Nothing green about Christmas tree farms

I had to chuckle over the front page story on April 16 about kids releasing ladybugs at the Christmas tree farm.

It is very cool that those farms are deciding to not use the cancer-causing sprays that they have used for the last 50 years and change to a more sustainable pesticide product.

But there is nothing "green" about Christmas tree farms since they raise a bunch of trees, cut them down, haul them away and sell them for inflated prices so people can use those trees for two or three weeks and then throw them away.

That isn't a "green" practice.

When we use words like "green" for a concept like "environmentally sustainable" it is easy to mask unsustainable practices behind that label.

Everything now on TV is sold using nature, natural or healthy images to convince us it is such, when it isn't.

Please be careful when labeling a complex concept a color.

Jules Cooper, Corvallis

Clemens Foundation taken for granted

Regarding the story "Educator: Clemens mission lost" (April 15):

I don't blame the Clemens Foundation for standing up for what they believe is important. Everyone has a right to an opinion and most scholarships have standards you must meet.

The Clemens Foundation has been taken for granted and people act as if the money for scholarships is an entitlement.

The foundation has funded scholarships for thousands of young people and ignited the hope of a better life.

This is a time of greater economic hardship with rising gas and food prices, the cost of higher education is escalating, and families who live beyond their means are threatened with financial loss.

No wonder this is a hot topic. Everyone wants young people to win and have a great future.

I'm curious how the Clemens family has been treated over the last few years. Are they approached with respect and kindness?

Does every recipient of a Clemens scholarship remember to send a thank you letter to let them know what this gift has meant to them and how it's changed their life?

Is there a public yearly event where the Clemens family and foundation is honored?

Have past recipients of the scholarships formed an organization to support the Clemens Foundation?

The families of the potential recipients of the Clemens scholarships should be supporting the Clemens family and look for ways to bargain and negotiate, rather than express anger and entitlement.

Wendy Marie Haber, Alsea

Dogs part of the fun of farmer's market

I found Joy Hagler's letter ("Headed Downtown? Leave dog at home," April 15) a bit Scrooge-like, to say the least.

I have met many nice dogs downtown. My children look forward to the "dog show" at the farmer's market with great joy. It's all part of the experience.

If a black Lab sticks his nose in your fresh greens, I guess you'll have to wash them extra well.

Dogs are part of our community. If they were all left at home, they would not be socialized as well as they should be.

I'd rather show a more compassionate attitude and share our downtown with our four-legged furry friends.

Alexis Spakoski, Corvallis

Pedophile priests should be in prison

Will the Pope address the pedophile priests issue in the U.S.?

When asked about pedophile priests the pope said, "I will make sure pedophiles don't become priests."

How about "I will make sure pedophile priests become convicts?"

Or is U.S. law a belief system also?

Thomas L. Waterman, Corvallis

OSU coaching hire was not a mistake

In his April 16 letter to the Gazette-Times, Robert Gutierrez suggests that Oregon State hired Craig Robinson as basketball coach just because he is Barack Obama's brother-in-law and that the school made a mistake.

No doubt Coach Robinson's relation to the presidential contender was a strong factor in his hiring. It will, incidentally, also be a factor in his getting in the door of promising recruits.

The fact that Robinson is Obama's brother-in-law doesn't mean that he can't coach basketball.

He has had some success in coaching, knows the game, and has a strong desire to coach. He is also a smart guy with sense enough to make whatever adjustments he has to in order to play in the Pac-10.

Certainly Oregon State took a chance, but it was a reasonable chance given the rather obvious fact that the school was not going to be able to hire a big-name coach from a big, successful program.

Aaron Brown, Corvallis

Let's have an end to futile war in Iraq

The military and civilian spokespersons for the Bush administration's Iraq War policy warn us against a "precipitous withdrawal" from Iraq.

The Bush administration produced a precipitous propaganda blitz before the war in order to convince the American people of its necessity, followed by a precipitous "shock and awe" bombing of Baghdad preceding our invasion.

There have been several precipitous changes in the publicly stated reasons for having the war and for continuing our military occupation.

Why not have a precipitous end to this futile, precipitous war?

Dire warnings are intended to keep the public on edge about the dangers of leaving Iraq too soon. Generally, "too soon" means any definite future time. With no clear exit strategy, this is a recipe for endless war.

There are negative consequences if we remain in Iraq. Our military presence there adds daily to the reservoir of militant Islamists across the Muslim world.

Andrew Bacevich, writing for the Washington Post this past January, said that "surge or no surge, the Iraq War remains an egregious strategic blunder that persistence will only compound."

According to Bacevich, who is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University, anti-Americanism has reached record levels as a result of the Iraq War.

He states: "Instead of draining the jihadist swamp, the Iraq War is continuously replenishing it."

David R. Prichard, Corvallis