Letters to the Editor Week 20

EMSAppreciation Week is May 16-22

As Coordinatorfor the Oroville Ambulance Service, I would like to take this opportunity toexpress my appreciation and to give a big thank you to the Oroville Ambulancecrew. This group of individuals provides the City of Oroville and surroundingareas with round the clock emergency medical services. One has to be trulydedicated in order to meet the demands of our calls, the ongoing training andmeeting the ever-changing requirements in the world of EMS. Oroville Ambulancedoes just that and does it well. I am proud, and it is my pleasure to continueworking and growing with Oroville Ambulance Service. You truly make adifference in the care for our community.

Please lookforward to our monthly column in the Gazette- Tribune. We will keep you updatedon Oroville Ambulance Service and offer some seasonal tips to stay safe andhealthy.

Help us celebratethis week! Look for our ambulance and EMS Appreciation Week table. We will beparked at Prince’s on Thursday, May 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at FrontierFoods Friday, May 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stop by and visit us. We have giftsfor all ages to show our appreciation to a very special rural community.

Stay safe,

Debra K. Donahue

Coordinator

OrovilleAmbulance

Hit-and-run

To the person orpersons who ran over my dog on Tuesday night, May 11 on Chesaw Road, andleft him to die. Your lack of actions this evening to not notify anyonecontributed to his death. I have never been so outraged at anyone’scarelessness as I am at what you did to a family dog. And for you to leave himin the street to die is beyond criminal action.

You willface your maker someday and explain why you decided to kill my dog, may Godhave mercy on your soul because I sure don’t.

By the way hisname was Tiny.

Ken Lee

Oroville

Thecase for conservatism

In response toLes Bowen’s editorial two weeks ago titled “Separating ideology frompartisanship,” it’s good to see a vigorousdebate as to how we will organize and manage our society, which is exactly whatpolitics is.

I would however be careful about using throw-away lines like, “It’s afact, Google it” because I can find my “facts” from everyone including Neo-Nazisor Anarchists. Just because it is found on the Internet does not make a “fact a”truth.”

I’m glad Les Bowen is trying to defend progressivism, I endorse his rightto do so, but there does need to be clarity brought to a couple of statementshe has made.

The first is “Getting past partisan rhetoric is the only way our countryis going to move forward…” Actually, this “partisan rhetoric” you complain ofis actually the battleground of ideas on how our society should be structured,again, politics. It is essential. Progressives only think it is useless”partisan rhetoric” when people disagree with their ideas.

I would hesitate to rely on U.N. statistics to buttress your arguments,though. The U.N. is a political organization also, and the criteria it uses todetermine which country ranks first, or fiftieth would sometimes surprise you.For instance, Iran, whose practice of stoning women to death is enshrined inits laws, was just given a seat on the Commission for Women’s Rights. It wasthe U.N. who had Syria holding a seat on the Human Rights Committee. I don’thold a lot of faith in the U.N. It is really a collection of governments, notof nations. That means that it is often a collection of thuggish regimes,rather than a true representative of the people of the nations they represent.

You say that European countries have a better standard of living. You saythat their policies are liberal – even socialist. But everyday we see the EUbeing rocked with a crumbling economy because of the staggering entitlementsgiven to the people. Why are the people in Greece rioting? One main reason isthat they currently can retire at 55 years of age. Greece wants to change it to57 years of age. So you have riots. But the infrastructure cannot support thesocialistic programs that Greece put in place over many decades, and itssociety is breaking down. The same is about to happen in Italy, Ireland,Britian, Spain and Portugal.

The European countries spend far less of their GDP on their military? Didyou know that is because the United States protects them and provides defensefor them? Do you realize how many military installations we have in Europe andin the Pacific? Americans have always sacrificed for the liberties of others,even in foreign lands.

I just find it funny that you can actually write, “What’s to stop theU.S. from bringing Europe’s prosperity here?” Europe is not prosperous, it isgroaning under progressive policies that have been implemented there. In fact,they are moving toward an American model in readjusting their societies. Weshould not wish to be like them.

Frankly, the progressives see the world through the prism ofpsuedo-Marxism. Everything is related to this trinity – “race, gender andclass. It is enamored with equality” – not of opportunity, but of outcome.Conservatives have a different trinity, and you can find it any American coin:”Liberty,” “E Pluribus Unum” and “In God We Trust.”

We believe in theequality of opportunity to pursue happiness, but we know a big socialisticgovernment gets in the way. The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.

Daniel Quigley

Chelan