Letters to the Editor: Red Republicans, our burning planet, and Eugene's homeless population

Red Republicans

I always get a chuckle when I read complaints from those on the political right, like Raymond Moreno (Letters, July 20), complaining about Democratic presidents failing to keep prices down, especially gas prices, and not propping up stock prices, etc. Such top-down, government-controlled economics used to be called communism. Now, apparently, it’s called Republicanism.

What we’re experiencing is our free-market economy doing exactly what such economies do: balancing the demand for goods with the supply of those goods by adjusting their price — upward these days.

Why is supply out of whack with demand? The answer is well documented by economists and easy to understand, for those who want truth. The primary factor is the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily broke the fragile world-spanning supply chain upon which our now-globalized economy depends. Limited supply — prices go up.

And sure, presidents can make things worse through bone-headed policies like coddling dictators who then become emboldened enough to start economically disruptive wars, or by imposing tariffs on our trading partners which, by definition, raise our prices and can force our economic producers, such as Midwest farmers, out of production and onto welfare.

Tired of free-market pain? Want stable, government-controlled communism instead? Vote Republican!

Peter Straton, Eugene

A litany of things to blame Biden for

Kudos to Raymond Moreno for his July 20 letter about the failed Biden presidency. Mr. Moreno rightly cites inflation — including gas prices — a looming recession, a falling stock market and the crisis at the border. Obviously, it's all Biden's fault.

Mr. Moreno could have mentioned a number of other problems caused by lack of leadership in the White House. They include continuing COVID-19 problems, global inflation (outside the U.S.), the terrible weather we've been having, forest fires, poor quality of streaming shows, the Seahawks' disappointing season, nearly 6 million unemployed Americans, the decline of daily newspapers, the war in Ukraine, homelessness, Fentanyl, haters, fake product reviews, protests against police misconduct, my failure to win a lottery, and the list goes on.

Why don't Biden and Harris fix this stuff? All it would take is a couple of waves of their magic wands. C'mon, Joe!

Jim White, Florence

The difference between a handout and a helping hand

While a very small group of activists object to the removal of some homeless campers from the areas most aligned with the track meet and the festivities on the riverfront, the majority in Eugene won't miss their piles of garbage, harassment, etc.

Their comment that Oregon22 was a "little race" speaks to their lack of awareness. How many of these homeless are there by choice and refuse shelter options because there are rules (free spirits)? How many of the activists offered the displaced a room in their house or tent space in their yard? There is a difference between offering a helping hand and giving handouts free of responsibility. Very few would object to the first, most in Eugene are tired of the second.

Don French, Eugene

Stop the DIY bombing

I wholeheartedly agree with Eugene officials banning fireworks in Eugene. Every year, what sounds like bombs go off in our neighborhood for three nights in a row. I can’t imagine what that does to pets, birds and other wild animals near us, let alone those veterans with PTSD. Fireworks, like muskets back in 1776, were not as easy to procure, lethal or loud as they are now. People, grow up and stop the nonsense. Go to firework displays and stop the do-it-yourself bombing of our neighborhoods.

Merrie Kelly, Eugene

The time for gas is past

The newest low in NW Natural’s advertising campaign has them targeting children as young as pre-K. It is sending booklets to schools claiming to be teaching about safety when they are really propagandizing methane gas as a clean alternative fuel and creating positive associations with an age group they have no business pedaling to.

As a mother and former teacher, I am shocked and concerned about the impact this will have on young minds, whose logic and reasoning centers are still developing. NW Natural calls gas an “invisible friend” and associates it with things kids usually enjoy like pizza and dinosaurs. Even more sinister, kids are some of the most vulnerable to the harms of gas in the home. Research shows that children have a 42% higher chance of developing asthma symptoms in homes with gas.

NW Natural is a bad actor. It directs propaganda toward children despite the harm its product has on their health and the climate they will inherit. We cannot allow NW Natural to undermine and delay the vital shift to clean energy by using cartoon dinosaurs to hide the truth — they are fossils and the time for gas is past.

Aya Cockram, Eugene

A misleading analysis

Once again Jack Dresser favors us with a misleading analysis of the Israeli-Arab conflict (Letters, July 27).

He thinks that Israel was at fault for launching the Six-Day War (June, 1967) pre-emptively, as if that were a bad thing. Pre-emptive it was, but it was also in self-defense. Dresser omits the crucial information that in May Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser had kicked UN peacekeepers out of the Sinai and then prevented Israeli access to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba via a blockade.

The first act was obviously hostile and ominous, the second was clearly illegal and tantamount to an act of war. Arab intentions were unmistakable, and so the Israeli decision to attack first was a matter of national self-preservation.

Another example: the Yom Kippur War (1973) began not because Israel invaded Egypt and Syria, but because the Arabs invaded Israeli-held territory in a surprise (and almost successful) attack. To plead that the “war was fought in the Sinai and Golan Heights, not in Israel” is irrelevant: it was a sign of Israeli military superiority.

The irony is that in time Israel would willingly return the Sinai to Egypt without a shot being fired.

Jeffrey Hurwit, Eugene

Fix the climate with your grocery shopping

Record heat waves in America and Europe endanger millions and wildfires rage in a brutal manifestation of man-induced global warming. Each of us can reduce our personal contribution by cutting back on consumption of animal foods, which account for a whopping portion of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is released by burning forests to create animal pastures. Methane and nitrous oxide are released from digestive tracts of cows and sheep and from animal waste pits. In an environmentally sustainable world, vegetables, fruits and grains must replace animal food products in our diet, just as wind, solar and other renewable energy sources replace fossil fuels. The next trip to our favorite supermarket provides a great opportunity to explore the delicious, healthful, eco-friendly plant-based meat and ice cream products in the frozen food section. Elijah Hennison, Eugene

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Letters: Red Republicans, our burning planet, and Eugene's unhoused