How not to waste gas

Regarding “Wasting gas on Queen Avenue” (Mailbag, July 9). One brilliant idea deserves another: While waiting for trains on Queen Avenue, turn off your engines.

Scott Pirie, Albany

Recall’s not the answer

Much has been written about the Lebanon School Board decisions, board members and issues the school district faced. We cannot look back on “how things were done” before, file lawsuits at every step and use personality issues to solve problems.

There are those that are satisfied with the performance of Rick Alexander, Josh Wineteer and Debi Shimmin. By looking at the big picture, they have taken steps to build a foundation built on trust, cohesiveness and teamwork that have been missing. The actions of questioning processes, fund transfers and hiring personnel demonstrate a board wanting accountability. These are normal business practices.

To those wishing to pursue the recall effort, a divided community doesn’t produce a win-win situation. As we will have open positions in the future, encourage others or even yourself to run for the board. Concentrate on issues, ask questions, work for results and move forward to achieve the best for our schools.

Our actions are a reflection upon the community as a whole. Let’s pull up our socks, clean up our act and build a better system.

Tom Zurcher, Lebanon

New rules harm progressives

Your paper recently noted that nine out of the 10 statewide initiative measures likely to qualify for the November ballot are “conservative” measures, sponsored by groups involving such right-wing notables as Bill Sizemore, Kevin Mannix, and Russ Walker. There will be zero initiatives on the November ballot that any informed observer would call “progressive” or “liberal,” in the sense of seeking to give a fair shake to consumers, workers, uninsured Oregonians or the environment.

This domination of the initiative process by right-wing measures is exactly what I have predicted would result from the efforts of Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and his Democratic colleagues in the legislature to curtail use of the initiative. Their changes over the past seven years, including over a dozen new rules, have made the initiative process too technical for the concerned citizen-activist and far more expensive for grassroots volunteer groups. But these changes are easily afforded by well-funded conservative groups.

The result is that the number of progressive statewide initiatives has dropped from seven in 2000 to four in 2002, two in 2004, three in 2006 and zero in 2008. And two of the measures in 2006 (the campaign finance reform measures) were put on the ballot through enormous effort of a group I work with, FairElections Oregon, but its resources were exhausted by the new costs.

The Democrats have focused on making the initiative process more technical and expensive. They raise the specter of “circulator fraud” to deny petition rights just as others allege “voter fraud” to justify steps to suppress voter turnout. The predictable result has been to destroy the opportunity for progressive measures while leaving ample opportunity for right-wing measures sponsored by well-funded persons and groups.

Dan Meek, Portland

No lapel pin, no patriot?

A few months back both Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly said that Sen. Barack Obama was unpatriotic because he didn’t display a flag lapel pin. That he didn’t back the troops.

The Albany Democrat-Herald home page video on Sunday, June 29, showed that Sen. John McCain was not wearing a flag lapel pin and most YouTube videos show the same. No lapel pin for Sen. McCain. So who can say he is not patriotic?

Sen. McCain supported our veterans again. Sen. John McCain, who’s argued vociferously against the Webb GI Bill, skipped the Senate vote for the GI Bill. There were only three senators to do so. There were 22 Republican senators that voted against the troops. Seventy-five percent of the senators voted in favor of the Webb GI Bill.

Elden B. Huntling, Lebanon

ANWR oil wouldn’t help us

Today, everyone seems to have an opinion concerning oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge region of Alaska.

At present, much of the oil that is pumped along Alaska’s North Slope is loaded directly into oil tankers and is then delivered to Asian countries to be processed and used there. So what Washington isn’t revealing is that if we drill ANWR, we will increase the volume of shipments to Asia so long as Asia is paying the best price.

Correspondingly, oil from the Gulf of Mexico is shipped to whichever world market will pay more for it. Fact is, our oil is sold on a global market, where we are forced to pay world prices for our own oil. For anyone who does not understand economics, like Rush Limbaugh for instance, this is how free-market capitalism actually works. Bottom line, significant increases in U.S. oil production would have a negligible effect on world prices.

Utterly absurd is the notion that oil produced from ANWR, or from other untapped regions, would be channeled into U.S. oil markets at a lower price, just for you and me. U.S. oil is, and will continue to be, shipped to the highest bidder.

All of the banter about drilling to reduce U.S. gasoline prices is nothing more than rhetoric started by special interest groups connected to wealthy oil interests, including investors in oil, oil services and oil futures. The aforementioned groups simply ache for the profits they can make in the global oil market — with our American oil!

Obviously, the oil lobby rejoices resoundingly whenever actual U.S. citizens parrot back their political message to drill, drill and drill! Some of us simply misunderstand economics.

But unfortunately, no amount of drilling will moderate U.S. fuel prices because there is no real shortage of crude oil. Facts are, irresponsible trade policy, foolish monetary policy, oil speculation and supply manipulation by U.S. refiners, combined with increased demand for oil in Asia, particularly China, contribute to the crisis that we’re paying for.

William Hill, Albany

Her list for November

I’m making a list and checking it twice, like Santa Claus! My list is for November elections which will be here before you know it, just like Christmas! Note to people in and around Lebanon in state District 17: Vote for Dan Thackaberry for Oregon state representative!

In “Farmer Dan’s” words: “I will work harder than anyone for ordinary people, and I will always put the interests of my district and those of Oregon families over partisan politics.” That about says it all, everything you could wish for in a state representative.

Mary Brock, Albany