EDITORIAL
Measure 3 would
eliminate choice
The right to vote is perhaps the most sacred privi
lege enjoyed by members of u democracy. When people
go to the polls, they have the opportunity to elect the
men and women who they believe are most qualified
to represent them in government. Uullot Measure 3
would deny Oregonians that right
Measure 3 would set term limits on Oregon's state
and federal congressional delegates Service in the
House of Representatives (both federal and state)
would be limited to six years, and service in the Sen
ate, federal and state, would be limited to 12 years and
eight years, respectively. Additionally, the measure
would impose a lifetime maximum of 12 years in the
Oregon Leeislature.
Advocate* of the
measure argue that istcunt*
bents are too powerful and
too difficult to defeat.
They believe that their
mensure would prevent the development of career poli
ticians and open the political process to a greater varie
ty of people.
The text of Measure 3 should simply read, "We.
the people, are too stupid to think for ourselves. There
fore. be it enacted by us that our right to vote not be
further encumbered by requiring intelligent thought
and free will." In a nutshell, that's Measure 3 without
the typical political prose usually found in ballot meas
ures. .
For example, the voter's pamphlet contains the fol
lowing as an argument in favor: "Just re-elect them (in
cumbents). they tell us. and things will get better. But
we have been re-electing them year after year and times
are not getting better." Whose fault is that? The inabili
ty of voters to see beyond the rhetoric of JO second tel
evision commercials is not the fault of the candidates.
While Measure 3 would guarantee the eventual
ousting of bad politicians, it would also mandate the
removul of good politicians. Regardless of the quality
of work that an incumbent has performed, and regard
less of how many people want that candidate to remain
in office, he or she would be forbidden from further
service. Depriving government of quality servants is
tantamount to throwing the baby out with the bath wa
ter.
Measure 3 would also increase the power of non
cloctcd bureaucrats who can spend their entire careers
in government service, immune from any system of
checks and balances.
Then; is no question that campaign reform is need
ed. Limits on contributions and spending are the fairest
way to ensure that candidates do not get elected simply
bccuuse they have more money than their opponents.
Measure 3 would institutionalize voter apathy.
Term limits already exist — they are called elections.
Vote no on Measure 3.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than
250 words, legible, signed and the identification of the j
writer must lx; verified when the letter is submitted.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
PO BOX EUGENE OREGON 87403
The Oregon Da4y Emerald * puC*nhw3 da.iy Ucxxiay through Friday during the uNw
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Editor Pai M^acn
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Belittling
With Columbus Day upon us.
I am in no way surprised lo see
the campus newspaper (Ihe
Emerald) further |>erpetuate the
indignation of the indigenous
people of this continent
In the Oct H issue, the name
"Goronlmo" is headlined above
a photograph The word is in
associated, with a
joking prank involving a '‘dum
my.’'
Coronimo was a great and
honorable man who devoted
his life to Pigluing for justice
among the Apache
Never have I heard of such
civil rights activists as Martin
Luther King Jr . Gandhi, or Mal
colm X referred to in this jok
ing context Geronitno deserves
to f*1 among this group He and
his people were oppressed and
destroyed by our society Yet
you continue to belittle and in
sult him.
It is interesting how swiftly
this institution latches onto the
phrase "celebrate diversity." It
is odd how, in actuality, this
institution celebrates the de
struction ol diversity Good
dungs could tx- clone by the
Emerald to promote unity and
understanding during Ibis Co
lumbus Day commemoration
Itui instead we get subtle! impli
cations that our society was
rigid in exploding the indig
enous peoples of lids continent.
I’lcase stop promoting this ig
nore nee
Joshua Docherty
Undeclared
Shocked
1 would like to respond to
Jon Wollander's letter pub
lished in the LittorulJ (Oc t 12)
I, like many, uni surprised,
shocked and hurt th.it a small
fraction of Oregon residents .ire
even considering such a meas
ure My shock is even greater
when 1 read alarming narrow
mindedness sue h as that re
flected in Wollundor s letter He
says that ''those i housing to en
gage in high-risk dysfunctional
sex are designated the heroes
First of ail. sex can be high
risk regardless of whether it oc
curs between heterosexuals or
homosexuals, tar is functional
or dysfum lioii.il To imply that
only sex within the context of a
homosexual relationship is
dangerous is to suggest that
Wollander's sex education
and/or experience is not too
vast
Secondly, no one is being la
beled a hero in this conlrover
s'> I'uniing the winners, losers
and heroes is a typical altitude
expressed by people who don’t
educate themselves or attempt
to empathize with those around
them.
The rejection of Ballot Meas
ure is in no way a mandate
lor widespread homosexual re
lationships nor will it favor one
sexual preference over another.
•!; simply proi«*ts this type of
personal decision front the in
terference o( government. The
failure of this measure to pass
will allow people to continue
(housing their partners accord
ing to their personal prefer
ences Whether their relation
ships he sexual or platonic,
feelings shared between two
people, by definition, are pri
vate and choices relating to
these feelings full within the In
alienable rights of the individu
al
Vole no on H
Allison Soderstrom
Nursing, LCC
I ’m gone
I was Ixirn and raised in Ore
gon But the passage of Measure
5 two years ago and the mere
presence of Measure 4 on the
ballot this year have convinced
me to leave Oregon when I
complete my education I re
fuse to spend the rest of my life
in a stale where so many peo
ple believe that the government
should force discrimination
against homosexuals hut not
fund higher education
Now tlml I have announced
my intunlion to leave Oregon,
will I be charged non-resident
tuition rales, since I urn here
"primarily lor educational pur
poses'7
Kirk Jepsen
Sociology
Clear choice
Kevin Hornbuckle is Iho pro
gressive candidato for tin: Ward
3 City Council seal. He has
years of experience as a grass
roots activist and community
organizer.
He is opposed to the big
money, established interests
that have traditionally con
trolled the City Council. Be
cause Hornbucldo’s egalitarian
ideas appeal to Ward 3 voters,
he received broad voter support
and boat bben Dobson by sever
al hundred votes in the spring
primary, di-spite being outspent
by several thousand dollars
The big-money elite are wor
ried because they know that
Hornbucklc's election will re
sult in a progressive majority in
the City Council. They are clos
ing ranks behind Dobson and
will surely pour additional
thousands of dollars into the
race (Dobson refuses to agree to
a spending limit). Yet they
know this may not be enough
to defeat a community activist
with the widespread support ol
the people.
Hornbuckle has and will con
and interests of gays and lesbi
ans. women, minorities, the
disabled, the working class and
the poor. He vigorously op
poses the (XiA. A lengthy list
of progressive organizations
and community activists en
dorse Hornbuckle's campaign
Hornbuckle has a solid theoret
ical framework to support his
slogan: "for the i’eoplo, For the
Common Good ''
The choice is clear. Kevin
Hornbuckle is the progressive
Ward 3 candidate for the Liu
gone City Qmncil.
Chuck Areford
Eugene
Don’t believe
Whu is really lu blame lor the
disintegration of our uconomy,
timt>«rr jobs, complex ecosys
tems and climate?
Hob I’ackwood, Mark Hal
Held, Bob Smith, Los AuCoin
and other w(;stern congress
men, past and present, have
been deciding the fate of our
economy, natural resources, en
vironment and limber jotrs for
years, livery year for iiO years,
those men have voted for man
dated limber cut levels (in their
language, "monies appropriat
ed to the U S l-'orest Service
and BLM based on harvest tar
gets") that they knew could not
be sustained by the temperate
rainforest ol the Pacific North
west
These men voted lor un-sus
tainahle cutting levels implored
by corporate interests and other
special interests, including lo
cal governments who can only
see bigger dollar signs to an
chor their positions.
Second in blame has been
the leadership in the White
House. All these leaders can
see are dollar signs entering the
Federal Treasury from the tim
ber/minerttl resources taken
from our forests For example.
11 c ents to t!0 cents of every
timber dollar does not return ter
the stale
Don't I relievo the rhetoric —
the half-truths that are designed
to divide us and Ur Ircnefll the
wealthy and powerful
Shannon Wilson
Student