>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Crises of own making

To the Editor:

The other shoe is about to drop.

The president has declared another crisis. This time a budget crisis and, like the war in Iraq, this crisis is also of his own making.

The cause of this new crisis is the budget deficit, which is truly crippling in its magnitude. However, the deficit belongs entirely to G. W. Bush due to his ill conceived war and tax cuts for his rich cronies.

Will he re-think the war or repeal the tax cuts? Don't hold your breath. Fresh from his "mandate" in the last election he now has the gall to assert that the only way to solve this crisis is to cut domestic spending. Look out.

On the chopping block are Social Security — soon to become anything but; Medicaid and Medicare — elders beware; programs for housing — the poor can live in the streets; grants for community development — the magic of the market place will solve our problems; and purchases of new equipment for the Federal Aviation Administration — after all, who needs new equipment for air traffic controllers?

The bottom line is we are being asked domestically to subsidize charity for the rich, and support an oil-grab war instigated without cause against a sovereign nation.

Wow! G. W. Bush must believe you can fool all of the people all the time.

Harold M. Black

Lostine

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Snare trap snags dog

To the Editor:

I would like to inform the public of the danger of snare traps, although this is not an attack on trappers.

Recently my boyfriend, Fred, and I took our dogs for an afternoon hike, Dakota, a border collie mix, and Berlin, a dainty border collie.

We were up High Valley Road near Little Creek looking for a waterfall we'd been told of just off the road. We were no more than 100 yards off the road when Berlin began shaking her head and backed off a 15-foot cliff. Thinking she had slipped, I waited at the top of the hill for her to recover.

Except that she never hit the ground. I looked over the edge to see my dog hanging by her neck. She was in a snare trap.

Berlin struggled to free herself, making the cable around her neck even tighter. I jumped down and tried to relieve the pressure by lifting her body but snare traps are not designed to give slack when pressure is released.

Fred tried to cut the wire with his knife before remembering the wire-cutter on his multi-tool knife. Berlin seemed to die before he could cut her free. We performed CPR and watched her pupils dilate again — and I have been hugging her ever since.

I want people to realize how quickly this happened and how close I was to losing my dog. She was lucky to be resuscitated. Only about 30 percent of animals or humans survive after one or two minutes apparently dead.

It is trapping season until the end of February. This snare was not marked as it should have been.

Trappers, please mark your snares. I don't mind that people trap, but if the snares were labeled or marked I would never let my dogs out in that area.

Please identify snares. I almost lost my best friend in the world. Thanks to Fred, and to his multi-tool knife, my dog was freed in the nick of time.

Carrie Crump

La Grande

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Signature furor just a ploy

To the Editor:

Regarding the signing of condolence letters by Rumsfeld: If I lost a loved one in the Iraq war or in any military service the least of my worries would be whether the condolence letter was signed individually or stamped as government letters traditionally are.

The furor over this is just one more effort by the media to anger the public. By implying that Rumsfeld doesn't care because he didn't sign each letter individually they hope to get a reaction against the war and the administration.

If we had casualties in the numbers predicted by these same media before we went into Iraq, Rumsfeld wouldn't have enough hours in a day to sign each one individually. The efforts of the media and the left to equate the present conflict with the war in Vietnam are only valid in the sense that our news people seem to be working toward causing the same result they helped cause during that conflict.

They flood the airwaves with negative dialog and then conduct a poll to see how unhappy they have made people. Meanwhile bin Laden claps his hands with glee. Constructive criticism or honest disagreement with government policy is healthy. However, the daily nit-picking, carping and polling by the media for the sole purpose of creating dissension is destructive and probably costing lives.

Our enemies think we will lose the will to finish the fight if they just give our reporters a little more carnage to show on the evening news. A free

press was intended to keep the people informed rather than help our enemies terrorize us by magnifying their successes.

Our enemies are heartened by the fact that the news is made to sound like nothing is going right for us in Iraq.

Gary Poole

Wallowa

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What's with food industry?

To the Editor:

Just what is going on with our food industry? Just what are they trying to feed us?

The other day in The Observer was a picture and caption about a truck that leaked a corrosive chemical onto I-84 resulting in the Haz-Mat team being called to clean it up.

The last sentence of the caption stated that the substance is used as an additive to cow feed!

I'm just wondering, but should there be a label on our beef and milk packaging stating that it's OK to eat this stuff, just don't drop it on a major highway.

Like I said — just wondering.

Steven Keeler

La Grande

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Can't force democracy

To the Editor:

Ever since Nov. 3 I have felt that those who voted for George Bush were either greedy, uninformed or just plain stupid.

I don't think I'm greedy or stupid. I do try to inform myself about what is going on in the world about me, which includes the whole world. You, dear reader, may categorize yourself.

Civilization's drug of choice is violence. So here we go again, sending 600 more of our servants to another tour of duty in Iraq. Heard on the news was that our military forces will be out of Iraq by the end of the commander-in-chief's second tour of duty. This should give our military families much solace.

We aren't going to be able to force democracy on Iraq. They have to want it. They have to understand it. They have to make it work. I don't think we are a shining example. We should be looking in the mirror instead of telling others what to do. Look at the lying, stealing and head-turning in our last election. I used to think that elections were for finding out what people wanted. Hah! How naive.

The recent presidential election in the Ukraine was thought to be tampered with, so the people went to the streets by the thousands for two weeks and got another election scheduled. We had major tampering in our last election and what did we do about it? Nothing much.

Am I mad about it? You bet I am. Let's get together and talk about it. I'm tired of pretending that life will go on as we have known it.

The changes George has in the pipeline are humongous.

W. H. Oberteuffer

Island City

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Cow digestion differs

To the Editor:

For your information, cows have the ability to digest inorganic substances; they are not harmed and can actually prosper on them. The cow's largest stomach compartment the rumen, of which they have four, contains trillions of bacteria which can decompose and digest just about any material. The cow actually gets most of its nutrition by digesting the dead bodies of these busy but short-lived organisms. This takes place in the fourth compartment of their stomach, which works basically the same way as ours do.

The compound that was spilled is a common phosphoric acid used to decrease the consumption of a molasses-based supplemental feed which tastes so good to cows that they would gorge themselves if the acid was not added to restrict their appetite.

By the way, if you think it might be dangerous, look at the list of ingredients on any cola can and lo and behold what's in it — phosphoric acid.

As for the Haz- Mat response, the state has determined that even milk is a hazardous material if spilled on the highway.

Mike Hillecke

La Grande

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Support area's efforts

To the Editor:

Fellow Oregonians, please stop griping, complaining and finding fault with things we cannot change.

Please use your positive strength and energy here in Eastern Oregon to change things we can change to make our lives and the lives of our children better.

Please do what you can to stop the rape of our area by the Wal-Mart bully. Look around to see the damage they have done, are doing and want to do.

There are many good programs that need our support: relief from domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, relief of hunger and senior neglect.

Please use your strength and energy to support work in these areas as well as other areas where help is needed. Look out for one another, and build up one another.

Lois Henderson

Wallowa

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Take stand for change

To the Editor:

Shortly before Union's November election I referred to it as judgment day for Union's power structure. And judgment day it was, proving those who aver you can't fight city hall are living in a dream world.

Good people can make changes when they stand to fight against evil, and we proved it big time.

Similarly, it follows that we can contest the iniquities of our liberal national administration and milktoast Congress.

They've orchestrated movements to enforce policies inimical to the will and welfare of middle-Americans who haven't a clue how the liberals of both parties plan to reduce our great nation to Third World status through the trade agreements that have outsourced American industries and welcomed illegal aliens while overloading our schools, welfare systems, jails and hospitals, forcing many of the latter into bankruptcy and closure.

Why does our president, who has the responsibility to protect us, abet Mexico's invading illegal alien army while accepting bogus Mexican ID cards? Is it a planned move to integrate Mexico and the U.S.? Consider ceding control or our oceans to the U.N.? To give mineral-rich American islands above Alaska to Russia?

Currently we are very close to becoming a U.N.-controlled state. Why, when only 50 years ago we were the richest, most industrial nation on earth, are we now verging on national bankruptcy?

There is something very rotten in Washington's woodpile, and it's time to do nationally what we did locally in Union.

Jim Bovard

Union

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Pays to be thorough

To the Editor:

Elections are about differences — real, exaggerated and imagined. By the time an election is finished most of us can't help but accumulate some unrealistic hopes and fears along party lines.

And even though it is a good thing that we explore differences so thoroughly, after it is over it is good if we can recover some perspective that helps us move forward.

I can't think of two more polarizing recent presidents than Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. And yet both won election by wide margins and with significant crossover votes.

They both understood that to influence anyone in the opposition you will have to have done your homework well enough to articulate their concerns as well or better than they can. If someone is going to talk you out of your fears they must first demonstrate they understand them.

If they are to lead you into uncharted territory they must impress you with the scope of their research and perspective.

Reagan and Clinton had important things to communicate. Because they were willing to do whatever it took to be the most broadly informed person in the room, people listened more than they reacted.

Clinton and Reagan were political problem solvers. Reagan spent decades sinking his teeth into the dynamics of the Cold War. Clinton walked into the Forest Summit and in short order was the most articulate person in the room, both for the timber and the environmental interests.

It pays to be thorough. As Democrats and Republicans look to the future and hope for another Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan, let's hope they see this similarity that was behind their successes. It is not just a lesson for leaders.

David Waln

Summerville

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Support action in Iraq

To the Editor:

I would like to rebut Mr. Oberteuffer's letter. I have read Mr. Oberteuffer's letters in The Observer over the years, and most of them show me that he is against everything. Is there anything positive that he supports?

I was in Vietnam when John Kerry made his visit to North Vietnam. That visit caused many hardships for us military people who were there. Mr. Kerry is nothing but a traitor in the same category as Jane Fonda. I have no respect for him.

I thank God that Kerry was not elected president. If he had been this country would be in a terrible shape.

I do not agree with every policy of our president, but I sure support him in going into Iraq.

There are more people killed in auto accidents on our highways than all those who have sacrificed their lives in Iraq for a cause. Mr. Oberteuffer should get on his soap box and write against accidents. Find a good cause to support.

I do not like to see anyone killed — whether it is on the highway or in a war. The soldiers are doing their job, saving this nation from a possible new attack. They could be saving Mr. Oberteuffer, too.

If you would only look and listen to what any returning military person from Iraq has to say about the war, you would have your eyes opened. You would find out about all the good things our soldiers and Marines have done and are doing for Iraq.

Mr. Oberteuffer should listen to some of the talk show hosts on the radio instead of the liberal networks. He might learn something.

Victor R. Posvar

La Grande