Eugene Weekly : Letters : 10.06.05

NOW WE KNOW

Like many long-time observers, I remember Jack Roberts when he was the firebrand mouthpiece for corporate Oregon, the extreme right-wing, anti-labor activist who, immediately upon his unbelievable election to Secretary of Labor, promised to eliminate the office. Cooler heads prevailed, but not for lack of trying on his part, and over two terms.

Lately, however, I've noticed in his letters to the editor and guest editorials a decidedly — one might even say "forced" — moderate tone, so much so that I wondered to myself: Huh; wonder what he's planning on running for. Well, now we know.

Given his past, not only should we not automatically assume that his current mild-mannered, reasonable incarnation is anything more than a smoke screen, but we should also NEVER put him in the Supreme Court. Unless of course one wants to see the rights of the average working Oregonian erode further.

Bill Smee, Springfield

UNFAIR TREATMENT

However fair and balanced your recent cover story (9/15) on Mayor Kitty Piercy was (or wasn't), we thought your cover art and caption ("Mayor Maybe") was very, very unfair. Mayor Piercy has reached out to councilors and community members in unprecedented ways, and has shown herself with the LTD, Sanipac, and other issues to be a real, hands-on problem solver. She intends to make Eugene a model for clean energy and create a stronger jobs base. It won't happen overnight and it won't happen without support from her base.

She represents the entire city — yes, even people that we progressives may not always agree with. Too often we in the progressive community let the perfect be the enemy of the good, as we referee from above the political fray. So we are writing to cry "foul'" for a cover that we wish to penalize for "unnecessary roughness." Mayor Piercy deserves better than cheap shots.

Marc Baber, Joyce Berman, Dan Carol, Joy Marshall , Eugene

I'VE BEEN SPRAYED

After being dosed with herbicide last week (Ortho weed killer), poison drifted into my open room. I was very upset and my landlord and I went next door to see a man spraying next to our property. He said he'd stop there. I called the police and they would do nothing. I called the city of Eugene and got their complaint report form to write up and hand in.

I also called NCAP (Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides) which provides a good article, "You've Been Sprayed, What You Can Do" (2001), and the on-line archives at www.persticide.orghave good advice. They've been battling the poison epidemic for decades.

NCAP said they get many calls for help from people sprayed in the Northwest. There are many legal suits over chemical farm spray drift, poisoning lands, people and animals. I'll check deeper about laws, policies and actions about these poisons used so widely in yards, lawns, golf courses, roadsides, schools, farms and forests.

Maybe nature will blast the U.S., slow or stop us if "peak oil" crashes. A blessing and a curse at once?! A crash may stop the global poisoning of our farm food with oil-based fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, plastics and drugs!

Micheal Sunanda, Eugene

EMBRACEABLE YOU

Regarding the (9/29) letter about EW "sucking," I know the writer will disagree, but thank God the Weekly is not the Mercury. That cynical, mean-spirited and ultimately empty paper simply reeks of a type of trendiness wobbling on its last legs.

Once the current infatuation with post-ironic, smug, "we're over it" hipsterness moves on to the next youthful obsession, the Mercury will be revealed for what it really is: all style and no substance.

While I don't always like or agree with the Weekly's coverage, I can honestly say it does reflect our community, and not whatever a small group of hipsters thinks is "cool"; i.e., themselves. If the writer really thinks the Weekly is so boring and not "hip" (he used the word three times in his letter), then I have two suggestions: a) Move to Portland. The other vain, shallow and holier-than-thou "hipsters" will probably embrace you (provided you don't criticize them!); or b) Start your own paper instead of complaining. After all, you make it sound so easy!

Peter Alilunas, Eugene

ONLY PARTLY RIGHT

I wish to apologize for an error of fact in my recent article (Viewpoint 6/16) regarding the city of Eugene's possible involvement in facilitating a Whole Foods Market downtown.

I wrote that Symantec "left for Springfield the day after its tax abatement expired." One of my friends in Eugene's Development Department has assured me that Symantec did not have a property tax abatement. Symantec did, however, receive public subsidies for employee training, and is enjoying a property tax abatement for its new location in Springfield.

This careless error on my part distracts from the point of the example. When we attract businesses with economic incentives, we attract the kinds of businesses that will always be looking for the next public subsidy.

I apologize for my careless research. I stand by my thesis: Our public interventions downtown have been the problem, not the solution.

Paul Nicholson, Eugene

INTOLERANCE

Regarding "Out For Dinner" column by Sally Sheklow (9/15): Your heterophobia and intolerance are showing. All bigotry is offensive, including yours.

Richard Barnett, Eugene

A TIME TO ACT

I would like to say "thank you" to Eugene Weekly for running the commentary series by Brian Bogart (in August).

Until reading your series, Brian was just another person who is standing up for peace. Since attending his five lectures of "hyper-education," I am compelled more than ever in my life to make a difference. After all, this is a huge learning curve after 40+ years of brainwashing.

Brian exposed something new for me to add to this list. He now stands opposite Johnson Hall on campus until the end of the school year in June 2006 in his "Strike for Peace"(strikeforpeace.org). Talking to anyone who wants to listen, from noon to sundown about Pentagon Defense dollars that are funding more than 400 universities and 56 businesses in the Eugene area alone. He speaks of how you can't study peace without studying war and his conscience will not allow him to teach "peace studies" in classroom at a university that accepts funds from the Pentagon.

So far our university is involved with 19 weapons projects, including one that blocks the menstrual cycle for women in combat and another that remote controls human soldiers against their will (brain-machine interface).

We must all develop a conscience such as Brian's and start somewhere to make a difference. As Ghandi said: "Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it."

Support Brian and help him voice what he has learned so we can all be informed and work toward a future.

Elaine Kost, Junction City

PETE FOR GOV

Pete Sorenson is running for governor in the 2006 Democratic primary. An honest, passionate and outspoken progressive populist, he has concrete plans for change. Recently he was interviewed on the Lars Larson show and on KOPT with Alan Siporin. The contrast in venues could not have been greater, but Sorenson showed himself to be equally comfortable presenting his views to the political left and far right. Oregon needs a governor who speaks to all.

From assistant to U.S. Congressman Jim Weaver to Oregon senator and presently Lane County commissioner, Sorenson has spent half his professional life in government. As a lawyer in the private sector, he observed the functioning of government from outside the political arena, thus giving his leadership a balanced approach.

Sorenson will work to insure that corporations doing business in Oregon pay their fair share of taxes. With this increased revenue, funds will be available to pay for much needed improvement in public education, health care and social services. From protecting civil liberties and civil rights to bringing the Oregon National Guard home where they are so desperately needed, Sorenson is the right man at the right time.

How does the public get a fair chance to evaluate and choose? Sorenson deserves equal access to Democratic events, full press coverage and debates with his Democratic opponents. How do we put honor and integrity back into politics? The race should be about issues, not money nor incumbency. Join me in supporting Sorenson's bid to serve all Oregonians.

Kathleen Epstein, Eugene

CIRCLING THE DRAIN

President Bush's speech from Jackson Square pledging a major federal role in post-Hurricane Katrina Gulf Coast rebuilding sounded good; too good. When the water settles, it will become clear that this effort is just one more reverse-Robin Hood transfer of wealth. Two clues: suspension of prevailing wage protection for workers, and letting of no-bid contracts to corporate profiteers like Halliburton.

Upon reflection, the one thing that rings true from his speech is Bush's promise of a larger military role in future disasters.

The Bush administration and its supporters have successfully "starved the beast" of American government (as prominent conservative Grover Norquist describes the strategy) through aggressive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy and by the Republican-controlled budgeting process which favors the same. Underfunded and undermanaged by unqualified political hacks and Bush cronies, government agencies are no longer able to function to serve and protect the citizenry, as witnessed by the Gulf Coast debacle.

The military, on the other hand, has this administration's full support and may be the only government entity still capable of a response — unless it isn't otherwise occupied (or occupying). Speaking of which, the $200+ billion spent thus far on the Iraq debacle would certainly have been useful in recovering from our own. Wake up Americans, and smell the stench! It's our country circling the drain.

Benton Elliott, Eugene

BURNING ISSUES

I was reading Kera Abraham's commentary about Burning Man (9-15) and was struck with the lack of concern and outright hypocrisy the gathering has come to represent, knowingly or not. In the piece, Abraham says, "burners torched just about everything flammable — pouring gasoline on the bigger sculptures to get them sparkin'." Later on she sites "leave no trace" as a "near religious commandment."

I am struck by three things when reading this:

• Pouring gasoline, which contains benzene, octane, xylene, and assorted other additives, and does not chemically break down completely at the temperatures involved in simple combustion, is not a good thing. Gasoline does burn, but in doing so releases a complex mix of semi-combusted hydrocarbons which float downwind and are deposited on stretches of desert, not to mention the large amounts which volatilize in-situ or remain as spills on the ground.

• The burning of sculptures made of plastics or even wood, and decorated by paints such as latex , oil based or even "non-toxic" acrylics, causes great amounts of compounds ranging from hydrochloric acid to cyanide arsenic, cadmium, and various forms of dioxins and furans to be released into the atmosphere and to be deposited downwind.

• Large gatherings of people trampling the desert, going to the bathroom, consuming water, and generally being human, are not "leaving no trace" in any way. At best, the gathering does represent a mindset that would try to shake convention and try a different social consciousness.

Playing advocate here, it seems Abraham also sees what I am saying and tries to elucidate it. People need to look holistically at all their environmental impacts, not just at the convenient ones.

Drew Higgins, Eugene

GARBAGE BOY

I had occasion to pop into the Burrito Boy on West 11th last week, and while waiting for my lunch I purchased a bottle of soda. After pouring my soda into a cup, I glanced around in vain for a recycling bin for my empty bottle. The next best thing would be to hand the empty bottle back to the nice young lady at the counter for her to put in their recycling, right? Wrong! Upon my request, I was told, "We just put it in the garbage anyway."

I was shocked, and told her there are several companies who would be more than glad to pick up their refuse with little or no effort on their part. Her response was, "Oh, we don't do anything like that."

I am chagrined that an establishment right here in our own community could be that non-caring, even glib about ignoring the fact that we need to care for our precious environment! I may just be spending a little more time in my own kitchen in the coming days and months for my burritos.

Norma McKenzie, Eugene

TAX THE POOR

George Beres (9/15 Viewpoint) proposed some heavy taxes on the rich to finance the county. While we both can agree that the county has an insatiable appetite for income, there is a flaw in his plan. A 10-20 percent additional tax on a few dozen people would lead to their exit from our county and perhaps the state. Worse yet, this same group likely provide huge support for our arts and causes. Like all the tax the rich schemes, it is envy-based and often results in lower overall taxes. Here is an unusual alternative: Tax the poor and the PERS retirees.

First, there are far more poor and PERS retirees here than you can shake a stick at, so there are ample targets. Second, they are less likely to move away and if they did, they would miss the unique Eugene ambiance and would come back. Third, there are an awful lot of PERS people knocking down $4,000 plus per month for life, better than twice what the top earners will ever get from Social Security, so they can afford an extra contribution to our community.

I guess the point here is this: It isn't right to single out a group for punishment, especially if they are doing nothing to deserve it. There is nothing progressive or liberal in punishing the innocent, and all clear thinking people should stop the divisive and destructive tactics. Beres and others should focus their attention instead on our government. This county and the state have ample money, they just need to spend it differently.

David Z. Pokvitis, Springfield

GAME PLAYING

Gov. Kulongoski calling for the construction of new oil refineries is like the fox calling for the building of more hen houses, after all the hens have been eaten by the fox's political friends.

Next, Kulongoski will be calling for the construction of more nuclear plants. Will the flip-flopping of the governor never cease? Could it have anything to do with his decision to run for a second term and desire to ride the new guilty conscience wave of the PC crowd in trying to make up for their past intransigence on the matter?

Tony Valeri, Eugene

MINNIS THE MENACE

The biggest reason why I want to defeat Minnis is because she has been a roadblock to democracy in this state. The state Senate passed numerous bills with bi-partisan support on which Minnis refused a vote. She broke with long standing tradition numerous times to set up roadblocks to democracy.

These include making the clerk, who interprets the House rules, a partisan office; changing the rules so that changes to House rules could be approved by a simple majority rather than by a two-thirds majority; and stopped allowing motions to bring a bill bottled in committee to the House floor. All of these withstood through 150 years of politics in Oregon. Minnis changed that.

She also pulled the House out of the joint Ways and Means Committee, which meant the two branches would no longer work together on the budget.

To me, a leader is someone who works with others, who compromises, who does things for the good of all, not the few. Minnis did not act as a leader this session. Instead, she acted the part of a monarch. A monarch doesn't compromise, does not listen to others, and makes decisions based on what is good for close supporters — not the greater population. This description of a monarch fits Minnis to a "T" this session.

Oregon is steadily slipping to the bottom of the nation on all fronts — education, health care, hunger, and more. Minnis hasn't done anything to help stop that slip — it's only gotten worse.

Jenni Simonis, Gresham

SOME OF THE PEOPLE …

Here is a headline I've been waiting for: A Texas grand jury on Wednesday (9/28) charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, an indictment that will force him to step down as House majority leader.

This does indeed prove the adage from Abraham Lincoln: You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

Once again, one of the extreme right wing neo-cons who has been spreading vile rumors aplenty about anyone who opposes his nut-case ideas and behavior is now being called to account. What a great day for our experiment in democracy.

Gerry Merritt, Eugene

HAMMER WORK

I'm 50, I grew up to the sound of Peter, Paul and Mary singing, "If I had a hammer." In wartime, the only good a hammer could do is to hobble a soldier. My son is 19. At some point, mothers lose influential control of their sons.

On my son's third birthday, I made us both a promise: If he was ever drafted or seduced into the Fraternal Brotherhood of War, I'd "Narc" him up the yin-yang and smash one of his ankles with a sledge hammer, rendering him "4-F," unfit for service.

It's biblical. Better to lose a foot than to have your whole body cast into hell — the hell of war. My son will never participate in war as long as I'm alive.

"Mothers with Hammers," make it a dot.com. I don't have the money. If I go to jail, big deal.

Lori Kasprzak, Eugene

HEE-HAW CAPITAL

I decided long ago that Republicans, the big, gnarly, one-dimensional and stupefyingly dull lot of them, were liars. And liars without recourse to conscience. I decided then, long ago, to change my mind only when I could encounter one Republican who could pass this litmus test, encountered as an offhand remark by the great English writer Bertrand Russell, but given here as an objective proof. To paraphrase Russell: The only reason people think criminals are stupid is because it is only the stupid criminals who are caught.

Thus I'm reading with great satisfaction since once again, the proof is made that Tom DeLay is indicted for conspiracy, but I await with bated breath for the proof to be made twice, as I see Missouri Rep. Paul Blunt, who is replacing DeLay as House leader even as the smoke roils from his own dank basement, is also about to run into his own dancing shadow as did Hammerin' Tom.

Blunt is from a town in Missouri called Branson. I spent my high school years just miles from that town. If there has ever been an area more full of fulsome self-praise for its confounding ignorance, bigotry, racism, sheer and unadulterated heee-haw! hick-manship, smothered in simmering globs of unleavened stupidity, it is Branson.

Thus it's new incarnation as the home cum museum of The Lawrence Welk Show and the Yakov Smirnoff Theatre, among others. Johnny Cash got out early. Paul Blunt stayed. I hope Johnny is having a big laugh, too. This is American theater at its unvarnished best.

Tom Erwin, Eugene

Table of Contents | News | Views | Calendar | Film | Music | Culture | Classifieds | Personals | Contact | EW Archive | Advertising Information | Current Issue |

		NOW WE KNOW Like many long-time observers, I remember Jack Roberts when he was the firebrand mouthpiece for corporate Oregon, the extreme right-wing, anti-labor activist who, immediately upon his unbelievable election to Secretary of Labor, promised to eliminate the office. Cooler heads prevailed, but not for lack of trying on his part, and over two terms. Lately, however, I've noticed in his letters to the editor and guest editorials a decidedly — one might even say "forced" — moderate tone, so much so that I wondered to myself: Huh; wonder what he's planning on running for. Well, now we know. Given his past, not only should we not automatically assume that his current mild-mannered, reasonable incarnation is anything more than a smoke screen, but we should also NEVER put him in the Supreme Court. Unless of course one wants to see the rights of the average working Oregonian erode further. Bill Smee, Springfield UNFAIR TREATMENT However fair and balanced your recent cover story (9/15) on Mayor Kitty Piercy was (or wasn't), we thought your cover art and caption ("Mayor Maybe") was very, very unfair. Mayor Piercy has reached out to councilors and community members in unprecedented ways, and has shown herself with the LTD, Sanipac, and other issues to be a real, hands-on problem solver. She intends to make Eugene a model for clean energy and create a stronger jobs base. It won't happen overnight and it won't happen without support from her base. She represents the entire city — yes, even people that we progressives may not always agree with. Too often we in the progressive community let the perfect be the enemy of the good, as we referee from above the political fray. So we are writing to cry "foul'" for a cover that we wish to penalize for "unnecessary roughness." Mayor Piercy deserves better than cheap shots. Marc Baber, Joyce Berman, Dan Carol, Joy Marshall , Eugene I'VE BEEN SPRAYED After being dosed with herbicide last week (Ortho weed killer), poison drifted into my open room. I was very upset and my landlord and I went next door to see a man spraying next to our property. He said he'd stop there. I called the police and they would do nothing. I called the city of Eugene and got their complaint report form to write up and hand in. I also called NCAP (Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides) which provides a good article, "You've Been Sprayed, What You Can Do" (2001), and the on-line archives at www.persticide.orghave good advice. They've been battling the poison epidemic for decades. NCAP said they get many calls for help from people sprayed in the Northwest. There are many legal suits over chemical farm spray drift, poisoning lands, people and animals. I'll check deeper about laws, policies and actions about these poisons used so widely in yards, lawns, golf courses, roadsides, schools, farms and forests. Maybe nature will blast the U.S., slow or stop us if "peak oil" crashes. A blessing and a curse at once?! A crash may stop the global poisoning of our farm food with oil-based fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, plastics and drugs! Micheal Sunanda, Eugene EMBRACEABLE YOU Regarding the (9/29) letter about EW "sucking," I know the writer will disagree, but thank God the Weekly is not the Mercury. That cynical, mean-spirited and ultimately empty paper simply reeks of a type of trendiness wobbling on its last legs. Once the current infatuation with post-ironic, smug, "we're over it" hipsterness moves on to the next youthful obsession, the Mercury will be revealed for what it really is: all style and no substance. While I don't always like or agree with the Weekly's coverage, I can honestly say it does reflect our community, and not whatever a small group of hipsters thinks is "cool"; i.e., themselves. If the writer really thinks the Weekly is so boring and not "hip" (he used the word three times in his letter), then I have two suggestions: a) Move to Portland. The other vain, shallow and holier-than-thou "hipsters" will probably embrace you (provided you don't criticize them!); or b) Start your own paper instead of complaining. After all, you make it sound so easy! Peter Alilunas, Eugene ONLY PARTLY RIGHT I wish to apologize for an error of fact in my recent article (Viewpoint 6/16) regarding the city of Eugene's possible involvement in facilitating a Whole Foods Market downtown. I wrote that Symantec "left for Springfield the day after its tax abatement expired." One of my friends in Eugene's Development Department has assured me that Symantec did not have a property tax abatement. Symantec did, however, receive public subsidies for employee training, and is enjoying a property tax abatement for its new location in Springfield. This careless error on my part distracts from the point of the example. When we attract businesses with economic incentives, we attract the kinds of businesses that will always be looking for the next public subsidy. I apologize for my careless research. I stand by my thesis: Our public interventions downtown have been the problem, not the solution. Paul Nicholson, Eugene INTOLERANCE Regarding "Out For Dinner" column by Sally Sheklow (9/15): Your heterophobia and intolerance are showing. All bigotry is offensive, including yours. Richard Barnett, Eugene A TIME TO ACT I would like to say "thank you" to Eugene Weekly for running the commentary series by Brian Bogart (in August). Until reading your series, Brian was just another person who is standing up for peace. Since attending his five lectures of "hyper-education," I am compelled more than ever in my life to make a difference. After all, this is a huge learning curve after 40+ years of brainwashing. Brian exposed something new for me to add to this list. He now stands opposite Johnson Hall on campus until the end of the school year in June 2006 in his "Strike for Peace"(strikeforpeace.org). Talking to anyone who wants to listen, from noon to sundown about Pentagon Defense dollars that are funding more than 400 universities and 56 businesses in the Eugene area alone. He speaks of how you can't study peace without studying war and his conscience will not allow him to teach "peace studies" in classroom at a university that accepts funds from the Pentagon. So far our university is involved with 19 weapons projects, including one that blocks the menstrual cycle for women in combat and another that remote controls human soldiers against their will (brain-machine interface). We must all develop a conscience such as Brian's and start somewhere to make a difference. As Ghandi said: "Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it." Support Brian and help him voice what he has learned so we can all be informed and work toward a future. Elaine Kost, Junction City PETE FOR GOV Pete Sorenson is running for governor in the 2006 Democratic primary. An honest, passionate and outspoken progressive populist, he has concrete plans for change. Recently he was interviewed on the Lars Larson show and on KOPT with Alan Siporin. The contrast in venues could not have been greater, but Sorenson showed himself to be equally comfortable presenting his views to the political left and far right. Oregon needs a governor who speaks to all. From assistant to U.S. Congressman Jim Weaver to Oregon senator and presently Lane County commissioner, Sorenson has spent half his professional life in government. As a lawyer in the private sector, he observed the functioning of government from outside the political arena, thus giving his leadership a balanced approach. Sorenson will work to insure that corporations doing business in Oregon pay their fair share of taxes. With this increased revenue, funds will be available to pay for much needed improvement in public education, health care and social services. From protecting civil liberties and civil rights to bringing the Oregon National Guard home where they are so desperately needed, Sorenson is the right man at the right time. How does the public get a fair chance to evaluate and choose? Sorenson deserves equal access to Democratic events, full press coverage and debates with his Democratic opponents. How do we put honor and integrity back into politics? The race should be about issues, not money nor incumbency. Join me in supporting Sorenson's bid to serve all Oregonians. Kathleen Epstein, Eugene CIRCLING THE DRAIN President Bush's speech from Jackson Square pledging a major federal role in post-Hurricane Katrina Gulf Coast rebuilding sounded good; too good. When the water settles, it will become clear that this effort is just one more reverse-Robin Hood transfer of wealth. Two clues: suspension of prevailing wage protection for workers, and letting of no-bid contracts to corporate profiteers like Halliburton. Upon reflection, the one thing that rings true from his speech is Bush's promise of a larger military role in future disasters. The Bush administration and its supporters have successfully "starved the beast" of American government (as prominent conservative Grover Norquist describes the strategy) through aggressive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy and by the Republican-controlled budgeting process which favors the same. Underfunded and undermanaged by unqualified political hacks and Bush cronies, government agencies are no longer able to function to serve and protect the citizenry, as witnessed by the Gulf Coast debacle. The military, on the other hand, has this administration's full support and may be the only government entity still capable of a response — unless it isn't otherwise occupied (or occupying). Speaking of which, the $200+ billion spent thus far on the Iraq debacle would certainly have been useful in recovering from our own. Wake up Americans, and smell the stench! It's our country circling the drain. Benton Elliott, Eugene BURNING ISSUES I was reading Kera Abraham's commentary about Burning Man (9-15) and was struck with the lack of concern and outright hypocrisy the gathering has come to represent, knowingly or not. In the piece, Abraham says, "burners torched just about everything flammable — pouring gasoline on the bigger sculptures to get them sparkin'." Later on she sites "leave no trace" as a "near religious commandment." I am struck by three things when reading this: • Pouring gasoline, which contains benzene, octane, xylene, and assorted other additives, and does not chemically break down completely at the temperatures involved in simple combustion, is not a good thing. Gasoline does burn, but in doing so releases a complex mix of semi-combusted hydrocarbons which float downwind and are deposited on stretches of desert, not to mention the large amounts which volatilize in-situ or remain as spills on the ground. • The burning of sculptures made of plastics or even wood, and decorated by paints such as latex , oil based or even "non-toxic" acrylics, causes great amounts of compounds ranging from hydrochloric acid to cyanide arsenic, cadmium, and various forms of dioxins and furans to be released into the atmosphere and to be deposited downwind. • Large gatherings of people trampling the desert, going to the bathroom, consuming water, and generally being human, are not "leaving no trace" in any way. At best, the gathering does represent a mindset that would try to shake convention and try a different social consciousness. Playing advocate here, it seems Abraham also sees what I am saying and tries to elucidate it. People need to look holistically at all their environmental impacts, not just at the convenient ones. Drew Higgins, Eugene GARBAGE BOY I had occasion to pop into the Burrito Boy on West 11th last week, and while waiting for my lunch I purchased a bottle of soda. After pouring my soda into a cup, I glanced around in vain for a recycling bin for my empty bottle. The next best thing would be to hand the empty bottle back to the nice young lady at the counter for her to put in their recycling, right? Wrong! Upon my request, I was told, "We just put it in the garbage anyway." I was shocked, and told her there are several companies who would be more than glad to pick up their refuse with little or no effort on their part. Her response was, "Oh, we don't do anything like that." I am chagrined that an establishment right here in our own community could be that non-caring, even glib about ignoring the fact that we need to care for our precious environment! I may just be spending a little more time in my own kitchen in the coming days and months for my burritos. Norma McKenzie, Eugene TAX THE POOR George Beres (9/15 Viewpoint) proposed some heavy taxes on the rich to finance the county. While we both can agree that the county has an insatiable appetite for income, there is a flaw in his plan. A 10-20 percent additional tax on a few dozen people would lead to their exit from our county and perhaps the state. Worse yet, this same group likely provide huge support for our arts and causes. Like all the tax the rich schemes, it is envy-based and often results in lower overall taxes. Here is an unusual alternative: Tax the poor and the PERS retirees. First, there are far more poor and PERS retirees here than you can shake a stick at, so there are ample targets. Second, they are less likely to move away and if they did, they would miss the unique Eugene ambiance and would come back. Third, there are an awful lot of PERS people knocking down $4,000 plus per month for life, better than twice what the top earners will ever get from Social Security, so they can afford an extra contribution to our community. I guess the point here is this: It isn't right to single out a group for punishment, especially if they are doing nothing to deserve it. There is nothing progressive or liberal in punishing the innocent, and all clear thinking people should stop the divisive and destructive tactics. Beres and others should focus their attention instead on our government. This county and the state have ample money, they just need to spend it differently. David Z. Pokvitis, Springfield GAME PLAYING Gov. Kulongoski calling for the construction of new oil refineries is like the fox calling for the building of more hen houses, after all the hens have been eaten by the fox's political friends. Next, Kulongoski will be calling for the construction of more nuclear plants. Will the flip-flopping of the governor never cease? Could it have anything to do with his decision to run for a second term and desire to ride the new guilty conscience wave of the PC crowd in trying to make up for their past intransigence on the matter? Tony Valeri, Eugene MINNIS THE MENACE The biggest reason why I want to defeat Minnis is because she has been a roadblock to democracy in this state. The state Senate passed numerous bills with bi-partisan support on which Minnis refused a vote. She broke with long standing tradition numerous times to set up roadblocks to democracy. These include making the clerk, who interprets the House rules, a partisan office; changing the rules so that changes to House rules could be approved by a simple majority rather than by a two-thirds majority; and stopped allowing motions to bring a bill bottled in committee to the House floor. All of these withstood through 150 years of politics in Oregon. Minnis changed that. She also pulled the House out of the joint Ways and Means Committee, which meant the two branches would no longer work together on the budget. To me, a leader is someone who works with others, who compromises, who does things for the good of all, not the few. Minnis did not act as a leader this session. Instead, she acted the part of a monarch. A monarch doesn't compromise, does not listen to others, and makes decisions based on what is good for close supporters — not the greater population. This description of a monarch fits Minnis to a "T" this session. Oregon is steadily slipping to the bottom of the nation on all fronts — education, health care, hunger, and more. Minnis hasn't done anything to help stop that slip — it's only gotten worse. Jenni Simonis, Gresham SOME OF THE PEOPLE … Here is a headline I've been waiting for: A Texas grand jury on Wednesday (9/28) charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, an indictment that will force him to step down as House majority leader. This does indeed prove the adage from Abraham Lincoln: You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Once again, one of the extreme right wing neo-cons who has been spreading vile rumors aplenty about anyone who opposes his nut-case ideas and behavior is now being called to account. What a great day for our experiment in democracy. Gerry Merritt, Eugene HAMMER WORK I'm 50, I grew up to the sound of Peter, Paul and Mary singing, "If I had a hammer." In wartime, the only good a hammer could do is to hobble a soldier. My son is 19. At some point, mothers lose influential control of their sons. On my son's third birthday, I made us both a promise: If he was ever drafted or seduced into the Fraternal Brotherhood of War, I'd "Narc" him up the yin-yang and smash one of his ankles with a sledge hammer, rendering him "4-F," unfit for service. It's biblical. Better to lose a foot than to have your whole body cast into hell — the hell of war. My son will never participate in war as long as I'm alive. "Mothers with Hammers," make it a dot.com. I don't have the money. If I go to jail, big deal. Lori Kasprzak, Eugene HEE-HAW CAPITAL I decided long ago that Republicans, the big, gnarly, one-dimensional and stupefyingly dull lot of them, were liars. And liars without recourse to conscience. I decided then, long ago, to change my mind only when I could encounter one Republican who could pass this litmus test, encountered as an offhand remark by the great English writer Bertrand Russell, but given here as an objective proof. To paraphrase Russell: The only reason people think criminals are stupid is because it is only the stupid criminals who are caught. Thus I'm reading with great satisfaction since once again, the proof is made that Tom DeLay is indicted for conspiracy, but I await with bated breath for the proof to be made twice, as I see Missouri Rep. Paul Blunt, who is replacing DeLay as House leader even as the smoke roils from his own dank basement, is also about to run into his own dancing shadow as did Hammerin' Tom. Blunt is from a town in Missouri called Branson. I spent my high school years just miles from that town. If there has ever been an area more full of fulsome self-praise for its confounding ignorance, bigotry, racism, sheer and unadulterated heee-haw! hick-manship, smothered in simmering globs of unleavened stupidity, it is Branson. Thus it's new incarnation as the home cum museum of The Lawrence Welk Show and the Yakov Smirnoff Theatre, among others. Johnny Cash got out early. Paul Blunt stayed. I hope Johnny is having a big laugh, too. This is American theater at its unvarnished best. Tom Erwin, Eugene

		Table of Contents \| News \| Views \| Calendar \| Film \| Music \| Culture \| Classifieds \| Personals \| Contact \| EW Archive \| Advertising Information \| Current Issue \|