I said, “Are you saying The Register-Guard
won’t let me use the word menopause?” In a
small, quite voice she said, “Well … yes …”
Since when is a normal phase of a
woman’s life considered vulgar?
Linda Overstake
Eugene
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ms. Overstake tells us the ad did run
— under the “help wanted” classification.
TIME FOR DEBATE
Prior to becoming a psychologist, I taught
U.S. history. Now I wonder if any of my stu-
dents remember what they learned about the
founding of this nation. How many
Americans remember specifics about our
Constitution and Bill of Rights?
Debates and discussions have been impor-
tant in the American way of life. In the three
years prior to radio and television, debates hap-
pened on a local level and common people
were able to participate. During the presidency
of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the
U.S., common people were so involved he has
become known as the president of the common
people. Other presidents have traveled great
distances to debate issues. Henry Clay, a U.S.
congressman from 1811 intermittently until
1825, was known for his great debates. In state
legislatures there have been many historic
debates.
Now we have new challenges and we
should remember the Bill of Rights has
served us well for many years. New legisla-
tion such as the USA PATRIOT Act (UPA) is
too new to have been studied and debated.
Yet many people react as if there is an attack
on the government if questions are asked.
There should be great debates in state legisla-
tures as well as at the federal level.
How many citizens have read the UPA? It
is time to discuss both the Bill of Rights and
the UPA. These discussions should take place
immediately. I do not believe these discus-
sions are partisan politics. Cities, counties
and some states have placed the UPA on their
agendas, and many cities have now devel-
oped a response to this slam-bang piece of
legislation that was passed in the wake of
9/11. Hopefully, a mix of liberals and conser-
vatives will come together to study the rami-
fications of the UPA. There should be a great
debate in Oregon now.
Charlotte Higgins-Lee
Eugene
FOREST FOLLY
Over the past week I was lucky enough to
spend time in two of Oregon’s beautiful
wilderness areas. The towering ancient trees
are astounding to view and stand near.
Swimming in the cool, clear river water is a
priceless experience.
I’d love to hear that the president came to
Portland to present a forest plan to save what’s
left of our precious old growth forests — and
to possibly expand our wilderness boundaries.
A plan that would protect other species would
work well for me. Heck, he could even take
my breath away by proposing that Mt. Hood
be made a national park.
Any other plan, especially one that in-
creases logging, is pure folly. For a better,
more beautiful world,
Albert Kaufman
Portland
TRACK BUSH BACKERS
EW correctly quoted me (8/21 news brief,
“Bush’s Oregon Trip”). My only concern is
that my writing that yelling at George Bush is
a “waste of time” — extracted from a longer
letter — could be misinterpreted to sound as
though I’m protective of the larcenous ap-
pointed head of state. He is deserving of all
the public criticism that can be thrown at him.
In so doing, we have to take care not to
allow those behind the scenes — who dictate
what the dunderhead does — to escape detec-
tion. They are the ones who perpetuate our
national folly. The same applies for some
wealthy citizens (fortunately, not all of them)
who prop up Bush policies by paying $2,000
each in Portland to hear him speak.
We need to make note of who they are so
we will be able to recognize them in our
midst. They know where I stand by what I
write. Were it available (maybe it is through
the Elections Commission?), the list of
donors — which is public record — ought to
be published. It’s simply a good democratic
precept of putting your name where your
money is.
George Beres
Eugene
buy sell trade
TO THE EDITOR
fashion
that pays
to be me.
131 E. 5th Ave (between Oak & Pearl) 687-2805
BUFFALOEXCHANGE . COM
SEEDY BUSINESS
In your Morsels section under “Banana
Blowout” (7/31) you report about the fungus
(it’s called black sigatoka) currently decimat-
ing banana yields.
Some quick Googling reveals that this is
due to the insurgence of this fungus into
Brazil, which is the fourth largest producer of
bananas. However, it was claimed that the ba-
nana “is a fruit without seeds or pollen.”
I know that bananas do, in fact, contain
seeds and that the flower itself contains more.
I Googled for “banana seeds” and got 10
pages of hits.
Perhaps the real issue is that “obtaining im-
proved banana varieties takes time because the
life cycle of the tree lasts longer than a year,
slowing the process of evaluations, cross-pol-
lenations and verification.” (www.tierramer-
ica.net/2003/0223/iacentos.shtml)
Just thought you’d like some feedback.
Justin Gopindra Hannigan
Eugene
NOT IN OUR LIFETIME
When I first moved to Oregon from the
Midwest, I was in awe of the size of the trees
in this state. After two years here, I am still
awestruck by the power and the untouched
natural beauty of the forests here. That is why
I do not understand how the people here can,
for the most part, remain silent as the Bush ad-
ministration logs off the “old growth” national
forests here. This loss is a tragedy for the state
of Oregon and the people of this country.
These national forests are our heritage and
they are being threatened with little regard for
life that exists within them. Like the rain-
forests of South America, do we really even
know what is being destroyed? This issue is
more important than money; it is about our
health and the health of our children.
There are some groups fighting to protect
these old growth forests in the courts. Cascadia
Wildlands Project (www.cascwild.org) is one.
Their victories have been temporary. They need
more political and financial support.
Forget the saving the rainforests of South
America. We have our own rainforests here
in Oregon that need saving. If a butterfly flap-
ping its wings can influence world climate,
what effect will logging off thousands of
acres of 700 year old trees have? We don’t
know. But there is one thing that we do know
for certain, once these forests and the envi-
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AUGUST 28, 2003 5