Opinion

We need a conservative Senator to slow Obama down from turning this country into a Communist country with his ideas of taking taxes from the rich and given to the non-taxpaying poor? This will send more businesses over seas.

It's been said that you call a person a conspiracy (theorist) because you don't want others to think about facts or content. Name calling is a time-tested tactic of bullies everywhere. The method works well on the intellectually lazy or weak, but not for the strong or independent-minded.
The 9/11 Truth Movement has grown rapidly worldwide, because it has the integrity of honest enquiry going for it. It asks questions and demands answers. If you believe the movement is a fringe element of society consisting of a few young crazies on the Internet, take a look for yourself. Engage your brain and do some research.

In the matter of the slight discrepancy you've found in the number of reported conceal/carry permits in Deschutes County, I think 'yawl are biting at this pizza from the wrong end. Consider for a moment the trouble with mandatory auto insurance, reportedly ignored, for whatever reason, by upwards of twenty percent of the motoring population.

Hi Everyone,
Back to the topic of our favorite, or rather your favorite, animals in the world…dogs! I hike Farewell Bend trail three times per week and notice that on the beach next to the Reed Market bridge a sign states dogs (must) be on leashes at all times! Unfortunately, (only) a few law abiding residents of Bend will honor this by doing the right thing and putting their loved pooches on a leash.
Most people probably feel that it is no big deal to have their dog off the leash, running freely along a wooded nature trail. To us who do not have dogs and have to avoid the poops left on the trail by dog owners who cannot be bothered to pick up after their dogs, it is a problem. It's 2009 and we are all supposed to be educated, honorable, honest citizens that respect one another by following the rules of the game. Can you lazy dog owners please pick up after your dogs and put them on a leash like the city (ordinance) states?

I applaud you for your Spring Style cover of March 26. With about 20% of this edition of The Source devoted to high fashion in the high desert, I reveled in your humor and good-natured distraction from the media saturated, depressing news about Afghanistan, the brutal drug war in Mexico, the esprit de corps of our city council, and the mind numbing cost of health care.

I wanted to say a few words about the, you guessed it, bike lanes. We have seen many, many responses to the bike lanes here in Bend and how important it is to keep them free of vehicles and junk.

This week's letter comes from J. Turley who fears a crackdown on downtown skateboarding will limit commuting options and unfairly target law-abiding skaters. Thanks for the letter and the reminder that skating is (still) not a crime. As a small token of our gratitude for your letter, drop by our skate-friendly office, 704 NW Georgia, and pick up a pound of Strictly Organic coffee on us.

Central Oregonians have shared several beautiful spring days in the last couple of weeks. It has been a chance to prepare and test out alternate transportation for the summer. Thousands of people leave their car at home and ride on another set of wheels. Enjoying a ride to work on a sunny day is one of the greatest parts of living here in the summer. But Bend is trying to put unfair and bias regulations upon commuters of the skateboarding kind.

I am a blue-collar person. I have a wife, two daughters, and all the pleasure that that brings.