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Opinion Letters Letters and comments for the week ending March 22, 2008
Letters and comments for the week ending March 22, 2008
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Kelly, Severin, Berry, Hoffnagle, Russell
As St. Patrick’s Day comes around and with it the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Peace agreement, I’d like to share some thoughts. Since George Washington, each president has served while Ireland has been neither free nor truly at peace. Yet the extent to which American politicians have concerned themselves with Ireland (if at all) is an election-year photo with some distant relations or having a pint in a pub. Bill Clinton, however, was involved in the Irish peace process. Its success has been a credit to himself, the Irish people and a British government finally willing to talk — and listen. Perhaps all the hope will come to nothing and the only benefit will be that for a decade the children of Belfast and Derry saw less of “the troubles” than their older brothers and sisters. Perhaps the high point will always be Bill Clinton on the steps of Belfast’s city hall, leading a crowd in singing “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.” But he cared enough to try. In a land where attempts at a new future always end against a brick wall of the past, trying counts for something. And so on St. Patrick’s Day I will lift a pint to a man as imperfect as the rest of us, but who cared enough to try. Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Patrick Kelly La Grande Published March 17, 2008 I would also like to give a thumbs-up to Dr. Pettit for the fine job he did on me several years ago when I, like Josey Fast, had cataracts removed on both eyes. I had worn thick glasses for over 40 years until I discovered I had large cataracts on both eyes. I will never forget how well I could see after Dr. Pettit took the machine off my right eye and I could read the clock. Before that, without my glasses not only could I not read the clock I couldn’t even see the clock. Why so many people here in the valley drive all the way to Kennewick or Boise to have their eyes worked on is beyond me since Dr. Pettit is every bit as qualified as anyone. I know of one guy who had his cataract removed in Kennewick only to have major problems and ultimately lose some of his sight in that eye. My feeling is if Dr. Pettit had done the eye and there were problems he would have been closer to address his problem quicker. Don Severin Cove Published March 18, 2008 I’m responding to the news article dated March 12 regarding the Imbler School Board’s decision to go to a charter school system. This should have been a decision by the voting taxpayers in the Imbler School District. The board completely ignored Walt Sullivan’s and others suggestions to not be so hasty about their decision without more public comment. I personally believe the board should investigate the possibility of combining the Imbler and Elgin school districts. Anyone interested in that should contact the board members and express their opinion. Duane Berry Imbler Published March 19, 2008 I read John Petersen’s ill-informed diatribe about climate change and his antiquated religious admonition that we simply rely on his god to solve this problem for us. He blames the “environmentalist” boogeyman for spreading Chicken Little stories. But he’s getting his information from the media, which thrives on controversy and is creating one where none exists. An earlier writer referred to an absurd list of “17,000” scientists who oppose global warming. But the vast majority of those who study the climate agree that it is happening and that humans have played at least a part in its cause (my dog is on that list, along with physicians, dentists, veterinarians and a multitude of others with an equal lack of expertise in climate research, which demonstrates its lack of credibility). My problem is Mr. Petersen’s reliance on his god to solve this problem. He doesn’t want to be inconvenienced and he’s willing to gamble the futures of our children so that he can be wasteful. There’s a saying that is very appropriate here: “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children” (and their children, etc.). I’ve been heartened by recent announcements from the Catholic and Southern Baptist churches (not exactly bastions of liberalism) that it is our responsibility to protect the earth. There is a growing number of churches that realize we must take responsibility for our actions and do what we can to keep the environment of this planet healthy. Ambrose Bierce defined prayer as asking “that the laws of the universe be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.” Those who insist on following the religious philosophy of Mr. Peterson might consider the possibility that your god may find you unworthy for not caring for his creation. Tim Hoffnagle La Grande Published March 21, 2008 I have been reading with great interest your coverage of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. As a resident of La Grande, I have noticed that the discussion has focused mostly on the number of troops in Iraq, the problems these troops are encountering and whether or not the U.S. should leave Iraq by a specific date. The U.S. should establish a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. But working with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobby in Washington, D.C., I’m also trying to persuade Sens. Wyden and Smith and Rep. Walden to prevent the U.S. from committing to the long-term occupation of Iraq and to require a comprehensive diplomatic strategy in Iraq and in the Middle East. If the U.S. does not keep its options open and talk to all the countries neighboring Iraq, including Iran and Syria, to achieve a regional security for Iraq and the Middle East, U.S. troops will be trapped in a costly occupation of Iraq for years to come. I hope you will use the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war to refocus attention on this important aspect of U.S. policy in Iraq. Morgan Russell La Grande Published March 22, 2008 |
