You are viewing an archived issue of the Eugene Weekly. To return to our current issue, please click here.
 |
  |
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
FOOLING
THE MASSES I see it in my hometown Illinois newspaper, which now carries near its front page masthead the red-white-and-blue statement: "Project Iraqi Liberation." That lie is matched by those who describe the killing of a young woman from neighboring Washington by an Israeli bulldozer as an accident. I mourn for innocent Israelis killed by retaliatory suicide bombings. I mourn for destitute Palestinians whose homes are demolished and their lives taken by land-grabbing Israeli military. I mourn for obedient U.S. troops who die in the sands of Iraq. I mourn for Iraqi civilians who die in urban bombings by a U.S. technology whose shots too often go awry. All of us are victims of our leaders' conspiracy to kill. No one is innocent. We all become killers when we blindly refuse to mourn death of the truth. George Beres THE
INTERSECTION The signs of decline are easy to see. Though we are a nation still generous at heart, we've become distracted in mind by celebrities and sports, wealth and possessions. For many, reality television and home video games have insidiously replaced living. Our malady of mindlessness is further diagnosed by the fact that a majority of American adults polled admit to not having read a book in their adult life. The prophecy of Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 is being fulfilled: We are, in essence, burning our books by simply not reading them. Hope for our restoration lies in rescuing our indignation from many years of indifference and indulgence. We must then withdraw our time from the banks of Hollywood and Sony, and reinvest it toward active citizenship. We must become inspectors for America, seeking out and destroying our own weapons of mass destruction: hunger and disease, poverty and joblessness, homelessness and hopelessness. Our search must be constant, our dedication complete, and our deadline infinite. We must begin to acquaint ourselves with those who've chosen to contend for the presidency. We forget so easily; we must remember the poor choices given to us in 2000 and work now to assure at least one better choice in 2004. There is just too much at stake. Dr. Todd Huffman SALES
TAX REVISITED I have been a lifelong opponent of a sales tax, but lately I'm having second thoughts about it. A sales tax dedicated to education could be a solution to our economic problems, guarantee excellent funding for our future education needs, and help a little with the crazy buying spree that most of us indulge in. A sales tax going into the general budget would be absolutely idiocy. It would just be used to give other tax breaks for the rich, not fund education sufficiently, and provide more money to be given back as a "kicker." The legislators have a proven track record in this area. Surplus money from the sales tax would be used to build a rainy day fund and expand the state's reputation as an "education state." The legislators would be done with this ongoing dispute and could settle down to argue about covering other needs or giving tax relief. We should settle the education problem first, and argue about the rest later. Bob Cassidy MOLESTING
CITIZENS This sort of authoritarian belligerence leads one to question the priorities of a police force that chooses to molest the citizens who rely on it for security. We call this "biting the hand that feeds." Will INET follow the path of its predecessor, LINT? That team was dropped like a bad habit once their corruption started stinkin' up the place. Or is this the shape of things to come? Chris Hallett WHITE-NECKS Jerry Harris FLAWED
SYSTEM The Democrats can cry me a river, because they don't support instant run-off, as do all the other left-of-Republican parties that haven't cynically abandoned our corrupt election system in the first place. Obviously, this is because if we did rank our candidates, the Democrats would lose a lot of power to the Greens. And in that light, I hold all those stymieing effective electoral reforms such as this to be almost as culpable for the current state of the presidency as I do the sorry souls who actually voted for His Royal Madness. Oh, how I long for the days when the majority of "liberals" don't vote, lobby, and wring their hands pining for the "really, really bad" over the "truly horrific!" Scott Michael Perey CURIOUS Has anybody seen a rush to the recruiting offices by any of those young, healthy pro-war demonstrators — or are they just content to let others fight George II's oil war, while they stand on the sidelines and cheer? Jim Estes
ASHAMED
OF U.S. And, while we Americans hold these truths to be self-evident, they are disappearing from our reach at an alarming rate, piece by piece, day by day as our government legislates PATRIOT Acts, Homeland Security and military spending into ever higher national debt with total disregard for its own people. People, even veterans, in need of health care, food, homes, education and more are being neglected, never mind those sent off to war to give their lives or at the very least to sacrifice physical and mental health, peace and well-being. All of us are the expendable ones, linked to expendable brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and children in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever else the muscle of American politic should flex next. We are the losers in fear and conflict, for we are all inextricably bound together. Each bomb that's dropped, radioactive or not, each shot, each weapon raised, each fire, breaks a heart and destroys a part of the world that we all share – water, earth and air. I'm embarrassed that our government just doesn't care. Jennifer Gusset BOMB
IRAQ Helen Woodford RIGHT
TO BE OFFENDED Then in EW 3/6, pg. 5, you run an ad that says "F—k war" and you did not publish a single complaint the following week. The hypocrisy of this is too obvious to expound upon. Free speech is one of the foundations of this country. That means we have the right to be offended. I support your publication's decision to run both kinds of ads. For all of the people that write to complain about the ads, I ask them to refer to three facts. First, they can purchase enough ads to make it unnecessary to run the ads that offend them. Second, they can pay the subscription price of your publication and get enough friends to purchase a subscription to make it unnecessary to run ads. Third, they can quit using the services that they find offensive, as advertisers only continue to pay for ads that bring results. Albert Massaro CLEAN
UP RIVERS It doesn't just affect fish and humans; it also affects animals that come to take a drink. They get sick. So, I don't think we should sit around and do nothing. I think we should do something about polluting rivers. I think we should make the world more healthy by fixing this problem. Rivers aren't the only things that affect humans and other animals. Factories also put bad toxins into our air. The air is shared by humans, trees and animals. In school we are taught to respect school property and other people's properties and selves. I think factories that make toxins should do the same thing — like respect citizens' air, animals, trees, and rivers we all share. Russell Arkin UO'S
PATTERN Mac Court II at the fairgrounds is a proposal that shows just how arrogant and over-reaching university administrators and overly cooperative members of our City Council have become. Congratulations to the mindful faculty members who have chosen to rise up against the "arms race" in sports spending that threatens the university's future. Zachary Vishanoff WAR'S
LIMITS In 1951 my father was ordered to march through ground zero of a test site. This exposure took 50 years to kill him. At his 85th birthday his proud son watched him open a birthday card from the White House while seated in his wheelchair. My father died after a neuropathy slowly destroyed his nervous system after his walk through ground zero. My father had earned the equivalent of an advanced degree in war after much time spent at the Naval War College. I grew up a wannabe warrior but now realize that historically war does not work. Perhaps the U.N. can. John A. Anderson Jr. HOORAY
FOR WAR! The weapons of war are used-up and can be re-supplied by the military industrial complex and do not burden our citizenry with such useless niceties as improved schools, health care for all, enhanced infrastructure and an equitable tax system. I say, "War is good", and God bless George Bush and everything he stands for. Let's roll! Manuel M. Joffe MAKES
ME CRY Aaron O'Connell PRO-TROOP,
ANTI-WAR I seek your leadership on this question: how do we support the troops and still oppose the war in Iraq? Some ways seem obvious: Write letters. Send packages. Guarantee that their families have what they need, especially health care. Pledge never to vilify them for actions they commit while following the orders of those whose orders we vehemently disagree with. Provide them with medical care should they come home, like the first Gulf War vets, with crippling nerve disease. But now more troubling questions: Does support for the troops require support for a swelling military budget that deprives the country– including the families of these troops – of health care, education, transportation and safety? Does support require that we give up the freedom to protest the rationale and conduct of this war, a freedom that they are risking their lives presumably to preserve? You, Nancy Pelosi, have said, "Despite our differences on policy, when we go into battle it will be one team, one fight." Does that mean if President Bush, flush say with "victory" in Iraq decides that Iran is next, once he sends the troops in we will again be "one team." Isn't that like giving him license for any next war he's up for? I can't stress enough how important it is to get answers to these questions. If you cannot give them to me, I will have to look to leaders who can. Hannah Wilson ON
VICTORY I didn't oppose this war because I thought we couldn't win militarily; I opposed it because I don't believe in the victory of war; I believe in the victory of food, clothing, health and security. Have we, in spite of our "Liberation of Iraq," succeeded in any of the above? I think not. Will we ever, and if so, how? All of these issues must be faced before we can begin the process of "bringing democracy to Iraq." I know there are organizations working to bring food, clothing and health to Iraqis and hopefully they will succeed in delivering relief soon. But what of security? The region is more unstable than it was before, the Muslim fundamentalists have much more to fan their flames with and the U.S. has brought more derision to the world, even amongst its "friends." Over and over again we see the tearing down of a statue of Hussein in Baghdad's center. How many Iraqis were really there rejoicing? Clearly, most of the Iraqi population is still watching and waiting to see "what now." What will victory really look like? Susan Onaclea EXPECTATIONS
AND BIAS Now I am not really a Fox News fan, but I just find it funny that your publication would print something like, "Fox is so blatantly one-sided, it's appalling." Is EW any less one-sided? Feel free to dispose of this letter and instead publish another "Impeach Bush" letter. Aaron Canaday urg
Terror Time Let me understand this: Senate Bill 742 under consideration would make me a "terrorist" for participating in peaceful protests here in Eugene. I would go to jail for 25 years while convicted rapists and murderers are released early because of overcrowding. The state would have to pay all my living expenses and medical expenses and later support me in my old age because my retirement would be gone and I'd be 85 years old when released. All this while the state is drowning in budget deficits. Maybe we need a regime change in Oregon! Jana Ariane Nelson Restructuring the World I am among those who are horrified by my country’s actions, both in Iraq and at home. I recently received a brief message, essentially listing three sound bites: You have a right to your opinion. I’m glad you’re in the minority. Freedom is expensive. These three statements sum up the bill of goods that have been successfully sold to many of our armchair freedom fighters. This war has nothing to do with freedom. It has everything to do with a policy originating in 1992 to restructure the post-Cold War world, starting with Iraq (Defense Policy Guidance Document). Preemptive aggression is key to the doctrine. Paul Wolfowitz was the author and is now a very high level official in our government. Radical and extremist were the words attached to this plan 10 years ago. It is evolved and is now U.S. policy being implemented in Iraq. I may be in the minority in the U.S. with my opinion, and I frankly question that. Even if I am, I prefer to be in the company of the majority of world opinion. I see a global tragedy in the making by those who continue to buy the Bush administration's baseless arguments supporting U.S. belligerence and mass killing overseas. U.S. propaganda only serves to poison our democracy, not to speak of our humanity. Bonnie Souza Recipe for Disaster As I write, the U.S. military is fighting around Baghdad. Another battle is also brewing over how best to help the people of Iraq after the war. The U.S. State Department, the CIA, Prime Minister Tony Blair, France, Germany, and the major world humanitarian relief organizations agree that the best way to rebuild Iraq is collaboratively, in an international effort headed by the United Nations. The Pentagon's plan – favored by the current administration – is for minimal international participation in rebuilding post-war Iraq. This is a recipe for disaster. As George McGovern wrote recently in The Nation, "Bush converted a world of support into a world united against us." Such a world is politically and economically unstable. We must turn our eyes away from the visually compelling pictures we see on television and toward the morally compelling problem before us: how best to promote an international reconstruction effort in Iraq that respects that nation’s sovereignty and the Iraqi people’s rights. Anne B. McGrail Great
Blues Event I hear we raised over $20,000! Paul Biondi, local blues saxophonist, played a big part in making it happen. And who else, you ask? Well, our County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, that's who. Pete did so much to get the ball rolling and support Lynda's efforts. He was there, too, rockin' along with the rest of us. In his brief remarks, he mentioned "community." It is just people like me, like you, like Pete and Lynda and Paul, getting together to help, to right a wrong, to fix something broken. Oh yes, this is a great town! Tim Mueller Criminal
War It is a violation of international law. It is a crime against humanity. It is extremely to the advantage of the hypocritical Bush administration, who has not only supported dictators around the world including Saddam Hussein, but also has the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction in global history and is the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons against a population. Being against this war is not "un-American," it is standing up for the rights of the American people and the well-being of the world population. Alison Luthmers Eye
on Syria Don’t know? Don’t feel bad. The propaganda machine is just beginning to warm up on this issue. But give it a few months (I’m predicting six, tops), and I’m sure you’ll be able to ace this quiz as well as be able to state how many and which U. N. resolutions Syria is in violation of, the number of Iraqi defectors who allegedly escaped across its borders, the supposed contents of its weapons facilities and much, much more. Chances are good that eventually (it could be a year or more, though certainly before the next presidential election) you’ll even come to believe that Syria is an imminent threat to U.S. national security or at least a key target in the "war on terror" and that the only way to deal with it is a military invasion. Call me psychic, way off base, or realistic. Time will be the judge. But in the coming months, pay very close attention to what our government says about Syria (and while you’re at it, Iran) and how it is reported and framed by the media. Whatever you do, don’t let your ignorance of the government’s tactics to manipulate public thinking be its strength. Char Heitman Proud
Victory? Our military victory is no surprise. But it was achieved at what price? Brave, young lives were squandered unnecessarily on both sides of the battlefield. The environment of that region may be irreparably damaged, as depleted uranium from our weapons leaches into the soil and makes its way into the food chain, further exacerbating the terrible conditions created by the first Gulf War. If our self-righteous goal was to ensure that Iraqis are safe, fed, clothed, healthy, and secure, we have not achieved a victory at all. Instead, we have brought the region massive instability, doomed its people to decades of utter misery and disease, found and destroyed no "weapons of mass destruction," only fanned the terrorist flames and alienated the world in the process. So this is victory. Pam Moon 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 for our files. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401. |
||||
|
||||
|
|
||||
