THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
Free from religion
So much for democracy
I
n his letter “God’s Country”
(The Daily Astorian, Oct.
16), Ronald Wall contends that
our founding fathers were de-
vout Christians who intended
religion to be an integral part of
Americans’ lives. This is not the
conclusion reached by essential-
ly all conventional historians at
major universities. Some found-
ers were Orthodox Christians,
many were rationalists, other
deists, with perhaps an atheist or
two thrown in.
Contrary to Wall’s letter,
George Washington does not
appear to have been religious
— rarely receiving communion,
only going to church on Easter
and Christmas, and not request-
ing clergy presence at his death.
When Washington did mention
religion, it was generally in de-
istic terms using “Providence,”
“The Grand Architect,” and the
“Author of all Good” instead
of a personal God, and he nev-
er wrote a word about Jesus. It
seems Washington invoked re-
ligion largely to keep his unruly
troops in line.
Thomas Jefferson, an out-
spoken deist, is seen as the con-
summate skeptic who took a
razor blade to edit the Gospels.
James Madison, father of our
Constitution, said, “The number,
the industry, and the morality of
the priesthood and the devotion
of the people have been man-
ifestly increased by the total
separation of church and state.”
James Monroe spoke so little
about religion historians suspect
he was atheist.
Madison and Jefferson intro-
duced a number of bills to the
Virginia House of Delegates to
end church establishment, ar-
guing that religion did not need
the support of government. Jef-
ferson’s “Religious Freedom
Bill” took a strong stand against
state-supported religion, and
guaranteed free religious exer-
cise to all. The church, according
to our founding fathers, held no
special place in secular politics.
It was one of many voluntary
associations in which people
belonged like clubs, lodges, and
trade unions. They rejected the
idea of a Christian state, and saw
the state as a secular institution
uninterested in people’s souls.
The fact that God or Jesus in
never mentioned in our Consti-
tution is strong evidence that the
founders intended our nation to
be secular. Few countries have
as much religious diversity as
ours. One study estimates there
are some 2,000 active faith
groups and denominations in
the U.S. All of these beliefs exist
side by side, and we have been
spared the excesses of religious
conÀicts observed in other parts
of the world, because we have
our secular Constitution and
wise tradition of church/state
separation to thank.
ED JOYCE
Astoria
Attribution needed
R
egarding suggestions about
Heritage Square in Astoria
(“Out with the hole, in with the
new,” The Daily Astorian, Oct.
20), I have a few.
There would be no heritage
attributable to Astoria without
the Clatsop Indians.
There would be no heritage
attributable to Astoria without
John Jacob Astor and the fur
trading company.
There would be no heritage
attributable to Astoria without
U.S. President Thomas Jeffer-
son, who commissioned the
Lewis and Clark Expedition.
There would be no heritage
attributable to Astoria without
Lewis and Clark, and the brave
pioneers who forged the Oregon
Trail.
Capt. Robert Gray, and many
other hardy explorers who also
contributed to the Oregon and
Astoria heritage, should be giv-
en recognition if we are truly
endeavoring to commemorate
our origins.
JIM RAY
Hammond
Beach love
S
ince my days in Portland,
and now here in Gearhart,
I have been puzzled by Matt
Love’s unrelenting paeans to
Oregon’s “historic Beach Bill,”
which created Oregon’s public
beach access.
I am certain that being about
double Love’s age, and loving
beaches at least as much as he
does, I have spent more days
there, from my childhood sum-
mer days on Coney Island’s
beaches, to my daily walks at
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
O
ne of the basic tenants of democ-
racy is “majority rules.” Nine-
ty-three percent of Americans were in
favor of eliminating the loophole in
background checks — the Republican
majority, instead, voted for the wish-
es of the National RiÀe Association
(NRA). So much for democracy.
Ben Carson, Republican presiden-
tial hopeful, when questioned as to how
he would address the gun violence,
parroted Wayne La Pierre’s insane
remedy: To arm the teachers. I would
have asked Carson, “And exactly how
would that reduce gun violence?” Add-
ing more guns is like spreading the Eb-
ola virus to cure the epidemic.
The Second Amendment was rati-
¿ed on Dec. 15, 1791, and it reads in its
entirety: “A well-regulated Militia, be-
present on the Seaside, Cannon
Beach and Gearhart beaches.
During the intervening 60 or
so years, I have walked on Cape
Cod’s beach in Massachusetts,
New York’s Jones Beach and
Fire Island, New Jersey’s Atlan-
tic City, Florida’s Miami Beach
and Fort Lauderdale, Califor-
nia’s San Francisco Beach, Pes-
cadero Beach, Venice Beach and
Hermosa Beach. I do not doubt
that I have walked many more
miles on beaches than has Love.
All of those beaches have
been free, empty of commercial
enterprises, and for the “exclu-
sive use of the public,” whether
or not “forever” is open to as
much question as Love himself
admits of Oregon’s beaches.
Love asks, unrhetorically,
“You think a writer like me ex-
ists in Southern California, Flor-
ida or New Jersey?”
He answers his own ques-
tion, “No.”
Of course not. What would
be the need? Those states, and
probably all other coastal states,
have preserved dry sands areas
for exclusive use by the pub-
lic. Why doth Love protest so
much?
LOUIS SARGENT
Gearhart
Respect Gearhart
O
pen letter to the Gearhart
mayor and city council:
We are concerned about the
marked increase in recent years
in short-term vacation rentals
(STRs) and their largely nega-
tive impact on our community.
The many problems include
trash strewn everywhere, noise,
rowdiness, inconsideration of
nearby neighbors, boat trailers
parked where they shouldn’t
be, and all of the cars, for which
there is insuf¿cient parking, not
to mention the stress placed on
septic drain ¿elds and on our
water supply.
We bought our home in April
1996. The main attraction of
Gearhart for us was that it was
a quiet residential community.
We knew there were long-ago
established family vacation
homes here that are an integral
part of the history and fabric of
our community. But as the Inter-
net has made all things possible,
Gearhart is now being pulled
into the fray. That fabric is fray-
ing.
The irony of all of this is
that which is so desirable about
Gearhart is the very thing that is
at risk of being destroyed by the
current overzealous creation of
short-term rentals. Those who
own these essentially commer-
cial properties clearly and pur-
posely sought out Gearhart for
its neighborhood quality of life.
We’ll go further to say that
these same owners would be
alarmed if this were happening
in their main home neighbor-
hoods. They would be appalled,
and up in arms about it. Who
wants to live next to frequent
transient activity going on?
They’d be concerned about their
standard of living, their quality
of life — and rightfully so. We
are simply asking that Gearhart
be treated with the same respect
as they would expect in their pri-
mary communities.
Item No. 4, page 1, of Or-
dinance 677, in the Gearhart
Comprehensive Plan says: “The
City will recognize the impor-
tance of the City’s residential
neighborhoods and the need to
protect them from the negative
impacts of rental property, and
to discourage increased levels of
traf¿c and similar disruptions.”
It’s all right there. We need to
continue to hold to this standard.
If someone purchased a
property with the sole intent of
using it as a vacation rental, and
ing necessary to the security of the Free
State, the right of the people to keep
and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Emblazoned in the front lobby of
NRA headquarters in Washington,
D.C., is: “The right of the people to
keep and bear arms will not be in-
fringed.” Omitting the purpose and
intention of the amendment. A lie by
omission.
In the Roaring Twenties, the Tom-
my gun was the Ma¿a’s Weapon of
choice because of its large clip and rap-
id ¿re. The weapon was removed from
the market, no longer available to the
public; that was when we still had a de-
mocracy, instead of our present plutoc-
racy. Hand grenades were off limits as
well; and as well they should be.
The ultimate cure for the present
now needs those proceeds to
pay the mortgage, that concern
should not be foisted on the rest
of Gearhart by way of leniency
regarding STR existence or reg-
ulation. The community should
not be held hostage and change
governance to accommodate
those poor investment decisions,
which need zoning changes or
other special consideration so
that those investments could be
solvent — not just solvent, but
lucrative on the backs of their
neighbors.
We look forward to a solu-
tion that is respectful of this very
special spot on the North Coast,
Gearhart.
WILSON AND JEANNE
MARK
Gearhart
gun violence is to take away the guns.
That would be the sensible, reasonable,
civilized, morally correct solution to
the violence. Our present plutocracy,
however, leaves the decision-making
to the gun manufacturers.
A simple yea or nay vote by the
electorate to disarm this country would
most likely result in disarming. The 300
million guns in this nation are largely
owned by 30 percent of the population.
Since we have the most powerful mil-
itary in the world, we no longer need a
militia nor the right to bear arms.
Foolishly, gun advocates claim we
were armed to ¿ght the government.
Really? Do they think our forefathers
were that stupid?
MURRAY E. STANLEY JR.
Astoria
Columbia County. It would cre-
ate 1,000 construction jobs and
approximately 200 permanent,
family-wage jobs. These jobs
would be a tremendous bene¿t
for many residents in our coun-
ty, which has an unemployment
rate of 7.5 percent.
2. Climate Change. The
reason China is converting its
ole¿ns manufacturing from an
oil-and coal-based system to a
natural gas-to-methanol system?
Because it is better for the envi-
ronment, reducing greenhouse
gases and toxic wastes signi¿-
cantly.
Don’t we want China, the
world’s leading manufacturing
nation, to do more to protect the
environment? And the idea that
China will use the methanol just
to make “dollar store junk” is
not true. In reality, methanol is
used to make many everyday
products, from the carpet in your
house to the windshield washer
Àuid in your car.
3. Value-added manufactur-
ing. This isn’t an energy project,
and it’s not the exporting of raw
materials that some claim it to
be. Northwest Innovation Works
(NWIW) will build a value-add-
ed manufacturing facility — the
kind that the state of Oregon
wants to encourage. Whether
we create computer chips, wood
products or methanol, manufac-
Yes to methanol
I
read with dismay the editorial
“Why ruin our rivers for Chi-
na’s rulers?” The Daily Astori-
an, Sept. 28) and feel compelled
to reply. It appears that The Dai-
ly Astorian did not fully research
this issue, and missed some im-
portant facts.
Why build a methanol plant
on the Columbia River in Co-
lumbia County? I’ll give you
three reasons:
1. Jobs. This facility would
be a $1.8 billion investment in
turing creates good paying jobs
that we want in Oregon.
The Columbia River has al-
ways been an integral part of our
economic growth and quality
of life in Columbia County. Do
we need to protect that asset? Of
course, and that’s why we have
strict regulatory and permitting
processes in place.
The reality is, we have less
commercial traf¿c on the river
today than we did 20 years ago,
and many jobs have disappeared
from the region. We can have
both economic development
and good environmental stew-
ardship — we don’t have to
choose one over the other.
The NWIW facility is good
for our county and for northwest
Oregon
CHUCK DAUGHTRY
Executive director, Columbia
County Economic Team
St. Helens
Get some backbone
O
pen letter to Mayor Dianne
Widdop, the City Council,
the Planning Commission, City
Administrator Chad Sweet, and
city of Gearhart residential prop-
erty owners:
The time to enforce exist-
ing city codes and zoning ordi-
nances which support the com-
prehensive plan for the city of
5A
Gearhart is long past due. The
argument that laws do not exist
to regulate short term rental ac-
tivity within the city is ill found-
ed, as stated in my legal brief,
presented to Sweet dated Aug.
22, 2011. Ordinances do exist,
it just takes backbone to enforce
them.
City of¿cials owe residential
property owners — who invested
in the low-density, single-fami-
ly zoned real estate claimed in
the comprehensive plan — the
simple sanctity of enforcing city
zoning ordinances and city code,
which keeps their neighborhood
livable and safe.
If city of¿cials prefer to
claim that existing regulations
do not exist, then city of¿cials
owe it to the people to adopt
speci¿c regulations which pre-
serve the livability of what they
claim is “rural atmosphere,”
as stated in the comprehensive
plan. This is not an issue for
discussion between real estate
tycoons and residential proper-
ty owners, this is a right granted
to property owners by the city
when they invested in single
family homes.
The term “follow the mon-
ey” is playing out in Gearhart,
where city of¿cials are in over
their heads and in some cases
ill- to unquali¿ed for the posi-
tion into which they have been
placed. Gearhart is Mayber-
ry, without the logic, common
sense and backbone of an Andy
Grif¿th to maintain the charm of
the city.
It takes only one city of¿cial
in the right position to realize he
or she has courage and back-
bone to make a city become,
and remain, what its laws prom-
ise. Look to Lincoln City, and
city after city down the Oregon
coast, to see how city of¿cials
with courage stood up for the
rights of residential property
owners by not only adopting
strict regulations of short term,
transient rentals, but also enforc-
ing those regulations, thereby
maintaining at least some of the
promise they made to residential
property owners.
Gearhart, live up to your po-
tential. Adopt regulation now.
Enforce those regulations in the
future.
NICHOLAS P. BAKER
Gearhart
If you call a contractor yourself,
that still counts as DIY.
Look to a U.S. Bank Home Equity Line of Credit for your next major project.
You’ll be greeted with competitive rates, flexible payment options and
people who genuinely care.
HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT
Introductory Rate for 5 months
Rates as low as
%
1.50
APR*
Rate available 9/12/15 – 11/20/15.
Rates are subject to change.
Variable rate after
Introductory period
%
3.99
APR*
Actual rates may vary.
Visit your local branch or usbank.com.
usbank.com/dreambig | 800.209.BANK (2265)
*1.50% Introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is available on Home Equity Lines of Credit with an 80% loan-to-value (LTV) or less. The Introductory Interest Rate will be fixed at 1.50% during the
five-month Introductory Period. A higher introductory rate will apply for an LTV above 80%. Offer is available for new applications submitted from September 12, 2015–November 20, 2015. After the
five-month introductory period: the APR is variable and is based upon an index plus a margin. The APR will vary with Prime Rate (the index) as published in the Wall Street Journal. As of September
11, 2015, the variable rate for Home Equity Lines of Credit ranged from 2.99% APR to 8.25% APR. Higher rates may apply due to an increase in the Prime Rate, for a credit limit below $125,000, an
LTV at or above 80%, a low credit score and/or not having a U.S. Bank personal Package Checking account. A U.S. Bank personal package checking account is required to receive the lowest rate,
but is not required for loan approval. The rate will not vary above 18% APR, or applicable state law, or below 1.50% APR. Choosing an interest-only repayment may cause your monthly payment to
increase, possibly substantially, once your credit line transitions into the repayment period. Repayment options may vary based on credit qualifications. Interest only repayment may be unavailable.
Loan approval is subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not all loan programs are available in all states for all loan amounts. Interest rates and program terms are subject to change
without notice. Property insurance is required. U.S. Bank and its representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. Your tax and financial situation is unique. You should consult your
tax and/or legal advisor for advice and information concerning your particular situation. Other restrictions may apply. Mortgage and Home Equity products offered by U.S. Bank National
Association. Deposit Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Customer pays no closing costs, except escrow-related funding costs. An annual fee of up to $90 may
apply after the first year and is waived with a U.S. Bank personal Platinum Checking Package. See the Consumer Pricing Information brochure for terms and conditions that apply to
U.S. Bank Package Checking accounts. Member FDIC ©2015 U.S. Bank. All rights reserved. 150859 9/15