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We welcome letters. Please include your full name,
address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters,
Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958;
e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
FIGHT BIG OIL: RIDE A BIKE With rising gas prices once again upon the fine
people of Springfield and Sangamon County, I want to send my yearly
reminder to those citizens who are fed up with working 40 hours a week to
just sign their paychecks over to local gas stations: Try bicycling this
summer — not just to save gas money but for health as well. Bicycling is an excellent way to burn off fat, tone
muscles, see a beautiful city’s best-cared-for areas, and be able to ride past
gas stations and laugh, knowing that your money will go for products and
services that you really enjoy. Sure, bicycles are not nearly as fast as cars, but
factor in the time spent cruising a parking lot, wasting gas, and looking
for a decent parking place, and you tell me which is the most effective
means of transportation. Besides, for most businesses, a person cannot beat
the parking, because bicycles can park almost anywhere. Norman Hinderliter
Springfield
WE ALL HAVE OUR REASONS
Once again the best reason, if not the only reason, to pick up Illinois Times is Doug Bybee
Sr. [see “Revised ethics testing,” March 8].
James L. Buck
Jacksonville
TICKET DRIVERS WHO USE CELL PHONES I am tired of seeing people driving around with cell
phones up to their ears and seemingly unaware of the road. They weave,
drive at low or very high speeds, never use their signals, and endanger the
lives of those around them. I have dozens of stories.
I think a law should be passed that would encourage
police to write “distracted driving” tickets for drivers who
spend more than 30 seconds on a cell phone (long enough to say that they
will call back). The ticket should be for $75, and the offending phone
should be seized until the fine is paid.
Patrick Johnopolos Springfield
WE’RE HEADING TOWARD DISASTER In 1999, one year before Dick Cheney became vice
president, he gave a speech before the Petroleum Institute in which he
proclaimed that oil was getting scarce, and therefore the best place to get
the remaining oil was in the Middle East. Cheney is an oilman, so, coming
from him, we should listen. Although the Caspian Sea Basin, in Central
Asia, holds a large part of the world’s remaining untapped oil, it
will be difficult to get at because it is underneath the sea basin and
there are many competing claims on this area, including Russia’s and
those of the other former Soviet republics. So what better way to get at
the oil that is remaining and is easiest to get than to invade a Middle
Eastern country such as Iraq, which is practically defenseless, and to
privatize its previously state-owned oil reserves? And this is exactly what
happened. Furthermore, 9/11 provided just the right opportunity to do this.
By deceptively tying Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 hijackers, Cheney and Co.
were able to engineer the public’s consent for a war it did not want.
Cheney did not consider alternatives to the so-called
peak-oil crisis, such as conservation or developing alternative energy
sources, which is the only remaining hope for the world. The major
economies of the world run on oil, and what are we going to do when the oil
runs out? Not to mention the fact that a foreign policy based on going to
war is bound to create more political instability. We are heading toward a
disaster of cataclysmic proportions. Will we wake up in time? Beni Kitching Springfield
ANOTHER WAY TO RECYCLE HERE Imagine living in a community where used items that
are in good condition are given away freely, with no strings attached, and
no money exchanged. Imagine living in a community where people not only
recycle, but reuse, by giving away their unwanted items freely to others
— even strangers — who will give them new life. Sound too good
to be true? That community exists, right here in Sangamon County. The Springfield Freecycle Network is an Internet
community of local people who are giving (and getting) good stuff for free
right in their hometown. The goal is to keep useable items out of the
landfills, keep curbs and alleyways clean and save our prairie grasslands
from being overtaken by landfills that no one wants in their own back yard.
Anyone with access to a computer can log on to
www.freecycle.org, click on the region where they live, scroll to their
state, and click on a link to their local community Freecycle site. There
are currently more than 3,900 Freecycle sites worldwide, with more than 160
in Illinois alone. The Springfield site started in January 2004, and now
has more than 1,500 members. We are one of the most successful sites in the
state. The Springfield site is moderated by two local volunteers who try to
build community involvement and make the site fun and productive. The
address is groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclespfldil/. Everything must be free, legal, and appropriate for
all ages. Bartering, trading, swapping, and selling are not allowed.
Membership is free, and members are required to provide the ZIP code where
they live in order to attain membership. Although “wanted”
posts are allowed, everyone must make an offer first before asking for
something. Reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink … Freecycle. Tracy Owens and Terri Woodliff Freecycle Moderators
Springfield, Illinois
Freecycle Network Springfield
ALTERNATIVE TO THE ALTERNATIVE In response to the
letter to the editor about alternative recycling methods, there was mention
of the Freecycle group. There is one other that needs to be mentioned as
well: It’s the Sharing is Giving group that’s local to
Springfield and surrounding areas. A lot of people have found that the
Freecycle group isn’t for them, and the other group is pretty relaxed
on the type of postings it allows, and anyone can join without going
through a questionnaire. The Web site for the local Sharing is Giving group
is: groups.yahoo.com/ group/sharinginspfld. You can post items you no
longer want or need, and others can ask for items they need. The goal is to
keep usable items out of the landfills and in the home of someone who has a
need for them!
Tony Baker
Group owner, Sharing is
Giving
Springfield
THE ULTIMATE RECYCLABLE You can make arrangements with the SIU School of
Medicine in Springfield to have your body donated to science upon your
death. The address is SIU School of Medicine, P.O. Box 19612, Springfield,
IL 62794-9612. The telephone number is 545-7581. Brice Brinkman Springfield
DECRIES CONDITIONS AT WALTER REED How is it possible to believe anything this Bush
administration tells us when, once again, we are waking up to still another
vile story concerning lack of care and compassion for our wounded service
members? It appears that our beloved leader’s “support the
troops” mantra is nothing more than one more miserable lie coming out
of his mendacious mouth. From the inexcusable lack of proper armor on the
battlefield to the shamefully indifferent care of the wounded once they are
back home, this president has shown that he either doesn’t really
care about the people who serve in the military or that he is simply
lacking in the necessary skills to do the job he was hired to do. Either
way, he should resign or be impeached. He’s the big shot who likes to
remind us that he’s “The Decider,” so he needs to step up
and explain why he has failed so miserably in so many ways. He’s done
quite enough damage in this job to last for generations. As the story of conditions at Walter Reed Hospital
continues to develop, there already appears to be a “smoking
gun.” While the story behind the story will prove to be the
incredibly stupid decision by the Bush administration to
“privatize” outpatient services, even before the dust has begun
to settle, we are hearing the name Halliburton come up. It is of greater
importance to this administration to provide government contracts to their
corporate friends and reliable campaign donors than to provide our wounded
troops the treatment they desperately need and surely deserve.
It is well past time that these fools were removed
from office, tried and convicted for their crimes, and made an example of
for the next would-be American Emperor. It’s well past time to say
enough is enough! It is time to throw these bums out! Ed Lazarus Springfield
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2007.
