Letters to the Editor
Presidential stem cell position criticized
From Wally Hardie
Selma
Only this President Bush, with the button-down mind of a fundamentalist, would ever, ever consider putting the very slim possible use of a stem cell in front of the life-saving potential of that very same stem cell.
And yet, that is exactly what President Bush has done and is doing. It is difficult, if not impossible, to believe that anyone, let alone the president, would not allow medical science to not only save millions of children suffering from life-threatening disease, but the millions yet unborn.
One would have thought that this mindless thinking went out with the passing of the Dark Ages. But President Bush is living proof it has not. His being elected should make all of us much more aware of how one man will use his personal views to push his own agenda and turn his back on the rest of mankind.
It was this same thinking that stoned witches, and condoned slavery. It is also a part of President Bush’s reasoning when he said, “I believe in DNA, but I don’t believe in evolution.” Why hasn’t someone informed him that DNA is evolution?
But logic and the need to keep one’s job, I suppose, play a larger part than trying to educate a mind-set that is totally inflexible. Or perhaps it makes more sense when understanding this administration is the most incompetent and corrupt we have ever known. Bar none.
Special interests boost forest recreation prices
From Commissioner Charles J. Hurliman
Tillamook County
Attentive forest practices guarantee needed dollars for campgrounds, outdoor recreational desires and the environment that we have come to expect in the Northwest.
Historically forest management (timber harvest) was the funding stream that provided the needed dollars for recreation. Special-interest groups have attacked forest management with lawsuits to stop forest harvest. With the lack of forest management we are setting our forests up for uncertain, unstable futures.
Thoughtful forest management plans ensure predictable timber and revenues for our schools and local economies, diverse habitats for wildlife and fish and recreational opportunities.
I have issues with paying more for recreational opportunities, schools, roads and social services, due to the inclination of special interests.
Unplanned pregnancies:‘People need to care’
From Mary Lefner,
executive director,Pregnancy Center of the Illinois Valley
On Wednesday, April 18 in a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law banning partial-birth abortion as constitutional.
The issue of abortion has been politicized, argued and promoted for more than a generation so that the true understanding of the procedure is today misunderstood and taken for granted.
The terms referring to abortion include words like “choice, the removal of fetal tissue, or the products of conception and the right to choose.” All these terms mask the reality of what is
actually being aborted – a human life – a baby.
The beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss said it best, “A person is a person no matter how small.” Whenever a life is ended prematurely, no matter the circumstances, there are psychological, emotional and spiritual repercussions for everyone involved.
At the Pregnancy Center, we know first hand that abortion is not the easy solution to a problem, but the addition of many new problems in people’s lives that usually last for years. Abortion not only ends a life, but it hurts women, often destroys relationships and scars futures.
There are, however, positive alternatives.
As a community, we need to help those facing an unplanned pregnancy with the support they need that doesn’t lead to regret and additional pain, plus elevate and encourage the standard of purity and marriage. To do any less is to continue to allow people to suffer and children to be lost.
What is needed is for people to care.
Business group backs justice system levy
From Alex Pawlowski, board president,
Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development (SOREDI)
The SOREDI Board of Directors urges the voters of Josephine County to consider closely the immediate and long-term implications from the drastic cuts planned for the county’s criminal justice system.
SOREDI also urges support for the proposed special property tax levy as presented by the county commission as a necessary short-term solution for maintaining the business and living environment in Josephine County.
The quality of living and the excellent climate for business in Southern Oregon have long been among the most important benefits used by SOREDI to attract or retain businesses and jobs for the region’s economic growth. However, the pending loss of substantial federal funding from the Secure Schools and Communities Act poses a threat to the quality of living and business climate in Josephine County.
SOREDI regularly works with business prospects looking to Southern Oregon as a possible location for an expansion or new investment, and those potential businesses place a great deal of importance on the quality of living and positive climate for business.
The potential effects to Josephine County’s criminal justice system with the pending cuts to the district attorney’s staff; reductions in the available county jail bed capacity; and downsizing of the sheriff’s patrol will mean serious implications to the future business climate and quality of living in Josephine County.
The overall criminal justice system for Josephine County faces such drastic reductions as to place in question the ability for the county to maintain the safety and protection for existing or future citizens and businesses.
Soldier’s view: Insurgents must be out or ‘9/11’ again
From Steve Lyons
Cave Junction
I received a communication from the Patriot Guard organization that had a letter from SPC “Doc” Bryant Shurley, a 2/5 Cav, 1st CB U.S. Army medic who has been in Iraq nearly four months.
Here are some excerpts that you won’t find in reports from the major media:
“I’m tired of hearing the media’s skewed version, the politicians squabbling over what they read in a report, and the average ill-informed American ranting about things he knows nothing about. Since I’ve been here I’ve learned more about this country than a year’s worth of watching CNN.
“There are three major factions here: Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. The Shiites are in the majority, but Saddam was a Sunni, so he kept the Shiites in check. Everyone hates the Kurds, who are Christian and in the vast minority. The Kurds received the brunt of Saddam’s murderous tyranny.
“Now that he is gone, the Shiites have taken control of Baghdad. The largely peaceful Sunnis are now the victims of radical Shiite terrorism. So the young Sunni men, who can no longer go to work and support their families, do what all young men would do. They join the Sunni militia and battle the Shiites. Thus the country sits on the brink of civil war.
“But this war is between them. They largely do not concern themselves with U.S. troops. The insurgents who battle the Coalition Forces are from outside the country. And the biggest problem down here isn’t the insurgents: it’s the politicians; the local ones.
“Even though the country is controlled by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, downtown Baghdad is controlled by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Shiites follow al-Sadr and thus the prime minister does what al-Sadr says. Think of it as if a warlord controlled New York and blackmailed the president into diplomatic immunity.
“Iraq is literally a terrorist training breeding ground. They have terrorist and sniper schools. Why not? They train by teaching them to attack the military forces here. Iran and Syria have openly proclaimed that their number-one goal is to destroy the great Western Devil and the little Western Devil: America and Britain. Iran wants to control Iraq to further this purpose.
“How do the Iraqi people feel about everything? Of course they don’t want the Americans here. But they would far rather have us than the Iranians.
“The people want peace. If we leave now it will be a failure for Democracy. Iran will control Iraq, and the end result will be more terrorist attacks on America.
“The American people don’t want soldiers dying over here, but it’s better than American civilians dying over there. Do not forget 9/11. They will do it again.
“The moment we loosen our grip, they will do it again. And the only way to root out the evil here is to stop beating around the bush; increase troops and destroy the insurgents once and for all. The Iraqi government cannot do this on its own.
“We are the only ones who can stop al-Sadr. This is a real soldier’s opinion about the war.”
