Cheney Vs. Reason: The return of the Veep, AIG bonuses, and Other Stimulating News

This week's letter comes from Ben Groeneveld who sends a restrained take on his recent collision with a car while bike commuting. The issue of bicycle and pedestrian safety remains a serious one in car crazy Central Oregon, and falling gas prices aren't likely to do anything to increase awareness efforts. So thanks for the letter, Ben. With warmer weather on the way, we'd all do well to keep an eye out for bikers and other non-motorized users of our roads. In the meantime, you can collect your winner's prize: an Old Mill pint glass at our office, 704 NW Georgia.
 Our vehicles collided. No citation was issued. That's the police report. I wanted to go left, and the driver wanted to turn right.  I feel so sorry for the driver that hit me. The driver didn't see me and my viewpoint is that the driver was not trained to look for bicycles.  In contrast, I am so experienced in looking for car behavior that might put me at risk. What better could we have done? One of the officers said "It could have been worse."

I'd like to comment on last week's WTF about Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls have been given an undeserved reputation due to irresponsible owners. I am the first to concede that Pit Bulls were not bred to be lap dogs. A number of other species have been bred for attack dogs and in fact are responsible for more attacks. Yet the other breeds do not have the same reputation. More people have been killed this year by cigarettes, cars, McDonald's, and booze than all dogs combined since records have been kept. In fact, far more children are killed by their parents and faulty cribs each year than all the dogs combined. Yet I don't see any anti Big Mac legislation on the horizon.

What Bend should do with our share of the Obama money: buy Mt. Bachelor and run it as a non-profit. Pay all the employees and officers a fair wage, but run it as a non-profit so that the lift ticket, equipment rental, and concession prices can come way down - lower than any other ski mountain in the U.S.

I have been an avid Source reader for the five years I have lived in Bend, but after reading your WTF article on the Pit Bull ban in Oregon I won't be picking up your paper any longer.
Since you stated that no one in your office owns a Pit Bull I think your statements were incredibly ignorant. I have been a Pit Bull owner for the past 8 years (previously owning primarily cattle dogs) and also a dog groomer in the past, and (I) have not encountered a "kid-face tearing Pit Bull" that your article referred to. My dogs have all been kind and loving and really love kids, as are the other Pit Bulls I have encountered.

I read the WTF? in the latest issue of The Source. As a pitbull (sic) owner, obviously I, or the rest of us RESPONSIBLE owners (sic), am not going to like that write up. As a journalist, what are you doing taking sides? If no one on your staff owns a pitbull (sic), fine, but stick to journalism, and do not take sides.