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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter Wednesday, May 11, 2011 11B
COM00\\;4UNITY
])ERSPECTIVE
The Ameri00:an pe,cTle deserve to see
WHERE I STAND candidate Ronald Reagan
............................................................................................................. during a debate with George
JIMMIE L. FOSTER
NATIONAL COMMANDER
AMERICAN LEGION
Osama bin Laden is dead.
Of that, I have no doubt. To
question this statement one
would have toquestion the
skill and bravery of the Navy
SEALs and believe that the
master terrorist who occa-
sionally appears in propagan-
da videos and audio record-
ings is capable of perpetually
eluding all human and tech-
nological intelligence.
The unparalleled success of
the mission makes President
Obama's decision to not
release the bin Laden "death
photographs" especially
confounding. When an event
organizer cut off the sound to
H.W. Bush, Reagan famously
said, "I paid for this micro-
phone!"
Well, Mr. President, the
American people paid for
those photographs. More
than a trillion dollars, in fact,
if you factor in the cost of the
Department of Homeland Se-
curity, two wars and the care
for more than 40,000 veterans
who have been wounded in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
President Obama said that
"given the graphic nature of
these photos it would create
a national security risk." I
respectfully disagree.
Radical Islam creates the.
national security risk. There
were no photographs that
prompted the attacks on 9/11,
the missile strike on the USS
Cole or the bombing of the
U.S. Marine barracks in
Lebanon. Does anyone
seriously believe that the
terrorists will hate us less if
the photos are not released
than they already do now?
Will the "death to America"
chants that have existed
since the Iranian hostage
crisis suddenly morph into
love sonnets?
The American people are
tired of walking on eggshells
to placate a violent ideology
that respects neither inno-
cent civilians nor the
amazing humanitarian work
performed by our soldiers
every day. The problem is
not blasphemous cartoons or
even misguided pastors
burning Qurans. It's the
people who react with
barbarous acts of violence
usually inflicted on inno-
cents who had nothing to do
with the original "offense."
Where does the First Amend-
ment include exception
clauses for cases that might
incite radical Islamists?
Mr. President, they hate us
anyway.
My organization, the
American Legion, does not
rejoice at any death. But let
us remember what bin Laden
has wrought. He is the reason
more than 6,000 U.S. military
families have buried loved
ones lost in combat since
9/11. He is the reason our
children are now groped 'in
airports by security officials.
He is the reason that the
level of mistrust between the
overwhelming majority of
peaceful Muslims and those
of other faiths exists.
It is not about gathering
trophies 6r" spiking the
football," as the president
mischaracterized it. It's
about showing a replay to
season ticket holders who
were barred from entering
the stadium.
The photos are no doubt
bloody and graphic. But do
you know what else is painful
to see? The burns on the faces
of patients at Walter Reed
Army Medical Center. Or the
eyes of Michael Nordmeyer,
the father of 21-year-old Zach
Nordmeyer, a soldier and
member of the American
Legion who was killed in Iraq
two years ago. It still pains
most of us to look at images
of firefighters running into
the World Trade Center for
the very last time.
There will be some who
doubt the official version of
bin Laden's death whether
the photographs are released
or not. But not releasing this
evidence would surely be
adding steroids to these
nonsensical conspiracy
theories.
Some say the photographs
will bring closure. Others see
it as a need to satisfy a thirst
for vengeance. I prefer to
think of them as symbols of
justice.
The raid on bin Laden's
hideout is a truly great mo-
ment in American history.
Mr. President, release the
photographs. We paid. an
enormous price for them.
Others say '5;how u.; some peace' instead
WHERE I STAND
WIM LAVEN
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
"Show us footage of the
raid! .... We want to see the
body!" These comments are
in the news, presumably,
because we think it's impor-
tant. Important because we
are skeptical -- we don't
trust our government. If we
don't trust our government,
how can we expect those
afraid of us to? We don't
build trust through violence;
we build trust by making and
sticking to our agreements --
something we could do by
reaching out.
Let the dust settle. Let
Osama bin Laden's death
mark the end of the Global
War on Terror. Listening to
the mainstream media's ac-
count of it all, however, you'd
never know. For all of the
fears that have been propa-
gated in recent days, the
public has been left to
wonder -- how afraid should
we be? But why aren't we
talking about putting an end
to the cycle of violence?
To paraphrase Herman
Goering: The people don't
want war, but they can
always be brought to the
bidding of their leaders by
challenging their patriotism.
America's bumper sticker
philosophy, "These Colors
Don't Run," seems to capture
the sentiment clearly. We've
convinced ourselves that a
strong military -- one with
massive bases all around the
world in other peoples'
nations -- will protect us
from threats, despite the fact
we've always had a strong
military and regularly been
threatened. But, where has
this left us?
Agree or disagree -- like it
or not -- there are people and
parts of the world with the
belief that the sins of Osama
bin Laden pale in comparison
to the sins of the United
States. We saw the mixed re-
actions to bin Laden's killing
in the Middle East, China,
Central Asia and elsewhere.
Some regard him now as a
holy martyr -- he would have
been just another criminal in
jail if he had been captured
instead of slaughtered. A
continual return to the cycle
of violence by us has only
exacerbated this perception.
Reaching out, however, can
mitigate it.
Even when Gen. Petraeus
continued to ask for more
non-combative operations,
highlighting that they were
more effective and less costly
-- both in dollars and human
life -- we never heard about
it. The conversation about
building peace isn't made
public. Our commitments to
ideologies actually get in the
way of making us safer; peace
doesn't make good politics,
economics nor media copy,
apparently. Security is still
our goal, isn't it? Do we get
more of it by killing more
people, or is that only fan-
ning the peat bog smoldering
fires of resentment?
Osama bin Laden was
wrong; he led to the useless
and unnecessary suffering of
millions; he used terror as an
instrument of war, and he
targeted innocent people --
the world is better off with-
out people such as him.
SO, for as clear as this is --
that violence is not the
answer-- why aren't we
putting an end to it?
Is it because people don't
believe it will work, or
because we don't know how?
If it's the former, then all
we need is an education --
history is full of successful
nonviolent struggles. If it's
the latter, why not start by
trying the approaches al-
ready proven to work?
The voice for peace has
always existed, and it has
always told us: violence isn't
the answer.
Our generals remind us
that the best way to support
our troops -- to bring them
home alive -- is with non-
combat operations. Everyone
needs to heal, and we need
allies more than enemies.
But the voice gets lost and
drowned out when we don't
listen for it.
. L E::E T E
i t; V'
..
j:
On display
The spirit of Americanism
has returned to the Plumas-
Sierra County Fair!
The ban on American flag
use in floral and garden
displays as well as table
setting displays has been
lifted through the efforts of
Fair Manager John Steffanic
in response to our request.
In the past, more consider-
ation was placed on proper
flag protocol than in our
hungering need for a sense of
pride in all things American
and thus common sense was
swallowed up in the "letter of
the law" rather than the
"spirit of the law."
Hurrah and thanks to Mr.
Steffanic and let patriotism
be on display this year at the
fair!
Sherry Halverson
Plumas County Watchdog
Committee
Portola
Demise
My name is Joe Dansby.
I am a renter within the
city of Portola.
And I vote.
I invest in the city of
Portola by spending most of
my income here.
I pay my own bills includ-
ing the city utility bill.
Approximately 40 percent
of the city's population are
renters who spend most, if
not all, of their income in this
town. Yet, the city council is
in the process of denying me
and all the other renters
within the city the right to be
heard on possible water and
sewer increases.
The renters are the labor-
ers: the backbone of this
town. Without them, who
would do the minimum wage
jobs?
There was a time in history
when only white male land-
owners over the age of 21
were allowed to vote. But
here it is, 235 years later, and
it's beginning to look like.
history will repeat itself in
Portola.
Many citizens, including
many from Portola, have
given their all for this
country to allow people like
• me to have a say in what
affects our daily lives. Did
they sacrifice so that a small
town in .the mountains of
California can deny people
their rights simply to satisfy
a budget?
Our city attorney did a
heck of a job finding this
loophole. But just because it
is legal, that doesn't mean it's
right.
If the City Council feels
comfortable passing this
ordinance, the only thing we
the citizens can conclude is
that the city administration
is morally and ethically
bankrupt and that have no
respect for the people that
they live with.
If the City Council passes
this ordinance it will be the
demise of the city of Portola.
The cost of rentals within the
city will not be sustainable
and the renters will start
looking at the big cities to
live.
What then happens to the
city's budget and to this
town?
Joe Dansby
Portola
About profit
The Bush administration
named Osama bin Laden as
the mastermind who defeated
the most secure airspace in
the world and murdered 3,000
Americans. Not sure what
proof they had to name bin
Laden, except Bush did
receive a presidential daily
brief titled "bin Laden deter-
mined to strike in US" a
month before 9/11. Bush also
Guidelines for Letters
AII letters must contain an ad-
!dress and a phone number.
:We publish 0nly one letter per
week, per person and only
one letter per person, per
month regarding the same
subject. We do not publish
third-party, anonymous, or
open letters. Letters must be
limited to a maximum of 300
words. The editor will cut any
letter in excess of 300 words.
The deadline is Friday at 3
p.m. (Deadlines may change
due to holidays.) Letters may
be taken to any of Feather
Publishing's offices, sent via
fax to 283-3952, or e-mailed to
mail@plumasnews.com.
named him the most wanted
man in America, yet in
March 2002, Bush said, "...I'll
repeat what I said. I truly am
not that concerned about
him." Bush even closed down
the CIA unit, ALEC, tasked to
find bin Laden in 2005. And it
showed. Bin Laden remained
free for over 10 years.
As horrific as 9/11 was, it is
and always has been a police
matter. And that is exactly.
how the Obama administra-
tion handled bin Laden.
Using standard law enforce-
ment techniques, bin Laden
was tracked down and Presi:
dent Obama issued the order
for his assassination. No
Americans were killed and
mission accomplished.
After 9/11, the Bush
administration invaded
Afghanistan -- a country
This week at
plumasnews.com
The most read stories on
our website for the past
week were:
"DFG lambasted over
move to close refuges"
(325 hits)
"PG&E customers can
delay SmartMeter
installation" (31B)
"Fishing Report: Lake
fishing coming to life"
(279)
The SmartMeter story re-
ceived the most comments.
A sample:
"The "benefits of smart-
meters" are still theoreti-
cal but the observed
suffering is real and well
documented. A benevo-
lent government would
stop in the face of thou-
sands of negative reports
and consider other alter-
natives in promoting
energy efficiency. "
--Inside9
who did nothing against
America. And 18 months
later, Bush invaded Iraq-
another country who did
nothing against America and
based on lies.
After 10 years, $2 trillion
spent, thousands of dead and
severely wounded American
soldiers, Iraq blown apart
and salted with depleted
uranium, and a million inno-
cent Iraqi men, women and
children dead, these two
"wars" continue.
It has never been about
"terror." It has always been
about profit and the destruc-
tion of our Constitution.
Munitions makers and war
profiteers like Halliburton
and Blackwater made bil-
lions. The Iraqi oil fields
have beeri auctioned off.
Our government enacted
unconstitutional illegal
searches, illegal spying, ille-
gal detentions and torture.
This decade-long damage to
our country and Constitution
must now be reversed, and
it is up to us to insure it
happens.
Mark Mihevc
Graeagle
Contact your elected officials...
PLUMAS COUNTY SUPERVISORS - 520 Main Street, Room 309, Quincy,
CA 95971; (530) 283-6170; FAX: (530) 283-6288; E'Mail:
pcbs@countyofplumas.com. Individual supervisors can also be
e-mailed from links on the county website, countyofplumas.com
PRESIDENT - Barack Obama, the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW Washington, D.C. 20500. (202) 456-1414. Fax: 202456-2461.
E-mail: whitehouse.gov/contact/
U.S. SENATOR -Dianne Feinstein (D), 331 Hart Senate Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-3841; FAX: 202-228-3954; TTY/TDD: (202)
224-2501. District Office: One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104;
Phone: (415) 393-0707; Fax: (415) 393-0710 Website: feinstein.senate.gov.
U.S. SENATOR - Barbara Boxer (D). District Office: 501 I St., Suite 7-600,
Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 448-2787; FAX (916) 448-2563; OR 112 Hart
Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-3553. FAX (202) 228-0454.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, 4TH DIST. -Tom McClintock. 508 Cannon HOB,
Washington, D.C. 20515. (202) 225-2511; FAX (202) 225-5444.
mcclintock.house.gov. DISTRICT OFFICE: 8700 Auburn Folson Rd., Suite
#100, Granite Bay, CA 95746; (916) 786-5560, FAX: (916) 786-6364.
STATE SENATOR, 1st DIST. - Ted Gaines. State Capitol, Room 3056,
Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 651-4001, FAX: (916) 324-2680. Roseville office:
2140 Professional Dr., #140, Roseville, CA, 95661. (916) 783-8232, FAX (916)
783-5487; Jackson office: 33 C Broadway, Jackson, CA 95642, (209) 223-9140.
STATE ASSEMBLYMAN, 3RD DIST. - Dan Logue, State Capitol,
Sacramento, CA 95814, (916)319-2003; FAX (916) 319-2103.
District Office, 1550 Humboldt Rd., Ste. #4, Chico, CA 95928; (530) 895-4217,
FAX (530) 895-4219.
GOVERNOR Jerry Brown, office of the Governor,
Capitol, Suite 1173, Sacramento, CA 95814. Website: gov.ca.gov/
(916) 445-2841. FAX: (916) 558-3160.
State