I am sorry that we have lost Gerald Ford. He seemed to be a decent person, and we have had many worse presidents.

That said, I was upset to read on the front page of the Gazette-Times and to hear on the radio and television, the same phrase: that his pardoning of Nixon "won praise as a courageous act that allowed the nation to move on."

What I believe he did by that act was to prove to the world that American egalitarianism - the idea that we are all equal under the law, and that money and power cannot put you above the law - is a fairy tale.

Ford's pardon of Nixon helped to set the precedent for the corruption and lack of respect for the Constitution and the law - national and international - that we see rampant in our country today, from big business to our top "leadership."

Karl Smiley

Blodgett

Money behind food cloning industry

Patenting food should not be legal.

In the Dec. 28 article, "Food from cloned animals to get OK," the safety of using cloned cattle in meat and milk production is addressed.

While the food safety debate ensues, I'd like to point out that the real motivation for huge agribusinesses to advance cloning and genetic engineering is that the resulting food can be patented. Patented food is the "kryptonite" agribusiness can use to unfairly compete with small and local farms because the results of natural breeding methods are not protected legally.

Ultimately, consumers lose with environmental and economic degradation (and possible food safety issues) and fewer food choices. As consumers, we can fight this assault from large agribusiness when we choose to buy local and organically-grown produce and meat.

Don Boucher

Corvallis

Accordian article struck sour chord

The first article about (accordian player) Gene Sadowsky was pleasant. The later article (Dec. 15, Entertainer, "The great accordian squeeze-off") was negative, stimulated by a former disgruntled band member.

Richard Kadrmas' negative comments were insulting and reflected his personal problems with his former bandleader - not uncommon among musicians.

The reporter went so far as to research and publish negative comments made by other persons.

Toby Hanson's (a friend of Kadrmas) negative comments were absurd.

I have seen both Sadowsky and Kadrmas play. There are certainly accordionists in Oregon who are more accomplished. Sadowsky is an entertainer. His band is an act and as such, accomplished playing need not be the key component.

Anybody who went to this summer's concert to see "Those Darn Accordions" should understand that mastery of the instrument is not the most important component. These accordionists never used the left side of the instrument. They were "keyboarding" melody and chords, relying on back-up musicians. The leader made the show with showmanship, not mastery of the accordion.

Although the reporter included some positive comments, the overall effect of this follow-up article was decidedly negative and one that I believe is not worthy of your paper and certainly an insult to Sadowsky. It's inappropriate for him to be chopped to pieces by a bunch of nasty dirty laundry because a few people don't like him. Publishing these persons' personal opinions did a disservice to your paper and to the author.

Mike Ryan

Corvallis

All invited to join in Wildcat Park rebuilt

Thanks to Katherine Otten for her comments on Wildcat Park (Letters, Dec. 26, "Get creative with Wildcat Park").

The redesign of this school and community park is well underway and can be followed at www.newwildcatpark.org. The steering committee has worked diligently to draft goals that address many of Ms. Otten's comments. For example, one of the goals is to "Have a playground that allows explorative and discovery play."

Each aspect of the old and new park have been carefully considered. For example, the previous park had an amphitheater section that was not heavily utilized according to teachers and kids, so it has been omitted. The trees in Wildcat Park can not be utilized as for play because of safety concerns. All play areas in the playground have strict guidelines related to the location of fall zones and protective surfacing, so the trees will not be intended for climbing. The park will have a variety of creative opportunities for climbing, unique architecture and will be a great place for kids.

Kids need a safe place to explore, play, imagine, develop friends, get dirty and just be kids.

Nearly 1,000 volunteers will be needed for the 5-day build in late May. There are opportunities for everyone. We need people to help with childcare for the volunteers, provide food service, organize materials and - of course - to do the construction. If you, your company or organization want to help, don't delay in letting us know. Just go to the Web site and click on "How to Help."

Mark Hoffman

Corvallis

'Free trade' is giving away U.S. prosperity

I thank Jim Sackinger for his comments (Letters, Dec. 28, Voice your thoughts on NAFTA proposal"). I tend to agree that "free" or "open" trade - on balance - has been good for the United States.

However, what is being created under the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America" (SPP) far exceeds "free trade," rendering itself as "aggressive globalism." The SPP involves the complex integration of three nations, the United States, Canada and Mexico into a "common economic" region, which includes economic, social, technological, cultural, security and political aspect of our three nations - well beyond NAFTA and improving "free trade."

The adopted SPP agenda is of major significance, yet the public remains uniformed and/or in denial. All of this is being done without the public's input, judicial oversight or congressional approval. This isn't how our democracy should work. If this becomes acceptable, then I fear we no longer have a democracy! If the public were better informed, this agenda and action would stop in its tracks. Many of the elements of the SPP agenda are already implemented, with final completion slated for 2010.

The ultimate power lies in the hands of the voters. We elect people whom we believe will work in our best interest. The interest being served in our nation has changed; the media has changed, and the time for public action is now! Informed citizens make democracy work.

For more information, see http://stopspp.com/stopspp.

Todd C. Wurster

Corvallis