-editoria»-v
Don’t gut the LCDC
One of the collective sighs of relief heard last Nov. 3
came from proponents of state-wide land-use planning. By
a comfortable, though not overwhelming, margin, the Land
Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) had
survived a repeal drive backed and financed for the most
part by real estate brokers and land developers. But the
fight goes on. Defeated at the polls, anti-LCDC types have ^
taken their complaints to the Legislature.
There are a passel of bills that would change the
LCDC, but probably the most sweeping is proposed by
Riddle Republican Bill Markham. Markham would have the
LCDC, which is now appointed by the governor, be elected
with two members coming from each of the state’s four
congressional districts. His bill, House Bill 2822, would
also require legislative review of all planning goals adopted
by the LCDC and would take away from the commission
most of its power to review and reject local plans. Those
are suggestions that should, and probably will, be rejected
outright.
There are any number of reasons why land-use plan
ning shouldn’t be placed in the election framework where
big money makes many decisions, why land-use goals
shouldn’t be subjected to the politics of the legislative
process and why the state should keep tabs on what local
planning units are doing, but the basic argument against
Markham’s proposal, or any other that attempts the same
thing, is that the people have already said “yes” to the
LCDC and land-use planning.
This doesn’t mean everybody likes everything the
LCDC is doing. The commission is in need of some fine
tuning, but what Markham’s offering is not fine tuning, but
castration. It’s ironic that opponents of the LCDC, who
made government by the people a major issue during the
November campaign, are now trying to thwart the will the
people expressed.
And the argument that the election is another example
of urban Oregon forcing its will on the rest of the state
doesn’t offer people like Markham much support. While
Markham is doing a good job of representing his district —
Douglas County voted 2 to 1 to repeal the LCDC — he’s
ignoring the fact that the results were different in rural
counties like Umatilla, Union and Wasco.
The issue is no longer in doubt. The voters have
endorsed land-use planning and to a lessor degree, the
LCDC and the goals that board has adopted. It’s no longer
a debatable question.
Letters
No endorsement
A letter to the editor’s column
expressed concern and opposi
tion to Standard Oil Company of
California recruiters being on
campus because of its joint ven
ture operation with Texaco Com
pany — The Caltex Petroleum
Company. Caltex is one of a
number of foreign companies with
operations in South Africa.
The company is aware, of
course, that a number of people in
this country and elsewhere hold
the view that the continued pres
ence of American companies or
their affiliates in South Africa is
inconsistent with the best in
terests of the United States and
the non-white community in South
Africa.
The company does not doubt
the sincerity with which these
views are held, but it does not
agree with their validity. The com
pany does not assert that Caltex
or even the business community
as a whole can unilaterally resolve
social problems in South Africa or
any other country, nor is this the
principal role of a business enter
prise. We would agree with the
recent observation of former Am
bassador, George S. Ennan, that
“the black man would be the first
to suffer from any serious failure in
the process of economic growth
— no thoughtful and informed
friend of the black African popula
tion of South Africa could logically
wish for the obstruction and failure
of the countries economy.”
It has been the policy of Caltex
with more than 50 years experi
ence of operations in foreign
countries, and that of Standard Oil
Company of California to employ
nationals to the greatest extent
possible and to provide them with
fair wages and working condi
tions. It is also our established pol
icy that field management will train
and advance local employes to
positions of responsibility and
provide them with plans for emp
loye benefit and protection. It is
important to keep in mind that the
presence of the Company or of
Caltex in any country must not be
viewed as an endorsement of all
of the policies and actions of the
government of such country.
Frank J. Barich
Public Affairs Manager
Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Portland, Ore.
Apathy Day
Jack Wilson, Brenda Tabor,
Martha Bliss, et al.
I know all too well how you feel;
you work your tails off and no one
seems to care. You do what you
do, and you do it well; but who
notices? It’s like the housewife
who cooks meals and deans the
home all day long. It isn’t noticed
or appreciated until suddenly the
house is a mess and there’s no
dinner.
I experience similar frustrations
here in the ASUO; there is so
much that others expect that they
so often take us for granted. As
you may recall, I’ve often discus
sed an Apathy Day, but decided
that no one cares enough to help
‘celebrate’ such an event.
Perhaps the Emerald and the
ASUO can stage an Apathy Day
together; the impact would proba
bly be much greater if we had
some tangible support, such as
the non-existence of a student
newspaper as well as the non
functionality of a student govern
ment, at least for one day.
Whatever happens, don’t feel
that some of us don’t care; you
—---opinion
Ford s political drive not up to par
It's not easy being a retired president and giving up
all the imperial trappings of the oval office, like Hail to
the Chief, Air Force I or the Washington Redskins
tickets.
Harry Truman went back to Independence and
began his fabled early morning walks where he'd put
reporters to sleep with vindictive, below the belt at
tacks against Richard Nixon.
Dwight Eisenhower went to Gettysburg, Pa.,
where his senility no longer endangered world
peace.
LBJ returned to Terlinga, Texas where he got a job
promoting Hormel chili.
Nixon, well.
But what about Jerry Ford?
You remember Jerry? The of Michigan Wolverine.
The man who never made the same mistake twice.
Because every day he’d find a new one to make.
Well take heart. Jerry’s cornin’ back. He’s gonna
bust in on the PGA golf tour.
Jerry’s first tournament was the chic Crosby
Clambake at Pebble Beach off Big Sur, where the
Pacific white caps crash against the par-five fair
ways.
I found him at the edge of the 10th hole where the
green drops abruptly into the ocean, looking flus
tered and dejected.
“Hey, Mr. President, why the long face,?”
“I just hit another golf ball into the-surf,” he
said.
“Oh that’s a tough break,” I said. “I bet those
secret service agents are down there right now in
scuba gear fishing it out.”
“Are you kidding!" Not since the election. These
Fosdicks have become unionized and told me where
to stick my putter. They won’t even caddy for me
anymore,” he said.
“Is that the reason for the doleful spirits?”
“Just one of the reasons,” he snapped. “First, I
botched the election, then Michigan lost to USC in
the Rose Bowl and now this”.as he pointed to a
trail of divots, craters, and busted nine-irons that
meandered back to the morning’s 1st hole.
“I just don’t have it anymore. I’ve lost my touch,” he
said.
“Gracious sakes, Mr. President, you could try
something else, senior statesman, the lecture circuit
or special envoy to Uganda.”
“No you don’t understand! When you can’t golf
anymore you're politically layed out, spaced out and
strung out,” he argued.
“Huh?”
“Listen Bozo, how many bad golfers ever got
elected President of the United States?”
“Ah, present company excluded?”
“Yes.”
“Dam few,” I said.
“None,” he interrupted. And that’s why I lost the
election.
“Jimmy started out witn a maratnon ieaa ana my
only hope was to pray for a Carter golf blunder.”
“Did you have to pray very long,?” I asked.
“No.”
“It came during the last round of the Anita Bryant
Florida Citrus Open. Jimmy smacked a tee shot onto
the 18th green and was a 3-foot putt away from
clinching the tourney — and the election. Then it
happened.”
“What happened?”
“Jimmy strode up to make that putt when he lost
his composure faster than any candidate I’ve ever
seen.”
"How,?” I eagerly asked.
“Jimmy was ready to stroke it when he started
leering lustfully at Anita Bryant. His head started
bobbing, his knees got weak. Jimmy’s sunglasses
steamed up and he missed that putt 13 consecutive
times _ before Jody Powell threw a bucket of
gatorade on him to cool down.”
“And by this time,” I said.
“Right. I bolted pass Carter to win the tournament
by a stroke.”
"But then it happened,” he said glumily, slumping
in his golf cart. “The turning point of the campaign.”
“What was that,” I asked.
“An international golf crisis.”
“What in Sam Snead is that,” I demanded.
“It was the annual Warsaw Pact winner-take-all
Iron Curtain Open and the Russians were blitzing
Poland. Really cookin’ their sausages. The Poles
then became humiliated, deranged idiots crying for
revenge. Something had to be done. They wanted to
start World War III.
"So what did you do?”
“I went on national TV and said:
“There’s no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
I don’t think the Poles consider themselves domi
nated by the Soviet Union.
Well, you know what happened then,” he moaned.
“Bahba Wahwah, Rex Reed and all those media
types leaped onto it and tore up my campaign. Carter
took the lead and went on to win the election.”
“And”...I started to say.
“And all because I tried to cool the crisis by saying
something nice about the Poles,” he noted sadly.
“What a shame,” I said.
“But listen to me,” he snapped. “Those pundits
and commentators are wrong if they think I’m going
to just fade into the rough. I’ll be coming back. I’m
already scheduled to play in the annual Sammy
Davis-Greater Hartford Open, the Mayaguez Invita
tional and the Idi Amin loser-take-all skullbake."
And with those words he took out a 3-iron, teed-up,
rared back and lofted another Spalding number 2 into
the green Pacific surf.
Mark Kirchmeier
Senior Journalism
people at the Emerald have been
very, very kind to us all year. If
things were out of hand, you
would have heard me bitching
away for sure. As it is, things are
compatible: I imagine I’m guilty as
anyone for not giving you that
positive reinforcement.
Belatedly, thanks a lot for all you
are doing up there: you’ve taken
great pains to avoid the publicity
hyped headlines which serve no
purpose but to embarrass and be
little. We appreciate your support
and your desire to report facts
rather than trash.
Michael Connelly
Thanks for the kind thoughts,
Michael, but we really didn’t in
tend the “All we get is abuse”
editorial (ODE, 3-14-77) to be
taken seriously. We hoped to
leave our readers with something
light and funny for finals week
while we indulged in a bit of self
flattery.
The truth is, we enjoy a good
deal of support from students, the
University and the community -
the fact that the Emerald some
how manages to hit the stands
every morning proves it. Most of
the criticism we receive is con
structive and deserved, and we
rely on our readers for valuable
help. -ed.
Clear the air
Only 50 or 60 people turned out
or the March 17 hearing in
Eugene on the health effects of
open field burning. This has
caused the legislators and lob
byists in Salem to feel that Eugene
citizens “don’t give a damn” about
whether or not they have clean air
to breathe.
Two even more important hear
ings will be held this week in the
State Capitol, Salem, in Hearing
Room A. These hearings will take
place on Wednesday, March 30,
at 8 a.m. and on Thursday, March
31, at 1 p.m. They will both be
before the Senate Agriculture
Committee, and will be on two
field burning laws, SB 535 and SB
637.
SB 535 would allow the growers
to burn an unlimited number of
acres and would reduce the field
burning fees, thereby eliminating
all incentives for alternatives to
open burning to be developed.
People who remember the effects
of limitless open burning in the
past should testify against this bill.
On the other hand, SB 637 would
increase open burning fees,
adhere to the present phasedown
of acres permitted to be burned
(95,000 acres for 1977 and
50,000 acres thereafter), and pro
vide more funds both for the
smoke management program and
for the regulation of offenders.
If you care about seeing the air
quality in Eugene improve, you
should definitely plan on attending
both hearings, and you should
speak out in favor of SB 637 and
against SB 535.
Leonard Stern
Graduate Student
Psychology
Good show, ODE
The special issue of March 8,
1977 for International Women s
Day was a refreshing change from
the blatant or implied sexism evi
dent not only in that other daily
newspaper in town and other
facets of mass communications,
but also in the Emerald (if only
through infrequent slips or the
continuing saga of Anheuser
Busch, Inc., and Schlitz seeking to
increase their sales). While
perhaps not responsible for the
problem, the mass media and its
advertisers maintain, reinforce
and legitimize the mechanism
often refered to as sex roles. This
mechanism attempts to effectively
limit our human potential to the
boundaries society has given to
us.
While all of us are thus limited or
oppressed, women are oppres
sed not only by society’s socializa
tion process and institutions but
also by that minority known as
men. Because institutionalized
sex role oppression permeates
our economic, political, educa
tional and communication struc
tures, the Emerald’s strides to
ward freedom and equality (both
in general and specifically for In
ternational Women’s Day) are to
be commended.
Scott Reeves
Sophomore—Political Science
Cliff Grabhom
Junior — Socioloav