PUBLISHED: Evangelical Christians misguided

The most stunning result of Tuesday’s election was the tremendous role of "moral values." This so-called morality seems to consist of intolerance for gays, federal funding of religious schools, opposition to abortion, an obsession with others’ sexuality, and a new crusade in the Islamic world.

My moral values are a little different: equal education for all, tolerance of gays, reproductive freedom, and restraint in war. What am I, some kind of crazy secular humanist? No! I’m a Lutheran. The son of a minister, I was raised in a religious household where Sunday services were not optional. But I was taught that Jesus stood for peace, love and compassion, and my political views are informed by these beliefs.

The "Christianity" that seems to have motivated half of this country to the polls is unrecognizable to this Christian.

PUBLISHED: Closed Bush event speaks volumes

[Link to published letter]

The Tribune’s coverage of the recent campaign visits by George Bush and John Kerry failed to note a critical difference between the two events. As usual, Kerry’s rally was open to everyone, protesters included.

But like all of his rallies, Bush’s was open only to those who have pledged to vote for him. Also as usual, dissenters were confined to a small barbed-wire enclosure (perversely known as a “free speech zone”), far out of Bush’s sight. At other rallies, including places like Pittsburgh, Texas, and South Carolina, peaceful protesters who turned up at Bush’s private rallies have even been arrested and jailed - for the crime of waving the wrong sign in a sea of signs.

If Bush treats the American people with such contempt when he is up for re-election, how will he treat us when he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore?

PUBLISHED: Bush enabled Enron's scheme

[actual published text in bold]

The outright malice revealed in the new Enron tapes is exceeded only by the outright corruption of a Bush administration that enabled and prolonged the 2001 Western power crisis.

Bush actively campaigned in 2000 against the price controls then in place, arguing for "open markets." But the only market ever opened was the segment already dominated by Texas companies like Enron and Dynegy, leaving the rest of the industry hamstrung.

Enron then ran prices up by shutting down plants, overloading transmission lines and flooding the market with bogus transactions. When Western senators threatened to reimpose price caps, Dick Cheney consulted head crook Kenneth Lay and testified against caps the following day. He even had the nerve to blame the "shortage" on environmentalists.

It is no coincidence that "the Crooked E" was Bush/Cheney's biggest contributor in the 2000 campaign. The tapes reveal that it expected a big payback, openly gunning for "Kenny Boy" to be named energy secretary and for its chance to shaft those socialist California grandmothers.

Enron engineered an illegal transfer of billions in wealth from the West Coast to Texas with the administration's blessing, displaying a level of corruption that makes me sick to my stomach. The least we can do is throw the Enron crooks in prison and the Bush administration crooks out of office.

PUBLISHED: Case shows dangers of power

[Link to published letter]

The federal government recently argued before the Supreme Court that it can be trusted not to abuse its new, unchecked powers to investigate and detain citizens. At about the same time, it began conducting secret searches of Brandon Mayfield’s home. Then it arrested him and held him without charges for two weeks, his property (and even his child’s homework) was seized, his business was left to flounder, and his mouth was gagged while the government publicly stated its "case" against him.

I can’t think of a more vivid example of why we need to restrain the government’s power: not only to guard against its becoming oppressive, but also because sometimes it simply makes mistakes.

PUBLISHED: Weigh the good against suffering

[Actual published text in bold]

The recently publicized atrocities committed against Iraqis by US troops are deeply dismaying. But the sad reality is that crimes against humanity – even rape, torture and wanton murder – are quite common during war. It is part of war’s inherent nature, in which widespread chaos, violence, loss and dehumanization both incite and provide cover to a minority of twisted psychopaths to perpetrate despicable acts against others.

In America we are lucky to have been insulated from the horrors of war for many years, but we’ve forgotten one of its basic truths. Atrocities are committed in all wars, and by individuals from all sides. War is always hellish, and its human cost is always staggering. There are no exceptions. Before we can justify going to war, we must somberly weigh the good to be gained against the tremendous suffering that is certain to result.

Does anyone remember us gravely deliberating these things before we invaded Iraq? Not that I can recall.

PUBLISHED: Bush's tax cut is discriminatory

After all the obscene tax cuts Bush has lavished upon the wealthy, it’s nice to finally see some relief aimed at the middle class. Too bad he has gone out of his way to exclude certain people whom he apparently deems undeserving.

Empty-nesters, young singles, and couples who are unable or choose not to have children – middle class though they may be – need not apply for his latest tax break.

Having children is a laudable lifestyle decision, but based on current birthrates it sure doesn’t appear to need a financial incentive. And lots of people are struggling right now regardless of whether they have children or not. I’m trying to support myself and my wife, who has four more years of school before she can make any money, on a single income that has declined substantially this year. We’re selling our house and taking on a lower-cost lifestyle to ensure that we make it through the rest of this Bush recession.

An extra $400 would be fantastic right now, but this “family friendly” tax break doesn’t help my family at all.

PUBLISHED: Bush misses forest for the trees

"I really enjoyed that helicopter ride ... and let me tell you, there are a lot of trees up here. So don't listen to the critics."

George Bush's statement during his recent visit to the Northwest illustrates that, as with so many other domestic concerns, he simply has no grasp of the issues involved in our region's logging controversies.

The continued harvest of old-growth forests, which are the spotted owl's primary habitat, will provide some short term jobs, but there just isn't very much commercially viable ancient forest left. At current harvest levels, these stands cannot sustain jobs through another decade, even if we cut down every single old tree that remains.

There are plenty of trees growing in second-growth forests, however, and these are what our President saw from his helicopter. If modern forestry techniques were universally adopted and lands were properly managed to ensure sustainable long-term harvests, these second-growth forests could easily replace timber jobs that are currently being lost.

The timber industry is in need of reform. If President Bush really wanted to preserve timber jobs, he would encourage the industry to move from the destruction of ancient forests to the practice of sustainable techniques in new forests. This would be accomplished by banning clearcutting on all Federal land, mandating that all harvested areas be replanted, and establishing industry standards for accountability in forest practices. Further relief could come to hard-pressed timber workers if raw log exports were halted, and the $300 million annually spent by the Forest Service to subsidize timber companies were instead spent on job retraining and economic development in timber communities.

George Bush's recent visit to the Northwest displayed his ignorance with respect to environmental issues, and seemed directed more towards fixing blame than towards fixing our problems. We need leadership that is less interested in dividing people, and is more interested in bringing them together to work towards a common solution.

Labels

PUBLISHED

to-oregonian
to-tribune
to-seattletimes
to-wweek
to-officials

about-healthcare
about-local
about-economy
about-environment
about-politics
about-transportation
about-recreation
about-humanity
about-humor