Posted: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:00 am
On homelessness, parking, GMOs, catnip for police officers, Hillary Clinton and the penance-mercy connection
Homeless discussion missed major issue
All of the reports and editorials that have run in the past couple weeks on the topic of the homeless in Corvallis have negleted to address that there is nowhere for homeless persons to go during the day to stay in out of the cold.
Circle of Hope is no longer operating, and Community Outreach's emergency shelter is closed many hours throughout the day.
The winter shelter is for men only and opens in the late evening and then closes early the next morning. Corvallis does offer great services - free clothes, nighttime shelter, food banks and Stone Soup. But what about staying in out of the cold during the day? The only option at this point seems to be the public library.
Melani Whisler
Corvallis
Downtown Corvallis needs more parking
We were quite concerned when there was an article in the Gazette-Times about raising the parking-meter rates. What we really need is more parking spaces.
We have been living in Corvallis since 1966 and really enjoy this city and everything available.
When we were here our first year, at Christmas we found that if we wanted to park downtown for shopping we had to get there early (by 10 o'clock). Otherwise, we had to shop at outlying stores or out of town to find stores with parking lots. As a last resort we had to order things from the catalogs.
We're sure that others have had similar problems with parking and shopping downtown.
Over the years we have lost some of the larger stores that we had found enjoyable. We cannot understand why no one seems to see the need for more parking lots or parking garages in the core city areas.
We have shopped in Salem and Portland, where there seems to be plenty of parking space in garages downtown, and they also have outlying malls. We do not have to pay to park when we go there to shop.
We feel that our "city fathers" want to keep Corvallis with the "small town" image and this is nice.
However, in doing so we also seem to be sending a great deal of business out of our town. Does this make sense?
Ted and Dorothy
Rosenbalm
Corvallis
A little catnip might lighten cops' mood
I want to offer the Corvallis Police Department, as a Christmas gift, some nice, potent, high-quality cat weed.
I offer this premium catnip with the respectful suggestion, that before they begin each patrol shift, all officers snort it, rub it all over their faces, and roll around in it on the ground.
The death of a homeless man sparked temporary good will toward the homeless.
I found a dead cat on the road near a camp and figured there must be more. When the homeless man came out, I said "Do you remember me?" He said, "You're the cat woman. I got some cats need fixing again."
I caught nine. Today I went to return the first five, now fixed. I retrieved one set trap, and came out to find a police officer ticketing my car.
I figured, naively, if a cop came along, Id tell him what I was doing, and they would say something like "Good job. Glad someone's doing that." But no.
I tried to point out I was doing community service at my own expense, that realistically, where else could I park to trap cats, without hauling them on foot a half mile or more.
Finally, I told them police are supposed to behave like friendly helpful community servants, not like Nazis.
Now, on top of the expense of this community service, I have a $45 parking ticket. Merry Christmas, Corvallis cops. Scrooge isn't really a good role model.
So, I'm offering up the catnip. Warning: may cause playfulness; may decrease overly serious behaviors.
Jody Harmon
Albany
New technologies bring consequences
Megan McKenzie's defense of GMOs ("Rethink GMOs as sustainable agriculture," Nov. 15) highlights the need for communities to have a shared vision and definition of sustainability.
The scientifically based Natural Step Framework, founded by cancer researcher, Dr. Karl Henrik Robert, uses four system conditions to define sustainability:
"Substances from the Earth's crust must not systematically increase in the biosphere.
"Substances produced by society must not systematically increase in nature.
"The productivity and diversity of nature must not be systematically deteriorated.
"Human beings must be able to meet their needs.
Unsustainable GMOs violate the above:
"Classical breeding follows nature's cycles; placing genes from a bee into an apple tree does not. Round Up ready seed is designed so the resulting crops can withstand large amounts of weedkiller. Is that how we should feed our children?
"Organisms from genetic manipulation may not be compatible with nature. We are clueless as to the repercussions of this technology. We have no choice on our exposure since GMOs cannot be contained.
Third World farmers develop and save seed bred for their community. GMO seed is owned by large corporations. It must be bought every year and is not bred for local conditions. North American farmers growing non-GMO crops have had their fields contaminated by GMOs. They are fined for "growing" GMO seed.
This discussion does not even address growing our pharmaceuticals in plants. Please remember the consequences new technologies have brought us and think more critically about what we truly need.
Maureen Beezhold
Corvallis
Hillary best hope
for the White House
One hears much about Hillary Clinton's indecisiveness and vacillations, imagined or otherwise, mostly expressed by the male opposition political candidates or journalistic talking heads and, unfortunately, taken up by some women.
But these women should realize that there are no other viable women candidates in the pipeline after Hillary.
If she does not get the Democratic nomination, we will have to wait for at least one, probably many more, decade(s) before a woman as intelligent, well-educated and experienced as Hillary Clinton can campaign for president.
Why is America behind some other nations in this respect?
The enlightened segments of our society, men and women both, have the numbers and the power to accomplish this feat.
Why are we holding ourselves back and allowing bigotry and ignorance to cast a shadow over our lives?
Think about the disasters, war casualties and economic stresses caused by the unwise decisions of this administration.
Remember the male-dominated Supreme Court with its questionable election decisions and its long judicial arm that stretches into our very wombs to dictate to us about our lives?
Let's try something new and tap the political talents and leadership of the other half of the population.
Hillary Clinton may not be perfect, but I don't see any of the male candidates being perfect either.
Let's give our first viable woman candidate a chance. This is a most opportune moment in history to put a woman in position of power to effect social justice and change for all.
Ellen Tan Drake
Corvallis
Penance might be the road to mercy
While doing some research regarding the Thanksgiving holiday, I noticed for the first time an interesting Civil War chronology from 1863. It is centered upon a remarkable Proclamation Appointing a National Fast-Day. The Proclamation was made by President Lincoln on March 30, 1863. It established a "… day for national prayer and humiliation…" to be observed on April 30, 1863.
The Proclamation calls upon the nation to "… confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow …" while hoping that "… genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon." There is much more in a similar vein.
The chronology:
• Jan. 1: Emancipation Proclamation becomes effective, declaring as free the slaves then held in rebellious states.
• April 30: National Fast-Day
• July 1-3: Battle of Gettysburg. A Union victory, which was a turning point in the war and in which Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee made tactical errors.
• Oct 3: President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation in which, regarding the bounties of the nation he proclaims, "They are gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy."
Here's the nugget for me: Perhaps when men humbly confess their sins and repent (which involves changing their conduct) the Most High God does indeed show mercy, to nations as well as to individuals.
Vern McDonald
Corvallis