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TAKE BACK THE EC Another failed attempt at privatization — no, not Social Security. I'm writing about the Eugene Celebration. Remember the old days when the music was good and the entry fee was easy? It isn't just the rain that has ruined our city's annual fete. I propose that our city take back the Celebration. What did it cost us to run this treasured event in those good old days? The city's $150,000 start-up loan to privatizer Downtown Events Management Inc. equals about a buck a citizen. We can afford it! For lessons in good music and affordable fun, just look north to the little town of Albany that brings in national-class music each summer for a donation. Or look south to powerhouse Roseburg for more of the same. Where's our civic pride? The answer may lie with corporate sponsors, and I'm sure we have a few businesses in our second largest Oregon city that would be happy to help. But you gotta ask! In the Hollywood film, Field of Dreams, the hero was told that all he had to do was build a baseball field and the players would come. Let's not outsource this job! Instead, as a community, let's build a Eugene field with good music at an affordable price and celebrate once again. Benton Elliott, Eugene
LISA'S GIFTS Last week (3/15) at the dedication ceremony for the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, Lisa Ponder was briefly mentioned as the engraver. I would like to further acknowledge Lisa for her great contribution to our community — her skill and artful eye, her wonderful recommendation of having Wayne Morse's actual signature engraved onto the plaque below the sculpture and the countless hours of work involved in engraving 50 wall plaques and 700 granite pavers. To learn that she made a donation to us of all this work deeply touched my heart. I know I speak for so many when I say "Thank you, Lisa." Nancy Wallace , Eugene
OFFENSIVE CARTOON In your March 3 issue Lance Sparks wrote a article about Hunter S. Thompson. The graphic cartoon illustrated by Michael Bachus offended me. Surviving my younger brother's suicide by gunshot was traumatic for myself and our family 24 years ago. While Hunter's lifestyle was extreme, ultimately his choice to leave in such a violent manner is distressing for those of his surviving family members and friends. And I pondered how despairing or depressed he must have been living in these times. This dark comedic "mind blowing" visual humor, while it expressed Hunter's style, was ultimately hurtful and inappropriate. At some point we must ask ourselves how can we help, how can we understand, how can we become a community, a nation that encourages life, supports creativity. This cartoon didn't do that for me. It hurt. Amanu/Sue Simons , Brownsville
GOODBYE GONZO I've been thumbing through the last few issues of EW in search of some respectful form of goodbye for our man Hunter Thompson. All I've seen is a brief article on his "tragic" suicide, mingled with some stories of his recreational drug use, right in the middle of some ridiculous wine article. I hardly picture our old boy spending much time reflecting over the various nuances of a half a glass of purple woo woo yup juice from grapes grown in Whocareswhere, Ariz. Hunter left us because it was time. He gets a pass on all the suicide theory crap. He earned that. We've lost one of the last great American patriots. Goodbye Hunter. Thanks for everything. Dave Peterson, Eugene
RIGHT TO LIFE? Where were your "right to life" morals when you ordered the bombing of innocent Iraqi civilians? Where were these morals when you sent our troops to die in a strategic war for oil? Where are your ethics when you condemn innocents to a life of entrapment, poverty, fear, and pain? You allow the imprisonment and torture of harmless Iraqi civilians, withhold national funding of social services that benefit the weak, poor and hungry, and ignore the cries of nations in turmoil. Don't expect the educated masses to believe that you wish nothing more than to uphold the sanctity of life. Such hypocrisy is appalling. Heather Ladd, Eugene
NEW ENERGY FUTURE. The Oregon Fair Energy Bill (SB 527) is a good step towards the New Energy Future (see story 3/24). It prioritizes renewable energy sources over fossil fuels. From the soldiers dying in Iraq to the caribou threatened in the Arctic, from asthma attacks to electricity bills, from gas pump prices to red-alert ozone days — we constantly face the repercussions of fossil fuel consumption. Fossil fuel addiction is our ailment, and the New Energy Future is our cure. There exists ingenious technology that would lower natural gas prices, create thousands of new jobs in Oregon, reduce global warming emissions, and help alleviate a variety of public health problems. This is the New Energy Future: wind, solar, and geothermal electricity, and energy efficiency technology. The only catch is that there are too many politicians who want to give us more of the same. Our leaders should support any bill that prioritizes clean renewable energy sources, and should oppose any bill that subsidizes fossil fuels. After SB 527, we will be faced with the National Dirty Energy bill that is approaching the senate during the next few weeks. The National Dirty Energy bill, (as opposed to the Oregon Fair Energy Bill), would dish out billions in subsidies to oil, gas, coal, and nuclear power, while doing almost noting to support renewable energy sources, or energy efficiency standards. Erin Cianchette, Eugene
CHILD LEFT BEHIND The new budget proposed by George Bush would cut federal Pell grants for college students. I want to go to college, Mr. Bush. It also cuts education money for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Please write your senators and ask them to vote against this budget. No Child Left Behind my foot. Peter Howland, Springfield
THE BIG H EW takes on the salmon problem (3/3), interviews the bearded professor who regurgitates the standard four H's of limiting factors: habitat, hydropower, harvest and (gasp) hatcheries. As a cottage industry many family-wage jobs generate from pounding home the point that hatcheries are a big part of the salmon problem. So why so many hatcheries? In 1958, Jerry Bauer, Umpqua District fisheries biologist, explained to his summer help why he devoted efforts to sharpening the hatchery practices at Rock Creek, a salmon and steelhead hatchery. Wild fish are obviously best, but are totally habitat dependent. Due to forces way beyond Jerry's control, the existing rate of habitat loss would eventually prove catastrophic to Umpqua River salmonids. A half-century later Rock Creek Hatchery, just one example in Oregon, still coexists with residual populations of naturally produced fish and annually affords a substantial level of downstream benefits to consumers and sportsmen. Today we have Measure 37 which will eventually make every landowner an arbitor whether salmon habitat protection is worth the costs. As tax time approaches note under IRS deductions that the government still provides financial incentive to reproduce abundantly. The really big H in the salmon problem is humans. Max Smith, Junction City
FLUORIDE PLUS Leslie Weinstein wrote (3/17) of the "need" for fluoridation of EWEB's water supply. Why stop there? There is undoubtedly a large segment of our population that is not being treated for depression. Answer: Prozac in the water supply. Insurance company won't pay for expensive erectile dysfunction medication? Answer: Viagra in the water, paid for by ratepayers. Oral fluoride is only a significant benefit for developing teeth. It is paid for by Medicaid and most insurance companies. For people without insurance it is still very cheap. It would be cheaper for EWEB to buy prescription fluoride for the uninsured than to institute a water fluoridation program. What about microbreweries, nurseries, etc. that need unfluoridated water? Shouldn't the ratepayer pay for equipment to remove the added fluoride? I suspect a good deal of the tooth decay has a lot more to do with poor brushing habits, poor nutrition and too many Big Gulps than with lack of fluoridation. Treating a specific population with the appropriate dosage of a medicine is good public health policy. Inappropriate dosing of an entire population who do not need and who have not consented to treatment is not. John Proctor, Eugene Pharmacist
INDUSTRIAL GUNK Oregonians are proud to think for ourselves about what we put in our bodies. As a city, the population of Eugene is proud to take its own stand about toxic waste. But the Oregon Legislature is poised to vote on a bill that could force us to drink industrial waste. Here's what's happening: Back in 1977, the citizens of Eugene showed a lot of smarts when they voted against fluoridating the water supply. Since then it's been proven that this industrial gunk is very different than pharmaceutical grade fluoride, and that fluoridation carries a number of health risks. Therefore, in Eugene it's up to each person to decide whether to topically apply fluoride. But on Feb. 23, the Water Committee for the Oregon House voted to forward HB 2025 to the whole House. If HB 2025 and a similar bill in the Senate (SB 539) pass, then every city with a population over 10,000 would be required to fluoridate the water supply if the funding is other than from ratepayers. Forced fluoridation is liquid bullying that drowns Eugene's right to say "no" to fluoridation. For those who can't afford bottled or specially filtered water, fluoridation also engulfs our individual human right to clean water. I'm disappointed to report that one of the members of that Water Committee is from Eugene, psychologist and Rep. Phil Barnhart. Our human rights group found him reluctant to hear criticisms of fluoridation. He waffled and then voted for fluoridation, when he ought to have taken leadership to defend Eugene. Contact your Oregon representative and senator to oppose HB 2025 and SB 539. Read up on the web about fluoridation such as at www.keepersofthewell.com If citizens who oppose fluoridation want to network, my e-mail address is oaks@mindfreedom.org David Oaks, director, MindFreedom Intl.
SCREWING THE POOR I filed an official complaint with Oregon's attorney general, asking for that office's help ending the institutional discrimination against the very poor. I pointed out that Oregon's Constitution forbids anyone from conducting business from a place of privilege. I pointed out that the professional unregulated monopolies (doctors, dentists, lawyers), taken as a single entity, constituted the largest business in Oregon. I also pointed out that that unregulated monopoly was operating from a place of privilege, in violation of the Constitution. The AG's official reply was that they "only enforce existing law." I had made the point that no law which contradicted the Constitution was supportable, to no avail. It is obvious to me, a non-lawyer, that the state's largest business is a monopoly, and that that monopoly delivers vital services to the very poor in an utterly immoral way. It can be shown that the very poor are suffering because of the intentional discrimination against them. The AG is obligated to protect the people of Oregon. Who else protects the poor and powerless, the friendless and the homeless? The rich get richer, the poor go to bed with aching teeth and impossible to pay legal or medical or mental health bills. The very poor have been screwed for so long their suffering has become invisible. And legal. Hugh Massengill, Eugene
WHOREABLE Let's play a visualization game. Picture, if you will, that a few years back, that the Clinton people were letting a male prostitute into the White House almost every day for two years. Then let's imagine that Clinton was letting this hooker attend high-level meetings and giving him access to highly classified material. Let's also say that this man was a fake journalist and served as a propagandist shill with the White House press core. Of course, if Clinton were implicated in such an egregious scandal, he would have been hounded by 24/7 press coverage and crucified on the White House lawn by Republican mobs with torches and pitchforks. But wait — this is the exact situation that was just discovered with the Bush White House and isn't it incredible, that except for a couple of editorials on the Jeff Gannon story, the U.S. media has virtually stricken the story from the face of the Earth? What else is new? Whether it is Bush's lies used to wage war in Iraq, the outing of a CIA operative, Cheney's oil buddies crafting US energy policy in secret meetings or other treasonous actions, the U.S. media gives the Bush administration a pass on everything. It shouldn't surprise us that the corporate military/industrial owned "mainstream" media, which receives deregulation and other quid pro quo deals from Bush, as well as profiting greatly from his empire wars, behaves the way it does, but it is a shame to see the once noble Forth Estate turned into a whorehouse. Gerry Rempel, Eugene
PIRATE ACCOUNTS "Resistance is futile." Those Borgian words echoed in my head as I realized that Bush was warning me when he said "I have a message for every American who is 55 or older. For you the Social Security system will not change in any way." Apparently, being 54, I had drawn the short straw. What to do? I asked my bank's financial advisor about IRAs, and what to invest in to make my "private account," oops, I mean "personal account" grow. (I guess the word was changed because it sounded too much like pirate). She gave me the name of a hot fund that had been doing well since Bush had been in power. I was leery, since the last tip I got from them lost me 35 percent of my investment in a fund company called Putnam that had been found guilty of insider cream-sucking. I checked out the holdings of the new hot fund. Well, look at that! At the top of the list, Halliburton and TXU, a Texas energy company. This week I will plunk down my cash and "prepare to be assimilated" into Bush's gravy train. I finally get it! Invest in war and it becomes a good thing. Support our troops and keep them over there, spinning taxpayer straw into investor gold. God bless American investors. Michael T. Hinojosa, Drain
IT'S JUST A MOVIE I usually will choose a movie or video based on word of mouth or who the director is. I read the reviews in the local papers, mostly to see what the movie is about. I understand that there are three categories that I like to judge a film I have just viewed. Enjoyment, quality of the cinematography and scripting. Many high quality films I have seen only once because, despite the script and photography, I did not enjoy the film enough to see it again. I do not need the public or film critics dictating what I am supposed to enjoy. My answer to them is "it's just a movie." I was appalled when Saving Private Ryan was released and the locals cried that one wasn't a patriot unless they go see it. (I spent two of my seven years of military duty in Southeast Asia). It's just a movie. If it touched you, good. That's what films do sometimes. That aside, Ms. Wadsworth has released her top 10 most original films of 2004 (2/24). Original? #5 is a sequel and #9 is a remake. Oh, but then this is the critic who in 1994 reviewed a Steven Seagal movie and praised it for it's "environmental statements." Seagal blew up oil wells and half of Alaska, in On Deadly Ground. Woof! Colin Campbell, Eugene
GODDESS ON FOOT I just returned to Oregon after spending four weeks on the Oaxacan Costa Chica. The native women there walk more than they drive and they all look so healthy and sexy. I only came back because I ran out of money. Watching the goddess drive down the road doesn't ring my mission bells anymore. Lester Peel, Springfield
OPEN TO GUILT A reply To Mark Frisbee (commentary, 3/17) from a member of his target audience: I am not a vegetarian, nor will I likely ever be. Though I am well aware of the despicable practices of much of the U.S. food industry, I continue to eat meat. However, I disagree with those practices and hope to see them reformed and properly regulated. I do not take any action because the issue is not my own personal passion. Nevertheless, like many liberal, educated college-town dwellers, I can be persuaded/guilted into some amount of active support for such causes. Let me commend Mr. Frisbee for taking a step beyond moralsuasion. Finding creative methods to engage an audience is a positive step. I am especially susceptible to appeals to my greed. Unfortunately, I stopped caring about his comments as soon as he stated, "Animal rights may not be your cup o' tea, and I don't blame you. It takes a lot to think about someone other than yourself." He frames the issue as compassion vs. ignorant heartlessness and then despairs over the small impact he has made in winning hearts and minds. I was turned off by these remarks because of their open disdain for non-like-minded people. I often find myself thinking that people who don't agree with me are complete idiots, and if they only knew the facts, they would immediately come over to my side. However, rationally, I reluctantly acknowledge that they are not all idiots, and if I am actually trying to persuade them, I hide my disdain. I want liberal activists to succeed. I want to be persuaded by them. However, I am shallow. When you insult my intelligence and compassion, I stop taking you seriously. More importantly, such conduct reflects poorly on your movement. Please — pander to me and my friends in the masses. We'll give you money and boycott stuff. Eli Van Camp, Eugene
AROGANT HYPOCRISY Once again the ChristiaNazis, the White House and Congress are at it in Florida trying to take away a person's right to control their own lives and deaths. No one was in a better position to know Terry's thoughts for this kind of situation than Schiavo's husband, and he has been villified and dismissed. Since when do the rights of the husband lose to the rights of the parents of an adult? I used to be a Republican years ago; until the party was co-opted by self-righteous zealots who loathe the poor and infirmed because they interefere with their tax cuts. I used to be a Republican when state's rights and minimum government intrusion into our lives was the Republican mantra. Not so anymore. This situation clearly makes the case that every person over the age of 18 must have a legal and notarized Medical Power of Attorney. Otherwise, their stated wishes can be blocked by manipulative religious dogmatism and interference from those who have perverted an American's right to control their own destiny; and death. The Republicans, Bush, and his supporters stand for just one thing: arrogant, self-serving hypocrisy. If Jesus saw what these zealots were doing, the Earth would be covered by a tsunami of his vomit. L. Michael Adler, Creswell
SCARY SITE A few reasons why EWEB is not a good site for a hospital: Hospitals do not belong on rivers. What if we had a catastrophic flood that inundated both facilities? In 1964, there was 4 feet of water over the bank at the EWEB Steam Plant. During that year, five out of the six dams were already constructed with just over 900,000 acre feet of storage capacity. Fall Creek was added in 1966, which only added 125,000 acre feet. Had Fall Creek already been operational, USACE estimates that would have lowered the river at Eugene by only .8 foot. Would you want to be under the knife when a train came by and blew its whistle or vibrated the building? It is also on the outside bend of the river, and has other site constraints that make one of the most functionally driven facilities a nightmare to design. David Rodriguez, Springfield
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