Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2003)
TO THE EDITOR THE SEXUAL GAG T here is an actual fear of sex by many in this country, and there is no more powerful way to control women and men than by using this fear to create havoc and pain. After reading the “Gag Ed” cover story in last week’s (6/12) edition, I could not help but notice that there is another agenda at work in addition to limiting a woman’s reproductive rights. I’m talking about sex. There is an actual fear of sex by many in this country, and there is no more powerful way to control women and men than by using this fear to create havoc and pain. Abstinence-only programs invented by someone based on guilt and religious shame seems to be another form of brain- washing. This is like seeking marriage counseling from a priest who’s celibate, which is upside-down logic. These self-ap- pointed guardians of morality want every- one to impose the same beliefs and para- noia they have about this powerful and beautiful experience called sex, on chil- dren! Between all the hand-wringing over the pedophilia scandals in the Catholic Church, and most Americans thinking that Clinton’s lies about Monica were worse than Dubya’s lies about Iraq and WMD’s, we are announcing to ourselves and the world that we have not yet evolved as a civilization in regards to one of the great- est gifts from God(dess) and Nature. Sex is the energy of love expressed, of stars and babies being born, of deep emo- tional release, and artistic and spiritual in- spiration. I feel it is about time to tell the truth about sex to ourselves, then we can offer truth and real guidance to our chil- dren. Our reproductive freedom begins with our sexual freedom. Isaac George Eugene BY TONY CORCORAN Dinner on Us! A wolfish invitation to the woods. N egotiations are plodding along at a snail’s pace, but folks are still talking. The education debate is at a standstill: Republicans aren’t budging from $4.9 billion for K-12, so we’re only $700 million apart on that budget. Democrats also want to fund a tuition freeze in community col- leges: cost is $20 million more. For OUS: restoring lost funding and tuition remis- sions, funding the Early Intervention program and a tuition freeze will cost an addi- tional $76 million. Restoring Headstart hasn’t even come up yet. In Human Services the good news is there’s a bi-partisan agreement on saving the Oregon Health Plan; the bad news is Republicans have shown no interest in funding anything else. These programs are not in the Republican proposal: school- based health clinics, prenatal programs, relief nurseries, court-appointed special advocates (for abused kids removed from the home), children’s mental health, emergency services for kids, System of Care (a legal promise the state made to the Juvenile Rights Project regarding child abuse), county health services, crisis men- tal health, drug and alcohol treatment, non-Medicaid mental health programs, gambling addiction services, the Staley Settlement, restoring care levels for sen- iors and the disabled, partial restoration of Oregon Project Independence, inde- pendent living centers — easily $150 million in programs. Oh well, it’s only June 23. There is a working group made up of the chairs and vice chairs of the House and Senate Revenue committees — and a fifth member appointed by the House Republicans to keep an eye on their own chair, Lane Shetterly. This fine tradition, the Gang of Five, first emerged during the special sessions: The Republicans didn’t trust Ben Westlund’s liberal compassionate conservatism in a room cohabitated by noted socialists like Lenny Hannon, Kurt Schrader and Peter Courtney. Lane and his buddies — Judiciary Chair Max Williams and Rob Patridge — had to form a secret cell just to talk to the infidel Democrats. Their colleagues originally called them the RBC, the Rat Bastard Caucus; but being shy moderate wallflowers relative to the rest of their caucus (and lawyers besides) they now call themselves the Usual Suspects. The BFC — Butt-Faced Caucus — has subpoenaed these guys to our hear- 4 JUNE 26, 2003 PROVOKING COPS The persecution of activists in our com- munity by the Eugene Police Department is going unheeded. Very few questions are being asked as to why particular activist groups are being targeted with brutal ar- rests and ticketing. The Bikes not Bombs ride on June 5 ended with eight bicyclists being ticketed for an array of nonsense vio- lations. During the rally for Jeffrey Free Luers on Saturday, 10 people were cited with violations, and two were arrested. The police handle many non-resisting protest- ers in an extremely abusive manner. I am personally involved in the anti-car movement that is going strong in Eugene. I understand the desire to lash out when the police force is sent in to subdue and dis- perse our rallies and meetings. I would like to urge Eugene activists to not provoke the EPD. We are not fighting them, but fighting against society as a whole. The world needs activists free and unharmed to be able to announce their ing next Tuesday to explain accordion-folding and other weapons of mass dis- traction. But I digress. These folks have been meeting and they’re actually making some progress in identifying sources of additional revenue. A retired Democratic lawmaker remarked: “Hell, I can’t see what’s takin’ ’em so long. When we were in control, we taxed everything that moved. And if that was- n’t enough, we’d go after things that didn’t move, like death certificate fees, and actuaries and pension lawyers. B ut we’re making fabulous progress in other areas of public policy. To wit: We bravely waived state park user fees for foster kids and disabled vets and ac- tive duty military folks, but only on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veteran’s Day. I kid you not, we did. And great news for outdoor recreationalists: A monster compromise has been reached between the Sierra Club and the NRA; yes folks, someday you’ll be able to hunt wolves from the air. But, political sausage-making compromises being what they are, we have agreed to hear from the wolves before we start shooting. (Gollee, I’m getting a chill up my spine, this feels like the Camp David Accords; this is what political life is really all about!) We did this by saying: If the definition of “game mammal” in ORS 496.004 is modified to include wolves, the Fish and Wildlife Commission can kill wolves only if they have a management plan. Brilliant! I can see it now ... “For the record, Chair Shields and members of the committee, my name is Trampus Lupus, I’m a 4-year-old visiting from Idaho — although my family tree goes back thousands of years in Oregon — and I’m here on behalf of OWSHIT, the Oregon Wolves Society for Humane Intelligent Treatment. “We are here today, Sen. Beyer, to understand the dash-3 amendments to HB2209. In fact, Senator Beyer, we would like to take you personally to our lodge in the woods and discuss this management plan ... No, Sen. Beyer, we do not want to take your personal airplane, and firearms aren’t allowed at the lodge anymore, after that drinkin’ incident with Betsy Close’s pickup a few years back … Yes, Sen. Beyer, you’re more than welcome to bring your guide, Sen. Atkinson … yes, fine, he can bring his fishin’ pole, but we’ll probably be having lamb chops for dinner. It’s on us. Thank you for hearing this testimony, distinguished senators.” Sen. Tony Corcoran of Cottage Grove represents portions of Lane and Douglas counties in Senate District 4, which includes the UO area. He can be reached at sen.tonycorcoran@state.or.us
