LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Winning in Iraq foils terrorists

After Sept. 11 and the Taliban defeat in Afghanistan, Iraq remained a haven for terrorists.

Saddam Hussein's domination over oil wealth and 25 million citizens provided the supportive environment cherished by degree-holding professionals for planning extravagant slaughters utilizing modern science and sociological incitement. Hence, his rule always constituted a greater threat to international peace and security than pariahs such as Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri, who emerged from the Salafi-Wahhabi heresy. Former weapons inspector David Kay's work confirmed an extraordinarily dangerous Iraq, where free-lance as well as state-sponsored weapons of mass destruction programs were under way and terrorist groups moved about freely.

Bin Laden contends that the most important issue for the world now is his winning in Iraq. Zawahiri says al-Qaeda victory restores the basis for a caliphate encompassing the Middle East.

Persevering for a viable Iraqi government delivers a crushing, irreversible defeat to al-Qaeda by allowing political domination by constituencies committed to national and international harmony. Risking victory in Iraq means choosing a world where other countries become emboldened to exclude brutal, depraved elements from their societies and where terrorists find no safe haven for planning a technologically advanced Dark Age.

Allowing our troops to win means destroying the capacity for malevolent fantasies to become incalculable miseries within our country.

NOLAN NELSON

Eugene

Les Schwab's personal touch

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Les Schwab. I had the pleasure of meeting the man on a sunny May morning in 1990 while camping in the Ochoco National Forest.

I returned his wave as he drove by and he pulled in for a chat. Over a cup of coffee, he revealed he had been fishing in the area early that morning. He explained that he sometimes took a few hours off from his job in nearby Prineville to go fishing.

When he learned I was a student at the University of Oregon, he suggested I stop by his office on my way back to Eugene for a specially discounted set of tires.

I didn't need new tires at the time so never took him up on his generous offer, but I've never forgotten his kindness. In the years since, I've purchased a lot of tires from Les Schwab stores - and felt good about it every time.

GREG HAZARABEDIAN

Eugene

EWEB should focus on low rates

The Eugene Water & Electric Board is back in the news again, unveiling a plan to spend $150,000 of ratepayers' money to come up with a new slogan.

In a time when Lane County is struggling to get the funding to keep its basic services running, does this sound right to Eugene residents? I'm sure that EWEB would say such money is peanuts compared with the $600 million overall budget. But $150,000 here and $150,000 there can add up really quickly.

This is ratepayer money! Is such a thing really vital to their operation? Apparently, the "Rely on Us" logo was developed by just one department and that does not sit well with the other departments. It took approximately one year with seven EWEB employees meeting on a regular basis to develop "Rely on Us." I wonder how much the development of the next slogan will cost us ratepayers.

It seems that EWEB has lost sight of its main purpose, which is to provide EWEB customers good service at the lowest possible rate. Just for the record, when EWEB's headquarters were still on Willamette Street, its rates were lower than anyone else in the area. Now its electric rates for 1,000 kilowatt hours are a third higher than the Springfield Utility Board's, just across the river.

EWEB needs to refocus on doing what it can do best and forget about publicity-seeking programs. Please, just provide us with good service and good rates!

SANG HUYNH

Eugene

Weight may not reveal fitness

As a clinical nutritionist who does fitness assessments, I applaud The Register-Guard's May 11 article, "The skinny on fat is hard to see."

It's true that a thin-looking person may not be healthier or fitter than someone who weighs more, because the thin person may have fatty deposits internally, plus insufficient muscle, whereas the heavier person may have more muscle and bone and an even lower body fat percentage than the thinner-looking person.

This is an excellent illustration of why weight can have little correlation with true health and fitness.

The gold standard of fitness assessments uses some method of body-composition testing.

Hydrostatic tanks, bio-impedance or good quality calipers are all vastly superior to scale weight and even Body Mass Index testing. The latter would consider a very muscular individual as obese, which is absurd.

The beauty of body composition testing as the most valid indicator of fitness should be apparent when one understands that it assesses the amount of metabolically active, calorie-burning tissue.

The more you have as a percentage of your body weight, the fitter you are.

Dieting damages our ability to lose fat and causes more fat gain. Did you know that anorexics are actually obese, because they have starved off most of their muscle tissue? Maybe this is why they say they "feel fat" - they are!

Let's start teaching healthy ways of eating and exercise and stop promoting false measures of fitness that actually promote obesity.

FRANCIE KILLIAN

Eugene

Faith doesn't depend on logic

In a recent article about the pope's visit to Brazil (Register-Guard, May 14), a Peruvian bishop is quoted as saying that people of "pre-Columbus" religions "hold lots of different beliefs, such as worshiping the Earth or animals, things that are pretty primitive."

So worshiping animals is primitive, but believing that someone could walk on water, transform water into wine and bring dead people back to life is somehow modern and logical?

EMILY KEIZER

Eugene

Support of music appreciated

On a recent Monday night, Cornucopia Restaurant in Eugene held a fundraiser, generously donating a large portion of the night's proceeds to the Churchill High School music program.

It was a great success, and it highlighted two big reasons we love living in Eugene: terrific arts programs and caring, compassionate and high-quality small business owners.

Churchill's music program is headed by Chris Mudd. Though he's not considered a full-time teacher, Mudd, like so many other teachers, donates well more than full-time hours to help the young musicians in our community succeed.

Mudd is a terrific teacher, and it saddens and troubles us to learn that the school will be cutting his hours further next year. We cannot afford to let that happen! Please call the district and voice your support of the Churchill music program.

The Cornucopia Restaurant is a small and wonderful neighborhood restaurant, full of charm, high-quality affordable food and excellent staff.

Owners Nils Stark and Alison Albrecht are to be commended for providing this great opportunity for the community to support children's arts programs.

Without people and businesses such as Cornucopia, our children's lives would not be nearly as rich.

We appreciate what Stark and Albrecht are doing to make Eugene a better place to live and raise a family.

HUGH CALDWELL

LAURA CALDWELL

Eugene

Cartoon insulted working moms

I opened the paper to the editorial section recently and felt like I'd been slapped in the face.

Jim Borgman's "Alpha Mom" cartoon (Register-Guard, May 15), which targets working mothers and tells us that we have no business working outside the home, is one of the most repugnant, sexist items I've seen in a newspaper.

It appropriated the language of addiction to warn us that we will "hit bottom" if we have the temerity to manage contracts at the same time we help our children with their grade-school projects.

What an insult to the thousands of working mothers in this town who get up every day and do our jobs so our kids can have food on the table and a roof over their heads.

And the newspaper published this garbage two days after Mother's Day.

SARA E. PALMER GILLIES

Eugene

Don't end-run the Legislature

Here we go again with a misdirected "coalition of social conservatives and church groups" trying to end-run our Legislature just because they didn't get their way on gay rights.

Have they ever read the definition of a "republic"?

Perhaps they would be enlightened to learn that we are represented by officials elected by the voters.

I support gay rights and yes, I call myself a liberal and a Christian. I believe in all the teachings of Jesus, including love one another and treat others as you would be treated.

Why do some select just that part of the Bible that meets their needs to further their cause and alienate one segment our citizenry?

Social conservatives would rather support presidential candidates whose adulterous relationships have landed them in divorce court.

Last time I checked, the Ten Commandments said nothing about gays. Let's see, what do numbers Seven and Ten say about adultery?

Our representatives have spoken. Let's respect their decision and support equality for all Oregon citizens.

I urge you not to sign any petition that would strip a segment of our community of the rights they have been granted by our Legislature.

VAUGHON HANCHETT

Eugene