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YES ON 30 There is a war going on in Oregon between the right-wing tax cutters and the rest of us who want to live in a decent state. The war is being fought with ballots, not bullets, but people have already died. More will die if Measure 30 fails and essential services are cut. There are no safe sidelines in this war. Everyone has to decide which side they're on. You're either part of the solution or part of the problem. To volunteer to help pass Measure 30, call 968-8965 or email elaine@stand.org. Lynn Porter, Eugene
CORRUPTION FUELS BISCUIT LOGGING I grew up in the Siskiyous of southwest Oregon, just three miles from the Biscuit fire perimeter, and I can show anyone the past clear-cuts and salvaged logged areas there that haven't grown back, except for manzanitia and snowbrush, in 30 years. The hard, clay-like soils and climate extremes there cannot support intensive tree farming techniques used here in western Oregon. So when the U.S. Forest Service and George Bush propose to log out more than 500 million board feet of tree fiber (more than 75,000 log trucks) over a 30,000 acre area from the wildest and harshest Siskiyous in the name of "Forest Health," I know that reasoning is the farthest thing from the truth. In reality, it is a corrupt giveaway to wealthy timber company owners and micro-bureaucrats in Douglas, Josephine, Coos, and Jackson counties. DeFazio, Wyden, Kulongoski and Bush are hoping they can cash in on the political favors and donations from these wealthy timber company owners, micro-tyrants, and their underlings by proposing and supporting the Biscuit post-fire logging in the wild Siskiyou. However, if the opposition generated from their constituents, especially in the Willamette Valley, becomes a political burden, they would likely back off. Our task then is to turn their support of this corrupt giveaway, the Biscuit salvage logging project, into a political liability they can't ignore. Shannon Wilson, Eugene
CLASS OR NO CLASS? Yayyyyy! For a while there I was afraid the Prude Contingent among us EW readers was going to let me down. When I read Sally Sheklow's great and funny 12/18 "Living Out" column, I said, "Ohh, the thought police will really be pissed! Imagine! ... daring to mention oral sex!!!!" So, bless her heart, Michelle Eldridge's letter has sustained my faith in the omnipresence of our PC anti-free-expression friends. Sorry you think Sheklow has no class, Michelle; I find her witty, intelligent and very classy. Also, you missed a good chance to extend the usual complaint about "suggestive-adult-ads-that-must-be-banned-from-EW." Sheklow's photo with that come-hither smile is at LEAST as provocative as the photos inside EW's last page. (Pssst: Sally, if you ever expand your orientations to include equal opportunity for straight males, I say: anytime, anywhere...) Tom Warren, Pleasant Hill
HAVE COMPASSION Would someone please explain to me why Oregon's economic woes should fall primarily on the backs of those least able to shoulder the fallout? And please, no explanations citing "trickle down" economics. I have seen how that doesn't work. Our public school children, seniors and the disabled need our unequivocal support. Hard times are hardest on those with no safety net. A small tax is better for our state than huge cuts to essential programs. And what about public safety? We will all suffer from lack of funds to Oregon's crucial safety services, i.e. fire, police, etc. Defeat of Measure 30 will have devastating repercussions on us all. Be selfish and compassionate. Vote YES on 30. Let's reclaim Oregon's humanity. Michelle Holman, Deadwood
ATMOSPHERIC ANSWERS The best thing we could do for the future of the country is to send George Bush and his cohorts to live on Mars. Pauline Hutson, Eugene
START THE CONVERSATION We live in a democracy, right? Which means that citizens are the ones who collectively have the job of deciding what policies will serve the public good. Yet each day's paper brings us more and more evidence that this is not the way things are working in the United States. What we have instead is giant corporations whose profit-driven decisions enact policy that affect millions of people's lives — usually without any public input whatsoever. On Jan. 9, Paul Cienfuegos spoke at UO about how the people can assert democratic control over corporations and essentially take our decisionmaking powers back. He spoke about the actions citizens in Arcata, Calif. have begun taking on a local level to accomplish this. What was most unusual, was that they didn't begin with a campaign to change a certain policy, but with a campaign to have a conversation in the form of a town hall meeting. Their legislative successes have grown from a foundation of very public, very democratic conversations with one another, in which they found common ground across the ideological spectrum. For those who missed Paul's speech, it will be broadcast on KLCC on Sunday, Jan. 18 at noon. I urge everyone to listen to it. Let's begin the conversation here in Eugene. Jill Schwab, Eugene
SALMONELLA SPROUTS How weird to see all the crowing about "mad cow disease" in EW (1/8) when there has been absolutely no dialogue at all about the numerous, even yearly, incidents of poisoned and dying people from vegetable-carried salmonella poisoning due to south of the border "brown water" crop watering policies. Here's an ideal to get past the fact that even food is a hardcore political bullshit item in Eugene: Feed the salmonella coated vegetables to the cows and bulls instead of the other cows. A healthy solution for all. Smile while you eat that imported tub of border sprouts! And don't forget you can save lots and lots of planet lives just by killing yourself instead of them: Why bother living? The "Living Diet" of "Not Being There," a real life saver! Go Planet! Daniel J. Moore, Springfield
JUST GET DEM IN Ann Tattersall (12/11) and we are on the same side in the Democratic primary election. We favor and actively support Congressman Dennis Kucinich for president as the candidate with the most positive and best positions in every regard. We part company with her, however, when she denigrates other viable candidates, especially former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who presently is the front runner. In fact, while Kucinich is our first choice, we can also be enthusiastic for Dean, if he wins the nomination. Going beyond that, we would even support any other Democratic nominee except Sen. Joe Lieberman and Gen. Wesley Clark. Yes, it's essential we show Bush the door in 2004. John Saemann, Eugene
GET INVOLVED From my perspective, here by the woodstove in my straw/dirt home, the best thing that could happen now is for Phillip K. Dickian space aliens to beam back to Planet Zoilton all Bushites, Saddamophiles, Mohammedian psychopaths, genocidal Pope followers, bio-technocrats, financiers, CEOs and timber barons while, at the same time, magically restoring indigenous cultures, ecosystems, extinct flora and fauna and love of life on Earth to humans. This is not likely to occur. However, I refuse to accept the incredibly shallow/hollow observations of supersage Dan Carol. Dude, our materialist-mechanistic view of the universe — with us separated from it — is destroying everything! The Marines putting the screws to Hussein while the Air Force explodes Afghan children does not a decrease in evil make. Within our present governmental system, Kucinich with Moseley Braun represents leaders with a holistic, positive and manageable world view/social system. To all those people who just want to escape into art and nature and love, I urge you not to leave our fate to political strategists, mad scientists and military authority. Become fully involved in stopping the imperialist torturing machine. Anthony Willey, Cottage Grove LETTERS POLICY: We print as many letters as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words and submissions to once a month. All letters are subject to editing for length and clarity, and must include address and phone number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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