Oregon daily emerald., May 13, 2004, Image 2

Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online: www.dailyemerald.com
Thursday, May 13,2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Jan Tobias Montry
Editorial Editor:
Travis Willse
ElOITORI AL_
Piercy's views
line up well
with students'
With no major budget-cutting measures on the upcom
ing ballot, the May 18 primary hasn't received the same at
tention that surrounded recent elections. While most ma
jor races will not be determined until this fall's general
election, it's important for students to realize that four ma
jor races are transpiring, and the outcome of some of these
contests is very much in students' hands.
At the city level, students can vote in the mayoral race,
and residents of Ward 1, Ward 2 and Ward 7 can vote for
their area's City Council delegate. What's more, any candi
date who gamers more than 50 percent of the vote is the
winner — so if students plan to vote, now is the time to do
it!
Below is a list of candidates the Emerald Editorial Board
encourages students to vote for.
Mayor
The mayoral race pits former state Rep. Kitty Piercy
against current City Councilor Nancy Nathanson. From a
functionality standpoint, Nathanson seems to be the clear
cut choice because she has 10-plus years of local legislative
experience. Nathanson has solid plans on helping the
downtown area, and the University graduate wants to cre
ate a city liaison to encourage current businesses to remain
in Eugene and to entice others to come to town.
On the other hand, Nathanson voted to increase the
powers of the Department of Public Safety during the sum
mer, while students were away, because die Eugene Police
Department and the University asked for it. She said she
supports the sports arena being built near the new court
house site, where the University and city could share a new
parking structure. Such a location wouldn't alleviate the
parking concerns many students on campus already have.
Lasdy, Nathanson said she wouldn't support citywide
housing standards: "I would not be in favor of writing new
housing standards for Eugene because that would take
months and months." Nathanson acknowledged there are
"obvious abuses," but said current state law simply needs
to be enforced.
On the other hand, Piercy said she hadn't looked into
the DPS situation, but added that she was concerned non
officers were given such power. Piercy said she'd like to see
the arena bring downtown and the University together, but
also acknowledged a need for easy student-access. Lastly,
Piercy said she supports housing standards.
For realizing that the University enrollment is larger than
most small cities in the states as Nathanson pointed out to
the Board, she doesn't seem to think students' concerns are
much of a priority. A vote for Piercy — and subsequently
students' interests — will change that.
Ward 1
Ward 1 needs a breath of fresh air. In 2000, Eugene May
or Jim Torrey told The Register-Guard that Bonny Bettman,
who currently occupies Ward 1, would aid in making it
"practically impossible for any meaningful discussion
around issues that are important to the city of Eugene."
Perhaps Tom Slocum, who is running against Bettman,
will provide a new voice to the ward. He's a University
graduate who is dedicated to stimulating Eugene's sad
economy. And perhaps he, as a former student has an un
derstanding of the absurdity of pushing through certain
measures, which would greatly affect students, in the sum
mer. See July's questionable passage of expanding DPS
powers, which had Bettman's support.
Ward 2
Drawing on some seven years of Eugene City Council
service (including acting as the council president in 2001),
the Editorial Board endorses Councilor Betty Taylor for a
third term in Ward 2. Taylor's priorities are in the right place:
She lists economic development and environmental pro
tection among her key issues. Her experience on the Coun
cil makes her the most qualified candidate for Ward 2.
Ward 7
The Editorial Board endorses incumbent City Councilor
and researcher-writer Scott Meisner for a third term in of
fice, too. Among the numerous changes Meisner has
worked for on the council are a new federal courthouse, the
new downtown library and the protection of Rasor Park.
The councilor and former lawyer's years of experience in
city policy make him the right choice for Ward 7.
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HUMOROUS FANATICISM
Whenever I clumsily attempt humor in
one of my columns, I am inevitably barraged
by e-mails from readers who just didn't get
the joke.
In last week's column I used sarcasm that I
assumed was about as subtle as a brick to the
face. I guess I was mistaken, because a num
ber of my liberal readers were genuinely
shocked that I would blame John Kerry for
the death of our soldiers in Iraq.
"You are totally crazy, nuts and full of it" one
of my adoring fans wrote "You are on crack."
"Congratulations on the worst bit of logic I
have ever seen in print" wrote another.
Perhaps these liberals, so accustomed to pun
dits saying outrageous things, have become
blind to sarcasm. Or perhaps they are fanatics.
The first sign of fanaticism is the inability
to appreciate art, in this case the art of humor.
Art requires one to look beyond the surface to
find deeper meanings. But the fanatic, so
clouded by his or her absolute worldview,
cannot see past the literal meaning of things
and therefore is not amused. The Taliban is
the perfect example.
We have many humorless fanatics in the
White House: Dick Cheney, Donald Rums
feld, Paul Wolfowitz, John Ashcroft and Karl
Rove to name a few. Is it just me or do these
guys look like Batman villains? Can't they
hire somebody to teach them how to avoid
looking evil? On television, Dick Cheney
makes Dick Nixon look like a Teletubby.
I don't think the president belongs with this
group. Bush is a likable guy who is well-known
for his sense of humor. That is why it has al
ways perplexed me when liberals describe him
as a Christian right-wing fanatic. How can they
say that? He just doesn't fit the fanatical mold.
At least that is what I once believed. But re
cently I had an epiphany. Yes, George W. Bush is
a fanatic but he is a much more rare breed: He is
the fanatic who cannot take anything seriously.
After I realized this, the last four years sudden
ly became clear. All of Bush's incomprehensible
actions, which I used to blame on his stupidity
or his past alleged cocaine abuse were infused
with new meaning.
Why did Bush on Sept 11, after learning that
terrorists were attacking the United States, con
tinue to read to a room full of children? He
couldn't take the terrorists seriously. And he real
ly wanted to finish that book; after all, it had
David Jagernauth
Critical mass
been a while since he read a book all by himself.
Why did Bush do nothing when he received a
memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike
in US"? He couldn't take the memo seriously
And let's not forget when Bush went to the
Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner
in March and joked about the lack of WMDs in
Iraq. A photo of Bush looking under a rug in
the White House was projected on the wall.
"Nope No WMDs under here * Bush said. Sev
eral U.S. soldiers died the next day.
The proof of Bush's "humorous fanaticism"
even predates his presidency. During an inter
view with Talk magazine in 1999, Bush made
fun of a woman he had recently put to death in
Texas. "Please don't kill me" Bush said mock
ing the desperation in her voice
Gary Bower, the right-wing Christian fanatic
who, ironically, looks like Satan, was flabbergast
ed at Bush's remarks. "I think it is nothing short
of unbelievable that the governor of a major state
running for president thought it was acceptable
to mock a woman he decided to put to death,"
he said, according to the Houston Chronicle
He added: "I do not believe he is serious about
the sanctity of life"
Exactly! Bush cannot take anything seri
ously. He cannot take seriously the warnings
from his own environmentalists about global
warming. He cannot take seriously the warn
ings from his own economists about our un
precedented deficits. He can't take Colin Pow
ell seriously. He can't take the opiniorj of the
international community seriously.
To summarize: IfVice President Cheney is the
Penguin, then President Bush is the Joker. And I
think I see the Bat Signal in the distance...
Contact the columnist
at davidjagernauth@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Emerald misses point
This letter is in response to a re
cent editorial ("Student Senate
could be new reality TV show,"
ODE, April 14), which claimed
that the United States Student As
sociation's trip to Washington D.C.
was a waste of money, and that the
"chance of USSA students bringing
meaningful, tangible benefits to
the University (is) 1 percent." In
this situation, the Editorial Board is
simply wrong.
First, this column gives a false
impression to readers by failing to
fully explain the USSA's confer
ence This editorial makes it appear
that ASUO President Maddy
Melton and the others were treated
to a five-star vacation. Absolutely
not In reality, this seminar includ
ed workshops on becoming allies
to different communities, and con
crete promises were received from
members of Congress for funding
of higher education. By giving
readers an incomplete story, the
Editorial Board showed their lack
of support for alliances towards
minority students, and are unin
formed about the pledges of con
gressional representatives.
Furthermore, in this same edito
rial, the editors once more failed to
properly analyze a delicate situa
tion with the issue of ASUO Vice
President Eddy Morales' assertion
of racial discrimination during a
Senate meeting. According to this
editorial, because Morales' claim
was not necessarily agreed on by all
Senate members, in the future he
"should just keep his mouth shut"
Although I am not a racial minori
ty, I can only hope that all people
would choose to voice an issue of
possible discrimination, especially
if related to my actions, instead of
"keeping their mouth shut" in or
der to avoid disturbing a member
of the ODE Editorial Board.
Ailee Slater
freshman
English