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Insider Baseball: Corporate Candy: Tax breaks for wealthy corporations work through Legislature.
Natural Resistance: Sleeping Over: Wake up surrounded by your oldest relatives.
Living Out: Rx for IT: We have miracle drugs for every other unmentionable ailment.
Letters: EW readers sound off.



Corporate Candy
Tax breaks for wealthy corporations work through Legislature.

Labor notes. SB485, the omnibus workers' comp bill seemed stalled, but now a compromise has been worked out to deal with the Supreme Court decision in Smothers: Workers can sue if they are injured at work and have unsuccessfully filed through the workers' comp system first.

Some labor folks feel that the compromise will be challenged in court until the language regarding "major contributing factor" reverts to the previous standard of "material" factor. The theory is that employer premiums will increase somewhere in the range of 1.5 percent to 4 percent as more workers' injuries are accepted into the system. This will obviously be an issue for the 2003 session of the Oregon Legislature; why should next session be any different than the last 70?

SB 67, the capital gains tax cut, where Oregon's wealthiest 1 percent got 50 percent of the tax break, passed by 16 votes, the bare minimum. A couple of Democrats voted for it, but the governor has been pretty clear about his veto. Two other corporate tax breaks, the pollution control credits and the single-factor corporate income tax, are still in play. These breaks further erode the budgets in the next two biennia; but the governor, the speaker, the Senate president and the two co-chairs of Ways and Means are lame ducks, so their collective minds may be on more immediate concerns like a formulary and an OSU campus in Bend.

SB 134, the bad PERS bill, also passed on the Senate floor with 16 votes. Three Republicans voted against it and three Democrats voted for it -- damndest thing I've seen all session. Vern Duncan really showed some guts, John Minnis voted from the heart and Wally Miller, well, Wally was being Wally. Two of the Democrats, on the other hand, flip-flopped like coho on concrete, and landed on the wrong side after telling the unions they were with them. I don't think anything pisses me off more in this process than waffling on important issues -- unless it's deal-making outside your caucus.

The governor was oddly silent on the bill, claiming he doesn't send veto letters or "letters of concern" until bills have passed successfully from one chamber to the next.

From the We Hate Government Sorta Society: The drought in the Klamath Basin has registered in the Capitol. We're given reports of food handouts and of meetings with the feds to get an emergency bailout -- have the government buy the dry land for the $4,000 an acre it was worth before the drought. We even had one of our esteemed colleagues from down south come to our caucus with hat in hand. After 'splaining to us that Klamath County residents would just as soon see the state of Oregon disappear at its borders, our conservative brother asked us for some General Fund dollars -- $2.2 million -- to dig some wells down there.

Now I believe in the pre-capitalist notion of the "commons," that as a society we can share certain resources for the benefit of all. And it's true that government's role is to protect people from the tyranny of the majority and to help folks in need. So I'm not having any problem coming up with money for those folks down there, I'll probably vote to do so. But it's no small irony that the senator requesting the funds is the same guy who accompanied Bill Sizemore to our Senate Revenue Committee months earlier with a proposal to cut another $800 million from our General Fund. His bill would have done what Measure 91 failed to do: allow the total deduction of federal taxes from state taxes. And it was the same guy who, as majority leader in the House last session, led the charge on a referral out of the Legislature that became Measure 88, which raised the federal deduction from $3,000 to $5,000. Our General Fund is $166 million short this biennium thanks to that little puppy. And remember, the Republican leadership sent that out as a referral because, guess what, the governor can't veto referrals!

So, sure, we'll find the $2.2 million. But it will be at the expense of another program for Oregon's poorest or most at-risk. That much you can count on.


Tony Corcoran of Cottage Grove is minority whip in the Senate and represents portions of Lane and Douglas counties in Senate District 22. He can be reached in Salem at (503) 986-1722 or e-mail corcoran.sen@state.or.us

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Sleeping Over
Wake up surrounded by your oldest relatives.

As we near high noon of our four seasons, here's an invitation: choose a day to go outdoors. Meaning, don't ever go indoors for 24 hours, not even into a tent (unless it's raining). Consider it a visit to some of your oldest relations -- your tree relatives, bird relatives, rock relatives, lizard relatives. Go sleep near them; wake up to them.

Age is not a problem. I remember an 85-year-old man I met on a Sierra Nevada trail. He was backpacking alone for the week, thrilled. He had hiked there for 50 years. "I hate to think of the summer I won't be walking through these mountains," he said. His eyes glistened.

Earlier I had met a group of 10 on the trail -- a mix of old to very young. With occasional additions of little ones, this group had hiked together for a week each of 26 summers. This year they had hired a packer to take some of their gear to "base camp."

Of course there is the option of car camping for your 24-hour foray outdoors. But remember this: Packing in doesn't require marathon distances. Often you can walk a mile and find a site as special as 25 miles further in.

I thought about all this recently as I strolled four days down southern Oregon's Rogue River Trail with my partner, O'B. Each day was an infinite gift. Here are journal notes from the first day:

April 12. We start from Graves Creek after lunch. Gray day -- the river is green, alternately silence and rapids. The first two miles are carpets of flowers: yellow tidy-tips, pink valerian, dark purple larkspur, white popcorn flower, leggy buttercup, Indian paintbrush, shooting stars, a nodding red lily with yellow spots inside. The maples are starting to leaf out.

While we rest at Whiskey Creek (three miles), two Canada geese families float by, one with six, the other with seven yellow-fluff goslings. They climb the opposite shore to preen and feed. One mom sits down; her seven babies crowd around and disappear under her wings. Occasionally one or two yellow fluff-balls squeeze out front from under her wing; they turn right around and climb back in. Dad goose stands by on one foot.

Now mom #2 sits down, and her six babies come to her side, but she doesn't lift her wings to take them in. Hmmm. They huddle near her in the cold.

On and off sprinkles of rain. Smooth madrone tree trunks: sensuous pale pink with hints of pale green and grey.

Camp is one-third mile below Russian River in a small patch of sand. Initially our site looks uninviting: rocky, haphazard vegetation, wet pools. But once I start walking around, everything is stunning: an old milkweed; grasses -- big bunches, spidery little ones; sedges -- a giant sedge, some neat, black cigar-head sedges; mustards -- big yellow ones, little white ones; a miner's lettuce looking like a Fourth of July firecracker; buckwheats; a leggy grape, its leaf bundles looking like baby pink roses; mosses -- wet and brilliant orange and green.

And rocks. One to photograph in the morning: nondescript gray with lichen, except for a pothole looking like pink folds of cloth -- as if the rock has a soft inside.

Frogs are calling along the edge of the river ...

Through what city could you walk six miles and never see anything but beauty?

The next three days flowed by like a long, linear tale: a Western pond turtle trudging up-slope, 200 feet from its river, to find an egg-laying site; a red-tailed hawk screaming alarm at a falcon; a sandy camp among heavy, dark, jointed boulders, warmed by afternoon sun.

Ultimately, of course, this is the home from whence we came, and sometimes we know that in our bones. "I only went out for a walk," John Muir once wrote of his life, "and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really coming in."

Try it. Stay with night as it rises and be there for dawn's descent. Our earth can always use a few more intimate friends.

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Rx for IT
We have miracle drugs for every other unmentionalble ailment.

So many amazing medicines grace our pharmacy shelves, why don't we have an antidote to homophobia? That tired old condition afflicts millions and annoys the hell out of the rest of us. Activists are at wits' end. We've got to find a remedy.

Maybe we should hand this one over to the big pharmaceutical corporations. They've come up with miracle drugs for every other unmentionable ailment. Notice how nobody experiences impotence anymore? Drug companies renamed it "erectile dysfunction," brought it out of the bedroom, and gave it friendly, easy-to-pronounce initials -- ED. To treat ED they brought us Viagra, along with its very own celebrity spokesperson -- Mr. ED. Viagra's advertising blitz convinced men that talking to the doctor about ED is an act of courage.

Turns out the market is chock full of courageous men. Now, why can't they do the same for homophobia? Pharmaceutical geniuses persuade multitudes to seek help for the heartbreak of other disorders just by renaming them. Supermarket sales skyrocketed as soon as we knew we could get relief from the lack of feminine freshness.

Once drug companies recognize the profit potential of combating homophobia, they're sure to come up with a new name for it, a product to treat it and an ad campaign to get people to ask their doctors for it. But first they'll have to bring the disorder out of the closet. Get folks to recognize that being homophobic is at least as shameful and personally offensive as dandruff, unsightly facial hair and dishwasher spots on your stemware.

Naturally, they'll have to test-market names for the condition to find one that will sell. Candidates might be HQ (Hate Queers), or CHAD (Can't Handle Actual Differences), or GPDLMSTOTBO (God, Please, Don't Let My Son Turn Out to be One). Execs will push for their favorite runners up: Bias Anxiety Disorder (BAD) and General Repetitive Rudeness (GRR).

But it's got to be something really simple and catchy, something homophobes won't be afraid to take a pill for. A normal name. Amidst cheers of corporate camaraderie they'll unveil it. Ladies and gentlemen: Inhibited Tolerance (IT).

Convincing people that IT is even a problem will be a formidable advertising task, because one symptom of IT is that nobody wants to admit they have IT. But the pharmaceutical industry has overcome much bigger challenges; surely they can tackle IT. They can launch an awareness campaign and distribute cute little refrigerator magnets listing the warning signs of IT:

-- You've been telling the same fag joke since high school and still think it's funny.

-- Anti-gay petitioners know you by name.

-- Rainbows give you the creeps.

-- "Guess what, Mom?" makes you cringe.

-- Nobody invited you to an Ellen party.

Now let the mass marketing begin. Clinical descriptions of IT will blitz magazine ads and TV commercials. "Do you have trouble enjoying people of diverse orientations? Do you    deride, devalue or deny the rights of sexual minorities? Do you ever use the insult 'That's so gay!'? You may suffer from Inhibited Tolerance. You're not alone. Millions of Americans like you have IT. But there's good news. Now you can get HELP -- Happily Embrace Life's Plurality. Ask your doctor if HELP is right for you." (Warning: May cause loosening of rigidity, the uncontrollable urge to embrace banished family members and a change in voting habits.)

Some sort of status will have to be associated with admitting Inhibited Tolerance and asking for HELP. Drug companies will need someone who can do for IT what Bob Dole did for ED. A familiar celebrity spokesperson who's been around long enough to be the voice of experience. A trusted voice from Washington's hallowed halls.

"Hi, I'm Jesse Helms. I never even realized I had IT until my lesbian great-granddaughter took me aside and told me. (Jesse smiles and puts his arm around a strapping young dyke.) Then I found HELP."


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.

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EVERYONE'S GUILTY
The fact that Jeff Luers ("22 at 22," 6/14) did not physically harm anyone when he set fire to the Romania truck lot does not exclude him from deserved punishment or censure. He did, in fact, hurt the owners of the lots, whose only guilt was to participate in the free market system. Everyone in this country is guilty then, including Luers. Did he produce or hand make those milk jugs, sponges and matches that he used to destroy the property of others?

This wanton destruction of private property only reiterates that activists like Luers are immature and irresponsible. Instead of attempting to change the world through positive action, they break the law, wound others, and then whine when they are caught. It is quite facile: If you break the law, you forfeit certain rights and you are subject to punishment. Simply because some do not believe in governmental authority doesn't mean that they are not restrained by the same laws that govern the rest of us. In the United States, if one does not like a law, one is invited to participate in government at any level to change it. As a citizen one can also introduce new measures for the yea or nay of fellow citizens. Luers' use of any of these things could have brought positive action and change to the state, the country and the world. I, too, support stricter emissions standards and the use of alternative energy sources. However, I don't condone violence, and that is the method Luers chose.

I'm hardly surprised that the Eugene Weekly is again irresponsibly condoning violence and sympathizing with a user of violence, but I can use my voice to speak out in a way that harms no one.

Emily Gould
Eugene 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For the record, EW has never condoned violence, but we do condone apolitical and non-selective prosecution of law-breakers.


WHERE'S THE ACLU?
The remarks of the attorney who worked for the Lane County DA's office that were quoted in Cheri Brooks' (6/14) article "22 at 22" alarmed me greatly. I'm not even slightly surprised that the DA's office has a policy for treating the anarchists differently from the rest of the population, but I didn't know that such clear evidence of the policy existed. This is most obviously a violation of individuals' First Amendment rights, and is clearly persecution (and prosecution) because of political beliefs. Where is the ACLU in these cases?

I strongly respect the aforementioned attorney's right to not have his name published in the newspaper, but he possesses evidence of probable illegal discrimination by one of the leading legal authorities in this county. I believe both he and the ACLU have an obligation to hold the DA and his office accountable for their actions.

Perhaps there is a pending suit of which I am unaware; if so, it seems that a goodly amount of public awareness could be raised by publicizing the issues surrounding such an action. The Register Guard is considered by many to be a lost cause when it comes to publishing anything that doesn't match its agenda, but there are still quite a number of independent media that value free expression.

It is clear the government and the powers of the "free market" have no interest in stopping this undermining of the quality of life on this planet; and that leaves just you and me. Please, for all our sakes, speak out and take action now, before we have slipped too far.

Craig T. Miller
Eugene


ZERO SYMPATHY
I have zero sympathy for Jeffrey Luers. If you intentionally burn somebody else's property, for whatever reason, you should be headed to jail. There are plenty of victims of Measure 11 (which I oppose) to write about. Mr. Luers seems to deserve coverage because he committed an act of "eco-terrorism." Why should I give a damn about Mr. Luers, who acted intentionally, while a good friend of mine is in prison for six years because of an unintentional act? Should I care because Mr. Luers is an "environmentalist?" In that case, since I vehemently oppose the goals and methods of environmentalists like Mr. Luers, is it OK if I burn down his house or Eugene Weekly offices? Of course not. If you commit an intentional act of destruction you'd better be ready to do the time. Quit whining about political repression and other nonsense. Or better yet, avoid burning other people's stuff.

Peter Wilson
Corvallis


THE REALITY OF RACE
The ideal of color blindness as suggested by Wes Wightman (6/7) evokes a feeling of strangulation as I consider that this is the trend of today's white consciousness around issues of race. Many feel that the "ugly past" is irrelevant to where Eugene is today and yet it is that very past that has brought us to this politically correct, majority thinking, white ideal that colorblindness is the appropriate response. At one point we physically and lawfully excluded persons of color from our communities. Now we, in the name of "cultural sensitivity," insist that we do not see color ridding us of the responsibility in addressing issues of power between white majority and minority populations.

The white community has decided that racism is only about hate crimes and whether or not to allow persons of color into their homes and businesses. The fact that this determination comes from the community of most privilege and not from the voices of color is a reflection of the silencing that minority populations continue to experience and the lack of acknowledgement from the white community that the face of racism today has taken on much more subtle characteristics. The reality of racism can only change when those in power begin to listen to the history and the present day experiences of minority groups and allow for these perceptions to change attitudes and practices in our businesses, schools, homes and community.

It is time that the white majority community stopped turning a blind eye to color and faced the reality of race in this community!

Jhorna Hochstedler
Eugene


FURIOUS
I just wanted to express my disgust at the recent (5/31) article written by Alan Pittman, "Ye Old Sprawling Honky Town." I am from Scottish descent and have been called "honky" several times before, many times from blacks and other non-whites whom your Mr. Pittman has not seen an abundance of locally. Why is this even an issue here in Eugene? Would it be fair then to write an article in Oakland, Calif., titled "Ye Old Sprawling Nigger Town"? Or San Ysidro as "Ye Old Sprawling Beaner Town"? How far do you think that one would go?

It is my assumption that we all would like to be treated as equals and for the most part we are (except when it comes to minority preference at colleges etc., but I won't get into that). Anyway, I as well as several of my colleagues are furious with the verbiage of that article. If you want to help, try not being too colorful and tactless when it comes to race.

Howard L. Hicks
Eugene


WEIGHING THE LAW
We Americans pride ourselves on living in a country run by the rule of law. But what do we do when our laws become oppressive rather than helpful? The obvious answer is the ballot box. We elect new representatives who will (hopefully) change or abolish unfair and oppressive laws. But somehow this rarely happens. Instead, the laws pile higher and higher, year after year.

Is there no hope for the thousands of families plunged into despair when the iron fist of the state clubs a family member into submission for an act that should never have been considered criminal in the first place, or an act that, given the special circumstances, is perfectly justified? Yes, there is something we can do.

Most citizens don't realize that if they are called to serve on a jury, they not only have the power to judge guilt or innocence, but the validity of the particular law itself. That's right, a jury member can decide to acquit a defendant of the "crime" he or she is accused of even if all the evidence supports a conviction if the juror feels the law is superfluous or unfair, in general, or in this particular case.

The "legal community" -- judges and prosecutors particularly -- don't want you to know this because it complicates their job. But you do have the right to refuse to convict. Point your browser to your favorite search engine and type the words "jury nullification." You won't believe how much information pops up.

Rick Marcus
Eugene  


UNEARNED PRIVILEGE
While some of us sit around and complain about the use of a "highly offensive racial epithet" (6/14) in a newspaper, we can also put that newspaper down and go back to the real world, where white people like me experience real privileges we never earned.

For example, I never have to represent my entire race when asked, "What do white people think about this?" No one looked at me in college and thought "athletic scholarship" instead of intelligent. I can hold any high-ranking job without anyone whispering about affirmative anything getting me there instead of skill. And I can be a total idiot asshole in public without worrying anyone will attribute what I say or do to all white people.

I must admit that I'm a tiny bit pleased about some people gaining a little understanding into what it might feel like to be oppressed. I don't condone the use of any epithets, yet perhaps those offended about the article can use that anger effectively (rather than just write a letter) and channel it into working for equality. Learn for yourself and help teach our city's youth what we all need to know.

Kent McIntosh
Eugene


TRUE COSTS
The decision of Sacred Heart to move its hospital and some other medical services to the far northeast corner of Eugene was announced as being the most cost-effective way to expand its facilities. This argument may be credible if one looks only at Sacred Heart's immediate costs of land acquisition, construction and relocation compared to expanding at the present sites. But unmentioned are other real costs to the city, county, taxpayers and patients. Who will pay for the infrastructure improvements necessitated by relocation, including adequate parking, road widening, and the possible re-building of the Beltline-Coburg Road interchange, now often at capacity? These would be some of the major one-time expenditures.

More significant, perhaps, would be the ongoing costs: the added expense of greatly increased bus service (LTD now provides frequent service to Sacred Heart on East 13th); the additional time it would require for most patients to reach the new facility; exacerbated traffic problems in the Crescent-Chad-Coburg Road area; and the effect of increased pollution from the added vehicular traffic.

There is in Portland an instructive example of two large medical facilities -- Emmanuel and Good Samaritan -- both of which have, over many years, expanded with great success (and accessibility) at their original inner-city locations. I can't help wondering if anyone here is actually looking at the true costs, over the next two to three decades, of the announced relocation. If these true costs are considered against the claimed advantages, not just to Sacred Heart's health-care business but to the entire Eugene-Springfield community, the net result can only be seen, I think, as far from beneficial.

Douglas Leedy
Eugene


ANIMAL HOUSE
In an area the size of Lane County, it is unconscionable to have inadequate county animal care facilities (Lane County Animal Regulation Authority).

There are too few kennels for dogs, not enough cages for cats, and too few employees to deal with the animals. Nearly 400 adoptable dogs and over a 1,000 adoptable cats were killed last year alone because of lack of kennel/cage space at the Lane County Animal Facilities. A heartbreaking situation.

All three of my cats were adopted from shelters, it was mere luck that I stopped by on that one particular day to adopt a cat, the next day would have been too late. Without enough kennel or cage space to house adoptable animals most of the wonderful, loving animals that are brought in, have to be euthanized.

Presently the Lane County Commissioners are working on securing adequate funding for the Lane County Animal Facilities. It's a win-win situation. The animals get adequate space, a second chance to become someone's best friend, and Lane County gets a bigger animal facility with increased personnel (more jobs). This local increased local funding would also signal grant givers that Lane County is committed to providing responsible care for its homeless animals. Once the local funding is brought up to adequate levels, animal welfare grant money would pour into the area to help Lane County establish a modern animal care facility.

Please let your Lane County Commissioners know that you agree with increased funding for Lane County Animal Regulation Authority. It's desperately needed.

Sue Mandeville
Springfield 


BAD WORD
A comment on your "Census in Eugene" article (5/31): "honky" is an opprobious term to describe whites. Is it any less offensive than "nigger" to describe blacks?

Jim Estes
Deadwood 


NON-UNION ACTORS
If you're planning to buy tickets to the Broadway Nights series at the Hult center, there are a few things you should know. First, the group that brings us this series calls themselves the Theatre League of Eugene. They are, however, a booking office in Salt Lake City, Utah and are called the Theatre League of (fill in the blank) depending on what city the show is in. Profits from the tickets you buy go to this booking office and the New York producer, but do not stay in Eugene.

Also, these "professional" shows come to us with top-notch sets, lights, costumes and music, but the actors are non-union (This year, Les Miserables is the only union show in the Broadway Nights series). This usually means that the actors are fairly new to the profession. As a matter of fact, some of our local actors have had more professional experience than many of the actors sent to us in these high priced road shows. An important point is that Actors Equity Association (the stage actors union, and an affiliate of the AFL-CIO) has been trying to negotiate with these producers to allow union (more experienced) actors to travel with these shows. The producers claim they can't afford to do that. So, everyone associated with these road shows is making industry standard, except the people on stage, acting and singing and working their hearts out.

They are making $50 per show with no health insurance. So, for anyone looking for ways to spend their entertainment dollars, please consider the above as you decide, and maybe a local show, at half the price, will be more appealing.

Carol Horne
Eugene


RETHINK CHAIN STORES
Re: Home Depot. The introduction of big box chain stores into communities in order to create sources of income is termed, in economic circles, the fiscalization of the land. In the long term, this can only have a negative effect on local economies. The profits at these stores are not recirculated within the community, but sent to corporate headquarters that are typically out of town.

From interviews with employees of Home Depots in other cities, it was learned that these stores provide only part-time jobs, averaging 28 hours per week, which they consider to be full-time positions, starting at minimum wage. These part-time positions replace 1 1/2 full-time positions of those previously employed by the locally owned businesses that have been forced to close.

The pricing of these chain stores is predatory, which causes locally owned stores to fail, and once the competition has been eliminated the chain stores raise their prices to levels that are no longer a bargain. Also, it was learned from owners of locally owned hardware stores in other cities that the leading brand manufacturers of tools, etc., provide the chain stores with free merchandise in order to promote their product lines, so the chain stores can further undercut the pricing of locally owned businesses.

These predatory business practices also affect the wholesalers who sell to local stores, so the negative consequences have a broad ripple effect. Those making the decisions regarding the introduction of the big box chain stores need to consider the consequences of creating false economies, which can erode of the very foundations of communities.

Pauline Hutson
Eugene


MAJOR FRAUD
Thanks in part to our own Sen. Ron Wyden, there is increasing evidence that petroleum companies conspired to deliberately limit refining capacity in order to both increase their already-bloated profit margins as well as encourage the restriction, if not outright elimination, of certain environmental laws. If true, this is major, major fraud, pure and simple.

But if indeed somewhere down the road these accusations are found to be true -- how many CEOs does anyone honestly think will be put in jail, real jail, not those country clubs in which the likes of Michael Milken end up?

Bill Smee
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.

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