LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Better think through a gas tax

A gas tax measure will take a lot of marketing to pass. This issue will get press, radio and television coverage.

The Eugene City Council should say no to the spending taxpayer dollars on advertising this passage. The measure will go up in flames if this approach is used.

The media do a good job covering both sides of the story without scare tactics and sound bites that leave us shaking our heads. Let's think this through, Eugene. Can we be sure that we will have assurances of fixing our residential streets and help deter driving by boosting the price of gasoline? Or will we end up stopping outside the city limits for our fill-ups?

Who are the losers here? Fewer tax dollars because of less consumption, and possibly the demise of small operators who also pay property taxes.

Donna Carter

Eugene

House passed a good energy bill

I agree with the Aug. 8 editorial "Progress on energy."

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a good energy bill that moves the country toward a cleaner and more secure energy future. One of the most important provisions was the Renewable Energy Standard, requiring that utilities generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020 (Oregon's standard requires 25 percent by 2025). It will reduce global warming pollution and expand new research at our universities, which will create jobs while also enhancing rural economies, home to vast wind, solar and biomass energy potential.

I would like to commend U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio for joining the coalition of rural communities, environmentalists, labor unions and clean energy developers to support this bipartisan policy.

As the House and Senate work toward agreement on energy legislation this fall, I urge Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith to support the national Renewable Energy Standard.

Tom Matney

Eugene

KOPT has lost its uniqueness

Hart Williams' Aug. 10 letter regarding the loss of the local programming on KOPT-AM was right on target.

I have been listening to KOPT since 2004, when I first heard Al Franken's goofy laugh on the air, and had been a faithful listener since. I occasionally still listen to Ed Schultz, Thom Hartman, Randy Rhodes, etc., but it simply is not the same anymore without the local infusion. The news team was outstanding, the local hosts were very stimulating, and the hourly weather reports were my mainstay.

It's really difficult to suffer through another example of how the pocketbook rules all, including running quality and substance right out the door. I want my local news team back! I can hear the national news anywhere, but only on KOPT could I feel so connected to my wonderful local community.

The station has traded in its uniqueness for a bland, watered-down version of its former self. Boo, hiss, if you ask me.

Laura A. Erb

Eugene

Rove didn't leave in disgrace

Karl Rove did not resign in any kind of disgrace mode, as is the popular belief.

Conservatives do not view him as anything close to a failure. He engineered what should have been a permanent Republican majority in Congress that was only undermined by the ineptitude of the politicians he helped to get elected.

Although he probably had everything to do with all of the failed or suspect policies of the Bush presidency, like the politicizing of the Justice Department, he is only held accountable for getting these amoral cretins elected, as far as his main job or function is concerned. He always has performed this job to perfection - as long as you don't deduct points for slime factor.

Rove obviously has resigned at this point to distance himself from a struggling Bush presidency so he can take over the Mitt Romney campaign eventually. Rove will join the campaign that is the favorite of the Republican "Round Table."

I believe Romney is that favorite because of his magical ability to raise more funds compared to the rest of the Republican field. Don't believe for one second that a Mormon will be considered too liberal for the Republicans. The concept itself is an oxymoron.

Regardless of who does win the Republican nomination, Rove will be the campaign manager by election's end, because too much big money is at stake for the Republicans (establishmentarian materialists) to risk not having their best general in charge.

Darryl Ram

Eugene

Want lots of children? Adopt

I agree with Norma Townsend (letters, Aug. 13) about the irresponsibility of the Duggar family for producing 17 children and continuing to want more.

I don't, however, agree with China's policy of forced abortions if a couple becomes pregnant with a second or third child. The Discovery Channel has more or less dignified the Duggars' breeding habits by giving them media coverage, with their own TV special and financial assistance, and by furnishing their 7,000-square-foot home.

I can't remember the family's name, but my heart was a lot more warmed by media coverage of a family that had three or four of their own children and then went on to adopt at least 10 other special-needs children. That has to be financially challenging, to say the least!

When there are more children without families to call their own, especially older ones or ones with special needs, I have one word for the Duggars if they feel the need to expand their family and can financially do so: adopt!

Patricia Lakin

Eugene

Rove will probably get a medal

Karl Rove has resigned. He evidently decided that he had done as much harm to our nation and its Constitution as possible, so he is leaving his position.

For his efforts, which will damage us at home and throughout the world for years, he will most likely be awarded a medal of some sort. How fitting that a regime that evaded military service, almost to a person, gets such joy from giving each other medals.

I am counting the days until this corrupt administration is finished. I only hope that we as a nation can survive the harm that has been done to us.

Jim Schmidt

Eugene

Read fine print in Army contract

In response to the "What it takes to sign up" article (Register-Guard, Aug. 14) about the young man who signed up for the Army, I can relate to Curtis Boechler. I am a high school graduate who also considered military service.

I'd suggest that Boechler and any other person considering military service review the following: The armed services contract is a legal ball and chain, giving the military all the power, which includes (but is not limited to) changes in pay, service posting requirements, service duty and service time. The fine print of the contract states the military can change any part of the contract, for any reason, at any time "without notice to the signer."

You can't leave. Once you sign, the military has its own kangaroo court. They own you, your body, even your life.

Charles Glenn states that recruiting in this district is good because recruiters "get out there and sell the Army." Sell the Army, indeed. What is it they are selling, exactly? The ability to carry a gun, to legally kill? The military is selling death. Consider the suffering wrought upon individuals and family by war.

Boechler mentions that the Bible says "stronger forces should take care of weaker ones." One of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shall not kill." Jesus said, "All those who take up the sword, perish by the sword."

Do not idly use religion as justification for institutional mass murder.

Cimmeron Gillespie

Eugene

Abortion worse than dog fights

Has anyone compared the outrage generated by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Mike Vick and the fighting and torturing of dogs in the newspapers to the silence of the media when babies are aborted and the cruel and inhuman methods by which abortions are done? The babies don't even rate a notice on the obituary page.

Thomas F. Crawley

ANN T. CRAWLEY

Cottage Grove

Library offers expert assistance

In the Register-Guard's Aug. 12 Technobuddy column, Bill Husted recommends the ultimate way to sort fact from fiction on the Web: "Ask a librarian."

So true! As he explains, "trained reference librarians have access to expensive commercial databases you can't affordably visit. And they have old-fashioned reference books. They also are trained to sift correct data from a sea of conflicting information."

At Eugene Public Library, you can get top-quality assistance seven days a week in person or by phone - and 24/7 at our Web site: www.eugene-or.gov/library. Just click the L-Net logo for a live chat with a reference librarian.

Plus, in this community you can "affordably" access those premium sites Husted mentions - in fact, they're free of charge through your library. These sites deliver better and faster results than the usual Web search engines because information on each topic is screened, updated and organized by experts. They're available at library computers, and if you're a library cardholder, you also can use most of them at our Web site (click "electronic resources").

Topics range from health and medicine to jobs and careers, from researching your family tree to learning a language. There are even free online tutors to help kids and teens with homework.

To learn more, ask any time - or come to the library's Info Expo this October, featuring live demonstrations of all that these resources can do for you.

Connie Bennett,director

Eugene Public Library

Eugene

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Letters in the Editor's Mailbag