Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2004)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR One of the problems is the overuse of plastic tape, etc. when shipping cardboard- boxed items to consumers or friends/fami- ly. Another problem is that a lot of resi- dents do not want to take the time required for proper sorting. We are brainwashed to over-consume and poorly educated about what to do with throwaways. Speaking of trash, the biggest piece of trash we need to recycle is George W. Bush. See www.votetoimpeach.org Bob Saxton Eugene IF YOU KNEW ME … I am an independent, a conservative with a mind. My vote covered the land- scape from a liberal state senator (Patty Murray in Wash.) who took care of my daughter; to local attorneys I trusted to decipher the law. I trust Lieberman and write opinion pieces when I see a wrong being perpetrated. My children will make a difference because I take the time to say I love them and help them grow in their own way. Be it gay, prosperous, poor or just the average Joe — I don’t care what they choose. I care about them, period. Eugene — I care about all of you too. But you are allowing divisiveness to destroy your ability to care about the greater whole. If you met me you would smile. My vegan friends never knew I was a hunter. They love me for me. Tree-hug- gers would cherish my heirloom apple trees. Stop hanging labels in front of good people who are different than you. I spend the time to listen to liberal media. I also spend time listening to conservative media. It widens one’s understanding. Do you? If you are a liberal, herb-friendly, vegan, recycler would you stop loving your child who chose a different path? Or would you accept difference? I bet I could be your friend, too. But you wouldn’t give me a chance as a registered Republican. Shame on you! It is time to stop building such ridges of dissention based on ideology. My dearly beloved grandparents were as liberal as anyone you could name. But we loved each other so very much because we brought balance to the family. They taught me Bach, a beam reach and philanthropy. I taught them about home-care medicine, athletics and stopping to help strangers. Their difference made me stronger and more willing to listen to all opinions. If you allow the DNC, RNC and Green Déjà Vu, All Over Again By Blair Bobier T he 2004 presidential election produced a variety of interesting reactions. Some people are in denial; others are outraged. Some are challenging the integrity of the process and the legitimacy of the results. Others simply want us to “get over it.” There seems to be little disagreement in progres- sive circles that Bush & co. (brother Jeb, Katharine Harris and five U.S. Supreme Court justices) stole the 2000 election. But what about the 2004 election? Whether or not it, too, was stolen seems to be an open question and, unfortunately, too few people — including most members of the media — are looking for the answer. It ain’t that hard to steal an election in this country. If you’re a Republican, just find yourself a swing state — say, Ohio or Florida — and figure out how to suppress the African-American vote which traditionally goes heavily Democratic. Make no mistake about it, Ohio is this year’s Florida. In 2000, Florida Secretary of State Katharine Harris, ignoring an obvious conflict of interest, served as the chair of the Bush campaign in that state while presiding over the state’s election process and vote-counting. In Ohio 2004, it’s Kenneth Blackwell who is the Bush campaign chair, secretary of state and chief vote-counter. In Florida 2000, thousands of African-Americans were removed from the voting rolls illegally. In Ohio 2004, the African-American vote was suppressed by more dif- fused methods: too few voting machines producing unreasonably long lines, long- time voters “disappeared” from the poll books, ballots not counted because they were “spoiled,” voters supplied with the wrong day, time or place to vote. You wouldn’t know it from the corporate media (and EW hasn’t been much bet- ter), but the Ohio election has produced citizen and congressional forums, an elec- tion contest lawsuit and a recount demanded by the Green Party and Libertarian presidential candidates. The recount, intended to protect the right to vote and the right to have all votes counted, won’t overturn the results of the election but it has provided a critical forum to discuss essential reforms such as: voter-verified paper trails for electronic voting machines, a constitutional right to vote, and replacing the Electoral College with a popular vote using instant runoff elections. To find out more about the Ohio recount and how the Green Party is fighting for a stronger America, visit www.votecobb.org Blair Bobier of Corvallis is media coordinator for the Cobb-LaMarche Green Party presidential campaign. DECEMBER 30, 2004 5
