Register Guard Mailbag, 12/03/04

Fridays mail bag. For those that are not from the Eugene, OR area the Register Guard (RG) is the local family-owned (Baker) rag. They have a daily section where selected letters they have received are printed. Of course, most of these letters (some exceptions) must support the owner's personal agenda.

Medical Liability system failing - Dr. Raymond Englander corrected the RG writers in quoting a Washington Post article. It turns out the RG misused that article with the intention of trying to support their position to defeat Measure 35 - a measure that would have put a cap on medical malpractice claims. Dr. Englander, in the last paragraph, says "In the future, the editors would do well to be true to the author and choose a headline that reflects the author's main point rather than the Register Guard editorial staff's opinion." Right on Dr. Englander! (Note: Ambulance chasing sharks won - Measure 35 lost, so look for more doctors leaving this state to go to states that have caps.)

Violent game list incomplete - Leo L. Altmann was upset that a list of violent games did not include games that were on his private list, and he lists some of these. His anxiety increases knowing there were no military games on the list. Leo sums up by saying how horrible it is to kill any fellow human being for entertainment purposes (my rephrasing). Well Leo I have two points - 1: I don't believe government at any level should be involved in policing what is watched or played (check the First Amendment). If minors are involved then it is up to the parents to police them; 2: Have you ever watched a TV show or movie where there was even one human killed? Probably - and it was part of your entertainment for the moment.