Letters in the Editor's Mailbag.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Laws don't change sin

Peter Prengaman (guest column, Dec. 27) opines that the Catholic Church's influence on politics in Chile is to blame for many of the contradictions and difficulties in Chilean society. This is a skewed perspective that seems to be rooted in a hatred for the Catholic Church.

The column is little more than a string of politically correct and bigoted attacks on Catholicism. Prengaman's premise that the church's teachings indirectly promote lifestyles that lead people to sinful situations is ludicrous. People are responsible for their own actions, and no amount of civil laws on the books will change the reality of sin.

Prengaman's column reaches its crescendo with the argument that the lack of credible sex education and contraception is forcing Chilean women into illegal abortions. I am saddened by his ironic statement "illegal abortions not only prevent a new life from coming into this world, they also put the life of the mother in danger." Statistics show that legal abortions have the same outcome: one dead child, one wounded mother.

I am appalled that The Register-Guard would publish such a view in its opinion pages, not only one that contains a bigoted attack on the Catholic Church but that also encourages the passing of civil laws to justify pornography, school condoms, abortion, easy divorce, etc., with no accountability. How could this possibly be the solution to solving social ills in any society?

With this logic, as Oregonians know, premeditated murder under any guise could even be legalized.

MEL DAMEWOOD III Eugene

An absence of lies

I find it very difficult to understand how short Marlen Clough's memory is concerning Bill Clinton (letters, Dec. 29) and the problems that were in all the newspapers around the country during his presidency.

As I recall, Clinton's lack of morals concerning zipper decisions, as well as the Clintons' financial dealings, caused his scandals to be publicly scrutinized. Enron was formed in 1985, well before George W. Bush ran for president - and even before he ran for the office of governor of Texas.

Enron donations to Bush's campaign were never hidden or lied about - in contrast to Clinton, who lied about his financial dealings before and after he came into office.

The Bush administration has been in office for less than a year, so we really do not have much grounds for comparison with the eight years that the Clinton administration was in power. However, it might be noted that lies and immoral actions do not seem to be involved in the present administration.

RICHARD THOMAS Creswell

Enemies of 'reality'

Peter Prengaman's guest column "Catholic Church's strictures hurt Chileans" (Register-Guard, Dec. 27) is certainly opinionated but is neither informed or logical. Its attack of the Catholic Church is both bigoted and disingenuous.

Not surprisingly, the Catholic Church and "conservative values" are marked as enemies of "reality" and wonderful things such as abortion, divorce and condoms. Prengaman implies that the Catholic Church forces its beliefs on Chileans, but he never notes that Chile is a democracy in which about 90 percent of the population is Catholic, at least nominally. The fact that some Chileans fail to live according to church teachings doesn't mean the teachings are bad, just as baseball players who strike out don't prove that the game is unfair - it's just difficult to be good.

Prengaman laments "anachronistic laws" that "force Chileans to live a double life." According to this logic, drivers who believe that 65 mph on the freeway is limiting are forced to live double lives when cruising at 80 mph. What is truly anachronistic is the outdated and failed belief that state-funded sex education, legalized abortion, easy divorce, rampant pornography and lack of basic morality represent a free and healthy society.

Perhaps most condescending is the statement that "conservative American parents ... don't want condoms in school (because) if adolescents see condoms they will be encouraged to have sex." The actual concern is that amoral "education" coupled with encouragement (free condoms) is a temptation many kids cannot withstand. How about less opinion and more reality next time?

CARL E. OLSON Eugene

An interconnected world

Kathy Awbrey (letters, Dec. 29) needs to get her facts straight. While the Greeks she mentioned did invent geometry and algebra, we, the modern world, got those things from the Arabs.

Readers might recall something called the Dark Ages. The Arabs persevered and translated many Greco-Roman works, including much of Aristotle, that were subsequently lost to the West after the fall of Rome. Once contact between the East and West was re-established during the Crusades, Europeans found their heritage waiting for them, preserved in Islamic libraries. The crusaders returned to their homes with many forgotten Greek thinkers and playwrights, as well as higher mathematics and Arabic (decimal) numerals (I believe we also received the "zero" from the Arabs, as they received it from India). The Greeks didn't "give" us these things. Islam did.

The world is more interconnected than we think, and history is much less linear. Besides, a little critical thought should show that Olson's claims weren't "hogwash" as Awbrey claims. "Geometry" is a Greek word, but "Al-gebra" is pure Arabic. Credit should go where credit is due, and people should check all the facts, rather than just digging a few Greek mathematicians out of an encyclopedia.

ERIC MARTICHUSKI Eugene

Bravo, Ducks!

Two of the more outstanding performances in the history of University of Oregon athletics occurred in the span of 10 days.

The first was the men's basketball team 105-75 victory over Arizona at McArthur Court on Dec. 22. The second, of course, was the football team's 38-16 dismantling of Colorado on New Year's Day. What was so special about these two performances was the total dedication to team play exhibited in both instances.

The coaching staffs prepared almost perfect game plans, and the athletes executed them to perfection. They are an exceptional group of students and teachers. My heartiest congratulations to all.

BILL BORUM Eugene

Drop EWEB venture

I see that Paul Holbo's criticism (letters, Dec. 17) Eugene Water & Electric Board's proposed telecommunications venture elicited some negative responses from Register-Guard readers. I support Holbo's position.

EWEB should stay completely out of the telecom business. Several providers are already effectively delivering the same service that EWEB proposes to bring to businesses. None of these providers has yet figured out a way to make their services profitable.

Witness the great telecom overbuild and subsequent ongoing meltdown. The likelihood of EWEB succeeding in making this proposed new business profitable, or even breaking even at any time into the foreseeable future, is exceedingly remote. Furthermore, the job of paying for MetroNet could end up on the backs of EWEB ratepayers who have already faced huge rate increases in 2001.

Lane Electric Co-Op, my public power provider, raised rates twice this year for a total of 30 percent. It plans no future rate increases or tiered rates. EWEB has a very complicated new rate schedule that punishes those whose houses are all-electric. It appears that EWEB's average customer has seen a rate increase this year approaching 50 percent.

Both EWEB and Lane Electric buy their power from the Bonneville Power Administration. EWEB is considering yet more rate increases. There is something very wrong with this picture for EWEB customers, and Lane Electric should be complimented for the prudent stewardship of its business.

EWEB should immediately direct its staff to drop its risky and ill-conceived venture into the telecom business and focus its efforts on providing rate relief for its customers.

ALAN EVANS Fall Creek 

UO's travel tab

Am I the only one who was shocked that $1.3 million wasn't going to be enough for the University of Oregon Ducks to bring 400 people to the Fiesta Bowl (Register-Guard, Dec. 29)? I am not a travel agent nor a concierge, but I do run a small business and a household.

Now let's review here: If plane fare is $300 per person, then the total air fare would be $120,000. If lodging is $100 per night per room (not the Hilton, but not Motel 6, either), then motel costs for a week would be $140,000, based on the assumption that double occupancy is the norm.

Food? Let's allow $25 for dinner, $13 for lunch and $12 for buffet-style breakfasts. That's $50 a day per person or $140,000 for the week. As for transportation, let's allow $3,000 a day for charter buses - that's another $21,000.

After paying for travel, food and lodging, we have spent $421,000. I believe the numbers I used can be understood by anyone who has ever ran a household. Can someone please enlighten me on what the UO is spending the remaining nearly $1 million on?

JOHN CHAPLIN Coos Bay

Grades overemphasized

This letter is directed to all teachers, administrators and school board members who have the ability and authority to change systems in schools. The current grading system makes no sense. It allows teachers to not commit fully to individual students but instead to just throw out letter grades. School should be about one thing - getting the best education possible.

I'm in a situation that many other students are in. I took hard classes my freshman and sophomore years and got a C average. Now I'm forced to get As and Bs to get my grade point average up for the next two years. Because my grades weren't so good when taking hard classes, I took easier ones this year and am doing very well. But I would be learning more if I took harder classes. Because of the grading system, I'm learning less but getting better grades.

Grades are too heavily emphasized and too important. I don't know exactly what to do to fix this problem, but something needs to change. In the classroom, students need to be pushed to do their best and learn as much as possible, not just worry about what letters are going to be on their report cards.

KELLI ROYER Eugene

CAPTION(S):

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