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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2004)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR political group called the neo-conserva- tives. I can’t help but wonder if this group of shrewd Zionist (both Christian and Jewish) knew they had their man — a man so full of faith that Christians would feel his sincerity and follow him anywhere. But, how much do you know about the faith and beliefs of the men and women who are advising our charismatic leader? How confident are you of their intentions and motives? “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) Carol Horne Eugene of obedience. Therefore, individual citi- zens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring.” Forty years ago, Buffy Sainte-Marie sang “Without him, all this killing can’t go on. He’s the universal soldier, and he real- ly is to blame. His orders come from far away no more. They come from him, and you, and me.” And if progressives really want to put a stop to the deaths of innocent people with the spread of American Empire, we must stop all support for it — and that includes supporting the troops! Robert Simms Eugene DUTY TO REBEL WHY WAIT? I question the logic of many anti-war activists. They readily complain (rightful- ly so) about U.S. police forces abusing them during peaceful protests, yet they continue to support U.S. police forces who commit far worse abuses on Iraqi civil- ians. Try to compare the feel of pepper spray or the impact of rubber bullets with the experience of having foreign occupiers shooting you and your family with real bullets! The imperialism of the Bush adminis- tration would lie dormant, if not for the atrocities carried out by U.S. troops. During WWII, the Nazis were also “just following orders.” But in 1950, the Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal said, “Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations Allan Pittman (News Briefs,12/16) tells us that Eugene 4J School District is applying for a grant to retrofit school bus fleet vehicles to run on cleaner-burning ultra low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel, at a cost of $400,000, plus an additional $0.12/gallon for fuel consumed. There is an alternative that is available to the district today that requires no retro- fitting to the fleet vehicles, and costs much less per gallon than ULSD. This alterna- tive fuel is a blend of biodiesel and petro- leum diesel fuels, and is available for pur- chase and distribution today. The city of Eugene fleet diesel vehicles have been running on a 20 percent blend of biodiesel fuel for over the last year with no difficul- ties, so the ground work for 4J has already been done. If you see a dump truck, back- hoe, fire truck or ambulance belonging to the Eugene city fleet, it is running on B20, and polluting less. In fact, the UO runs it’s grounds keeping equipment on 100 per- cent biodiesel. While pursuing grants to clean up tailpipe emissions from school bus fleet vehicles is always a noble gesture, there is no reason to wait until a third party can step in to provide the funds. ULSD will not be widely distributed in the immediate future, and even when it is commonly available, older diesel engines will need modification, replacement, or additives to run effectively on it. Biodiesel can help here also. As little as 1 percent biodiesel blended into ULSD will allow older diesel engines to use the new cleaner-burning fuel with no modification. If you are concerned about tailpipe emissions of any and all fleet vehicles, including Eugene 4J’s, make some calls and point out that a lower emission fuel is available today at a cost that is very favor- able to that of pure petroleum fuels. While you’re at it, go shake up Lane Transit District’s mindset a little too. They are responsible for burning almost one million gallons of petroleum diesel fuel each year, and their vehicles dump the resulting pollution into the Willamette Valley’s airshed. Biodiesel and LTD are made for each other. R. Sparks Scott Eugene NEVADA NORTH Is our governor turning Oregon into Nevada North? The people of Oregon already voted once when we put the lan- guage into our state Constitution — we don’t want casinos in Oregon. How many times, and how many ways, do we have to tell the governor? Gov. Ted Kulongoski, when he was Oregon’s attorney general in 1995, issued a legal opinion that any establishment hav- ing more than “75 video lottery terminals” would have “a high probability of violat- ing the prohibition against the operation of casinos” (12/12/95, Oregon Attorney General Opinion 95-5). The governor’s recent announcement of plans to turn state-owned video poker machines into casino-style slot machines was very disappointing. Given the person- al knowledge he has of the harms casinos cause, he should be focusing on restricting — not promoting — casinos and casino- style gambling. With his planned addition of casino slots to the state’s 10,250 state- owned video lottery locations, the State of Oregon will instantly become the owner of the largest collection of slots in Oregon — far more than any of the Indian casinos — under the disguise of the “Oregon State Lottery.” Does that make the State of Oregon technically a casino owner, in vio- lation of the state’s Constitution? Don’t like the sound of all this? Contact your local, state and federal repre- sentatives, and tell them you expect them to stop the gambling expansion in Oregon until we have clear data and information about the true cost to our state, our com- munities, our families — and can make Dem’s New Year Resolutions By Todd Huffman M obilize and persuade, rather than simply continuing to mobilize the per- suaded. We must face up to the fact that there is no great, untapped reserve of liberal voters out there. The supply has passed its peak, and our party must explore for other sources of energy. Be more inclusive. Most Republican voters do not share all or even most of the views of the extreme wing of their party. In this increasingly complex world, we succeed or fail together. Teamwork and mutual respect are requirements, not options. Durable solutions to our complex problems require comprehensive approaches and cooperative efforts. We must share in solving problems together. Avoid personal and partisan attacks. Question assumptions, not motives. Attack beliefs, not personalities. Articulate our moral values in a more plain, heartfelt language. We lost this election not because of our moral values, but because we did not explain them, or, if we did, we explained them intellectually, and not emotionally. Define our values and repeat them again and again. Define them, so that the Republican Party can no longer do it for us. Say them strong, say them loud, and say them proud: Opportunity, equality, tolerance and fairness. Say them to everyone you know. Say them to everyone you don’t know. Stir the dormant American conscience. Parading a hatred of gays under the banner of “moral values” is not the same as a national conscience. Pushing an aggressive agenda of sexual morality legislation is not the same as a national conscience. It is up to us to ask again and again “Why isn’t poverty immoral?”, “Why isn’t a lack of good medical care for the sick immoral?” Present a clear vision for the future. Exude optimism. Offer real ideas, not oppor- tunistic criticisms. We’ve become the Chicken Little Party. If people are constantly told the sky is falling, most will simply just move out of the way. Champion a government for the Have-Nots, not for the Have-Mores. Champion a government that doesn’t turn its back on its own people. Champion the core needs of most Americans, the basic tools needed to live out the American dream: A Living Wage, Guaranteed Access To Healthcare for All, Fairness in Educational Opportunities, Workers’ Rights and Workers’ Safety. Agitate for energy independence. Prepare for tomorrow’s challenges today. Embrace the Apollo Alliance (www.apolloalliance.org). It’s an investment in a more peace- ful future. If we don’t, Iraq won’t be the last Middle Eastern country we invade. Defend the natural environment while pushing for responsible eco- nomic growth. Growth and green are not mutually exclusive. Reject centrist candidates. The Republicans love them. When we go right, they get to go even further right. They win both ways. If we veer sharply back to the left, we’ll expose them for how extreme they’ve become. Their values aren’t really the core American values — ours are. B orrow a few chapters from the Republican playbook. Frame our message in clear, simple, easily remembered phrases. Give up for now every one of our pet causes in favor of the big messages: A living wage, guaranteed access to health care for all, fairness In educational opportunities, workers’ rights and workers’ safety. When we’re advocating for a thousand pet causes, however worthwhile, we end up diluting our message, and make the label of “The Party of Special Interests” stick on us. Support the Voter’s Bill Of Rights (www.votermarch.org). Work for election reform, and demand accurate elections and paper trails. Count every vote, for every vote should count. Keep the momentum going. All politics is local. We must continue to build on our successes of the past year in building a people-to-people infrastructure, with a goal not only of gaining back congressional seats in 2006, but gaining local and state offices as well. In 2005 and beyond, Democrats must go forth with confidence in the importance of our task. We will never win the victories we do not fight for. America is a nation of fixers and doers; there is nothing we cannot do when we work together with an opti- mistic determination to find common ground and common sense solutions to our prob- lems. In 2005, we need to put America’s strength once again to great purpose: helping people everywhere live richer, freer, and longer lives. We can be the party that brings that vision. Let us resolve to do this. Todd Huffman, MD, is a Eugene pediatrician. DECEMBER 30, 2004 7
