4 A The First Amendment Letters to the Editor: C ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com Press Releases: PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 • 2015 YESTERDAY’S NEWS LETTERS Coming to America When President Barack Obama unveiled his plan for executive amnesty, I was dismayed at his disregard for our laws. His amnesty plan goes much further than just allowing a few million people from our neighbors to stay here and become U.S. citizens. More than 5 million immigrants have obtained work permits from the federal gov- ernment since 2009 as told by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). Also 982,000 of those permits went to illegals and other foreign nationals who did not meet legal standards for employment. Under congressional law, 1.1 million legal immigrants and 700,000 guest workers are permitted to enter the U.S. annually. The 5 million work permits uncovered by CIS are above the legal numbers. Our president, whether intentionally or due to his lack of competency, has turned our country into a haven for unrestricted immigra- tion. According to the American Family Association, since 2008, the president has added 18 million foreign workers to the American Labor Force. Believe it or not, some Americans are being fired and replaced with Obama’s foreign workers. At last week’s Congressional hearings, Homeland Security Secretary stated, “Illegal immigrants are being issued Social Security Cards, Work Permits, and child Income Credits from the IRS for as much as $24,000 per family.” Also, these welcomed new citi- zens will be able to obtain a driver’s license and voter registration with their new docu- mentation. Reading an article in the Washington Times, President of Mexico, Enrique Nieto, stated his government would supply the documents nec- essary for millions of illegal Mexican immi- grants to prove they’ve been living in the United States. What’s in this for Mexico? For one, it would be a good way to reduce their prison population. The Syrian civil war has created a humani- tarian crisis, with 3.2 million Syrians having fled their country and seeking refuge in camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The State Department said in December it was processing more than 9,000 applications referred from the United Nations, with tens of Herbs from 1A Female cannabis has the flowers that people refer to as marijuana. “Now we’re talking about all this legalization, but how did we even get ‘un-legalized’ in the first place?” he asked. “This is a very political issue, and I don’t want to get into the politics of cannabis, but it is good to note that before Prohibition started, cannabis was a very com- mon ingredient in many herbal for- mulas in the world.” In McBride’s research, he dis- covered that the U.S. banned cannabis because of the male plant, hemp, not the female plant, which has the medicinal and psy- chological effects. “Hemp was the only fiber and textile used across the world at that time. All the sails on all the ships before 1900 were made of hemp. … Cotton was very minimally used. Cotton has very low yields and is inefficient to grow and har- vest,” he said. It took the inventor of the cotton USPS# 497-660 MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel • On Feb. 25, 1828, John Adams, son of President John Quincy Adams, marries his first cousin and inadvertently follows a pattern of keeping marriages within the family. John Adams’ grandfather, President John Adams, had married his third cousin. John’s daughter also married a family member — her second cousin. • On Feb. 24, 1938, Variety reports that the film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has bought the rights to adapt L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” for the screen, and that MGM has cast 16-year-old Judy Garland in the film’s central role, Dorothy. • On Feb. 27, 1942, the U.S. Navy’s first air- craft carrier, the Langley, is sunk by Japanese warplanes, and all of its 32 aircraft are lost. The Langley had parted company from its convoy when nine Japanese twin-engine bombers attacked. Of the 300 crewmen, only 16 were lost. • On Feb. 28, 1953, Cambridge University scientists James D. Watson and Frances H.C. Crick announce that they have determined the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule containing human genes. Watson later claimed that Crick announced the discovery by walking into the nearby Eagle Pub and blurting out, “We have discovered the secret of life.” • On Feb. 26, 1968, allied troops who recap- tured the city of Hue from the North Vietnamese during the Tet Offensive find the first mass graves in the former imperial capital. It was discovered that communist troops who had held the city for 25 days had massacred between 2,800 and 5,700 civilians. thousands more Syrians waiting in the U.N. pipeline. Will they also be “Coming to America”? Homeland Security needs a lot of our tax dollars to process this large influx of new U.S. citizens. We already know the routine if our gin, which allowed for faster har- vesting, using political clout to ban the versatile hemp so that cotton could compete in the market. “It had nothing to do with the flowers at all,” McBride said. “Because the flowers are so strong and psychoactive, it was easy for the powers that be to use those things against the plant to con- vince people that that was why it was bad. Ultimately, it was a polit- ical and economic agenda.” The prohibition on cannabis is ending now. People with acute anxiety, severe pain, epilepsy, even Alzheimer’s, have begun using cannabis medicinally. Whitney, who spoke for the Herb Enthusiasts once before, said, “There aren’t a lot of studies in general. That’s one of the main points that I want to make today. There are not a lot of studies show- ing marijuana use and what it does to the body. … I think that will change eventually down the road and more studies can be done.” McBride said, “There’s no herb that’s ever a silver bullet to any- thing. You can’t take cannabis and assume it’s going to heal all your problems. … Any health regime you do has to be part of a lifestyle choice. It has to be part of a com- prehensive plan.” He recommended yoga, Pilates and going to a chiropractor to help alleviate pain. “If you really want to rebuild and heal, you can’t expect every herb to do that for you. Only you can do that for yourself. Herbs will help you along the way and teach you what you need to do for your- self. You must look within yourself to truly grow in the long-term,” said McBride. DEAR READERS: Share your story D o you remember a significant or interesting story that we should feature again, or want to share your favorite memory of the newspaper? Write an email to Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com with the subject line “Anniversary.” • On March 1, 1971, musician James Taylor makes the cover of Time magazine. The article contrasted Taylor’s gentle rock sound to the “walloping folk rock of Bob Dylan,” the “thun- derous eloquence of the Beatles” and the “leer of the Rolling Stones.” • On Feb. 23, 1980, speed skater Eric Heiden wins the 10,000-meter race at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, setting a world record with his time. Before Heiden, no other athlete in Olympic history had ever won five individual gold medals. he Siuslaw News wel- comes letters to the edi- tor on subjects of general interest to its readership. Brevity is mandatory, and let- ters are subject to editing. Libelous letters and poetry will not be published. Thank- you letters are generally inap- propriate. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed. Handwritten or submitted letters via mail must be signed over the writer’s name. All letters must include an address and phone number of the writer for verification. Email letters to: Editor @TheSiuslawNews.com T Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Advertising Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Lane County, 1 yr manual pay, $71; 1 yr auto pay, $62.10. 10-wks manual $18; 10-wks auto, $15.42. Out of Lane County, 1 yr manual $84.75; 1 yr auto, $80.95; 10-wks manual, $21.35; 10-wks auto, $20.05. 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Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, OR 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. 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