Legacy of Iraq War broken hopes, lives

Unbelievable. People still debate the "war in Iraq" like it has real value to anybody other than corporations, neo-conservatives, and the military-industrial-media-congressional complex.

In truth? A "war on Iraq" or "illegal invasion and undemocratic occupation of Iraq."

The echo chamber describes a "civil war we are policing" although three-fourths of attacks by Iraqis historically have been directed at coalition (U.S.) forces.

Now, desperate women whose husbands, sons, fathers, or male cousins, neighbors, and storekeepers are badly sick, injured, or dead increasingly strap on explosive satchels.

Shall we dub this the fifth anniversary of successful psychological projection, greed, immaturity, and anti-intellectualism-conservative values? Even Darfur's dark parade is overshadowed.

What a legacy: broken hopes, torn families, insecure communities, mass unemployment, DU radiation for millions of years, while we grab our god-given share of black gold.

Don't worry - we will replace it with real, imposed "democracy," stock markets, videos, opportunity, stress, TV, big banks, poor health, competitiveness, emotional trauma.

But what about terror (Webster's: "intense fear")? Hmm. Who creates the deepest fears - unstable futures, unraveled peace, regional instability, childhood nightmares, loaded emotions, frozen thoughts, armed adversaries?

Is it lowly al-Qaida (ala Bush and McCain) or a convoluted U.S. military mindset under skin-deep "Christian values," mountainous armaments, endless acquisitiveness, egotism and ready xenophobia?

China and Russia - keen on riches, internal control and external clout - are observing closely. Good allies for the "war on terror."

Chris Foulke, Corvallis

Use Umatilla facility to protect our water

Oil is not the limiting resource on this planet, mankind survived for millennia without it and I would wager we can do it again, albeit with difficulty. However, try going a week without water (coffee, beer, etc.), and you are in real trouble.

As a former fisheries biologist and oceanographer, as well as lover of this beautiful state, I have watched with ever-growing concern and sadness the deterioration of our environment, especially its water.

Clean water is "the essential" for the overall health and well-being of every species on this planet.

So I have a suggestion, rather than flushing drugs down the toilet, or putting them in a landfill (which eventually gets into the ground water), let's use a facility that is already being used for the disposal of deadly chemical weapons, the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility near Hermiston.

This would insure continued employment for an economically hurting area and put to use a facility that will no longer be needed after 2012 (estimated completion of weapons destruction).

What problems may arise (collection, transport, cost, etc.) are inconsequential compared to doing nothing. Let the dialogue continue.

Roger Paul, Corvallis

Opposition to gay couples no phobia

I've seen in many letters the word homophobia as a blanket term for people opposed to same-sex couples. I doubt that this is accurate.

To me a phobia is a nonrational, traumatic fear of something. People with claustrophobia get physically ill when confined to closed space, not because they oppose them but because they are terrified of them. And it's involuntary.

You can choose to oppose but you don't choose a phobia; it chooses you. It's not unlike having a serious peanut allergy. We don't tell people with this allergy to just stop opposing peanut farming.

Middle schoolers are prone to all sorts of phobias. The Oxnard tragedy was obviously a phobic reaction to an advance by a "weirdo" classmate and he was unprepared to deal with it. The result could just as easily have been a suicide instead of a homicide. Where were the school counselors here?

We must recognize that there are unstable people out there, like the Virginia Tech shooter. The writings he left behind show the rantings of a terrified individual. If we truly are facing someone with phobic tendencies, we must proceed with extreme caution.

But I believe most of the opposition is much more rational.

I've associated with many same-sex couples and am perfectly comfortable around them. My opposition is on religious grounds; God has ordained marriage as a sacred institution between man and woman for their mutual benefit and for the rearing of children. It is intended as a blessing, and same-sex relations delay or forego this blessing.

Call me irresponsible or misguided for this, but don't call me phobic. This would only serve to reinforce your own phobic tendencies and inhibit rational discourse.

Roy Severin, Corvallis

Extreme solutions to the drug problem

"One in 100 U.S. adults imprisoned" (Feb. 29), their families on public assistance and some like William Switzer asking for legalizing addictive drugs ("How many jailed for illegal substances?" Letters, March 5).

In earlier years, becoming addicted was an individual's responsibility. Now our society, with its numerous social welfare and medical-care programs, has assumed responsibility for an individual's poor decisions. As a result of this shift in responsibility, perhaps we should consider a combination of two extreme solutions.

First, slavery is a federal crime under the 13th Amendment; therefore, those individuals who have been "enslaved by addiction" have a medical problem for which they should receive treatment, including Mr. Switzer's legally prescribed drugs.

Second, curtail the illegal drug trade by recognizing that any person of any age selling, transporting, manufacturing or profiting from the unauthorized use of those drugs that addict and/or kill is guilty of "felony enslavement" or "felony murder through drugs," crimes for which the federal government would only have to prove that people become addicted to and/or die from a particular drug and that the drug is from an illegal or unknown source.

Obviously, every person claiming addict drug doses or treatment would need a high-tech national ID card that would track them and their medications on a national level, as well as regularly appear at a monitoring center for counseling and card renewal. Moreover, certain occupations where the addict would be a danger to themselves or others should not be open to those who are addicted.

Robert Nelson, North Albany

Spitzer didn't end CEO pay problem

The saddest part of the downfall of Gov. Eliot Spitzer was the popping of champagne corks on Wall Street, celebrating the removal of the high-profile, successful tormentor of big business CEOs with their outrageous salaries and perks, paid for in part by small investors, many of whom are banking their retirements on performance of these companies.

I recently received the annual report for 2007 from the General Parts Company, telling me that in 2007, the board of directors paid their CEO $5 million, a raise above his total compensation for 2006 of $1.2 million or 76 percent.

What does this company do? It makes paper clips, staplers, and other office products, as well as NAPA automotive parts.

I know these are things we need, but should the company's CEO make sums of money equivalent to winning the lottery?

The paper clip king's big salary raise was in spite of a 1 percent decrease in sales for his office products group that makes the paper clips.

So the conclusion is that Spitzer, as attorney general, did not eliminate the problem of gross overcompensation of senior executives. We need another Spitzer, one who can resist temptation.

Bob Yeats, Corvallis