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POOR MUSIC SELECTION Like any serious music fan, I am saddened by your Aug. 12 cover story on the decline of local, independent music stores. I have no doubt that money-grubbing majors and thieving burners play massive roles in this trend. But, the stores themselves are partly to blame for having such poor available stock. When I moved here from rural Pennsylvania, I was giddy at the thought of having several good record stores in the area. Unfortunately, I am routinely disappointed when I walk in to find that they don't have what I want. Whenever I go in to pick up a new disc by top independent bands like Skinny Puppy, an older album by mainstay acts like Sleater-Kinney, or even high-profile, major label release by someone like Prince, I walk out empty-handed. Yes, I know that it makes no sense to hold stock if you aren't going to turn it over quickly, but Eugene's local shops don't meet the needs of those willing to pay a bit extra in order to experience the thrill of a release-date purchase and the ambiance of the neighborhood shop. I can't help but think that Face the Music and others would be better off by taking steps to meet the needs of their true, loyal customers rather than trying to lure back burners who value money more than music. Ron Davies, Eugene
SERVING FAMILIES I would like to take a moment to respond to the letter from Steve Brown (8/12) suggesting that Cuthbert Amphitheater is not family friendly, and to thank him for sending it in. Mr. Brown is correct in stating that our policy states that each child over 1 shall be obliged to purchase a ticket, but that is for a couple of reasons. The most important is that 90 percent of the shows at Cuthbert are produced by outside promoters who rent the facility from Cultural Services. This means they set the ticket prices and have absolute control over them. The second reason is that we have limited seating at Cuthbert and even a young child can take up a seat that could be sold to someone else. The good news is that when we are sponsoring our own shows at Cuthbert, we do try and set a fair ticket price for children and will be even more conscious of that in the future. Second, we have high hopes for expanding the Cuthbert season from nine to 30-plus shows over the next five years. Many of these will be locally produced and will allow us the flexibility to offer up more family-friendly prices. I thank Mr. Brown for sending in his concerns. All the arts in Eugene/Springfield — including Cuthbert — need to work harder at serving families. Count on the fact that we will do all in our power, Mr. Brown, to be a part of that important effort. Robert J. Hankins, Cultural Services Director, Eugene
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS First of all, thank you EW for printing Dr. Megan Schmidt's Viewpoint (7/15) and the responses thereafter. That says a lot about the Weekly. Thanks to those who have written in and to those who have been reading the thought-provoking perspectives on the issue. This has been a healthy exchange within the community concerning a vital subject through a medium we are fortunate to have. What are we going to do about it? How are we going to help the EW get by without it supporting the sex industry? Business matters are surely out of my area of expertise, but I hope this will get the ball rolling. Will fund-raising work? I'm thinking of for example KLCC's brewfest or something of the like. A call for donations? Grants?? As a last resort should the EW charge a nickel? I imagine the folks at the Weekly have at least started to travel down this road before. Where did you all leave off, what made you stop, can you please update us and address this so we can help? Readers, let's not let this issue die, are we not in the 21st century still addressing the impacts of the oldest profession? We can start by enabling our local publication to cease promulgating the subjugation of women and to fully represent the way we walk our talk. Dr. Schmidt calls for a challenge to do so. Let's answer. Dave Kofranek, Eugene
DESTROYING LIVES Before Megan Schmidt wrote her Viewpoint complaining about EW's less upstanding sponsors and the subsequent response, I never realized how powerful this free publication was. I had no idea EW was responsible for the destruction of marriages, that EW forced people to be unsatisfied with their partners, that EW was responsible for so many divorces, sexually transmitted diseases, quite possibly for the moral decay of society! This free publication has been destroying lives for too long. How dare EW accept money so they can give away their newspaper for FREE! What right does EW have being a vehicle for free speech, to allow sponsors from the porn and escort industries pay for their publication so you and I can have it for free! So many families could be saved if they only would stop putting that smut on the last page, so many spouses would never feel the apparently uncontrollable urge to cheat. And without this scapegoat would they have to take responsibility for their own actions? I mean why should people take responsibility for their own actions. If I don't have someone to blame it on then it would have to be my fault. Louis DeVille, Eugene
WAR CRIMINALS International law should be amended to make it illegal for troops and war planes to be sent from any country to any other country unless they are under the command of rotating U.N. generals. For the truth is that U.S. forces and especially their civilian leaders are now the #1 international war criminals in the world. The proper body to be coordinating a global war on terror is clearly the United Nations not the United Republicans. George W. Bush's greatest contribution to the world's decent people was to make these kinds of truths become self-evident to those of us who can decode sneaky propaganda. Vote for Kerry because he is the only person running for president who can win that doesn't have a giant wart in his head instead of a brain. Is that a good enough reason, Mike McGlone (7/29 letter)? Bob Saxton, Eugene
IGNORING HEALTH CARE Health care cost and availability are at a crisis and the current administration is unable and unwilling to do anything about it. John Kerry and the Democratic congressmen and women that I have written to understand the problems of health care and have specific proposals that can help. First example: my medical insurance has doubled since 2000, twice. That means that my insurance now costs 400 percent more than in 2000. Kerry's proposal to provide catastrophic health care support can help everyone's health care costs. Second example: the Republicans have demonstrated their lack of understanding health care problems with their Medicare Drug Bill that appears to only support the drug industry and their high prices. Kerry's proposal to use the Veterans Administration model to bargain with drug companies can cut drug cost in half. Third example: I stopped to help a bicyclist that fell off her bike while making an emergency stop. Although this young lady could not get up, she begged the EMT not to take her to a hospital because she did not have insurance. Fear of a hospital bill was greater than the pain of her injury. We cannot afford four more years of ignoring our national health care. I am doing all I can to elect John Kerry and a Democratic Congress. Brooks Hickerson, Eugene
ROAMIN' CATS In his letter (8/5) Robert Hermann accuses "thoughtless speeders" for the death of his two cats. I am an animal lover, my preference is dogs, and I know how bad it feels to lose a beloved pet. But blaming others isn't the solution. Perhaps it is time that Mr. Hermann, and other cat fanciers, kept their little feline friends indoors where they can't kill the local birds, poop all over the place and get run over when they play in the street. My neighbors with dogs diligently walk them, clean up after them, and keep them out of the street. The neighbors with cats seem to think that Little Puss is some sort of wild animal that must have free reign over the whole neighborhood. I know this may sound awful but one of my rules when driving is to never swerve to avoid hitting a small animal. There is no sense risking human lives on such a maneuver. I know that's a very human-centric view. Be a responsible pet owner — keep them off the streets. Randy Kolb, Eugene
FOR THE FUTURE As a woman of childbearing age I am writing regarding the unsafe levels of mercury in our communities, that with time will bring increasingly devastating effects to the mental and physical well-being of our future generations. For those of you who are unaware, mercury is a very dangerous neurotoxin that when exposed to at high levels can cause severe neurological and developmental problems in unborn fetuses and young children whose brains are still developing. Mercury goes through a process called bio-accumulation. Mercury is first released by the smokestacks of old power plants and is then absorbed by the atmosphere and spread throughout waterways across the county. As mercury makes its way up the food chain from plankton, to forage fish and then to predatory fish, it is unable to break down and is thus consumed by thousands of people who eat fish. However, it doesn't stop there, it then moves on from childbearing mothers to unborn fetuses to newborn babies through breast milk. The EPA estimates that one in every six women have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood, which means over 630,000 babies are born each year with high levels in their bodies. It is our duty to speak up and prohibit these levels from rising. The Bush Administration has proposed to declassify mercury as nontoxic, which will allow companies to emit six to seven times more mercury into our waterways. It is crucial that we take a stand as a community, as a state, and as a country to stop this from happening. It is with great despair that I urge you to support me in reducing mercury pollution by writing Sen. Smith to oppose the administration's mercury pollution plan. Aislynn Blair , Cheshire
LEARNED NAMES Tom Lininger says: "What kind of a name is 'Learned,' anyway? " I tell thee truly, it is a Quaker name. Many of our founding fathers were Quakers; it is a good and honest estate. It was not uncommon for them to name their children after attributes that they aspired to: Prudence. Charity. Temperance. Humility. Friendship. And a couple of much longer ones that escape my memory. Oh, and by the way, your column rocked! Laura Minnick, Portland
KEEP HIM HONEST AVA Eugene, the new home of Anderson Valley Advertiser? Having another political player in our midst reminds me of Johnny Musumucki who infested Eugene politics back in the year 2001. Johnny M. considered himself a Gang leader. Anderson comes to Eugene amid accusations he is a deceitful muckraker. Musumucki came to Eugene with a reputation founded upon a long history of deceit, but curiously was praised by a segment of Eugene's political power structure as being a savior of local government. Sounds like Bruce and Johnny would make a good team! Johnny could use Bruce's advertiser for his next political cartoon program, and Bruce could use Johnny for his money. Or maybe their politics will clash and we will learn more details about Johnny's underlying motives for settling into Eugene's political scene! A good down-to-earth investigator could keep quite busy in Eugene/Springfield, particularly writing about who's who, and who's used, in the realm of land development. After reading Anderson's offbeat "Oregon, First Impressions," and some of his other writings, I'm not certain who or what he is politically. However, I did appreciate his statement "I'm not here to swap huggy bears with anybody". Because swapping huggy bears has dominated Eugene's political scene for so many years, maybe the perspective of an outsider will help clear the air. And unlike Boonville, we have local writers like WINK's Dinah; EWs Pittman; and several R-G writers who (if ever allowed) can help keep the newcomer honest! John Fluent , Eugene
DEFINING HAMBURGER I am writing in response to Steve Kyte from Corvallis (8/5) who wrote that he did not like Carl's Jr. using "shock and awe" on their sign because he said it conjured up warlike images of "spattered blood and body parts" that were not pleasant to eat with his hamburger. Any vegetarian reading that was likely to notice the irony and wonder what exactly is the hamburger itself if not spattered blood and body parts? I think we as conscious citizens ought to force ourselves to think of these "unpleasant" images especially if we choose to participate in violence by buying these animal products/body parts. See www.meetyourmeat.com.The butchers won't stop slaying unless we stop paying. If we are truly wanting to live peacefully and conscientiously, consuming a vegan diet is the best place to start as a way to make a meaningful impact (both spiritually and economically) multiple times a day. Even more impactful than boycotting Carl's Jr. — although you can do that too. Good for you. Why not? Carrie Freeman, Eugene
IS U.N. THE ANSWER? This letter of concern is in response to Michael Mooney's comments (8/5). I agree with your resentment of G.W. Bush. But perhaps more alarming than his shortcomings is the public's failure to recognize the U.N. for what it truly is. It is sold to the blind-sheep masses as the only means to world peace. However, a close look at its creators, policies and track record reveal these trends/facts: The U.N. was the global elite's offered "solution" to WWII, where their League of Nations failed after WWI. The U.N. thrives on problem-reaction-solution scenarios. The U.N. & NATO will likely be the world army which New World Order researchers warn about. The U.N. is designed in part to dissolve countries' sovereignty, as it seeks one world government, army and currency (digital). The U.N. will soon be taxing the masses for its "services." The U.N. is indeed a global elite front, and offers the world nothing except illuminati dominance. Please Mr. Mooney, don't take my word for it. Before supporting a person or thing, investigate much deeper than the Associated Press. For much more detail, perhaps see David Icke's And the Truth Shall Set You Free. Kevin Stacey, Eugene
BACK TO CRAWFORD Letter-writers Ron Unger and Mark Rabinowitz (7/15) address the Nader candidacy from different directions. We admit that we strongly supported him in 2000, but this time around our motto is, "Vote for Nader and re-elect Bush." The Kerry-Edwards ticket may not be perfect, but it's
the best and most electable ticket to send George W. Bush back
to Crawford, Texas, where he and his accomplices can do less harm to
our country, our lives and planet Earth. That's Job #1. John Saemann, Eugene
BACK-DOOR DRAFT After watching the Kerry acceptance speech last week I am very concerned. Kerry said he would enlist 40,000 new troops and stop the "back-door draft." How is he going to do that? Does he plan to re-institute the, "Front door draft?" This has me so concerned that unless Kerry says in public he will not re-institute the draft I will not vote for him. As of this moment I am campaigning for Kerry because Bush and his cronies are so awful. But I am concerned that a Democrat may be able to get away with bring back the draft more easily than Bush. I want to be able to vote for Kerry but this is a "make or break" issue for me. I urge everyone who is concerned about this issue to e-mail and/or send letters to: The Democratic National Committee, P.O. Box 96585, Washington D.C,, 20077-7242, and tell them to tell Kerry to publicly state he will not bring back the military draft or you will not vote for him. Anand Keathley, Eugene WE LET IT HAPPEN How can anyone compare what these two men did during Vietnam? Both came from backgrounds allowing a free choice so to speak. Both graduated from college and came from good homes. Kerry went to war and Bush went to fly fighters. One finished his duty with honor and the other went AWOL. Kerry has been reluctant to talk about his military days while Bush, and his handlers, do what they can to hide his record and distort Kerry's. We need a better and more honest approach to coverage of this election. From electronic voting machines to biased media, mix in a little short-term memory with a lazy and distracted populace and government corruption. What do you get? What we got and probably deserved, G.W. Bush and his neo-con retreads. Half of us did not vote in 2000. If this happens again, well I guess we deserve it. Demand the truth from media and government. Michael Cozad, Eugene
MONUMENTAL BLUNDER The Bush war in Iraq is a blunder of monumental proportions. Iraq's heralded "weapons of mass destruction" have been revealed to be nothing more than a figment of Bush's imagination. And Iraq's ties to Al-Qaeda, tenuous at best, in all probability never existed. Yet we continue to hemorrhage vast sums of money into Iraq, even as the unconscionable Bush budget deficit balloons to an all time record. And the heart-rending procession of military caskets from Iraq goes on unabated, while Jihad crazed Islamic fundamentalists continue their ghastly carnage of beheadings and suicide bombings. Without a doubt we should continue our war on violent terrorism. But the unprovoked Bush war in Iraq is the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time. Let's end this insanity. Vote for The Johns in November. Martin Matson, Eugene
A COMPLETE RELIGION Although I am basically physically a "white man" with a strain or two of Mohawk tribes folded into my European blood, I found it strange after reading Don Addison's piece, "Mitakuye Oyasin," (8/5) that Don has missed the most basic differences between the religions of the Europeans and those of this land. In this land no one dies forever, no one is sentenced to "hell." The soul is immortal and returns to the land in another body as it is with the animals (people) of the land. It's a loose attachment allowing animals to move into human form, and humans into animal forms. These concepts are not part of Europe after the events of Christianity even though the native system used to exist in those lands. "France" means "free." The religions of the East also believe in the human/animal crossover but like the European system it's a system of punishments as a form of hell punishment, a system that governments use for control. No one is willing to admit that the nature of life on Earth as the Native "Americans" know it is complete, whole, and a reality of the nature of millions of years of ethnic science. It is the oldest religion dating from the time of no religion. It needs to learn nothing from any other newly developed religion and it is as "organic" as the very real existence of this planet. I missed any reference of this in Don Addison's essay. Daniel J. Moore, Springfield
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON So the Boston Globe, son of the New York Times has now had to admit that one of its star columnist's, Michael Kranish, works for the John Kerry campaign. No, not just reporting on Kerry, but actually promoting and writing pro-Kerry propaganda, in and out of the purvue of his direct Globe employment, and right under the supervision of his senior Boston Globe bosses. Kranish's recent article of the Swift Boat controversy regarding the supposed flip flop of Kerry's former Commanding Officer, George Elliott, over some of Kerry's Vietnam lies, recently reaffirmed by Mr. Elliott, and dedicating an obviously long, long, pro-Kerry stance in same, shows how the Globe, no doubt directed by DAD, The New York Times, will go to any extreme to make sure that their fair-haired boy, Sen. Kerry, displaces President Bush. Well, I guess when a liar like Clinton make it to the White House, with the help of the liberal media, there isn't much hope that this condition will change soon. However, it will change. Conservative radio has started a trend that is now moving through the glorious internet community. Someday soon the liberal newspapers of this country will have to follow suit or become completely irrelevant as truthful news sources. Amen to that. The same as above goes for the alphabet soup news anchors at ABC, CBS and NBC who, it seems, have chosen to almost totally avoid speaking about the Swift Boat controversy, for fear it might also hurt their golden boy, Kerry. Tony Valeri, Eugene
IT'S TRADITION There's plenty of money to be made by supplying the army with the tools of the trade. Throughout history buzzards have circled around the death and destruction of war feasting on the spoils. From 1926 to 1942, George W. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, financially feasted supplying the Nazi war machine with money for almost one-half of Nazi iron and explosives. On Oct. 20, 1942 the U.S. government under the "Trading With the Enemy Act" seized the shares of the Union Banking Corporation, of which Prescott Bush was a director and shareholder. Like an apple from the same tree, George W. Bush's mishandling of the Iraqi war with his no bid contracts have resulted in millions of dollars in profits to his corporate backers. A just released audit report from the inspector general revealed the tip of the iceberg of gross overcharging and mismanagement of our tax dollars in Iraq. It seems that Pappy Prescott's grandson is carrying along the family tradition of "family values." Michael T. Hinojosa, Drain
APOCALYPSE UPON US You have to hand it to the Republicans. With their takeover of most of the mass media and infiltration of the "Christian Movement," they have effectively brainwashed many Americans into believing their nonsense. November's election may be the last time this country has a chance to save itself and possibly the rest of the world. In fact it may already be too late for us, what with all those Republican-controlled voting machines out there. If so John Ashcroft will have a free hand to continue his assault on civil rights and human dignity in the name of national security, but in actuality, simply making sure there will be no dissension great enough to dethrone the Republican party. And Dick Cheney & Co. will continue their class warfare, ensuring the middle class is virtually destroyed, because, as they have correctly guessed, the average American is too stupid, too afraid or too complacent to be bothered to do anything to stop them. G.W. wasn't joking when he announced his base as the "haves and have mores." The Republicans have clearly demonstrated what can happen when a government disdains its citizenry as mere dupes to be ignored or simply used to further the avariciousness of the powerful few. We may not see great changes in our lifetime, but our children will assuredly grow up in a "1984" culture, with no worker, retirement, health or environmental safeguards. If that does happen then the Apocalypse might really be upon us, only sans Jesus Christ. As history has shown time and again, a powerful regime's fall, as happened with Nazi Germany for example, will include warfare, this time perpetrated using far more deadly weapons than were used against Hitler's savages. John DeLeau, Springfield
MISSING THE POINT? Thank you EW for printing Dr. Megan Schmidt's Viewpoint (7/15). Let's not loose sight of the forest from the trees. Some letters to the editor dwelled, debated, and/or questioned etc., the statistics that Dr. Schmidt included in her letter. It is my interpretation that those were included simply to lend scientific credence to an observation or reality that many are already aware of. If those stats had not been included then many letters would have been written asking on what grounds did Dr. Schmidt have the right to make those conclusions when in fact "you don't need to be a meteorologist to know which way the wind blows." Those were the trees, the forest is: "If we were talking about any other class condition, such as poverty or race, the enslavement and exploitation of these groups would be viewed as outrageous, akin to racial slavery and sweatshops." (Dr. Schmidt) Why aren't we more outraged? We're talking about at least HALF of our population. I'm reminded of another saying "when you disrespect a woman, you disrespect your mother." In response to the letter to the editor "Porn's Crossover" (8/5), I could not agree more with the last paragraph that eloquently calls for women to empower themselves and to live with more self-determination. However this is where I see porn and prostitution impeding this progress. A woman could be walking down the street invincibly but that is not going to change a "dirty old man's" perception who has been cooped up in an apartment drooling over porn all day of that same woman. We need to fight this fight on more than one front .EW, what's the next step to get free of sex industry money? Dave Kofranek, Eugene
TOO MANY CANDIDATES? There's only one way to prevent the "spoiling" of presidential elections: Change the electoral system so it can fairly accommodate more than two candidates. How can participation — the very heart of participatory democracy — be considered spoiling? The problem isn't too many candidates, the problem is an antiquated and anti-democratic electoral system which forces many people to vote for a lesser-evil candidate instead of one who shares their values. Instant Runoff Voting solves this problem. Learn more about it at www.fairvote.org Green Party presidential nominee David Cobb is on the ballot in Oregon offering voters a chance to support a candidate and a growing party who call for an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq, single-payer health care, a living wage, repeal of the PATRIOT Act, renewable energy, a solar economy and an end to the war on drugs. Only the Green Party offers a genuine, progressive voting alternative and the opportunity to be part of a movement which will continue regardless of who wins on Nov. 2. Check out www.pacificgreens.organd www.votecobb.orgto get involved or to learn more about your voting options. A vote for the Green Party is a vote for peace and hope. If EW readers won't support our presidential ticket this time around, we urge you to register Pacific Green to show your support for ending the war and bringing our troops home now. Blair Bobier , Corvallis
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