LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.Byline: The Register-Guard Rude fans reflect poorly on all Kudos to Bob Welch There are a number of famous people of this name including:
Shame on me for not stepping up to the plate and writing about my negative reaction sooner. Double shame on the Duck and the rude Oregon fans for their behavior at that game and other games over the years. I am ashamed of my fellow Duck fans at each and every game when they boo the opposing team members as they run onto the field. I was even more ashamed to see our beloved mascot's behavior toward the Houston Cougar cougar: see puma. cougar or puma or mountain lion or panther Species (Puma concolor) of large, graceful cat that lives in a wide variety of habitats in the Americas, from southern Alaska to Patagonia. . The opposing team, the opposing team's mascot and the opposing team's fans are guests in our "house" and should be treated as such. Would these same people who boo and make obscene gestures treat guests in their personal homes this way? I think not. Why then do they think it is OK to do so in a sports stadium? I have even seen people I know well and respect behave rudely to fans from opposing teams, and I am appalled at their behavior. Where's our class and good manners Noun 1. good manners - a courteous manner courtesy personal manner, manner - a way of acting or behaving niceness, politeness - a courteous manner that respects accepted social usage urbanity - polished courtesy; elegance of manner ? I sincerely hope those who behave so rudely, and the Oregon Duck, will take a step back and look at how this behavior makes us all look in the eyes of our guests. Please, fellow Duck fans, remember that we have a proud tradition to uphold and clean up your act. Jean Raabe Eugene U.S. will never totally leave Iraq Withdraw from Iraq? Yea! Withdraw? Forget it, it ain't gonna happen. The buzzword A term that refers to the latest technology or a term that sounds catchy. If not a flash in the pan, new technologies become mainstream. For example, Java was a hot buzzword in the 1990s, but should remain a major topic for decades. in Washington these days has nothing to do with reality. Iraq is about to join the other 130 countries in the world where the U.S. military has its 700 bases. The American empire For other uses, see American Empire (disambiguation). American Empire is a term relating to the historical expansionism and the current political, economic, and cultural influence of the United States on a global scale. does not withdraw once it has a foothold in a strategically important country or region. Remember the Balkans? The "humanitarian intervention Humanitarian intervention is a principle in international customary law, referred to the armed interference in a sovereign state by another with the stated objective of ending or reducing suffering within the first state. "? Temporary stay? When the smoke cleared, 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. now has a permanent presence in several of the former Yugoslav republics. In Kosovo, Camp Bondsteel Camp Bondsteel is the main base of the United States Army under KFOR command in the UN-administered Serbian province of Kosovo. , became the largest U.S. military base built outside the country since Vietnam (excluding Iraq). The whole of the Adriatic Sea Adriatic Sea (ādrēă`tĭk), arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. It extends c.500 mi (800 km) from the Gulf of Venice, at its head, SE to the Strait of Otranto, which leads to the Ionian Sea. is now open for the first time to the U.S. Navy with ports in Croatia, Montenegro and Albania joining Italy's ports. Slovenia has joined NATO NATO: see North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO in full North Atlantic Treaty Organization International military alliance created to defend western Europe against a possible Soviet invasion. , and Macedonia and Serbia are on their way. Americans are still in Bosnia. The story is the same in Africa from Mali to Djibouti and Ethiopia. In South America we have military advisers in Colombia, and we're working hard to destabilize de·sta·bi·lize tr.v. de·sta·bi·lized, de·sta·bi·liz·ing, de·sta·bi·liz·es 1. To upset the stability or smooth functioning of: Venezuela and Cuba. In Asia, from the oil-rich sheikdoms in the southwest to former Soviet republics in central Asia, we have established a permanent military presence. Don't look to Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for answers on the Empire. As long as we consume one-third of the world's resources and 45 percent of world's gasoline, both Democrats and Republicans will fight for our "national interests" in every part of the world. Pete Mandrapa Eugene Stores ask the wrong question When the checker at the grocery store asks whether you prefer "paper or plastic," it sends the wrong message, and it does so millions of times per day, day after day, bag after bag. The correct question should be, "Do you need a bag?" It's time for the big grocery chains to follow the lead of the smaller stores on this one. It's a language issue that could be easily solved, and it's one that would pay enormous dividends at the landfill. When people hear the fool's choice of paper or plastic, they are under the mistaken impression that they are having an impact, making a decision. The real decision is to bring your own bag to the store, and that will happen more and more when the message "do you need a bag?" becomes part of the script. Come on, Safeway. Here we go, Albertsons. How about you, Fred Meyer? Somebody please write a memo to the boss and get the ball rolling. They'll think you're a genius. Here comes that promotion. Rich Glauber Eugene No need to fear peace initiative On this anniversary of 9/11, we could make a new choice. We can continue to live in fear of more attacks, and respond by cowardly bombing the weak and innocent into an ever more powerful rage, or we can courageously choose peace, build cooperative agreements, and accept disagreement as a call for deeper communication. It is natural to fear attack, conflict, anger and disagreement. However, when we use defensive thoughts, words and deeds Words and Deeds is the eleventh episode of the third season of House and the fifty-seventh episode overall. This episode concludes the Michael Tritter story arc that began in the episode Fools for Love. to build strong walls around ourselves because we believe the "best defense is a good offense," then we have put ourselves into the hell of solitary confinement solitary confinement n. the placement of a prisoner in a Federal or state prison in a cell away from other prisoners, usually as a form of internal penal discipline, but occasionally to protect the convict from other prisoners or to prevent the prisoner from causing . The world is turning its back to America. The key to the release from our self-made prison is to look at our fears. If we examine our fears closely, we will see they are based on outdated beliefs. F.E.A.R. stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. The real work we have to do now is to name the fears that make us offensive, aggressive - the most violent nation on Earth. Why do we fear a prevention strategy for violence similar to the way we use prevention for our personal health? Why are we not clamoring for a measure that could redirect trillions of dollars from death and destruction into growth and development? What precisely do we (and our senators, Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith) fear about the establishment of a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence (HR 808)? What solid evidence do we have that our fears are valid? David Hazen Eugene Impeachment impeachment, formal accusation issued by a legislature against a public official charged with crime or other serious misconduct. In a looser sense the term is sometimes applied also to the trial by the legislature that may follow. protects rights The Congress has not been "spineless" in standing up to the Bush administration. By refusing to start impeachment hearings on the known acts of high crimes and misdemeanors The offenses for which presidents, vice presidents, and all civil officers, including federal judges, can be removed from office through a process called Impeachment. The phrase high crimes and misdemeanors is found in the U.S. Constitution. , it is apparent they are complicit com·plic·it adj. Associated with or participating in a questionable act or a crime; having complicity: newspapers complicit with the propaganda arm of a dictatorship. with these crimes. Silence is complicity. This 110th Congress and the last Congress are now making their marks in history as the sessions that passively sat by and allowed our Constitution to be undermined. The "political rallying" on the impeachment issue made the Bush administration bolder. Impeachment is a constitutional tool to protect our rights from criminal activity inside government; it is not a political "ploy." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed her complicity with the crimes of the Bush administration by bringing the "Protect America Act" to the floor for a vote instead of refusing such action. It is time for the American people to stand up for our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Remind our hard working Congressman Peter DeFazio that he must show his support for impeachment by signing House Resolution 333 now, especially since he voted against the "Protect America Act." Impeachment is not partisan. It is American. Crimes against America do not rest with any good citizen of any party. Lonnie Clark Eugene Election could make history It is going to be a bad year for Democrats. They may have to choose between a black man or the first woman to be nominated for president. The 2008 election may well be one of the most significant moments in America's history. How will progressive Democrats choose between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? Maybe the historic moment will pass them by again and the Democratic nominee will be an articulate, good-looking white man. Republicans have none of these problems. All they need is a candidate who knows the difference between a noun and a vowel and they can sweep the election. The Republicans will not nominate a woman, a black or anyone who speaks in complete sentences. This election year the Republicans are in a win-win situation - they either will win the election or spend the next four to eight years reaping the benefits of an intelligent, thoughtful, Democratic president who can begin to restore justice, putting on trial the illegal actions of our robber barons Robber Barons A disparaging term dating back to the 12th century which refers to: 1) Unscrupulous feudal lords who amassed personal fortunes by using illegal and immoral business practices, such as illegally charging tolls to merchant ships that passed , lowering our national debt and supporting our military both with services for veterans and strategies that are sensible. Perhaps the Republicans do have their own challenge: to find a nominee without felony convictions who will build upon Bush's legacy. Carol Ten Eyck Eugene Iraq doesn't pass NCLB NCLB No Child Left Behind (US education initiative) test As the furious White House spin swirls around the reports about progress in Iraq by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, we might be well-served by recalling the focus of President Bush's signature piece of legislation, the No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), commonly known as NCLB (IPA: /ˈnɪkəlbiː/), is a United States federal law that was passed in the House of Representatives on May 23, 2001 . NCLB, signed into law in January 2002, was aimed at increasing accountability in public education for states, school districts and individual schools. It mandated "high stakes" testing. Districts and schools that couldn't produce ever-increasing progress in test scores were at risk of losing federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve or having schools shut down and reconstituted. Lots of benchmarks were set up in lots of subjects. Fast-forward to Washington, D. C., this month. A report was made by the Government Accountability Office The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress, and thus an agency in the Legislative Branch of the United States Government. , the highly respected investigative arm of Congress charged with monitoring the government's performance and ensuring its accountability. The GAO looked at 18 standards for progress in Iraq. What were the test scores? Even after the White House altered the original report, the comptroller-general of the United States reported the Bush administration's Iraq plan failing to meet 15 out of 18 benchmarks. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , the administration's Iraq plan met only threeout of 18 benchmarks on this admittedly high stakes test. It partly met four others. And that's after spending over a half-trillion dollars. According to the NCLB Act, if the Bush administration's Iraq adventure were a public school, do you suppose it would be ordered to be shut down? Roscoe Caron Eugene |
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