LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

The Register-Guard welcomes letters on topics of general interest. Our length limit is 250 words; all letters are subject to condensation. Writers are limited to one letter per calendar month. Because of the volume of mail, not all letters can be printed. Letters must be signed with the writer's full name. An address and daytime telephone number are needed for verification purposes; this information will not be published or released.

Mail letters to: Mailbag, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188

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We're at a turning point in Iraq

Obviously, things are getting better in Iraq, or they aren't.

Had we wanted to, we could have left Iraq without major incident when President Bush declared an end to major combat operations four years or more ago. Now, we are told by Bush that we cannot leave, we would have major losses on our own and in the civilians we leave behind.

This, in itself, seems to be proof that things aren't getting better. If we are less welcome, if we are less wanted and in fact considered a hostile target by the citizens in Iraq, what has happened in the four years? It seems that things are not getting better.

Yet Bush is described as optimistic, euphoric, and very satisfied with what he has done. Do we have a logical disconnect here? We are at the same turning point that Walter Cronkite brought us to in the Vietnam War when he was heard to say, `What the hell is going on over there? I thought we were winning that war.'

That inadvertent declaration over national television by America's most respected broadcast journalist helped galvanize national attention and turn around a badly managed war and foreign affairs effort. We were told in those days by promoters of the Vietnam War that we could not leave Vietnam without calamity. We did leave. Today Vietnam is self-supporting and capitalistic.

We need a touch of reality in international affairs. Let's give Iraq the same chance we gave Vietnam.

PHIL ALDERMAN

Eugene

Logging affects cemetery visits

My trip home from Eugene started innocently. As I rounded the corners on Highway 36 next to Triangle Lake School, I took a short detour to visit my daughter's gravesite.

I had seen logging activity on that hill, but just wanted to check. Certainly Weyerhaeuser wouldn't clear-cut that close, would it? But just to check, I drove up there.

My serene and beautiful visitation to my daughter's place of burial is forever gone. The `trees grow back' response just doesn't do it. I will be too old to drive there by then.

If people in Eugene think that just because their loved ones are interred within certain `boundary limits' this couldn't happen, they should check again. Ask your commissioners where they stand on clear-cuts next to cemeteries. You may wind up laying your flowers within yards of a clear-cut.

And for those of us who live in rural communities, make sure your commisioners understand that our rural cemeteries, and their unique histories, are not up for grabs for the timber industry. What's wrong with a 50-yard buffer?

CANDACE MOON

Blachly

Clinton struck back at terrorists

In his July 25 letter, Frank Williams wondered what would have happened if President Clinton had responded to the terrorist attacks against the United States that took place during his presidency.

Williams seems to have forgotten, intentionally or otherwise, that Clinton did respond with airstrikes and cruise missile bombardments to each of the attacks that Williams listed. Each time Clinton ordered these strikes he was roundly criticized by the Republicans in Congress and by the media for `wagging the dog' to distract attention from his domestic political difficulties. Difficulties, I should add, that were largely manufactured by those same congressional Republicans and that same media.

I doubt Clinton would have been foolish enough to have ever invaded Iraq, but even had he been so inclined, the Congress at that time would not have allowed him to do so. Recall, for example, the restrictions that the U.S. commitment to the NATO military operations in former Yugoslavia carried. Recall also the legislation introduced and speeches given by leading Republicans demanding the recall of U.S. forces from Somalia following the events depicted in `Blackhawk Down.'

I greatly regret that congressional Democrats did not have the spine in 2002 to stand up to President Bush as strongly as the Republicans did to Clinton in the 1990s.

RUSSELL YARDLEY

Brownsville

Murkowski land deal distorted

According to The Register-Guard, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, got a sweetheart deal on real estate from a `major contributor' whom she just happened to have known since she was a child.

The fact he was obviously an old friend of the family did not play in everyone's perception of the deal. According to my math, her husband paid $141,260 per acre for the parcel, which `local real estate agents' said was actually worth $275,590 per acre.

Gee, small parcels must have a heck of a mark-up. I have here in my hands a real estate offering on that same river for 10 acres for $1 million. For those math-challenged people reading this, that is $100,000 per acre. If you don't believe me, call [phone] and tell them they are just giving their land away cheap. That means Murkowski's small parcel is worth nearly three times as much per acre as the large parcel.

Maybe the perception of it being a sweetheart deal had a lot more to do with politics than reality. My, that would be unusual.

LESLIE CHAPMAN

Reedsport

Will merger alter hospital plans?

Will corporate sanity eventually prevail now that Community Health Systems has officially merged all of the former Triad Hospitals, putting any decisions about refurbishing or relocating McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center on a disciplined decision-making regime?

Businesses pursue acquisitions for various strategic reasons. They move forward with a rigorous plan, look for every redundancy and cost efficiency, and spend enormous energy thinking about what the newly expanded organization should look and act like. And, then, how does this newly expanded business pay down the enormous merger debt while retaining shareholder support?

McKenzie-Willamette is now one of more than 130 hospitals in the largest hospital corporation in the nation. There is a new corporate pecking order, a new agenda and very new priorities. Big questions demand new answers.

Perhaps the recently announced multimillion-dollar enhancement to McKenzie-Willamette's Springfield campus is money that will actually help the community.

This investment stands in sharp contrast to the haphazard traffic studies and Band-Aid fixes proposed to the often gridlocked Delta Highway-Belt Line Road interchange, or testimonials that a vast medical complex will be harmonious with a residential neighborhood, or that time-starved doctors or blaring ambulances can safely co-exist with sand and gravel trucks, both trying to get to the end of a dead-end road.

Will Community Health Systems and the Eugene Planning Commission, which is evaluating the gargantuan land use issue to shoehorn a hospital on to a golf course, both come to the same conclusion that a new hospital in north Eugene is a dead-end idea?

BRIAN E. BELL

Eugene

Citizens must take country back

Not long ago, Vice President Dick Cheney refused to provide data required of all executive branch entities.

His excuse? He claimed he was not part of the executive branch, since he was Senate president. Therefore, if Congress were to subpoena all his records about various scandals (his energy task force, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Valerie Plame, detainee torture, I. Lewis `Scooter' Libby, or wiretapping of American citizens, just to name a few), how would he be able to refuse by citing `executive privilege'? And if he's a member of the Senate, why not bring him up on Senate ethics violations charges?

Many have opined that Cheney is a shrewd operator. It looks to me like he has painted himself into a corner.

However, he probably thinks he has an out. All he has to do is call out `Beam me up, Scotty!' These guys think they can do anything and get away with it.

Unfortunately, so far they have been right. And what is going to change that? Only a supermajority of citizens rising up and taking this country back. Too many members of Congress are just as guilty as the other two branches. They are afraid of being caught up in any purge, or they would rather just keep playing a sick chess game that continues to erode our Constitution, poison the planet and bankrupt future generations, while making the super-rich even richer.

Cindy Sheehan is right. Throw all the bums out!

JIM WELLS

Eugene

Begin impeachment with Cheney

According to the United States Constitution, the vice president's only job is to preside over the Senate.

However, Dick Cheney seems to be an extremely busy man. Furthermore, because President Bush gave Cheney powers to classify documents equal to his own, no one outside of Cheney's office is allowed to know what he is doing. Even the paperclips are classified.

So what does he do? Some have suggested that Cheney is in fact the president. Certainly, the man carrying that title is not intelligent enough to have come up with the astounding shenanigans of late. However, Cheney views ordinary U.S. citizens with deep suspicion, so he is not likely to be working on health, education or welfare issues.

There are more interesting possibilities. Cheney might be planning the war on Iran, personally overseeing the torture of Iraqi taxi drivers or creating rainy day bank accounts for business acquaintances. He might even have his own spy service, which could explain why Congress has been largely silent about his remarkable behavior.

While both men provide compelling justification for the impeachment clause of our Constitution, I suggest that we begin with Cheney. It may be difficult to stomach what turns up, but Cheney's removal from office would be an interesting test of the theory that Bush is just his mouthpiece.

By effectively decapitating the administration, such a result would spare us the time and expense of a separate impeachment trial for Bush.

STEPHEN J. REMINGTON

Eugene

Follow law on proper flag display

I am pleased to see the number of American flags being displayed in our community; however, the proper display is more than etiquette.

The display of our national flag is governed by law, ensuring that it will be treated with respect (by those of us who respect it). The rules are stated in the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sections 171-177.

The most common mistake concerns the Union, the blue star-studded field. When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the Union should be uppermost and to the observer's left.

I appreciate Wal-Mart's display of two flags. Whether arriving or leaving, the observer looks at a properly and respectfully displayed flag.

On a final note, the American flag should not be displayed if dirty, faded or torn. If it can't be replaced, it's better not to display such flags at all.

LYNDA CRAVER

Cottage Grove