No one stopped for bike accident victim

So I would like to thank the motorist who almost hit me on my bike Monday night, Dec. 1, around 7 p.m. as I was riding home from work.

I was riding across the Harrison bridge in my bike lane, with two rear reflectors and a front headlight. A driver came up behind me in my bike lane, honked at me and swerved to avoid hitting me, forcing me in turn to swerve. My tires hit the curb, causing me to catapult over my handlebars, landing and then sliding on my left hip over the curb through the mud, across the sidewalk and then down the embankment.

(The fall) shredded my gloves, bike seat, jeans, rain jacket and bent my glasses into twisted metal. Not only did the driver not stop to see if I was OK but with my bike still in the road, neither did any other motorist stop to see if I was all right.

For such a bike-friendly community, this really dumbfounded me. So drivers, PLEASE watch out for us bicyclists, especially in the rain. I was very lucky. If he had hit me, I wouldn’t be here writing this letter.

Chris McFarland, Corvallis

End debate; address overpopulation now

It is not an either/or question, as Robin Moore’s Dec. 2 letter,“Population debate divisive and futile,” suggests. Population pressure and consumption are BOTH significant issues to be engaged if humans are to arrange a more sustainable trajectory. It’s also important to understand these two are not the only issues involved. We will never solve these problems as long as people think there are just two camps, each at one another’s throats, who won’t agree to continue the conversation.

We could rekindle a more civil discussion if we recall the conclusions from the 1972 Rockefeller Commission, which said (paraphrasing) that there would be no benefits to further growth in the nation’s population and that stabilization would contribute to the nation’s ability to solve its problems. This was presented over 36 years and 100 million people ago, adding scale and complexity to the burdens we face in trying to solve our most serious problems.

A cabinet-level Department of Population and Demographics would finally place these issues on a par with other Cabinet departments we deem important, such as the departments of Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Defense and the others that have the ear of the president.

The population department would oversee a National Population Policy designed to stabilize population, at a level/range deemed sustainable for the long-term future.

There is much, much more to this discussion, of course. But first we must be willing to continue talking. Hardened stalemates are not an option, if we truly seek a resolution.

M. Boyd Wilcox, Corvallis

‘Offered prayers’ often rings hollow

A Wal-Mart employee was killed by a stampeding crowd who went on shopping after stomping the man to death. A statement from Wal-Mart called the death unfortunate and “offered prayers to the family.”

What does that mean? How did they do that? I mean, did the management or corporate directors really get down on their knees and pray to almighty God for forgiveness in the face of their morally bankrupt business practices? Did they ask for comfort to the family of the unfortunate dead man who was paid minimum wages with no health benefits?

I hear this statement all the time in response to a public tragedy. “We offer our prayers to the family.” Yet I have never seen such a thing happen. What petitions were offered to God by the corporate officers of Wal-Mart?

“Offer prayers to the family” has become the equivalent at best to saying, “Oops, we’re sorry,” and at worst, a public relations statement in the face of outrageous behavior. Enough of this banality, this bottom-line mentality, this much-less-than-free enterprise. These are the same people who gave us this disastrous rip-off economy from which we are bleeding in these times. These Wal-Mart people, this PRC outlet stores, this anti-American self-serving corporate hypocrites are making me sick, and now are killing us as well.

It was their responsibility to control the crowd they enticed to their Chinese-made junk store, and they should be held accountable in the strongest manner available under the law.

Michael Beachley, Corvallis

Win or lose, it’s always ORANGE

I think the Gazette-Times missed the point of Dan Dunham’s letter, “What was up with the green in the G-T”?

I agree that the use of green in the sports page header was in bad taste because this is Corvallis. I am not a huge Beaver fan, yet I’ve lived here 22 years and I follow our university’s activities. I am proud and pleased to live in the town that is home to Oregon State University.

Last year, my middle child chose Washington State University over her home town school. After visiting Pullman, Wash., several times, I have noticed a huge difference in the amount of civic and University pride between the two towns. If the Cougars had lost in the Apple Cup, there is absolutely no way that the Daily News would have run their sports header in purple! Whether or not we win, OSU players should still be able to hold their heads up high for their efforts, and not be degraded by their local paper. Please stay true to the sentiment delivered in your recent editorial — “In victory or defeat, the Beaver football players are winners.” The sports header should have been Orange!

Ruth Rose Hennessey, Corvallis