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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2005)
Ilackamas Print Commentary 3 Wednesday. Nov. 2, 2005 grand mess of our own making \¡re 37’s support aught its defeat wselves Stone mas Print |sked for it. ;ck in 1902, Oregon led the initiative pro- | allow citizens them- |o change the Oregon Ition. It sounds good ■r, but it has borne ■ Measure 37, which, ■iscussing the matter line Oregonians, is akin [ng an afterburner with Kne uninitiated, it gives ■ners recourse (in the |f money or waiving t^Bient, for instance) &d-use regulation not It at the time of acqui- Idevalues property or litsuse. Unfortunately, [now beginning to reap e have sown. lekyll has become Mr. sing last year’s voters’ pamphlet, the arguments for and against passage followed similar themes. Those in favor gave the heart-wrench ing stories laced with righ teous indignation, and those against had shorter explana tions and longer lists of sup porters, usually farm bureaus or politicians. Proponents contend ed that they worked hard for their land and should be given free rein over its use without paying out the nose for lawyers and court fees to combat inane regu lations being enforced by a greedy and capricious gov ernment. In addition, they said these regulations would create instability for current and potential small business owners, driving up the price to do business in-state. Opponents argued that administrative expenditures were too high (over $300 mil lion), and payouts to landown ers would be astronomical, putting an unwelcome strain on already tapped state, coun ty and local coffers. They also predicted we’d have more red tape after creating Measure 37 bureaucracies, resulting in an orgy of tax-hikes and uncon trolled development the likes of which haven’t been seen since ancient Rome. We all know what hap- pened. Fast forward to Oct. 14 when a Marion County judge declared the measure uncon stitutional, cries of “activist judge” and “socialism” came fast and furious. Looking at the ruling, it sure looks like she had the right idea, and the Oregon Supreme Court should uphold it. First, she said it vio lated constitutionally man dated separation of powers because executive enforce ment of land-use laws was given to legislatures, having them decide which statute or rule to enforce. Second, it created a privi leged class of citizens violat ing constitutional guarantees of equality. Third, it suspended land use laws in certain situations, a power reserved for the state legislature. Finally, it denied substan tive due process, violating the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because a claim may decrease sur rounding property values while requiring a nearby landowner to comply with the same regula tion. We have a mon- 1000 FRIENDS ster here, folks. The measure does not pro- vide a source of revenue to handle claims and, accord ing to the Oregonian, Clackamas County claims are at ! $568 million i and rising, The grease has turned out to be the gum as claims swamp local officials and the mea sure trades one kind of injus tice for anoth-I er. But, we asked for it. Photo illustration by Gabe Stone Clackamas Print y have the 10 days of Christmas become the 110? In the retail world, Christmas starts wrote a short poem for his daughters. of Santa Claus. The concept of Santa after Labor Day. If you have ever The poem was “’Twas Claus living at the North Pole, having worked retail, you understand why the Night Before reindeer and living with elves businesses start hiring in August for Christmas.” After this has been pounded into the holiday season. Having worked poem came out, retail y/ the heads of people all commercialization ’ of in retail for years, I know this concept stores grabbed a hold over the world by s has been bothering a lot all too well * ofit and started creat the retail business. over the years. Most of the We start getting inundated by ing the mythology Americanretail jthered by it are Christians, Christmas ads every September and it stores started their that the true meaning of doesn’t end until the New Year. Retail Christmas adver s has been lost Well, they’re employees attempt to convince tising in lhe mid- n though they hypocritically consumers to buy more items 19 century, with n this nationwide shopping because Christmas is only a few this new incar pg the holidays. months away. Stores even start nation of Saint mas is a time when we’re decorating for Christmas early, Nicholas. Later, to be sharing kindness with especially at malls. Meier and Mall Santas start iter and experiencing joy of Frank even has a year-round ing appearing in [ell, the retail world coupled section dedicated to Christmas. stores nationwide to greet the Isumer mentality has seen To find the roots of Christmas throngs of children and their troy that ideal and give us commercialization we have to parents. If I were Jesus, I would of greed. I like to call it,. head back to 19 century America. think about reconsidering that Photo illustration by E. E. West Clackamas Print pacifism thing as.” In 1822 an Episcopalian minister So how can we bring the spirit of Christmas back? My suggestion is for people to make changes in their life style during lhe holiday season. I’m not saying everyone should become Christian (there is a major secular part of Christmas after all), we just need to learn to control our greed. If people started having their families adopt a Secret Santa program, where every one is assigned somebody to buy a gift for, this would cut down a lot on overspending during the Holidays. Another way is to make gifts on our own. There’s nothing more intimate or kind than giving someone a gift that was created especially for them. Remember, we can’t blame the commercialization of Christmas entirely on corporations, the consumer is largely to blame as weft. Use of the word “cripple” sparks indignation I was dismayed and disappointed by toe refer ence in your recent article (Parking: toe daily bane of every student’s existence) to “a cripple.” What is the purpose for using such offensive and archaic termi nology? Would you print derogatory names for other minority groups so flip pantly? Moreover, while it is understandable to view an open disability parking spot wistfully, toe assumption that the author would “have worse problems than park- ing” if she were “a cripple” seems rather ignorant. Is using a wheelchair to get around such a defining characteristic? Is get ting a good parking spot the best moment of the day for someone using a wheelchair? Of course not, but it is these kinds of assumptions and attitudes that, intentionally or not, place limits and barriers on people with disabilities. And these limits can affect us all; remem ber, disability is the only minority group with an open-door policy. Casey Sims Coordinator, Resource Center Disability C o -E ditors - in -C hief : Ben Maras, bekamas Print James Tombe C opy E ditors : Katie Weinberg, E. E. POS. Molalla Ave. West on City, OR 97045 657-6958 ex. 2309 N ews E ditor : Katie Wilson C ommentary E ditor : Laura Cameron F eature E ditor : C.J. Ciaramella S ports E ditor : N. P. Delzell A&E E ditor : Jadon Triplett P hoto E ditor : Jeff Sorensen jucKAAMs Print is a weekly |dent publication and is pd every Wednesday except I finals week. Regarding the article about parking written by Courtney O’Byrne. Here is a quote from it: “Some days, I wish I was a cripple just so I could get a really good spot. But then again, I would be a cripple, so I’d probably have worse problems than parking.” This writer, Courtney O’Byrne, already has big ger problems than any handi capped person I know. BEING IGNORANT and having NO CLASS are just two of them. If Courtney is thinking of A d M anager : Sam Krause A d A ssistant : Megan Cline S taff W riters : Frank Jordan, writing as a future career, I suggest that she takes at least one class on how not to be such a SOCIAL BUFFOON. Sincerely Patrick Smida Editors ’ response: The inclusion of the offend ing statement in “Parking: the daily bane of every student’s existence” was debated before the story went to print. In the end, an editorial decision was made to keep the statement. P roduction A ssistants : Megan Koler, Tayo Stalnaker, Kyle Steele, Jesse Arguello Matthew Olsen, Tayo Stalnaker, Courtney CXByme, Mike Guidice, Jimi McDonnell, Gabe Stone, Joe P hotographers : Andy Zehrung Piazzisi, Megan Koler, Kimberly D epartment A dvisor : Linda Vogt Maier, Elizabeth Hitz, Adam J. D epartment A ssistant : Pat Lichen Manley We support our writers ’ right to self-expression and while there was no malicious intent, we regret the offense that was taken and realize that the same point could have been made with a better choice of words. All feed back is encouraged and can be directed to chiefed@clackamas. edu. Ben Maras James Tombe Co-Editors-in-Chief Laura Cameron Commentary Editor G oals : The C lackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the stu dent body, college administration, its faculty or The Print. E-mail comments to chiefed@dackamas. edu.
