I accept that letter writers using the "Anti-Hate Task Force" moniker are driven by a power foreign to me, I think it prudent to mention the fact that the campaign being waged in The Register-Guard is perhaps more deserving of the community's monitoring than is a once-a-month lecture given forum attendees by Valdas Aneleskas.

In recent weeks, via the use of violent Mailbag letter headlines such as "Forum targets Jews" and "Forum foments hatred," hot-button canards such as "hate speech" and "racism" and through text peppered with other alarmist language, the task force has now succeeded in eliciting condemnations of Pacifica Forum from folks who've not even attended the forums they're writing about.

I first found the forum via the corporate media's refusal to cover the Downing Street Memos and have attended many of its weekly sessions. It is the only circle I have found where one can explore current events in a group devoid of hidden agendas.

Aneleskas has been the speaker at one forum per month since last May. His sourcing has been impeccable, predominantly using documentation from authors who are themselves Jewish. Often the actual book is offered, always the page number, author and title. Task force members have never challenged his documentation, evidently preferring to work through The Register-Guard's readers.

The series culminates soon. We will be exploring the neo-cons' roots as Trotskyites. As always, all are welcome.

DAWN COSLOW

Eugene

Don't ignore area horse owners

I spent hundreds of hours at the Lane County Fairgrounds during my teenage years. I had responsibilities and was there every day after school and on weekends tending to my horses.

I even met my future husband of 37 years there. Sadly, I watched as the rodeo arena was torn down.

Gone was the rodeo and parade that would bring thousands of spectators to cheer on their favorite competitors. The numerous riding clubs and decorated floats also disappeared. Luckily, the horse arena remained. Every night it would be filled with riding clubs, from team roping and calf roping to pony club. Weekends were filled with horse shows. The parking lot overflowed with horse trailers.

Participants brought not only their horses but revenue to area businesses. Eventually the horse arena and the horse barns were also torn down. We were told a new, bigger arena would would be built. That arena is now known as Lane County Ice.

So another horse arena was built. But the horse boarding was never allowed back on the premises. The only time the present arena is used for horses is for the 4H Fair and the Lane County Fair.

Therefore, go ahead and turn it over to the soccer groups. But first provide our county with a complete fairgrounds on another site where rules and regulations will not exclude any of the participants, animal or otherwise. There may be thousands of soccer players in our area, but there are thousands of horse owners, too.

ALICIA HANAUSKA

Eugene

The Register-Guard welcomes letters on topics of general interest. Our length limit is 250 words. Mail letters to: Mailbag, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188 Fax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]