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ADDICTED TO WAR It is tax season, and I have stamped my envelope and sent my check to the state of Oregon, wishing there was a fairer tax structure with increased taxes for those with higher incomes and corporations, that provided much needed revenue for education, social, medical and other services. But I will not voluntarily give a penny of my federal income tax to the federal government. Taxes of the wealthy and of corporations have been vastly reduced. Military expenditures have vastly increased, as the government invests billions for nuclear weapons in space, stations armed forces around the world, and pays for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hundreds of U.S. soldiers and thousands of Iraqi people are being slaughtered. The national debt has climbed into more trillions and the entire Social Security "Trust" Fund has been loaned out. Medicare, vital to such a large proportion of our elderly population, is being dismantled. Human services are becoming virtually nonexistent. The U.S. budget is in shambles. The continued viability of the economy, and especially the dignified, stable lifestyles of millions of middle and lower income people, are threatened. Let's look at our U.S. government in the same way we regard an addicted member of our family. Our government is addicted to war and has lost the abilities, structures, and habits of peace-making, of love. Sometimes, members of a family, and in this case, the general public of the United States, need to surround the addicted family member with love and with firmness, to say "No" to their addictive habits and help them re-learn how to live in a functional way. My refused federal income tax and federal excise taxes on my telephone bills will be used for life-giving purposes. Retired General Hague once said, "Let them march all they want, if they pay their taxes." Peg Morton, Eugene
A FEW GOOD COPS I would like to praise Hanna Olsen's letter (4/1). Coming and saying something like that in Eugene is as bad as admitting you were a communist during the McCarthy trials. The one thing we all seem to forget is what she stated: Police officers are people and not all of them are bad as some people would like them to be. I have much respect for the police officers of both Eugene and Springfield. And they have on more than one occasion either helped me when I was in danger or just helped me. When Kip Kinkle decided to shoot up my high school, the police were quick to respond. The ones I met handled the situation with care. The ones that took down our information were kind and polite. The Eugene police officers that I met and talked to during the Nike Town riot of October in that same year were all kind and respectable. Am I saying that there are no bad officers? No, I am sure that there are a microscopic and tiny few who are, but this is a very tiny section of a larger group of fine, respectable people who day in and out put their lives on the line to save ours. And by the way, could anyone find me the actual piece of paper or legislation that says there is a separation of church and state? "Freedom of religion," not Freedom from religion. James Ready, Springfield
SHOOTING CANS Thank you for Tom Lininger's opinion piece (3/25) about the recent Supreme Court decision resulting in obstacles for those prosecuting domestic violence cases. I found it informative and well thought out until Lininger, questioning the justice's opinion, wonders if he "was shooting cans with batterers the night before he issued the decision." With this sentence Lininger supports the classist stereotype that batterers are back-woods, uneducated drunks. Conversely, it promotes the idea that upstanding citizens are "above" abusive behavior. In actuality, domestic violence spans all cultures and socioeconomic classes. Batterers can be "simple-minded hicks" as well as peace-loving hippies, police officers, or even law professors. Domestic violence is a choice — a choice supported by the beliefs of our society. These beliefs are based in sexism, as well as classism and myriad other forms of oppression. And they can show themselves in ways as overt as an affluent batterer evading prosecution, or as subtle as a joke about "shooting cans." We need to change our own beliefs in order to remove an obstacle already before us: How do we hold batterers accountable when we believe that respected people aren't capable of domestic violence? Lucas Spiegel, Eugene
DON'T PAVE WETLANDS At a transportation meeting held in Springfield, Judy Valpa, the mayor of Coburg, said she "knows" the people of this community want the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) to go through right when and where it is planned. She said she knows this, not by public testimony, but by reading letters to the editor. We disagree with building the WEP. A new multi-lane expressway in the area will not ease traffic problems. We can learn from the mistakes of others. Los Angeles to the south has built many multi-lane roadways. Their traffic problems have not gone away. Now their land is paved and they still have traffic. We can't afford this expenditure. Yes, there are matching funds of some kind. Let's not take something that's bad for us just because we can get it. A great deal of time and money has gone into restoring and preserving the wetlands. Now they want to spend a great deal more to destroy, by paving, the very same wetlands. What a slap in the face to the people who foot the bill for both projects. We, as a community, have more pressing work to do together than to build another multi-lane expressway. The people that have signed this letter have not made public testimony, nor have we written to the editor about this subject before. The following signers agree with this letter and urge our representatives to not push the parkway through. Tiffany Mitchell, John DeLean, Craig Dishner, Anita Russell, Springfield
PIERCY FOR MAYOR What a pleasure to read the cogent article by Mary O'Brien, "Vibrant Democracy" (4/10)! While I do not know Nancy Nathanson personally, Mary's recap of her behavior and voting record are most concerning. I do know Kitty Piercy. She was my daughter's preschool teacher 10 years ago at the Patterson Co-op Preschool. My strong-willed 2 1/2-year-old daughter learned a lot from Kitty that year. In her own words, "No hit, no pinch, no bite." My daughter had been a challenge, but Kitty had taught her to "play nicely with others," just exactly what she needed to learn and when she needed to learn it. Kitty saw and capitalized on my daughter's strengths. The next year I got to work more closely with Kitty as a parent board member of the Co-op. I found Kitty to consistently be enthusiastic, honest, fair-minded and always able to help a group of diverse and opinionated people to move forward as a group to adopt solutions that represented the highest good for all concerned. With more and more people settling in our beautiful city, Eugene is faced with many different emerging issues. These issues will require the best leadership we have to manage the complexity and diverse interests involved. Sprawl is edging out West 11th, we're paving and building on our surrounding farmlands and endangering our wetlands, our school districts are struggling and people are still under- or unemployed. Eugeneans will be making critical decisions about the future quality of our community life. We need the solid and proven experience, integrity, intellect and leadership of Kitty Piercy. If you love Eugene, vote for Kitty Piercy. Deb McGee, Eugene
BOXING FOR BRAINS My brain spun dizzily from the misinformation in the "The Contender" (3/25). While Bobbie Willis tried to be fair to both pro- and anti-boxing schools of thought, the inclusion of the "Sports Fatality Rates" box was highly misleading. The primary injury from boxing is brain damage. The boxer who most brain-damages his/her opponent wins. Put "boxing brain damage" into Google and find out how really hazardous boxing is. Every professional boxer who stays as a contender for many years suffers brain damage. Thus, the brain damage rate for this category equals 100 percent. If you think it's marvelous to get your brain scrambled, go ahead: Be a boxer. Bob Saxton, Eugene
SLAPP ME SILLY So many candidates for East Lane County Commissioner — how to choose? We think answering a couple questions can narrow the field. First, "Is a candidate more likely to represent the voters or special interests?" There was no better test of this than House Bill 2460 in the 2001 Oregon Legislature. We cosponsored HB 2460 to protect Oregonians against frivolous SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) suits. SLAPPs are groundless accusations meant solely to intimidate. They were primarily being used by developers to silence public opposition to their projects. Not surprisingly, the opposition to HB-2460 came from development interests who wanted to preserve this despicable weapon of legal and financial terrorism. But the bill was a no-brainer. It sailed through the Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. John Kitzhaber. The vote in the House was 49-4 in favor. Cedric Hayden's was one of the four "no" votes. Hayden answered question #1 loudly and clearly. Second, "Does a candidate care enough to address issues raised by constituents?" Of the remaining candidates, only Mark Herbert and Faye Stewart responded to our questions. These observations give us at least some idea of how well the various candidates would represent their constituents. Accordingly, we will be recommending to our East Lane members that there are only two candidates worthy of their consideration for East Lane Commissioner. Jerry Ritter, Secretary, OCVA
BETTY'S BELIEF I wonder how many Eugene citizens are aware of the key role that Betty Taylor played in getting the $17 million in redevelopment funds for the Eugene library. Throughout her first year on the City Council, in the face of major cuts in the city's budget, Betty asked over and over why redevelopment funds could not be used to make up the difference. Not getting a satisfactory answer, she requested a workshop on that issue. She refused to give up her belief that redevelopment funds could be used for more than traditional economic development programs. As a result, the council held a workshop. At that meeting, it became clear that significant funds were available, and that they could be used to build the library. The rest is history. If Betty hadn't been so determined, the new library might have had to wait many more years. Vicki Elmer, Eugene
TRUE REFORM Concrete tax reform in Oregon is still needed given the defeat of Measure 30. Now the out-of-state, anti-government group Citizens for a Sound Economy is pushing our legislators for a spending cap coupled with kicker reform. These sound very appealing and oh-so-very prudent. But it is not the answer to this state's budgeting woes. Oregon already passed a reasonable spending limit in 2001, which limits spending to 8 percent of personal income. We do not need a more restrictive cap. A spending cap does not allow the state to save or implement funding for disasters or emergencies. Nor will it take into consideration a rise in public health need and crime rate increases. A spending cap makes it impossible to pay for schools and other programs if voters pass another unfunded mandate like Measure 5 or Measure 11. Services and programs already devastated by cuts in funding will continue to struggle during an economic down-turn. Oregon needs true tax reform in order to break its dependence on the personal income tax and find a more stable funding source. Until this happens, true tax reform will be out of reach. Valery Rylands , Chair, Lane County Stand for Children , Marcola
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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