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DEFAZIO HAD OPTIONS Congressman Peter DeFazio offers a convoluted, absurd explanation (news story, 5/25) of why he voted for a bill that would make it a felony to help illegal immigrants. Instead of backing the bill, he could have achieved most of his goals by simply demanding that the administration vigorously enforce existing laws and increase penalties on businesses illegally hiring immigrants. Although the corporate media asserts that it is virtually impossible for employers to verify immigration status, businesses have a variety of means available to verify the identity, residency, and age of the applicant. Companies routinely rely on credit bureaus, commercial reporting services, background investigations and their own due diligence in checking references and conducting interviews to establish credentials. Background reports are available from a wide range of sources, including Mexican ones. In addition, employers check the integrity of applicants' Social Security numbers to ensure that names and numbers match. Once again, the corporate media's reporting on the issue serves only to obscure rampant illegal hiring and does nothing to promote good public policy. As for DeFazio, he apparently could not resist the opportunity to inoculate himself against conservative attack dogs' charges that he is soft on illegal immigration. John Hofer, Eugene
INFANTILE HUMOR Recently Eugene Weekly asked for local musicians and bands to submit promotional material to be included in a special publication featuring local musicians. I assumed the "Locals Only" section was going to be a promotion of the diversity of local music. I expected that there would be a brief portrayal of me as one of Eugene's established musicians. Instead, I find myself the object of infantile humor and poor journalism. I was appalled to be included on the "Short, Sweet and Sour" page where I was individually cursed, rudely called by my last name and then insulted. This was more than a bad review of my music. It was malicious and degrading. The piano compositions on my CD are peaceful, contemplative and spiritual. The synthesizer compositions are soundscapes that deal with things like the rainforest destruction and artificial intelligence. You can hear these compositions in a more realistic light than portrayed by Mr. Stout at www.cdbaby.com/cd/loucrist EW did a severe disservice to all the bands that were featured on the last page of the guide. Mr. Stout's rating system equating musicians and bands to sadistic behavior and pornography is disgusting. Why someone whose own bio states that he hates music was given this assignment makes me wonder where was the editorial staff oversight of this article? The Weekly misrepresented its intention in soliciting material for a promotional guide and it should apologize for its irresponsible behavior, which has hurt the reputation of myself and others. Lou Crist, Fall Creek
WE NEED BIGGER IDEAS Recently I went to one more sustainability meeting, this one titled "Peak Oil and Global Warming," where we talked instead about personal sustainability on the level of changing to fluorescent lighting, insulation and commercial alternative energy sources. I certainly hope the majority at such meetings know about these and are thinking beyond, but they're apparently afraid to expand the topic. I'm mainly concerned about global warming, and I think we'll need much more than this to stop it. I used to be confident that an imminent economic collapse, from many possible causes, could save us from the more severe conditions than most people think possible , but now it seems it may come too late, or already be too late. I don't have a lot of confidence in local grassroots permaculture being the answer. The "tragedy of the commons" suggests that a few of us living sustainably mainly means we can all continue to waste at our own level for a bit longer. I live fairly simply on low income, mainly to have time to experiment with DIY skills of designing and building for a time when gas, electricity and much more are beyond our means, while looking for a community that wants to discuss bigger ideas. Dan Robinson, Eugene
ABSURD STORY I live in the deep South and found your article "The Culture of Whiteness" highly offensive. Why should someone who comes to a different state university, where they know they are clearly in the minority, feel unwelcome just because no one has laid out a red carpet for them? Isn't everyone treated exactly the same? And isn't that the way it's supposed to be? If I were to attend a predominately black college here in Georgia, and I reversed the roles, would you dare write the same article? I can just see it now — sitting in the White Student Union, complaining of being disenfranchised by the university community because of a lack of cultural whiteness. I know that you up in Oregon must feel it is culturally important to point out the little-heard voices of a minority community, but in doing so you isolate blacks above other groups who probably have the same experience, i.e.: Native-Americans, Asians, Jews, gays, etc. You may assume that I am some outraged white-supremacist because I live in Georgia; this couldn't be further from the truth. I live in a diverse neighborhood where people of all races and family make-up co-exist peacefully and share things. Three of my dear friends who happen to be black read your article and laughed at its absurdity. Please try to see things in all lights before publishing nonsense like this! Julian Lockmeister, Marietta, Ga.
OOOO, BABY Thank the Goddess that Sally Sheklow and her wife are determined not to have kids ("Living Out," 5/18). Faithful readers know that Sheklow habitually refers to her wife with the capitalized diminutive: "Wifey." We can only imagine with horror the paroxysms of "Snookie-ookums" and "Poogie-woos" with which she would babble on about actual babies. Bruce Schennum, Eugene
DITCH THE CAGES Thank you for the 5/18 article covering the cage-free egg campaign by the UO chapter of Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I am writing to voice my support for the UO Food Services to stop using eggs farmed from industrial battery cages, and switch to the use of cage-free eggs. The idea that what we eat, or are served to eat, affects the world around us is not radical, extreme or even particularly unusual. The European Union has pledged to phase out the use of eggs from hens kept in battery cages by 2012. Also a number of other universities across the country have made similar moves, including the universities of Wisconsin-Madison, New Hampshire and Iowa, George Washington University, Dartmouth and MIT. I hope we could add the UO to that list. The mission statement of the UO states the university's commitment to: "helping the individual learn to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically." Part of an ethical teaching environment is to live yourself by the ethical standards to which you hold your students. The suffering experienced by animals, particularly egg-laying hens, produced by industrial farming techniques is well documented (www.hsus.org/farm/resources/research/welfare/egg_industry.html). Part of thinking critically is to make the logical connection between what we eat, where it comes from, and the methods used to produce it. I would like to see the UO make the ethical choice to utilize exclusively cage-free eggs. Timothy Sutton, UO GTF
LOSE THE PHOTO Smug, coy, trite — BORING. If I want to encounter this kind of sophomoric self-indulgence (Living Out, 5/18), I'll go find a high school newspaper somewhere. I do not give a shit whether it's Sally's or Wifey's turn to pick out the video. Please get rid of Ms. Sheklow — or at least lose the photo of her self-satisfied simper. Thanks. Tim Baxter, Eugene
THEY EAT HORSES I marvel at the duplicity of the American people who lavish huge financial and emotional capital on injured Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, while subsidizing the abuse and slaughter of billions of horses, cows, pigs, and other sentient animals for their dinner table. Although we don't eat horses, we slaughtered 88,000 last year for export to countries that do. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 503 and S. 1915) would permanently ban U.S. transport and slaughter of horses for human consumption. Similar congressional efforts have been thwarted by the USDA earlier this year. It makes no ethical sense to cherish our horses, dogs, and cats while paying for the abuse and slaughter of billions of similar animals that are not part of our family. With the great abundance of soy-based meat alternatives in every supermarket, it makes no practical sense either. Edward Newland, Eugene
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED? The more pressing issue with the review of the film United 93 (beyond the issue of "mediocrity" that a reader wrote to complain about) is that it does not explore the deeper questions of what really happened on 9/11, and, in this case, to Flight 93. What is "beyond our comprehension" is the real story of how the whole calamity was carefully and methodically orchestrated. The only problem is, there are so many obvious blunders in the official story, that not questioning it would seem unpatriotic. If you are interested in learning more go to Google's videos. In the "top 100," number one on the list as of May 13, you will find the documentary: "9/11 Loose Change." The video is an impressive collection of actual footage, news reports, interviews and enough factual information to effectively debunk the lies surrounding the events of Sept. 11. The film United 93 is just a continuation of these lies, propaganda to hold us hostage to a nefarious agenda. Barbara Raisbeck, Eugene
INTERNET EQUALITY The Internet as we know it is in urgent danger. Right now the Internet provides an important avenue of free speech in which an individual or a grassroots group can get a message out as easily as the largest corporation. This equality of all Internet users is known as Internet neutrality. But the corporate giants like ATT and Verizon want to get rid of Internet neutrality so that they can run the Internet themselves. They want to be able to offer faster service to some customers for a higher fee, while leaving the rest of us in the slow lane, or even denying us access if they disagree with our message. In response to intense lobbying by the large phone and cable corporations, both houses of Congress are considering sweeping telecommunications bills that will gut Internet neutrality. The House will be voting on HR5252 during the week of June 3. In the Senate, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; which includes Sen. Smith; is currently discussing S.2686. We need to act now to save the Internet. Sen. Wyden is cosponsoring a bill by Sens. Snowe and Dorgan (S.2686), which would protect internet neutrality. We need to thank him and urge Senator Smith to also support this bill. DeFazio will vote for any amendments to HR5252 that would support Internet neutrality. We need to encourage him. For more information, go to www.savetheinternet.comThis is the website of a diverse group representing 696 member organizations and individuals. Carol McBrian, Eugene
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