Letters to the Editor
From our weekly issue dated May 13, 2009
(Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including statements made as fact, are strictly those of the letter-writers.)
Typed, double-spaced letters are considered for publication. Hand-written letters that are double-spaced and legible also can be considered. “Thank you” submissions are not accepted as letters.
Gossip harmful
From Christine Dods
Cave Junction
Gossip tears apart families and ruins friendships. My husband and I have been vending tie-dye and blankets since last summer on the dirt lot next to the Junction Inn.
We have a city license and pay rent for our space. Someone has decided to spread a rumor that I got busted for not having a city license to vend. (I know who she is, and she knows who she is.)
I am 48, never had a traffic ticket, and recently passed a fingerprint check to qualify for care-giving. The only thing busted is two fingers from a fall off a ladder.
Our business took a hard nose dive the past 10 months. We lost our home, and had to sell most of our possessions we acquired during 21 years of marriage. What I need most are prayers, and friendly faces to share a laugh with.
Fight creeping blight
From Roy Lindsay
Grants Pass
A creeping blight is slowly encroaching upon the fabric of free peoples around the world, especially the western world.
Whether it is called big government, fascism, socialism, progressivism, or even communism, it is beginning to strangle thought and restrict the free exchange of ideas. To many, this increasingly dangerous contagion is beginning to manifest itself in more and more aspects of human endeavors. Unrestricted and unopposed it has led nations and regions of the world down the path of extreme hardships and even self-destruction.
Despite the fact that many recognize the dangers that this forebodes, the warnings go ever more unheeded and are dismissed as being extremist rantings and non-intelligent blathering of an unenlightened populace. The sad truth is that there are many today who are indeed unenlightened because they have been forced to attend re-education camps – commonly known as government schools.
A true educational opportunity is provided in a vibrant environment where everyday experiences allow probing questions that are actively sought and encouraged. Truth is sought and questioned from all angles. There is no attempt to cover up or to realign facts to fit a predetermined agenda.
The outcome of education is not to train students to act and do things in a certain way, but to encourage each student to question what is being taught and to develop the insights and skills to question and find out for themselves that what is being discussed is indeed truthful and accurate. Personal agendas and the detrimental view that some are more qualified than others to determine the outcomes and experiences of individuals is one of the manifestations of this blight.
Individualism must be respected, nurtured and not only encouraged, but demanded if this encroaching blight is to be halted. Rugged individualism was the bedrock of this nation’s foundation and support. Every man, woman and child has the potential to expand and achieve. Unfortunately, it was government intervention that prevented certain classes and races from initially being free to achieve their dreams.
That freedom has been realized for the most part during the last half of the 20th century. However, this new blight on the consciousness of American citizens has nearly reversed that progress. Instead of just a particular group or segment of the population being shackled with restrictions, the entire body of the U.S. populace is now faced with an even more insidious disease – political correctness in the guise of working together.
Artificial ceilings, debt, and universal this or that all constrain individualism and inhibit allowing nearly everyone to achieve their fullest potential. America can only achieve greatness when everyone also is allowed to approach greatness. America can never succeed to reach the great heights it can if individuals are never allowed to fail. Bailing out this company and saving that group or segment of the population can only cause harm and prevent everyone from realizing their dreams.
Political correctness is a smoke screen for a concentration camp for bright thinkers and innovative searchers. That concentration camp is now widespread and appears unstoppable. However, it will be stopped, and those confined in this gray life of suppressed achievers will one day break forth into the bright daylight of awareness and possibility.
It is time right now for all thinking individuals to claim their inherent rights to be individuals and be allowed to be themselves doing what they want to do and reach for the stars.
Free stuff for illegals
From John Russell
Salem, Ore.
The “illegal alien rally” at the U.S. Capitol was a reminder to all U.S. citizens of the billions of dollars they pay so that the illegal aliens can have:
Free food stamps, free welfare assistance, free housing, free emergency health care, free education for their children in their native language, free Spanish interpreters, free government documents and forms printed in Spanish, and preferential treatment throughout nearly all our government agencies.
But the illegal aliens and many of our lawmakers believe we also need to reward illegal behavior with U.S. citizenship.
The purpose of immigration law is to “limit” and ensure that the people coming into this country are skilled, productive, self-reliant, law-obeying people willing to adopt our language and culture and will not put a drain on public resources.
Sad for Goodwill workers
From T. Pino
Cave Junction
I am vexed by the closing of the Goodwill store in Cave Junction. Their claims of helping people who are unskilled and need work badly seem strange when they are now putting quite a few of our valley people out of work because profits quit growing.
The big guys decided we weren’t making enough money for them. I understand the ones at the top of the Goodwill pyramid are quite wealthy beyond the scope of those of us who need to find clothing at Goodwill. Yes, we are in a recession and the economy is tough.
It seems to me that this is when the really wealthy people could be more understanding of what is happening at the lower-income levels and maybe ride through a bit of a downturn to help the ones who really need it. But no, not Goodwill. I will never shop at another Badwill store. I feel sad for the nice folks who worked there.
Korean War veterans
From Marvin Sprinkle
Cave Junction
The Korean War Veterans Association is forming Chapter 315 in Josephine County. It is long past due for us to let the country know about our parts in “The Forgotten War.”
We want people to know about the struggles undergone by the brave men of our country during the early 1950s in the United Nations Korean Police Action. It was not known as a war until late in the 20th century.
Our mission is to care for our veterans, perpetuate our legacy, remember our missing and fallen, maintain their memorials and remember our POWs. We’ve been forgotten for too long.
It should also be noted that there has never been a treaty signed between North and South Korea. Only a cease fire. That means there is still a state of war between these two adversaries. This also means we still have service men and women in harm’s way on the 38th parallel as you read this. More than 1,200 service personnel have lost their lives since the armistice was signed.
Eligible people -- who have seen honorable service in any of the Armed Forces of the United States, defined as Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard -- can join if said service was within Korea including territorial waters and air space at any time from Sept. 3, 1945 to the present date or was outside Korea from June 25, 1950 to Jan. 31, 1955.
We meet at 1400 hours on third Mondays at Shilo Inn in Grants Pass. For information contact Neal M. McCain, vice commander of Oregon (541) 660-6104; or Dan D. Warden, chapter president, at 597-2979.
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Cave Junction kidnapping
From George Lee McElroy
Cave Junction
On April 14, Ray Karczewski was stopped by Deputy Corey Krauss for not having state-issued license plates displayed on his automobile. Ray was handcuffed and arrested, taken to jail and turned loose (no booking, no arrest).
By legal definition, he was kidnapped -- “the unlawful taking and carrying away of a human being by force...”
The people have a common right to travel in their automobile. Common rights come from our Lord. Rights cannot be taken away arbitrarily. They can, however, be surrendered for privileges requiring licenses.
If a man wishes not to join a corporation (state of Oregon) or its creation (DMV) by sacrificing his rights for privileges, can he remain free from the imposition of corporate rules, regulations, codes, acts, and court rulings? No. If you stand up and vigilantly protect your rights, a corrupt judicial system will grind you down and take your last penny.
Ray was cited on a charge of driving while suspended. How can a state agency suspend a privilege that was never requested or issued?
Law enforcement pirates are legally plundering the public openly with impunity by impounding automobiles, recovering stolen property (guns) and taking them for themselves. One of these days they are going to steal from someone who refuses to surrender their property without a fight: Like the cattlemen in the movie Open Range.
Wonder why there are 10 to 20 vehicular stops in the Police Blotter every week? If automobiles are impounded in the Cave Junction city limits, the impound release fee goes to the city. If outside city limits, the fee goes to the sheriff’s department. The fee is $100. The hook-up fee is $150 to tow your auto to the one-and-only approved impound yard in Cave Junction. Seem a little exorbitant?
Ray was not cited for not displaying state license plates, the only reason for the stop. I wonder why? Could it be that he was lawfully claiming and exercising this right?
“Woe to those who decree unjust statutes and to those who continually record unjust decisions, to deprive the needy of justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their rights” (Isaiah 10: 1, 2).
About Nona’s Place
From Dusty Bouchard
Selma
On April 15 my husband Richard’s mom died. She had lived at Nona’s Place in Cave Junction for the past two years.
Corey, Tami and Michelle provided exceptional care to her. They really care about the people they have living there. That they cared was obvious in so many ways. It didn’t matter when we went to see mom, she was always clean, neatly dressed; her hair was always combed and neat.
She had to wear incontinence garments and never ever smelled of urine. If she had a doctor appointment, she was always ready when we arrived to pick her up. She was not always the sweetest person with all the physical problems she had, and could be a real pill at times, but the ladies were always kind and patient with her.
They were always willing to pick things up for her when they went to the store, and never complained. Mom was always willing to tell you how she felt about things and she always said how nice they were and how much she liked living there with them.
I can’t think of a better place for mom to have been in. They became so close to her. When we arrived at her passing, unfortunately a few minutes too late, Corey was beside her bed holding her hand and crying. This is caring. We would recommend Nona’s Place to anyone.
‘Domestic violence flu’
From The Illinois Valley Safe House Alliance staff
Cave Junction
Casey Gwinn recently wrote 52 Days of Domestic Violence Flu in America and we think it’s worth reading. (Following is part of what he wrote).
After more than 30 years of the modern domestic violence movement, we still struggle for funding, we face budget cuts and reductions when the economy goes bad (though domestic violence rises), and we rarely are the primary focus of public policy-makers in America.
Recent news is consumed with coverage of swine flu, an important public-health issue in America.
As of May 2, there have been 167 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States and one death.
But there has been little news about the mass killings of 68 people across America during the past 52 days, with men doing all the killing and virtually all related to men with a history of violence against women.
U.S. public health officials fear a global pandemic from the so-called H1-N1 virus. A pandemic is defined as a global outbreak of disease that causes serious illness or death and then spreads easily from person to person worldwide. Pandemics differ from seasonal outbreaks of an illness. The recent news quoted many officials talking about high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss from pandemics.
We must all be vigilant about addressing swine flu in the days ahead. But the pandemic of violence by men against women, men and children has killed more people during the past 52 days in America than swine flu. This domestic violence pandemic has been occurring for hundreds of years, causing high levels of mental and physical illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss.
There have been 12 mass killings during the past 52 days in the United States.
In 11, the killer had a history of abuse against women or they were directly related to or defined as domestic violence. Some 68 people have been killed in those mass killings including 20 children and seven police officers.
We can honor those who have been killed in the pandemic of domestic violence flu by identifying their killers and listing them. Among the 12 incidents they include:
March 10: Michael McLendon, 28, killed 10 people, including his mother, grandmother, aunt and uncle, and the wife and child of a sheriff’s deputy in rural Alabama. He then killed himself. The worst mass killing in the history of Alabama killed: Virginia White, 74; James White, 55; Tracy Wise, 34; Dean Wise, 15; James Starling, 34; Lisa McClendon, Michael’s mom; Bruce Maloy, 51; Andrea Myers, 31; and Corrine Gracy Myers, 18 months.
March 21: Lovelle Mixon, a parolee with a history of violence against women, sexual assault, and other violent crimes shot and killed four Oakland Police officers; Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40; Officer John Hege, 41, SWAT Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43; and SWAT Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35 before he was shot and killed by police.
March 29: Robert Stewart, 45, shot and killed eight people at Pinelake Health and Rehab Center in Robbins, N.C.. He came to the center seeking to kill his wife, Wanda Neal, 43, a nurse’s assistant. She was working in the Alzheimer Unit when he entered, and survived after herding residents into the TV room and locking the door. The dead were Tessie Garner, 88; Lillian Dunn, 89, Jessie Musser, 88; Bessie Hendrick, 78; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; Louise Decker, 98; and Jerry Avent, 39. Jerry, a newly hired nurse at the facility, was shot 27 times, but continued protecting patients until the final shot. Police estimated his efforts saved at least 10 other patients and staff members.
So, we are not done. We all must redouble our efforts to raise awareness, call for more resources in the war by men against women and children. We must call it what it is, it is not Violence Against Women. It is most often Violence By Men Against Women. All the killers in the mass killings of the past 52 days have been men.
The next time you hear someone say they cannot afford to keep a Family Justice Center or domestic violence shelter program open because of the economy, ask them to read this article. Next time, you hear someone say that we don’t need any new, evolving, innovative approaches to family violence prevention because our current service delivery models are doing the job well; ask them to read the list of 68 names from the most recent 52 bloody days of domestic violence in 2009.
Don’t be silent; don’t let elected officials, or policy-makers, or bureaucrats, or disinterested community members ignore the tragedy of domestic violence.
We must address swine flu in America and around the world, but we must also take guns away from men who are violent and start spending the time, energy, and money necessary to stop the pandemic of violence by men against women that is destroying families, killing women, men, and children, and continuing to destroy the lives of so many.
(Casey Gwinn is a former San Diego City Attorney. He founded the internationally recognized San Diego Family Justice Center credited with reducing domestic violence homicides in San Diego by more than 60 percent. He now serves as president of the National Family Justice Center Alliance. He is co-author of Hope for Hurting Families: Creating Family Justice Centers Across America.)
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