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Natural
Resistance: 33 Tantrums: Frustrated Musumeci resorts to bizarre
fiction.
Viewpoint: Quashing Debate: Wyden continues to back undemocratic
and dangerous Fast Track.
Viewpoint:
Warriors for Peace: The work of Aaron Novick and Paul Olum must continue.
Living Out: Invisible: Media make it clear what 'normal' is
supposed to be.
Letters:
EW readers sound off.
33 Tantrums
Frustrated Musumeci
resorts to bizarre fiction.
Well they'd made up their minds to be everywhere because why
not. Everywhere was theirs because they thought so.
-- The Last One, W.S. Merwin
Eugene is no longer development-as-usual, and so we have 33 tantrums
called the Gang of 9 cartoons. But for every complaint about the cartoons, I figure
there's a lot to be grateful for:
1. The Gang cartoons are (were) anonymous. We can be grateful
that disapproval of the anonymity of the tantrums ran extremely high, and that citizen
sleuths were persistent in ferreting out the truth that Oregon/California developer
John Musumeci was bankrolling the drawings by Steven DeCinzo, a California cartoonist.
DeCinzo, who parted company with Musumeci after the first 32 of the cartoons, is
under the close-up impression that the real Gang of 9 is one: Musumeci.
2. The Gang cartoons are nasty. Biologist John Cairns aptly
notes, "Entrepreneurs who replace natural systems with human artifacts are called
developers." But Eugene happens to be a community that cares not only for building
things for humans, but also for keeping natural wetlands, rare plants and wild animals,
walking and biking pathways, old trees, neighborhoods, local businesses and respectful
wages, and the last remaining open waterways. This is why most of our City Council
members, having been elected democratically and locally, do not roll over for developers.
Instead, they ask questions, encourage community members to bring innovative solutions
to the table, and consider options.
But certain developers do not take kindly to anyone getting in
the way of their time-honored insider politics, money, and internal combustion machines.
So the nastiness we've seen in the gang cartoons is a response to something we should
be immensely proud of: a City Council that remembers we are a public community and
that "quality of life" means more to us than just concentrated money, roads,
and private real estate deals.
3. The Gang cartoons don't reflect reality. You have to
wonder at cartoons that depict David Kelly as an insane person, violently decked
out in guns. Anyone who has ever spoken directly with Kelly, or watched him address
a problem, knows that he is always careful in his judgments, does impressively intelligent
homework; and never abandons civility.
Or consider cartoons that depict Bonny Bettman as attacking PeaceHealth,
batting at taxpayers, calling a puddle a wetland and being considered incompetent.
Hello? Bettman helps us all look at a full range of alternatives, asks uncomfortably
competent questions, and keeps a better eye on the overall needs of this whole community
than most city councilors anywhere.
We have this to be grateful for: The majority of the council is
so thoughtful and informed, Musumeci has had to resort to bizarre fiction to make
them look bad.
4. The Gang cartoons are simply big money buying people's minds.
As concentrated money is increasingly equated with "free speech" in
our nation, we're all heading for deep trouble. One developer who can throw his tantrum
with $50,000 worth of negative ads against city councilors who work to protect communities,
commands a whole lot more "free speech" than a volunteer who speaks up
at a public hearing about protecting the last 1 percent of Willamette Valley wetlands.
But Eugene still has a great capacity to put limits on what and
who money will control. For instance, we have Eugene Weekly; ward-based elections
of city councilors; organizations like Citizens for Public Accountability, Citizens
for a Hospital in the Heart of Eugene, and Friends of Eugene; and we have humor (watch
this year's Eugene Celebration parade). Most impressively, we have a lot of citizens
who are too thoughtful and active to let one or nine tantrum-throwers control their
minds or surroundings.
In short, there's lots to celebrate: The Gang cartoons have been
drawn because Musumeci isn't getting to control this community or most of its City
Council. In upcoming months and years, each of us will have lots of opportunities
to make sure he and others who believe the land and communities are theirs never
wield undue control. And in the course of helping our community remain free, remember
to actually make sense with your humor.
Mary O'Brien has worked as a public interest scientist for the
past 20 years. Her new book, Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative
to Risk Assessment, has been published by The MIT Press. She can be reached at
mob@efn.org
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Quashing Debate
Wyden continues to back
undemocratic and dangerous Fast Track.
All too often elected officials lose touch with their constituents.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden's position on Fast Track and the Free Trade Area of Americas
(FTAA) is a good example. Resolutions opposing Fast Track and the FTAA have been
passed by the Democratic parties in Lane County, Oregon's 4th Congressional District,
and at the state level. Furthermore, interests that have supported Wyden in the past,
such as labor and environmentalists, are unified in their opposition to Fast Track
and the FTAA. Still, Wyden is willing to support Fast Track and the FTAA.
The FTAA is the next so-called "free trade" agreement.
It includes the most undemocratic provisions from the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), the World Trade Agreement (WTO), and the failed Multilateral Agreement on
Investment (MAI), wraps them into one agreement, and would be applied to the whole
Western hemisphere (excluding Cuba).
George W. Bush and his corporate backers are staunch supporters
of the FTAA and would like Fast Track authority to enable its passage. Fast Track
authority would limit Congress' ability to debate the FTAA (and other trade agreements)
to 20 hours, prohibit them from adding amendments, and require a congressional vote
on the agreement within 90 days.
An Undemocratic Process
Fast Track for the FTAA would be the continuation of a process that has been
undemocratic from the beginning. While the FTAA was being negotiated by trade representatives
beholden to business interests, most elected officials weren't even aware the negotiations
were occurring. Furthermore, when organizations representing public interests such
as health, labor, and the environment requested the ability to participate, they
were denied. In contrast, the American Business Forum was invited to speak and make
presentations at every meeting.
Amendments from Congress are the only realistic chance civic interests
will be included in the FTAA. Do we trust George W. Bush to stand up for labor, health,
and the environment? His track record speaks for itself. The U.S. Constitution gives
Congress the exclusive power to set trade agreements. Negotiation of such agreements
is too important to delegate to one person.
Wyden claims it's unrealistic to have more than 500 public officials
(Congress) negotiate a trade agreement. However, according to the United States Trade
Representative (USTR), under the Clinton Administration nearly 300 separate trade
agreements were negotiated without Fast Track. Clinton only used it for two: NAFTA
and the WTO. Furthermore, since Fast Track expired in 1994, the U.S. has negotiated
hundreds of trade agreements, including complex agreements that USTR itself describes
as "of truly historic importance."
An Outdated Tool
Fast Track is an outdated tool. Nixon-era trade deals were limited to traditional
trade matters, such as quotas and tariffs. This is no longer the case. As NAFTA and
the WTO have shown, modern trade agreements are far more reaching. They directly
affect environmental, health, and labor standards. Modern agreements determine how
safe our food is, whether we can afford vital medicines, how our local tax dollars
can be spent, and the ability to set our own laws.
Wyden also claims he will insist that environmental and labor protections
are part of any agreement negotiated via Fast Track. This isn't enough. We were promised
environmental and labor protections for NAFTA and saw where that got us. Furthermore,
an undemocratic process is guaranteed to result in an undemocratic agreement. Wyden
needs to do what we elected him for and what the U.S. Constitution demands -- he
needs to represent us.
As a citizen, you also have a role to a play. At noon on Friday,
Aug, 3, labor, environmental, political, and religious groups will rally in front
of Wyden's local office (151 West 7th Ave., Suite 435). Join us and voice your support
for democracy. The larger the number of citizens, the louder the voice. The louder
the voice, the more likely Wyden will get back in touch with his constituency.
John Herberg is a member of the Lane County Fair Trade Coalition,
and an environmental studies student at UO. The coalition can be reached at 485-8633
or ciscap@efn.org
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Warriors for Peace
The work of Aaron Novick
and Paul Olum must continue.
Hiroshima Week annual commemorations once again are being observed
nationwide. Nowhere will they have greater impact in the week ahead than in Eugene,
where the spirits of two "warriors for peace" are invoked as a rational
alternative to the move by the Bush administration to revive the nuclear arms race.
The voices of Aaron Novick and Paul Olum -- eloquent believers
in nuclear arms control -- were silenced by death last winter. Novick, founding head
of molecular biology at the UO, died in December. The death of his friend, Olum,
former president of the university, came in January. Their warnings will be revived
in a dialogue at 1:15 pm Friday (Aug. 3) at Harris Hall in the Lane County Building.
More than friendship and commitment to the university brought Novick
and Olum together. They had met in their mid-20s when they were among the highly
secret group of scientists who daily crossed into pioneering territory while creating
the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project.
After the war, they went their own ways, to be reunited at the
UO in the late 1970s. In Eugene they developed a shared identity, writing and speaking
many times and in many places on behalf of nuclear arms control.
It was as if each sought absolution for a self-imposed feeling
of guilt. It came in the aftermath of a scientific achievement which -- while it
brought an end to history's most devastating war -- resulted in the deaths of many
thousands of Japanese civilians in the summer of 1945. What the two later saw and
heard of Hiroshima and Nagasaki always had, in Novick's words, "the smell of
death to it."
Even as advanced age and physical infirmity hit them, they were
not deterred from continuing their crusade to bring rational control over the atomic
genie which they had set free. Their dedication was especially challenging during
the Cold War, when the nuclear superpowers -- the U.S. and USSR -- practiced a frightening
nuclear brinksmanship.
I met Olum when he invited me to join the campus Arms Control Forum
that Novick had created to discuss how to slow down the nuclear arms race. Theirs
was not always a popular cause. One of their discussions was interrupted by conservative
students who broke in to yell: "Why don't you commies go back to Russia where
you belong!"
In 1983, Olum went to the 40th anniversary reunion of the Manhattan
Project at Los Alamos, N.M. He took with him a petition urging an end to the arms
race. Directors of the laboratory would not allow it to be presented from the dinner
podium. But Olum circulated it afterward, getting signatures of almost all project
alumni, including five Nobel Prize winners.
At Friday afternoon's Harris Hall gathering, a 1989 conversation
between Novick, builder of the bomb, and Mr. Yamaguchi, a Nagasaki victim, will be
read by Novick's son, Adam, and a Japanese student from the university. It will be
followed by a forum member's statement that addresses concerns over current nuclear
arms control policy.
The program will reinforce a concluding sentence of Olum's 1983
petition: "We are appalled at the level of nuclear armaments of the nations
of the world, and are profoundly frightened for the future of humanity."
George Beres is a Eugene writer and former sports information director
for UO.
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Invisible
Media make it clear
what 'normal' is supposed to be.
On Sunday mornings Sweetie Pie and I read the paper in bed. I cuddle
into her soft shoulder while she flips from the gossip column to Parade's
"In Step With" article.
This week features Broadway's latest Tony nominee. One look at
his publicity photo and Honey Bunch and I make the same observation: ÷BIG
FAG. Cute, stylin'-- and nothing to hide." He flashes a full-face grin, not
one of those stiff-lipped guy smiles that make men look like they're politely trying
to gag up a wayward strand of spinach.
Lovie Dovie and I snuggle up and peruse for proof. Personal: Born
Aug. 18, 1965, single. Hello? This man is 36, unmarried, and gorgeous. Look at that
boyish, tousled hair and hip green Ralph Lauren crew neck. Eureka! But his queerness
is completely invisibilized. Neutered. Sanitized for your protection. Not one mention
of anything you wouldn't see on a Boy Scout leader's resume.
Most of us lesbian, gay, bi, transgendered and transsexual people
would just as soon be out, counted, and included. We want the liberty and justice
that's supposed to be for all. But it's not that simple. We can wave our gay pride
flags until we're red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-and-violet in the face and
mainstream culture still manages to erase us.
When I first came out I wanted everyone -- especially my family
-- to notice. I shaved my head, decked myself out in pink triangle "DYKE"
pins and invested in sensible, steel-toed boots. I worked in a lesbian collective,
sang lesbian folk songs and performed with the Footlight Faggots and Lesbian Thespians.
Could I have been more visible? I practically had my portrait on a three dollar bill.
But I could've dyed myself lavender, for all the good it did.
My poor mother never read about anyone like me in Parade
magazine. She didn't see normal portrayals of families with lesbian children anywhere.
So, for 20 years Mom kept right on telling people that her daughter was "away
at college."
Hide That Gay
Mainstream journalists who write about Hollywood and Broadway stars expend oodles
of creativity keeping celebrity gayness hidden. Would the earth fly off its axis
if they wrote one normal little thing about a gay actor's life? Would anyone actually
drop dead from reading "Craig and William share a brownstone in Brooklyn with
their pomeranians, Langston and Oscar"?
When Parade profiles an All-American, blatantly-straight
celeb, we get to read their whole het saga: how many times they've been married,
who's kids they've had or fathered and who they're dating now. Even their casual
mention of being encouraged by a husband or inspired by a wife makes it clear what
"normal" is supposed to be. When we get "In Step With" gay entertainers
we get no mention of who they're dating, or whether they have a partner, or are raising
a family -- not a hint of their domestic life. We get nothing. Zippo. Zilch. The
blatant omission makes gay people crazy.
As long as the mainstream puts such obvious effort into keeping
queers invisible, it keeps drumming home the tired old message that there's something
wrong with us, that who we are is too distasteful for a family magazine. Families
take that as permission to not acknowledge -- or enjoy -- the queerness of their
homo relatives. My own sister invited me to her Las Vegas wedding only after exacting
my promise that I wouldn't wear a tuxedo or try to "make a statement."
Hers was the sole sexual orientation to be flaunted that day. Only my dyke friends
back home knew how truly outrageous it was for me to show up in pink chiffon with
matching pumps.
When our whole selves are not welcome, we're relegated to either
the closet or society's fringe. Suffocation or exile. We will keep working to create
a healthy image of our queer selves by being out and visible everywhere we go, but
we need publications as normal as Parade to stop doing us the dubious favor
of keeping our public identities private.
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 newspapers accross the country.
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CALLING
THE SHOTS
I see that Jim Johnson thinks we elected him to serve Sacred
Wallet. Last I noticed, he was a hired gun, like the cops, so why is he telling
us what we have to let them do?
It has been obvious to me since the so-called Planning Department
presented it's moronic "alternatives" about places the hospital could fit
in downtown Eugene that they are not on our side! They serve the city manager, who
obviously serves Sacred Wallet.
It was evidently the Planning Department that drove Sacred Wallet
away from the idea of building downtown in the first place, but we citizens didn't
have a chance to see what happened there -- the plan was just rejected, but we weren't
told what the plan was. This time, the R-G printed the so-called alternatives
and they were totally worthless.
Please wake up! You are not in control of our city. The citizens
are not in control of our city. Jim Johnson, hired gun for real estate speculators
and big landowners, is in control of our city. This has to stop or we will block
the stupid construction machinery.
Ann Tattersall
Eugene
EVERYONE'S
BACK YARD
Rest-Haven Memorial Park -- the cemetery on South Willamette
between 39th and 46th -- and owner Charles "Tim" Wiper III, have recently
applied to cut down almost 1,500 trees very near wetlands.
I live on land that shares its border with the cemetery. Most days,
I see deer in the cemetery's forest. Recently I saw seven deer go by, including two
spotted fawns so young they weren't even up to my knee. At night I sometimes hear
owls hooting. How many birds call these 1,473 trees their home?
This isn't about "my backyard" -- it's our backyard
-- 1,500 trees help keep Eugene's air clean, etc. If we allow this to happen, it
will be biggest tree-cut within city limits in more than 30 years. (The next biggest
was when 1,000-plus trees were cut on this same land three years ago.)
Property owners may have rights, but they have responsibilities
too -- to steward the land for now and for the future (and for the people buried
there -- R.I.P. My friend's family is buried there and she'd rather have the forest
than a manicured, water-hungry lawn.) They also have to follow the law. The city's
Tree Code itself says that wildlife habitats are a consideration in issuing tree-cutting
permits. Some other criteria are preserving scenic values, demonstrating the need
to develop, etc.
Public comments should be addressed to the city manager, who's
responsible for making the decision whether to allow the tree-cut: Public Service
Office, 777 Pearl St., Room 105, Eugene, 97401. Or call the city Urban Forester Mark
Snyder at 682-4800.
Sara Miura Zolbrod
Eugene
PARANOID
& SAD
Eugene Weekly always assumes the worst of people
(except those darling anarchists). This paranoid, sad vision of the world is directly
contradicted by the paper's so-called liberal, progressive slant. Liberals, whose
numbers include me, are supposed to be inclusive, compassionate, fairer than their
evil Republican counterparts. Yet most of what I see in opposition to Sacred Heart
Medical Center's attempt to provide the services Eugene and Oregon deserves is blatant
Catholic-hating, anti-corporate hysteria and a grand slop of misinformation.
EW, never committed to balanced reporting, has brought out
the big guns of bias for this issue. Has it ever crossed peoples' minds (readers
and writers alike) that those who administer SHMC are not in it for the money? That
some in the Gang of 9 (a radiologist, perhaps?) have a true desire to see better
patient care? The most virulent personal attacks have been founded on the shaky ground
of untruth and surmise.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, the group that came into Eugene
and revived a dying hospital, truly care about helping others. These Sisters, who
have devoted their lives to service, are accused by the very people they serve of
greed and indifference to the community. It doesn't matter if you don't agree with
the Catholic stance on reproductive rights (I don't), but you can still appreciate
the service and dedication to lifting up the poor, healing the ill and providing
top-quality healthcare that is the focus of all PeaceHealth employees, nuns
or no, from the CEO on down.
Emily Gould
Eugene
GLARING
ERRORS
Thank you for your thoughtful and informative interview
(7/5) with "Nickel and Dimed" author Barbara Ehrenreich, a welcome departure
from the sensationalism that alternative media unfortunately often feel compelled
to fill their pages with. However, the author's story exhibits some glaring errors
as to constitutional rights. She writes that "Ehrenrich argues that work conditions
for low-wage laborers often violate the First and Third Amendments of freedom of
speech and right to privacy." Workers' Third Amendment rights are not violated
unless the federal government quarters soldiers in the workers' homes, however, and,
contrary to popular belief, a private employer cannot violate your First Amendment
rights. The Amendment protects persons against government action, and an employer
could constitutionally fire or discriminate against an employee based on that employee's
speech or political viewpoints. Likewise, union members' rights are not protected
by the Constitution, as the author states, but by statutes prohibiting employers
from undertaking certain anti-union activities.
On a different subject, why in God's name do you continue to print
Andy Singer's cartoons, "No Exit"? They are not funny, or even ironic.
It is bad imitation Crumb that lacks any humor or creativity. You'd be better off
selling the space for ads.
Neil Hop
UO, Eugene
DELIBERATE
DECEPTION
As a recent college graduate, I know how frustrating it
is to break into the workforce. But even with a college degree and little work experience,
I should be able to find a decent job. There are thousands in this area just like
me. Sadly, I have found that Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) means very little to
employers these days. For example, the UO is rumored to falsify their job listings
by requiring applicants to have at least one to two years of clerical experience
and a high school diploma for office specialist and receptionist positions, well-paying
positions that many business students from community colleges can perform well. However,
I found out from a former teacher that the UO apparently doesn't grant interviews
for these same positions to anyone with less than a BA or BS. The reason? An excuse
to pay less for these positions by requiring less experience and education. I have
also heard that the city of Eugene and other agencies operate the same way.
This is deliberate deception and it means thousands of people will
not be considered for jobs they are clearly qualified to perform. This does not fall
under the category of EOE, and I hope that worthwhile employees, no matter their
type of college education, can stay away from companies that deceive prospective
employees. Do your "homework" as you job hunt.
Alisha Mobley
Springfield
EAT LOCAL
BIRDS
I wish to thank you for the article last week (7/19) on
chicken production. Most of us know very little about the food we eat, how it is
produced, and where it comes from.
I chose to buy my produce locally as much as possible long ago,
but it was only recently that I found a local source for healthy, free-range chicken.
These birds contain none of the hormones or the antibiotics mentioned in your article.
They are humanely and healthfully raised. Their slaughter, as far as I am aware,
involves none of the obscene human exploitation of the large commercial chicken plants.
For the past few years all our chicken was bought right from the farm of Creative
Growers in Vida. I now pick up my chicken at the Farmers Market in downtown Eugene
from the same farmer. It is the only chicken I am willing to serve. If you want to
eat meat of any kind, it is best to buy as locally and as naturally as possible.
Ellen A. Maddex
Eugene
PRESSING
FREEDOM
Suppose a group, anonymous or not, wanted to place a series
of paid ads in the R-G critical of their union-busting tactics in their ongoing
labor dispute with the Newspaper Guild. Does anybody really believe those would be
printed? Only those who own the presses really have freedom of the press.
Doug Hintz
Eugene
HISTORICAL
REALITIES
I agree with Spruce Houser's suggestion (Viewpoint, 7/19)
that progressives need to focus on fundamental reforms of our corrupt political system,
and should support Lloyd Marbet's campaign finance reform measure (Marbet was the
Green Party candidate for secretary of state last year -- the only candidate opposed
to clearcutting state owned forests).
However, his claim that progressives "might have more breathing
room to gain some ground under a Gore administration" disregards historical
realities.
About global warming, Greenpeace USA Director John Passacantando
says, "In some ways, what Gore was doing was gumming it to death. You're almost
better off with Bush unifying the public and the environmentalists in saying: Look
how bad this threat is. Gore could have kept it bumbling along and given us a hollow
agreement. There would have been no real reductions of CO2 and we wouldn't
have known better. We environmentalists would have been telling you, but you wouldn't
believe us."
In addition, Gore, like Bush, also supported so-called "missile
defense," "blurring the line on health standards for exposure to toxic
chemicals" (with the abolition of the 1958 "Delaney Clause," which
prohibited known carcinogens in food) and the NAFTA superhighway program (the largest
expansion of the interstate system since Eisenhower). In most cases, the differences
between the two corporate funded parties are more based on imagery, not substance,
once the facts are examined.
Ralph Nader will return to Oregon Saturday Aug. 4 for a "super
rally" at Portland's Rose Garden, part of the broader effort to establish a
more democratic society. Call 607-8093 for details. Tickets are available at Morning
Glory Cafe, Sundance and Hungry Head Books.
Mark Robinowitz
Eugene
BLUNDERING
POLICE
More than two years ago, my dog Sarge was shot. The Cottage
Grove Police were out of city limits and on my property at 3 am because of a man
threatening to commit suicide across the street. The police were there to wait for
the sheriff to show up. They weren't there to sneak up and detain the man. My dog
ends up dead because of blundering police work.
When this happened, I asked for an apology for my dog being killed
at the end of his cable. In the apology, Officer Timm said he measured the distance
from where he shot the dog to the pole where the dog was attached and that it was
15 feet. The cable is 20 feet long. The dog was found was found by me at the end
of the 20-foot cable. I pulled Sarge's body off my roadway to the spot that the officer
says he shot him, which was 15 feet from the pole. Because the police wouldn't apologize,
I felt that I had to seek justice for Sarge and all animal lovers who have had to
go through an ordeal such as this.
Well, after over two years, Judge Ann Aiken dismissed the case.
OK, so I don't get an apology. But the fact remains that my dog is dead and gone
because of bungling police work. This story needs to be reported for the sake of
animal lovers everywhere and to expose the dark side of police brutality toward animals.
Al Neuenfeldt
Cottage Grove
ESCAPING
THEIR PAIN
I work two jobs in downtown Eugene, which has me spend
a lot of time on the Broadway mall. I'm appalled at the harassment of youth by police
I see there almost daily. People are frequently hassled and fined for hanging out.
I'm told this is because of the "big drug trafficking problem" in the area.
News flash: people get high to escape their pain. Harassing and intimidating them
is giving them more pain to escape.
Maybe these kids need something to do. Next time we're asked to
vote for more dollars for more police, perhaps instead we could use that money to
open a recreation center on the mall, or support a free arts program. People have
been getting high since the beginning of time and will continue to. I urge the Eugene
community and police to rethink youth relations. From what I see today, you're creating
enemies. Try making friends.
Kai Ariel
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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