Letters in the Editor's Mailbag.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Embarrassing monstrosity 

Something for everyone? Not this everyone.

I thought I would fall out of my chair laughing when looking at this building design (Register-Guard, May 16) and reading words like "celebrates the state's rivers and mountains," "evoking images of the Three Sisters" and "classic," "traditional" and "inviting." Did my copy of the paper accidentally have the wrong picture printed? None of these words or feelings are evoked by this building.

Maybe if my name were George Jetson, or better yet Astro, I would feel differently.

After viewing this design, I am embarrassed to say that I supported relocating the federal building to the banks of the Willamette River. If you can look at this federal courthouse design and see anything that relates to the wilderness, rivers or mountains of Oregon, you must love the emperor's new clothes.

Tell me where to sign on to stop this embarrassing monstrosity from being built on the banks of our river. I want to be the first to sign up.

GAYLENE GLIDEWELL Eugene

Why U.S. backs Israel

Professor Mahmoud Dhaouadi stated in his article (Commentary, May 19) that the Arab world regards American support of Israel as unfair and unjust. I would argue, however, that it is actually America's sense of justice and fairness that has been behind its support of Israel.

Given that one-third of world oil reserves lie below Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and given that there are more than 300 million Arabs in the Middle East as compared to 5 million Israelis, U.S. support of Israel appears at odds with its strategic interests.

Could it be that the United States supports Israel because Israel is the Middle East's only true democracy - with a free press, fair elections, a vocal opposition, religious tolerance and equality between men and women?

Could it be that Americans don't admire countries that routinely refer to their enemies as vampires and monkeys and that accuse Jews of using the blood of Arab children to make their bread?

Maybe Americans are appalled when they look around the Middle East and see the thousands of Kurds gassed with chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein, the thousands of civilians murdered at Hama by Hafez Assad, the unarmed civilians murdered by Islamic fundamentalists in Algeria, the beheadings and amputations and the funding of Islamic fundamentalism in Saudi Arabia, the glorification of the intentional murder of women, children and old men, the lack of equal rights for women.

Americans support a Palestinian state, but not if it becomes a Trojan horse for the destruction of Israel.

MIRIAM REINHART Junction City

Alternatives rejected

West Eugene Parkway opponents have recently been singing the praises of a 1000 Friends of Oregon-designed process called Land Use, Transportation and Air Quality, or LUTRAQ. In a nutshell, LUTRAQ represents a series of broadly stated alternative land-use, transportation and demand management strategies that, in the minds of parkway opponents, would take the place of the 20-year process of constructing the five-mile stretch of limited access roadway.

If that sounds like Measure 20-53, the alternative to the successful vote on the West Eugene Parkway that the voters defeated 61 percent to 39 percent, then you are paying attention.

I believe voters defeated the LUTRAQ model because they believed it offered a series of wished-for strategies that are not a part of any current planning document or funding list. Maybe the voters believed, as I do, that it would be years before any of the imaginings could be implemented, and no one knows what they might cost.

Given the choice to pursue LUTRAQ strategies or construct the long-planned West Eugene Parkway, the voters clearly selected the construction of the parkway. It is time to dismiss these thinly veiled stalling tactics and move forward with the construction of the West Eugene Parkway.

PATRICIA KEATING Eugene

Keep criminals locked up

How appalling that our judicial system allows murderers who were sentenced to death to live a free life in society. This is an insult to victims and their families. Criminals seem to have a right to freedom while victims and their families must suffer.

The example: The Register-Guard's May 18 article about Wilma Lin Rhule, also known as Jeannace June Freeman, who was sentenced to death for viciously murdering two innocent children. That sentence was commuted to life in prison, and she was paroled after serving 22 years. Then she committed another violent crime. Her life has been spared, yet the lives of two children were not.

Life in prison is life in prison! She, along with too many other violent criminals, are given second chances before paying their dues to society - with the majority of them not being reformed and committing more violent crimes against society. Will Christian Longo also be given a second chance?

My sister is the victim of a violent crime. She received three bullets to the head and was held hostage for more than seven hours before the perpetrator surrendered. She was not his first victim, but his last! While he has not been sentenced yet, my family and I are committed to securing him a life behind bars for as many years as possible without parole, so we may live freely and peacefully.

My heart goes out to all victims and their families who have fallen to career criminals.

LORAINE LAND Junction City

Let's be consistent

I believe it is important that our foreign policy reflect an even-handedness as the world's lone superpower and champion of democracy.

Therefore, I propose that the United States either immediately install a trade embargo against communist Red China until such a time as that country's regime allows free and fair elections, frees all political prisoners and allows for monitoring by human rights organizations, or grant most-favored nation trading status to Cuba.

CARL BERG Alvadore

Promote monogamy 

Kitty Piercy is spewing again (letters, May 20). Parenthood is the farthest thing planned by Planned Parenthood, an oxymoron. The name Organization for Planned Destruction of Babies would be more revealing.

Respect for life of the most vulnerable and innocent among us unites the United States, the Vatican, Sudan, Egypt and Algeria. Focusing on what unites rather than bickering about other matters politic might bring peace in the world. Could it be that killing unborn babies both here and abroad is the cause of the acts of terrorism?

Contrary to Piercy's opinion, our government is concerned for women and children - which is why we struggle to educate people of the sacredness of life and the proper place for intimate sexuality: marriage. HIV, all sexually transmitted diseases and teenage childbirth would be virtually non-existent if liberals like Piercy would stop pushing their sexually promiscuous views. Liberals aren't interested in education. They offer a quick fix - a pill - and if it doesn't work, abort the baby and call it "compassion."

People, wake up! Anything worthwhile requires effort. Nothing of value is easy or free. See Planned Parenthood for what it really is - a religion promising sexual freedoms with no perceived consequences.

Over 35 million American boys and girls have died since 1972, torn from their mothers' wombs. Millions of women, fooled by Planned Parenthood, are suffering now with regret and remorse.

Research proves and common sense supports sexuality expressed in monogamous relationships, and marriage is the only way to prevent diseases and unplanned pregnancies. Education about when the fertile period begins and ends allows all couples to plan their family size.

JOAN C. CHIPMAN Eugene

Drop pro-Palestine views

I am deeply dismayed at The Register-Guard's ongoing choice to include columns from around the nation that support the Palestinians.

Your latest and greatest was the column by Alexander Cockburn (Register-Guard, May 17), a man who runs counterpunch.com with a bunch of anti-Semites who publish jaded reports on the Middle East crises. It was not a surprise to find out that one of his reporters also writes for Al-Ahram, an Arab paper out of Cairo. When will the newspaper take a true objective standpoint and cover both sides equally? And better yet, when will it stop printing extremist views?

Facts are more important than the viewpoint of either side. Please print the truth!

Dennis Miller put it best in his monologue over the weekend: "My friend Kevin Rooney made a gorgeous point the other day: Just reverse the numbers. Imagine 500 million Jews and 5 million Arabs." I was stunned by the simple brilliance of it. Can anyone picture the Jews strapping belts of razor blades and dynamite to themselves? Of course not. Or marshalling every fiber and force at their disposal for generations to drive a tiny Arab state into the sea? Nonsense. Or dancing for joy at the murder of innocents? Impossible. Or spreading and believing horrible lies about the Arabs baking their bread with the blood of children? Disgusting.

No. As you know, left to themselves in a world of peace, the worst Jews would ever do to people is debate them to death.

DARIN WEISS Eugene

Teens victims of bias

Teen-agers in the United States have been the victims of discrimination for many years. In some areas, teens are not allowed to carry backpacks or purses into a store. Some stores do not even allow them to come in if there are more than two of them. That is what teens around the world have had to put up with for a long time now.

Why should law-abiding teens have to pay for other teens' mistakes? Why can't store owners spend a little money and buy a security camera?

I have had my own experiences with discrimination. One day, I walked into a pizza place on my lunch break. I wanted to go to the salad bar for lunch, but the manager said that I could not. I asked why, and the manager said that there had been a problem with several teen-agers sharing one plate. I kept insisting that I wouldn't share my plate, but he just said no.

Just because I was a teen-ager, I was not allowed to eat a salad. Eating salads aren't illegal. Sure, security cameras cost money, but why should privileges be taken away from everyone else?

KAWIKA HUNTER Eugene

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: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail]