Salem-News.com Op Ed articles Page 32

Op-Ed: `Contributions`: Consequences Clearly Contravene U.S. and State Constitutions

(SALEM) - Oregonian parents have partnered with their school boards to sue the State for stealing their children`s Constitutional right to `equal education`.

That fundamental legal-force is now demanded to clear away consequences of those corporate `campaign contributions` malignly manipulating Legislative responsibility.

It is debilitating and denigrating; the denial and distortion of public funding across the entire budget-list and throughout the budget cycle that is creating this impossible situation.

Op-Ed: Montana State Drops `Soft Shoe Approach` in Meth Fighting

While anti-meth messages for Oregon kids have to be created in a way that is “not too shocking,� Montana’s new anti-meth ad campaign absolutely jars the senses and its rave reviews could be a sign of a better idea.

(SALEM) - Folks in Big Sky Country say they`re taking crime and health problems stemming from methamphetamine in their state by the horns, in the process ignoring politically correct approaches employed in Oregon and other states that many say put rose colored shades on a problem eating at the very heart of the population, young and old alike.

The kids they`re going to reach with a message from Johnny Quarterback are not the kids we`re worried about in the first place.

OP-ED: Democracy:
`It`s DIY or Watch It Die`

(SALEM) - Newspapers across the nation have hammered away with Sunshine Week features pointing out one potent fact about our `democratic form of government`.

What every story printed presented to all parents planning for their progeny; partners in every business at company and corporate levels; entrepreneurs innovating and activating ANYthing new; and every other citizen now at work and still breathing, is this simple fact...

Do Tax Cuts Pay for Themselves?

(SILVERTON) - At the recent annual Dorchester conference of Oregon Republicans, US Senator Gordon Smith reportedly talked about taxes, the economy, and the size of government. Smith argued that the tax cuts passed since President Bush took office were good for the economy and were bringing more revenues into government coffers. Apparently, some people just won`t let facts get in the way of their political agenda.

Op/Ed- PGE:
Missing Millions
Must Mean Mathematical
Misapprehension

(SALEM) - Circuit Judge John Witmayer was the `analytical mind` in play for that decision demanding PGE pay back $10 million to its Multnomah County customers.

Careful analysis by that experienced jurist clearly indicated to him that refunds should be granted for county business income-tax payments sent directly to Enron.

Op-Ed: Enron`s PGE-Plunder UN-Returned, UN-Explained

PUC Provides Complexities But No Defense

(Salem) - I`ve always believed any tax-dollar paid by any citizen or business --large-or-otherwise-- should end up with that same dollar put to work by the taxing unit.

That is why Legislators enforce taxes:
To pay for legal, wise, demanded state purposes and services like education, health care, police, fire, safety, roads, and clean water.

Potent power-supply, under public control, is unavoidably instrumental for all those others.
It literally lights up every one -- as well as many Oregon homes, hospitals and businesses, by PGE.

Op-Ed: Some People Shouldn`t be Parents

(Salem) - Some people have serious reasons to rethink their behavior. Children are fragile and striking them in the head is abusive. Sadly, I was witness to a case of this Tuesday night as I drove to a meeting in downtown Salem.

It happened in a cooking supply store on Chemeketa between Commercial and Liberty, just after 5:30 PM.

As I drove by, I saw three small boys ranging in age between four and seven years, sitting on a bench in the store by a window facing the street. The traffic stopped in front of me, and I watched a man who I assume was the boy`s father storm up and strike them in the head. I think he hit all three of them in the head in one movement. He hit them hard.

Op-Ed: State Remains Sovereign: Brooks-Belching Pollutes Oregon Air

(Salem) - Recent statements --private, internal and public-- by the Marion County Commissioners make clear their intention to UNCAP the already-belching Brooks incinerator:
When infectious hospital wastes from other states are offered the Brooks incinerator remains ready-and-willing.

Their decision to "table" immediate action after the flawed Sears analysis --summarizing also-flawed group process of SWMAC-- was a foregone conclusion.
Only time and incident-surround are now left unstated.

Op-Ed- Payday Loan Companies Should be Regulated

A senior citizen who took out a $100 payday loan for orthopedic shoes ended up having to pay back $900, that is an utterly shameful fact to have to report.

(Salem) - One of Oregon`s fastest growing industries, payday loan companies, remind me of what I have read of a period long ago, after the end of the Civil War. People in the south were destitute after the hostilities ceased and that`s when the carpetbaggers moved in. They took advantage of every weakness and milked and manipulated that last of the little that people had been able to save. Sure the people being run off their property were debtors, maybe even former slave owners, but that still gives no one a right to levy fines and interest levels that a poor person could never begin to pay.

Op-Ed- This Week, Perrydale Celebrates Agriculture

Special Op-Ed

(Perrydale) - Some rural Oregon communities are pockets of resistance to negative change. They may be wired with the latest computer systems and up to date on many trends, but along the way they never dropped the bar in their living standards. The end results are driven, highly respectful youth with a work ethic only born away from the buzz of the big city, and the sustained cultivation of food products that go on to feed the millions.