Eugene Weekly : Letters : 01.26.06

WE'RE NOT FOOLED

On Jan. 13 I heard Senator Ron Wyden speak at the City Club of Eugene and at the Campbell Senior Center. When asked why he voted for appropriations to continue the war in Iraq he responded that he did so in order that U.S. troops would have the body armor they needed. Obviously everyone was appalled to learn of the callousness of the U.S. military command in sending men and women into combat without the necessary armor.

However, Wyden's rationalization is a sham. First of all, body armor does not cost the hundreds of billions of dollars that the senator and his colleagues have been appropriated for the war. I am sure Wyden has the intelligence, political savvy and connections to figure out a way to fund body armor that does not cost billions of dollars and that does not simultaneously fund armaments of destruction too numerous to mention.

Secondly, U.S. troops would not need body armor if they were not in Iraq in the first place. Being concerned about the troops having adequate armor is a bit like telling a bunch of kids to ride their bicycles down the middle of I-5 on a traffic-filled holiday weekend, then feeling righteous because you've given them good bicycle helmets.

Thirdly, Wyden voted against the war in Iraq — the first time. But it is erroneous to think that Congress votes only once on any war. In a very real sense they vote yea or nay repeatedly when they choose to fund it. Wyden has voted yes on the war in Iraq with each of his subsequent votes to ensure funding for the war. I, for one, am fed up with politicians wrapping themselves in the flags of the coffins of dead servicemen and women. We are not fooled, senator.

Kate Savannah, Eugene

BLESSED UNION

It was interesting to read (1/12) about couples who have met and married in Eugene. My husband, Richard Catlin, and I met at the WOW Hall on Oct. 5, 1991. We were there to see and dance to The Back Porch Blues who had recently performed during the Eugene Celebration. We have been together since that day.

Our marriage, which took place at Waldo Lake, has been blessed beyond measure in myriad ways. Between us, we have five children and five grandchildren. Interestingly enough, it was Richard's son, Sebastian, who introduced Mike and Jordan Klindt to one another, the featured couple in your wedding article. Eugene is truly a special place.

J'nene Wade, Eugene

BAI KHAO PRIDE

Molly Templeton's review in EW (1/12) stated that Springfield's Bai Khao Thai restaurant is friendly, welcoming, generous and delicious with lots of affordably priced menu items. What Ms. Templeton didn't discuss is Bai Khao's family feeling, its employees' tendency to greet patrons by name and send home a gift of soup and ice cream when a patron is ill; its wonderful neighborhood community feeling; and its light-tasting, high quality healthy food.

Two adorable young people cook wonderful food, working 10-hour days, seven days a week, and their love and respect is noticeable at your table. As Templeton points out, "The kitchen open(s) to the dining room," and we feel this is intimate; it makes us feel at home as we enjoy a delightful ballet of cooking, flames, friendship, fun and family.

Bai Khao is our neighborhood restaurant. Templeton finds "Value Village" and a "strip mall" to be liabilities. Our node, so prized in Eugene, allows us to walk safely to the restaurant. EW doesn't rate Jo Frederico's according to it being by train tracks; Tasty Thai being next to a lube joint; Chao Pra Ya being behind an oil station; Ring of Fire being in a "strip mall"; or restaurants in Oakway and around 5th St. Market as being in strip malls. Does she describe our locale negatively because it is smaller, unpretentious and Springfield? This is about the values we choose and feed, which create our environment.

Come visit, enjoy yourself in our neighborhood starting at Bai Khao Thai. You'll be warmly welcomed and delighted!

John and Jane Corliss, Springfield

MLK AND PUT-DOWNS

During a week in which we are celebrating the birthday of a great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., it reminds us of the reasons why such a cause had to be fought. Yet what do we find in the article "Fit to be Thaid" (1/12) but the sophisticated put downs of a quaint newly established little restaurant. Just as people of color endured ridicule because of how they looked or where they lived this article did the same for this delightful new addition to our community.

Somehow the oppressive nature of the articles vocabulary stung because of the nature of this week's theme and celebration. I have visited Bai Khao Thai Cuisine several times and each time have delighted in a new taste sensation just as the article indicated about the food. Several friends have also visited Bai Khao and some Thai connoisseurs told me they think it's the best Thai in this entire area.

See for yourselves what new taste wonders await you. Bai Khao Thai Cuisine is located at 541 Centennial Blvd.

SIKH DARK SIDE

Despite what your recent article (1/5) seems to imply, the dark side to the Sikh religion, as it is practiced in the Punjab, is that it can become very patriarchal. Some Sikh women who choose to marry outside of the Sikh religion are killed by their fathers or brothers. This happens often enough to be noticeable to my traveling companion and me on our trip through there, which only lasted a few days. The police look the other way in murder cases like these.

We made friends with a Sikh woman who married a Hindu and she told us she was in hiding from her family for many years because they said they would kill her.

All of this was very ironic because some of the best friends I made while in India were Sikhs and I have nothing but the highest respect for the teachings of Guru Nanak.

Gary Grass, Philomath

GO PHIL!

Will someone please buy Alan Pittman a book about journalism? It's gotten to the point where his one-sided articles are getting downright silly. I don't expect EW to be winning any Pulitzer prizes but how about just a little bit of fairness?

The latest example is the piece on Phil Knight, a favorite target of Pittman. His news brief (1/19) talks about Knight's generous contributions to the UO athletic program. Fair enough. But why no mention of the Knight Library? Why no mention of the Knight Law School? Why no mention that Knight has given as much or more money to the academic side of the UO as he has to athletics?

The answer, of course, is that reporting all the facts might actually cast Knight in a positive light and no way is Pittman going to do that.

Anyway, on behalf of Duck fans everywhere (academic and athletic), thank you Phil Knight. Go Ducks!

Randy Kolb, Eugene

NIKE SKATES

The basketball arena proposed by Phil Knight and Dave Frohnmayer would be the largest project in our county's history. If Nike has $150 million to give away shouldn't that money first go to the general fund because Nike pays almost nothing in taxes (approximately .005 percent of what a normal taxpayer would pay)?

The point is if Nike would just pay its taxes in the first place our state's schools and social services wouldn't be in a crisis. Moreover, Nike could save Oregonians trouble by ending its drive to politically destroy Beaverton's mayor and City Council.

Nike's relationship with its neighbors is increasingly hostile. Entrances to the Nike World Complex include security bunkers and the complex is entirely surrounded by a large berm. Now Mother Jones magazine reports (12/6/05) that Nike and Wal-Mart hope to tag all clothing and products with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). The best websites about Nike are: www.nano.electromagnet.usand www.nocards.orgZachary Vishanoff, Eugene

ANARCHY MAG

All writing is lying (I'm lying about that). But that's the gist of what some latter-day eco-philosophers assert. In recent years, local anarchist fuminaries have been hawking the line that western civilization is unredeemable and needs to be overthrown root and branch.

Their main organ, Green Anarchy, is a highly produced, information-dense magazine, with its price printed on the cover, and assertions such as "All writing is lying" within. If its publishers were principled, they would spread its messages one-to-one by word of mouth. Instead they aim to colonize the colonized, reinforcing alienation in an already disaffected audience. Their contorted and legalistic defense of all this qualifies them to go to work at once for the Bush Justice Department, or for Homeland Security.

Striving to out-fundamentalize the fundamentalists, these extreme libertarians are to the right of the right: the Taliban are their closest non-western counterparts. They profess to aspire to the purity of unmediated experience, but their primitivist world view is one with no checks or balances. I'll take our chaotic culture, warts and all, over their flawed and dismal vision.

Paul Prensky, Eugene

DAMNED LIBERALS

Kennedy, Schumer, Biden, Leahy, Feinstein, Feingold, Kohl, Durban, the bottom feeders of the Beltway, whose behavior as Democrats reached a new low of the liberal, PC, America-hating, self-serving hypocrites and political perverts through their bashing, belittling and defaming of Judge Alito's foreshadowed climb into his position on the Supreme Court, and has, hopefully, showed those of us who love America the long-time dark side of the liberal/progressive establishment.

This behavior is by no means the first time the Democrats have engaged in this incredulously infantile game of gotcha! It has been played time and again against all conservative judges recommended by conservative administrations for both Circuit Court of Appeals appointments, as well as for the Supreme Court. It has just reached a level never attained before because of the hatred of the Bush administration by the Democrat loser party, who have never heard of the age-old sayings, obviously not told to them by their mothers, of "Never be a poor loser," and "Always put your country first in times of political turmoil."

These acts of desperation by the Democrats have had worldwide negative implications on America and have given our terrorist enemies the ammunition they need to continue their fight to de-stable America's political, economical and social structures, so as to bring America down to the level of the third-world countries that promote government through tyranny and religion, and through torture and murder.

Tony Valeri, Eugene

OUR WORLD HOUSE

It was a privilege and honor for Northwest Christian College to help sponsor and host Monday's (1/15) Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration held in our Morse Event Center. We thank Greg Evans and the MLK Jr. Celebration Committee of Lane County for giving us this opportunity. The college values its relationships in this community, and we are grateful for the support and encouragement we receive in our efforts to reach out, build relationships, and be a partner in the cause of ensuring opportunity and justice for all people.

Our foundation in the Christian faith inspires our actions as a caring campus community that welcomes and embraces everyone. In my remarks on Monday evening, I quoted Dr. King who said, "The large house in which we live demands that we transform this worldwide neighborhood into a worldwide brotherhood." Bearing in mind the basic biblical teaching to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God, Northwest Christian College stands ready to partner as we live and work together in our "world house."

David W. Wilson, president Northwest Christian College

LEASH 'EM UP

I'm a dog owner myself so this letter comes from the heart. Lately I've noticed some people have forgotten all about the leash laws here in Eugene when they're walking their dogs on the streets and in the parks. It's very upsetting for me when a dog runs up to us while we're on our walks. I know that I'm not alone on this because I've consulted many leash-law-abiding folks who feel the same way.

Your dog is probably completely harmless and just wants to play, but there is no possible way for me to know that. I'm all for free-range doggie spirits and fun-lovin' frolics, but there is a place for that. It's called the dog park.

Keeping your dog on a leash while in public is not only beneficial for us, but also for your dog. Imagine how upset you'd be if someone maced your dog. I'd never do such a thing but I can guarantee there are people out there who would.

Please, please, please protect your dogs and the public by putting them on leashes during their walks. Thank You!

Grace Dunstan , Eugene

PAINFUL TRUTH

Mr. Gariepy's letter (1/5) was filled with inaccuracies. Maybe Mr. Gariepy would have preferred examples like Pat Robertson or Jerry Fallwell, two of the most popular Christians in the U.S.. He may say that they are not true Christians either. This brings us back to debating what is or isn't Christian, but that's not the point. I wasn't doing a PR piece for Christianity. I was attempting to address a serious problem concerning morality, which is at the root of many of the harsh realities we face today. I understand that like many Christians, Mr. Gariepy isn't used to criticism. The truth hurts.

Mr. Gariepy clearly missed the point of my article and proves that he is very much a part of the problem. I have received a great deal of positive feedback since that article ran. It seems to have given many a sense of relief to see somebody willing to address this issue. One man, after commending me, whispered, "I don't believe in God either." He whispered because there was another person nearby and he felt uncomfortable. It's tragic that we have created an environment where perfectly rational people feel as though they need to hide their disbelief of a completely far fetched theory that has as much supporting evidence as does the existence of Santa Claus.

Seven-hundred-and-fifty words aren't nearly enough to reverse thousands of years of brainwashing, but I do have a recommendation for Mr. Gariepy and anybody else interested in the truth. Neuroscientist Sam Harris authored a New York Times bestseller titled "The End of Faith." Harris gives a comprehensive analysis of dogmatic ideologies like Christianity and Islam that clearly shows that suspending reason in favor of religion is an extremely bad idea.

If Mr. Gariepy is truly concerned with "looking for common ground and of creating coalitions to further the important things we so often agree about," he should spend a little less time studying the Bible and a little more time reading texts that are based on actual evidence.

Joshua Welch, Eugene

COST OF WAR

According to a recently published study by Joseph Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor and former World Bank chief economist who won the 2001 Nobel prize in economics, the real cost of the Iraq war is likely to be between $1 trillion and $2 trillion. This estimate includes such costs as lifetime disability and health care for our troops injured in the conflict, as well as the impact of the war on the American economy.

Sigltiz's estimate, which he described as very conservative, compares with an initial White House estimate of $200 billion on the high side. To date, Congress has appropriated $251 billion for military operations, and the congressional Budget Office now estimates another $230 billion could be spent on the Iraq War over the next 10 years. This is beginning to sound a lot like the White House estimates used to obtain Congressional approval for prescription drug benefits ($400 billion vs. $800 billion actual).

As Iraqi opposition to our occupation grows, so does the violence. Siglitz's report was issued along with a report of 11 more U.S. troop deaths and 130 civilian deaths, the highest daily toll since our invasion. Unlike the Bush administration's claims of an imminent nuclear or bio-chemical attack from Iraq, there are no claims of an imminent end to its ideological war. In fact, our president reminds us over and over that we will "stay the course."

Are you feeling safer — or just poorer?

Benton Elliott , Eugene

FACTORY FORESTS

Once again, the timber industry is left without a leg to stand on. The recent OSU study on post-fire "salvage" logging in the Biscuit fire area vindicates what environmentalists have been saying all along: that fire is a natural process in our forests, and the best thing to do after a fire is let the forest recover on its own.

The study proves that more seedlings have grown up and survived in burned areas that were NOT logged, than in areas that were clear-cut (surprise, surprise). The study also shows how the woody debris left on the ground after post-fire logging actually increases the risk of a re-burn, contradicting timber industry propaganda.

In addition to the OSU study, a World Wildlife Fund study documents a $14 million net-cash loss on the Biscuit sale by the Forest Service, whose funding comes from the pockets of U.S. taxpayers.

These studies contain timely information that should motivate citizens to take action and demand that their elected officials strike down both Rep. Walden's and Sen. Smith's dishonest "salvage" bills, which they are currently pushing through the House and Senate.

But even these important scientific studies ignore the most critical issue of all: the lack of a system of natural resource inventory accounting. Claiming the Biscuit sale cost American taxpayers $14 million is a gross understatement. For if we attempted to place a price tag on our forests, taking into account the topsoil, clean air and water they produce, our assets would measure in the trillions.

Isn't it about time someone conduct a study on the value of our STANDING forests, the engines of production for Nature's services and life on Earth?

Nina F. Cummings, Eugene

BLAME THEM

Imagine yourself living in a tribal village along with a small, closely-knit community, sustained by the pure waters of a clean-flowing river. Now imagine one thoughtless villager, for his own convenience, insisted on defecating in the river everyone drank from. This person would, of course, be sternly reprimanded, forbidden from polluting the river any further, and if he refused to mend his ways, be banned from the village, or imprisoned.

While most of us are no longer living in tribal villages, this unfortunate analogy still holds true today for our town of Eugene. For there is a man who lives in Eugene committing a similar act of despoiling our drinking water supply: Aaron U. Jones, CEO of Seneca-Jones Timber Company. Jones and his company (among others) are responsible for logging thousands of acres of old growth and mature forests in the McKenzie River watershed this past summer and fall. Removing trees from the watershed results in soil runoff, which muddies up the river we all drink from.

While most of the McKenzie sales have already been cut, this spring Jones plans to log the Trapper sale, a spotted-owl haven. Call Aaron Jones at Seneca Jones Timber, 689-1231, and demand that he stop degrading Eugene's source of drinking water!

The only thing worse than a villager fouling the drinking water is an outsider doing the same. This outsider's name is Rob Freres, VP of Freres Lumber Company in Lyons, Ore., who has logged the Flatco, Kinkoe and Sten sales in the McKenzie. His office number is (503) 859-2121.

Ben Castle, Eugene

WHITE HOUSE MAFIA

Bush is Cheney's spokesliar. We are now in peak illegitimate government and we will soon be in peak oil so we need a new program for the future to deal responsibly with the real world.

The U.S. is a failed nation-state being run in Mafia mode by corporate criminals headed by de facto don Dick Cheney, so we need a thorough house cleaning at the top. By almost every real-world measure the U.S. has become the world's number one rogue and terrorist state. For it has, and builds, the most weapons of mass destruction; it makes and sells the most conventional weapons; it kills and tortures the most people; it spies on the most people; it has the most troops in occupation; it starts the most wars; it overthrows the most legitimate governments and steals the most elections and it purchases the most dictator governments.

Impeach Cheney and Bush and Rove and Rumsfeld and DeLay and elect a legitimate government of, by and for all of our peoples in a real and uncooked election.

Bob Saxton, Eugene