Letters in the Editor's Mailbag.Byline: The Register-Guard Come out of ivory towers I have an idea. Why don't top state officials, lawyers, school administrators and anyone else making $100,000 or more per year give up 20 to 30 percent of their salary for the next three years? That should more than make up Oregon's financial deficit. They should try coming down from their ivory towers and living like average people for the next three years. That should help them to understand that retired people living on fixed incomes, those getting poverty level wages and everyone else earning $40,000 or less are not going to be able to exist if public officials keep heaping tax after tax after tax upon them. Government officials should learn to budget wisely. The average person and family has to do it. They should have to do it, too. CAROL KELM Eugene Back to the dark ages Measure 28 was defeated, and now we see the real face of compassionate conservatism  The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words. . It's not a very attractive image. Yes, efficiency in government at all levels is to be desired and should always be a goal of government. However, ignoring the suffering created by the continued cuts in programs that help society's most needy is unconscionable Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. . The 56 percent of people who voted no appear to be folks without consciences who care little for anyone but themselves. I am glad to be able to say I am not one of them. I fear that for an undetermined period of time we have returned to the dark ages here in Oregon. RONEL M. PADDOCK Oakridge Drive, don't fly, governor I am very upset with our governor. We are laying off needed state troopers, pushing disabled and senior residents out of nursing homes, and telling Oregonians to tighten their belts and expect fewer services from the government. And Gov. Ted Kulongoski Theodore R. "Ted" Kulongoski (born November 5 1940, in rural Missouri[1]) is an American Democratic politician. Since 2003, he has served as the Governor of Oregon. He was re-elected in 2006. needs two airplanes to get around in the state! First of all, Oregon is not that big. And many of our smaller communities have no airports. So the governor would still have to travel by car. There are a lot of roads all over the not-so-big state of Oregon. Before we cut needed services to citizens, the governor should set a good example and give up both planes. He can only fly in one at any given time. And why would he be traveling that much, anyway? He should stay in Salem and run the ship. We deserve better than what we are getting. I. B. WILSON Eugene Major conflagration ahead Our president is making a great effort to get us into a war with Iraq. Along with many other Americans, I fail to see adequate reasons for us to go to war. If we do get involved, it won't be a little skirmish like in the Persian Gulf Persian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea, 90,000 sq mi (233,100 sq km), between the Arabian peninsula and Iran, extending c.600 mi (970 km) from the Shatt al Arab delta to the Strait of Hormuz, which links it with the Gulf of Oman. , but could erupt into a major conflagration involving many countries of Europe and the Mideast. The economic and human toll could be staggering. Many Americans are undecided on the issue of Iraq, while at the same time are being lured into the quagmire of a major war by the salesmanship and personality of the president. Our good-looking, personable PERSONABLE. Having the capacities of a person; for example, the defendant was judged personable to maintain this action. Old Nat. Brev. 142. This word is obsolete. president has a hidden agenda, and an unusually strong lust for power and control over our lives, our nation and beyond. In the process, he is gradually destroying our Constitution and our freedoms - all under the guise of fighting terrorism. We are swallowing the emperor's rhetoric hook, line and sinker Sinker A bond whose payments are provided by the issuer's sinking fund. Notes: A portion of these bonds are retired by the issuer each year. See also: Sinking Fund, Super Sinker Sinker . We are being drawn into a major war that is being sweetened sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. by a tax cut that will be popular with the rich, who will gladly contribute to his 2004 political campaign. Big money buys votes. We are letting one person decide the fate of millions of people in this country and in the world. It is up to citizens working through their representatives in Congress to stop this war. Do it now. R. MARRINER ORUM Eugene Threats show Iraq armed It seems amazing that Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. proclaims to the world that Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or , yet he threatens in his frequent tirades to defeat and disgrace 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. if and when we attack his nation. By what means does Saddam expect to defeat the United States and her allies if he, as he insists, has no weapons of mass destruction in his arsenal? Furthermore, I'm convinced there is more than one person posing as Saddam Hussein when he is seen on TV. Will the No. 1 tyrant please stand? MONTE GUARDINO Eugene Time to get nervous With his usual eloquence, Charles Porter Charles Porter may refer to:
When we have a president who sees no reason he should explain anything to anybody, it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to get nervous. I hope campaign finance reform Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. will take at least some of the money out of politics, but there are some very clever people working very hard at this minute trying to find ways around this legislation. For some strange reason, important legislation often has loopholes that no one could see when they were writing it. I've often wondered how a Congress made up mostly of very intelligent lawyers could write such poor legislation, and the same group could then find such elegant ways to get around it. EILEEN YOUNG Cheshire Hold agencies accountable Why, oh why, do the supporters of Measure 28 not get the message sent by voters last month? Instead of looking at the big picture, proponents condemn the majority of us who said no with comments such as Nancy AS Nancy-Lorraine is a French football club, based in Nancy. The team was founded in 1967 as a successor of the defunct FC Nancy, which collapsed in 1965. It was promoted to Ligue 1 for the 2005-06 season. Michel Platini played for the club between 1973 and 1979. McCallum's (letters, Feb. 3). McCallum says she was "amazed at the selfishness of the people of Oregon." Frankly, I am amazed by her naivete na·ive·té or na·ïve·té n. 1. The state or quality of being inexperienced or unsophisticated, especially in being artless, credulous, or uncritical. 2. An artless, credulous, or uncritical statement or act. . We who voted the measure down are not at all unsympathetic to the less fortunate. We are not selfish. The message McCallum has failed to understand is that we want public agencies to be held accountable for the public money they spend. We want the schools not to be penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. by the archaic budget system that doesn't allow them to carry forward unspent funds. We want public agencies to manage their funds in the same manner that we do in the private sector. I operate a business. When sales are down, I cut expenses. When things are good, cuts are restored. If we can do it in the private sector, the public sector should do the same. We want public agencies not to be held captive by unrealistic and unreasonable collective bargaining agreements The contractual agreement between an employer and a Labor Union that governs wages, hours, and working conditions for employees and which can be enforced against both the employer and the union for failure to comply with its terms. . We want government to cut out the waste. We all agree that budget cuts do hurt people. But it is unrealistic to expect the people of the state of Oregon to keep digging deeper into their pockets to pay for the excesses of government. If that seems selfish to some, then so be it. BRUCE PEDERSEN Eugene A shocking realization An interesting and shocking thing happened to me the other day. I was figuring out what it costs me to live these days. I went through my expenses, which include dinners out once a week, one week in Hawaii and one week in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , artwork for my office, a boat payment, season tickets for Ducks football and basketball, money for my pet projects and on and on. Even though I have as much or more money as I had last year, I don't have enough to support myself in the manner to which I have become accustomed. I could think of only one resolution to this dilemma. I simply had to tell the people who employ me to fork over to hand or pay over, as money; to - G. Eliot. See also: Fork more money. Well, my employers took a vote and decided I couldn't have another pay raise. It came as a real shock. I never thought they would be so heartless. Now I have to figure out a way to tell my family that we have to go without a home, groceries, clothes, gas, school, heat and water. And, oh yes, Grandma is going to have to live on the street. It's not going to be nearly as much fun in Vegas this year, but you have to do what you have to do. REED BAXTER Eugene Consider Arlie's proposal Let's see Let's See was a Canadian television series broadcast on CBC Television between September 6, 1952 to July 4, 1953. The segment, which had a running time of 15 minutes, was a puppet show with a character named Uncle Chichimus (voice of John Conway), which presented each , south Eugene residents are up in arms about losing their hospital. Eager to respond to their constituents, Eugene city councilors want to recruit a hospital to Eugene and city staff identifies the Lane County Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. as a top location. McKenzie-Willamette's new partner, Triad, is willing to invest in a new hospital in Eugene. The fairgrounds has outgrown its current location. Arlie & Company is willing to donate land to the county for a new, larger fairgrounds. And south Eugene County Commissioner Peter Sorenson says no deal. Why is Sorenson unwilling to even look at the possibility when it's his constituents who would be the greatest beneficiaries? Yes, there are issues about cost, land use, etc., but the county faces the same problems if it stays put. The current location is too crowded, is polluting the Amazon Canal, and its impacts to the surrounding neighborhood are becoming intolerable. The county should take a closer look at Arlie's proposal. Who knows? Sorenson could be the hero who brings a hospital back to south Eugene. AUREOLE aureole, in physics aureole (ôr`ēōl'), in physics, luminous circle seen when the sun or other bright light is observed through a diffuse medium, i.e., smoke, thin cloud, fog, haze, or mist. STEPHENS Springfield |
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