Editorial
Results of measures
both good and bad
This year’s ballot measure results offered few surprises,
some disappointments, and otherwise some fairly good
news.
The rejection of Ballot Measure 5, the Oregon Marijuana
Initiative, was expected, but supporters can take heart in the
numbers favoring this disputed measure.
Measure 6, the controversial measure that would have
ended state-funded abortions, fortunately was defeated. The
defeat means low-income women, continue to have support
in seeking safe, legal abortions; but like Measure 5. the alxir
tion issue will no doubt resurface in subsequent elections.
It was welcome news to see all four property tax limita
tion measures soundly rejected. Of the four. Measure 7, the
sales tax measure, was defeated by the widest margin
close to 80 percent of the voters opposed this measure.
Measure 7 would have imposed a 5 percent sales tax; its
overwhelming defeat should send a signal to its supporters
that a sales tax will never fly in Oregon.
Defeat of Measure 9, the property tax limitation pro
posal. came as a relief to city and county services, as well as
public schools. This measure would have hit an already
weak public school system. Its defeat shows that Oregonians
are concerned about the future well-being of education.
Measures 11 and 12 would have reduced property tax by
roughly 40 percent, requiring the lost revenue to come from
a shift in income lax brackets. These measures, as well as
Measure 9. were strongly opposed by public officials and
labor unions and it was their public awareness campaigns
that helped squash these potentially damaging proposals.
The worst news to University students and voters in
general came with the passage of Measure 13. It requires that
Oregonians must register to vote at least 20 days before an
election. Voters were formerly allowed to register up to 5
p.m. the day before an election.
its supporters claimed that it would ensure against the
kind of voter fraud associated with the Bhagwan Shree Ka
jneesh cult in Wasco County. Yet the Bhagwan affair was an
isolated incident which then-Secretary of Stale Norma
I’aulus averted.
The l.ane County Flection office recorded about 1.275
voters who registered the day before the election, with a
sizable minority of voters registering 20 days before Nov. .t.
The success of Measure 13 could disenfranchise a large
number of potential voters.
Oregon's voter turnout was atmve tin? national average
this election; this measure puts that distinction in jeopardy.
The three nuclear measures. 14. 15 and 16. were
defeated, and it should not have escaped anyone’s notice
that the opposition spent large amounts of money to ensure
these measures were defeated.
Aside from the sheer volume of dollars spent against
these measures, the opponents of measures 14. 15 and 16
succeeded in convincing voters that passing these measures
would lie harmful to the economy.
If the economy picks up. there will be no reason to stop
similar measures in the future.
The most baffling measure results were the two local
prison expansion proposals, measures 19 and 20. By passing
Measure 19. Lane County residents showed support for in
creasing jail space and building new facilities, yet did not
want to pay for them. Without the funding provided by
Measure 20. which failed, the jails will not be improved nor
expanded, and the future of jail space remains as uncertain
as before the election.
MoshncxiNS
NVUCOMS.
Letters
Pillow talk
When President Reagan ap
peared on television to discuss
the recent non-summit, dinner
was put on the hac k burner in
this household, and we grabbed
our pillows and headed for the
couch.
We know what kind of show
the president can put on. with
his duplicitous rhetoric and
patriotic; blah-blah. We would
also be treated to a string of pur
poseful misstatements that pro
bably went unnoticted by
listeners more faithful than we.
Reagan's claim that SDI
would be non-nuclear is patent
ly false In fact, the dependency
of the SDI research program on
nuclear tests may la; partly
responsible for the U.S.'s
refusal to join the USSR in a
testing moratorium.
We adjusted our pillows. We
next heard that the USSR's
Krasnoyarsk radar system is in
violation of the ABM treaty. The
last issue of the respectable
quarterly Foreign Policy puts
that one to rest, too. But who
reads Foreign Policy?
The president droned on
about “freedom”, "human
rights" and every other buzz
word certain to arouse popular
support. We held onto our
pillows more tightly as he ex
plained that the SDI "peace
shield" is purely defensive, so
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the Soviets have nothing to fear.
Hut a shield is something
behind which one hides a
sword, so the Soviets' suspi
cions seem reasonable.
By the time the show ended,
our knuckles had grown white
from clutching the pillows, and
we threw our faces into them,
letting out a series of sustained
screams It is the only way to
survive watching such a
spectacle.
Dennis l.ueck
Eugene
Right to life
In his Oct. 28 letter. William
Moore quotes U.S. Surgeon
General C. Everett Koop as
follows: “Biologists take the
uniform position that life begins
at conception: Jhere is no
logical reason why the pro
abortionist should try to arrive
at a different definition when he
is talking about people....”
In fact, biologists are well
aware that the life cycles of
many — perhaps most —
organisms do not contain any
event remotely comparable to
conception.
Are bacteria alive? You may
not think so. but most biologists
certainly do. The most
charitable view that one may
take of Dr. Koop's claim is that
it was delivered after insuffi
cient ret lection
In any case, the opinions of
biologists have no bearing on
the legal and moral question of
the rights of individuals. Rights
exist by law or are discovered
by moral reasoning: They are
not "facts'', as Mr. Moore
would have us believe.
Letters Policy
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Letters to the editor must be
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The Supreme Court of the
United States has ruled that the
right to life begins well after the
moment of conception and ends
at the moment of execution of a
legal death sentence. If Mr.
Moore wishes to alter these ar
rangements, he must have
recourse to legislative
authorities, not “scientific”
ones.
Jerome Berryhill
GTF physics
Cruel irony
I find it a cruel irony that ad
vocates for abortion seem to ex
press concern for poor women
and their problems by sug
gesting that they have their un
born children killed.
In attempting to solve any of
life's real problems, including
injustice, economic and per
sonal hardships, there are moral
considerations that restrict how
we may solve them.
For instance, the parents of a
three year-old who find
themselves unable to cope with
parenting are not morally free to
shoot the child. While this ac
tion would solve their problem,
it would be at the expense of
their child's life and their own
humanity.
Similarly, killing the child at
some earlier stage of develop
ment, such as before birth.
would also solve some pro
blems. but be equally wrong.
A woman who finds herself
facing a crisis pregnancy should
know that there are many peo
ple and agencies that will glad
ly help her and her child. Liv
ing expenses, medical costs,
adoption services, parenting
classes, babysitting, transporta
tion and more are available to
her from people who genuinely
care. Birthright of Eugene is one
such group.
Women should not have to
live with the grief and guilt of
having consented to and par
ticipated in the destruction of
their child's life. Let us care for
the poor in ways that really help
them — not by making it easy to
choose to kill their children.
William Moore
Music