Eugene weekly., July 24, 2003, Page 5, Image 5

TO THE EDITOR
CLINTON ON STEROIDS
Yesterday, I was hating Bush, and I read
about how Bush was evil, and he said some-
thing really stupid, then he lied, and I
thought, “Man, I hate Bush!’”
Does this analysis seem limited? Can we
really pin this whole apocalyptic mess on
one man?
I remember Clinton bombing Iraq,
claiming that Iraq was refusing inspections.
In fact, Iraq objected only to U.S. inspec-
tors, who were spying. Also, Clinton’s ad-
ministration supported the sanctions that
killed millions of Iraqi children and elderly
people. I remember Clinton exploiting a ter-
rorist attack on our embassies to justify
bombing a medicine factory in the Sudan,
for which he had no international backing.
He claimed it was making chemical
weapons, but there was no evidence.
Familiar?
I also remember an unconstitutional
Anti-Terrorism Act, which was backed by
Clinton. I remember someone saying we
didn’t have to worry about global warming
as long as we had trees, discouraging peace
talks between the Koreas, supporting “wel-
fare reform,” and using a Social Security
surplus to fake a balanced budget on which
a very precarious economic bubble was
blown.
The Bush administration looks much to
me like the Clinton administration with the
steroid injection of Sept. 11. The one good
thing that could come out of this is under-
standing the inherent problems of capitalist
“democracy.” Instead, we take a simple-
minded personal focus on Bush. Bush is just
the next step in a process that’s been going
on for a long time. Getting rid of him won’t
stop it.
Robert Slaughter
Eugene
GETTING IN TOUCH
buy sell trade
I think Florence needs some tai chi after
so much bad blood over this casino issue.
The word “tai chi” refers to a perfect balance
between the yin and the yang, the two forces
of the universe. People who practice tai chi
perfect a series of motions that flow into one
another very smoothly and gracefully.
Obviously, those on both sides of this
heated casino debate have lost sight of tai chi,
and the importance of class and good taste.
Think about how our town’s founding
fathers and their Native American hosts had
indeed inspired faith, wisdom, tradition, and
even tolerance. But now, community lead-
ers on both sides of this issue are the source
of a bitter war of words, belligerence, and
prejudice. What is needed today is for some-
one in this community to take the lead on
this casino issue and show a little respect.
The message this community is sending
to our youth, senior citizens, and visitors is
not at all tai chi, but a cancer that, in the end,
will be our undoing.
My hometown was Atlantic City, N.J. I
left town when they passed casino gam-
bling, so I know something about this issue.
Casinos did a lot of harm in my former
hometown, and the gambling also did a lot
of good. At the end of the day, it was yin and
yang — good and bad — and the locals
learned to work together.
My hometown is now Florence, and I
want this community to remember that
there’s a democratic principle of respect at
stake here when it comes to this casino
issue.
It’s not as simple as yes or no. It’s all
about working together to make this town a
better place for all who live here.
Dave Masko
Florence
TAX THE GREEDY
Concerning tax reform, I propose a “pro-
gressive sales tax” for Oregon, directed
specifically at the methods by which the
rich get richer and more powerful (far out of
proportion to their potential or real social
worth). These methods include, but are not
necessarily limited to, interest payments of
many forms; commercial gambling (includ-
ing insurance); advertising (the industry of
producing misleading information, as op-
posed to “publicizing” honest information);
and war industries. It would ideally be “pro-
gressive” in two senses, one being that it
would be designed to start small and grow
each year for several years. The poor who
aren’t able to contribute can have hopes of
improvement. The rich think they’re al-
ready there.
By what measure can we claim that one
person is more than, say, five times as valu-
able to society as the average person? I’ve
heard there was a time when “income”
meant money you didn’t have to work for,
and “income tax” was just that.
Yes, such a tax would drive some indus-
tries and money “sources,” especially the
most greedy, to other states. Can we really
afford to continue their welfare payments?
Dan Robinson
Eugene
fashion
that pays
to be me.
131 E. 5th Ave (between Oak & Pearl) 687-2805
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