Impressed by firefighters

We visited your fine city to attend the Family Motor Coach Association Northwest Area Rally. At the rally we had the misfortune of having a fridge fire in our motorhome. Although the fire was extinguished by helpful RVers, the fire department was required to attend and check to make sure the fire was out and had not extended into other areas of our coach.

I am a retired fire chief from Canada and must say that I was impressed with the professionalism and level of skill the attending firefighters exercised. I have never been at the receiving end of an incident before, and now have a greater understanding of the necessity to be sensitive to the needs of the injured party. Kudos to your firefighters and the chief officers.

Lt. Steve Lehman presented an envelop to my wife at the scene that we later found to contain money to help carry us through the first night out of our coach. The note indicated that the funds were provided through the Albany Fire Fighters Community Assistance Fund. What an awesome gift!

We directly made other members of FMCA aware of this gift. Everyone was so impressed by this act of kindness that a hat was passed to assist the Fire Fighters Community Assistance Fund. This money will be presented to the department at our final banquet.

Guaranty RV also provided us with a coach to use during the rally. If it was not for this act of kindness we would have had to go home that very day.

My wife, Dorothy, and I thank the Albany Fire Department and Guaranty RV Center for going out of their way to assist as during this stressful time in our lives.

Lex and Dorothy Haagen, Penticton, B.C., and arizona

Why Iraq violence dropped

Listening to George Bush, John McCain and military leadership talk about Iraq over the past couple weeks, one might believe that the U.S. surge was responsible for decreasing the violence. In reality, they cannot say the increased killing by insurgents and U.S. forces changed the situation in Iraq.

The news we do not hear about is how the violence decreased due to the changes in Iraqi domestic policy and the opening of their society. As the U.S. removed its shackles from the Iraqi people and their government, citizens of the country were able to move about and engage each other. People in Iraq and individuals in the science arena indicate that the decrease in violence is probably related to undoing the errors of the Bush Administration, policies John McCain endorsed in Iraq.

If you allow people to manage themselves in Iraq, violence will decrease as they now have a vested interest. If we shackle the people, they have and WILL rebel.

The terrorists are winning by bankrupting this nation. We need to change the policy in Iraq so we can save the U.S. Scott McClellan’s book validates what the clear majority of Americans know: The deceit-based, ill-conceived policies of the Bush administration will be continued by John McCain.

Randy k Rannow,

Albany

Study history some more

John Goodwin’s letter, “Attack Iraq? Talk is better” (June 4), reminds me of an old saying: If you don’t learn from history, history will repeat itself. Mr. Goodwin mentions that Ahmadinejad doesn’t make foreign policy and we should be talking to those who do. He wants us to “talk” to Iran. I hate to keep bringing back World War II but those liberals out there who, as I have stated before, believe history started with Vietnam need to study a little more.

Hitler was not the one making foreign policy when he started either. That great statesman, Winston Churchill (look him up, as he was before Vietnam) warned the world about Hitler and was emphatic that he needed to be stopped one way or another. The world, including England and the United States, refused to listen and instead took Mr. Goodwin’s advice and “talked.”

Again, if you read history if you were not a part of it, you will learn that if the world had done then what President Bush did with Saddam, we would not have World War II to read about.

The United States was “talking” to Japan two days before Pearl Harbor. That is a lesson our weak-kneed politicians need to study. You don’t “talk” to those who are intent on killing you. You can find out why they wanted to kill you after they are stopped. Ahmadinejad needs to learn that lesson and it can be explained to him in his afterlife where he will be nice and cozy surrounded by a nice warm fire.

Israel, the United States and the world have much to worry about, and only very silly people, of whom there are large numbers in every country, could ignore the possible outcome if this madman and all like him are not stopped. Virtuous motives are no match for wickedness. Neville Chamberlain is proof positive. “Don’t be unkind to the enemy, you will only make him angry,” was a whine in 1939 and before by many. Today, those who learned nothing from history are repeating that same whine.

America is too important to waste. “Walk softly and carry a big stick,” whoops. Sorry, that was before history started, way back before Vietnam. That is the type of president we need. Wake up, Oregon.

Larry Crompton, Scio