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This is a letter of progressive perspectivism on the current justice system of the U.S. Jeff Luers burned three anti-environmental vehicles resulting in no injury, no death and some opened eyes and received 22-1/2 years in prison. Ken Lay defrauded thousands of people of billions of dollars and got zero jail time. His buddy, George W. Bush, committed war crimes resulting in thousands of deaths and thousands of injuries and received no punishment whatsoever. Federal "justice" is an Ashcroftian nightmare of anti-constitutional bigotry and state justice is only slightly better. Two million prisoners rot in U.S. jails, most of them guilty only of nonviolent crimes with exorbitant and unjust sentencing. Thousands of these prisoners are innocent of the crimes for which they were sentenced. Police routinely beat and otherwise harass nonviolent political demonstrators and minorities on the street and get promoted instead of fired. The rich are pampered, the poor are oppressed and the environment is trashed. There may be justice somewhere in the world but certainly not in the U.S. We need to dump Bush, Ashcroft and all the other Krazy Killers of Kindness. Impeach Bush, not Martha. Bob Saxton
COST OF PUBLICITY It's Friday, June 27, about 7:50 pm. I just got home from Eugene after a long day at work and some necessary shopping, and a 40-minute wait on the asphalt of Highway 99 near Junction City, on a day when temperatures passed the 90 degree mark by a good margin. Why, do you ask, was I stuck on the blacktop with at least hundreds, if not thousands, of my fellow Oregonians? Because of a publicity stunt for Guaranty Chevrolet in Junction City, wherein an airplane landed and later took off from Highway 99, blocking traffic, increasing congestion, increasing the irritability and "road rage" factor of the drivers, and tying up nearly every police officer in the area for traffic control. Did Herb Nil and company pay for all this? It seems highly unlikely, if not laughable, since the unofficial reason was to "kick off the airshow," although the airport is just a few miles away, and the airshow is being held there. Once again, we get to foot the bill and suffer the costs, in time, stress and money, while a "businessman" gets his advertising and sound bites on the evening news and in the newspaper, while our emergency services personnel are tied up with private matters, even though the claim is that there is no money for those same services. I urge you all to write your commissioners and representatives and loudly voice your opinion about this misuse of public funds for the good of a single business owner. Jim Godwin II
PLEA FOR THE TREES The other day I went with the Sierra Club on an outing to the Cougar Monster timber sale in the Tillamook Forest. It is a beautiful, mixed species, old growth structure forest, tragically about to be cut. This and other state forests are threatened by a new bill, which would emphasize logging at the expense of other uses of our forests. I am writing to oppose HB 3632. HB 3632 would double the amount of cut in the Tillamook and Clatsop forests, endangering our local water supply, destroying these wonderful havens of recreation and rejuvenation, and turning our state forests into tree farms. This would be a huge mistake. Many people come to Oregon because of its beauty and its outdoor opportunities, whether recreational or spiritual. To destroy our wild places would adversely affect us economically, and in the balance of our interconnectedness to the rest of life on the planet. Erica Bolliger
HOODIE REDUX With regard to Laci Stevens' letter, "Just Want a Hoodie" (EW 6/26), she says she is sick of being followed by store employees at retail outlets because of her being a teenager and her appearance. She then states, "I have many more adult friends who steal than teenage friends who steal." Since she knowingly has many criminal friends and by remaining friends condones those who steal, I feel the store employees are showing good judgment in regarding her to be socially deviant and a threat to the security of their merchandise. Neil Carpenter
KEEP THE PROMISE I am pleased to see growing awareness about the problems facing Oregon's waterways. Ms. Alexandre (EW 6/26) is precisely correct: We're quickly running out of rivers to swim in. When will we be able to fish the Willamette without having to throw back the toxic, deformed ones? When will we be able to let children play in a stream without worrying if it's one of the thousand in Oregon too polluted to meet Clean Water Act standards? When will we finally say "no" to the polluters we're permitting to dump millions of pounds of toxins into our rivers without consequence? When we have someone to take the lead. Gov. Kulongoski pledged in his campaign to be that leader who will finally clean our rivers. Now it is up to each of us to be leaders in pushing Kulongoski to keep his crucial promise. Every child, every voter, every future voter — everyone who cares about Oregon's future can make this change happen. Let's write letters and e-mails and make phone calls to our governor, to our friends, and to polluters themselves: These are our rivers. And we want to go for a swim. Summer Battson
SAY NO TO WTO Last week at the WTO "ministerial conference" on Agriculture and Technology in Sacramento, protesters were faced with overwhelming police action (73 arrests, four helicopters, use of tasers, hundreds of riot police). What is it that these cops were so determined to enforce? Corporate control, that's what. Corporations want control of our food and water. Worst of all, they want to squeeze the poor in the global south for their very lives. Rich white men who have never known a moment's lack are determined to usurp the food and water autonomy of billions of people. If that reality is not local enough, then imagine working all week just to afford water to drink. When Coca-Cola owns the water, will it be concerned about the pollutants and disease that water contains? June 22, at a panel discussion of USDA, GMO, and Food Sovereignty spokespeople, the GMO proponent stated that corporate control is not a nightmare scenario. The very next day in the streets, the few protesters who were brave enough to show up were repeatedly surrounded, ordered to disperse and tasered as they tried to walk peacefully away. Most of the protesters that day were very young women. There are pictures and more information at www.biotechimc.orgIt's time for everyone to wake up and realize what is at stake here, nothing less than our future as free people or as corporate slaves. Beat back the corporate attack. Melissa Wheeler
FROM CDS TO SPORTS Let's see. Sony was given land by the city of Springfield on which to build their CD production facility. Sony was given huge tax breaks by Springfield in exchange for providing well-paying jobs for local workers. Sony was provided with infrastructure by the City of Springfield, which allowed the systematic sell-off by Sony of additional free land at a huge profit. Sony closed their CD production facility after eight years, interestingly enough just when their tax breaks ran out. Now, the Sony CD production facility will sit empty unless, and until, a buyer is found. Springfield's mayor has stated he has no interest in approaching Sony regarding recouping any of their losses. As a former Sony employee, I have a suggestion that just might create a win/win situation for Sony and Springfield. Since Springfield "paid for" the CD production facility, why not ask Sony to "donate" the building and the land it sits on for use as a sports complex? Sony could use the donation as a tax write-off now; it could take forever to find a buyer for the building. The city has been wanting a sports complex for years. The facility already has parking, bathrooms, water fountains, telephone and computer lines, a cafeteria, a kitchen, a locker room with wall lockers, a multi-media room, an outdoor basketball court, a wellness center with workout equipment, showers, aerobics room, security cameras, vast spaces inside that could be used for both volleyball and basketball courts, and even enough land to have an outdoor soccer field. Plus, the site is already beautifully landscaped. I think this would go a long way toward getting the bad taste out of everyone's mouth regarding the way in which Sony has dealt with the city and the state. As it stands now, Sony has become, and will undoubtedly remain, just another four-letter word. Ellen Columbo THE PEOPLE'S PASSIONS Republicans and Democrats; liberal, conservative, red, white or Green. We could spend the balance of our lives debating the pros and cons of these matters, yet they are entirely irrelevant to the concept of democracy. Democracy, after all, is about people. It is that simple. There is no democracy without the people, and by definition the people of a democracy are the source of government. Therefore our government should serve only one master, one purpose, one passion — its people. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate I have observed making that truth the driving force of his campaign. He's not of big business, so we can rule out that tremendous source of corruption. He obviously does not care about personal gain, having sacrificed reelection as Cleveland's mayor for the sake of principle. Most importantly, when I see him speak, when I read his memoranda, I am convinced that this man is passionate about America, passionate about every one of us, and passionate about creating positive changes that will benefit this country and also our world. No other candidate seems to have this passion. It would be wonderful if they all did. However, while we still live in a democracy, it is within our power as the people being served to ensure that our servant is passionate about us. So learn more about him at www.kucinich.usand appreciate what he will do for the people. Steve Hukari
THANKS TO LININGER Let me join those who are congratulating Tom Lininger for his work on the Lane County Board of Commisioners. Tom's record of achievements as a county commissioner is very impressive. Tom has been a strong advocate of clean water, clean air and sustainability. He's led the fight to block the construction of a new power plant on Fall Creek. He's helped to reduce the County's reliance on pesticides. He worked with his fellow commissioners to pass a resolution in support of acquiring open space at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers. Tom has insisted that the county provide adequate services for rural residents. Thanks in a large part to Tom's leadership, the board added four new sheriff's deputies in rural Lane County. Tom also helped to prevent the closure of Lane County's rural health clinics. He's secured money for road projects that preserve the safety of our rural roads. In addition, Tom has worked hard to preserve the justice courts in rural Lane County. I have great respect for Tom Lininger's value, advocacy skills and work ethic. We'll all miss Tom when he steps down from the Board of Commissioners on Aug. 15. He will continue his public service as a UO law professor. Our loss is the UO's gain. Peter Sorenson
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