Document text
Sign the referendum Nov 23, 2003 12:00 AM A A In this year's Legislative session, Republicans and Democrats alike voted for one of the largest tax increases in Oregon's history. They did so at a time when jobs are scarce, businesses are fleeing the state and working families struggle to make ends meet. For this reason, the Libertarian Party is working with Citizens for a Sound Economy, the Taxpayer Association of Oregon and other groups to force a Feb. — special election on the matter. If anyone would like to sign a petition or volunteer to gather signatures, please call the Libertarian Party of Oregon toll free at 800-829-1992. The deadline for signature is Nov. 25. ' Robert K. Stock, Medford, chairman, Libertarian Party of Jackson County Cover all possibilities Regarding the sex abuse awareness workshop: I can assume Mr. Michael Fansler is going to include other classifications than the two mentioned in quotes by him in the article in the Nov. 12 issue of the Mail Tribune. Others that should be included are: teachers, ministers, policemen, baby-sitters, youth leaders, grandfathers, brothers, neighbors, relatives, etc., etc. I think it would be easier to just say any male or female could be the sex abuser. That covers all possibilities. ' Lorraine Mussack, Talent — Where is the outrage? I have been watching with outrage the situation with our schools and lack of funds. Is everyone really on Prozac? It doesn't seem to bother anyone that we are losing not only invaluable programs and resources for children, but principals and teachers will have to work longer hours with even less materials and pay, and ultimately, the future of our society is at stake. The proposed temporary tax increase figures sound reasonable ' more reasonable than sending our future generations into the fragile and demanding future of this country unprepared. When school shootings occur, people ask, Why? Here's a thought: Putting schools on the back burner has created a seething beast filled with rage and resentment. Children are learning one thing in this farce we call the educational system: that society doesn't care about them. Why should they care about themselves or society? When President Bush announced his plans for Iraq, we saw thousands of people voicing their opinions publicly; if it was women in black or flying the flag, people were out there screaming and yelling. Who will be the voice for our children? Where is the outrage? Children cannot vote and desperation cannot be heard above bureaucracy. ' Megan Christopher, Medford No respect for our heritage I am saddened by the fact that a group of secular humanists, with no respect for our history, were able to have the Ten Commandments removed from an Alabama courtroom. In 1934, our country built a new Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. I recently had an opportunity to tour this beautiful building. There is a pediment on the east exterior wall of this structure which contains some large statues. The central and highest figure on the pediment is Moses holding the Ten Commandments. On the inside of the Supreme Court Building, above the judges' bench, is another large and prominent stone figure of Moses holding the Ten Commandments. The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (John Jay) made the following comment: No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian religion applied and accepted by all the classes. Should our Republic ever forget this fundamental precept of governance, men are certain to shed their responsibilities for licentiousness and this great experiment will then surely be doomed. Is there any wonder why we have so many problems in this country? ' Dan Sickler, Medford Bush killed more The figures are in. Some 21,000-55,000 Iraqis have died, so far, in the war. One-third to one-fifth of the casualties are noncombatants. People just trying to get by but ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It turns out precision targeting wasn't so precise and a lot of smart bombs were pretty dumb. The figures include deaths from destruction of infrastructure such as water treatment plants and the electrical grid. The estimate was developed by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. The wide range of the estimate is due to the difficulty of counting casualties in a dysfunctional country. The U.S. government is no help. The Defense Department says it doesn't keep track of collateral damage. Why not? If their goal is to avoid injuring civilians shouldn't they be monitoring how well they are doing? The administration wants it to be an antiseptic war, an heroic war, a war from 30,000 feet, a war without human costs or consequences. Yet the truth is, George W. Bush killed a lot more Iraqis this year than Saddam Hussein did. ' Jim Bauermeister, Medford Get priorities straight I read with incredulity how a local businessman has expressed concern about pay-to-play sports programs, and now wants to raise money for athletics and athletes in the public schools. While the intentions are good, the priorities are misplaced. Where was business when the Medford school district cut 10 child development specialists, cut book budgets, announced cuts to music programs and announced the first tier of layoffs, or when teachers were laid off last year losing two weeks' pay? While athletic programs have a place in the overall school environment and I do not discount their value for some students, in times of limited funding are schools supposed to educate our youth for the future or groom future quarterbacks? This selective support has an elitist feel. The fact is the majority of students are not impacted at all by sports. As the spouse of a public school teacher, I have watched with great dismay as teachers are asked to do more with less. While teachers continue to make economic and time sacrifices for the sake of educating children, many businesses lobby against the surcharge that will keep our schools and other social services adequately funded. Let's get our priorities straight. ' Margaret Garrington, Ashland School should pick up bill In regards to Kids can always work from Patricia Green on Nov. 15: Maybe Patricia has no kids or her kids aren't enrolled in extracurricular activities, have 10 hours of homework a night, or a combination thereof. I think it's a little unrealistic to expect a kid to work to pay for sports. I think a donation of what the kid or the parents can pay is needed, but a kid needs to focus on their homework and their extracurricular activities, not worrying about how this job they should have is going to pay their bills that the public school should be picking up. ' Steve Ryan, Medford Time to take a stand Judge Roy Moore is a hero. He took a stand for what is good and right and what this country once stood for. I am sick of this spiritually neutered society we live in where we dare not publicly breathe the name of our creator, yet we're expected to endure filth in the name of free expression. It's time for all believers to do as Judge Moore has ' take a stand in your homes, in your workplace and in your church, regardless of the personal cost, for what is good and right. God's law gives life. Our founding fathers knew this. Millions have died for this. Do not fear the ACLU or the courts. Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. It is time to take a stand. ' Greg Mann, Medford How about that? To all the Bush haters: I hope some of you listened to the interview on TV of Democratic Sen. Zell Miller from Georgia. In this interview, he had nothing but good things to say about the Bush administration. Two points he made that stand out in my mind are as follows: He said that of all 10 Democratic candidates running for president, not one could do the job that President Bush is doing. He then said that in the 2004 election, he was voting for Bush for a second term! On Nov. 8, a letter from Robert Carson was published entitled, If justice had prevailed. This letter went on to state that If Gore had won the election, several bad things would not have happened. I won't bother to list his comments. I guess Carson must be a psychic to make us believe things would be so much better with Gore. After all, conditions could have been much worse! Who knows? Isn't it too bad the Democrats don't have much to be happy about. Even as strong a Democratic state as California has a Republican governor! ' Elmer Wick, Phoenix Loves new station I would like to add my name to those who appreciate the new easy-listening station. I have been bereft of a good station to keep on in my car when I drive ever since KMED went to the talk-show format. I love it! Thanks, KEZX! ' Wilma Knowles, Medford Soldiers hold losing tickets Every American soldier in Iraq is holding a losing lottery ticket. The question is: Whose number will be drawn today? I propose that a different kind of lottery be established. I recommend that the president, the vice-president, the Cabinet and all members of Congress who support the war, place their own names and the names of all the adults in their immediate families into a lottery for military replacement personnel. Each time a soldier died, a name would be drawn from this elite pool of patriots to take over the post of the fallen soldier. In fairness, war veterans such as John Kerry and Colin Powell, and opponents of the war, would be exempt from the call to service. If this proposal were enacted, our fearless leaders would soon devise an orderly, expeditious exit strategy for Iraq. If the law were made permanent, politicians would not be so cavalier about putting our soldiers in harm's way. Maybe Congress would even find reasons to increase a soldier's hazard pay from & 36;17 a day and his death benefits from & 36;12,000. In the meantime, however, the only things that our soldiers keep getting from Washington are lip service, flag waving and more losing lottery tickets. ' John C. McColgan, Talent The war on altruism What's with the neo-con war against altruism, in its dismantling of the social safety net? They've deemed a man's sole worth in his ability to put his back into the turning of the corporate machinery; that aging and incapacitation are punishable offenses against a well-oiled economy. I thought our national pride lay in our upholding principles of human worth, our intention to demonstrate to the people of the world something better than streets littered with the sick and the dead, and neighborhoods ravaged by poverty and crime. Lately, they've claimed such as their pretext for invasion. Yet, their domestic policies repudiate humanity in the malignant effect they are having on our neighborhoods and in the economic abuse of those among us least able to care for ourselves. Apparently, virtue is only a guise, something feigned to the world to justify wars against it. ' Ryk Tompkins, Central Point Filled with good news Congressmen George Nethercutt (R-Wash.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.), two of the administration's most faithful water carriers, returned from Iraq filled with good news. The story of what we've done in Iraq is remarkable, said Nethercutt. It is a better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day which, heaven forbid, is awful. Walden, who departed Iraq accompanied by the bodies of three dead Americans, also reported that the Iraqis are happy to be liberated and pleased by all we've done for them (presumably this includes the new Burger King restaurant at the Baghdad International Airport). The dead soldiers, he assured us, died for a good cause. It's understandable that conservatives would put a positive spin on the president's failed Iraq policy. But to do so by describing ordinary events as remarkable and, worse, by downplaying casualties among American troops is a sacrilege, it's beneath contempt, and it's the sickest kind of partisan politics. ' Bill Sherwood, Medford Welcome to Orange County The front-page article in the Mail Tribune regarding how much money was raised to fight the charter amendment clearly shows the Rogue Valley is owned and controlled by real estate people, developers and building contractors. Welcome to the re-enactment of the 1950s through 1970s in Orange County, Calif. End result ' wall-to-wall houses and city. ' Iva Combs, Medford