First, Councilman Mathew Green attacks councilwoman Jeanette Hawkins. Why should we have to deal with this?

Then the Olympia City Council votes against the Patriot Act, which most citizens do not feel is the council's responsibility to address.

What is next? Maybe the council will increase the funding of its existing pet project to cure the world's ozone problem.

Most citizens care only about police protection, fire protection, reasonable zoning and good roads. Cannot the council focus on the important issues?

Paul Hutt, Olympia

Union officials have not been free of sin

I am very disappointed in the recent article that was written in regard to Providence St. Peter Hospital and its resistance to a union representation.

What about the tactics the union representatives have used to coerce signatures? What about the fact that they have not given us all the information needed to make a well-informed decision? Where was that in the report?

Thank God the management has enough respect for its employees to give us the information that was so conveniently left out so we can make the best decision for ourselves.

Nellica Garrett, Lacey

Conservatives get it, but the liberals don't

I'd just like the chance to point out a few things that most conservatives understand but most liberals will never admit.

1. Using tax money for local social programs discourages voluntary funding and participation.

2. Increased availability of social services for vagrants increases their numbers.

3. Calling a vagrant homeless does not help the truly homeless.

4. Subsidizing someone's poverty does not help them.

5. The sign of a successful social program is how few it serves, not how many it serves.

6. If a government can't run a golf course, what kind of health care could you expect if they ran it?

7. Higher taxation means fewer jobs, less productivity and a lower standard of living.

8. Failing to act with force against terrorism invites more terrorism.

9. Wars are won through victory, not negotiation.

10. If we wanted Iraq's oil, we would just take it.

11. If all crime was committed against lawyers and judges, we'd have a better justice system.

12. Al Sharpton is probably the most qualified Democrat for president.

13. George Bush will be reelected in 2004.

Larry Allen, Olympia

Celebrate consecration of Rev. Gene Robinson

Anglican leaders around the world disliked the decision that made the Rev. V. Gene Robinson bishop of the New Hampshire diocese. They seem to be basing this solely on his open homosexuality.

True, homosexuality might be condemned in many parts of the world, but in his district, it's not an issue.

For example, when New Hampshire had its general convention over the summer, the participants voted in Robinson with a clergy vote of 58 and a lay vote of 96.

He won by a landslide over the other candidates -- Pamela Mott, with a vote of 10 and 12, and Ruth Lawson Kirk, with votes of 6 and 38, respectively.

Robinson's homosexuality also should not have an effect on the position he was voted into as bishop in New Hampshire. He clearly did fine as a reverend and deserved to become bishop.

If the Anglican leaders didn't approve of him, they should have said something when he became a reverend -- not now, when he has become one of the top leaders in his religion.

The Anglican leaders should not bother with this issue. It just makes their religion seem ununited and archaic in this day and age when people are more liberal, particularly the people in Robinson's district.

Others should stand up and celebrate the fact that on Nov. 2, this man was consecrated bishop, a first for an openly homosexual male.

Chelsea Helgason, Olympia

Living via a machine is not a quality life

The argument over whether the brain-damaged Florida woman Terri Schiavo should have the tubes that keep her alive removed sounds like a difficult decision, but to me it wouldn't be.

If you think about it, her husband has a good point: After 13 years, she hasn't made any progress, so what is the point in keeping her alive with a machine?

Why would you want to be kept alive if you were in her position? She doesn't have any fun or react to anything.

In my opinion, the only reason the parents are keeping her alive is that they are just hoping for something crazy to happen and for their daughter to get well. After 13 years of nothing happening, you would think they would just let her go, but they won't.

On the other hand, maybe her husband should just divorce her and let the parents do what they want with her, considering he already has another life on the side. If I were her, I would just want everyone to let me go, especially if a machine were keeping me alive.

Matt Witort, McCleary

People of the U.S., Olympia stand united

I am happy the Olympia City Council passed the resolution to repeal the Patriot Act.

What a treasure to live in a community so united and educated on this issue. All of those who came to speak were for the resolution.

The drafters of the Patriot Act used weasel words, a sadly powerful strategy these days, to make those who oppose the Patriot Act appear unpatriotic.

Attorney General John Ashcroft stated that those librarians who are fighting the act are "duped by the liberals."

This comment by Ashcroft made me laugh out loud because many conservative groups, such as the NRA, are opposed to this chilling assault on our Bill of Rights.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, we the people of the United States and Olympia stand united!

Wendy Ann Lagerquist, Olympia

Lawmakers should take Olympia's advice

Kudos to the Olympia City Council for passing unanimously its resolution against the so-called Patriot Act. May our senators and representatives in Congress take notice and act as bravely to oppose any further legislation that infringes on our American civil liberties.

Diana Moore and Nathan Brown, Olympia

We can't bomb others, expect them to love us

Former President Bill Clinton said what we wanted to hear, not what we needed to know.

President Bush tells us lies to stop our thinking, not what we need to know.

We need to know that we can't be free when foreign policy becomes "might makes us right." We can't bomb others with shock and awe and then blame them for not loving us.

We have become victims of our own privilege -- rich in money, poor at sharing; rich in righteous anger, poor in compassion; good at tossing around words like freedom and democracy, lousy at reclaiming our country from the profiteering plutocracy.

We find it easy to wave old glory and kneel before a cross. We find it hard to reclaim our ideal that all people are created equal.

We gave in to the comfortable lie on weapons of mass destruction; now we are faced with the expensive discomfort of mass deception.

Martin Kimeldorf, Tumwater

People should be outraged by sentence

I would like to know why the son of the Department of Corrections secretary was given only six months in jail, three years of treatment and lifetime supervision under the department -- under the supervision of his father.

To me, there was no consideration for the victim or of the fact that if this was anyone else, that person would have been put in prison for a number of years and would get no treatment.

And how come the newspapers are not outraged at this sentence?

Albert J. Keip, Olympia

Society must help immigrants adapt

As a society, we should do all we can to help immigrants adjust to our culture and lead full and productive lives as quickly as possible. Doing nothing is not acceptable.

For example, look what doing nothing did to former slaves after the Civil War.

A couple of suggestions:

-Local legislators should observe an English as a Second Language class at our local community college.

-Interview the instructors to determine whether they have any ideas on how the state can help students learn English.

Jim Minton, Olympia