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