The American Spectator

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(Page 5 of 10)

Rob Kampfner /p>

There is a flip side to Mr. Tucker's article. It is that in many cases those who came before created a land that suited them well. Then, a bunch of new folks moved in and decided that it was not to their liking. Rather than accepting the fact and moving on, they chose to stay and create their own little narrow world much to the unhappiness of those who came before. Case in point: The state of Oregon. There was a time when Oregon was a conservative Republican state. Our elected officials were, for the most part, honorable and served the voters well through enlightened management and reasonable laws. Then came the carpetbaggers, especially those from California who fled their sorry state for the fields of Oregon. Disclaimer: I'm a native-born Oregonian and I thoroughly resent those who want to make the state in their image.

The late governor Tom McCall hit a nerve when he stated, "Come to Oregon to visit but don't stay here." Amen! Nationally Americans resent the attempts to turn the U.S. into a mirror image of Mexico. I feel the same about Oregon and California. We once had bumper stickers: "Don't Californicate Oregon." Sadly, that is what has happened.

p>Time after time wealthy Californians have come up here loaded with cash from the sale of their overpriced former homes. They have gobbled up a good share of the most desirable land which has left the natives, comparatively poorer, to scrap for the left over real estate. The new laws, fresh from Sacramento via the envirowackos, have done away with our three main income sources -- timber, fishing and farming. We were once a self-supporting state with many good paying jobs. Now we lead the nation in unemployment. Heck, we can't even salvage burnt-over timber. BTW, one of the worst mayors Portland has ever suffered under is from New York City. Gag. If you don't like what you see here, please move on. br> -- Al Martin br> Depoe Bay, Oregon /p> p> I live in an area in which this phenomenon is evident everywhere. A letter to the editor in today's paper complained about the necessity for the city to spend millions to handle stormwater created by "development." Ten-to-one the writer is someone who has moved to Bloomington within the past 20 years and purchased a new home. As someone who was born here, I am totally annoyed with the "I've got mine; to hell with you" attitude, transparently cloaked in terms of concern for the environment, which results in the (unaffordable for the average citizen) estate-size lots Mr. Tucker mentioned, and the vociferous and extremely well-organized opposition to construction of an interstate highway in the area (much needed to obtain and retain jobs for those not on a government payroll). As a postscript re the proposed smoking ban for D.C , the local city council has already passed a no-smoking ordinance for all Bloomington businesses. br> -- Jenny Woodward br> Bloomington, Indiana

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