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On Monday, Jan. 6, I was sworn in as the newest member of the Board of County Commissioners. I had mixed feelings during the ceremony, because I have just accepted an offer to join the faculty at the UO Law School, and I will only be able to serve as a commissioner for eight months. As of Sunday night, I had received 27 phone messages concerning my early departure. Most callers were supportive, some were disappointed, and some were both. My favorite comment came from a man who lives near Jasper. "I'm glad you're leaving early," he said. "I think a politician is like a baby's diaper. They both need to be changed often, and usually for the same reasons." Why have I decided to become a law professor? There are three principal reasons — and no, they aren't June, July and August. First, I feel that as a professor, I could have an effect on the development of the law in Oregon. Second, my wife teaches at the law school already, and I could spend more time with her. Third, the schedule of a professor will give me more time to raise our boys, who are 6 and 3. No one is more disappointed than I am about my brief tenure on the board. I spent two years and several thousand dollars of my own money campaigning for this position, and I relied on a lot of help from my friends. I have offered to refund all my campaign donations. I sincerely apologize to the people who assisted my campaign, and to all the residents of my district. I certainly did not expect to leave this position so soon when I began my campaign for the Board of County Commissioners. On a lighter note, my boys were thrilled to learn that the board's meetings are televised on Metro TV. When the boys saw their first televised meeting last month, however, they gave it a review of two thumbs down. The kids were expecting a little more excitement. (My oldest son suggested that the five commissioners drive around in a van solving mysteries.) After the kids panned our TV show, I offered a few ideas that might improve the board's ratings with the 6-and-under set. "What would you think if the board spent more time discussing issues that are important to young people, like parks, children's health, and rural library service?" My kids agreed that more attention to these issues might make the board's meetings a little more interesting on TV — although a few explosions and sight gags would be nice too. Our family discussed the possibility of changing the title for the commissioners' TV show. As a fan of action movies, I suggested the title, "Commission Impossible." The kids seemed to prefer an alternative suggestion: "Bored of County Commissioners." We've spent months shopping for dad's new lid. For the last eight years, East Lane Commissioner Cindy Weeldreyer has been identified by the hat she wore to every meeting. Her hat became her trademark, like Paul Simon's bow tie or John Kitzhaber's jeans and boots. Our family has been looking for a hat that will be my trademark — a distinctive symbol of who I am and what I stand for. So far the leading candidate is the Goofy cap we bought in Disneyland last summer, complete with floppy ears and buck teeth at the end of the bill. The family vote was 3 to 1. Democracy stinks. Now that I've been sworn in, I'll need to hit the ground running so I can accomplish as much as possible before I leave the board on Aug. 15. At the swearing-in ceremony, I announced three projects that I've already begun. First, I'm applying for a federal grant to hire a sheriff's deputy who will investigate domestic violence cases in rural areas of Lane County. Second, I'm helping to arrange a donation of a 10-acre parcel in the McKenzie River Valley that will become a recreation area. Third, I'm filing a motion to intervene in a proceeding before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in order to oppose an application for the construction of a power plant at Fall Creek Dam that would supply most of its power to California. I hope I'll be remembered more for my accomplishments than for my Goofy hat, but only time will tell. Tom Lininger is county commissioner for the East Lane District, which includes portions of Eugene as well as the rural areas that are southeast, southwest, and northeast of Eugene.
EMPTY
LOTT Think for a minute what your reaction would be if the next leader of the Senate, who was of Muslim decent, speaking to a group of Muslims having a celebration, suggested that the events of 9/11 were merely chickens coming home to roost and expressed surprise that it didn't happen sooner. The comments drew applause from his audience. Then when the senator was called on that statement he said, "It was just a joke." As your blood boils, you are starting to get a sense of how Lott's comments were taken by many of us. There are many in the Republican-controlled government that yearn for the "good old days" when "white supremacy" was the dominant public policy. John Ashcroft has said on the record that he opposes those who consider the Confederacy corrupt and perverted. My question to him is, what is not corrupt and perverted about theft, kidnapping, rape, torture, murder, and selling your own children for profit? That is what slavery in this country was about. These folks miss the day of American Apartheid, aka Jim Crow. They believe the myth of the antebellum South depicted in the movie Gone With the Wind, with its happy darkies and mistreated plantation owners. With attitudes like these in the Republican leadership, it is no wonder that 90 percent of black folks oppose the Republican Party. Charles Dalton
POLICE
ACTIVITY On 12/12, The R-G extolled the beneficial effect of the Whiteaker Public Safety Station, which is exactly one block from that house. At the same time that the police spies were taking careful notes on every roll of plastic sheeting, they were evidently ignoring the open air heroin market across the street. Heroin changes hands many times a day on the streets in this neighborhood, within view of the public safety station. Soon after the police raid, the Eugene City Council passed a resolution stating that the city should not cooperate with unconstitutional provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. The reason for the council's action was that people in Eugene have been raided and searched without cause under the guise of protecting us from terrorism. Rest assured, fans of the police state. If the police can't get us with the USA PATRIOT act, they'll use the drug laws to justify their paramilitary raids on the citizenry. Maybe it's time for the City Council to take an interest in these other activities of the police. Ann Tattersall
NOT
THE ANSWER We, the people of this beloved state of Oregon, absolutely must stick together and demand our local bureaucrats take responsibility for their misbehavior and misspending of our tax money. I was appalled when I read on the front page of the 12/19 issue of the R-G "County OKs tax break for Symantec." Obviously, our Lane County Commissioners have ulterior motives. If all of Oregon's bigger businesses were paying the taxes they could and should be paying, it would be a big relief on our local economy. A sales tax would be yet just another level of bureaucracy for us to finance. Have you any idea how much a sales tax would cost to set up and maintain ? In November 1984 the Oregon Lottery was created through the initiative process. Lottery profits were to go toward "creating jobs and further economic development" and also toward "financing of public education." I, for one, would like to see the Oregon Lottery's bookkeeping. Not their cooked bookkeeping — I'm talking about the bookkeeping the general public doesn't get to see. Randolph "R.J" Herb
MULTIPLE
CHOICES Here are some options that all residents should be aware of: Option 1 — Do nothing. Don't register to vote, don't concern you yourselves with those challenged by physical or mental conditions brought on by conditions beyond their control. The fact is that all citizens are moments away from needing services, and regardless of need these services are about to be budgeted away. Option 2 — Let the other guy do it. Don't vote because you know that your vote means nothing, and it won't really matter. Voter participation rarely exceeds 50 percent and those who do vote actually do make a difference that may not reflect how you feel or think. Option 3 — Get involved. Use your head and your heart. If you're not registered, register before it's too late. Find out the facts of Measure 28, and consider how you would live if you had no job or benefits. Those affected will lose, and in the end we as a society will pay with increases hospital use and prison occupancy. Measure 28 is not money down a bottomless pit, but rather a chance for lawmakers and service providers to look at services and other options designed to meet and maintain current service levels. I urge you to vote for Measure 28. George G. Brooks
DISSING
KIWIS I can only assume that this egregious error was due to either a lack of research on the films (including a failure to even read the credits, apparently!), or worse, the inexcusable misconception that New Zealand and Australia are the same country. Whatever the cause, I hope that you will rectify it this week by printing either this letter, or a correction. Anna Wilson EDITOR'S NOTE: Our bad! See correction last week.
NATURE
TEACHES Let us step out of our human-centered world and back into an earthly realm where we can once again see we are but one animal amongst many on this wonderful Earth. Please also be reminded to share its abundance with both the peoples of all countries and the plants and animals of all species. Consider how each step we take and each decision or purchase we make affects all others. The beauty and calmness in nature allows me to slow down, relax and think more clearly away from the buzz and rush of cell phones, computers, televisions and automobiles. We are amazingly blessed here in Oregon! Nearby is a wondrous ocean with magnificent whales passing by, treemendous green forests, spectacular mountains and gorgeous flowing rivers. Even closer, Mount Pisgah, Spencer and Skinner Buttes offer hikes and views of sunrises, sunsets, and moonrises, while the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers offer strolls along or floats upon them and many neighborhood parks to wander and play. A wise person once said, "Allow the beauty of nature to invigorate your body and soothe your soul." I wish for a happy new year filled with peace on Earth for all living creatures! Tim Boyden UO
LAND STOCK The proposal is simply a ploy to acquire more land. On the east side of campus, these same administrators plan to continue their evictions of more than 100 low-income student families and repeatedly propose street closures, all to increase what they refer to as "land stock." The request for autonomy shows UO administrators' desire for more power to industrialize the 12 blocks that now exist as family housing into a high-tech research park. Yes, the same sprawling high-tech complex that UO tried to build all along the riverfront in the late 1980s is still in the works; it just hopped Franklin Boulevard. From sweeping land grabs to incremental home buyouts and crushings, no one is safe. It is no wonder that the neighborhood just south of the university has done the hard work to protect itself as a historic district. Zachary Vishanoff
TAX
CHOICE What would you do? We don't have to vote on it. Let's just do it. Some people may say no, but I bet a lot of people would say yes. We could feel good about it because it's our choice, and no one can complain about it because it's not required. We can raise a ton of money for schools right away. Our children's futures depend on it. It is important that people know this money will go 100 percent to public schools. I challenge Market of Choice and Wild Oats to be the first to offer this option. Steve Bucholz
SHARK
BAIT Like other treasured institutions that prey on the poor — pawn shops, temp agencies, student housing, used car dealerships, and assorted Gypsies — they suck honesty, fairness and integrity out of the core of society and promote that "screw you" karma in all directions. Don't wait for the Legislature to do much about the shitabulous works of the capitalist free market whores. They're in the lobby. I'm waiting for The Anarchist Cookbook to be revised. Greg Hume ECONOMIC
UPRISING True, there are various factions of Arab and other Asian and African zealots who want no part of our imperial extensions and have brought the point home to us with vigorous drama. Still, the jails are full and growing, not all defined or limited by steel, concrete, sham overt justice or mere geography. Where's the rub? When not too dispirited, I still have a wonderland of great books, good film, novel art, consuming and sustaining romance before me. It's not enough. Only the end of the nightmare will be enough. That's why I become appreciative when I read of economic boycotts such as that proposed by Shannon Wilson (12/12). In massive tax resistance and committed economic non-participation there's hope. The problem is, Wilson needs to realize more fully that there's a world of difference between the mass economic uprising that led to imperial India's independence and the practice of simple living in which many EW readers already indulge. Thoroughgoing economic disruption is a great irritant to imperial tyranny, but it needs to move far beyond the self-satisfied frugality of very local centers of resistance. John A. Hickam
LCC
SOS LCC's first financial cuts reached $4 million. A list of losses filled two pages of the LCC Torch. Now losses are doubled; without help, the college will be gutted, with spring term losses of 243 sections (243 classrooms of 25 students each). Meanwhile, part-timers, well-educated, experienced and working for less pay, will be cut. In the English department, for example, 29 teachers may depart by spring. Multiply these losses by the number of other departments. Students already struggle to get classes they need; soon it may be much worse. Oregonians fear tax hikes, but a generation of uneducated youth is more frightening. If colleges do not gain substantial backing, they will be shockingly diminished. Imagine the cultural, educational, social, artistic, and financial losses. But with Measure 28, the typical taxpayer will pay less than $3 a month extra; you could be saving the college for one dime a day (ocpp.org). Meanwhile, KMTR reports (12/4) that for every $1 invested in higher education statewide, $10 returns to Oregon as graduates hit the work force! However strong the desire to resist taxes, without school funds we'll say goodbye to many teachers, and to the future they provide us. Vote "yes" on Measure 28. Roger Steinmetz
…
AND SHELTERCARE Linet Armstrong
NEW
HOMEOWNERS No longer did the real estate industry, homebuilders associations, or woods-products companies feel they needed to promote the standard line that every American just had to live in a new, three-bedroom, two bath, 1,800 square foot house. Buying a home as a sure-fire investment, whether one lived in it or not, replaced the necessity for manufacturing the lie that one "needed" such a place for residing in. The National Association of Home Builders estimates there were 975,000 new-home sales for all of 2002, well above the previous record of 908,000 units set in 2001. And it is predicting that 2003 and 2004 will be the second and third best years for new-home sales in history. Of course, the losers in all of this are the forests. Such a continuing demand will inevitably exhaust the resources of our national monoculture tree farms, creating more and more pressure to cut down the remaining ancient forests. It all makes one nostalgic for the days when an investor was satisfied with his 500 shares of Exxon stock. Bob Berman
RIGHTS
WRONGED Our Bill of Rights was the first document in history to establish specific rights by and for the common citizen. Many of these rights have now been undone. Our right to be secure in person, our right to privacy in our own homes, our right to be free of search and seizure, our right to assemble, and our right to due process have been marginalized. I believe that this is a giant step toward living under the boot heel of fascism. That being said, it is entirely appropriate that George II is allowing convicted felon John Poindexter to establish the TIA Network. This is a man who explicitly defiled Congress and illegally sold arms to the Ayatollhah's henchmen to illegally fund the Nicaraguan Contra death squads. He is complicit in if not accomplice to the mass murder of Central American citizens fighting for their own independence from an American corporate-backed tyranny. Given this invasion of our rights, shouldn't all of those representatives and senators who voted for the HSA be charged with treason? They abrogated their sworn oaths to uphold the Constitution by giving war-making powers to the president. What is left of our Constitution allows and encourages us to change our form of government at our will. Is anyone else ready? I believe this administration is guilty of treason against the state. I believe that there has been a coup d'etat by the politico-military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned of. I'd love to discuss this, but don't call or e-mail without knowing that John Poindexter and his fascist minions will be listening. Kenneth A. Wilson
PURE
GOLDSCHMIDT Goldschmidt first gained notoriety in Eugene much before his well-publicized lobbying on behalf of Hyundai/Hynix. At a key point in the Riverfront Boondoggle's inception in the 1980s, Goldschmidt pledged several million dollars in state lottery funds to kick-start this disastrous project. Five years ago, under pressure from faculty, students and citizens, UO President David Frohnmayer promised no further construction in the Autzen Bridge Overlook until all planned construction had been completed south of the railroad tracks, which in fact might take 30 years. However, Frohnmayer has conspicuously not repeated that vow. This past election for governor was a routine "lesser of two evils" affair, but if Goldschmidt had once again been the Democrat nominee, the choice would have been much more difficult. Junior Robertson
WISH
LIST Joel C. Woods
EXPERIENCE
REQUIRED And yet that is exactly what happens every day in nursing facilities across the nation. In an effort to save money, staffing is pressured to perform tasks for which they are neither qualified nor adequately trained. Inexperienced employees, fresh off the street are handed keys to a narcotics drawer filled with deadly drugs and turned loose on patients. Staff members routinely give medications which they do not understand. Dangerous procedures are administered without sufficient instruction. Rather than hire qualified staff who would be capable of giving quality care, in efforts to cut financial corners caregivers are forced to perform multiple tasks, a multitude of tasks and very specialized tasks. The result is understaffed and underqualified nursing care performed by untrained personnel under pressure and stress to do a very demanding job for the same amount of pay earned by pumping gas. Stuart Banister
TRUE
FEAR D.G. McDougal
OUR
MOST VULNERABLE My program serves those who are homeless and mentally ill. Most of the time their experience with the "system" has left them disenfranchised, so they have either no income at all or General Assistance which is $314 per month. These mentally ill citizens, who are our most vulnerable, will lose access to psychiatric services and psychiatric medications. This will have a larger impact on the jails, emergency rooms and inpatient psychiatric units than ever before. This is a much more costly way of caring for these citizens than the community services that are currently in place. Many of these cuts have already happened. More will happen if Measure 28 fails to pass. None of us wants to pay higher taxes, but it will cost the taxpayers of Oregon even more to provide the only treatments that will be left. These citizens, by virtue of living in this country, deserve the best we have to offer them so that those who can recover have the opportunity to become tax-paying citizens. Sharon Durham
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