OPINION.Byline: The Register-Guard Law hurts allergy sufferers I live in Eugene and am a severe seasonal allergy sufferer. I just want to thank the Legislature for making my allergies worse. Since the new law took affect on July 1, I still cannot get my over-the-counter allergy medication. It seems that the manufacturers are not supplying Oregon with the new drug. Also, I have been told by my pharmacist that the price will double for the same amount. I'm glad Oregon took the time to contact the manufacturers of these medications to see if this was possible. I know nothing will be done, but what legislators did was wrong. The honest person suffers, and the meth meth n. Methamphetamine hydrochloride. addicts still are addicts. Thanks for nothing. RICK POKORNY Eugene Specter's bill erodes freedom The deal reached between the White House and Sen. Arlen Specter Arlen "Phil" Specter (born February 12 1930) is a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Republican Party, and was first elected in 1980. Biography Early life and career , R-Pa., concerning the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping Secretly gaining unauthorized access to confidential communications. Examples include listening to radio transmissions or using laser interferometers to reconstitute conversations by reflecting laser beams off windows that are vibrating in synchrony to the sound in the room. program is a compromise only in the sense that it compromises our fundamental freedoms as Americans. This bill is worse than the Patriot Act Patriot Act: see USA PATRIOT Act. . It gives the president vast new powers, including a blank check Blank check A check that is duly signed, but the amount of the check is left blank to be supplied by the drawee. to spy on Americans - wiretapping A form of eavesdropping involving physical connection to the communications channels to breach the confidentiality of communications. For example, many poorly-secured buildings have unprotected telephone wiring closets where intruders may connect unauthorized wires to listen in on phone and searching homes and businesses without a warrant, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Under the bill, warrantless wiretaps would not be limited to Americans "talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to al-Qaeda" either, which current law already governs, but would sweep in innocent Americans who have done nothing wrong. Without any oversight, countless journalists, lawyers and others will inevitably be swept into round-the-clock monitoring of their phone conversations, indefinitely. We cannot allow the executive branch to weasel weasel, name for certain small, lithe, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae (weasel family). Members of this family are generally characterized by long bodies and necks, short legs, small rounded ears, and medium to long tails. out of obeying the Supreme Court and federal law. And Congress is overdue in asserting and affirming its role of keeping the president in check and reining in the president's sweeping interpretation of power. It is absolutely essential that every one of us rallies to protect the freedoms that define our democracy. PAUL NAYLOR Eugene Parkway reporting was slanted The Register-Guard's recent reporting on the West Eugene Parkway The West Eugene Parkway was a proposed re-alignment of Oregon Route 126 through the western parts of Eugene, Oregon and its suburbs. Highway 126 through western Eugene currently runs along several surface streets (including West 11th Avenue); this route is well-known in the Eugene controversy has been disappointingly slanted. First came sympathetic enumerations of the work the Oregon Department of Transportation had done on the parkway - you could almost hear the violins playing in the background - and not a word about thousands of volunteer hours and money from other agencies used to carefully restore the wetlands that the parkway would have severely damaged (Register-Guard, July 7). On July 14, there followed an inflammatory extended metaphor: Mayor Kitty Piercy and City Councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun David Kelly shot down the state's idea for a different route as "the West Eugene Parkway lay in its coffin awaiting burial." Especially with an issue already so divisive, the newspaper's choice of words Noun 1. choice of words - the manner in which something is expressed in words; "use concise military verbiage"- G.S.Patton phraseology, wording, diction, phrasing, verbiage and emphasis is irresponsible. It's time for The Register-Guard and all of us to move on. I respect Mayor Piercy and Eugene city councilors for supporting collaboration to find alternatives to ease traffic flow in west Eugene. It is the task of conscientious elected officials to search for alternatives to a project like the parkway, which would do so much harm to fragile wetlands, community accord, west Eugene neighborhoods and environmental recreation and education. I hope alternative solutions will emphasize public and bicycle transportation, conservation and enjoyment of the wetlands and improvement of existing roads and interchanges. I hope The Register-Guard will help the process by providing objective reporting. KATE ROGERS GESSERT Eugene 1,800 Wiccans in armed forces I find it strange that the Veterans Administration can refuse to honor the wish of a soldier killed in action in Afghanistan to have his own gravestone engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. with the symbol of his personal faith: the Wiccan five-pointed star, or pentacle. It is discriminatory to acknowledge the validity of some religions - which are merely faith-based systems of beliefs - while denying the existence of others. Without being sacrilegious sac·ri·le·gious adj. 1. Grossly irreverent toward what is or is held to be sacred. 2. Having committed sacrilege. sac , as it stands now there is no more empirical proof of the divinity of Jesus than there is of the goat-god Pan. Not only is it unfair and prejudiced for Veterans Affairs to deny the existence of a fallen soldier's religion, one recognized by federal courts since 1986, it may well prove to be illegal. And with 1,800 Wiccans currently active in the armed forces, this issue is likely to come up again. What I find most peculiar is that, of all the religions to ban, the VA bans the one that is based on respecting all forms of life - from human to animal to plant, to forces that may exist beyond our perception. If an enlisted soldier chooses to worship the forces of nature that make up life on earth, who is the VA to say his memorial stone cannot attest to that? SCOTT HUMASON Eugene We should welcome immigrants I have more in common with Springfield City Councilor Dave Ralston than I would like to admit. Unless he has failed to mention that he is of 100 percent American Indian heritage, we are both descendents of immigrants who invaded North America. When my and Ralston's ancestors first arrived, the people who thought like Ralston were not able to successfully keep our families out - even though they found our foreign language and cultural traditions strange and didn't like the fact that we were taking all the jobs (and land). If the rules Ralston proposes had been in place when Ralston's ancestors arrived, they would have been sent back. Ralston seems to think he was the first person here in North America and that English was the first language here. Not only has he forgotten the First Americans, he also appears to have forgotten his own ancestors. Now, in what he calls "my America," he has chosen to single out Latino immigrants as invaders. It isn't up to just Latinos to speak out against him. It's up to all of us who have not forgotten that we, who are not Native American, come from families that immigrated to North America. Let's stand together as we welcome new families, new cultural traditions, new languages and know that this is what will make the United States of America UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The name of this country. The United States, now thirty-one in number, are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, great, not intolerance and selfishness. SUZANNE O'HANLON Eugene Parkway funding wasn't there Several letter writers have suggested that Eugene voters twice voted for the West Eugene Parkway and somehow Mayor Kitty Piercy has set out to frustrate the will of the voters. Each time the public is sold the parkway a new, different and more expensive "porkway" has been substituted. In truth, none of these schemes could legally be built. None of the federal permits required to build any of the proposed versions were successfully obtained. And contrary to former Mayor Jim Torrey's claims, the money wasn't there and still isn't. In fact, the official estimate for the price has doubled in the last five years, and the real cost probably would have doubled or tripled the new estimate. The waste of millions already squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. is tragic. But voters should thank Mayor Piercy and City Councilors Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor, David Kelly and Andrea Ortiz for saving us the tens of additional millions that were yet to be squandered. PAUL NICHOLSON Eugene Immorality in eye of beholder Let me get this straight. President Bush's first veto in 5 1/2 years of a bill allowing more federal funding for embryonic stem cell Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4-5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50-150 cells. ES cells are pluripotent. research was signed because he considers such research immoral? Utilizing frozen blastocysts that will otherwise be discarded in search of cures for living, suffering people is immoral? Phooey phoo·ey interj. Used to express disgust, disbelief, or contempt. phooey interj Informal an exclamation of scorn or contempt [probably variant of phew] ! Immoral is gutting assistance programs for folks in need. Immoral is staging a class war that makes only your rich friends richer, while folks on the Gulf Coast are forgotten and left to suffer. Immoral is rabid infatuation with torture and extraordinary ren- dition. Immoral is going to war based on deliberate deception. Immoral is turning a blind eye toward the rampant war profiteering of your friends. Immoral is Swift boat-style campaigns that smear decorated veterans such as Max Cleland and John Kerry. Immoral is maintaining a cynical climate of fear, appealing to the worst of human nature. This is immorality, and no amount of Bush's pandering to his puppeteers from the religious right will cleanse the taint taint an unpleasant odor and flavor in a human foodstuff of animal origin. Caused by the ingestion of the substance, commonly a plant such as Hexham scent, or while in storage, e.g. milk stored with pineapples, or as a result of animal metabolism, e.g. boar taint. that defines his actions. HARPER KEELER Keel´er n. 1. One employed in managing a Newcastle keel; - called also keelman ltname>. 2. A small or shallow tub; esp., one used for holding materials for calking ships, or one used for washing dishes, etc. Eugene Israel surrounded by enemies The current Mideast conflict reveals patterns of terrorist appeasement appeasement Foreign policy of pacifying an aggrieved nation through negotiation in order to prevent war. The prime example is Britain's policy toward Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. , masquerading as land for peace, resulting from Israeli generations exercising power that did not have the personal experiences of its founders. When Abba Eban served as United Nations observer for Israel before the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish sections, another diplomat observed that 6 million dead Jews had purchased two years of acceptance. The World War II slaughter of Jews had been regarded as a source of embarrassment, rather than grief. To perceive the Holocaust's magnitude requires knowing there were only 9 million Jews in Europe. Israel fought three wars to cease-fires, not victories, against enemies committed to its extinction. Anwar Sadat enfeebled en·fee·ble tr.v. en·fee·bled, en·fee·bling, en·fee·bles To deprive of strength; make feeble. en·fee  ble·ment n. this
coalition when the Egypt-Israel peace treaty removed a major source of
expendable human currency to satisfy the vicarious vicarious /vi·car·i·ous/ (vi-kar´e-us)1. acting in the place of another or of something else. 2. occurring at an abnormal site. vi·car·i·ous adj. 1. hatred of certain Arab constituencies. Although unable to currently contrive con·trive v. con·trived, con·triv·ing, con·trives v.tr. 1. To plan with cleverness or ingenuity; devise: contrive ways to amuse the children. 2. annihilation, implacable enemies still surround. As long as this realization of the world they live in persists, I would expect diminished Israeli anxiety with a world opinion finding concern with oil prices and comfort in fashionable resolutions accommodating the moderate killing of Jews. Their puzzling intransigence in·tran·si·gent also in·tran·si·geant adj. Refusing to moderate a position, especially an extreme position; uncompromising. [French intransigeant, from Spanish intransigente : and seeming excessive response results from renewed determination rooted within an endless cavern of National Socialist and Islamic fundamentalist experience. NOLAN NOLAN Nascom Operational LAN NELSON Eugene A nightmare about City Hall I had a dream last night. Eugene voters twice rejected a $100 million bond measure to pay for a new City Hall. But Mayor Kitty Piercy's City Council ordered it built anyway. We never learn that it's always "opposite day" here in Eugene. The $100 million price tag included a wet bar for the council chambers and the $1 million required for 1 Percent for Art was spent on a Renoir and hung in the mayor's office. Here's hoping that that dream doesn't come true. PETER CAMPBELL Eugene |
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