TO THE EDITOR
Congress. I was wrong again, and last week,
just to prove the point, Smith proudly voted
against the bill before the Senate to raise the
federal minimum wage to something just
below what it takes to slowly starve to death.
Even though Smith’s personal fortune was
built on the backs of immigrant laborers, the
proposed federal minimum wage is less than
our state minimum here in Oregon, so he and
his cronies in the agricultural industries have
nothing to lose by raising the federal mini-
mum.
It is totally unconscionable that anyone
could vote no on this issue, and the only rea-
son for such a vote is that his puppetmasters
at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue so
ordered it. For the past six years Smith has
been nothing more than a stooge for the ad-
ministration and has amassed a voting record
to prove it. As the slime, corruption and
sleaze continue to ooze out of the Bush White
House on a daily basis, Smith is undaunted, a
loyal foot soldier to the end. Is this why we
sent him to Washington? I think not.
Some people run for the Senate to serve
their nation and represent the people of their
state, and some people run just to be a sena-
tor. Unfortunately Mr. Smith went to
Washington just to be a senator. It is time to
show Smith the door. We as Oregonians can
do better. It’s time to put the partisan politics
to bed and do what is right for our country
and for the people of our state — all of us.
There will always be extremists on both ends
of the spectrum, and they will never be
happy, but I would hope that we could exam-
ine the choices that we have of reasonable,
thinking people and field some candidates
that we all could be proud of no matter who
wins.
Joel Breeze
Eugene
WHAT DID VOTERS WANT?
After reading Alan Pittman’s article
“Looming Sprawl” (1/25), I need to put the
statements attributed to me in perspective be-
cause it is clear that Pittman exercised his
“journalistic license” in recounting our dis-
cussion.
Pittman asked me whether there was a
possibility that the Joint Committee on Land
Use Fairness would consider a moratorium
and a referral of a measure to the voters. I an-
swered yes, but added that those are just two
of several options we are considering. I also
told him that a number of voters who sup-
ported Measure 37 are now saying that they
supported it to allow for single-family
dwellings, not subdivisions.
The joint committee co-chairs (Rep. Greg
Macpherson and I) are looking at a number of
possibilities to address the 180-day deadline
that counties and the state face in processing
Measure 37 claims. In the last five weeks of
the first deadline to file Measure 37 claims,
the total number of claims filed doubled to
more than 7,000. We realize that many coun-
ties and the state will need additional time to
properly process these claims.
We also are considering asking the voters
to clarify their intent in passing Measure 37.
Unfortunately, the drafters of Measure 37 in-
cluded numerous ambiguities, and these am-
biguities have resulted in more than 130 law-
suits around the state so far.
I also want to point out that even though I
represent part of south Eugene (as mentioned
in the article), my district also includes rural
areas spanning three counties: Lane, Douglas
and Coos. Many of my rural constituents
have said that they are concerned that their
livelihood and quality of life as ranchers,
farmers and foresters are in jeopardy if urban
development is allowed in rural areas.
Floyd Prozanski
State Senator, District 4
WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?
What concerns me is not that Mr. Brown
(Letters, 1/25) avidly reads Savage Love but
rather that countless children in our commu-
nity may be doing the same, given the easy
accessibility of the paper. Doesn’t EW shoul-
der any responsibility to our entire commu-
nity?
Beside the business that “proudly spon-
sors” the column, I wonder how many
EW advertisers are aware of all of its con-
tents. Let’s inform them, readers.
Robert Young
Eugene
IGNORING THE TRUTH
John Zerzan (Letters, 12/28) and some
other anarchists who seem to prefer the al-
lowance of societal collapse are ignoring that
the hands of empire now wield technology
which exponentially magnifies destructive-
ness. Should we allow weapons of mass de-
struction to be unleashed? For the ecosystem
to collapse due to global warming? Who will
pick up the pieces of a radioactive, scorched
earth? It is only sane to act preventatively.
Zerzan attacks the notion of pushing the
Democratic Party in a positive direction. Yes,
in a global emergency where time is running
out, it is imperative that the major parties be
pushed. Does this make me a Democratic
Party operative? If Zerzan were interested in
facts before firing public rhetoric, he would
discover my political ID is Green (a co-
founder of the Green Party in another state).
The exploration of “radical” in my Dec.
21 commentary seeks to understand whether
violence or nonviolence better addresses the
source of society’s malaise and has nothing to
do with individual status, including myself.
He also continues to label me “pacifist” after
I stated Gandhi rejected this term and so do I.
No “passivity” here.
The movement to create ecovillages, co-
FEBRUARY 1, 2007 5