Eugene weekly., July 08, 2004, Page 6, Image 6

TO THE EDITOR
ruling class. Once again art was stolen from
the people.
Before my grandfather’s time everyone
was allowed and encouraged to be artistic. I
have seen their weaving, paintings on walls
and bowls, their carvings, and heard their
music, none of which could be sold to a doc-
tor, lawyer, CEO or the state and none of
which would gain them a grant to do art.
Their lives were approached artistically and
they paid their own rent.
The saddest thing about today’s art is,
like everything else, people have allowed it
to be stolen through enslavement, concentra-
tion of wealth, and the elitism of self-indul-
gent modern “artists.”
Ed Gunderson
Creswell
UNCOMPROMISING NADER
There have been few people in the histo-
ry of this nation who have worked harder,
given more, and achieved more to promote
social justice than Ralph Nader.
I support him in this election because he is
the only candidate who has taken an uncom-
promising stance in opposition to the butchery
of thousands of unarmed men, women and
children in Iraq. I had the honor and privilege
of volunteering to work at the Nader nomina-
tion convention in Portland on June 26. Just
being in the presence of well over 1,000 peo-
ple who share my point of view was a thrill.
It was less thrilling to be in the presence
of the 60 or so Kerry supporters who showed
up in a deliberate attempt to sabotage our
efforts to get Mr. Nader on the ballot in
Oregon. I called the Democratic Party of
Oregon to express my displeasure. Not sur-
prisingly, the nice lady I spoke with hung up
on me when I pointed out that disrupting
other political parties’ meetings was a tactic
used by Hitler’s Brown Shirts during the
Parade Creativty
Workshop
Saturday, July 17, 9:30 am–Noon
EWEB Community Room
Admission is FREE—plus receive $10 off
your Eugene Celebration Parade entry fee
To sign up call Downtown Events Management, Inc.
541.681.4108
The Big EC Parade
Saturday, September 18, 9:00 am
Watch for the Big EC Kickoff Party
with the Neville Brothers, Aug. 14
in downtown Eugene’s Broadway Plaza!
www.eugenecelebration.com
THE WAIT IS OVER!
NEXT WEEK ...
CHOW!
Eugene Weekly's Restaurant Guide
Chow! features reviews of area eateries and a
directory of Eugene and Corvallis restaurants.
Ad reservation deadline is Friday, July. 9th by 5pm.
Contact Mark Frisbee 484-0519 ext. 28
6 JULY 8, 2004
Nazi’s rise to power in Germany in the
1930s. I am mystified how anyone who
identifies themselves as a progressive or lib-
eral can support this resurgent fascism.
Bob Watson
Eugene
LIBERTY IS DEAD
The Supreme court recently made two
decisions about the right to remain silent.
They ruled in favor of Dick Cheney remain-
ing silent, which was good for Dick because
he did not want the people in California to
know what his Enron buddies had planned to
do to Granny Tillie’s ass when her electric bill
came. The other decision ruled that everyone
else had to tell the police their name. That
name when entered into the officer’s
Blackberry wireless device will give him
access to the Matrix. The Matrix, a federally
funded data base, would inform the officer
who your relatives are, who lives in your
house, the kind of car you drive or boat you
own, whether you’ve been sued or, in one
case, that you took your now ex-wife to a sex
club. If you don’t think it is right to sacrifice
your liberties for “National Security,” just
remember what Dick Cheney said on the
Senate floor the other day. “Go f*ck your-
self!”
Michael T. Hinojosa
Drain
OVERCAFFEINATED
I am greatly offended by the 6/24 “Too
Much Coffee Man” cartoon. In this cartoon,
an angry man yells and then kicks his loving
and receptive cat. I would ask, “Does this car-
toon give kids and adults the idea that it’s
alright to kick an animal?” I would say yes.
Perhaps you should think about the hundreds
of animal abuse cases that are reported in
Lane County Why would you want to encour-
age this kind of abuse. Why is animal abuse
funny? What next, rape jokes? Domestic
abuse humor?
I call for the suspension or removal of
Shannon Wheeler, the cartoonist, and an apol-
ogy to the cool cats of Eugene. We love cats
and to see them being abused is not funny.
James Bakerhall
Eugene
COMMON GROUND
In America, our bounty is in some ways
our curse. In this land of plenty, we are not
forced to work together out of necessity or
thrift. Our ignorance of each other misleads us
into assigning easy categorizations: “liberal”
or “conservative,” “radical” or “warmonger.”
We paint those who disagree with us into
absurdly extreme corners in our mind, and
never allow them to come out and be heard.
Reading letters to the editor, I often won-
der whether Americans are increasingly pay-
ing lip service to the ideals of democracy. A
democracy invites and tolerates the clash of
opinions, and understands its obligation to
search for common ground. Indeed, a democ-
racy knows its very survival depends upon it.
A combustible mix of events is brewing:
political party conventions, the release of the
9/11 Commission and Senate Intelligence
Committee reports, a highly-charged theatri-
cal release from a contentious director, the
release of a loved and hated ex-president’s
autobiography, the Olympics in Athens, the
growing torture scandal, and the possibility
of worsening violence in the summer heat of
electricity-insufficient Iraq.
The fire danger here at home is very real.
If we allow ourselves to forget our common
interests, our common purpose, and our
common ideals, our nation could be
engulfed by passions not seen since 1968.
Finding common ground requires first
searching for it, a responsibility that belongs
to all of us.
Todd Huffman, M.D.
Eugene