Letters in the Editor's Mailbag.Byline: The Register-Guard It's their land In response to Alan Sims (letters, Dec. 31), it makes no difference whether American Indians American Indians: see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the; Natives, Middle American; Natives, North American; Natives, South American. place casinos on purchased land, non-reservation land or reservation land. It is their land. We know the allocation of reservation land and the forced relocation of tribes was based upon anything but fairness in the first place. In fact, it would be keen to ask why the tribes must negotiate such deals with the state at all. Tribal sovereignty is consistently being eroded and trounced upon, much like treaties. The problems that Sims cites in his letter make me feel that he has other motivations for not wanting an Indian casino in his town. His assertions are lies. The casino will bring many permanent jobs to Florence. It is a misconception that only Indians get to work at casinos. Sims cites no facts about crime coming with casinos. This too is a misconception sprinkled with prejudice. Have bingo operations run by church and fraternal fraternal /fra·ter·nal/ (frah-ter´n'l) 1. of or pertaining to brothers. 2. of twins; derived from two oocytes. fra·ter·nal adj. 1. Of or relating to brothers. organizations - Eagles, Moose Moose, river, Canada Moose, river, c.50 mi (80 km) long, formed in central Ont., Canada, by the Mattagami and Missinaibi rivers. It flows NE to its confluence with the Abitibi River and into SW James Bay near Moosonee. , etc. - brought down their communities? Oregon tribal casinos have donated millions of dollars to charities and civic organizations in their local communities. (And no, these are not simply Indian organizations). Health care for Indians and many other programs have been drastically cut by the government. Oregon tribes are hurting. I, too, speak from experience. My tribe's casino has been a great civic citizen in the Lincoln City Lincoln City can refer to:
Sims should realize that this is the real travesty. AUTUMN DEPOE Eugene How species separate In a Dec. 30 letter, Donald P. Richey asks, ` ... if evolution were true, why are there still monkeys?' This is one of those questions that sounds logical until you understand the basic framework of the theory of evolution. Let me give a simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple illustration: Imagine that for some reason (natural disaster, food shortage, etc.) a large group of monkeys is broken into two smaller groups that are now isolated from each other. One group ends up living in the desert, the other stays in the jungle. Now imagine that one of the desert monkeys has a positive mutation (as opposed to most mutations that are negative, such as a birth defect birth defect Genetic or trauma-induced abnormality present at birth. A more restrictive term than congenital disorder, it covers abnormalities that arise during the formation of an embryo's organs and tissues and does not include those caused by diseases (e.g. ) that helps it survive better in that climate. This mutated monkey then begins to have offspring, passing on to them this new positive quality. Many generations later you will have an entire group of monkeys with this positive mutation; however, the monkeys that are still back in the jungle do not possess this new trait. Soon other mutations appear in both groups and at some later point, the two groups are so different that even if they were somehow put back together they could no longer interbreed interbreed to breed between animal or plant species, breeds, families. . This is very simplified, however I think it answers the oft-repeated question Richey raises. By the way, a "theory" is simply the most logical solution based on the information that is available, not a hard, set-in-stone edict A decree or law of major import promulgated by a king, queen, or other sovereign of a government. An edict can be distinguished from a public proclamation in that an edict puts a new statute into effect whereas a public proclamation is no more than a declaration of a law . It is pliable (or even rejectable) should new information surface. TOM EMERSON JR. Eugene Planting buses and prisons Possibly Larry Eaton, the guy in Wilsonville who is so frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: with the prison being built that he is planting buses in his yard (Register-Guard, Dec. 31), should focus his energies on campaigning against future ballot measures that require longer prison sentences, and therefore more prisons. Maybe he could tell his friends and neighbors that these so-called tough-on-crime measures, such as 1994's ballot Measure 11, are not only an ineffective waste of our tax dollars but also have other undesirable consequences. Hmm. I wonder how Eaton and his neighbors voted on Ballot Measure 11? GREGORY J. HAZARABEDIAN Roseburg Principles often conflict Bernie Clark (letters, Dec. 31) says we should be grateful to those who stand firm on principles. He claims few do as it's the more difficult path. In speaking of the few, I assume he's speaking of those agreeing with him as to what constitutes principle, for there are many and varied principles and what is principled prin·ci·pled adj. Based on, marked by, or manifesting principle: a principled decision; a highly principled person. to him might be anathema anathema (ənă`thĭmə) [Gr.,=something set up; dedicated to a divinity as a votive offering], term that came to denote something devoted to a divinity for destruction. In the Bible, the term is herem. to another. Indeed, many abominable deeds have been committed as consequence of principles. Jim Kinsman kins·man n. 1. A male relative. 2. A man sharing the same racial, cultural, or national background as another. kinsman Noun pl -men (letters, Dec. 31) states the Catholic church has stood for truth in the last 2,000 years. Yet the church has often acted with extreme bigotry Bigotry See also Anti-Semitism. Beaumanoir, Sir Lucas de prejudiced ascetic; Grand Master of Templars. [Br. Lit.: Ivanhoe] Bunker, Archie middle-aged bigot in television series. and prejudice in the name of principles, always claiming moral justification. One need only read about the crusades to understand the sometimes tragic consequences of "principles." The early church's "principled" persecution of those not in agreement with accepted dogma as to the nature of Christ eased the way for Islam. Joan of Arc Joan of Arc, Fr. Jeanne D'Arc (zhän därk), 1412?–31, French saint and national heroine, called the Maid of Orléans; daughter of a farmer of Domrémy on the border of Champagne and Lorraine. was burned for her principles (although the church later apologized and canonized can·on·ize tr.v. can·on·ized, can·on·iz·ing, can·on·iz·es 1. To declare (a deceased person) to be a saint and entitled to be fully honored as such. 2. To include in the biblical canon. 3. her.) It's unfortunate - people claiming the highest principles are often the most judgmental judg·men·tal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or dependent on judgment: a judgmental error. 2. Inclined to make judgments, especially moral or personal ones: , the most likely to kill saying it's just. The world would certainly be better if we accepted that what constitutes "principle" to us might not to others. The highest principle might be to recognize there are many, diverse humans holding many, diverse "principles." If we did, the world might be a little more like the one Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount Sermon on the Mount Biblical collection of religious teachings and ethical sayings attributed to Jesus, as reported in the Gospel of St. Matthew. The sermon was addressed to disciples and a large crowd of listeners to guide them in a life of discipline based on a new law of . GLORIA McCRACKEN Eugene A true history teacher It seems to me that Bruce Wald (letters, Dec. 30) is teaching his students history the way it happened, and not the way we like to think it happened. It sounds to me as if he is teaching skepticism, inquiry, research and critical thinking. Only if we know who we are and what policies we act on can we change doctrines that have caused so much suffering to so many people and appreciate the greatness of courageous men and women who dared to dissent and pushed us into being better than we wanted to be. I wish I'd had a high school teacher who taught me to think instead of feeding me lies from a history textbook. VIRGINIA CONLEY Springfield Open up dictionary Well, so the Arabs didn't invent algebra, after all (letters, Dec. 29). Are we at all worried about the fact that the very word "algebra" is from Arabic? Look it up - and while the dictionary's open, take a quick run down the next few pages. There are some interesting entries, including alchemy alchemy (ăl`kəmē), ancient art of obscure origin that sought to transform base metals (e.g., lead) into silver and gold; forerunner of the science of chemistry. , alcohol, algorithm, and alkali, all beginning with the Arabic definite article definite article n. A member of the class of determiners that restricts or particularizes a noun. In English, the is the definite article. "al." And apparently those folks didn't just have their eyes focused on their math tablets and test tubes, but looked upward as well: the bright stars Aldebaran, Algol and Altair, among others, were named by Arab astronomers Famous astronomers and astrophysicists include: Directory: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
Western civilization Noun 1. Western civilization - the modern culture of western Europe and North America; "when Ghandi was asked what he thought of Western civilization he said he thought it would be a good idea" Western culture is deeply in debt not just to Greece and Rome, but to a wide range of near, Middle, and Far Eastern cultures, some of which were and still are Islamic. Some of the confusion as to who invented what stems from the fact that much of our knowledge of the works of the Greeks, Persians and others was lost in Europe during the Dark Ages, and we are heavily dependent on the work of Arab, Moorish and other scholars. Clusters of concepts were taken up by scholars in Moslem settings and preserved and amplified. In the course of this work, some Arabic words got added. So what? Instead of sniping and griping, we should be eternally grateful for the work of these people and perhaps look back in longing for the irreplaceable libraries that were deemed satanic and burned by our Christian ancestors before we got enlightened enough to let some of our own scholars have access to this knowledge. GEORGE BURT George Burt may refer to:
Cell is the medium Living cells contain a miracle of complexity far surpassing our most sophisticated computers or space ships. They also contain enough coded information to fill a complete set of encyclopedias. Information is not material. The cell is the medium and the information is the message. From where did this information come? If material is all there is (the Darwinist view), how did this material create information which is non-material? Those are the easy questions. The really hard one, for the Darwinists, is how non-living materials created life. Humans and chimpanzees may share similar genes. However, the information coded in those genes is what makes humans and chimps as different as two stories in similar books. ROBERT J. WILLIAMSON Creswell Con-artist CEOs I was fascinated by Wally Parker's "Demagogues' daydreams" (letters, Dec. 26). I especially liked his sentence, "When popular passions feed the daydreams of demagogues, tragedy results." Sounds like a terrific description of George W. Bush and Enron. Free enterprise and good government are being destroyed by corrupt government subsidies of con-artist CEOs and by corrupt government officials bought by con-artist CEOs. End the trend toward fascist degradation. Make a better, truer democracy. BOB D. SAXTON Eugene Cheer the flag To prove the power of unity, to demonstrate the strength of patriotism, to illustrate our pride and to express the grief of our losses, Fire station No. 25 left Portland, on Jan. 1 to walk an American flag across 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. . This flag will be passed from one person to another along the route. Some of these people will walk with the flag, and others will run. Many people will want to say that they helped with this patriotic endeavor. The flag will pass through the west side of Eugene on Saturday, Jan. 5, stopping for the night in Veneta. Then it will proceed west through the Coast Range to Mapleton on Sunday, Jan. 6. On Monday, Jan. 7, the flag will pass through Florence with a brief ceremony at the Elks Lodge. The flag will then head south on Highway 101 with the police department of Reedsport taking the flag at Gardiner and then carrying it to Winchester Bay for the night. Many people will be carrying the flag: police officers, fire fighters, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts Girl Scouts, recreational and service organization founded (1912) in Savannah, Ga., by Mrs. Juliette Gordon Low (1860–1927). It was originally modeled after the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, organizations created in Great Britain by Sir Robert Baden-Powell during and others. Look for the flag when it passes near you, and come out and cheer it on its way. KEITH KERSEY kersey coarse, narrow cloth used for leg bandages in horses. Florence CAPTION(S): The Register-Guard welcomes letters on topics of general interest. Our length limit is 250 words; all letters are subject to condensation. Mail letters to Mailbag, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188 Fax: 338-2828 E-mail: RGLetters@guardnet.com |
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