As the holidays approach, most residents of the Willamette Valley should have no problem counting their blessings. We've been spared tsunamis and hurricanes, yet our hearts go out to our young men and women in Iraq and we all seek peace in a troubled world.

Why is it then, that our politics are so contentious? We share the same goals; peace, prosperity and justice. Why does the political discourse sound like a shouting match?

The conflict arises from a "zero-sum" mindset. The notion that one's gain comes from another's loss. Or that I'm right, and you're wrong. If we could define solutions that benefit everyone, imagine the Thanksgiving we could celebrate.

I've decided to do my part to narrow the chasm between the extremes. I'm running for president, and I encourage everyone to do the same. Then sit down and try to characterize your "platform" in a few sentences. "I believe" and "just because" don't cut it.

Why do you think the way you do about abortion? Gun control? Gay marriage? How do you justify imposing your views on others? Look up what the Constitution has to say on the subject. If you can't rationally explain your views, how can you justify shouting them at others?

Join me in the dialog. I'm at www.smithforpresident.com. It doesn't matter what party you belong to, but give the issues some thoughtful consideration. Maybe next year we can be thankful for a more thoughtful sense of civic participation.

Michael Smith

Corvallis

Piled leaves in bike lane a hazard to bicyclists

As an environmentally conscious person, my bicycle is my only mode of transportation. I moved here from a mid-sized city in upstate New York, where a car was necessary to get around due to large suburban sprawl.

Living in Corvallis for the past year and half, I happily gave up my vehicle and became a careless wanderer, getting around either by walking or biking. I have been very content with this decision, finding Corvallis to truly be the "biker friendly town" it professes itself to be.

However, this fall season, I have found that some Corvallis citizens have forgotten the bikers. There have been several places around town where large piles of leaves have been sitting in the middle of the bike lanes. On one instance, a car had to slow down behind me so that I could dodge the pile of leaves on 35th Street and Philomath Boulevard - quite a busy intersection. This is unsafe not only for me, but also for drivers.

I just want to remind my fellow Corvallis residents to remember the friendly bikers this fall season when raking leaves. Please don't put leaves in the bike lane - they endanger not only lives, but also make one wonder whether this is really the biker-friendly town it professes to be!

Sarah T. Lamb

Corvallis

Tree farmers grow to please the customer

A recent letter about Christmas tree growers deserves a response, since it paints an inaccurate picture of tree farmers.

The writer suggests that an "extreme" type of culturing is done to prove to the tax man that tree growers are "really farming." She also stated that she did not like the "thick" trees often grown.

First, Christmas tree growers must invest time, labor and money for seven to 10 years before realizing any return. They work hard at culturing the trees by hand, not with chainsaws, as the writer asserts.

Growers constantly face risks from insects, disease, drought, freezes and other natural occurrences. They work hard, have no guarantee of success and tax accountants do recognize that they are indeed farmers.

With respect to open versus thick trees: growers are always trying to respond to a variety of consumer tastes.

Certain species, such as noble fir, can be cultured as more open trees that can handle heavier decorations. However, they are more difficult and expensive to grow than any other species. Hence, they command a higher price to be profitable to grow.

Other trees, such as Douglas firs, are cultured to produce a tree that is thicker. It is less expensive to consumers and popular in many markets.

Part of a grower's challenge is to hope that consumer tastes and traditions do not change during the years the trees are growing. With artificial trees becoming more popular and the various attempts to down-play our long-held Christmas traditions, these challenges may loom even larger in the future.

John Schudel

Corvallis

Permit throwing fish innards back into river

Letter writer Ray Daubert is right; it is illegal to dispose of dead animals (fish carcasses) or parts thereof in Oregon waters. In fact, the maximum fine is $5,000 and one year in jail. But some laws need to change. I was hoping to create a little discussion over this issue.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department has been throwing tons of fish carcasses into our rivers to increase the production of salmon and steelhead.

The Oregonian recently had an article about "Fish First," a volunteer organization in Washington state that has been using a cement truck to dump fish carcasses into rivers and has greatly increased fish returns. Mother Nature has been successfully doing this for years.

This law needs to be revised to allow sportsmen to legally add their fish waste to the ecosystem for the many creatures to consume in remote locations.

We could continue to have it be illegal to huge waste dumps in concentrated spots or inappropriate spots, such as boat landings.

Let crabbers throw their used crab bait back into the bay for feeding more crabs, etc. Why dump good nutrients into a landfill?

I can remember when we were removing logs from rivers and now we have learned that logs are good, and they are being added to rivers. We fertilize our gardens (hopefully, organically). Let's do the same for our rivers and bays.

Let the discussion continue on this issue.

Ray Chesbrough

Corvallis

Strength of nation lies in our reverence for liberty

For the past 229 years, there has been an astounding experiment going on. Most of us have been involved in this experiment in the United States of America. It was an astounding attempt to simultaneously provide liberty, freedom, respect for the ordinary individual, freedom of speech, protection from police brutality, economic opportunity for all and no special privileges for any special class.

The experiment went on and on and then, suddenly … pfft … it all seems to have extinguished itself. What went wrong?

Now, before we immerse ourselves in fault-finding, let's think first of what went right originally. Could it have anything to do with the fact that many of us actually believed in our protestations of the rightness of liberty, equality and the protection of individual human rights?

Albert C. Heinrich

Corvallis