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UNFAIR SENTENCES After following the saga of "Flames of Disssent" and reaching what appeared to be the conclusion (12/7), my heart sank as I read the sentencing. I was looking at a list of apparently ordinary people — most of them educated — getting a "recommended sentence" of sometimes more than 14 years! As much as I don't like to see vandalism, especially in the form of arson, I cannot help realizing that whatever brought these folks to act like they did was pure despair and very likely not being heard. We have not even talked enough about the fundamental reason why they felt compelled to act like this; we just focused on the destruction of private and federal property. It sounds and looks better on the news. These very people had only one message in mind: "This is the only earth we know of; we don't want it gone!" The message of Authority is clear: hard cracking down in order to make examples and discourage others to follow in the tracks of the "eco-terrorists" — how convenient a word. Don't get any ideas, now! Go back to your homes; everything is going to be all right. Come on! We all know there are so many worse crimes out there that hardly resulted in two or maybe three years in the can! One thing is sure: For the "eco-terrorists," they will find jail room. Maybe by releasing a dozen sex offenders or corrupt politicians. (Oh, that's right! The latter get promoted.) I send a message to whoever rejoiced at seeing the sentencing: Don't you like to breathe clean air? Don't you enjoy walking in our magnificent nature? When was the last time you (not your landscaper!) planted a tree? What would be your reaction if someone was threatening the life of your mother? Look at the big picture and understand. Your Mother is everything around you: the air you breathe, the water you drink, everything! Alby Thoumsin, Springfield
IT TAKES SOME TIME Regarding Ann Tattersall's letter, asking "Where are the 150 state troopers you promised to deploy right after the election?" (12/7): That is in the governor's proposed budget for 2007-09, which must first be enacted by the Legislature and signed by the governor before it goes into effect on July 1, 2007. We're currently still operating on the 2005-07 budget, which was enacted by the 2005 Legislature on the basis of revenue forecasts made in late 2004 and which has to last until next June 30. In any event, creating the positions, advertising for them, taking applications, doing background checks, hiring them, buying them equipment, cars, etc., and doing any necessary training, takes a while, too. You don't just hire them from the people loitering on the corner looking for day labor. I drive the freeway every day (in a carpool!), and I too would welcome more enforcement of existing laws. But you can't fix overnight budget cuts from the past 20 years. For the past three or four months, employees in all of the state government's departments have been working on their budget requests for 2007-09. That's right; they have to decide now how much money to ask for to get them through the next 30 months or so. Then they send their requests to the governor, who works over the numbers with his own priorities in mind and draws up his own "governor's proposed budget." In January, the Legislature meets and spends about four months doing various politicking until a budget forecast comes out in about mid-April, and that's the "crystal ball" number they'll work with to put together their own budget, which they hope to send to the governor for his signature sometime before July 1. And then they (and all of us) hope that there's no major downturn in the economy, a major disaster, an unforseen rise in petroleum prices, a war, mass layoffs in homebuilding or tech or some other major sector sometime in 2007 or 2008, which will result in a lot less income tax revenue coming in than they forecast. It's a complex process, made more so by the fact that the Legislature can only meet every other year. Gary Whitehouse, Albany
STAY IN IRAQ INDEFINITELY! The problem with unrealistic peacenik utopians is their flawed theory of how to handle the war in Iraq! Any first-year psychology student can easily predict that if we just leave Iraq tomorrow, the terrorist jihadists will certainly view this as a major victory! And this will seek to encourage both new recruitment and more terrorist acts on a grand scale, not to mention their plan to overthrow the new and fragile democratically elected government in Iraq and therefore the creation of an al Qaeda state 100 times larger then Afghanistan was! Now let me make it crystal clear that I am not an apologist for President Bush! I did agree with removing Saddam Hussein who murdered close to three million human beings, and yes, some with weapons of mass destruction. I also agree that our presence in Iraq has probably caused the terrorists to attack us there, rather then New York, Chicago, and D.C.! However, I certainly disagree with the planning and execution of the war! In other words, the Bush administration should have listened to the expert generals' advice and given them ALL of the troop strength and supplies needed to accomplish the task! The civilian leadership should have listened to the voice of history; then they would have realized that micro-managing wars from the White House just doesn't work! A lesson learned from President Johnson's Vietnam episode! But it is equally idiotic to completely compare the current conflict to Vietnam! (We lost 58,000 troops there, and about 3,000 in Iraq!) It is always easy to second guess and view things in retrospect; however it is apparent that we are in this war, whether we like it or not, so we have some difficult choices to make. Tom Bush , Eugene
ZERO WASTE Kudos to Cascadia Wildlands Project for another successful fundraising auction (Dec. 2) this year. A delicious meal donated by local eateries was served on their set of unmatched ceramic plates accompanied by the silverware and cups that they have collected to make this and the annual Hoedown "zero waste" events. The 150 to 200 place settings are available to other groups who wish to avoid using disposables. Contact Cascadia Wildlands Project at info@cascwild.org or 434-1463 for more information. Kit Kirkpatrick, Master Recycler, Eugene
SKEWED PRIORITIES Backing up letters by Todd Huffman and Paul Prensky, is there any holiday anymore that isn't more about buying and selling, leading to more jobs and profits, than about the original event? Was there ever? Is there any profession that's doing well that isn't more concerned with jobs and profits than products and services? Is there any environmental or social problem that isn't mostly about overpopulation, leading, for instance, to the need for more jobs, as well as more government control, therefore "elites," therefore corruption? Dan Robinson Eugene
REAL POLICE WORK In response to these letters about the Eugene police, I side with those extremely disappointed in Eugene police officers. The police department needs to take its priority off raising funds for the EPD via traffic tickets, bike tickets and MIPs and do some real police work. Until then, the police here do not deserve our respect and will not be getting votes for more funding. I work one block south of the police station in downtown. When two very young boys under our supervision disappeared from a class, we called all the proper authorities to find them. The Eugene Guides showed up in about three minutes, but the police took 45 minutes to get there. One block! At another job in downtown, I was held up at gunpoint. Police arrived in a half hour. When everything of value was stolen out of my home, dispatch informed me that the police were just too busy and that an officer would call me within 48 hours to take the report over the phone. On the flip side, Eugene is teeming with traffic cops. Not even one full block out of a parking lot, I got a $100 seatbelt ticket. The next time you a spot a cruiser hiding in a bush waiting for speeders, know that there is someone else in Eugene who is being told that the police are just too busy. Why can't they train some of our highly efficient metermaids to dust fingerprints, take reports and follow some leads? Yuki Conlon, Eugene
WHO'S A REAL PACIFIST? My apologies to Vip Short (12/14) and anyone else who understandably misread the closing four words of my letter (11/22). I wrote that letter in a bit of a hurry, and chose my words poorly. Please let me say right now, for the record: I do not consider violence or the threat of violence to be an acceptable, or possible, means for positive social change. I apologize for giving the opposite impression. However, I must go on to challenge the large group of people in this town and elsewhere who consider themselves to be pacifists. Many of them, like Vip and others, are committed activists, not at all naïve, who regularly put their principles into practice by demonstrating and advocating for change. However, for others, it's all too easy to swear off violence (living in a relatively peaceful, protected society such as ours) and then point the finger at anarchists and radicals whose methods of protest they find offensive. How many of these self-proclaimed pacifists would then turn around and call the police without a second thought if they felt threatened by a belligerent homeless person? Is that pacifism? The Iraq War has gone on for three years now, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. Some pacifists have doggedly protested the war, week after week, rain or shine — but thousands more have not. Is it pacifism to continue to pay taxes for this war? Many pacifists resist war taxes, but many more don't — ironically enough because they fear being subjected to the violence of their own government. Yet we continue to allow this government to persist in threatening us and other people the world over because we are too afraid to make our voices heard. Is that pacifism? As I said, I do not condone violence in any form. What I do encourage is an acknowledgement of both the urgency of our problems and the failure of our political system to solve or even address these problems. In my mind, to know about and yet fail to prevent violence is in itself a form of violence — and of that, none of us is innocent. Chris Calef, Eugene
A HOLIDAY TALE Once upon a time (back in the early 1990s) a group of elves emerged from the woods around Fall Creek and rekindled a community tradition. At this time of the year and under cover of darkness, they did a simple act. They decorated a covered bridge. Simple and elegant, swags of fir boughs with red ribbons graced the gabled ends of the bridge. It was done as a gift to the community who use the bridge daily and those who by chance drove through on their way to someplace else. It made folks feel good! After a couple of years of secret decorating, the community at large took up a donation with hopes that lights might be added to the display. By now, the elves had bedecked a second historic bridge in the neighborhood, and the larger village over the hill was asking those elves to decorate the largest bridge in the area. A licensed electrical elf donated time and materials to install service boxes at the bridges, and even the utility company elves supplied approved drop lines. The gift was embraced by the community, people smiled as they drove through the bridges glowing warmly, and they were joyful. There was a rub to this tale. An ogre lived under the bridges. After a few years the ogre approached the elves and demanded that they pay homage. A permit was required and a responsible party had to be designated. Flaggers, time lines, legal requirements. No longer red ribbon, but red tape. So be it! An elder elf stepped forward each year and took responsibility and signed, appeasing the ogre. A couple of years passed, and the burden of the gift began to tell on the elves. The community expected the decorations and anticipated the event. Some even became impatient. Finally, the ogre reared its head again. This time, in addition to the permits, insurance was required. A million gold pieces to assure that injury or damage to individuals, personal property, vehicles, the bridges themselves or other unknowns would be addressed. Yes, fear had slipped into the dance. The elder elf was weary and deferred the gift to others. For another year or two the project continued. The ogre contacted the elf each year and demanded the homage from someone, anyone. The elder elf did not know who was now responsible. No one stepped forward to sign — and the bridges became dark again. So, this holiday tale comes to an end. The rekindled tradition has been extinguished. The covered bridges in Fall Creek are still a beautiful part of Oregon history. They just don't burn as brightly at this time of year to evoke peace, happiness, community and good will towards each other. Wishing all peace on earth. Jef P. Jalof, Best Friends Farm, Fall Creek
GIVE FROM THE HEART In the Dec. 18 Newsweek, columnist Jan Bryant Quinn recommends that holiday charitable givers should know more about the nonprofits to which they give. An online site that rates charities recommended by Bryant Quinn is CharityNavigator.org The good news for those of a generous bent during the holidays is that United Way of Lane County (UWLC) has been awarded Charity Navigator's highest ranking: four stars. This ranking reflects not only on UWLC's top-notch fiscal management; it also reflects on the 40-plus regional agencies that are certified by UWLC. If you are moved to help others less fortunate this holiday season, consider doing so through United Way. Through our countywide network of over 40 local agencies and 60 different programs, the hungry are fed, the homeless are housed, children are cherished, seniors are supported and permanent solutions to critical issues are sought. And these services are being provided across the county from Florence to Oakridge, Springfield to Cottage Grove, and every place in between. For a full list of the local nonprofits currently certified by UWLC, you can visit our website at www.unitedwaylane.orgThen, you can give from your heart trusting that your generous spirit is playing out with the greatest integrity in the lives of Lane County's many struggling individuals and families. Cheryl N. Crumbley, United Way Of Lane County
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