Leave it to liberals to raise ignominy to an art form. Their idea of "honoring" fallen heroes is not with solemn dignified ceremonies or the construction of memorials. They say this would only memorialize war and death. The war in Iraq is ignoble, therefore a soldiers sacrifice in this endeavor must also be so. It doesn't matter whether or not the soldier believed in the cause for which the sacrifice was made, and we are reminded of this mindset as we witness the beautification of Cindy Sheehan by the anti-war left.

Liberals desperately want to make St. Cindy their symbol for the revival of a popular wide spread anti-war movement, but like their causes, they picked the wrong person. Either that, or she's the true reflection of what the left has become: shrill, strident and narcissistic.

Perhaps if St. Cindy's political opinions weren't as extremely leftist and anti-Semitic. Maybe if she had the support of her own family. Maybe if she hadn't already met the president and wasn't demanding yet another meeting. Maybe if her son, SPC Casey Sheehan hadn't enlisted, reenlisted and volunteered for the mission that ultimately killed him (a selfless action in stark contrast to a woman who has abandoned her three other children to make a personal pilgrimage to self-promotion.) She could then garner more sympathy and wider support for her cause than the usual wagon train of vehemently anti-Bush partisans.

For left-wing extremists wishing to make Cindy Sheehan a symbol of their beliefs: You're succeeding.

Harry Mallory

Corvallis

Lies about Iraq are mounting up

Statements by President Bush and Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman show how out of touch they are with reality. Bush said, "The only way to defend our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live." Mehlman said, "The central front of that war on terror is in Iraq."

Before the president sent our troops into Iraq, it wasn't the central front for terrorists. No terrorists "lived" in Iraq. The terrorists that attacked us on 9-11 lived in Saudi Arabia. Mehlman shouldn't insult Americans by claiming that "millions of Democrats and independents understand that the call that some have had to withdraw and cut and run is exactly the wrong thing … "

It's exactly what we should do; bring our troops home. Bush is fond of saying " … then the terrorists have won." American soldiers and Iraqis die daily. Iraq has become a training ground for terrorists to practice urban warfare.

An Islamic government is forming that will deny rights to women - not the democracy the president claims.

Bush abandoned our mission in Afghanistan and instead of bringing Osama bin Laden to justice, has wasted billions of dollars and thousands of lives on fabrications. Who's won?

As the anniversary of 9-11 draws near, people like Bush and Mehlman will again try and tie the tragic events of 9-11 to Iraq, a lie that, by his actions, Bush has turned into reality. Americans are tired of the rhetoric, tired of the lies and they want their loved ones to come home.

Roman Guenther Jr.

Corvallis

Morse health care stand a stopper

I agree with all the positive things you wrote about Oregon Sen. Frank Morse in your Aug. 22 editorial, "We'd gladly endorse Sen. Morse," and especially applaud his stand on Senate Bill 1000. But Sen. Morse and I have a very serious and irreconcilable difference.

Sen. Morse supports the current market-based approach to health care. He voted against Senate Bill 329, the bill that would have expanded Oregon's prescription drug pool to cover more Oregonians.

I support the Oregon prescription drug pool and want to see it expanded to cover all Oregonians. It could save as much as 60 percent on prescription drug costs. We spend more on health care in this country than folks living in countries with care for all, with less babies dying and with longer lives. Our health care system is not only deadly; it's expensive.

Log onto the Web site for "Daily Dose" to check this out.

So if a candidate came along who wanted to fix this failed health care system, I would have to support that candidate's opposition to Sen. Morse chiefly because of this life-or-death issue.

Robert G. Gourley

Corvallis

Denial of evolution doesn't prove 'Intelligent Design'

Doug Houck claims in his Aug. 23 letter, "'Intelligent Design' based on science," - without any actual reference to support his claim - that scientists "are finding it increasingly difficult to explain how this complexity could originate from anything other than purposeful intelligence." To which I say, "Phooey."

The vast majority of scientists in the appropriate fields are quite competent at explaining the origin of life and the processes of evolution. A mix of chemicals, heat, pressure, radiation, time - it's fairly simple. It just takes a while - billions of years, in fact. So it's kind of hard to observe in a lab. (Not to mention the lack of scientists to document the process way back then.)

Evolution occurs all around us. We see the incremental path it follows in the fossil record, unambiguous remnants of animals that are the clear ancestors of critters like the horse, the elephant and human beings. Do we have perfect knowledge of the process? Of course not; no human knowledge is perfect. But we learn more daily, and we learn nothing to tell us evolution is wrong. To the contrary: Evolution remains the most competent theory of the development of life. Science supports evolution; simply claiming it does not is rhetoric, and science, at the pre-school level.

Todd A. Barnhart

Corvallis