Home 
Opinion Letters Letters and comments for the week ending March 29, 2008
Letters and comments for the week ending March 29, 2008
|
Schiller, Fast, Mecham, Hills, Pereira, Fiorito, Candler, Hodge, Marcum, Petersen
This letter is in response to Marc W. Stauffer’s March 18 community comment, which objected to Oregon Senate Bill 10. This bill makes some personal information of public officials available to the public. Calling the disclosure a “Nazi Germany-style ‘Ministry of Information’ gathering tactic” is very disagreeable. One must ask if the disclosed information is relevant and certified as true. The answer is yes to both. Then one must ask the purpose behind the disclosure. The purpose is for checks and balances. Nazis had no interest in checks and balances, only in absolute power. Whether a position is volunteer or not, the potential for abuse of power is there, and more tempting if relevant personal information remains hidden. Sharon K. Schiller La Grande In your March 17 editorial about the La Grande City Council races, did you really mean to say that because a person does not run for a political seat they don’t care about our city? We each show our caring in our own way. Politics is not for everyone, and many individuals can accomplish a lot of good by working outside of the system. I don’t see your name, Mr. Kramer, on the ballot, and I believe that you care about this city. Both Rep. Smith and Sen. Nelson are running unopposed in November. Does that mean than none of the thousands of folks in Northeast Oregon care about our region? You (the editors) must also believe that the voting public is very naïve if you think that we listen to and/or believe campaign rhetoric and debate. As I have been repeatedly reminded, a councilor is only one of seven and has no real individual power. Kelly McGee and Les Balsiger are excellent candidates for the two open seats, and I strongly support Dan Pokorney in his campaign for position No. 1. If the incumbent was truly an advocate of change, she would be stepping down and turning over the gavel; there is a reason for term limits. I, among many others, believe that fresh faces on the council along with a different face in the No. 1 seat will bring about a renewed interest in not only the La Grande City Council but in city affairs in general. Josey Fast La Grande On March 19, President Bush declared that we must win the war in Iraq. Actually, Mr. Bush had won his war the day the American forces pulled Saddam Hussein out of the hole in Tikrit, and had found no weapons of mass destruction, as falsely claimed by Mr. Bush. Saddam Hussein should have been deposed, as he was equal to Hitler with his mass murder of the Kurds in the north and the Shiites in southern Iraq, by bombing with poisonous gas. Mr. Bush won his war but has lost the battle. He decided that we must bring a democracy to Iraq. This may not be possible for this reason: Mohammed stated, “All Islam is your government, it is your religion, it is your everything and days of your life.” So, forcing a democracy on an Islamic nation is interfering with their religion. In a democracy, we have a separation of church and government — not so in Islamic nations. The ethnic squabble between the Sunnis and the Shiites has been going on for 1,376 years, since the death of Mohammed in 632 A.D. The reason for their difference is that each sect claims the birth-right of Mohammed. Of Iraq’s population, 60 percent is Shiite, 30 percent is Sunni and 10 percent is Kurd. The Sunni have been assisted by Sunni Syria and Saudi Arabia, while the Shiites have been helped by Iran. A democracy is not the answer to their ethnic differences. Cecil E. Mecham Summerville Now that we are in a presidential race, a Chicago minister was yelling about our bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the close of WWII. I was an Army officer, war-trained and combat experienced. I know you do what you have to do to win. Unfortunately, in Vietnam, we did not do whatever it took, and it cost many American boys’ lives. During the summer of 1945, Hitler was defeated, we were in the mop-up stage in Germany — now what to do about Japan. President Truman had a conference with his generals. Looking back at June 6, 1944, D-Day — we lost some 10,000 men in that one day on Omaha and adjoining beaches. We were making an amphibious assault against a stoutly-defended coastline. We had only (but that was enough) German armies commanded by some of the most brilliant generals in the world, but the civilian population was on our side. They couldn’t do much to help us, but they wouldn’t be fighting us. Japan still had about 2 million ready troops, several million more in Indonesia and Malaysia, plus the Japanese civilians were ready to fight us as we attempted a much more difficult coastal area assault. Our generals believed, and I believe rightly so, that we could lose 2 million men securing the landing and the Japanese would have 2 or more million troops and civilian casualties. The bombs cost us no loss of life and the Japanese civilians far fewer than invasion would have. The president and these generals agonized over the decision, but it was the right decision. Roy Hills Island City I’ll be leaving for Seattle now for my bone marrow transplant and wondered how to say goodbye to this valley I love so well, the people, my friends of 30 years of wonderful memories. I am awed by all of your kindness, prayers and support. That saying, “there aren’t words enough to express what I feel” seemed true, until I remembered a certain poetry contest in 1978, in The Observer. I entered it and it was published.
Whisper now then hush, to the echo of its softness. Love cannot be measured by words, rather more as like the morning sky with a vast and endless reach and brightness ever growing, ever growing.
This entire process will take about five months. We will send updates and you will all be in our hearts with gratitude. Goodbye for now and thank you again. Linda Pereira Cove On the subject of climate change, we are at the end of a very active solar cycle which has warmed the Earth, Mars and other celestial bodies in the last decade or so. The effect that we humans have had on this climate change is either negligible or unmeasurable. Many of the current models that show that climate change is caused by humans were built by scientists with the bias to prove this theory. That does not mean that we should pollute our environment needlessly or waste our God-given resources. Just as the evidence for Intelligent Design of the universe is suppressed and forbidden in our public schools and universities, the idea that humans are an unnatural part of the ecosystem is being foisted on our children. The very places that should be open to opposing ideas and teaching our young people the value of rational thought are instead forcing the “party line” on our young people. Remember the Soviet Union? The official line there was atheism and evolution. Now we are expected to believe that carbon dioxide is a toxic waste. I thought I learned in grade school, high school and college that carbon dioxide was one of the ingredients of photosynthesis and therefore all life on the planet. The decomposition of organic matter in the Amazon accounts for many times more carbon dioxide than humans produce through our use of resources and exhaling — the oceans even more. Did I mention volcanic processes? Do yourselves a favor and study the other side of issues, especially this climate change deal. Follow the money, question authority and take the “party line” with a grain of salt. The globalist elite are using this latest “crisis” in an attempt to rob you of more liberties and money. The universal tax on carbon is coming your way soon. Dan Fiorito Union I am a critic of the reason for climate change so perhaps everyone needs some information to ponder. Carbon dioxide absorbs infrared radiation (heat) in three principal regions of the infrared spectrum near three microns, four microns and 14 to 15 microns. You can obtain a spectrum of atmospheric transmittance (infrared) from Wikipedia. In this spectrum you will find six regions where water vapor absorbs and the broadest absorbed region occurs at nearly 5.5 to 7.5 microns. Cloud cover (extent and depth) consists of very small water droplets and may broaden the infrared absorption range due to hydrogen bonding (a weak association of water molecules that allows liquid water to exist). This fact demonstrates that water is the principal greenhouse gas. Indeed water has one of the highest heat capacities known to humans. This fact means that water (especially in the liquid state) has the ability to absorb and hold heat energy more efficiently. Furthermore, climatology researchers (Roy Spencer, John Christy et al) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Richard Lindzen at MIT question the existing climate models since these models do not include cloud cover. In addition, these scientists question the sensitivity of climate to carbon dioxide. For those interested, reading the article in “Energy Tribune’’ by Spencer may be instructive. Spencer’s article is easily accessed through ICECAP on the Internet. By the way, my credentials include a bachelor of science, master of science and a Ph.D., all in chemistry. I’ve been a chemical hygiene officer, a hazardous materials technician, laboratory manager, researcher and adjunct professor of chemistry (retired). Oh, I have never worked for an energy company. Rudy Candler Union The Union County CASA Program has been fortunate to receive generous donations from community partners. Many abused and neglected children benefit greatly from these funds. Court Appointed Special Advocates speak on behalf of the children — bringing concerns to the attention of the court. CASAs visit with children and speak for their best interest when their needs aren’t being met. CASAs receive many hours of training to prepare them to do this volunteer work. Children need a safe, loving home environment and their nutritional needs met. About 10 million children see their mothers abused every year. When domestic violence takes place in front of children, it affects them emotionally. Many times they are victims of physical and verbal abuse. Statistics report that a battered person will go back to the partner as many as seven times. In many instances, the battered put the children and themselves at risk. In some cases, the parents are on drugs or alcohol. Money is spent to support their habits and the children go to bed hungry or with very little to eat. The Soroptimists International of La Grande, United Way of Eastern Oregon and the Commission on Children and Families participate by donating to the Union County CASA Program. Support has come from many churches, businesses and individuals in the community. The CASA Gala is April 24 at the Blue Mountain Conference Center. This is an opportunity to support the program. Union County CASAs can make a difference in the lives of our neglected and abused children. My sincere gratitude to its many loyal contributors. Ruth A. Hodge, CASA volunteer Island City As the grandfather of a soon-to-be deployed Marine and as the death toll reaches 4,000, I want to say no to Bush — it is not worth it, things are not better and in my opinion, they will not be getting better anytime soon. One death of a young soldier is not worth it. I can’t bring myself to call Bush president because as president, he is also commander-in-chief and as such, Bush is at the bottom of a long list. Have you ever stopped to think how many lives one soldier’s death affects? Add to the immediate family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. A conservative estimate of people affected by one death would be 25 to 30 or more. So do the math. How many people would be affected by 4,000 deaths plus the thousands and thousands that are injured?
I just wonder: if Bush’s daughters’ lives were sacrificed in this unpopular war, would it still be worth it? Enterprise While our nation’s leaders are fighting radical Muslim terrorists, EOU and the United Methodist Church are promoting one-sided peace and change through what I consider socialism. EOU was founded to educate, teaching truth. The organization C.U.R.R.E.N.T.S. fragments the truth. John and James Wesley developed a method to teach the word of God and called themselves Methodists. The Wesleys taught to deny the flesh and save the soul. These modern Methodists teach to satisfy the flesh (whatever feels good, do it) and damn the soul. On Sept. 11, brave men and women went into the burning towers, knowing the perils, to help the injured and save lives. Since then, brave men and women have gone many places in the world to search out and destroy those who seek to crush us just like they crushed the Twin Towers and the people in them. The guidebook these radical Muslims use is the Quran. It demands Muslims be governed by Sharia law, which is very moral, but at the same time denigrates women to be little more than child bearers and servants. It also demands in numerous places the annihilation of Jews and Christians. Our brave volunteer soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are turning more and more from search and destroy to training and assisting those nations to become self-sufficient and self-governing. John Petersen La Grande |
