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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2006)
Holiday CHEER? You’ll Find It HERE! TO THE EDITOR prices, a war, mass layoffs in homebuilding or tech or some other major sector sometime in 2007 or 2008, which will result in a lot less income tax revenue coming in than they fore- cast. It’s a complex process, made more so by the fact that the Legislature can only meet every other year. Gary Whitehouse Albany STAY IN IRAQ INDEFINITELY! The problem with unrealistic peacenik utopians is their flawed theory of how to han- dle the war in Iraq! Any first-year psychology student can easily predict that if we just leave Iraq tomorrow, the terrorist jihadists will cer- tainly view this as a major victory! And this will seek to encourage both new recruitment and more terrorist acts on a grand scale, not to mention their plan to overthrow the new and fragile democratically elected government in Iraq and therefore the creation of an al Qaeda state 100 times larger then Afghanistan was! Now let me make it crystal clear that I am not an apologist for President Bush! I did agree with removing Saddam Hussein who murdered close to three million human be- ings, and yes, some with weapons of mass de- struction. I also agree that our presence in Iraq has probably caused the terrorists to at- tack us there, rather then New York, Chicago, and D.C.! However, I certainly disagree with the planning and execution of the war! In other words, the Bush administration should have listened to the expert generals’ advice and given them ALL of the troop strength and supplies needed to accomplish the task! The civilian leadership should have listened to the voice of history; then they would have real- ized that micro-managing wars from the White House just doesn’t work! A lesson learned from President Johnson’s Vietnam episode! But it is equally idiotic to completely compare the current conflict to Vietnam! (We lost 58,000 troops there, and about 3,000 in Iraq!) It is always easy to second guess and view things in retrospect; however it is appar- ent that we are in this war, whether we like it or not, so we have some difficult choices to make. Tom Bush Eugene ZERO WASTE Kudos to Cascadia Wildlands Project for another successful fundraising auction (Dec. 2) this year. A delicious meal donated by local eateries was served on their set of unmatched ceramic plates accompanied by the silver- ware and cups that they have collected to make this and the annual Hoedown “zero waste” events. The 150 to 200 place settings are available to other groups who wish to avoid using dis- posables. Contact Cascadia Wildlands Project at info@cascwild.org or 434-1463 for more information. Kit Kirkpatrick Master Recycler Eugene SKEWED PRIORITIES Backing up letters by Todd Huffman and Paul Prensky, is there any holiday anymore that isn’t more about buying and selling, lead- ing to more jobs and profits, than about the original event? Was there ever? Is there any profession that’s doing well that isn’t more concerned with jobs and prof- its than products and services? Is there any environmental or social problem that isn’t mostly about overpopulation, leading, for in- stance, to the need for more jobs, as well as more government control, therefore “elites,” therefore corruption? Dan Robinson Eugene Fabulous Gifts for Everyone on Your List! E Maggies ORGANIC COTTON Sox & Tights Are In! E Bob Marley Shirts, Hoodies & Gifts Galore! E Jewelry, Jewelry, FABULOUS Jewelry E Huge Selection of Wool Scarves from Sacred Threads E Big or Small, We’ve Got Gifts For All! Our YEAR-END SALE Begins Dec. 26! Fly on by for a DEAL at the PIE! Mon-Thurs 10-7 / Fri-Sat 10-8 / Sun 12-6 We’re Grateful Corner of 11th & Willamette in the ❤ of Eugene For Your Support REAL POLICE WORK In response to these letters about the Eugene police, I side with those extremely disappointed in Eugene police officers. The police department needs to take its priority off raising funds for the EPD via traffic tick- ets, bike tickets and MIPs and do some real police work. Until then, the police here do not deserve our respect and will not be getting votes for more funding. I work one block south of the police sta- tion in downtown. When two very young boys under our supervision disappeared from a class, we called all the proper authorities to find them. The Eugene Guides showed up in about three minutes, but the police took 45 minutes to get there. One block! At another job in downtown, I was held up at gunpoint. Police arrived in a half hour. When everything of value was stolen out of my home, dispatch informed me that the police were just too busy and that an officer would call me within 48 hours to take the re- port over the phone. On the flip side, Eugene is teeming with traffic cops. Not even one full block out of a parking lot, I got a $100 seatbelt ticket. The next time you a spot a cruiser hiding in a bush waiting for speeders, know that there is someone else in Eugene who is being told that the police are just too busy. Why can’t they train some of our highly efficient metermaids to dust fingerprints, take reports and follow some leads? Yuki Conlon Eugene WHO’S A REAL PACIFIST? My apologies to Vip Short (12/14) and anyone else who understandably misread the closing four words of my letter (11/22). I wrote that letter in a bit of a hurry, and chose SUPER ENERGY BOOST 30% OFF while supplies last. (Box of 36 only.) Your choice of 12 varieties. DECEMBER 21, 2006 5
