Media both hypes up the news and downplays complex reports

Author Eric Weiner’s Dec. 31 essay, “Relentless news on recession just makes it worse,” claims that “confirmation bias” makes us overreact to bad economic news. True, media herd mentality can pump up a crisis and fail to notice contradictory evidence. But have we not experienced the reverse for several decades?

“Supply side” and “deregulation” has been sold by Republican ideologues with the help of the uncritical media. While many of us have been pointing out the folly of these theories, getting any “discouraging word” into the mind of the public during these decades was next to impossible.

I agree that overreaction to this crisis is harmful. But what sense did it make to hand our money over to the financialists who contributed so much to this mess? Why are we not investing in Main Street directly and keeping people in their homes instead of hoping that Wall Street will use our money wisely?

I do believe that there are dominant memes and that issues make sense within political stories. Confirmation bias occurs within these stories as the pieces fit together. Getting information that disrupts the dominant story into public discourse is what Weiner and I would like, but Weiner concentrates on what I think reaffirms the wrong story line.

Don Caughey, Corvallis

Urban district tax questions require authoritative answers

There has been a lot of discussion about the “tax-increment-financing” that will fund the Corvallis Urban Renewal District (URD). Those who are for the URD tell us that this financing will not affect our taxes. Others are not so sure.

A report on the district in the City Council packet of Nov. 17 tells us that per-student funding is not dependent on the amount of locally raised property tax and that school revenue forgone is replaced dollar-for-dollar by state funds.

In table four of the report, there is a column telling us that, based upon the rate of $4.4616 per thousand, $12.2 million (in 2008 dollars) in revenue will be forgone by SD509J over the life of the URD.

Given shrinking state revenue, I find it hard to believe that Oregon is going to say our URD is more important than statewide priorities and replace those funds. Moreover, table four does not contain a column for the SD509J local option levy of $1.2000/thousand, making me wonder how revenue from this levy is affected by the URD financing.

The situation is not clear. How will the revenue from the SD509J local option be affected? Will the 509J school board increase the local-option tax rate to make up revenue forgone if the state does not replace it?

Will other local governments raise taxes to make up for lost revenue?

These questions need to be answered, authoritatively, before the URD appears on the ballot.

John H. Detweiler, Corvallis

Deal with fears to embrace promising change in the new year

It is enlightening to reflect back upon the experiences of one’s life and see what stuck.

What makes an individual unique but their memories and the path those experiences led them to follow? That first kiss, leaving us speechless but floating; the death of a loved one, pain coursing through us as we struggle to say goodbye; of childhood fears, being on stage at a spelling bee, sweating as we struggle to recall the spelling of a word we would never again use.

The year 2008 brought with it the hope of change. The new year brings with it the opportunity.

Looking back on the past year, one cannot help but look within and feel the true path of their life and the effects that life has on the world. It is in this introspection that one is allowed the honesty of life, a brief moment of respite from no critic but the one that resides within.

Change is, for most, a scary thing. For some, the fear can be debilitating. The challenge is to not only have the strength to understand what needs change and actually work towards its end but to also understand what we can do to help those around us solve their own puzzles.

Here is wishing everyone — Republican or Democrat, inner city or corporate, loved or hated — the wishes of a new year filled with this hope: That we all will ask ourselves what we would do differently and possess the strength to see it through.

Andrew Donaldson, Corvallis

New book by local author about libraries’ history worth reading

Retired history professor Thomas McClintock has just published a history of libraries, with the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library in particular focus. He brings his expertise as a historian of the American scene, and this time focuses on the progress of our beloved library from its beginning in the Corvallis Fire Department’s meeting hall in 1873. (Soon it became The Coffee Club Library, and later was housed in the Women’s Club Building, located next to the present library.)

Tom’s book is available at several bookstores in our area.

If you are interested in what happened to our library since 1873, it will give you not only background on historic libraries from ancient times, but long-ago struggles with local financing, and later negotiations between Corvallis and Benton County to create a library that we can all be proud of.

Nancy Leman, Corvallis

Gaza, Holocaust comparisons are insulting to the intelligence

In her Dec. 29 letter, “In handling Gaza, Israel steadily breaks promises,” June Forsyth Kenagy relies heavily on Richard Falk’s judgment. Should we?

Falk also has said: “the depiction of (Khomeini) as fanatical, reactionary and the bearer of crude prejudices seems certainly and happily false -. Iran may yet provide us with a desperately needed model of humane governance-.” Right.

Falk also believes in a government cover-up of what “really” happened in this country on 9/11.

Falk did say “the comparison (Holocaust) should not be viewed as literal,” but rather “represents a rather desperate appeal ” I’ll take his word for that.

During the “truce,” Gaza continued to fire rockets into Israel’s civilian communities, a war crime under international law. Does anyone seriously maintain that rocket fire on civilians is a “proportional” response to “broken promises” and building construction? In addition, Hamas stations its rocket-launching sites and stores its weapons in civilian areas, also a war crime. Israel entered Gaza in November to destroy a Hamas tunnel dug to kidnap more Israeli soldiers.

The Hebrew word “shoah” means “disaster.” “HaShoah” refers to the Holocaust. Minister Vilnai used the former term and Foreign Ministry spokesmen later clarified that “disaster” was meant. Whether this was political damage control or simple truth, the fact remains that Israel called civilians in Gaza, warning them to clear the area before bombing, and is using precision bombing to reduce civilian casualties.

They have and continue to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Calling Israel’s policies in Gaza a “Holocaust” insults the intelligence.

Rachel Peck, Corvallis