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Letters to the Editor: Bullish on Bush's economic plan When it comes to the economy, President Bush is demonstrating genuine leadership. The economic growth package he recently proposed takes us in the right direction by accelerating the successful tax cuts of 2001, providing marriage penalty relief, and providing incentives for individuals and small businesses to save and invest. Contrary to the class warfare rhetoric attacking the president's plan, the proposal helps everyone who pays taxes, and especially the middle class. This year alone, 92 million taxpayers will receive an immediate tax cut averaging $1,083 - and 46 million married couples will get back an average of $1,714. That's not pocket change for a family struggling through uncertain economic times. Combined with the President's new initiatives to help the unemployed, this plan gets people back to work and helps every sector of our economy. Louise Tucker, Ashland It's time to stop the nonsense Wednesday (2/26) was a great day for "reality" TV. We got to watch both the President of Iraq and the President of the United States lie to us, each in their inimitable fashion. "Peace," said George Bush repeatedly while calling up 185,000 reservists from their peaceful lives. "Peace," he said while taking steps to invade a country where 51 percent of the population is under 19 years old. "Peace," he said while sweeping the Israeli/Palestinian conflict under the rug once again. "Peace," he said while bullying and bribing a coalition to accept the war policy he intends to impose. His audience at the American Enterprise Institute is his constituency. They are that "top 1 percent" who will receive his tax breaks. And they were not enthusiastic. Oh, he got a lot of polite applause, but thanks to C-Span, we could watch the faces of the audience. Nobody was smiling, the women weren't even clapping. Meanwhile, out in the country people are thoughtfully confronting our elected representatives, and we are increasingly against this stupid war. We're doing our bit. It is time for Congress to stop this nonsense. This is no way to fight "terrorism." Nan Trout, Ashland We should help the homeless I am a homeowner and "regular mom" who attended the rally to support the homeless. Surely there must be some place in Ashland that we can allow the homeless to camp. Individual problems like aggressive panhandling or litter can be addressed as needed. These people live in our community. It should not be illegal for them to sleep here. Shelley Elkovich, Ashland Guest forum: It's our town, our schools, our quality of life By Craig Gorson Ashland "Hey � Is This A Great Town or What?" I've found this clich� on my lips constantly since moving here two years ago with my wife Jody and our daughter Hillary (now 10). Ashland has lived up to and exceeded our expectations for quality of life: community, schools, spirituality, political involvement and public consciousness. We've found ourselves attending not only Hillary's elementary school activities, but AHS and SOU football, basketball and theatre, as well as city council and school board meetings. People here are so involved � so much a part of the whole community. I'm still awe-struck. As I became involved in last year's Ashland Schools Foundation "SOS campaign," I felt the need for everyone to know how much that "specialness" and quality of life we have here depends on our schools and the cultural and community base it creates. Apparently many Ashlanders already knew this, since half of the families who donated did not have children in Ashland Schools. And � the more I learned about the history of school funding and the state "takeover" several years ago, the more impressed I became with the creative ways Ashlanders have found to continue to financially support the high quality education and cultural development of its youth. But this year we started to see the problems with school funding get worse � much worse - the Legislature - the budget - the economy � and even the people of Oregon themselves (Measure 28). Where do they think the money will come from to run our schools and state? The "Money Fairy"? (See John Riordan's Tidings letter of 2/18.) It has to come from us one way or another. My own family began wondering if school conditions here were headed toward what we had left in South Florida - overcrowded classrooms, overburdened teachers, few cultural enrichment programs and a general lack of government or community support. Throughout this year, Ashland has seen many diverse opinions on school closings, budget allocations, school board decisions and other issues. Some people have commented that they are becoming discouraged and have wondered, "Is what we have done, and how much we have donated, even making a difference? Aren't things getting even worse?" We asked ourselves these same questions until we read Carol Benson's and Marilyn Schreiber's commentary in The Tidings (2/21). We haven't been as personally involved with ASF this year, but it helped to remind us that whatever decisions the local board or the state have made, or will make - and whether or not we personally agree with them - the funds which get donated through ASF can and will continue to be used to benefit our schools and our students here in Ashland. Unlike much of Oregon, Ashland continues to think independently. Over 7,000 of us voted for Measure 28. We still do the things that we know are necessary for our community and our individual rights, no matter what other communities or government agencies may do. And we certainly can choose to support our own schools. So, what should the Gorson family do about our donation this year? Well, if the state doesn't want our money, then we sure can put it to good use right here. We are not only going to make a pledge to ASF again this year, but we are also going to add what we would have paid in extra taxes had Measure 28 passed. And we are going to support a new activities levy. If all Ashlanders do the same (especially Measure 28 supporters), we will help protect that quality of life and special "Ashland feeling" for ourselves and our children's future. Note: Check out the new ASF website at: www.ashlandschoolsfoundation.org Distortions and lies must not scare us into war By G.E. DeVaul Ashland According to the Military Toxic Project, Depleted Uranium (DU) is 60 percent as radioactive as natural uranium and has a half life of 4.5 billion years. During the 1991 Gulf War to protect American oil wells, our Army reported that it fired 14,000 DU tank rounds in Iraq. The Air Force's A-b tank-killer aircraft fired 940,000 DU rounds - the equivalent of 564,000 pounds of DU. When a DU round explodes, up to 70 percent of the DU material oxidizes and scatters as tiny toxic uranium smoke particles. DU particles are carried by the wind and water and migrate into the soil and food. DU ingested through breathing, swallowing, and wounds lodge permanently in bones and tissue. Veterans exposed to DU are subject to cancer and numerous other diseases and their unborn children may suffer physical deformities. The United Nations and numerous medical and scientific groups who have visited Iraq have reported an enormous increase in the number of children with cancer and those who are being born with frightful defonnities. DU and the massive destruction of the civil and industrial framework of Iraq and the trade embargo that prevents necessary imports have caused the deaths of a million and a half people (over 500,000 children) from war, hunger, radiation and disease since 1991. Now Bush junior wants to attack them again to control all of Iraq's oil, so he says that Saddam is evil. Saddam kills his own people with chemicals. Saddam has weapons of mass destruction and he will attack the United States. But there are many nations who have leaders who are as evil as Saddam and who have more weapons of mass destruction than Iraq. Bush is not threatening them with war. Iraq has more oil for our corporations. Iraq has not attacked the United States and has not killed any of us. The September 11 terrorists were Saudi Arabians. Osama bin Laden is a Saudi Arabian. What is the score? In 1991 George senior attacked and killed one million five hundred thousand Iraqi people (500,000 were children) within the boundaries of Iraq. Iraq did not invade our nation and they killed ZERO Americans. The United States used the most terrible weapons of mass destruction - nuclear weapons. George Bush senior and our Congress committed a greater crime against humanity than the Saddam monster. If Bush junior has his way. Our military will use nuclear weapons again on a nation that has not recovered from the first war. The Bush Administration and the Republican Congress have given giant corporations and the wealthiest people in the nation 1.3 trillion dollars and they are planning to give the same people another trillion dollars. They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars moving military equipment and our sons and daughters to foreign nations where they will offer their lives and where they will maim and slaughter thousands of Iraqi civilians, children and soldiers. Bush and Congress are cutting all the budgets that help the old, the ill, the handicapped, the children, the poor, the unemployed and the educational system. Many of us believe the trillions of dollars given to corporations, millionaires and billionaires and the billions of dollars spent on war and the billions of dollars that giant corporations do not pay in income taxes should be collected by our government and used to solve the thousands of problems here in our own country. We are being frightened into war by distortions and lies. Tell Bush, NO WAR. 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