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Destroying our law
Even though Oregonians have supported "Death with Dignity’’ legislation overwhelmingly, I’ve seen little complaint from individual rights proponents regarding federal legislation to destroy our state law. The religious moralists in government have a problem with the separation of church and state. The moral beliefs of right-wing groups are being jammed down the throat of the majority who do not agree with their narrow views. If these self-serving "Christians" need to grovel for votes and money from the religious right, they should try not to be so obvious about it. Isn’t this the espoused party of individual rights, states’ rights, and less government intrusion in our lives? Now we have a righteous band of congressional Bible thumpers making criminals of compassionate physicians and mostly poor patients who cannot afford the quality health care many of us have available. My family suffered the loss of my father by suicide when his cancer recurred. He did not have a "Death with Dignity’’ option. His options were wiping out their life savings on probably a lingering death, or taking his life. All humans, like pets, deserve better choices. We ridicule countries like Iran and their authoritarian religious government, but if we keep electing these moralist politicians who believe they have a divine calling to make laws based on their religious beliefs, we will be traveling down the same slippery slope. To use a feminist saying from the 70’s, "Keep your laws off my body." It applies to everyone. --Bill Barbour, Gold Hill Real solutions The city reaches out beyond its current boundaries to condemn land to pay off a developer to build more outlying houses to funnel more people into a hopelessly snarled "downtown." The so-called Urban Renewal Agency pays off a landlord and buys a warehouse/storefront, kicking out two or more new tenants to improve anything but traffic patterns. Seems like these two organizations are each like ODOT — (standing for Organizations Dedicated to Obstructing Traffic). Traffic downtown and across exits 27 and 30 will never improve by building outside the city’s core and not addressing the need for an Exit 28.5 or dedicated arterials to downtown. Any student of industrial mathematics knows that solving queuing problems does not include making accessways further from destinations. When will this newspaper take the forefront editorially to address real solutions to these ongoing problems? --Ray R. Tharp, Central Point Election solution Elections should be about ideas and issues, not fund-raising, bank accounts and special interests. The Oregon Political Accountability Act offers a solution. It would limit the cost and length of campaigns, and level the playing field for candidates by allowing qualified Oregon citizens who demonstrate voter support to run for state office. Candidates could qualify for a set amount of public funding to run their campaigns. They would then have to agree to accept no private money in both the primary and general elections. In return, candidates would receive a specific and limited amount of funds to run their campaigns. Among the leaders of this effort are AARP, League of Women Voters, American Association of University Women, Oregon Action, and individuals like Norma Paulus, John Dellenback, Peter Defazio, Phil Keisling — an impressive list. Look for our petitioners with the goldenrod petitions when you are out and about. Or better still, commit just one hour of your time to gather 20 signatures from your friends, family, neighbors. All you need to do is make the decision to make a difference. Call the campaign headquarters toll-free at 1-877-92BFAIR for more information — or volunteer online at www.nobigmoney.com --Jody Sorensen, Medford Hands-on approach The Associated Press article titled "Bootie Camp" (May 11, Page 1B) was so refreshing. I would hope this idea would spread. Hands on is the best, I think, for dads and moms. This article brought back memories to when I brought home my firstborn with no clue at all how to bathe him. I was so grateful when a dear friend came over, equipped with a pan, soap, etc. and helped me with the process. That will always be my very best baby gift. --Reneé Anderson, Medford |
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