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HIGH GROUND In the event of a major Oregon disaster, we want our hospitals to be safe, accessible, and functioning — or do we? PeaceHealth has already chosen its Riverbend site on the McKenzie River. Now McKenzie-Willamette is considering several sites on the banks of the McKenzie or Willamette rivers. A doctor friend of mine sounds these warnings: A major coastal earthquake, magnitude 9+, could breach any (or all) of the reservoirs in the Willamette-McKenzie watershed, flooding Eugene-Springfield beyond our imagination. A major volcanic eruption on South Sister's bulging side could melt winter snows, flooding Eugene-Springfield like we've never seen. Massive rains in the watershed could (again) bring massive floods — perhaps breaching some of the reservoirs and magnifying the disaster. Have we not learned from the Katrina flood of New Orleans that, above all, hospitals must be open and functioning well during an emergency? Our emergency response would be abysmal if our two major hospitals were under water and damaged beyond recovery. Please, McKenzie-Willamette, take the high ground. Eldon Haines, Ph.D. , Eugene
CONFRONT DEFAZIO The only way Congress can stop the Iraq war is to cut off funding for it. Yet Oregon's four Democratic reps — Blumenauer, Wu, Hooley and DeFazio — all voted for the 2006 Defense appropriations bill that included $45 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In an August 18 e-mail DeFazio wrote, "I have voted for a couple of the more recent bills because, as long as U.S. forces are there, I believe they should have the equipment necessary to protect themselves, train the Iraqis, and get out." This completely avoids his responsibility to take a stand. If he feels he must "support the troops," he should do so by getting them out of Iraq. As long as they stay in Iraq, they not only risk their own lives but continue to slaughter Iraqis. DeFazio is trying to straddle this issue to protect himself politically. He will continue to do so until we push him off the fence. You can send him an e-mail from http://defazio.house.gov/emailme.shtml; even better would be to confront him about Iraq in front of an audience at one of his town meetings. Lynn Porter, Eugene
BEYOND STRUGGLE Alan Pittman's article, "Mayor Maybe" (9/15) illustrates both the things I love about EW, and the few attitudes that keep it from being even better. What I love is the consistent support of life-affirming policies on issues like enterprise zone tax breaks and the West Eugene Parkway, and quality investigative reporting explaining these issues to us. What I wish would change is writing in a way that creates polarization. Alan refers to Dave Hauser, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce president, as a natural opponent of the mayor. I do not want to see Dave Hauser or anyone else as a natural opponent. When we stand strongly for issues we believe in, and then look for ways that others are aligned with us and ways to convince them that our strategies are in their best interest, we effectively create positive change in our world. When we see others as opponents, we help create a struggle, focusing on winning and beating the other guy, more than creating positive change. Sometimes we force others into the role of opponent because of how we see and treat them. Pittman talked at length about whether Piercy is a progressive. Questioning whether Kitty made the best decisions and why, is good journalism. But asking whether she fits in the "progressive" box creates the kind of in/out, black/white thinking that creates struggle and polarization. Kim Krichbaum, Dexter
PEDAL POWER While reading a recent edition of EW, a friend of mine (who should've known better) asked me a question that I think many of your readers might be wondering. "What is Critical Mass?" Here's my response; others may vary. Critical Mass is a group of people who are willing to stand together to make a social statement. In this case, the statement is one against the dominant car culture. It is a statement against oil wars we are fighting throughout the world, not just the one in Iraq. It is a statement against the environmental destruction we are bringing about in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and along the Oregon Coast. It is a statement against massive deterioration of the ozone layer, global warming, air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, and a great number of other problems associated with irresponsible resource consumption. It's not just about the oil either. There are a number of problems associated with each aspect of automobile production. From factory farms (leather seats), to strip mining (metal frames), to rainforest destruction (rubber plantations). Think about plastics, heavy metals and all the other toxic fluids. There seems to be no end of reasons to make a statement against car culture, but Critical Mass is also a positive statement for many things that all "progressives" should be happy to support. Critical Mass is about sustainability. It's about community building. It's about safety and environmental integrity. It's about forming and developing relationships with friends and neighbors. It's about supporting each other as we strive to create a peaceful and sustainable future for all life on this planet. I hope that more of our community leaders will display the courage and support that Portland's Mayor Tom Potter did and join the ride, 5:30 pm Friday, Sept. 30 at 17th and Charnelton. B (Bethany) Taylor, Eugene
VOODOO PLEASE The evidence keeps mounting that the U.S. now lives under a dictatorship of sorts. The latest indication is President Bush announcing he will lead the inquiry into what went wrong in getting emergency relief to New Orleans. While he alone certainly is not accountable, he is a key player, and an independent investigation would be the democratic — and more ethical — process. But this president and his administration don't ever seem to mind operating on the edge of totalitarianism, defined as "a system of government and ideology in which all social, political, economic, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual activities are subordinated to the purposes of the rulers of a state." With normal checks and balances now more squelched than ever in American history, perhaps there remain in the Big Easy a few voodoo queens who can respond by somehow conjuring up truth, justice and the American way for all of us once again. Steven J. Kunert, Corvallis
UGLY RESULTS Have you noticed the irony in the timing of events relative to the recent destruction of New Orleans? While the finest minds of the crony system were dithering and ignoring network news about hurricanes and certainties, our commander in chief was cutting his vacation short to attend a fund-raiser in Missouri. Money makes his world go around! Add to that the television coverage given to his sympathy for the loss of Trent Lott's antebellum mansion, while footage of poor people walking in toxic sludge played counterpoint. Then Big Barb Bush tells the public how the relocation to Houston and the far corners of the country was a good deal for the "refugees" because they were disadvantaged anyway. Excessive privilege has led to ugly results in the past, and will do so again. It seems to me it already has, but what do I know? James L. Whetstine, Eugene
PROVOKING ANXIETY Opponents of psychiatric practice shoot themselves in the foot by proclaiming there is no proof for biological causes of mental problems. They write that there is no biological test for any of the diseases that the American Psychiatric Association has fabricated by committee agreement. Two examples of these "brain diseases" are anxiety disorder and oppositional defiant disorder (a diagnosis that may be anxiety provoking for activists). These diagnoses are presented as "medical," therefore calling for medical intervention: primarily synonymous with drugging, otherwise electroshock or psychosurgery (the three treatment modalities of clinical psychiatry). Psycho-pharmaceuticals act on the brain to affect the psyche (the mind or soul). If drugs are continued (compliance), then the mind stays changed. An interesting approach to psychotherapy! Word tests and observations are alone employed to show deviation from normal — an important aspect of their theory. Anxiety disorder, for instance, indicates that a person is more anxious than normal. Via public relations firms, this becomes a disease diagnosis showing an imbalance of neurotransmitters. Prescriptions written for tranquilizers do not promote biochemical well-being but instead mimic an anti-anxiety transmitter of the brain (as opiates mimic anti-pain chemicals). None of their drugs are healing in action. When people such as neurologist Fred Baughman, M.D. write there is no proof for the medical model, and no biochemical test is employed when determining that a person has any one of the diagnoses of mental disease, they do a disservice. They accept without argument that psychiatry is using the medical model! Opponents to psychiatry would do better to point out that the drug agents do not address biochemical problems. They should validate and promote the work of suppressed doctors such as Abram Hoffer, MD, and Patrick Holford, MD, doctors who treat underlying problems and employ actual physical tests in diagnosing. Dan Burdick, Eugene
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