Much of Declaration still topical

Some of the parts of the Declaration of Independence that you left out of the paper Wednesday are quite topical. I cite two:

"He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good." (What about all of those "signings"?)

"He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. (What about those 50,000 contract "security forces" in Iraq, answerable to nobody?)

To your credit, you did mention depriving people of trial by jury.

Norris Smith

Corvallis

Why no outrage about terrorism?

In her letter of July 5, Barbara Boudreaux screamed outrage asserting we are warmongers and international lawbreakers! I ask the "Blame-America-First" crowd:

Why was there no outrage at Saddam's killing of innocent citizens? Why no outrage when he gassed (WMD) his own people? Why no outrage when he paid money to the families of terrorists for killing innocent Israeli citizens? Why no outrage when our Congress and the United Nations authorized the war? Why no outrage now at atrocities committed by Iran, Syria and Palestine? Why no outrage at terrorist beheadings, blowing up civilians and using them as shields? Why no outrage at using hospitals, mosques and schools for terrorist operations? Why no outrage when terrorists don't wear uniforms? All these are crimes, prohibited by the Geneva Convention, that directly result in civilian casualties. The answer is simple: Liberals don't care about civilian casualties. All they want is for their country to look bad because they believe that will make Bush look bad! They want America to lose! They want political power and America be damned!

American soldiers take extreme measures at great personal risk to avoid civilian casualties while terrorists directly target civilians. Terrorists are the bad guys! It is interesting to note that the latest polls show our military in the highest esteem of any American institution while Congress is at the bottom of the ladder! Americans still know right from wrong and that is our only hope in silencing the "Blame-America-First" crowd!

Eldon "Al" Carr

Corvallis

Parade presents traffic hassles

I don't have anything against the Fourth of July parade. In fact, my family watched the entire parade, albeit unwillingly, from our car, and it was nice. Unfortunately, watching the parade was not a planned part of our day. We had simply pulled up to the intersection of Third Street and Monroe Avenue and found we couldn't go through. There were so many cars behind us that turning back was not an option. We were all trapped.

After waiting a while, I got out and asked the officer directing traffic if he was going to stop the parade for a couple of minutes to let us through. He said he would not despite the fact that there were several large gaps in the parade. I tried to explain to him that I had a 6-week-old baby sitting in the hot car, but my concerns were ignored. And when I asked him why the traffic hadn't been directed around the parade, I was told to go back to my car and stop distracting him.

I spoke to two other motorists who were also annoyed by the wait and I can only assume the same thing was happening at other intersections along the parade route. Why were there no detour signs, no police officers directing traffic away from the parade? Why were we not turned back at Jefferson Avenue instead of being directed into a dead end? To those who organize the parade: Please do a better job of traffic management next year.

Leilah Parker

Corvallis

Iraq invasion planned before 9-11

It is still clear to me how clueless some people are when it comes to Iraq and the American invasion and occupation. We are there for the resources, period.

For those willing and able to research this whole mess, you will find PNAC, Project for the New American Century. Open the letters/statements section as well as the publications and reports. As early as 1998 this group, whose members include or have included Donald Rumsfeld, Scooter Libby and Dick Cheney among others, has been calling for action on Iraq. In addition, the project titled "Rebuilding America's Defenses" outlines increases in defense spending and securing America's position in the Persian Gulf. The problem with this proposal, they thought, would be that American citizens and the government would not go along with their ideas. That is unless there was "some catastrophic event - like a new Pearl Harbor" (page 51). And one year later, 9-11; their new Pearl Harbor.

This false-flag event is but just one piece of the puzzle as to why we are in Iraq. And while you're doing your homework, look up the new Iraq embassy. This country is planning on having a significant force in Iraq permanently. Peak oil is here and they know it. What concerns me now is the talk of acting on Iran, but for what? All it would take is another false-flag "terrorist" strike, artificially connect it to Iran and the bombs and missiles will fly. Wake up.

Doug Huntley

Corvallis