The world is laughing

President Bush spoke from Beijing and decried the Russian attacks into Georgia, “a sovereign nation.” I think the sound of laughter could be heard around the world from his statement about attacking a sovereign nation after he ordered the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, and Iraq on March 20, 2003.

Elden B. Huntling, Lebanon

What’s our interest in this?

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a referendum in 1992 and again in 2006, with a 99 percent turnout, 95 percent of the people in South Ossetia voted that they wanted to be part of Russia with their ethnic compatriots in North Ossetia, or be totally independent, not part of the new country of Georgia. Instead, in 2008, 16 years after the first referendum, the president of Georgia sends tanks and MIG-27 fighter bombers to convince them that they are really part of the country of Georgia.

After the Russians run the Georgian soldiers out of South Ossetia and even out of a couple of places in the rest of Georgia, NATO and the U.S. want to punish the Russians.

Bush, McCain and Obama all agree that they want to back Georgia. What happened to the idea of self-determination? Where are the national interests of the U.S. in this scenario?

I don’t want the 2,000 Georgian troops in Afghanistan that bad, nor do I want the missile bases in Georgia that bad. I don’t think we have a dog in this fight.

Bill Molloy, Scio

Impeach? A nutty idea!

As with many others I am sick and tired of the “impeach Bush” diatribe. If, and it is a very big if, there was any means possible to impeach President Bush then the Democrats would have done it. Instead every so often a nut politician will bring up the impeach word and the sheep fall all over themselves trying to be the first over the cliff.

Every major Democrat politician was all over the airways telling us how bad Saddam was back in 1998. Albright, Dean, Berger and yes the president (back in 1998 that was President Clinton, not President Bush), was telling us that Saddam must be stopped and that he was a danger.

Pelosi, Rockefeller, Biden, Reid, Clinton (the senator) all were backing President Bush and his “illegal war.” They all saw the same intelligence reports as President Bush, the intelligence reports that were put together by President Clinton’s people, not “fabricated” by President Bush.

Congress’ approval for war was bipartisan in the House and the Senate.

How the smartest people in the world (liberals) can possibly believe that the “dumbest person in the world” (President Bush, in their warped mind) could have outsmarted the “smart” people is a mystery.

Larry Crompton, Scio

Gravel on Highway 99E

If any of you drivers here in Linn County would like to drive on ball bearings, come on out and drive the 11 miles between Tangent and Halsey. The state of Oregon was supposed to repave Highway 99E this year. Some real intelligent individual decided to chip seal the 11 miles. I have no idea how this decision was made, but it bites. The road will become rutted where the heavy traffic travels.

I always thought this process was used to keep streets with low traffic in repair so they wouldn’t get worse, and that it was used where a road was of oil base construction. This highway is of asphalt base construction and the gravel will simply turn to dust as it is ground away. When that happens, what is the next step?

Why didn’t they just leave it alone until there are sufficient funds to repave the whole highway?

Last question: Who is going to be responsible for the future problems involved with this so-called fix? You highway folks got answers? I doubt it.

Don Arnold, Shedd

Save Earth from plastic bags

Regarding the editorial (July 30) on the fee on bags being a “fad:” Fads are hula hoops, pet rocks, goldfish swallowing and bell-bottom pants. Saving planet Earth, I hope, is not a fad.

According to the EPA, over 100 billion plastic bags are consumed in the U.S. each year — 1.2 trillion worldwide. That is an average of 300 bags for every adult on the planet.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the cost to retailers is over $4 billion a year. Wonder who pays for that?

Plastic bags don’t biodegrade — they photodegrade — breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, other marine mammals and birds die each year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food. The UNEPA reports that 90 percent of floating marine litter is plastic.

Plastic bags end up as litter, filling out landfills, taking from hundreds to a thousand years to break down.

Millions of gallons of oil that could be used for fuel or heating is used in the production of plastic bags.

Paper bags take 40 percent more energy to produce, 70 percent more atmospheric emissions and release 94 percent more waterborne wastes, not to count the amount of trees used that provide our oxygen.

Countries all around the world have seen this problem for several years and are acting. In 2002, Ireland imposed a $0.15 tax on bags, which immediately led to a 90 percent reduction in use. Bags are also taxed in Sweden and Germany; Paris is banning them. Currently 30 towns in Alaska have banned them.

Reusable bags are the only way to go if we care. Yes, they may occasionally need to be washed, but do you really believe that a small washer of water “has only a SLIGHT environmental benefit”?

I am sadly disheartened that the editor of our paper, who has influence over his readers, can only refer to this as “an annoyance,” and not have done any research before publishing. Hopefully we will all stop and think a little more about the bigger picture when we decide what bags to use.

Judy Brownell, Albany

Living it up in Beijing

The soldiers in the former Soviet country of Georgia, trying to fight off Putin’s Russians, are exhausted and wondering where their U.S. friends are. The Georgians stood alongside our soldiers in Iraq; they have a street in their capital city named — yes, it’s true — George W. Bush Street.

I can tell them where George W. was. While this bloodshed was (and is) going on, both Putin, head of Russia no matter who is president of Russia, and George W. were at the Olympics in Beijing enjoying themselves, especially George W. who was photographed slapping the backside of a bikini-clad American woman, a beach volleyball player! Nice work if you can get it, as the song goes.

Mary Brock, Albany