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UNDERWHELMED Wow! Is there really a beer-guzzling guy in this stodgy old cow town who organized people to hold Howard Dean signs on a highway overpass? That's incredible! How innovative! Stop the Weekly presses and put this story on your cover! Fortunately, EW has letters to the editor that are more comprehensive than some of your "news" features. For example, from Ann Tattersall's letter (12/11) we learned that Howard Dean is a downright Clinton-esque neo-con clone who supports the death penalty, NAFTA, WTO, corporate polluters and a bloated military budget. Notions that your cover story omitted entirely. Can't wait for the next exciting political feature. What's it gonna be? Crank addicts in Albany who — get this — use bumperstickers to promote Joe Lieberman? Blair Bobier, Corvallis
LANE COUNTY FOR DEAN Many thanks for the front-page photo and cover story about the Corvallis Howard Dean supporters (12/11). I am glad that you guys felt covering them was important, considering how many of your readers are mondo Kucinich fans. I'm sure there're a few EW readers, however, who might be curious about the Dean volunteers in the Eugene/Spring-field area who are doing what they can to re-defeat Bush. Around 150 locals joined Lane County for Dean at each of the last two monthly meet-ups. Speakers have included former Governor Barbara Roberts, civil rights activist Terry Bean and Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. We've hosted letter-writing parties twice a month and we even had a birthday party for Dean last month. Some of the volunteers and I were out on the Harlow overpass on the Civil War day, letting I-5 drivers know how energetically we support Dean. It was cold, but that was nothing compared to Iowa next month. I'm shipping out there in two weeks, and I'll jump from there to one of the battleground states like Ohio or Florida. Just doing my part. Readers can get more information Dean's recent success seems to be upsetting to many people, and there's a lot of misinformation flying around. I encourage everyone to spend some time in researching the candidates. Steve Ransom, Eugene
LONELY ACTIVISM I find myself in a very confusing place. I am disillusioned with the level of activism in Eugene. How can that be? I have been in Eugene for 19 years, and have never felt so alone in my activism. I don't want to be too hard on you all because I know that it wasn't well publicized but there was an information session about a new youth centered program and there were only eight attendees. I went into a deep funk. Is Eugene going to fail me now? I want to believe that people didn't see the notice regarding the session, or maybe everyone was too busy. I have sent outlandish amounts of e-mails to individuals in the schools systems, the city, etc. I have had very little response. In fact, I had to travel to Portland to even partake in a discussion with other youth allies. I am getting more support from a man in Seattle than I am here, in my "hometown." Odd. The Youth Centered Youth Development Institute, and its sister program Soul of a Child, will be based in Eugene for at least the next six years. We will hopefully continue to build our network and develop relationships with other youth centered programs nationwide. I hope that, if there are individuals out there who hold highly the idea of "youth liberation," you will indeed contact me, and volunteer on the board, and even donate funds to support the program. If you need more information, go to the website or call or e-mail me (www.ycydi.org,342-2349, ycydi@hotmail.com). I don't want to compete for resources with other social justice programs, ever. I don't even want to compete for "the most oppressed group in society" designation. I want to see collaboration; I want to see solidarity; I want to see community building. This is a challenge. I hope that you all live up to it. My disillusionment with Eugene may very well continue. Tonia Valadez, Executive Director Youth Centered Youth Development Institute
TASTELESS 'TOON I agree with Dan Schmieding's characterizing of the "Viagra Cartoon" (11/26). Tasteless, crude, vulgar. In a word: outrageous. RoseMarie Cassidy, Eugene
CRITTER GIFTING The spending season is once again upon us. We are inundated with ads trying to "help us" find the perfect gift for everyone on our list. Another option is available, one that will help some of the less fortunate beings in our community. We're told that our economy is improving (even Oregon's!) but there are still record numbers of hungry, homeless and innocent that need your assistance. I'm speaking of all the abused, lost, abandoned and unwanted animals our society routinely discards. Unlike our less fortunate fellow homo sapiens, the animals have no voice and are simply euthanized when they become too numerous. One easy way to simplify our gift giving and share in addressing Lane County's animal welfare problem is to give a gift to the animals. There are several nonprofit organizations in our community that need your support and will be happy to acknowledge your donation. For example, a gift to Greenhill Humane Society in honor of your favorite animal lover will help in countless ways and be acknowledged in their newsletter. The Lane County Animal Control Authority also accepts donations and for those you on the coast, consider the Florence Area Humane Society. Whatever your preference, a charitable contribution can leverage your investment: You feel good, the person you're giving for will feel good, the animals will benefit, and you'll be able to add it to your list of tax deductions. How can that martini maker you were looking at even remotely compete? Greta Utecht, Eugene
DIAMONDS FOR NEVER Most of us remember that catchy De Beers slogan, "Diamonds are Forever." After all, it was dubbed "Slogan of the Century" in 1999 by Advertising Age magazine. What is more important to remember is how that rock got to you. To begin with, diamonds are ridiculously overpriced. When we talk about gouging the customer, we could say no one does it better than De Beers. The average engagement ring diamond costs De Beers approximately $10 to mine, transport, cut, and polish. How is this possible? A little thing we call a monopoly. De Beers thrives not only on consumer ignorance, but on cheap labor as well. The average weekly take home pay for one of their "employees" in India is about $12. A corporation built on the backs of slaves knows how to take advantage of uneducated, vulnerable humans. One of the diamond industry's latest travesties is currently taking place in Botswana, where the Bushmen of the Kalahari are being expulsed from their land by the Botswana government; the same land on which they have lived for centuries. It's important to mention that the Botswana Government owns half of Debswana, a mining company. The other half is owned by none other than De Beers. Of course, the government and Debswana will tell you that the eradication of the Bushmen, the oldest civilization on the planet, has absolutely nothing to do with the enormous amount of precious gems that they are extracting from the very land from which the Bushmen are being eradicated. I urge skeptics to look into the long, secretive and deplorable history of the diamond industry. The September issue of The Ecologist investigates this history in a featured article titled, "Dying for DeBeers." Greg Campbell also gives an accurate depiction of the atrocities of the diamond industry in his book Blood Diamonds, Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones. This holiday season, give gifts of compassion that last forever, and please remember, diamonds are for-never. Joshua Welch, Eugene
SECRET POWER I've been enjoying the letters published lately on the Democratic hopefuls, but has anyone seen Dean lately? It's scary stuff, and I can't believe Al Gore has decided to back this man. I caught a speech on C-SPAN and earlier last weekend opened my Newsweek to find some Gov. Howard Dean publicity. The speech I watched, with great interest and eyes agog, included Dean chanting "You Have the Power! YOU Have the Power!" Let's ignore the images of a football coach that flash in my head. I think back to the Newsweek that told me about Dean's 10-year-seal on many of his official papers — for "future political considerations" and four years longer than previous Vermont governors. Sealed. You can't see them. I can't see them. Neither can your representatives in Congress. But if I have the power, I'd like to see those records. Someone tell me where to get the request forms. Wait, I've got the internet. I'll get the forms. You warm up the car. We're going to drive out to that remote state warehouse in Middlesex and use our power to obtain any information we might need to make an educated decision about our nation's leader. Especially that juicy stuff, the correspondence with advisers on Vermont's "civil unions" law and some stuff on alleged tax credits to Dean's favorite firms. Seal your records? Then how will you prove yourself? We need to make more personal disclosures just to get a job around here. Gov. Dean's arguments about Bush secrecy look mighty flimsy next to that sort of "political consideration." The lambasting of an incumbent by a hypocritical governor will never put the Democrats in the White House. Bad strategy. I'm all for getting a Democrat in the White House. I'm just not sure I want this one. I've seen Eugeneans handing out fliers on this guy; I hope it will stop soon. Shelly Rude, Eugene
SALVAGING BISCUIT I've been looking into the Biscuit fire salvage logging plan, and I don't like what I'm seeing. Contrary to the "healthy forests" rhetoric, this plan is going to decimate the most fire-resistant portions of the Siskiyou wilderness, and leave behind highly flammable monocultures. The charred areas we saw on the news were areas that had been previously debilitated by clear cutting and salvage logging in the '80s. In these areas, the biggest, most fire-resistant trees had been removed, trees that prevent massive fires like the Biscuit fire and help the forest regenerate after a burn. Salvage logging doesn't make forests healthy — it makes them more prone to massive, ultra-destructive fires. On the economic front, the Forest Service admits that this sale will cost the taxpayers millions of dollars and hurt local lumber mills by driving down the price of lumber by about 28 percent. We won't even get jobs, because the loggers will be brought in from other parts of the country. The Biscuit salvage sale will hurt the forest, the taxpayers, business, and the Oregon budget. What's more, it seems like the people behind it are doing their best to pull the wool over our eyes, by keeping the public comment period as short as the law allows and putting it right around the holiday season. This is an overly hasty plan that will hurt Oregonians in every way imaginable. We need to stop this sale and keep our land alive. Check www.siskiyou.orgto learn more. Tom Denton, Eugene
WHO DECIDES? These days a lot of people are saying that Dennis Kucinich is the candidate for president who best matches their own values, but that he's not electable. That seems most strange to me. If there's no hope for the "best" candidate for the job (and a good chance for the worst), what's left of democracy? Why vote at all? Who decides who is electable but you and me? How important is it to you that we get the best person into office? Do we really want to continue or reverse the accelerating trend toward consumerism, corporate rule, militarism, fascism, eternal wars and environmental degradation, perhaps to the end of global warming destroying world civilizations and sending us back to the dark ages? Or do we want peace, justice, a sustainable world population and sustainable lifestyles? Yes, it's you and me who decide which we get. We need to recognize that we're at war for nothing less than the future of the world. What could be more important? How much are you willing to commit to this effort? I suspect many people reading this could quit their day jobs, sell what property they can and survive till next November, while putting maximum effort into political action. That's about the upper limit of commitment. Close to the lower limit is to stop saying Kucinich is not electable and look into what it would take to get him elected. He seems to be the one least favoring some form of business as usual, which is something we can no longer afford. While you're about it, don't forget to do what you can to keep or improve our representation in Congress to support Kucinich. The next question is, what can we do to keep him from following Paul Wellstone, at least 'til election day? Dan Robinson, Eugene
DOWNED BUT NOT OUT Last year I moved from Austria to Oregon and was shocked to find out that there is no legal protection for farm animals in the U.S. In fact, most states' anti-cruelty laws exclude farm animals, and as a result, millions of innocent creatures are made to endure intolerable cruelty on factory farms. In this age of mad cow and hoof and mouth disease, we have come to learn that practices in "food production" can result not only in cruel and inhumane treatment toward the animals, but also in an increased risk of spreading disease to humans by allowing diseased animals into the human food chain. Congress and the FDA are both currently considering legislation that would prohibit the use of "downed animals" in human food. "Downed animals" refer to cows, pigs and other farm animals that are so sick or injured that they cannot stand, even to access food and water. Yet these animals are routinely dragged with chains or pushed with forklifts on their way to slaughter. Such animals are currently allowed in food production for human consumption. According to Dr. Michael Greger, an expert in mad cow disease, there is evidence that downed cattle are suffering from a form of disease and excluding them from the human food supply is a "critical" step in protecting the public. I encourage you to urge the FDA to grant petition 98P-0151/CPI prohibiting the slaughter of downed animals for human food and to urge our congressmen to enact legislation to prohibit the marketing of downed animals. For more information, please see www.nodowners.org. Sylvia Bigontina, Eugene
PET WARS Your right to keep and enjoy household pets is under attack. A task force, organized by Bill Dwyer, has written a 126 page report to the Lane County commissioners. If the commissioners adopt this report, it will totally change the way you are allowed to keep animals. This report specifies how you must house and feed your animals, requires that your veterinarian forward your confidential medical data to the Department of Animal Control, suggests a sales tax (disguised as a "euthanasia prevention" fee on pet food), and greatly increases the fees to license your pet as well as stepping up licensing enforcement. Your cat will no longer be allowed outside unless it is spayed or neutered. Yes, the report limits this to "cats at large," but try explaining property lines to a cat. In order to accomplish these things, the report calls for a huge new county workforce to track your compliance with all these new regulations. Unless we all protest the adoption of this report as presented, we will feel its impact on our wallets forever. Ann Jensen, Eugene
LAY OFF DEAN Mean Mr. Dean. Is this what it has come to, Ms. Tattersall (12/11)? When you are unable to articulate a reasonable or a well-thought-out argument to as to why left-of-center, liberal Democrats such as myself should vote for Dennis Kucinich all you can come up with is name calling? In attempting to convince the Green Party/Ralph Nader voter that Mr. Kucinich is their candidate of choice, are mean-spirited half-truths and name-calling all you can bring to bear? Let me tell you why I support Howard Dean. Howard Dean is honest. He speaks from his heart. He doesn't avoid answering difficult questions. He is educated. He connects to me on a simple emotional level without resorting to name calling. Yes, I know that Mr. Dean and I disagree on many subjects. Are our disagreements significant? Not in the larger context. Millions of rank and file Democrats have intuitively grasped what is going on in America today. Bush is bent on repealing the "New Deal" liberalism with a simpleminded Corporate Nationalism. If you are not for him you must be against him. And he is against you. There is a chilling sort of mean spiritedness in his "bring 'em on" rhetoric. As for my opinion of Mr. Kucinich, like many, I like much of what he says. But I remember his voting record. I understand that fundamentally he is not capable of winning the election. And I do not want another four years of George Bush. Paul Ausems, Eugene
SINS OF OUR FATHERS It is sickening to hear the mealy mouthed supposed opponents of the junta conform themselves to politically correct expressions that defend the ridiculous notion that the capture of Saddam Hussein is good news. Does the U.S. invasion and occupation deserve credit for finally detaining the monster they created, informed, trained, funded, armed, and, at the behest of god bless fucking america, encouraged to commit the very crimes against humanity about which we now fulminate within a weak critique speculating upon the manner of his prosecution? This capture is not closure, nor would be a show trial. This could be at best a necessary evil to deal with the sins of our fathers. However, since we are committing precisely the same sins in the process, not even that can be claimed. This is a grievous culmination and confirmation of decade after decade after decade of moronic, atrocious, monstrous foreign policy. Further, this is a wonderfully explicit and yet still ignored lesson:If we want to stop war and terrorism, it might possibly be useful to avoid alliance with monsters. Perhaps for these crimes in Iraq a trial in which Jimmy, Raygun, Shrub, Bubba, Dub and Saddam stand together in the docket as collaborators would manage a fleeting glimpse at the truth. Harold Rogge, Eugene
BOUTIQUE THRONGS Oh, the "power of the printed word." That was made abundantly clear when the EW covered our "Bust Bu$h Boutique," a holiday fund-raiser promoting peace and a regime change for Amerika. The EW was the only media to cover this incredible event, and it was made incredible because of Aria Seligmann's skills in conveying the intent and essence of our project. We made a point of asking many attendees how they heard about it, what prompted their attendance. Virtually every single response was, "I read it in Eugene Weekly." The Peace Elves who hosted this event to raise funds for Eugene Peaceworks and their project, the Committee to Counter Military Recruiting, are deeply grateful to Aria and EW for being so very community-minded in this, and in countless other ways. We are grateful for this community who purchased our "Peace-L-Toe" and our regime change fashions and peacewear. Many hundreds of dollars were raised. (And of course the exquisite desserts donated by Sweet Life Patisserie were the "icing on the cake"!) Thank you all for bringing in the throngs. Carol Berg for The Peace Elves
IRAQNAM "Just the facts, ma’am." "You want the facts? You can’t handle the facts, Jack." Well, here they are anyway – Ten years, 50,000 American deaths, 500,000 man force (at its peak), and countless millions of families, lives, and acres of real estate wrecked, ruined and devastated as a direct (and indirect) result of the action of our government in another country, little South Vietnam (and a few of its helpless neighbors). What makes you think that one quarter the force, in a much larger area (Iraq), with sympathetic souls on every border, is going to fare any differently, or better? Looks like it’s deja vu all over again. History does repeat itself, and governments don’t learn a damn thing, do they? Except, I guess they do learn, for the most part, to become more brainless, dim-witted, obtuse, irresponsible, reckless, unwise, ill-advised, and corrupt with age. That probably is also partly due to the fact that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Absolute power does equal us (USA); no other country does equal our might. I only wish our wisdom and compassion would have kept pace with our might. You know, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Terry Heintz, Eugene
DUE ACCORD Colin Powell met last week with framers of the so called Geneva Accord, a plan devised by Middle East leaders to try and solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, and several other regional disputes. The framers aren’t representatives of any governments, and they bear little if any official power, but the United States is treating them with the respect they’d give any foreign delegation. I find this a refreshing change for the U.S. After decades of supporting U.S. friendly autocrats, and dictating policy to dozens of nations, it’s high time we changed our stance on self rule in the Middle East. The Geneva Accord represents an important step for both the Middle East peace process, and governmental autonomy in that part of the world. Finally, leaders from that region are putting aside their differences and uniting to try and solve their problems. I hope this is the first of many such accords. The U.S. should treat them all with the respect it’s giving this one. If the suggestions forwarded by these leaders aren’t taken to heart, it will be a hypocritical day for the U.S.’ support of democracy in the Middle East. Patrick Lamson-Hall, Eugene
HORSEFEATHERS I’d like to thank the multi-million dollar pet food industry lobby for telling us hayseeds in Lane County how to think. We can’t figure for ourselves which is better, paying $2 to $5 a year per pet in pet food surcharge, or taking the lives of 2.700 healthy pets per year. Thanks for thinking our county commissioners are so impressionable when you play that violin. Play it for the poor confused residents who have to decide between $2-$5 a year, and letting their best friend, a family member, starve. Or let innocent lives be taken at the rate of 2,700 a year. Wow – like any real pet lover would have any problem with that choice! Funny, the pet food lobbyists didn’t come riding to guide us when utility rates went up. When cable rates went up. When gasoline went over $2 a gallon. When senior and disabled services got slashed. I’m a senior on a small income, and I never heard from them then. They "care" only when they might be asked to do a little paperwork. And P.S., they claim to love pets. Horsefeathers! Our commissioners are too smart to be conned by special-interest groups and snake-oil salesmen. Take that Special-Interest Mobile and ride it right out of Dodge. We can think for ourselves. Marie Sours, Springfield
WAR CRIMES It seems really bizarre to me that sane, otherwise healthy human beings in certain societies can think that war, environmental destruction and suicide are desirable activities and actually commit these atrocities in real life. It should be clear to any person not brainwashed that those who start a war are criminals who should be brought to justice. This is true whether the war criminals are dispersed as in 9/11 or concentrated in a national political/corporate/military power structure with insanely high levels of weaponry as is the Bush administration which bombed, invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003 with the sole motivation of greed/power-lust/dogma. What is less clear is how a dispersed-power international organization such as the U.N. can bring these dispersed/concentrated types of war criminals to justice under the current crazy hodgepodge of violent actors. But if these details of international justice cannot be rationally and compassionately worked out then the horrible terrors of war will be with us forever or until death do us all part. Bob Saxton, Eugene
VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLAR The corporatocracy has taken over America and done away with democracy as we once knew it. We all know this, and it has created a general climate of depression and fear of the future. Until we win back our political power, the only vote we yet possess is our dollar. I urge everyone to utilize this Christmas as a vote for hope by refusing to wildly spend. Give gifts of your time, your creativity. Give to charity. Refuse to continue financing the madness which threatens us all. The common theme in all religions about this holiday season is the return of the sun, renewal. Let us renew ourselves and our ability to determine our own lives. It’s not about dying with the most toys. It’s about living in a world that works for everyone. Make a statement this year – make ’em think! Kai Ariel, Eugene
CAN LABELS If ever there was a time to once and for all end the ridiculous usage of conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats this must be it! The Republicans are spending money like there is no tomorrow, while simultaneously giving tax break after tax break to the wealthiest of the wealthy. The Bush administration is most certainly in no way shape or form fiscally conservative. While on the other side of the coin the sadly I see the Democrats liberally falling in line to vote for one bad Republican idea after another, such as the preemptive war on Iraq, the so-called PATRIOT Act and the recent Medicare bill to mention just a few. We the people deserve an open, honest and in depth discussion of the issues not politics as usual. No more name-calling, misleading statements, safe canned stump speeches or short sound bites skirting the difficult issues. Life is most certainly not black and white, it is many shades of gray. Nor are people simply good or evil and most definitely not simply liberal or conservative. Let us can these ridiculous labels for good, what do you say? Tim Boyden, Eugene
HOME DEPOT REAP-O I mention here a perfect case in point to demonstrate why we need complete campaign finance reform if government is to be fair to the people. What George Bush did – which requires more time than his brief, self-serving visit in Iraq – is common to both political parties, and why it is hard to have trust in either. The Baltimore Sun reported Dec. 3 that Bush went to remote little Halethorpe, Md., to make a speech on the economy. Halethorpe? There was big-money method to his madness, as usual. He spoke at the local Home Depot outlet, whose CEO, Robert Nardelli, stood beside him. Since 1999, Home Depot has donated $1.5 million to the GOP. In return? A massive payoff from Bush. The new energy bill has a $48 million tax break for Home Depot, and lifts a tariff on Chinese-made ceiling fans the store sells. While it has to be just coincidence, the wife of Home Depot’s top lobbyist Kent Knutson was a top aide to VP Dick Cheney in his secret energy task force. Francis Blake, former Bush Deputy Energy Secretary, left to become a VP for Home Depot. No matter how much Americans disagree on political choices – our privilege – we make the mistake of allowing our democracy to be fouled, replaced by plutocracy, when we allow donations to political candidates. That is the sure way of for getting government to follow unjust policies that pad its major donors’ pockets. To add indignity to thievery, donations are allowed as "an expression of free speech." We need to be angry about massive tax cuts for the wealthiest, about Iraq, about the depletion of our environment, and administration lies in many other areas. But it means nothing if we don’t stand up and demand an end to an elections system designed to make it easy to bribe all office-holders of both parties. George Beres, Eugene
UNHOLY SOLACE Light a candle for the victims of 9/11. But when it comes to violent protest don’t hang bin Laden in effigy. Hang Bush. Don’t revile Syria’s Bathist Assad or Iraq’s murderous Hussein. Defame Bush. No need to march against the Taliban, Wahhabis or the treatment of women and minorities under radical Islam. Bush is the terrorist. Certainly the left wing, Bush-bashing, anti-war crowd can read a map. They know exactly where the most dangerous, mortal enemies of the West and all Americans are. And they can’t be totally ignorant of military strategy. It’s no surprise that more terror groups are moving into Iraq. Fronts have now been established in the Middle East and Asia. Do the Bush-bashers prefer that our home soil be the only front in this war? Perhaps they fear offensives unduly anger the enemy. Cut and run now is the ultra liberal’s novel approach. Should’ve used that strategy after Pearl Harbor. These Bush haters also know the 20th century track record of France and Germany. Do they really believe we should all wait for those two perennial losers to defend America? Is the enemy’s intent in doubt? Unlikely. Yet for anti-Bushies Iraq is not a reckoning or a strategic war front. But 9/11 was a call to arm against the president. Even as candles are lit, it is clear that Bush has common enemies. The terror masters and virulent Western protesters seek power and each brings an unholy solace to the other. Steven Veit, Eugene |
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