When it comes to taxes, conservative is better

"Liberal" means generous, especially with one's own property. It can now also mean lavish, even reckless, with tax dollars. The House Economic Stimulus bill is exceedingly lavish, often towards Democrat voting blocs, creating new dependencies. Oink. It "stimulates" billions more of crushing deficits to the post-"bailout" national debt, on the backs of present and future citizen earners. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi apparently denied to Republican representatives any input on writing this bill, a new approach to "unity," and to Congressional minority status (nullifies it). Trample, trample. Is this what America wants?

Points: Private enterprise is the source of new capital, and provides the greatest net benefit from tax dollars. "Conservative" means frugal (fruitful) and accountable. Our government is intended to be our accountable servant, not master. Ponder (and value) these realities!

Jane Newton, Philomath

Words exist to describe restrictive majority

In response to Joan Wheeler's biblical "facts" and "statistics" about marriage and separation of church and state in her Feb. 3 letter, allow me to quote a different biblical scholar, Lynn Lavner: "The bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 to heterosexuals. This doesn't mean God doesn't love heterosexuals; they just require more supervision."

I don't believe, as Ms. Wheeler suggests, that we need a new special word to describe gay couples' relationships that means the same thing as marriage. Domestic partnerships and civil unions are not legally equivalent to marriage and no amount of intellectually dishonest wishful thinking will make them so.

We do, however, have words to describe the behavior of the majority in a society that refuses basic human rights, such as marriage, to a minority while reserving those rights solely for the majority: prejudice, unearned privilege and bigotry.

Steven Leider, Corvallis

Stand for your beliefs but don't stomp on others'

Despite more than two months elapsing since the passage in California of Proposition 8 (nullifying same-sex marriage), it appears from his recent letter that Roger Paul still fosters a grudge. Yet, rather than upbraiding the whole of the multi-faith coalition involved in endorsing the proposition, Mr. Paul targets the LDS church alone.

Mr. Paul first seeks to discredit the theophany of Joseph Smith with the non-sequiturial charge that Smith used a seer stone for the purpose of locating buried treasure, alluding to the examination of Smith before a court in the year 1826, under suspicion of "glasslooking" (on which matter Mr. Paul is now referred to Russell Anderson's treatment in the article, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith"). But, doubtless, Mr. Paul would likewise dismiss the account of Moses and Aaron seeing God while atop Sinai (Exodus 24:9-11), since the two had both transmogrified wooden rods into serpents (Exodus 4:3, 7:10) and later used one such rod to divide waters (Exodus 14:16).

Then, mistaking the LDS church for the FLDS, Mr. Paul cites the pseudo-historical polemic of Jon Krakauer, "Under the Banner of Heaven" (for a thorough refutation of which he is referred to the article, "Doing Violence to Journalistic Integrity" by Craig L. Foster).

He finally suggests that the Book of Mormon advocates oppression of darker-skinned races, oblivious to the fact that it contains a scathing rebuke against any who would discriminate on the basis of skin pigmentation (Jacob 3:9), and records how the darker-skinned peoples came to be models of righteousness (Helaman 6:1).

Kevin Taylor, Corvallis

Freely owning up to errors a hallmark of leadership

Feb. 4 headline: "Obama: 'I screwed up.'" Whether you voted for him or not, whether you agree with his policies or not, one must, in my opinion, be thankful that we finally have a president in the White House who takes personal responsibility. Old "The-buck-stops-here" Harry Truman must be smiling.

It would have been possible to blame the vetting committee. But no, "I screwed up" was his response. To me, this shows a man who is comfortable with himself and with his position of responsibility. This kind of openness, I believe, is a trait of a person with integrity. It is utterly refreshing. I can only speak for myself, but it is a whole lot easier to forgive and extend grace to such an individual. Keep up the good work, Mr. President!

Roger Paul, Corvallis

Support police with e-mails, understanding

I agree with Bill Patton's comments in his Feb. 4 letter about our police department's response (and action) after a report of gunfire at a local schoolyard.

We would probably all hope that the same consideration could be given to us, if and when we were in similar possible danger.

I'd like to offer encouragement to the community to send the Corvallis Budget Commission a letter or e-mail of support for the CPD as well as the 911 operations (nancy.brewer@

ci.corvallis.or.us). Their deliberations are taking place now, and your letters may make a difference.

The CPD does a great job in my opinion, and a fantastic opportunity to learn about the challenges of their service is available through the "Cops & Robbers" program. It's offered twice a year and is interesting, informative, and fun.

It's an opportunity to bring your issues and curiosity to the table. They will not only address your concerns, they'll show you what it's like to be in the their position. It was a real eye-opener for me. Applications are due March 27 with an April 1 start, and you can find the fliers describing the program at the CPD lobby, library and other locations around town. It's free and well worth your time.

Sally Klein, Corvallis

Learn from a previous recession

After reading the opinion article from President Obama regarding the stimulus bill I wanted to point out a great example in American history of how to handle a recession. It is almost exactly the opposite of what is being proposed today.

The recession of 1921 still holds the record for largest one-year decline in GNP. In response to the massive unemployment, President Harding, rather than trying to control wages as FDR did, let them fall naturally. He also promoted programs of direct welfare support for the unemployed. And most importantly, he cut government spending and taxes. Within a short time the economy recovered and people today don't even think about that recession, even though it remains a record holder.

The Great Depression, on the other hand, was the object of massive government spending and interference which caused it to be lengthened and deepened. I believe that people are smart enough that, when left with their own money and motives, they can and will rebuild an economy in recession.

Paul Woods, Corvallis

'Shill' Gupta unqualified for surgeon general

Early in January, it was announced that CNN doctor Sanjay Gupta was being considered for the post of surgeon general. His nomination has drawn significant opposition because Dr. Gupta is not qualified. He is a television doctor and part-time neurosurgeon, but he has no background in public health and no training or experience in administration. His job as "doctor of the nation" would be to lead the United States Public Health Service and its 6,000 USPHS physicians.

In his interview with filmmaker Michael Moore about his documentary on U.S. health care, "Sicko," Dr. Gupta revealed his lack of knowledge and his bias in favor of the medical industry. He accused Michael Moore of fudging the facts. It was revealed that doctor Gupta's facts were blatantly wrong, and Michael Moore was entirely correct.

His corporate Big Pharma bias, for whom he does a monthly program, "Accent Health," is apparent. Dr. Gupta supports the concept of the insurance business and opposes the idea of universal coverage or a single-payer system.

We don't need a brain surgeon, television doctor and Big Pharma to lead us. We need someone who will stand up for people who need brain surgery and cannot get it. The surgeon general needs to be sensitive to the travesty of our high infant mortality rate and the inexcusable disparities in health care for minorities and poor people.

You may express your concerns to President Obama at http://change.gov/page/s/healthcare. You also are invited to visit my Web site on health care at http://www.normponders.com with links to more information.

Norm Castillo, Corvallis