Editorial: Electile Disfunction: Holiday thoughts on the election, murdering evergreens, charter fixes and swamp roads. Viewpoint: Time to Share: Walk down any street and you'll find Christmas in abundance. Is that not enough?. Living Out: Ethel's Hideaway: Battling life's evil is exhausting. Letters: EW readers sound off. Electile Disfunction Holiday thoughts on the election, murdering evergreens, charter fixes and swamp roads. The cliff-hanger presidential election might be over, but the turmoil we've all witnessed this past month is not. George W. Bush appears likely to be inaugurated in January, despite losing the popular vote and despite voting irregularities of historic proportions. The real winners and losers in this election are not obvious, and might not be for a while. The Republican Party appears victorious, but it has also been heavily damaged. Democrats are licking their wounds, but will they bounce back with new vigor in the 2002 and 2004 elections? The U.S. Supreme Court has lost credibility in its partisan voting. The big question of course, is did the American people win or lose in this election? That depends on how we respond. Can we work together to examine and reform the electoral process? Can we find ways to get better, more qualified candidates running for public office? Will we finally pay attention to the important issues that Ralph Nader has been struggling to bring to mainstream consciousness? It's going to be an intense four years. Christmas trees might have pagan roots, they might be the rage in Japan, and they might brighten the faces of children everywhere, but let's keep them in perspective. We don't murder evergreens with chainsaws and gussy them up for Ground Hog's Day or the Fourth of July. We do it at Christmas, and Christmas is (arguably) still a religious holiday. The problem, as City Manager Jim Johnson has so painfully faced, is that we do not all celebrate Christmas. In addition, our Constitution provides for a clear separation of church and state. Government officials and the courts wrestle with interpreting that separation -- we do have a national Christmas tree at the Capitol, but in Eugene, we ban Christmas trees from selected public buildings. It's the city manager's discretion, and he's right on this one. Whenever we flaunt a particular religious symbol, we are bound to exclude people of other persuasions -- and they notice. Do it on public property with public funds and it raises legal issues as well. We may not hear many complaints from Native Americans, Jews, Buddhists, atheists and others -- they have learned to tolerate the American obsession with Christmas decorations -- but a sense of separation is palpable this time of year. Some well-meaning Eugeneans are trying to diffuse the conflict by including token symbols of other faiths in their decorations. But such gestures can be perceived as dismissing other religions and their traditions as secondary to the "real" celebration in America. The holidays are a good time to practice tolerance and sensitivity, and to honor the religious and cultural traditions of all people in our community. While citizens were fussing and fretting over the location of a few Christmas trees, local politicos were lobbying over who gets to sit on the new ad hoc charter review committee. Fortunately, the City Council agreed on a reasonably balanced committee Dec. 11, and a year from now we should see the panel's final report. After that, we will likely find a proposal on the ballot. This is an important process with broad implications for the future of Eugene. At stake is the form of our city government, including ward representation on the council, the balance of power between the council and city manager, the creation of a city auditor position, and whether the city should hire an in-house city attorney. The latter item is particularly tricky and raises the question of who should be the legal counsel to the committee. The firm representing the city, Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C., has millions of dollars at stake. It makes sense for the charter committee to turn to independent attorneys for advice. Legal review will be needed since any changes in the charter must be compatible with other elements of the charter and with state and federal laws. The makeup of the new committee appears to be a balance of progressive and conservative interests. The committee was chosen by a unanimous vote of the council, which is a good way to begin a tough project. The West Eugene Parkway has been lurking in the swamps of state and local transportation bureaucracies for decades. Somehow this project, which might have made some sense 14 years ago, is still alive. What we've learned since voters approved the project in 1986 is that wetlands are extremely important to the health of our ecosystem, and building more expensive highways only exacerbates our long-term transportation problems. The project would fragment and damage wetlands, including the Spectra Physics wetlands that were created as mitigation wetlands to replace others that were destroyed by earlier development. The project would only take an estimated 8 percent of the pressure off other arterials and serve future growth in west Eugene. The $88 million can be much better invested in mass transit, bicycle and foot paths, and other infrastructure that does not encourage sprawl. We hope the City Council withdraws support for this overly auto-friendly project. -- TJT Time to Share Walk down any street and you'll find Christmas in abundance. Is that not enough? If my six year old were insecure and unable to understand that other kids don't want to play with his things all the time, we'd need numbers of talks about respecting other people's needs and wishes -- and how everything can't always be the way he wants it to be. You have to share. I suspect he and his friends would be more understanding than some people's reactions to the rule of no Christmas trees on public/government property. Walk down any street and you'll see Christmas lights and a good chance a Christmas tree in someone's window. Walk into any store of any type at all, and you'll see Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas decorations, Christmas sales, and hear Christmas music, at least from Thanksgiving on, probably from after Halloween, and sometimes even from September (that's about 1/12 to a 1/4 of the year!). Look at any newspaper and you'll see ads about Christmas and articles and photos about Christmas, Christmas trees, Christmas parades, Santa Clause, Christmas food, the Christmas spirit, etc. Listen to any radio station or any TV station and you'll see and hear Christmas programing for children and adults, and Christmas ads aimed at everyone -- from sitcoms, to interviews, to cartoons, to the news, to dramas, to soap operas, to everything. Surely, you'll see plenty of Christmas trees there too. And then of course if you are Christian, religiously, or you were raised Christian and follow the secular Christian tradition of Christmas (that is, a holiday that originates with the birth of Christ, the major Christian figure), then you have every opportunity to do what you will and have as many Christmas trees, decorations, ornaments, food, songs, etc. in your private home and with your family. With all this affirmation and all this domination of the Christmas holiday, it's extremely difficult to believe anyone could complain because there would be a few places, where "church" (and I use the word broadly, for many people of many religions don't attend churches) and state are supposed to be separate. As a Jew, it's been my experience time and time again, that, for instance, people wish me happy Chanukah towards the end of December, even when Chanukah is at the end of November. Goodness knows, the general public doesn't wish me happy New Year on Rosh Hashannah (a way more important holiday than Chanukah), even in work environments where I've worked for many years and have informed people many times over about the holiday. I have to stop myself from being totally thrilled because there might be one or two articles about Chanukah, Passover, Kwanza, Solstice, Chinese New Year, Ramadan or other non-Christian (originating) holidays instead of the hundreds about Christmas or Easter, for instance. I can't tell you what it might mean to me to have one-thousandth of the recognition Christmas gets. Come on, can't you feel affirmed enough with the incredible amount of Christmas stuff that's out there already? Can you really think about it and feel you're being deprived because there aren't a few more Christmas trees up? To complain of this feels an incredible insult to those who get little if no public recognition for our traditions and holidays. Even for those who do not celebrate Christmas as a particularly religious holiday, I hope you can see that celebrating it came from your Christian background or orientation. It's not an American holiday, unless you also believe that America is a Christian country, and then it would be good to at least admit that. As a Jew, I could not rightfully "own" any holiday that includes the word Christ in it -- not because I think it's bad, but because a holiday that originates in celebrating the birth of Christ is antithetical to my basic belief system as a Jew. It's not "American," it's Christian. There's nothing wrong with it being a religious or secular/cultural Christian holiday. I have often been at particular Christian friends in their homes and with their families at Christmas time, just as I might ask non-Jewish friends to join my family and I in a Passover seder. I don't presume this makes Passover their holiday nor would I want them to feel they could easily adopt it to be their own. It's just some part of my life I am sharing with them because they are my friends and friends share. Which brings me back to the idea of sharing. How about sharing public spaces so there are some public spaces where people who do not celebrate Christmas can feel like there's someplace they can be which is not 100 percent Christmas? A public place where they can feel like they are part of the public too, a public that includes people who do not celebrate Christmas. People tell me this is a time of sharing. It's sometimes hard to believe. Tova (Stabin) is a free-lance writer, poet, teacher, and co-manager of Mother Kali's. She's recently won the C. Hamilton Poetry Fellowship from Oregon Literary Arts. Back to Top Ethel's Hideaway Battling life's evil is exhausting. On the opening night of my mother's play, our house buzzed with actors, directors, movie producers -- exciting and mysterious people. It was cool to see my ordinary mom magically transformed into a glamorous playwright, but I was late for a phone date with my best friend. Luckily, an 11-year-old kid can slip out of a party unnoticed. I escaped the commotion in the living room and closed my door. Debbie and I needed to concoct a plan to get permission to go to the movies by ourselves. I picked up the extension phone in my bedroom. My mom was on the line talking to a woman I didn't recognize. I swiveled the receiver away from my mouth so they couldn't hear me breathe. A strange, husky voice oozed from the phone, "... then after the show tonight we'll see you at Ethel's Hideaway." "Yes, dahling, see you there." My mom sure didn't sound like her regular self. I waited for her to hang up first. Something was up. I knew all about dastardly plots from watching Sky King and Penny and "My Friend Flicka." I was pretty sure my mother and this mystery woman were in cahoots. Was my mom really some kind of bandit, living a wild and rugged secret life away from her normal job and family? I leaned back and rubbed my bare feet along the rows of chenille on my Annie Oakley bedspread. Ethel's Hideaway had to be somewhere out in the desert. Probably an old mining shack with tumbleweeds blowing past the weathered timbers of the entrance. Ethel must be the leader of the gang. I could picture her: a hard-living leathery woman in jeans and a sweat-stained Western shirt with pearly snaps. She'd sit backwards on her chair, toss back a shot of whisky and wipe her mouth on her sleeve. Then she'd smack her glass down on the table and make the dust jump. Ethel and her outlaw gals could be planning to hold up a stage coach and make off with the payroll. I'd bet these women did whatever they pleased and didn't have to get anybody's permission for anything. They wore their favorite jeans every single day if they wanted to. And they took a bath only when they felt like it. My mother was involved in something so adventurous and so secret that not only could I never mention it to anyone else, I couldn't even let on to her that I knew. From then on, whenever she claimed to be going for groceries, I knew she was out there in her pointy-toed cowboy boots, kicking up dust in the starry night as she rode her palomino across the desert to Ethel's Hideaway. About the time I figured out that The Borrowers weren't living in our walls, I learned that Ethel's Hideaway was nothing but a restaurant with a husky-voiced hostess. It was OK, that small disillusionment paled in comparison to the realities of puberty. I suspect that my fantasy of my mother's secret life planted the outlaw seed in my own life and directed me toward my quest for freedom and justice. I have plenty of adventure and limelight. My own play (about lesbian sexuality) enjoyed at least underground success. I have the glamour of performing comedy improv for cheering audiences. I get to do battle with the Snidely Whiplash of homophobia. I don't need anyone's permission to wear whatever I want. And I bathe only when I feel like it. But fighting for equality and civil rights all the time is stressful. Society's constant questioning of the morality of your sexual orientation wears you out. Rising hate crimes and gay suicides weigh heavy on the soul. Battling evil is exhausting. From time to time I just want to hide away. When my mother died a few years ago, I bought a small cabin in the woods, a couple hour's drive from where we live. I named it in honor of her and the secret life she never had. Our Ethel's Hideaway sleeps eight. Every year we have a gang of women out for a long weekend. We let down our vigilance and determination and take it easy. No TV, no newspaper, no answering machine, no e-mail. About once a month my sweetheart and I steal away to Ethel's Hideaway all by ourselves. We magically become peaceful, calm and relaxed with nothing more to do than walk on the beach, read novels under the cedar trees and keep the wood stove going on cold nights. That's where we live our secret life as normal people. Sally Sheklow has been a part of the Eugene community since 1972 and is a member of the WYMPROV! comedy troupe. Her column, which began at EW, also runs in several other newspapers around the country. Back to Top Preference Voting Although the election results in Florida are, at best, unclear, there is one thing coming out of the November electoral process that is abundantly clear: The entire process needs drastic reform. As Steven Hill and Rob Richie, authors of Reflection All of Us have poignantly put it, "[V]oting system reform in the form of proportional representation and instant runoff voting for executive elections must be a cornerstone of the movement to restore electoral democracy." The latter reform measure is already in place in some jurisdictions and could be utilized in state races for single seat offices, such as governor, secretary of state, etc. It only needs either an act of the state Legislature or a citizens' ballot initiative to implement preference voting (PR) or instant runoff voting (IRV), as it is variously called. The voter, where more than two candidates are running for the same office, merely indicates his or her first choice, second, third, etc. choice. Should the voter's first choice receive the lowest number of votes, then his or her second choice would be tallied. It's like a runoff election, but obviates the need to keep running to the ballot box and can be done in one election on one ballot. Proportional representation, presently permissible under the Oregon Constitution, eliminates the artificial geographical districts or wards in multi-seat races, e.g. U.S. House of Representative, and would allow the Oregon voter to rank his preferences for the five House seats to which Oregon is now entitled (soon to be six). In that fashion, for example, the candidate for the Greens, who might come from Eugene, could be voted as the number one selection by the voter living in Multnomah County. The same voter then can indicate who his or her second, third, fourth, etc. choices are. In that way, if there is only one Green candidate elected, having gotten at least 20 percent of the vote for the five seats, gives to the Green voter a voice in the halls of Congress. It's time we gave each voter a voice that can be heard. Reform NOW is essential to rescue us from the plutocracy we now have. Karl G. Sorg Eugene Carved Up This Halloween I carved a pumpkin for my son. As a non-custodial parent under a restraining order, my access to him is limited by his mother, so I left the pumpkin at her doorstep and phoned him to let him know it was there. Divorce, like cancer, is known to most yet not spoken of or shared openly. Of course, for children, this is among the most traumatic and painful times they will weather. For women, there are countless groups, advocacy organizations and Full Moon Circles to help them through. These thrive locally and receive wide support. Not for men though, whose experience is particularly extreme, particularly isolating and life changing, particularly in Lane County. When I called Womenspace recently: "ring... ring... Womenspace, may I help you ?" "I hope so ... there's no Menspace listed in my directory ..." "... um ..." nervous laughter "... this is Womenspace." Yes, I know, but where's Menspace?" "... maybe someone else can help ... hold on ..." While not PC to point out the imbalances that weigh against men in divorce, it is a lifestyle in Lane County. Matter of factly, men are told the system supports women and to accept it. The nightmare of divorce for fathers is ignored and needs to be addressed openly by more than a few men's groups huddled like Anne Frank's family in hiding with no community presence. Alternating weekend fathers must cram quality time into court ordered blocks of too few hours with their children while boyfriends play "daddy" without the dues paying. And what about my son's pumpkin ? His mother gave him three choices: "Smash it in the street, cut it into pieces or keep it in your room." Although he wanted to keep it, she took it from him and it was replaced the next day with a different one she bought. Jim Evangelista Cottage Grove Color of Hope Recently, my friend Mathew asked me what I thought about the city's new stance on Christmas trees. I recalled a great sermon I heard last year at Advent. Father Rocky talked about the holiday season, and reminded us of how many holiday traditions and beliefs are built on other traditions, and how in ways, many customs and beliefs are similar. The unifying theme of most end of December holidays (holy-days, get it?) is the idea of hope. Anyone who celebrates anything greater than themselves this month has some idea of hope. For some it is the hope for spring, and daylight, and rebirth. Others celebrate the hope of a Christ child, and the hope of redemption. Green is the color of hope. Trees, wreaths, and general greenery have helped us celebrate the hope of the season for centuries. This idea helps me to make my celebrations this December more meaningful. This year I have seen Eugene police officers lie in court and use bicycles as weapons to "keep the peace." In this "progressive" city we re-elected very non-progressive Jim Torrey. The City Council, without public consent, has begun taking away the rights of citizens. The city has continued to harass people on the downtown mall (and other such areas) instead of working to build community. So I guess my answer to my friend Mathew is that in regard to the city taking away a symbol of hope, in Eugene, it kinda figures. David J. Gibbs Eugene Don't Trust Greens I appreciated Spruce's perspective on the election (11/30), but I think he is missing something. The Naderites think their leader is Jesus Christ. They would follow him anywhere, because they believe his every word and believe he can do no wrong. Therefore, "there is no difference between Bush and Gore." Therefore, there can be no alliances with "liberals" and others desperately trying to build a coalition against Bush and fascism. We "liberals" have gotten the message. Members of the Green Party are not to be trusted. They are incapable of thinking for themselves. They cannot and will not work in a coalition without doing everything they can to undermine the people with whom they pretend to be cooperating. It's time to cut out the anarchists, Green Party, and other extremists and build a labor party with an environmental consciousness. Otherwise, the little Hitler and his brownshirts will gain total control and there will be no hope. No one is going to come to our rescue. We have to stop those Nazis ourselves. Remember, Hitler was too stupid to be Hitler, too. Being too stupid to be Hitler doesn't stop Bush from being Hitler. Being a drug addict and active drug user doesn't stop Bush from being Hitler. Hitler was a methamphetamine addict. Bush is a cocaine and marijuana (and who knows what else) addict. Drugs lubricate fascism. Ann Tattersall Eugene Party-line Parrot It's sad to see long-time Green activist Spruce Houser (11/30) put aside both principles and common sense. By supporting Al Gore and subsequently condemning Ralph Nader as reckless, Spruce parrots the establishment party-line and paradoxically helps perpetuate the dictatorial two-party stranglehold that Spruce himself has labored to change. Get real, Spruce. Would a Gore presidency cut the murderous military budget, end the racist war on drugs, or challenge this nation's support of the WTO? NFW! An argument could easily be made that the environment -- your particular area of concern -- did better under Nixon, who created the EPA and signed the Clean Water Act, then under Clinton-Gore, who are responsible for the continued destruction of ancient forests in municipal watersheds throughout Oregon. Every four years the Democrats, like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick, promise that this time will be different. Spruce, most Greens learned this lesson a long time ago but I guess you needed to land flat on your back one more time, just like good ol' Charlie Brown. Blair Bobier Pahoa, Hawaii Spruce Responds Ken Grimsley, in his 12/7 column, seems to completely miss the point of my 11/30 commentary on the Nader factor. My friendly challenge to the Greens is rooted precisely in my concern that they succeed. Our planetary plight is dire enough that we do not have the luxury of engaging in campaigns aimed only at making symbolic statements. The Greens must move beyond easy rhetoric into the world of achieving real political power. Consider the Greens actually achieving their vaunted goal of proportional representation. Seven percent of the vote translates into 7 percent representation in the state Legislature -- a great accomplishment. But would not the Greens still have to deal with the 93 percent non-Greens? And would this not require the Greens to look for the common ground, tone down their polarizing language, and try to establish working alliances in order to promote their values? Since this process is inevitable, what a shame the Greens were unprepared to seize the moment and leverage some coalition power out of this razor-close election. Nader seemed oblivious to the damage he was causing to such alliance building. A case in point involves the very issue highlighted by Grimsley -- "ending the obscene influence of big money on our political process." Last year, activists came together for a ballot measure to ban corporate money from Oregon elections -- a far bolder move than the public funding initiative. Labor unions were a vital part of this fragile coalition. This noble measure, which could have used help from Greens, fell short on signatures. These union allies are now severely alienated from a second initiative by Nader's assistance to Bush. Grimsley's own goal has been pushed further away. Spruce Houser Eugene Nader's One Trick It's not power unless you can use it. Seldom have I read a political editorial I agreed with more than that written by environmentalist Spruce Houser (11/30). His arguments for voting with a major party are right on! He clearly comprehends that, to win, a candidate must garner the endorsement of 50 percent, plus one, of the voters. Support for Nader did, in fact, siphon off necessary votes from Vice President Gore; despite what other nervous-for-some-reason Democrats did, Republicans used Nader like a cheap trick. Conversely, the diatribe from marketing/media consultant Ken Grimsley ("Victory & Shame," 12/7), is just more rhetoric and posturing. An additional statistic for Mr. Grimsley: getting under 5 percent of the vote means over 95 percent of the people disagree with you. Another thing eluding him -- Nader is a one-trick pony; he drills about corporate takeover of the world, meanwhile, reality is that over half the nation's citizens invest in the stock market, including Nader himself! You cannot simultaneously argue against and financially bolster a thing without being a hypocrite, and one plank is not a platform. My friends, the Greens, would be better served by taking a clue from another (successful) minority group. The religious right has bored its way into the Republican Party and does a fine job of dictating a good portion of their platform. Potential power exists in making friends with the Democrats; check out their platform -- it includes a strong environmental stand, is pro labor and (wow!) endorses legalizing industrial hemp. Stop wasting the potential to positively contribute. Sally Nunn Eugene Gore Lost It I am disappointed to hear claims that Nader voters are responsible for Bush's election. This election provides ample evidence that the system is corrupt to the core. Green votes were a vote against a system that has unequivocally proven how unworthy it is of our support. Even if you buy that it was a race between individuals and not between wings of corporate elite power, it was Gore who lost the election. Given George W.'s pathetic record in public office, Gore should have easily triumphed. Instead, Gore rarely discussed issues important to millions of Americans. It was Gore who underestimated the popularity of Green positions. It was Gore who failed to attempt appeasing Green voters. I waited to hear Gore offer some conciliatory pledge: Stop all logging in national forests, restore a basic safety net for the poor, national health insurance. Something! Instead, he challenged nothing about our system that, in the name of profit, rapes Mother Earth and works to erode our very soul every waking moment. Should we expect progressives to continue supporting a party that has nearly declared war on the poor, the environment, labor and people of color? Instead of asking less of voters ,we should be asking much more from anyone in power calling themselves Democrat! For real changes in our society, the Democrats had to lose to prove that conciliatory gestures toward Green positions must be made in the future. Had Gore won handily, it would have been easy to dismiss the Greens. John Jordan-Cascade Eugene Fund Drug Treatment To Lane County commissioners: Please consider allocating a generous portion of the "Federal Payments to Counties" moneys (timber money) to drug treatment and rehabilitation. It may seem expensive, but the cost of drug addiction in our county is tremendous. Approximately 80 percent of the crime committed in Lane County is drug related in one way or another. Everything from bank robbery to child and spousal abuse, and from auto thefts and break-ins, to home and business burglaries, 80 percent can be traced back to drugs. The financial cost in law enforcement alone is staggering. Also, think of the toll it takes on the tax paying community as a whole when you consider both physical and mental health costs, unemployment, incarceration and broken homes. The environmental hazards of contaminated [housing] units are a great threat to owners, employees, future tenants as well as to our water supply. The cost to government and property owners of cleaning up these contaminated sites is astronomical. Deaths from heroin overdoses have quadrupled over the past few years. A large percentage of the prostitutes are heroin addicts and many have AIDS or hepatitis, or both. In the long run, treatment is not only the most humane way, but the most economical way to treat this problem. Please fund drug treatment. Margaret C. Waite Eugene LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and will print as many as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words, keep submissions to once a month, and include your address and phone number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401. Back to Top Table of Contents | News & Views | Arts & Entertainment Classifieds | Personals | EW Archive