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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2006)
ng Gour Now rinki d D Enrolling ★ ★ ★ K ★ ★ ★ ★ 1st & 3rd E TO THE EDITOR get things done. She is the "pro-education" candidate in this race, and we need her continued efforts in our state Legislature on behalf of Oregon's children. Lane County voters overwhelmingly voiced their trust in Walker when they elected her to the Oregon State Senate in 2002, and she hasn't disappointed us. Her dedication to Oregon's children is clear. Please join me in sending Vicki Walker back to the Senate this November. Kristin Strommer Eugene RARE OPPORTUNITY In an article (8/17) about Eugene’s City Hall, “Doomed to Demo,” Alan Pittman does a disservice to well-informed public debate. He insinuates bad faith where there is professionalism and good- will. He pronounces a lack of public inter- est in a process that is young and growing. The City Council has insisted on trans- parent decision-making and invested in public involvement as an integral part of the multi-year City Hall Complex Master Planning. There are engaging questions about what to do and how to do it to create long term community-wide benefit. It is a rare opportunity for a community to create a public space that represents, welcomes and functions for all of us. To that end, design team staff attends neighborhood association meetings, com- munity events, civic meetings, holds pub- lic forums, conducts interviews, works with the media and maintains a comment line and a website. This month, we are holding focus groups for underrepresented voices on the subjects of multiculturalism, youth, and accessibility. We will also speak with people at the Eugene Celebration and at the American Institute of Architects September chapter meeting. Go to the website, www.eugenecity- hall.com and let us know how to reach you personally or work with us to sponsor edu- cation and discussion at an organization in which you participate. As Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings, and thereafter they shape us.” Dana Ing Crawford Eugene City Hall Master Planning Design Team ‘ART FAG’ NOT RIGHT Regarding John Dooley’s interview (9/7) with Joe King of the (non-queer) The Queers: Am I offended by the term “art fag”? It’s been around forever, and it isn’t mocking homosexuals per se, just preten- tious artists. Yet “fag” wasn’t reclaimed like “queer” was, and it just doesn’t sit right. Should I lighten up? Regardless, King’s list of hated subcultures is curious, and it includes his own — punk rockers. He hates himself, so I guess don’t have to. Never mind. Aaron Rosenberg Eugene l lem e ntary Schoo Learn more at our website dgschool.org Fall Classes! Aikido & Basic Self-defense Classes in a Safe & Supportive Environment NOT VERY LIBERATING Since 9/11 we have heard a lot of talk about freedom from Bush, only to have our freedoms diminished more in the past six years than in America's entire history. Freedom is a loose term. Freedom means different things to different people. The poor and rich perceive freedom differently, as do the powerful and the powerless. Both the landlord and tenant enjoy certain free- doms. The landlord and the tenant also tol- erate certain losses of freedom. Bush and his immediate cronies are no longer free. Bush, Cheney, Rove and the like cannot go to the grocery store for a bag of Doritos without armed escorts and advanced planning. They cannot take their spouses for a spontaneous drive in the car along the open highway without a full on motorcade of militia. Bush Co. can't even take a simple stroll FIVE feet outside the security perimeter of their roaming citadel. Sound like freedom to you? The Bush team lost the freedom to speak impromptu. These mere mortals spend half the time writing scripts and the other half reading the scripts they wrote. No real time processing. Reading their scripts to hand-picked audiences, team Bush lost the freedom to socialize in mixed company. This is the social equivalent to having only one TV station or one radio station. Not very liberating. Everything they say and do is record- ed, analyzed and often condemned by the majority both domestically and globally. This must take a stressful toll on one's psy- chosis. What does this punishing lifestyle do to a person's value system? The people in power who speak as though they are the protectors of freedom have none. For us common citizens to turn to these caged prisoners to protect our free- dom, we may as well take swimming les- sons from the drowning. Michael Grossman Eugene Tue & Thu: 6:30-8pm Oct. 3rd - Nov. 30th $50 for entire 8 weeks Family discount available Amazon Arts Center 2700 Hilyard St. • Eugene Small School-Small Classes grades K-5 class size: 12-15 ♦ individual academic program designed for each child ♦ Spanish, computers, drama ♦ global awareness, anti-bias attitudes, peace education ♦ no bullies, no violence ♦ ♦ 2809 Shirley St, Eugene Call for information: (off River Road and Irving) 689-5255 935-8655 14TH ANNUAL SOROPTIMIST WA L K F O R L I F E SATURDAY, OCT.7, 2006 10 A.M. EWEB PLAZA EUGENE, OREGON ❤ Provides emergency cash grants to any one in Lane County who is battling breast cancer or other cancers of the female reproductive system ❤ A joint project of the Soroptimist International Clubs of Eugene, Junction City and The Emerald Empire ENDOWMENT PARTNERS: SEPTEMBER 21, 2005 9
