SHOW ME A LEGISLATOR WITH GUTS!

The holidays are upon us, and despite our economic woes, for many if not most of us they will be filled with happiness, family, sharing - and driving. And it will be a great shame if the joys of the season are ruined by death or mutilation caused by someone driving under the influence of intoxicants: DUII.

Take the case of Ginger Davis of Canyonville, OR, who some years ago was the sole survivor of a two-car violent crash that claimed seven lives. Davis caused the deadly crash; she was dead drunk with a blood alcohol level of .23, way over the legal limit. Two of the victims were her own children. And this accident happened because nobody until then had taken the problem seriously enough to create a real deterrent.

Davis had a long history of alcohol problems, going back to high school. She had several previous drunk driving arrests, lost her license, but still continued to drive. Then one day in 1991 she was involved in an accident in Nevada. She left the scene, bought more liquor, and 24 hours later in Utah, she hit a car occupied by two Salt Lake physicians and their three children. Everyone in that car, plus the two children in Davis's car, were killed.

The judge's words, typical courtroom lip service, were harsh, but not his sentence. Five of the vehicular homicide charges were dropped in a plea-bargain "deal." It was as if five of the killed didn't even count. Davis received two sentences of from one to 15 years.

The Oregon legislature had NEVER proposed or passed a law to really protect the public from the deadly drunk driver. It's time to be realistic: people consume alcohol legally. Drunk driving is a topic people don't really want to think about. The voting public, and even the judges, often seem to take the attitude, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." Alcohol is a legal intoxicant, but driving impaired isn't legal, and it's deadly. And yes, it IS preventable. Ask those now spending their lives in wheelchairs how important this is.

The legislature started by allowing the police officer to draw blood to ascertain the amount of alcohol consumed. Then the breath testing machine was used. Both are all about evidence AFTER THE ARREST; they don't stop someone from driving. If you've lost a loved one to a drunk driver, or seen a dead body at the crash scene, experienced the screams, pain, horrible smells of blood and oil, seen all the broken glass on the highway - then it is real to you. Then you care, and you'll ask WHY this drunk was still out driving a car, when a REAL DETERRENT is possible.

Today we need to save money. We have a representative from Bend who wants to have police officers testify by phone at implied consent hearings, so they won't have to be paid for court time. But only a REAL DETERRENT will ultimately save money. When will the legislature become PROactive instead of REactive, start passing laws that will really prevent driving drunk, and save lives?

What am I talking about? What is a "real deterrent"?

The Oregon legislature has failed miserably for the past 60 plus years in this area. Nobody has had the GUTS to propose or pass a law that will make the drunk THINK before he gets into a car. The diversion program has some very good points, and if its classes on drinking an driving worked in every case, the recidivism rate for drunk driving wouldn't be so extremely high. And punishment for driving drunk has always been light.

If the legislature passed a law mandating a year in jail, no exceptions, for the second drunk driving offense, regardless of a previous diversion program, the certainty of a stiff sentence would finally make drinkers think before getting behind the wheel of a car. Conviction would cause hardship for their families, cost their jobs.

Jail space? No problem; after 6-8 months of this sentencing, word of mouth and a good media campaign would alert the drinking public that a designated driver is a necessity, because the alternative, a year in jail, would devastate their lives.

Let's see: who wouldn't benefit from this law? Emergency room doctors; florists; defense attorneys; physical therapists; tow truck operators, wheel chair manufacturers. The obituaries will be shorter lists. And the ACLU is sure to find something wrong with it.

Come on, legislators! Stop worrying about your next election, and pass a REAL DETERRENT to drunk driving! Let's save some Oregon lives, and set an example for the nation to follow.

Walt Wagner

WHAT WOULD WE DO?

Yesterday, my wife, Rebecca, was presented with a question: "Here we are...at the end of George W's reign...the country's economy is in shambles - America's world image is in shambles...what would be YOUR advice?"  I've asked her to write her response below, because I totally concur!  Walt. 

To begin with, I wouldn't blame Bush for the current economic shambles.  It started with Jimmy Carter, or even further back in FDR's failed socialistic policies after the Great Depression.  Ironically, it was the country's coming together in WWII that finally put paid to that era.  Under Reagan, we had some good entrepreneurial growth; the rich got richer, but the poor didn't get poorer.  To quote him, it was "morning in America."  Under Clinton, banks were forced to make bad loans, and Barney Franks and his ilk flourished.  Then Bush Two's  17 attempts to get more regulation were rejected by a democratic congress, and the foxes watching the henhouse, the SEC regulators who wanted the cushy multi-million dollar post-government advisory jobs awaiting them in the areas they were "regulating," failed miserably in the job they were assigned to do.  I do give Obama credit for attempting to put a time lapse between government regulatory jobs and private sector employment in the same field.  

You really want my advice?  I'd adopt Ron Paul's agenda.  More isolationism; pull back from the billions in foreign aid we can't afford; limit federal government spending to essential programs and promises only, i.e. national security, social security, medicare/medicaid.  Leave MUCH more decision making to individual states.  Curtail military operations except where our national security is compromised, but build up defensive capability, so that nobody can EVER detonate a nuclear bomb two miles over America's heartland where the electro-magnetic pulse would wipe out all communications, thus plunging this country into worse than 19th century conditions and total chaos.  This could happen SO easily; we have no "star wars" defense against rockets coming in; (WHY didn't we listen to Reagan!) and the rogue nations are building their rocket capability very fast.  They already have the nukes.

Economically, I'd make sure this country did NOT go down the road to socialism but remained a capitalistic country not dependent on foreign imports or oil.  I'd stop the bleed out of the country looking for cheap labor.  I'd develop the vast Bakken oil reserves in the Dakotas, supposedly greater than the Saudis';  AND I'd make electric cars the most affordable vehicle of the future.  I'd research a way to permanently neutralize nuclear waste material so that nuclear power would FINALLY really be "clean energy." 

In short, I'd work to make this country again the shining beacon that everybody wanted to enter, not just those fleeing poverty, suppression, and tyranny, but those seeking real opportunity and a place to bloom.  Starry-eyed idealism?  Probably.  But it happened before, and it can and should happen again.   

Rebecca Wagner

BEND RATED NUMBER FOUR IN THE NATION

In the May, 2009, issue of Newsmax magazine is an article titled, "Uniquely American, the 25 Cities and Towns that Best Express Our National Values."  We were pleased to see that Bend is ranked number four out of the 25, and for the benefit of those who don't subscribe to Newsmax, quoted below is the text from that article.

"Bend is a great example of a community that set a goal - to make the town a national tourist destination - and succeeded.

The city ranked third on the 2008 "Best Performing Cities" (small metro) list, according the   Milken Institute, a California-based think tank that tracks this list annually based on wage and salary growth, job growth, and high-tech sector growth.  Much of the credit goes to residents' efforts to grow from a regional destination to a national one in just five years. 

A large chunk of its tourism revenue flows from the nearby Cascade Range, where features include the Mount Bachelor ski resort, Cascades Lake, and the Deschutes River.

From 2003 to 2007, room-tax collections in Bend grew more than 55 percent.  Three million people a year visit Bend, and 61 percent of those participate in outdoor activities.  The tourism industry pumps an estimated $300 million annually into the local economy and employs nearly 16 percent of the Deschutes County work force.  Trade, transportation, and utilities beat it out only slightly.

Bend has the highest average number of sunny days in the state, so it's not surprising that it's also quickly becoming a prime retiree destination.  Apart from is high desert climate, retirees, locals, and tourists alike gravitate to Bend for its cultural offerings, great dining and nightlife, excellent healthcare, and small-town feel." 

On a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being the highest, Bend was rated as follows:

Hospitality  8

Wholesomeness  9

Family Friendliness  8

Devotion to Religion  6

Culture  8

Community Activities  7

Scenic Beauty  10

Education  6

It's gratifying to see the area where we chose to live appreciated in the national media.