Urban renewal district a benefits to us all

Corvallis has a wonderful downtown and we all have a stake in supporting it. If the heart of our city deteriorates, we all will suffer. If we lose it, there is no way to get it back. The urban renewal program is a way to target funds to protect our downtown far into the future.

Here are some facts to remember: The Corvallis school district will feel no financial impact. The state legislature passed a statute clarifying that school bond measures passed after 2001 would not be affected by an urban renewal program. Since Oregon equalizes per pupil spending across the state, the property taxes that go to the urban renewal district will be backfilled by state funds.

The revenue allocated to the Urban Renewal fund is never lost. It is simply redirected to fund activities within the district.The enhancement of the downtown is clearly part of the Corvallis 20-20 Vision Statement. Urban renewal is an effective way to accomplish one of the city's goals, an economically healthy downtown.

In a similar fashion, the county has a vested interest in having a beautiful and prosperous city center. Our historic courthouse and other county offices are located right in the middle of the district. We want the heart of Corvallis to continue to thrive and be a lively gathering place for all county residents.

An urban renewal district will help us keep a great down town for decades to come. It deserves your support.

Barbara Ross, Corvallis

Failed war on drugs has other purposes

Let's face it; the so-called war on drugs is a complete failure. The fact of the matter is that the bulk of these drugs are used by the upper class in our society, which is largely immune to a law that is only applied forcefully to petty users.

Our politicians, most of whom have low intellectual capabilities and high propensity for demagoguery, use this as an opportunity to appear as being tough on drug users in order to appease ignorant voters.

A less-publicized purpose of this war is to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries. For many years, our government has gloated about its certification program of other countries where drugs are grown and/or are used as a route by traffickers. Americans have been duped for many years about its successes.

For example, after pouring billions of dollars into Colombia, the cocaine production there has increased steadily by about 20 percent a year!

In reality, most of the money has been used to exercise geopolitical control of that country, regardless of its horrendous human rights record.

Another example is Mexico. Despite the huge amount of money spent there, drug exports to the USA have increased exponentially - and its citizens are now paying with their lives, fighting gangsters armed by our gun dealers.

We the citizens need to find a rational solution to this problem and demand that our government stop misusing taxpayers' money. It is our responsibility to demand transparency from our government and stop its hypocritical behavior.

Mario E. Magaña, Corvallis

Evidence growing that 9/11 was a staged myth

The 9/11 attack was the psychological backdrop, seminal event and major ideological justification for the "War on Terror" and all-too-familiar invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. The WOT is still powered substantially by the idea we were attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

Yet a large and growing body of Americans perceive that what we are told about 9/11 (like Iraq, Valerie Plame, Cheney's hunting accident, etc.) is another lie.

Recent books "Welcome to Terrorland" and "The Big Wedding" unearth strategic weaknesses in the government- and media-propelled 9/11 myth.

Yet we can proceed to the main event, the Trade Towers' destruction, to grasp the depth and breadth of this misconception.

The documentary "9/11 Mysteries: Part 1, Demolitions" takes down most elements of the rapidly promulgated deception that the World Trade Center buildings fell unaided. It presents compelling evidence of advanced demolition of the outdated Trade Towers.

WTC1 and WTC2 needed billions in air conditioning and utility upgrades, were poorly designed for high tech, had historically low occupancy and contained asbestos. Legal demolition would be prohibitively expensive.

Many argue 9/11 was a false flag incident to power entry into Middle Eastern conflicts and psychologically boost domestic neo-conservative political, ideological and

military-building objectives.

The neo-con think tank Project for a New American Century, which boasted four Administration heavyweights (Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, and Perle), blatantly stated 'a New Pearl Harbor' would be required to accelerate achievement of this otherwise very long-term transformation.

Was 9/11 the sought-after event?

Chris Foulke, Corvallis