TO THE EDITOR
TRIBAL EDUCATION
In “Gambling With the Future” (6/24),
Jasmine Pittenger equates the Three Rivers
Casino (owned by the Confederated Tribes of
the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw
Indians) with the education necessary to
break the vicious cycle of poverty, lack of ed-
ucation and unemployment that beset the
tribe.
According to Bob Garcia, the tribe’s eco-
nomic development director, “Right now,
every dime the Confederated Tribes has
comes from the government.” But, as the arti-
cle reports, “funding is tight, and the tribes
are not able to pay for as much of their mem-
bers’ education as they would like.”
Assuming that casino money, in fact, will buy
the education that breaks the cycle, the cost to
the non-tribal community is simply ignored.
Many members of the non-tribal commu-
nity, the folks whose dimes and dollars fund
those tight government payments, are them-
selves feeling the pinch as they try to provide
their children with an education. Reputable
economists estimate that for every dollar
landing in a casino’s till, the community pays
out anywhere from $2 to $12 in social costs.
Thirty to 50 percent of a casino’s take is mis-
ery money drained from addicted gamblers
who will commit crimes, file bankruptcy,
abuse their children and sometimes commit
suicide because of their addiction. The rest is
disposable income diverted from tax-paying
merchants with whom it would otherwise be
spent. As a mother of two small boys and as a
teacher, I empathize with the tribe’s special
programs director wanting little, 7-year-old
Eagle, who is part Coos, to have the opportu-
nities that I want for my sons.
I also want my sons to take pride in their
Choctaw heritage without forgetting that they
are part of a larger community to which they
owe the responsibilities that the law and social
conscience places on its citizens. My husband
and I hope to teach our boys that their Indian
ancestry should be a venerable guide for earn-
ing their place in society, not an entitlement to
reparations for historical wrongs done to their
ancestors generations ago.
Susie Dewberry
Florence
MAKE ROOM
Summer is here, and with it comes hordes
of pleasure seekers. As a resident of
Cheshire, I see a huge influx of traffic on
Highway 36, bound for such destinations as
Triangle Lake and the coast.
Unfortunately for me, my only access to
the trails where I ride my horse are about a
mile down the highway. I am constantly
amazed at how many people speed past my
horse and I, never even hitting their brakes, or
worse yet, honking their horns.
Please respect the rights of everyone on
the road. When you see a horse and rider,
slow down, and if cross traffic allows, swing
into the other lane a bit to give them room. Be
aware of your load — even the most trust-
worthy horse can be spooked by large, loud
RVs, trucks pulling trailers or boats behind
them, flapping plastic tarps, etc. Use com-
mon sense — would you ever honk at a bicy-
clist?
Please help keep me and my fellow riders
safe this summer. Every equestrian will ap-
preciate the consideration you show them on
the road.
J. Holmberg
Cheshire
CRUEL SENTENCE
Although Jeffrey Luers admits he made a
mistake in burning SUVs to protest global
warming, his prison sentence of 23 years is
exceedingly cruel punishment, lacking in jus-
tice, understanding, and compassion.
Mary Jessup
San Francisco
BY DAN CAROL
Tasty New Items
At The Regime Change Café
W
hen the Fahrenheit 9/11 box office is giving Shrek 2 a run for
its money, you know something is up. People are fired up and
hungry for change. Frankly, it is too bad we can’t have the “han-
dover” early like they do over there in Iraq, but the day of reckoning is a-coming on
Nov. 2. Amen to that.
The good news is that there are so many initiatives and groups out there working to
rally the troops, register voters and re-defeat Bush that one can’t help be optimistic
(pause to knock on wood). The bad news is that there are so many things going on, that
it is sometimes hard to keep track of them all.
To address the new reality that politics isn’t just centered inside the work of tradi-
tional political parties anymore, a while ago I put together a tongue-in-cheek yet quite
serious menu — for a virtual eatery called The Regime Change Café. The menu is still up
— you can check it out at www.kumbayadammit.com — and original staples like
MoveOn.org, America Votes, and Grassroots Democrats remain customer favorites.
But since the first menu was laminated nine months ago, more promising initiatives
have been cooked up by political chefs across the country. So here’s a listing of the
newest specials you might want to sample and buy.
KERRY’S KITCHEN: Down the street from The Regime Change Café there’s a new
restaurant open that needs your business called JohnKerry.com According to federal
law, you can spend up to $2,000 there.
BE A BILLBOARD: 100 million people didn’t vote in 2000 and uh, most of them
aren’t big Bush people. So numero uno, we simply need to remind people to vote. Go to
November2.org to get the coolest T-shirt out there that is simple, direct and guaranteed
to start a conversation about voting, hope and change. November2.org is brought to
you by a coalition of about 1,000 voter registration groups, including MoveOn.org
HOUSE PARTIES: Sept. 22 is another day to mark down on your calendar. That’s
when educators and activists will be holding house parties to highlight Bush’s weak edu-
cation report card. See www.greatpublicschools.org for more — and remember to bring
an apple for your teacher.
HOOK UPS: Still fired up to do more after hitting the house party circuit?
ElectionMatch.org is designed to connect groups who need volunteers with folks ready
to help. Perfect for anyone who has a week or two to spare and is ready to go anywhere.
Think blue states.
LET’S GO OHIO: If you can make it or know friends who can, I’d check out The
4 JULY 8, 2004
League of Pissed Off Voter National Conference — happening July 16 in
Columbus, Ohio (see www.indyvoter.org). In the words of the organizers:
“This is no ordinary boring conference with speakers and panels!!!...”
This will be a hands-on voter training effort led by the top talent in the 18-
30-year-old space, designed to empower people to make their own 90-
Day Plan to electoral success. Bring a friend when you go and poof — you
can form your own League of Pissed Off Voters local chapter. But remember
to be nice to ladies from the League of Women Voters if you see them at the
mall. They started it all.
REPUBLICAN SURVIVOR: It’s down to the home stretch in the six-week, web-ani-
mated series brought to you by hungry House Democrats. Check it out at
www.dtriptv.org This funny series started out with W, Cheney, Tom Delay, Katherine
Harris, Ann Coulter and John Ashcroft trying to outlast each other. Funny yes, but the
strategy behind it is deadly serious: Constituency voting patters in key Houses races in
Florida, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Oregon could swing the election again (the
total margin of Gore vs. Bush in those FOUR states was just under 15,000 votes in
2000).
SWAP MEETS: Pained by Kerry’s appeal to the middle but afraid of four more years
of Republican rule? Consider strategic vote swapping with Nader voters in Alabama and
other red states you can learn more at www.naderkerry.org
HERE’S THE BEEF: In answer to that old question “One-two-three, what are we
fighting for?” (which too often progressives have just filled in with “Not Bush/Not
This”), The New Democracy Project has issued a great new compilation called “What We
Stand For: A Program for Progressive Patriotism.” Is Progressive Patriotism a new
L–word to rally around? We could do worse.
STILL MAD?: If you haven’t had enough after checking out the Michael Moore
movie, there’s an excellent mini-documentary about Bush’s hypocritical relationship
with the military. Visit www.americanfamilyvoices.org to buy a copy of Honor Betrayed
— for a swing voter you know. Or support a great new group called Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW) that’s suing right-wing groups who
aren’t playing by the rules. For too long, groups like Judicial Watch have been filing friv-
olous lawsuits to feed the right-wing scandal machine. Now, thanks to CREW, there’s a
new sheriff in town.
BORN IN THE USA: Bruce Springsteen, this one’s for you. They stole your anthem
of working class America in the 1980s under Reagan, we want it back. Tell The Boss all
about it by urging him to play a big concert during the Republican convention at
DraftBruce.com
Dan Carol is a Democratic political strategist and a founding partner of CTSG (www.ctsg.com), a progressive
consulting firm based in Eugene and Washington, D.C.