Voices of advocacy demanding "justice" against Amy Stack in the death of Robin Jensen are numerous and loud. In a just community, Amy Stack also deserves advocacy. Since no one else has spoken, I guess it falls to me.

Efforts in and out of the courtroom to obtain an in-lieu-of murder conviction by overheating a procedural-

infraction trial do not fit the crime or the evidence.

Under our community's standards for establishing truth based on facts, Amy Stack has never been implicated and continues to be presumed innocent of any harm to Robin Jensen. Theories to do with Amy Stack's character do not change this presumption. Can anyone say with assurance that they could have avoided this collision? Not me.

Amy Stack did not stop. Many well-regarded people have experienced a flight mechanism triggered by fear, shock and denial and never come forward. Amy Stack came forward to face whatever consequences would result. Much of her delay was from the advice of her parents not to stand alone. I hope no parent, or friend, would provide different advice. If she had stopped at the scene or called within hours, would anything really important be different today? Not for me. Is "fight" a better instinctive reaction than "flight"? Not in me.

Amy Stack's deer defense was unbecoming. The jury cut through the mustard for a fair verdict. If a villain is needed beyond that, take me.

Warren George

Corvallis

In support of open source funding

The core sentence of Peter Caday's Nov. 16 letter critical of open source funding - to which this is a response - is, "The government has an interest in maintaining this economic system and would therefore be unwise in funding that which opposes it, which a number of open source projects do."

First, no reputable open source leader (from Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds on down) advocates an overthrow of capitalism (I recommend the movie "Revolution OS" for interviews with the major players). Furthermore, numerous capitalist companies are involved in open source software, including IBM, Red Hat and our very own Hewlett-Packard Co. (see, for example, http://

opensource.hp.com).

Second, the government is very much in the business of supporting innovation of all flavors. The National Science Foundation, for example, distributes enormous amounts of grant money to scientists who work to publish their research in the public domain. Science itself is "open source" by definition. Do not forget that the technological forerunner to the Internet was a government project.

Finally, regarding the proposed upcoming dissolution of open source software and other such "collaboratives": Linux has been around since 1991, the GNU project since 1984, and both keep improving. The U.S. government, a giant collaboration, has lasted more than 200 years. How long do collaborations take to collapse?

Conrad Shultz

Corvallis

Judges usurped too much power

I felt that a response was in order to the Nov. 16 editorial, "Keep judiciary strong and independent. It seemed as if the author misunderstood the system of government in the United States.

We live in a democracy, and writing letters to judges and/or legislators is a citizen's constitutional right protected by the first amendment. We should be thankful that we have this right, and I am glad to see citizens get involved in government, even if their position does not necessarily agree with mine.

In fact, I believe that involvement in the government is more than a right, it is a responsibility. We all have a voice in our government, and we should use it. The constitution of the United States is based on a system of checks and balances as well as the principle of freedom of opinion and expression.

If any branch of government begins to usurp too much power, there are means to bring the balance back. One such example is the passing of new legislation discussed in the editorial. There is a type of government where an elite group can make decisions with impunity from the citizens, this type of government is called an oligarchy, not a democracy. Let's hope that the democratic system continues to work in this country, and judges who think they are above the law can still be subject to the system of checks of balances through appeal, judicial ballots and impeachment.

Brian G. Risch

Corvallis

K-12 here is just a 'trivial pursuit'

In a time of increased emphasis on academic standards, and when teachers are becoming teaching technicians, we should take a moment to reflect on what it means to develop as a child. What does it mean to "succeed" at a Corvallis school?

When I graduated from Corvallis High School in 1997 with a 2.7 grade point average, I was grossly disappointed with Corvallis schools. I had slipped through the cracks. After a quixotic journey that ended in June when I finished my Ed.M. at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, I had learned why. I'd been sitting at a game of "Trivial Pursuit" for 12 years and had lost.

How many students sitting in Corvallis classrooms today are surrendering their intuitive desire for learning in exchange for an ambiguous and arbitrary stockpile of facts? Why, whenever we have a conversation about our schools, do we never reevaluate the actual fundamentals of what education is? Our opinions are powerful and diverse, and they rarely reflect what is going on in Corvallis classrooms. The disparity between our unquestioned training process and an actual education is frightening.

So when your child comes home from school today, don't ask what they learned, but how they grew. Ask "why" as often as you can. And remember that a grade only reflects how well a student takes a test and pleases a teacher, not their wit or character.

Andrew Murphy

(Sahalie)

Cambridge, Mass.

Recycle to keep Oregon clean

You can make a difference in Corvallis. Pollution and hazardous waste are plaguing our planet. Many people treat this dire situation as unfortunate but unstoppable. Those people are being deceived. There is something that everyone can do, and it isn't even difficult: the solution is recycling.

Recycling is simple and easy. All you have to do is save and sort your papers, cans, plastic and glass items. Everyone in Corvallis has access to a bottle and can return in a grocery store. Corvallis Disposal & Recycling Co. will pick up your sorted recycled goods curbside. There are recycling drop-off centers all over Corvallis.

According to the National Recycling Coalition, recycling programs cost less to operate than waste collection, landfilling or incineration. Also, the more people recycle, the cheaper it gets. Recycling saves energy, reduces water and air pollution, conserves our natural resources and helps protect our environment.

I know all of us want to keep Oregon clean and healthy for future generations. The simplest way to do this is to recycle. Recycling makes a difference. It's the right thing to do.

Kristi Shelton

Corvallis