Good journey starts
Only 100 days? Is that all it’s taken to have a
president who:
Addresses our shame of Guantanamo Bay, and intends to
close it;
Declares torture will not be used under his
administration;
Restores esteemed scientists to appropriate weight in
decisions;
Breaks through with smiles, handshakes and diplomacy in
corners previously forbidden or ignored;
Challenges our people to do community service, and they
respond;
Realizes that a policy which hasn’t worked for 50 years
with Cuba needs changing;
Shows respect for other governments and other ways of
doing things;
Exhibits patriotism in a way that admits our failings
and seeks to change them; and
Seeks to meet the future with energy, health and
medical changes.
No one can cheer our economic disaster. But wise
economists in both parties have said spending was
necessary, and that he may not be doing even enough. He
inherited this uncharted territory, and we’re all paying
for it.
Other than this, the wonder of his positive impact on
the world is totally heartwarming. I can’t forget the
beaming faces in Strasbourg, France, as he went through
the crowd after speaking. In foreign policy, people may
actually talk first, shoot later.
The joy of the journey with Barack Obama is awesome.
I’ll take 1,000 days at least!
Roz Luther
Underwood, Wash.
Think again
America! Enemies multiply against you — think again.
Agree with God that your deeds are evil and turn back to
him before you are destroyed.
God appeals to you — each American — by his prophet
Isaiah: “Come now, let’s be reasonable, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall
become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you
shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and
rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth
of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18-20)
God is not mocked! Just as he punished nations in the
past, including ancient Israel, he is punishing modern
America. Can’t you see what’s happening? By our abortions,
perversions, and greed — and by rejecting His rule — we
have determined our own destruction, and there is but one
escape!
Surrender to Jesus Christ, showing remorse for your
offenses against His law, and he promises you “the good of
the land.” Continue in pride and rebellion and you will be
devoured. He has spoken!
Thomas Nowack
Hood River
Stop profiteering
I’m a veteran, Army medic 1967-70. About war
profiteering:
War profiteers are corporations and individuals who
provide goods and services for military conflicts for
profit (usually exorbitant).
German war profiteers built tanks, planes and rockets
hoping to cash in for larger booty. Evil failures. Spain
wallowed in war profiteering for centuries, demolishing
fabulous, complex civilizations in Central and South
America for gold. Evil greedheads. The Dutch, English.
French, Japanese, Russians, etc., each had a go at this
ancient attempt to acquire riches through publicly
financed theft. All evil.
The World War II poster girl Rosie the Riveter depicts
a woman working in support of the U.S. effort to end the
real threat posed by German, Italian and Japanese
aggression. She and thousands more worked for modest
wages. This is acceptable national defense.
However, currently the U.S. mega-military, with more
than 750 major installations and bases worldwide and
larger than all other militaries combined, has donned the
mantle of world leader in war profiteering. By far. Which
is sort of like preparing to drop a 10,000-pound anvil on
a mouse, only to watch it continue falling through the
floor to the basement where the children are playing.
Terrorism and profiteering feed on each other and are
the children of mega-militarism. “Terrorists“ fight back
with whatever is handy. Remember box cutters? War
profiteering is simply part of the cheapest strategy the
ruling rich use to promote fear and enslave the rest.
The richest 2 percent own 50 percent of total U.S.
wealth. Most of this theft is due to unbridled war
profiteering. Our planet and societies and all species are
sick from this violence.
This black shadow descending from a pit of darkness has
begun to corrode the Columbia River Gorge. The Boeing/Insitu
Co. are war profiteers. Their surveillance drones, built
in Bingen, are helping shatter the lives of countless
innocent families in Iraq and Afghanistan, similar to the
Germans firing V-2 rockets into London in the 1940s.
Drones should only be used to protect our borders.
Each time a drone leaves the assembly line for Pentagon
uses, we lose some of our humanity. It is time to shift
gears and manufacture products that serve life before we
lose our souls. Because life is sacred.
Rollean
Lyle, Wash.
Expectations
My “expectiations” for the Hood River News are that it
uses spell-check before printing.
Gale Arnold
Hood River
(Editor’s note: An A1 headline in the April 25 edition was
misspelled.)
Not bear’s fault
Well, needless to say, “I’m rooting for this little
guy!” It’s just so emotional for me because he’s just
trying to survive and live, as we all do, and he means no
harm.
My wish and prayer is that ODFW could tranquilize and
transport him to a suitable location. At least give it a
whirl! It just seems wrong to kill him. It’s not his
fault!
Thank you, Smokey and Gentle Ben.
J. Shuman
Hood River
Limit letters
Until Cliff Mansfield has something positive to
contribute, I would like to ask the editor to stop
printing his sensational, meaningless verbiage.
We are all quite tired of it and frankly, it isn’t
worth the ink or paper it is printed on. Seriously, Mr.
Editor, perhaps we should limit an individual’s annual
publishings to no more than five. As I recall, this guy
had double digit publishings last year.
Greg Shepherd
Hood River
Articles helped
Thank you for the announcements and two stories and the
picture you published in the Hood River News to promote
our benefit dance for our mission trip to Ecuador.
The dance raised $400 for our airfare fund and was a
great help in getting us in the black for airfare
expenses. The dance was well-attended and everybody had a
great time dancing and listening to the music.
Thank you very much for your help!
Teresa Webb
Parkdale
New speed limit?
In response to Cliff Mansfield’s April 22 letter
regarding bicyclists, I’d like to say two things: First,
it’s good to know Mr. Mansfield is still working as I
thought he was going to retire to teach President Obama a
lesson.
Second, I agree with his suggestion regarding speed
limits on Highway 35. Having ridden there myself numerous
times and understanding how fast a person can propel a
bike, I’m guessing the new speed limits will be about 40
mph on downhill stretches and about 10 mph on the uphills.
I’m certain Mr. Mansfield will follow these new speeds
as soon as they are posted and feel more confident about
his ability to share the road.
Don Stevens
Hood River
Sharing the road
Dangerous cyclists? After reading Cliff Mansfield’s
letter titled “Dangerous Cyclists” last week I felt it was
important to remind him and other folks of a few things.
Cars and bikes have a number of common features.
The most important thing they share is the human being
that is responsible for guiding it down the road. Some
human beings aren’t very good drivers and some are. Of
course this also means that some bike riders have poor
road manners as well, but many others do not.
The important thing to remember is that the person
riding the bike or driving the car may have lapses in
skill or judgment that frustrate us, but they are only
human. And that guy’s goofy “spandex-coated Barbie” suit
may have offended Mr. Mansfield, but at the end of the day
he and the cyclist got to go home to their families
without guilt or injuries.
As a skilled cyclist, former bike shop owner, bike race
promoter and frequently honked-at driver I would like to
apologize to Mr. Mansfield for any inconvenience he may
encounter while braving the streets of Hood River County
due to the actions of cyclists.
I would also like to apologize for the slow pace that I
have been pedaling at lately. I will do my best to
maintain the 75 percent of posted speed guideline, but my
fitness plan is just not coming along as rapidly as I
would like.
Please watch out for me: I’ll be the husky fellow on a
white and magenta bike wearing baby-blue spandex (it’s
actually Lycra).
But most importantly, I would like to thank Mr.
Mansfield for being one of the few drivers on the road who
can be bothered to put down his cell phone, look ahead at
the scene before him, confirm his 55 miles per hour speed,
and respond with an impressive display of skill and
technique to save another human’s life. Truly, I thank
you.
Shane Wilson
Hood River
American colleges and universities
have long utilized part-time faculty in such a way as to be
commonly labeled exploitive because they are paid considerably
less than full-time faculty for performing the same job, and
because they are not afforded basic benefits such as health
care. Of course, the employment of part-time faculty benefits
these colleges in saving them money.
What may not be commonly known is
that, according to Standard Four of Columbia Gorge Community
College’s 2008 Self Study, the ratio of part-time to full-time
faculty is 117 to 17, meaning 87 percent of CGCC’s faculty are
paid less per credit hour than their full-time colleagues, and
they are not provided a benefit package; yet they must meet
the same stringent hiring requirements as those fortunate
enough to be full-time faculty, as am I.
Despite the discrepancy in pay, these
part-time faculty are as dedicated to the students of the
Columbia Gorge region as are the full-time faculty, and they
bring that dedication to the classroom every day, working hard
to transform the lives of their students.
The college’s administration
recognizes the ratio to be problematic and says that it plans
to address the disparity; however, the administration is
ignoring the opportunity of helping the part-time faculty
obtain health care at no cost to the college. The United
Employees of CGCC has proposed allowing part-time faculty to
purchase health insurance through the college’s group
insurance plan (OEBB) at no cost to CGCC instead of purchasing
health insurance from the more expensive private market.
Inexplicably, the college has balked
during negotiation sessions, with their only counter proposal
coming last November (an increase in the health insurance
reimbursement fund to $17,530 for 2008-09 and to $21,530 for
2009-10, the total for all part-time faculty to draw from).
In subsequent “negotiations,” the
college’s chief talent and strategy officer, Robb Van Cleave,
has said the college’s offer was “his final offer,” without
explaining why the college refuses to allow the dedicated men
and women who educate our students the right to buy, with
their own money, health insurance from the college insurance
plan when it would not cost the college a dime (admittedly,
there would be some initial clerical work required).
It is interesting to note the College
Mission Statement: “CGCC builds dreams and transforms lives by
providing lifelong educational programs that strengthen our
community.” Apparently “our community” does not include the
117 part-time faculty dedicated to transforming the lives of
their students.
The administration’s recalcitrance
reminds me of a line from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of
Wrath: “repression works only to strengthen and knit the
repressed.”
Though it appears the administration
bargaining team’s obdurate reasoning is that if we give them
this, they’ll want more, they might be more reasonable if the
public were to call President Frank Toda’s office or one of
the college board members from Wasco County and ask for an
explanation as to why they refuse to allow part-time faculty
to purchase health insurance through the college’s group plan
as other colleges allow.
We have asked for such an explanation,
but have yet to be given one.
