Register Guard Monday May 21, 2007 Throw out the news media Is America really hated by our allies lately? Or does it just make good news to suggest so? Germany and France opposed us in the Iraq war. France and Canada's leaders spoke out against President Bush. Where are those leaders now? All replaced by pro-U.S. candidates! Germany, Canada, Mexico and now France have all chosen pro-U.S. leaders. Did you hear anything about how these countries are now supporting the United States? Of course not. That would not satisfy the the political agenda of our media. Maybe we should throw out our news people and replace them with somebody who can report on how other countries actually feel about us and not on how they themselves think. HARVEY WILCOX North Bend Don't blame problems on God As one who has personally experienced the miraculous power of faith, I must respond to the March 12 letter asserting that "God hates people." Evidence of God's infinite love, or if one prefers New Age terminology, the infinite possibility and potential of the universe, remains clear in the continued existence of free will. People are not compelled to behave in an identical, robotic, loving and kind manner. They maintain in every moment the power to choose whether to pursue the selfish aims of their own egos, or to surrender to a greater good. So long as people are able to choose how to act, some will choose to act irresponsibly, in myriad ways antithetical to life and love. Those who deny the existence of God cannot simultaneously argue that "God hates people." When people behave badly, it is not appropriate to blame God for their actions. Those who come to know God, through a variety of different spiritual paths, point to God's infinite love through their joyfulness and resilience. They don't merely criticize the world; they work to elicit its positive potential. In the words of Joseph Campbell, "We are here to learn to go with joy among the sorrows of the world." EMILY JEFFREY Eugene Embrace Piercy's carbon plan "Nero fiddles while Rome burns" might be a long-ago headline. Well, welcome to the present version: "Bush fizzles while U.S. sizzles." Five of the six hottest years on record have happened on his watch. Locally, we are fortunate that the work of many has culminated in Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy's laudable "change-of-the-month club" campaign. Each month, local activists and officials will urge us to take a meaningful and doable step in reducing our overall carbon footprint. If we embrace this effort and spread it electronically to the four winds, we can reduce our carbon emissions by 25 percent, almost one-third of what will be needed to salvage a livable future. The hard part will be still to come, reining-in the private sector's carcinogenic lust for consumption. For every practice we discourage or ban, we can offer and encourage more sustainable practices. If we move with all possible speed, we increase the chances that our grandchildren will bless, not curse us, for our roles in this ultimate crisis. PAUL PRENSKY Eugene Conspiracy theories haunt Jews Reading George Beres's May 10 letter, I was struck by the power of an individual word. Initially, I found myself agreeing with Beres - his criticism of Paul Wolfowitz's role in creating the mess in Iraq and his befuddlement over Andrew Young's defense of Wolfowitz. Then I came to this sentence: "Because Israel's lobby can control policies of the U.S. government, why be surprised when its prime operators, Wolfowitz and (Richard) Perle, get obeisance from Young and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference?" What jumped out was the power of that singe word "control," used here to vilify Israel's relationship to our government and, by extension, to induce a fear of manipulation by Jews of your and my personal self-interest. Conspiracy theories have been the iron backbone of anti-Semitism for nearly 2,000 years, always starting with whispers and innuendo and invariably becoming the pretext to attack Jews, destroy their livelihood, steal their property, humiliate and degrade them and then to kill them. Do not be confused by the ambiguity of Beres's statement, particularly his use of Israel to represent bad Jewishness. Do not be confused by his legitimate questioning of the role of a political lobby, or of our motives for being in Iraq. Such ambiguity and sincerity are part and parcel of all oppressions - the criminal Willie Horton equated to all African-Americans, Hillary Clinton equated to powerful women generally. Whatever the legitimacy of Beres's political questions, his subtle twist into anti-Semitic implications is deeply disturbing. PETER STRATON Eugene Why was religion mentioned? Kevin Capˇ displays a whiff of French anti-Semitism in his column on the French presidential election (Register-Guard, May 8). He describes the newly elected President Nicolas Sarkozy as the son of a Hungarian immigrant father and a mother whose father was a Greek Jew. Why was it necessary to give his grandfather's religious background unless it was to excite the left wing anti-Semites? While Capˇ is usually an entertaining writer, this venture into political analysis reveals that he has spent too much time absorbing the bad parts of French culture. PAUL FEINSTEIN Cottage Grove What about smokers' rights? In regard to the proposed increase in cigarette taxes, I would like to know why my rights are being violated. Smokers are being banned in restaurants, workplaces and public buildings. I've always respected people who don't smoke, and I never smoke around them. But this is going too far. The state wants our money for taxes to pay for people who could work but choose not to better themselves. Young people who are in better shape than myself get handed food stamps and money for medical bills and day care. Immigrants come into our country and get on everything, and they don't even have to be citizens. Our old people who struggle paying for prescription drugs and medical bills don't qualify for benefits because they make too much. I think our country and state wants people to be dependent on them. I'm tired of my personal life - of what I smoke or don't smoke - paying for someone else's choices in life. What happened to my rights? What happened to the last cigarette tax increase? It's in someone's pocket. It should be everyone's responsibility to pay health costs, not singling out the smokers because of their choice. The state's choice is to help these people who choose not to work. It's not the smokers. We pay for our own way without state help. KAREN L. WILLS Creswell Draft would share war's burden Since our so-called president and his administration refuse to admit that we are in a quagmire in Iraq, I call on the supporters of this war to call loudly and fervently for national conscription. After all the chest-thumping and calls to support the president, I feel it is only fair for all of those who cheer and applaud this (in their opinion) righteous war to loudly proclaim their support for a true national sacrifice for the Iraq war. After all, what makes their children exempt from the duty they feel so strongly that others ought to do? In no way do I mean to denigrate those who have volunteered for military service; they have proved their convictions whether we agree or not. I am speaking to those who would cheer without putting up or shutting up. If this war is so important to our nation, then a national draft should be foremost on the agenda of all of the supporters of this war. ALEX STARKE Eugene