Lose Ben Stein’s Money: The Boss comes out, the Putin

Letter of the Week 
Nothing is more vital to OUR democracy than fair and effective elections. We rely (with varying success) on public officials for fairness and competence in the design and administration of our election process. We also rely (with varying success) on our citizenry to participate in the process.
We must also rely on the media to do its part in promoting fair and effective elections. By providing adequate and appropriate information, commentary and analysis, our media can educate and inform voters on candidates, issues and on the electoral process itself.

After reading recent comments by Randy Grove, human resources director at Paratransit Services, I'm wondering if bulbous red clown noses are a management perk.
Grove says BAT workers want a 135% wage increase totaling $2.8 million. I've been following the transit union negotiations pretty closely, and I sure don't recall numbers that come remotely close to these outrageous claims.

To Matt Janney, president and general manager, Mt. Bachelor:
Hey man, remember those good old Healy days of summer? Yeah, those days when the mountain would stay open for all us snow lovers almost as long as the snow lasted? Dude, you were there and loving it all too! What happened, man? What happened to all those sunny summer mornings cruising down the hill under a hot summer sun? What happened to Bill's mountain, what happened to skiing thru July 4? What is up with May 18? That closing is so lame, man!

Earlier this month we marked the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's death, or should I say his assassination, in Memphis, TN. Hours have been spent on radio and television commemorating the event. Articles, some at great length, have been written about what this Baptist preacher accomplished not only for his race but for the problem of segregation we have in America.
What never seems to be mentioned is what context, motivation and background motivated this great man. Sure, he was a Baptist preacher, but what made him do what he did, say what he said, motivated this man?

"War in Iraq"??? It ended on an aircraft carrier with "Mission Accomplished"!

Kudos to the local TV station for positioning a reporter outside the 4th Street post office on April 15. What a strategic place to pin down the people of Bend and ask some hard-hitting questions about taxes! I approached the reporter to offer my view: Paying taxes sucks when nearly 50% goes to military spending and not even 5% goes to education and social services.