I just saw the play, "My Name is Rachel Corrie," and wept, heartbroken at the horrendous suffering of Gazans - which Americans fund.
Hamas is called a terrorist organization (suicide bombers ARE terrorists) but the bigger terrorists are politicians who use Gazans as pawns in pursuit of political gain.
• Olmert, Livni, and Barak who betrayed Sderot's residents (also pawns) by breaking the June cease-fire although Hamas had essentially stopped rocket fire.
• Abbas, who told Israel to keep bombing Gaza so as to destroy his political enemy Hamas.
• Obama who caved in to Zionist pressure from Congress, dropping his demand for a settlement freeze in order to gain support for health care reform.
• Christian Zionists, who count their flawed theology more important than human lives created in the image of God.
Rachel screamed, "How can the world allow this to continue?" after seeing tanks and bulldozers destroying any semblance of a normal childhood in Gaza, tearing down homes and greenhouses, destroying the food supply, wiping out sewage, electricity and water treatment. She stood amazed by brave families practicing nonviolent resistance simply by continuing their daily tasks in the shadow of Israeli guns.
How CAN the world allow this inhuman siege to continue? How can Americans continue to fund this brutality with $13 million every day?
Please do something: join the boycott and divestment movement. Support a single truly-democratic state with equal rights for both Palestinians and Jews.
June Forsyth Kenagy, Albany
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Letter: Selling, tossing Halloween candy poor way to thank those who give (Oct. 30)
Each year in the paper, there is an article about the dentist who gives children money in trade for the Halloween candy that they have collected.
I have worked in retail for years, and have seen the elderly - as well as others having a hard time financially - count out what money they do have available to buy candy so as not to disappoint the children when they come to trick or treat.
How would they feel if they knew that the candy they work so hard to buy is thrown away?
What kind of parent would encourage their children to go out and get as much candy as they can so that they can turn it in for cash?
Why don't the parents and the dentist just offer children cash instead of going trick-or-treating? At least then, those nice folks who hand out the treats wouldn't be throwing away their hard-earned money by giving treats to children who don't appreciate it.
Cathie Beard, Philomath
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Flag this message Important information about your MidValley Voice user account
This weekend we learned that MidValley Voice user account information was accessible for several days.
A list of usernames, passwords and email addresses was available in an obscure network known primarily to product testers working for our vendor, who partners with us to operate the MidValley Voice network.
After learning of the security problem, our partner immediately secured the account information. Further investigation leads us to believe that exposure was very limited, primarily by our registered users who may have searched for their own names in Google. We have received no word from customers that any accounts were compromised.
As a precaution, we suggest changing your MidValley Voice password and monitoring the e-mail account associated with our network for any problems. To change your password, login to MidValley Voice (http://broadcaster.townnews-mail.com/t?ctl=2EEBB1:7AB9130BC0E1C3FBA7ACCC6059EA3D34033306CAEDE0DB61& click the 'My Stuff' tab, then select 'Account Settings.' Then, on the left-hand menu, choose 'Login/Password.'
Please also notify us immediately if you experience problems that are associated with this issue.
To help with your questions and concerns, we will host a live chat this afternoon until 5 p.m. To join, follow this link: http://broadcaster.townnews-mail.com/t?ctl=2EEBB2:7AB9130BC0E1C3FBA7ACCC6059EA3D34033306CAEDE0DB61& After today's chat is over, it will be available for you to read and use for your own troubleshooting, or you can contact us at contact@midvalleyvoice.com.
As always, we respect your personal information and thank you for your continued support for all of our online products.
Mike McInally, publisher, Gazette-Times
Matt Neznanski, community coordinator, MidValley Voice
A list of usernames, passwords and email addresses was available in an obscure network known primarily to product testers working for our vendor, who partners with us to operate the MidValley Voice network.
After learning of the security problem, our partner immediately secured the account information. Further investigation leads us to believe that exposure was very limited, primarily by our registered users who may have searched for their own names in Google. We have received no word from customers that any accounts were compromised.
As a precaution, we suggest changing your MidValley Voice password and monitoring the e-mail account associated with our network for any problems. To change your password, login to MidValley Voice (http://broadcaster.townnews-mail.com/t?ctl=2EEBB1:7AB9130BC0E1C3FBA7ACCC6059EA3D34033306CAEDE0DB61& click the 'My Stuff' tab, then select 'Account Settings.' Then, on the left-hand menu, choose 'Login/Password.'
Please also notify us immediately if you experience problems that are associated with this issue.
To help with your questions and concerns, we will host a live chat this afternoon until 5 p.m. To join, follow this link: http://broadcaster.townnews-mail.com/t?ctl=2EEBB2:7AB9130BC0E1C3FBA7ACCC6059EA3D34033306CAEDE0DB61& After today's chat is over, it will be available for you to read and use for your own troubleshooting, or you can contact us at contact@midvalleyvoice.com.
As always, we respect your personal information and thank you for your continued support for all of our online products.
Mike McInally, publisher, Gazette-Times
Matt Neznanski, community coordinator, MidValley Voice
Editorial: When life is over
Doctors, lawyers and others urge us to make living wills and give end-of-life directives for our care. What we also need, it sometimes seems, is direction for what to do about us when we completely lose our minds so that every moment becomes a living hell.
The answer is obvious when all that afflicts us is normal senility associated with old age. They can just park us in a wheelchair or a bed, medicate us and wait for us to expire.
But what if we cause trouble? What if we fight those who would take care of us? What if we run off every chance we get. What if we imagine we are somewhere else, that nobody helps us even though helpers are constantly there?
What if, even though close to 90 years of age, for everybody's safety we have to be either locked up or tied down? What if the torment of being locked up or tied down is apparent in our eyes and audible when we speak. What are the caretakers supposed to do then? Just look away?
Contemplating what might happen if advanced dementia robs us of our minds and condemns us to some kind of hell on Earth, some of us might sign an advanced directive that says: "When that stage is reached, give me a dose to stop my heart, because my life has ended long before."
Such an act of kindness, though, the law does not allow. On the subject of advanced directives, it seems, we have a long way to go. (hh)
The answer is obvious when all that afflicts us is normal senility associated with old age. They can just park us in a wheelchair or a bed, medicate us and wait for us to expire.
But what if we cause trouble? What if we fight those who would take care of us? What if we run off every chance we get. What if we imagine we are somewhere else, that nobody helps us even though helpers are constantly there?
What if, even though close to 90 years of age, for everybody's safety we have to be either locked up or tied down? What if the torment of being locked up or tied down is apparent in our eyes and audible when we speak. What are the caretakers supposed to do then? Just look away?
Contemplating what might happen if advanced dementia robs us of our minds and condemns us to some kind of hell on Earth, some of us might sign an advanced directive that says: "When that stage is reached, give me a dose to stop my heart, because my life has ended long before."
Such an act of kindness, though, the law does not allow. On the subject of advanced directives, it seems, we have a long way to go. (hh)
Letter: ACORN law might just hit some mighty big corporate targets
The recent news of government-funded organizations participating in criminal fraud have been shocking. That's why Congress should pass the ACORN Act as soon as possible to prevent such things from happening again.
It is inexcusable for criminals to continue to receive federal funds.
For example, since 1995 Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrup Grumman have paid $3 billion in fines for "misconduct," but that shouldn't have been hard since the taxpayers continue to shovel wads of cash at them ($77 billion in 2007).
In September, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer paid $2.3 billion to settle several cases, including Medicare fraud. This was not a problem for a company with $40 billion in profits last year; it continues to get millions of dollars in contracts from U.S. taxpayers.
Similarly, Halliburton continues to get billions of dollars from us, despite gross negligence that resulted in poisoned "drinking water" and showers that killed troops in Iraq by electrocution.
Please urge your representatives to co-sponsor the Against Corporations Organizing to Rip off the Nation Act (HR 3679). Given how rapidly Congress pulled funding from an organization whose employees provided prostitution business advice, passage of this bill should be a cinch!
Andrew Gray
Corvallis
It is inexcusable for criminals to continue to receive federal funds.
For example, since 1995 Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrup Grumman have paid $3 billion in fines for "misconduct," but that shouldn't have been hard since the taxpayers continue to shovel wads of cash at them ($77 billion in 2007).
In September, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer paid $2.3 billion to settle several cases, including Medicare fraud. This was not a problem for a company with $40 billion in profits last year; it continues to get millions of dollars in contracts from U.S. taxpayers.
Similarly, Halliburton continues to get billions of dollars from us, despite gross negligence that resulted in poisoned "drinking water" and showers that killed troops in Iraq by electrocution.
Please urge your representatives to co-sponsor the Against Corporations Organizing to Rip off the Nation Act (HR 3679). Given how rapidly Congress pulled funding from an organization whose employees provided prostitution business advice, passage of this bill should be a cinch!
Andrew Gray
Corvallis
Editorial: Self-defense at college, too
Nothing much has been heard of the legal challenge filed against the policy of Oregon state colleges to ban the possession of weapons on campus. But that's all right. The Oregon Court of Appeals, where this appeal was filed in August by a private foundation, is not exactly known for blinding speed, and we should give it time.
There's a report, however, that the Oregon University System is asking the legislature to ratify its weapons bans when it meets in January. If the legislature does this, it likely will be wasting its time, for the issue is mainly a constitutional one which the courts should get a chance to affirm.
The words of the Oregon constitution are as clear as can be. In its bill of rights, our founding document says: "The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defense of themselves, and the state, but the military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power."
The section - No. 27 in Article I - guarantees the right to bear arms for two purposes. The first is self-defense. The second is defense of the state. But it doesn't condition either upon the other. So even if we are no longer called upon as a militia to repel an attack, the right of self-defense remains.
The right does not disappear the minute somebody sets foot on a state university campus. Instead, it might be even more important there than in other public places. Students or professors walking by themselves to their cars on a far-off parking lot after a night class may consider it especially useful to equip themselves for any threat.
As the law now reads, universities seem to have overstepped their authority by punishing people for being found with weapons. But even if the legislature changes the law, the constitutional right "to bear arms for the defense of themselves" remains one of the many civil rights that college students and the rest of us enjoy. (hh)
There's a report, however, that the Oregon University System is asking the legislature to ratify its weapons bans when it meets in January. If the legislature does this, it likely will be wasting its time, for the issue is mainly a constitutional one which the courts should get a chance to affirm.
The words of the Oregon constitution are as clear as can be. In its bill of rights, our founding document says: "The people shall have the right to bear arms for the defense of themselves, and the state, but the military shall be kept in strict subordination to the civil power."
The section - No. 27 in Article I - guarantees the right to bear arms for two purposes. The first is self-defense. The second is defense of the state. But it doesn't condition either upon the other. So even if we are no longer called upon as a militia to repel an attack, the right of self-defense remains.
The right does not disappear the minute somebody sets foot on a state university campus. Instead, it might be even more important there than in other public places. Students or professors walking by themselves to their cars on a far-off parking lot after a night class may consider it especially useful to equip themselves for any threat.
As the law now reads, universities seem to have overstepped their authority by punishing people for being found with weapons. But even if the legislature changes the law, the constitutional right "to bear arms for the defense of themselves" remains one of the many civil rights that college students and the rest of us enjoy. (hh)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Going to miss the big, stinky mill
Editorial: Coming together to curb homelessness (Oct. 27)
We've said it before: The problem of homelessness in our community isn't one problem, but rather a series of related issues. It's not going to be solved by a single answer.
That's why it was so encouraging last week to see a number of different approaches toward homelessness all getting a little bit of traction in Corvallis.
Consider these events from last week:
Benton County released the latest version of its 10-year plan to curb homelessness. The linchpin of that plan: Housing first. That means putting a priority on support services to keep vulnerable people from becoming homeless in the first place - because when you're trying to climb out of a hole, the first step is to stop digging.
Another highlight of the 10-year plan is its call for transitional housing to help people get back on their feet after coming out of jail, psychiatric treatment, drug or alcohol rehab or other situations that make it difficult to find housing. Again, the idea is to make sure the problem doesn't get any worse by finding shelter for a vulnerable population.
The Corvallis Homeless Shelter Coalition announced plans to open a cold-weather shelter for women at Knollbrook Christian Reformed Church, 1677 S.W. 35th St. This will be an "all-comers" shelter, which means that women finding shelter there won't have to meet the sobriety requirements enforced by Community Outreach Inc. at its shelter. (Community Outreach, by the way, reports that its 70-bed shelter is full to capacity now.) The women's shelter will complement the men's cold-weather shelter, which will return this year to Westside Community Church, 4000 S.W. Western Blvd.
Project Homeless Connect, an day-long program which aims to connect homeless people with community services, came to Corvallis for the first time. (A similar event has been held in Albany in recent years.) The event, held at the First Christian Church downtown, offered a host of free services to the homeless, from haircuts (courtesy of Supercuts) to dental services to HIV counseling.
To some extent, all of these developments targeted somewhat different aspects of homelessness. Again, the idea isn't to come up with one single solution - no such animal exists - but to pull together a quilt of services from the best efforts of government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
In that light, one of the most encouraging aspects of Project Homeless Connect was the fact that it attracted about two dozen agencies, organizations and businesses, all starting to understand that not one of them alone has the resources to banish homelessness in our community.
Alone, we can't do it. Together, we have a shot.
That's why it was so encouraging last week to see a number of different approaches toward homelessness all getting a little bit of traction in Corvallis.
Consider these events from last week:
Benton County released the latest version of its 10-year plan to curb homelessness. The linchpin of that plan: Housing first. That means putting a priority on support services to keep vulnerable people from becoming homeless in the first place - because when you're trying to climb out of a hole, the first step is to stop digging.
Another highlight of the 10-year plan is its call for transitional housing to help people get back on their feet after coming out of jail, psychiatric treatment, drug or alcohol rehab or other situations that make it difficult to find housing. Again, the idea is to make sure the problem doesn't get any worse by finding shelter for a vulnerable population.
The Corvallis Homeless Shelter Coalition announced plans to open a cold-weather shelter for women at Knollbrook Christian Reformed Church, 1677 S.W. 35th St. This will be an "all-comers" shelter, which means that women finding shelter there won't have to meet the sobriety requirements enforced by Community Outreach Inc. at its shelter. (Community Outreach, by the way, reports that its 70-bed shelter is full to capacity now.) The women's shelter will complement the men's cold-weather shelter, which will return this year to Westside Community Church, 4000 S.W. Western Blvd.
Project Homeless Connect, an day-long program which aims to connect homeless people with community services, came to Corvallis for the first time. (A similar event has been held in Albany in recent years.) The event, held at the First Christian Church downtown, offered a host of free services to the homeless, from haircuts (courtesy of Supercuts) to dental services to HIV counseling.
To some extent, all of these developments targeted somewhat different aspects of homelessness. Again, the idea isn't to come up with one single solution - no such animal exists - but to pull together a quilt of services from the best efforts of government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
In that light, one of the most encouraging aspects of Project Homeless Connect was the fact that it attracted about two dozen agencies, organizations and businesses, all starting to understand that not one of them alone has the resources to banish homelessness in our community.
Alone, we can't do it. Together, we have a shot.
Hey dummies, get your swine flu shot
Editorial: All that cash in drug trade
As a reminder of the huge amounts of cash involved in the illegal narcotics trade, take this report from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland:
A 28-year-old man was arraigned in federal court there on Friday. When he was arrested after a search of his apartment, vehicle and person, investigators seized more than a kilogram of crack cocaine, as well as powder cocaine, two loaded firearms, a digital scale, and more than $87,000 in cash.
The cocaine was valued by the police at about $20,000 as packaged and about $100,000 if distributed as individual doses.
This young fellow, if he's convicted, faces at least 10 years and possibly life in prison. Why would anyone risk that? For vast amounts of cash.
This is one of the results of the war on drugs. The more successful this war - and this latest seizure is said to make a major dent in the cocaine supply for the Portland area, at least for a while - the higher the price of the illicit stuff, and the greater the earning potential of people with criminal intent, no scruples and an itch to get rich quick at a young age.
The alternative would be to ease up on drug enforcement, change the laws, let the idiot drug users kill themselves if they want, remove or lessen the amounts of money involved, and let the illegal drug culture wither away by itself over time.
Would that work? It's a shame we can't run some giant social experiment to find out.
What we know already is the result of the current approach: vast amounts of continuing effort by the police at all levels, thousands of people in prison, a continuing supply of illegal drugs, and a steady stream of money-hungry criminals ready to constantly replenish the supply. (hh)
A 28-year-old man was arraigned in federal court there on Friday. When he was arrested after a search of his apartment, vehicle and person, investigators seized more than a kilogram of crack cocaine, as well as powder cocaine, two loaded firearms, a digital scale, and more than $87,000 in cash.
The cocaine was valued by the police at about $20,000 as packaged and about $100,000 if distributed as individual doses.
This young fellow, if he's convicted, faces at least 10 years and possibly life in prison. Why would anyone risk that? For vast amounts of cash.
This is one of the results of the war on drugs. The more successful this war - and this latest seizure is said to make a major dent in the cocaine supply for the Portland area, at least for a while - the higher the price of the illicit stuff, and the greater the earning potential of people with criminal intent, no scruples and an itch to get rich quick at a young age.
The alternative would be to ease up on drug enforcement, change the laws, let the idiot drug users kill themselves if they want, remove or lessen the amounts of money involved, and let the illegal drug culture wither away by itself over time.
Would that work? It's a shame we can't run some giant social experiment to find out.
What we know already is the result of the current approach: vast amounts of continuing effort by the police at all levels, thousands of people in prison, a continuing supply of illegal drugs, and a steady stream of money-hungry criminals ready to constantly replenish the supply. (hh)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Mailbag: Hate mongers and liars
So you think we need more people like Glenn Beck. Really? You think we need more fear mongers and hate mongers? You think we need more liars? You think we need more people promoting the belief that President Obama is a racist who hates white people?
You know what I think, Mr. Hering? I think Glenn Beck is a borderline lunatic, and we have too many crazies like him already. One of him is too many. Beck sucks. Your editorial sucks as well.
Dennis Newton, Lebanon
You know what I think, Mr. Hering? I think Glenn Beck is a borderline lunatic, and we have too many crazies like him already. One of him is too many. Beck sucks. Your editorial sucks as well.
Dennis Newton, Lebanon
ACORN and Jiu Jitsu
ACORN Scandal Involves Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Instructor:
If you’ve been following the ACORN scandal that’s been all over the news lately, you’re going to love this. The young woman who poses as the prostitute in the controversial undercover videos that are likely to end ACORN’s government funding is a four-stripe Gracie Jiu-Jitsu purple belt.
Hannah Giles has been training at Gracie Miami in South Florida since she was 11 years old, and now she’s using the principles of patience, leverage and technique to take on her toughest opponent yet! Watch the videos below, they’re great!Watch this to learn about the Acorn scandal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6l5yiFGwFo&feature=relatedWatch this to watch Hannah’s father talk GJJ (Minute 3:00): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4XTc9vsA2w
If you’ve been following the ACORN scandal that’s been all over the news lately, you’re going to love this. The young woman who poses as the prostitute in the controversial undercover videos that are likely to end ACORN’s government funding is a four-stripe Gracie Jiu-Jitsu purple belt.
Hannah Giles has been training at Gracie Miami in South Florida since she was 11 years old, and now she’s using the principles of patience, leverage and technique to take on her toughest opponent yet! Watch the videos below, they’re great!Watch this to learn about the Acorn scandal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6l5yiFGwFo&feature=relatedWatch this to watch Hannah’s father talk GJJ (Minute 3:00): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4XTc9vsA2w
"Flow Johnson"
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30659149
Funny preview (with violence and Language) funny none the less!
Funny preview (with violence and Language) funny none the less!
Richey's Market going the way of the Dodo?
http://gazettetimes.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_0191445e-bed1-11de-a8eb-001cc4c002e0.html
Having worked there throughout High School, it's sad they are closing their doors...
Having worked there throughout High School, it's sad they are closing their doors...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Supreme Court Creats Another Hot Mess
One night five years ago outside a tavern in Toledo, Lincoln County, a man was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.
On Oct. 8 the Oregon Supreme Court set aside his convictions in a ruling that reaffirms a citizen's right to defend himself, even against a cop trying to arrest him, if he believes the arresting officer is using unlawful excessive force.
Let us hope the ruling is not misunderstood: It does not give you license to try to fight any cop who's trying to take you into custody, even if you think the arrest is without cause. You have the right to do that only if the police act unlawfully, and in the heat of the moment that determination is hard to make so it stands up in court many years after the fact.
As in every case, the details of this one are important. The court went into great detail concerning what happened that night, some time before 9 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2004, on a Toledo street.
An officer on patrol, 6-3 tall and weighing 260 pounds, tried to stop a woman for jaywalking. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Wood, under 6 feet and weighing 160-180 pounds, came from across the street to learn what was going on. The officer told him to stop approaching. When Wood didn't, the policeman decided to arrest him for interfering and ordered him to the ground. Wood said he hadn't done anything but lay down, with his hands under his body.
The policeman ordered him to put his hands behind his back. Wood did not comply, and the officer sprayed him in the face with pepper spray. (The court said the spray is designed to be used from a few feet away, not inches as in this case.) This caused Wood to thrash about. The officer, kneeling on him, slammed him in the back eight times, yelling at him to show his hands.
Meanwhile, the woman's mother had emerged from an apartment house nearby, and others had come out of the tavern across the street to watch.
In the course of the struggle with Wood, one of his hands got cuffed, and Wood stood up, got an arm around the officer's waist and forced him down. A second patrolman arrived and hit Wood on the shoulder and brachial nerve and cuffed the second hand.
The court decision turned on the nature of the jury instructions during the trial of Wood and the mother and daughter.
The court ruled the jury should have been instructed that Wood had the right to self-defense against excessive force, and it was Wood's point of view, not the officer's, that had to be taken into account.
The case was sent back to the trial court, and whether the ruling helps Wood avoid conviction is unknown. It's hard to see how a person being hammered by the police under these kinds of circumstances is supposed to know what is excessive and unlawful force, and whether it's OK to try to defend oneself.
In similar situations, the best advice flowing from this case is for bystanders to keep their distance and for the cops to stay cool and not to overreact. (hh)
More Like Beck ?
Why is the cartoon below funny? Not because Glenn Beck is "scary," but because some people in public life think so.
Beck is not a reporter, though the news gives him plenty of material. He's an entertainer and a bit of a muckraker, raking up things that others think themselves too dignified to mention.
Example: Monday's Associated Press story on the wrangling between the White House and Fox News (Page A10) said Beck had campaigned for the ouster of White House adviser Van Jones for his "past statements and associations." That's true but lame. Beck went after Jones because in his younger years Jones had called himself a communist, and more recently he signed a petition implying the Bush administration was behind 9/11 - not the guy most people would want advising the U.S. government.
Beck manages to get something done while often mocking himself. For the cover of Time he posed sticking out his tongue.
As for commentators who don't take themselves too seriously, we could use a few more. (hh)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Medicaid Fraud
A couple of weeks ago the Oregon Attorney General's Office announced the successful prosecution of three people in the Portland area for pulling off a fraudulent Medicaid claim, which had gone on for more than two years. One wonders why the fraud was not discovered sooner, and the answer is that some people are good at lying.
The AG's Office gave this account: "John Lee Veals of Portland claimed that he was disabled-unable to walk without assistance, drive, brush his teeth or even shave. A Medicaid program designed to allow disabled people to remain at home instead of a nursing facility paid Veals' son, Ramone Lee Veals, approximately $1,600 per month for three years to provide care for his father. John Veals' companion, Christina Underwood, claimed she would provide the care when Ramone was unavailable."
The scheme began to unravel when a state caseworker discovered that Ramone was employed full-time as a construction worker. This triggered an investigation, which found that the disabled man had just been cited for running a red light in Gresham.
His appearance there proved that he could drive and walk, and the three people involved eventually were convicted of first-degree theft. John was sentenced to 13 months in prison, the others to hundreds of hours of community service, and all must pay restitution.
Good for the caseworker who first noticed something wrong. But how can a phony claim like that get started in the first place? And how can it continue for long without somebody noticing that it's a scam?
The answer, according to the Justice Department, is that Veals was in an ATV accident in 2004 and legitimately disabled. But then he recovered while continuing to claim he needed care. When a DHS caseworker checked on him once a year, he was in bed and said nothing, and the others lied that he was still unable to care for himself. It was a case of lying to obtain benefits to which the caregivers were not entitled.
Medicaid is the joint state-federal program to help low-income people with medical needs, and it does not have enough money to help everyone who needs help. It's a shame that some people make things worse with their lies. But to catch them, it might be a good idea to check on them more than once a year. (hh)
Friday, October 16, 2009
Why health care reform is needed right now
Editorial: A tax on pop? Freedom slips
It's only a long shot so far, but serious people on the national scene are giving more than passing thought to a tax on soft drinks. It's a sign of things to come as Americans give up notions of being free.
According to a report on National Public Radio Wednesday, researchers have concluded that a tax on soft drinks would yield hundreds of billions of dollars over several years. Think of all the good that could be done with that kind of money. And think of all the health problems - from obesity to tooth decay - that could be prevented with a tax on sugary drinks.
Reformers can always find reasons to increase their control over what people should not do, and what they must be prohibited from doing.
Health care is the excuse for a tax on risky behavior. If the government has to pay the bill, the government has a natural interest in trying to reduce the cost.
So don't expect the idea of a soft drink tax to remain a long shot forever. Sooner or later it will be adopted, just as taxes have been used to drive down the use of tobacco.
After that, what? There is no limit to the kinds of risky behavior that has the potential of increasing public costs.
We already have helmet laws on the grounds that the public should not have to bear the cost of caring for brain-injured motorcyclists who don't have means of their own.
As we slip down that slope, future generations may be forced to accept regulations or limits on anything where injuries are more likely than during stints on the couch watching TV. Such activities would include mountaineering, bicycling and skiing, and hunting too.
And long before that, people in America can expect more regulations to regulate what they eat.
If anybody ever asks where in the Constitution our regulators find the authority, they may point to "general welfare" in the preamble. Or they might just say: Forget the Constitution; these regulations are for your own good. (hh)
According to a report on National Public Radio Wednesday, researchers have concluded that a tax on soft drinks would yield hundreds of billions of dollars over several years. Think of all the good that could be done with that kind of money. And think of all the health problems - from obesity to tooth decay - that could be prevented with a tax on sugary drinks.
Reformers can always find reasons to increase their control over what people should not do, and what they must be prohibited from doing.
Health care is the excuse for a tax on risky behavior. If the government has to pay the bill, the government has a natural interest in trying to reduce the cost.
So don't expect the idea of a soft drink tax to remain a long shot forever. Sooner or later it will be adopted, just as taxes have been used to drive down the use of tobacco.
After that, what? There is no limit to the kinds of risky behavior that has the potential of increasing public costs.
We already have helmet laws on the grounds that the public should not have to bear the cost of caring for brain-injured motorcyclists who don't have means of their own.
As we slip down that slope, future generations may be forced to accept regulations or limits on anything where injuries are more likely than during stints on the couch watching TV. Such activities would include mountaineering, bicycling and skiing, and hunting too.
And long before that, people in America can expect more regulations to regulate what they eat.
If anybody ever asks where in the Constitution our regulators find the authority, they may point to "general welfare" in the preamble. Or they might just say: Forget the Constitution; these regulations are for your own good. (hh)
Mailbag: Enough jokesters, already
Democrat funnyman Al Franken won the 2008 Minnesota Senate race by a little over 300 votes. Maybe the joke's on us.
ACORN registered 43,000 voters in Minnesota, virtually all Democrat. Of 1.3 million nationwide, ACORN has admitted to 400,000 fraudulent voter registrations so far.
How many Mickey Mouses, Donald Ducks and Dallas Cowboy football teams were registered to vote by ACORN in Minnesota?
Although Mickey and Donald are old enough to vote, shouldn't this possible "stolen" election be investigated?
And don't we already have enough jokesters in Congress?
Larry A. Smith, Shedd
ACORN registered 43,000 voters in Minnesota, virtually all Democrat. Of 1.3 million nationwide, ACORN has admitted to 400,000 fraudulent voter registrations so far.
How many Mickey Mouses, Donald Ducks and Dallas Cowboy football teams were registered to vote by ACORN in Minnesota?
Although Mickey and Donald are old enough to vote, shouldn't this possible "stolen" election be investigated?
And don't we already have enough jokesters in Congress?
Larry A. Smith, Shedd
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Person interest story...
http://gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_0e0833fa-b78d-11de-bff5-001cc4c002e0.html
This is my Grandpa. I remember many many football games spent eating peanuts in the rain. Some of my best childhood memories! I remember most of the bad years of football (27 years worth) and am glad he gets to see the good years!
I would add that the GT (as usual) mispelled names and made a few typos. Our last name is Nordyke. How can you spell it right the first time and then mispell it later in the article?
Lyle Moevao, Howard Croom, and James Dockery are class acts. Bravo to the OSU football program!
This is my Grandpa. I remember many many football games spent eating peanuts in the rain. Some of my best childhood memories! I remember most of the bad years of football (27 years worth) and am glad he gets to see the good years!
I would add that the GT (as usual) mispelled names and made a few typos. Our last name is Nordyke. How can you spell it right the first time and then mispell it later in the article?
Lyle Moevao, Howard Croom, and James Dockery are class acts. Bravo to the OSU football program!
Monday, October 12, 2009
"The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later" to debut at OSU
Letter: Corvallis woman attending football game found swastika
I am greatly disappointed in the people of Lebanon, and the students at Lebanon High School. When I entered the southeast gate of the Lebanon High School football field on Thursday, Oct. 1, I was greeted by a very large Nazi swastika painted on the concrete.
Why was it there? What hadn't it been removed? Why are people being silent, rather than outraged and disgusted by the vandalism, and obvious symbol of hatred painted on school grounds?
AnnaLiese M. Moran
Corvallis
Editor's note: Lebanon police are investigating a recent series of incidents of vandalism and graffiti. They are inviting anyone with information to call investigators at 541-451-1751. According to an article in The Lebanon Express, most of the graffiti sprayed around Lebanon High School and Seven Oak Middle School on Sept. 28 and 29 was promptly removed. However, they theorize that Moran on Oct. 1 either found a new Swastika painted after Sept. 29 or that it had been overlooked from the earlier vandalism. It was removed soon after she brought it to the attention of authorities.
Why was it there? What hadn't it been removed? Why are people being silent, rather than outraged and disgusted by the vandalism, and obvious symbol of hatred painted on school grounds?
AnnaLiese M. Moran
Corvallis
Editor's note: Lebanon police are investigating a recent series of incidents of vandalism and graffiti. They are inviting anyone with information to call investigators at 541-451-1751. According to an article in The Lebanon Express, most of the graffiti sprayed around Lebanon High School and Seven Oak Middle School on Sept. 28 and 29 was promptly removed. However, they theorize that Moran on Oct. 1 either found a new Swastika painted after Sept. 29 or that it had been overlooked from the earlier vandalism. It was removed soon after she brought it to the attention of authorities.
Friday, October 9, 2009
So this is what the economic recovery looks like?
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Maine same-sex marriage measure: Prop. 8 rerun
MoveOn sent me an alert about this. They are running a campaign against it.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Preaching to the choir, but it's good music.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendon-ayanbadejo/same-sex-marriages-whats_b_190591.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-zirin/why-i-support-the-nationa_b_310890.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-zirin/why-i-support-the-nationa_b_310890.html
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Iran
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/world/middleeast/04nuke.html?_r=1&hp
Maybe we need to just talk with them a little more; and maybe they won't build it...
Maybe we need to just talk with them a little more; and maybe they won't build it...
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Mailbag: Look beyond the cartoon
Thank you for running Harold Meyerson's Washington Post piece about the Drier/Martin study of media coverage of ACORN, even though it was placed directly beneath a very suggestive cartoon showing a tarted-up acorn being ignored, or unnoticed, by the "watchdog press."
I wonder how many of your readers will have their negative impression of the media reinforced by the cartoon, and the "steady drumbeat" from Glenn Beck and the folks at FOX, without even bothering to read Meyerson's article, or taking the trouble to find out more about the young man who filmed the "sting" of the ACORN staffers who so foolishly played along with his little hypothetical game.
This kind of manipulation of the press is right out of the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove playbook, and represents the sort of politics that we, the majority of the American electorate, rejected in the last election. I would hope that we are interested enough, and smart enough, to look beyond the cartoon.
Glenn Gang, Newport
I wonder how many of your readers will have their negative impression of the media reinforced by the cartoon, and the "steady drumbeat" from Glenn Beck and the folks at FOX, without even bothering to read Meyerson's article, or taking the trouble to find out more about the young man who filmed the "sting" of the ACORN staffers who so foolishly played along with his little hypothetical game.
This kind of manipulation of the press is right out of the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove playbook, and represents the sort of politics that we, the majority of the American electorate, rejected in the last election. I would hope that we are interested enough, and smart enough, to look beyond the cartoon.
Glenn Gang, Newport
Roses ‘n' Raspberries (Oct. 2)
ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation.
RASPBERRY (raz'ber'e) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer.
We hereby deliver:
• ROSES to Oregon State University students who took part in the United Way Day of Caring last week for the first time.
More than 600 OSU students and staff members participated in the annual United Way event, and their participation more than doubled the turnout and the results: In all, nearly 1,000 volunteers tackled nearly 100 community service projects across Benton County.
In years past, the Day of Caring took place the second or third week of September, before most OSU students hit town. This year, though, Jennifer Moore, the executive director of the United Way of Benton and Lincoln Counties, teamed up with United Way board member Kris Winter, who works at OSU, and they found a way to push the event back to broaden OSU's participation.
• • •
• ROSES to one of our favorite Corvallis traditions, the Fall Festival, which celebrated its 37th edition in fine fashion last weekend. The weather was perfect, the music was great, and we always see some artwork that we absolutely have to own. (The only downside, of course, is that we can't possibly afford all of it.)
The relaxed groove of the Fall Festival always seems to us to be the perfect way to top off another Corvallis summer - and, as if to emphasize the point, Monday dawned cloudy, cooler and rainy.
As an added bonus, we loved Mark Allison's painting "It Was a Sunny Day," which was featured on this year's festival poster. It can take its rightful place among the best festival images.
• • •
• ROSES to Milt Sedlacek, the owner of the Corvallis Dental Lab, for celebrating his 50th anniversary at the lab. These days, Sedlacek owns the lab, but he's still tackling the same work he's been doing for a half-century, still enjoying it and still, by all accounts, doing a great job. In an era when career counselors advise people to be ready to change careers as often as they change haircuts, there is something comforting - and, yes, inspiring - about Sedlacek's story.
• • •
• RASPBERRIES to the Gazette-Times, which should have been a little more careful about an editorial this week, and the Oregon University System, for dragging its feet on fixing a scheduling conflict.
Monday, the first day of classes at Oregon State University, fell on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holy day, creating some tough choices for devout Jews, who typically stay away from work and school on that day so they can pray and reflect.
In an editorial Monday, we had praise for the calm and rational words that OSU officials and Jewish community leaders used in addressing the scheduling conflict - and we still have praise for the restraint and maturity those men used as they discussed the issue with the G-T.
However, after Monday's editorial appeared, an alert reader sent us a copy of minutes from an August 2004 meeting of the Oregon University System's Provosts' Council. One of the topics discussed at that meeting more than five years ago was the fact that in 2009, university system classes would start on the same day as Yom Kippur; in fact, the council considered a proposal at that meeting to start classes a week earlier, on Sept. 21.
You would think that five years should have been enough time to avoid the conflict that occurred this week at all the units of the university system, save the University of Oregon. OSU is doing the right thing by taking steps now to be sure the scheduling conflict doesn't happen again - but it certainly seems as if it didn't have to happen this year. And our story and editorial about this issue should have included this additional background.
• • •
• RASPBERRIES, again, to the G-T, for not thinking seriously enough about a photograph that illustrated a story about some nasty vandalism in Roseburg.
The story, which ran in Thursday's G-T, was about someone splattering feces on a window in front of a life-size cutout of President Barack Obama. We ran a particularly unpleasant photo from the Associated Press to illustrate the story.
Now, sometimes a newspaper will choose to run an unpleasant photo because it says something essential about a story that's hard to get across with just words. That's the power of photojournalism.
In this case, though, the photo we published doesn't live up to that standard. We made a mistake in judgment in running the photo, and we offer apologies to readers who were offended.
RASPBERRY (raz'ber'e) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer.
We hereby deliver:
• ROSES to Oregon State University students who took part in the United Way Day of Caring last week for the first time.
More than 600 OSU students and staff members participated in the annual United Way event, and their participation more than doubled the turnout and the results: In all, nearly 1,000 volunteers tackled nearly 100 community service projects across Benton County.
In years past, the Day of Caring took place the second or third week of September, before most OSU students hit town. This year, though, Jennifer Moore, the executive director of the United Way of Benton and Lincoln Counties, teamed up with United Way board member Kris Winter, who works at OSU, and they found a way to push the event back to broaden OSU's participation.
• • •
• ROSES to one of our favorite Corvallis traditions, the Fall Festival, which celebrated its 37th edition in fine fashion last weekend. The weather was perfect, the music was great, and we always see some artwork that we absolutely have to own. (The only downside, of course, is that we can't possibly afford all of it.)
The relaxed groove of the Fall Festival always seems to us to be the perfect way to top off another Corvallis summer - and, as if to emphasize the point, Monday dawned cloudy, cooler and rainy.
As an added bonus, we loved Mark Allison's painting "It Was a Sunny Day," which was featured on this year's festival poster. It can take its rightful place among the best festival images.
• • •
• ROSES to Milt Sedlacek, the owner of the Corvallis Dental Lab, for celebrating his 50th anniversary at the lab. These days, Sedlacek owns the lab, but he's still tackling the same work he's been doing for a half-century, still enjoying it and still, by all accounts, doing a great job. In an era when career counselors advise people to be ready to change careers as often as they change haircuts, there is something comforting - and, yes, inspiring - about Sedlacek's story.
• • •
• RASPBERRIES to the Gazette-Times, which should have been a little more careful about an editorial this week, and the Oregon University System, for dragging its feet on fixing a scheduling conflict.
Monday, the first day of classes at Oregon State University, fell on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holy day, creating some tough choices for devout Jews, who typically stay away from work and school on that day so they can pray and reflect.
In an editorial Monday, we had praise for the calm and rational words that OSU officials and Jewish community leaders used in addressing the scheduling conflict - and we still have praise for the restraint and maturity those men used as they discussed the issue with the G-T.
However, after Monday's editorial appeared, an alert reader sent us a copy of minutes from an August 2004 meeting of the Oregon University System's Provosts' Council. One of the topics discussed at that meeting more than five years ago was the fact that in 2009, university system classes would start on the same day as Yom Kippur; in fact, the council considered a proposal at that meeting to start classes a week earlier, on Sept. 21.
You would think that five years should have been enough time to avoid the conflict that occurred this week at all the units of the university system, save the University of Oregon. OSU is doing the right thing by taking steps now to be sure the scheduling conflict doesn't happen again - but it certainly seems as if it didn't have to happen this year. And our story and editorial about this issue should have included this additional background.
• • •
• RASPBERRIES, again, to the G-T, for not thinking seriously enough about a photograph that illustrated a story about some nasty vandalism in Roseburg.
The story, which ran in Thursday's G-T, was about someone splattering feces on a window in front of a life-size cutout of President Barack Obama. We ran a particularly unpleasant photo from the Associated Press to illustrate the story.
Now, sometimes a newspaper will choose to run an unpleasant photo because it says something essential about a story that's hard to get across with just words. That's the power of photojournalism.
In this case, though, the photo we published doesn't live up to that standard. We made a mistake in judgment in running the photo, and we offer apologies to readers who were offended.
Letter: Military jet flyover could evoke trauma in some veterans
I appreciate Scott Smith's letter of Sept. 22 ("Lose the fly-over during Beaver football games"). Although it touched on a number of valid reasons why a low flyover of military jets is inappropriate for an intercollegiate sports game, the most immediate reason that Oregon State University should stop sponsoring this type of display has to do with its effect on some members of our community.
Although ostensibly performed to honor those serving in the armed forces, this ugly display of machismo is a slap in the face to those community members, both veterans and others, who are trying to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder and/or the memories of having lived in war.
If OSU would like to honor service men and women, there are more thoughtful and appropriate ways to do so; there is not a need to flash weapons and sounds of war in the face of all.
Being a responsible member of the community and society means behaving in a thoughtful way. I hope that more thoughtfulness will be utilized in the planning of future intercollegiate games and community events.
Robert Henderson, Corvallis
Although ostensibly performed to honor those serving in the armed forces, this ugly display of machismo is a slap in the face to those community members, both veterans and others, who are trying to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder and/or the memories of having lived in war.
If OSU would like to honor service men and women, there are more thoughtful and appropriate ways to do so; there is not a need to flash weapons and sounds of war in the face of all.
Being a responsible member of the community and society means behaving in a thoughtful way. I hope that more thoughtfulness will be utilized in the planning of future intercollegiate games and community events.
Robert Henderson, Corvallis
Friday, October 2, 2009
Rush Limbaugh on David Brooks: 'JEALOUS'
A follow up to the letter Ajai referred to in another post...
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