Is McCain’s battery idea lame or genius?

I see where John McCain has proposed having each U.S. taxpayer get a good deal from some poor unsuspecting inventor by simply “rewarding” him or her with $1 from each of us (a few hundred million bucks) for an invention that could net billions!

Are these presidential candidates smarter than I thought?

For a dollar apiece, we could own a product that we could sell to ourselves — and maybe even the Chinese — generating a cash flow sufficient to satisfy a Democratic Congress’ projected spending sprees.

Everyone gets something!

John could maintain his hero status, the Democrats could have a ball spending, and we common folk could drive all we wanted to in our super-battery-powered cars and could still have polar bears.

Arne Landsberg

Corvallis

Lesbos islanders

can have their name

Well, I never thought I’d be ashamed to call myself a lesbian, but after reading the June 11 article, “Islanders upset over use of ‘lesbian,’” about people who live on the (Greek) island of Lesbos suing a gay-rights group, I’ll just have to make myself more clear.

I guess I’ll have to stick with calling myself a dyke, since I wouldn’t want to be associated with those type of people.

Erin Hauge

Monroe

Halting kids’ drinking a work in progress

The “Partnership for Reducing Underage Drinking” includes among its members representatives from Oregon State University, the Benton County Health Department, Corvallis police, OSU state police, Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Downtown Corvallis Association and “licensed liquor establishments” (bars/taverns). The mission of the Partnership is “to reduce the burden of excessive and underage alcohol use.”

Between 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. on the night of May 15, the partnership conducted its annual “Pub Stroll.”

Accompanied by the city manager, chief of police and municipal judge, we walked leisurely through downtown, along Monroe Avenue and in the residential areas immediately north of campus between Ninth and 26th streets.

Many young people were out on that warm spring evening and it appeared that more alcohol was being consumed outside in the North College Hill neighborhood than inside bars/taverns and that the underage drinking on that “Thirsty Thursday” was not occurring inside bars/taverns.

Oh, that landlords of some apartments and houses near/along Jackson and Van Buren avenues and the leaders — active and alum — of some fraternities acted as responsible as the owners of Squirrel’s, Clodfelter’s and Platinum.

These gentlemen are exemplary in their personal management of the businesses in which they earn their livelihoods. They demand that their staffs be well-trained to carefully check IDs, seize fake licenses and to prevent any negative impact on the merchants/ residents surrounding their establishments. They, like the partnership, understand fully that education, not merely law enforcement, will “reduce the burden of excessive and underage alcohol use.”

Hugh Richard White

Corvallis

U.S. caught in insane foreign policy loop

In its outer layers, our country makes no sense. The operant definition of insanity is doing something (unhealthy or unworkable) over and over — and expecting different results. Funny thing is, the crazy people in power and their deluded supporters think Iraq and Afghanistan are ‘working’— or serve some valid rationale.

These mentally stripped-down patriots, pumped with nationalism, obedience, “faith” and macho values, aren’t even allowed to think.

Their irrationality requires denying their feelings and perceptions, avoiding root issues, ignoring constraints, deferring consequences — and simply hurtling forward.

It’s the stuff of dynasties, empires, broken civilizations, blood-swept landscapes, war — and the seas of suffering within. John McCain is only too happy to continue in this royal American tradition of shooting first and asking no questions later.

“Bring it on,” says the commander, as soldiers crumple like clay targets 7,000 miles away to pay for his psychological sickness — and another historically blind one rushes to the fore.

Powered with smiles, confident proclamations, fear, the false-flag 9/11 incident orchestrated or allowed by elements within our government, and rolling rationales for war (“Saddam’s got bombs,” “democratize the desert kingdoms”), they mindlessly march on.

People struggle to describe the insidious nature of this new locus of uniquely degenerate American traits. How about runaway corruption, economic determinism, right-wing elitism, evolving dictatorship, naked militarism or authoritarianism steeped in secrecy, ignorance and arrogance? Americo-fascism?

How anybody who can think, read or who understands dollar-driven war could support amphibious chameleons like George W. Bush or John McCain, is beyond me.

Chris Foulke

Corvallis