TO THE EDITOR
BRAINWASHING?
SIZES OF LIES
Wow, you managed to insert a particu-
larly nasty little barb into your 7/14 Slant
section. I’m glad you feel that the popularity
of PR courses at the UO is “disturbing.”
And how wonderful that you can now label
someone as interested in “deception and
greed” by a glance at their college major.
Grow up. To blindly brand anyone in the
field of advertising or PR as a propagandist
is narrow-minded and — as so much of EW
seems to be lately — just plain rude.
I’m majoring in pub-
lic relations because I
like the creativity aspect,
the psychological aspect
(oh, right, I suppose that
would be the “brain-
washing aspect”), of it.
Do you honestly think
that all corporations spin
“media schlock?”
Not all businesspeo-
ple are soulless, and not
all journalists are “voices
of truth and justice.”
There are plenty of peo-
ple who major in journal-
ism — not PR or adver-
tising — who end up
working for companies or
in fields that I imagine EW believes are a fast
road to hell. All those journalists working for
Fox news will be thrilled to hear that liberal-
leaning EW sees them as voices of truth.
Though you state that the skills in journal-
ism and business schools can be used for “en-
lightened purposes, or for deception or
greed,” you don’t seem to give the same re-
spect to PR skills. Let me remind you that it
was not a public relations major who headed
WorldCom or Enron, as those companies
cheated stockholders out of their life savings.
There are miserable and redeeming qualities
to every profession, though it seems that the
Slant writer seems to think that only pure
journalists — or maybe just those shrilly
sounding off in the pages of a weekly maga-
zine — are deserving of any respect.
Emily Keizer
Eugene
One of the things to keep in mind when
evaluating the George Bush presidency is
that like many despotisms and tyrannies of
the past, they all begin and continue with
big, medium and little sized lies.
Lying is the basic political philosophy of
Bush administration. The litany of lies is so
long that it has become tiresome to recount
or refute them.
This episode of one of the Bush retainers
outing a CIA agent in direct defiance of the
law should surprise no
one. It is merely more of
the sideshow of the Bush
administration designed to
distract Americans every-
where and every-when.
The Bush administra-
tion, in a corrupt conspir-
acy that would rival the
Mafia’s best work, is striv-
ing with the “military-in-
dustrial complex” to usurp
the entirety of human free-
dom to work, play, wor-
ship, read, write, travel,
parent, live and breath as
we want.
This is the real point of
the Bush administration:
to control all human enterprise of any mon-
etary value on the face of the Earth.
All other indicants, including endanger-
ing the life of a CIA agent, is secondary to
the first. This is the legacy of the Bush ad-
ministration: absolute control for the few,
misery for the many.
Gerry Merritt
Eugene
ODE TO THE ROAD
Please do not run me down/ when I cycle
into town./ I’m just an old hippie trying to
get by./ I don’t want to die!
It’s been said that the old boys own the
road,/ and gasoline taxes that I don’t pay/ is
the cause of their hormonal overload,/ that
makes them want to grab those gears,/ and
turn me into a la mode./ No, don’t do it!
I don’t want your fucking beer cans/
please don’t throw them at me./ I just want
to ride my bicycle./ I don’t bother you, why
in hell do you hassle me?
Your talk radio that you listen to/ teaches
hatred of cycling liberals./ But please under-
stand the law./ Murder is never political!
Hey, boys and girls in your monster
trucks./ It isn’t cool to eradicate me./ No, I
don’t want to be the murderee./ Because
murder is precisely what that will be.
It’s a bad idea to sideswipe cyclists./ No,
don’t do it!/ In the end, there will be only
your cellie,/ snoring on his belly,/ and there
are no trucks at OSP.
Lee Norris
Cheshire
4 JULY 21, 2005
TEN WAYS TO TRASH
Regarding the article “Short, Sweet and
Sour” (6/30) by Jef Stout: This article
should have been named “Ten Ways to
Trash Local Bands.” What a disgusting
joke. He either didn’t listen to the music or
he was too interested in writing about his
mother. His comments were out of place
and out of line, especially #2, “Could possi-
bly play a children’s cancer ward without
getting booed.” If I had a band, I would be
proud to play a cancer benefit. I suggest Jef
volunteer some time in a cancer ward and
give a little to his community instead of
making them the butt of his joke.
I don’t think Mr. Stout even opened up
the CDs to listen to them. I’ve heard groups
such as Icelick and Reeble Jar and I’ve thor-
oughly enjoyed their music. Just because
they aren’t punk or hip hop, they are still ex-
cellent bands. He definitely didn’t give
good reasons why he didn’t like them. As
editor, I think it is up to you to oversee what
gets printed in EW to prevent a future faux
pas on the part of one of your writers.
Brad Boice
Veneta
DUELING CONCERTS
I read Emily Freeman’s article (7/7)
about freeing the Cuthbert with interest be-
cause last week I went to see Ladysmith
Black Mambazo at Music on the Half Shell
in Roseburg, and this week I went to see The
Chieftains at the Cuthbert.
The crowd at the Ladysmith Black
Mambazo concert was rowdy and loud.
People treated it more like a social event
than a concert and it was very hard to con-
centrate on the performance, let alone enjoy
it. I felt the crowd was incredibly rude to the
performers who really gave a great show de-
spite that.
In contrast, the crowd at Cuthbert last
night was really into The Chieftains and
was, on the whole, very nice to be with. I’d
much rather pay to see an event and be able
to really enjoy it, than to see a free event that
I can barely hear over the roar of the crowd.
Now, I realize free concerts were not all
the article was about, but that is what I am ad-
dressing here. What a huge difference there
was in my experience of the two concerts. If
freeing Cuthbert means making it like Music
on the Half Shell, then please don’t!
Rachel Browne
Eugene
BAD FOR AMERICA
Our mis-directed war has squandered the
global sympathy we enjoyed in the immedi-
ate aftermath of 9/11, and converted it into
almost universal contempt for American
foreign policy.
History will always remember that this
Iraq war was started with a series of lies
(WMD, aluminum tubes, yellowcake ura-
nium). We now know some of those lies
were covered up by felonies committed in
the Whitehouse (Karl Rove exposing the of-
ficial cover of a CIA operative in retaliation
for her husband’s blowing the whistle on the
yellowcake lie).
Far from accomplishing its objectives,
this war will not result in the spread of
democracy in the Middle East, nor will it
halt the spread of terror, but it will result in
an invigorated network of global terrorism
that is well trained in urban warfare, and
eager to exact revenge on America.
Founded on lies and felonies, and with
hundreds of thousands of innocent victims,
this war is undeniably unjust, and because it
is unjust it will cultivate its own opposition.
Every bomb we drop and every house we
invade converts potential allies into new en-
emies of America. In short, this war as cur-
rently prosecuted will be ever expanding.
That may be good for few war profiteers,
and for immoral politicians who want to get
re-elected on the “fear platform,” but it is
bad for America.
It pains me to think of the world my 11-
year-old daughter will inherit. I am still trying
to figure out how my country got so off
course, and how to right it. Some ideas: First,
let’s establish a solid political majority from
the “reality-based community.” Then we
should adapt Afghanistan Plan B for the rest
of the world by “bombing them with butter.”
That is the only way I can see to win the hearts
and minds of the world and secure a peaceful
future for our children and the world.
Doug Heiken
Eugene
FEED THE HUNGRY
I am asking you to support SB 289 and
SB 467. Both of these bills are crucial in
maintaining the health of our most vulnera-
ble children.
Research has definitively shown that lack
of access to healthful food in sufficient quan-
tities has disastrous effects on children and
contributes to many long-term problems in
physical health and learning capacity. These
factors effect not just the individual but soci-
ety in general. Effects are felt on physical,
emotional, mental and budgetary levels.
Hunger is an income issue. Until in-
comes catch up with expenses, we can help
alleviate the impact of hunger through nutri-
tion programs.
Legislators have the opportunity to help
protect more children from the harmful ef-
fects of hunger by passing two child nutri-
tion bills. House representatives need to
take action on a bill to expand the successful
WIC Farmer’s Market coupons for women
and children SB 289 and a bill to support
summer meal programs SB 467.
Feeding children should not be a partisan
issue. House members should take action
now to help more children gain access to
nutrition programs.
Linda Kelley
Eugene