|
Insider
Baseball: Gut and Stuff: There's more than one
way to make sausage.
Viewpoint:
Superficial Diversity: Liberals fret over rednecks while injustice
persists.
Viewpoint:
Unalienable Rights: Celebrate red, white, blue... and green!
Living
Out: Rx for IT: We have miracle drugs for every
other unmentionable ailment.
Letters:
EW readers sound off.
Gut
and Stuff
There's
more than one way to make sausage.
I was hoping we'd go home this weekend; praying that
by the time you read this we'd be finishing
by the weekend of June 30. But NO, the Republicans over in the House
threw a timebomb into the process. I knew there were too many damn
lawyers in the House, I warned 'em! They've started runnin' in packs!
They proved me right and provoked a constitutional challenge to redistricting
and we could be in Salem another few weeks just trying to sort it
all out.
Like many other states, Oregon's Legislature creates
bills, referrals, and resolutions. Bills that pass become law if the
governor doesn't veto them, referrals are sent out to the people for
a vote, and resolutions are pretty much just that: usually as pointless
as one of my remonstrances.
But our Oregon legislative process differs from other
state legislatures and our U.S. Congress in two ways:
-- Under Oregon's rules, you can't amend bills on the
floor of either chamber. Amendments can only be considered in a committee
hearing.
-- And you can't attach unrelated "riders" to bills
in our process. They do that all the time in Congress. In Oregon there
is a "relating clause" to each bill -- relating to "energy" or
to "crime" or to "taxation." You can't ignore a relating clause.
But it's a time-honored tradition in the Capitol to
find a bill with a proper relating clause and "gut and stuff" it.
Sometimes it's done for efficiency. For instance,
SB472 -- my Katie Lovelace bill -- was stuffed with three
additional components because the relating clause was "crime," pretty
broad. My other crime bill, SB473, dealing with criminally negligent
homicide sentencing, was also stuffed into SB472.
Sometimes it's done for reasons that have more to
do with politics than good public policy: A taxation bill that started
out as the single-factor corporate tax break now has attached a refundable
child care tax credit for the working poor. You don't get the child
care credit unless you give in on the corporate tax break. How do
you vote? See how this works?
I used this process to have my colleagues vote on
outright repeal of electric deregulation. A bill related to utility
rates, HB3009, was in Senate Rules. My colleagues Peter Courtney and
Lee Beyer served notice of a "minority report" and I gutted and stuffed
and changed a natural gas "public purposes" bill to an outright repeal
of dereg. Should be an interesting vote.
Redistrict This!
Last Friday afternoon, with
an hour's notice, the House Rules Committee opened a hearing on a
resolution the Senate had sent over dealing with elections and term
limits and gutted the language. They stuffed in their Republican redistricting
plans for state House and Senate redistricting and congressional redistricting.
The governor was poised to veto the two Republican
bills on redistricting because they did not have bi-partisan support.
Duh! The governor can veto bills, but he can't veto referrals and
resolutions; these are actions that are purely legislative and not
subject to the checks and balances of the executive branch. Without
a legislative plan in place by July 1, redistricting would be turned
over to Bill Bradbury, our secretary of state, who defeated Lynn Snodgrass
last November.
So those rascally House R's came up with a plan to
bypass the governor's veto by creating a resolution instead of a bill.
Now Oregon's constitutional lawyers, all 3,872 of them, get to opine
on the legality of this maneuver.
The House Democrats -- having learned from their
previous, albeit fruitless, attempt at a disappearing act --
walked out and refused to meet June 23. The Senate D's will talk this
weekend.
Realpolitik -- Real Time
It's Sunday morning, the 24th and I'm sitting
here putting the finishing touches on this column when I get a call
from our Senate Democratic Leader, Kate Brown. "The Senate will be
meeting tomorrow, the House will not. House Democratic Leader Dan
Gardner will offer the Republicans a settlement proposal: Drop the
resolution or we'll stay out until it's impossible for Republicans
to get the resolution through both chambers by July 1. However, there
is a moribund resolution sitting in Senate Rules Committee that has
a certain relating clause -- anyway, be ready, we may have to
react quickly." Ah, Salem, you gotta love it!
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
Back to Top
Superficial
Diversity
Liberals
fret over rednecks while injustice persists.
This newspaper finds the word "honky" so useful as a descriptor of
Eugene (5/31) it should change its name to Honky
Weekly. Similarly the author should be titled, after each byline,
Alan Pittman, honky.
Perjorative terms labeling we who live here tend to
lay blame at our feet for the relative smallness of nonwhite populations
in Eugene. True, Pittman does report on the effect of Eugene's poor
land-use planning on home ownership opportunities. To fully examine
that relationship however, wealth (mal)distribution would have to
be added as the determinative factor it is. That might stimulate,
in turn, an informed discussion of the consequent maldistribution
of political power.
But aside from mentioning that low-income housing
should get some exemptions from system development charges, the article
ignores social class. Worse however, was the encouragement of impossible
solutions. The liberals who so love to publicly castigate Eugene for
being predominately white are ideologically invested in the political
institutions which cause social inequality.
For example, Pittman says, "The city has a new progressive
council that for the first time in decades may have the votes to reign
in urban sprawl ..." One of the things this council has done is appoint
a charter review committee. It could recommend to the council proportional
representation elections for city elections, such as has been used
to assure diverse representations of electoral constituencies in U.S.
cities and notably South Africa. But when the topic of election reform
came up, which committee members advocated proportional representation?
The two old conservative white guys: Freeman Holmer and Ken Tollenaar.
Committee members favored by the "progressive liberals"
on the council were deaf to appeals for electoral empowerment of racial
constituencies, favoring instead the current winner-take-all wards
that have historically guaranteed the Chamber of Commerce a majority
on the City Council. Honky Weekly could have reported on this, but
my suggestions that Pittman or some reporter show up at the meetings
to cover this important issue were simply ignored. And now, with the
continuation of winner-take-all City Council elections we are left
to listening (myself unsympathetically) to the liberals whine that
their favorites are going to get redistricted out of their seats.
Liberals (especially those represented by Citizens
for Public Accountability) are opposed to proportional representation
elections for Eugene because they fear the electoral empowerment of
those who disagree with them. They see the mass of Eugene voters as
backwards, blue-collar hyperconsumers who would intentionally destroy
the environment. Articles such as "Ye Olde Honky Town" contribute
to this mentality among liberals, and so it is all the more offensive
that this newspaper pretends to represent dissent. It is fake dissent
and it has the effect dividing, not uniting, the victims of the wealthy
who run this town as if they own it.
This class-less anti-racism has resulted in some perverse
twists in Eugene's political history. When liberals opposed Hyundai,
a man whom the media characterize as a "leader in Eugene's African
American community" campaigned on Hyundai's behalf by accusing liberal
environmentalists of being racist against the Korean owned business.
And when a former city manager found the black police chief's job
performance unacceptable, local "leaders" rallied behind the chief
as if he were a civil-rights cause.
The twisted anti-racism in Pittman's article also
amounts to insult, in my opinion. A former president of the local
NAACP is said to have said that Eugene is bland: No "barbecue from
Atlanta," or "cool jazz from Chicago." "In Eugene, 'there's not that
much culture out there,'" concludes the section headed "Honky Town."
Eugene has more than one good barbecue restaurant
(and Springfield at least one) and several fine jazz musicians and
bands. To find Eugene culturally bland one would just about have to
discriminate on the basis of race. If the NAACP fellow can muster
a bit of tolerance one Saturday evening he should go down to West
Bros. Barbecue for dinner and then over to Jo Fed's to hear Freedom
Funk ensemble, an impressively versatile local jazz band.
Indeed though, maybe the cultural authenticity stops
there. Politics is culture too. And while the Chamber of Commerce
knows the real deal, the liberals are too busy worrying about the
voracious/redneck masses and honoring shallow diversity to advocate
for racial equality and full political rights for the disfranchised.
Kevin Hornbuckle, a former City Council member, says
he used to be a redneck. Now he's just a red.
Back to Top
Unalienable
Rights
Celebrate
red, white, blue... and green!
Two hundred and twenty-five years ago this July 4th,
a group of American colonials proclaimed their
secession from the British empire. Their Declaration of Independence,
penned by Thomas Jefferson, rang with words of purity and principle
that continue to inspire today:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty,
and the pursuit of Happiness --"
While the declaration serves as a source of patriotic
pride, it is much more than that. It is a philosophic manifesto, an
intergenerational manifesto. It can even be read, fairly, as an environmental
manifesto.
In 1776, the phrase "unalienable rights" was a commonly
understood shorthand for a political philosophy which recognized certain
fundamental rights of future generations. A more explicit articulation
of the concept appears in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, enacted
on June 12, 1776. That declaration provided that, "all men --
have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state
of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their
posterity . . .."
The unalienable right most frequently invoked was
the right of self-determination. The signers of the declaration asserted
the right to choose their own form of government. But the concern
for justice between generations extended beyond issues of political
sovereignty. The doctrine of "unalienable rights" also concerned itself
with the nature of property rights -- especially property rights
in land -- and implied an obligation on the part of public and
private owners to preserve posterity's natural legacy. This aspect
of the doctrine is especially relevant today, when humans possess
an unprecedented power to irreparably alter the world which future
generations will inhabit, a power to eliminate entire species and
ecosystems, or to eliminate life altogether.
Jefferson wrote of the "self-evident" truth
"that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living." (Usufruct
is the right to make as much use of a thing as can be made without
injuring the substance of the thing itself.) He maintained that no
one could "eat up the usufruct of the lands for several generations
to come [because] then the lands would belong to the dead rather than
the living --", and explained matter of factly that, "these are
axioms so self-evident that no explanation can make them plainer."
John Locke, the patron saint of private property rights
advocates, cited King David (Psalms 115:16) for the proposition
that "God gave the world to Adam and his posterity in common." He
maintained that, "Nothing was made by God for man to spoil or destroy,"
and that private property interests could not be created in land or
other natural resources unless "enough and as good is left in common
for others." Locke's theory of individual rights and public rights
is widely recognized as the basis for the declaration's rights language,
and for the Fifth Amendment's takings language as well.
The founders' intergenerational philosophy provided
that all political acts, including all grants of property interests,
by the government of one generation were to be considered illegitimate
and illusory if they had the effect of unfairly prejudicing the interests
("unalienable rights") of later generations. It was therefore Jefferson's
position that:
"It [generational sovereignty] enters into the resolution
of the questions: Whether the nation may -- change the appropriation
of lands given -- in perpetuity? Whether they may abolish the
charges and privileges attached on lands ...? -- and it renders
the question of reimbursement a question of generosity and not of
right."
The most dire threats confronting
posterity in coming years are not likely to be encroachments by foreign
monarchs, but rather the environmental effects of past and present
natural resource policies and property ownership arrangements. The
founders' philosophy of unalienable rights is an excellent source
of guidance for us in our response to such threats. The heroes of
1776 understood that while individual property rights must be held
inviolate, those rights could never extend so far as to allow the
waste or destruction of posterity's natural legacy. On this July 4th,
then, let us remember and honor our ancestors by remembering and honoring
future generations.
John Davidson of Eugene is an authority in the field
of intergenerational equity and a senior fellow with the Constitutional
Law Foundation (www.conlaw.org).
Back to Top
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.
Back to Top
FIND
REAL SOLUTION
As I read "22 at 22" (EW 6/14),
a couple of points came to mind. On one hand, I understand that "Free"
believes so strongly in his cause that he feels he must take extreme
measures to make his point. On the other hand, I also understand that
our justice system in Lane County is as consistent as most Americans'
diets. Regardless of the questions posed on both sides, a few points
can be made based on history. Although violence and crime have often
brought attention to issues in the past, they have rarely served as
solutions to controversial social problems. Burning cars at the Romania
car lot will not solve the gas consumption or pollution issues that
are present in the U.S. The owner of that car lot is not personally
responsible for the problem, although he may be considered a symptom
of the overall problem. Romania did not personally create the problem,
and should not be held personally accountable for solving it. Romania
is just a business capitalizing on the American public's desire for
a particular product. Torching those SUVs makes as much sense as blowing
up the Oklahoma City federal building and killing over a hundred people
in order to express your displeasure with the circumstances at Ruby
Ridge and Waco. Activists in this country often suffer from the same
affliction that most western doctors do, all they have been taught
is how to address the symptom -- not the problem. Activists will
not change the system as long as they continue to be part of the problem
instead of part of the solution.
Don Maxwell
Elmira
SHAMELESS
HYPOCRISY
O.K., very original -- white
folks showing their empathy with their soul brothers and sisters by
bitching about their own ... umm ... whiteness. Haven't heard that
crock before. Say, if you really want to celebrate diversity, maybe
you should take some Palestinian refugees into your homes --
i.e., put your money where your fuckin' mouths are --
at least then you could really claim some insight into true persecution.
I won't be holding my breath. But I will be looking forward to next
week's impartial, comprehensive (and shamelessly hypocritical) coverage
of Eugene's latest horrible, terrible, calamitous example of man's
(local) inhumanity to man (and Sally Sheklow). Oh, and is the guy
[Andy Singer] who does "No Exit" planning on being remotely amusing
anytime soon?
Hilary Jones
Eugene
SEVERE SENTENCE
I seriously doubt the judge himself
would actually "support" gas-guzzling automobiles and the irreversible
harm they cause to the environment, but the sentence he delivered
is a huge over-reaction. It's true, an act of bombing does not exactly
bear witness to a heart full of love and compassion, but rather than
fight fire with fire, so to speak, why not sentence the kid to something
original, like a few terms of minimum-wage labor at a Toyota manufacturing
plant, next to a whole lot of regular people just working hard to
make a living? The anarchists seem to forget that acts of terrorism
mostly endanger people very much like themselves. Judges tend to forget
that they are there to deliver justice, not make examples of people.
Suzanne Benorden
Eugene
UNCONSCIONABLE ACT
The silence is deafening from those
who are quick to criticize so-called"tax and spend liberals" following
the recent votes by "conservative" county commissioners Anna Morrison
and Bobby Green. Morrison and Green engaged in back room maneuvers
to circumvent the work of the Community Corrections Committee (CCC)
who presented to the Public Safety Coordinating Council a budget proposal
to fund social service agencies (drug rehabilitation, sexual offender
programs) along with the county sheriff's department. Morrison and
Green scuttled this proposal and awarded more funding to the sheriff,
with Drug Court funding cut in half, from $250,000 to $l25,000. The
sheriff's budget is $42 million.
Now, why should this trouble fiscal conservatives?
Reputable studies consistently report that for every one dollar spent
toward drug rehabilitation, seven dollars are saved in jail bed/jail
personnel costs. Inexplicably, Morrison and Green voted ... along
with "conservative" commissioner Cindy Weeldryer and, oddly enough,
commissioner Bill Dwyer, to do exactly the opposite of what these
reports recommended. Dwyer actually made the motion that resulted
in social services, specifically the successful Drug Court, losing
critical funds.
Now consider that Dwyer, when shilling for one of
the numerous failed county "public safety" measures, spoke before
the League of Women Voters weeping as he related his own daughter's
struggle with drug addiction. Dwyer caved to the self-assumed power
of our sheriff and his bullying threat to close 62 jail beds if he
didn't get his way. (EW, June l4)
Voters have spoken. We repeatedly reject public safety
tax measures because they disproportionately fund jails and police
over the less costly, more effective programs that have proved to
reduce jail recidivism.
Praise to the lone commissioner, Peter Sorenson, who
cast his vote in support of the Community Corrections Committee recommendation
to fund, at least minimally, the programs that help people get well,
and consequently help our community be more safe.
Carol Berg
Eugene
WHY LIE?
Free was convicted and sentenced
to more than 22 years in prison for what might have happened, and
partly for what he didn't do. The confessions of a former attorney
at the DA's office gives lie to the supposed unbiased nature of the
"criminal justice" system. Many of us have known all along that the
police, prosecutors, and judges are not arbiters of justice and that
they will lie when it is expedient in order to further their idealogical
repression. They have claimed time and again that they don't go after
people because of political beliefs, but they have lied. The reality
is that the majority of people generally support the police, the prosecutors
and the judges, and probably have no problem with their attacks on
anarchists. If this is true, that the pigs have support from the majority
of the public, why do they feel the need to lie about what they are
doing when they go after anarchists more harshly than others? If they
will lie about this when they don't have to, what else are they lying
about?
Ryan Foote
Eugene
COMMUNITY CONTINUITY
In 1970 I moved to Eugene-Springfield.
Eugene's population was slightly over 79,000 and the world's population
was around 3.6 billion. Today's Eugene population is nearly 140,000
and the world population is around 6 billion. People multiply, yet
human beings stay essentially the same. Though we grow more numerous,
throughout time we have pretty constant physical, psychic, psychological,
and spiritual needs. This dilemma is our dilemma, Sacred Heart's,
and our community's. More people mean more hospital beds. However,
as humans, we continue to need our sense of place and orientation,
continuity of community, evolution and renewal. We need to increase
facility capacity, yet also keep irreplaceable places. It seems to
me we should go with Sacred Heart's original plan; there is plenty
of vital need for both sites. Keep and cherish one of Eugene's most
distinguished and wisest neighborhoods. Allow it to continue to evolve
in its many complex and intricate ways. Keep the Hilyard campus the
size that it is. On Crescent, design and build an effective, truly
beautiful new hospital that serves not only the best medical technology
and know how, but also actualizes the most enlightened possible understanding
of what it means to be a truly good neighbor. This means far, far
greater outreach and broader consideration than competent hospital
design in the latest architectural style. Please put no further energy
and time into the plan that wipes out six blocks of our town's roots.
Our continued sense of place is cardinal to our health!
Scott Wylie
Springfield
MONEY
MATTERS MORE
Why has media given so little attention
to the economic motives driving W. Bush's recent agenda? Events such
as the deconstruction of the ABM-treaty and the dismissal of the Kyoto
treaty need to be understood economically, yet mainstream commentary
obstructs such a conclusion. In the case of the ABM-treaty, it is
old-hat politics to ensure a steady economy via military spending.
Building a Missile Defense Shield (deconstructing the ABM-treaty)
would allow government to boost American industry (increasing productivity
of private industry, supplying jobs and paychecks), supplying an economically
steadying hand from within. In terms of the Kyoto treaty, requiring
industry to meet lower carbon-dioxide quotas poses too great a threat
to W. Bush's administration: Big-businesses that would have to spend
money to change industry design may enact revenge by withholding large
financial contributions to DC insiders and political campaigns. The
dollar takes precedence in an administration's policies, ironically,
over interests that are more long-term, (yet essential to life) such
as a healthy planet, because common ideology has it that if Americans
get what they want, short-term interests such as capital wealth and
consumer power, their perception of that administration is positive.
When economic alignments are placed at the forefront of American policy
decisions, U.S. conduct in global relations becomes a bit more comprehensible.
The fact that media isn't highlighting these issues concerning U.S.
conduct adds an even stronger imperative to reconsider where our true
interests lie.
Rachel R. Rosner
Eugene
CRUEL
AND UNUSUAL
I read with some dismay the events
leading up to the cruel and unusual punishment handed down through
the Oregon legal system for the anarchist, Free.
What is missing in the news analysis of these events
are the underlying issues surrounding Measure 11. Was he guilty? You
bet. Did he deserve to serve time? Possibly. Was the sentence fair?
Not a chance.
The state Legislature added arson as a Measure 11
offense, altering the original law approved by voters in 1995. It
was never an original Measure 11 crime but was added without putting
it out to the voters who approved the Measure. The result is now crimes
against property can warrant mandatory minimum sentencing. As this
case revealed, Measure 11 sentences can be handed down by a judge
even if the defendant is not being charged under a Measure 11 crime.
Measure 11 is inherently flawed and is being abused
by the state Legislature, the police and prosecutors to punish people
who have different ethnicities, beliefs, lifestyles, or political
views than those pressing charges or handing down sentences. The constitutionality
of this law should be challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. It violates
both the U.N. and U.S. Bill of Rights.
A flawed legal system and widespread government corruption
are the true causes of the growing anarchy movement in the U.S. Laws
such as Measure 11 punish unjustly, and excessively and only contribute
to the issues underlying the anarchist movement: government corruption,
corruption of the legal system, globalization, free trade, and exploitation
of resources by the elite of our society.
Until the voters repeal this law, we are ALL targets
for this type of cruel and unusual punishment and political retaliation
for challenging the system.
Kate Sloan
Corvallis
FAIR PLAY
Prior to last year's June 18 celebration
by anarchists, The Register-Guard (and some local TV) engaged
in a fairly hysterical, highly inaccurate yellow journalism campaign
against Eugene anarchy. This year, prior to our wonderful and totally
peaceful afternoon of events at Washington-Jefferson Park and at the
WOW Hall in the evening of June 17, with nationally known Chellis
Glendinning and Ward Churchill, the strategy was strict suppression
of the news: not one word, before or after. From lying to censorship,
one year to the next, politically motivated and transparently enacted.
Only the Weekly (and KLCC) resisted this policy. Thanks for
fair-minded coverage and for Cheri Brooks's eye-opening piece on the
drastic sentence for Jeff Luers.
John Zerzan
Eugene
NEIGHBORHOOD IMPACT
This is an open plea to anyone, anywhere,
who considers themselves part of a neighborhood community. Before
you fire up your chainsaw, please, please, consider the impact on
all of those around you; including people and animals.
This Saturday, we awoke to the sound of chainsaws.
I cannot even begin to describe the sick feeling in the pit of my
stomach as I realized our neighbors were destroying a beautiful, glorious
50-foot Scotch Pine that grew just on the other side of our back fence.
This grand old tree provided shade, privacy, and beauty. It acted
as a wind and noise break, helped absorb pollution and provided a
home, food and shelter for a wide variety of wildlife. I am heartsick.
I suppose my neighbors will never understand our dismay. They have
damaged the land, devalued both our properties, scarred our neighborhood,
and displaced the nests of chickadees, jays and squirrels. But perhaps,
belatedly, they now value the privacy that tree once provided them,
because now when I stand on my patio, I gaze not into the evergreen
beauty of a noble tree, but directly into their back windows.
So please, I'm begging you, even if a tree doesn't
mesh with your idea of perfection, please pull your head out of your
landscaping books and try to appreciate the natural beauty that already
surrounds you.
Christina Lay
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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