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.