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Three Streichs?
After hours of intensive study and research regarding the upcoming
mayoral contest for the City of Hood River, I have come to the
following conclusion. If current Mayor Linda Streich is re-elected to
a second term, she could, if she so desired, run for a third term.
However, she could not run for another term thereafter because as
anyone familiar with the law or baseball rules should know, three
Streichs and you’re out.
John Codino
Hood River
Freedom well-stated
Gary Simpson’s letter (Freedom’s Price, July 22) was well-written
and to the point.
I was in World War II (the entire war) and couldn’t put it any
better.
I’m tired of reading all the letters of complaint like “Time Out,
Mr. Bush,” following Gary’s letter.
Bob Thoman, Lt. Col. (Ret.)
U.S. Air Force
Hood River
Charge cycling fee
I certainly hope the County’s Bicycle Advisory Committee includes
a provision for cyclists to pay their share of the costs.
Car drivers pay a share by paying for gas taxes. Maybe it is time
for the county to issue day use permits for all cyclists over the
age of 18. Fifty bucks a month sounds like a nice starting point.
That’s still less than $2 a day.
Richard D. Kenward
Hood River
Transit idea
“An idea whose time has come.”
I really think it’s time for Hood River to consider a shuttle bus
service which takes the load off of the heavy traffic that is now
becoming a real deterrent from the city in general.
In my travels around Hood River the three areas I most frequent
are the downtown area, Cascade Commons area and the Heights.
Wouldn’t the idea of a bus which rotates through these areas, say
every 20 minutes, be a real encouragement for people who’d like to
leave cars at home?
How about an open trolley-type bus which would add some mass
transit as well as a little local color?
Added to this idea is possibility of an easy bicycle loader on the
bus which would allow those who’d like to use their bike but find
the climb from the downtown area just a bit much.
It’s time to start thinking ahead for our small town and leave the
cars at home. Anyone game?
John Bryan
Hood River
Friend of veterans
Several months ago I wrote a letter praising the past efforts of
Harvey and Leila Crapper to assure the continuance of Veteran
observations during the year, namely Memorial Day and the flag
placement upon the veteran graves.
I wondered who would step forward and take over. I really
shouldn’t have been so concerned as it seems that someone always
steps forward. This time I salute Dennis Leonard, Commander,
American Legion Post 22. His efforts are written in the current
issue of “The American Legion Magazine,” a national publication.
The article is one which the community of Hood River and The
American Legion Post 22 can be proud.
Dennis, a job well-done. Thank you.
Tom Walston
Past Commander, Post 22
Columbus, Ohio
Unpaving democracy
The daily carnage in Iraq and Afghanistan was getting kind of
tedious so thank goodness, now our foreign policy geniuses have
come up with another genius idea. Let’s open up a new front in the
War on Terror.
America’s $4 billion dollar per year investment in Israel’s
military is paying off with lots of bombs from General Electric
and planes from Boeing that can now be used to unpave the path for
“democracy on the march” (right over Beirut). How can you argue
with such proven methods of the War on Terror as precision bombing
(dropping 2,000 pound bombs on crowded modern cities) and
“degrading” the enemy’s war-making capacity (i.e. targeting
civilian infrastructure, bombing airports, shopping malls,
incinerating fleeing families, and, as a bonus, killing a team of
U.N. peacekeepers)?
Call me crazy, but I think there may be a linear relationship
between the aerial bombardment of civilian populations and the
rise of terrorism. I mean, is blowing people up to stop people
from blowing people up actually working? And is there a
fundamental difference between blowing people to bits with a bomb
strapped around your waist versus a bomb dropped with precision
guidance from 20,000 feet? The fundamental difference, of course,
is that the suicide bomber gets his marching orders from a fringe
group of radical religious zealots who are part of a
disenfranchised minority group, whereas the F-16 flying precision
bomber gets his orders from ... well, a fringe group of radical
religious zealots who are in control of the “free” world’s largest
militaries.
Speaking of whom, thank God for the voice of moral clarity
provided by Condaleezza Rice. She really, really wants a
cease-fire but not too soon, not today, or not the wrong kind of
cease-fire (or maybe the wrong color?). So we can rush another
shipment of U.S.-built bombs until something “just right” comes
along.
It’s obvious to anyone who is watching (like of course the entire
Arab world) that this is part of the neoconservative grand plan to
remake the Middle East. And we Americans are going to pay for this
war and so many other scams and boondoggles of the Bush
administration (from unwinnable wars of choice, to unsustainable
tax cuts, to corporate cronyism, to complete ineptitude on the
domestic front: energy, healthcare, and of course, disaster
relief). I believe this qualifies Bush for the coveted “most inept
and out-of-touch administration ever” award. But then, are they
inept or are they really just EVIL? Is George modeled more after,
say, Jed Clampett (or Jethro!), or is he closer to Darth Vader?
Come to think of it, Jed probably would have stopped the bombing
long ago, weel doggies!
Rod Krehbiel, M.D.
Mancora, Peru
Not top-flight
Top schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale are known to
produce the top decision makers of this country and around the
world. Recently, in the Wall Street Journal, Yale boasts that its
endowment is at $12.5 billion, enough to provide each student with
almost $1 million each.
With a president who is a graduate of one of these top-flight
schools, we haven’t had too many sound decisions coming from Mr.
Bush recently. It is time to ask ourselves if these schools are
just a name and not the finished product we so desire with all the
money spent. Yale, Princeton and Harvard are just names of
schools. Leaders of these schools have certainly made a name for
themselves by judging the book by its cover. Too much money in the
hands of students makes them reckless spenders as adults as we see
in the leadership of this country. We are certainly not getting
our money’s worth with the high price of gas, households near
bankruptcy, and endless turmoil in the Middle East with our
graduate as president of the United States.
Mike P. Brink
Gresham
See this movie
If you are a grower, a
farmer, a parent, a grandparent, a young adult, a Democrat, a
Republican, an Independent or a non-voter, you must see the movie
“An Inconvenient Truth.” The Skylight Theater has been good enough
to hold it over.
So if you won’t go see it because Al Gore is a Democrat and you
think the movie is a bunch of partisan hooey, then please tell
your children or grandchildren why you can’t be bothered to
understand the danger their planet is in.
Teresa Webb
Parkdale
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