So, we bought our land, and we can do anything we want with it? Well, unless my use of my land interferes with the use of yours!

Oregon has spent the last 30-plus years instituting and practicing good land use. Farming and forestry lands have been preserved, housing has been channeled to the urban growth boundaries close to schools, sewage disposal and water sources to minimize cost to everyone, and conflicting uses have been minimized.

Then came greed and ballot Measure 37, pushed through with lies (proven in court) in advertising, and good land use was given over to the greedy, who were asking for millions of your tax dollars (yes, your tax dollars do pay these people off).

If I have free use of my land, how about a gravel pit with large trucks rolling 24 hours next to your house or your children's school? Or maybe a slaughter house or feed lot next to your housing development?

Same problem exists when your housing development joins a farmer's dairy!

We can solve some problems by voting yes on Measure 49 this November. So first, vote and vote yes on Measure 49.

Marilyn Maurais

Corvallis

Instead of giving to candidates, support PBS

I've never been a big contributor to political campaigns, probably because I've never really believed I'd get my money's worth. Now I'm beginning to think it may cost my selected candidate more in accepting any meager contribution than I am willing to give.

By giving, I get on a "contributors list" and there would have to be a criminal record search on my past life - a costly procedure. Accepting contributions from a criminal would ruin my candidate's political career.

Even with a clean record, my donation could set in motion a costly process. Once titillated by my contribution, a campaign worker would be compelled to solicit more from me. Expensive phoning, printing and postage costs would easily exceed my contribution with annoying pleas for more.

So I've decided to contribute (tax deductible) to Oregon Public Broadcasting, where unbiased reporting of all sides will surely show thinking voters that my candidates deserve their votes.

Arne Landsberg

Corvallis

Free speech and protest are rights that we are losing

The story goes that if you put a frog into boiling water, he will immediately jump out, but if you put him into cold water and heat it slowly enough, he won't notice the change and will be boiled alive.

Until recently, I would not have believed that an American citizen could be arrested and jailed for voicing opposition to the political views of U.S. senators at a public venue, but it happened to me two weeks ago.

In recent weeks, friends of mine have been arrested for putting up anti-war posters, sentenced to five days in jail for speaking out in protest at a political rally, arrested trying to access their senator's office, and one was jailed overnight because the police said she had a "stay away" order from the Capitol building (She didn't).

We have come to a place in our country where dissent is not welcome. Our elected officials speak only to constituents who agree with them, and the police are complicit in penalizing those who dare to challenge the government.

This administration has decimated the Bill of Rights, and Congress has rolled over and let it happen.

Our government has been able to do these things because it foments fear, while promoting a jingoistic "You're either with us or against us" mindset.

In order to reclaim the liberties that were once guaranteed to us, we must say "No" to the fear, and look at our country with a critical eye and without the blinders of patriotic rhetoric.

Leah Bolger

U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Corvallis

Black Hawk not a helicopter on a mission of peace, help

Instead of responding to the concerns expressed in my Sept. 19 letter - global hegemony and the indoctrination of pre-teens into a war mentality - Nan Vance reacts by defending the "humanitarian" operations of the Oregon National Guard in Afghanistan.

Let's get real. MEDEVAC would not be needed in Afghanistan "to pick up wounded soldiers or civilians" if the American war machine had not invaded the country in the first place.

Initially, our government's goal in Afghanistan was to hunt down Osama bin Laden. After six years of failure in locating him, the creation of untold numbers of terrorists and a million civilian deaths in Iraq, our only major accomplishment in the region has been to oversee the largest harvest of poppies in Afghanistan's history. A U.N. report in June 2007 says more than 90 percent of the world's heroin now comes from poppies grown in Afghanistan. This is the true "joint operation that aided the Afghan government and its people."

Finally, why is the Oregon National Guard still serving the needs of the American Empire in foreign lands? The words "Oregon," "National" and "Guard" indicate our state's security. We need to either change their name, or bring them home.

Robert Simms

Corvallis

Bush's comments to Iranian head reflect poorly on him

During a recent "60 Minutes" interview, Scott Pelley of CBS informed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that President Bush had this to say to him: "… You've made terrible choices for your people. You've isolated your nation, you've taken a nation of proud and honorable people and made your country the pariah of the world …"

These are harsh words from one president to another, but they reflect the cowboy mentality of our president. Had he indulged in just a little introspection, he might have noticed the distinct similarities between how he perceives the Iranian president and how he himself is perceived around the world.

However, there is little chance that George Bush would refrain from throwing stones while living in a glass house!

Ron Maclean

Corvallis

It's a myth that poor are poorer; they're better off

According to the Democrats running for president, the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer. Prior to this past May, they were mistaken. Since that time, they have been lying.

In May, the Congressional Budget Office completed a study from which it learned that far from getting poorer, poor people have been getting richer at a faster rate than any other economic group.

Since 1991, the poorest group has increased their earnings by a whopping 78 percent. The rich have been getting richer, but only by 54 percent.

As it has turned out, getting kicked off welfare in 1996 was the best thing that ever happened to a lot of welfare recipients. Getting a job instead of a welfare check has made the difference. When you look at it, it was the government that was keeping people poor, not the private sector.

Ronald Reagan was right when he said that the government doesn't solve problems, it creates them. Whether they are mistaken or lying, it's time for them to get their facts straight!

Jim Purtzer

Corvallis

SCHIP federal health plan is overly generous, costly

The Sept. 28 article "Congress votes to add millions of kids to SCHIP" noted that the legislation "… would potentially add 4 million children to a popular health care program…" which would "… increase spending … from about $5 billion to $12 billion annually for the next five years." That works out to $1,750 per child per year! Seems kind of steep to me; just how unhealthy are these kids? Or, alternatively, who would the money really be going to?

Bruce Carsten

Corvallis