TO THE EDITOR
Having so many SUVs for mainly city driv-
ing makes no sense for many people. My
Prius is giving me an 80 percent MPG in-
crease in town, with near zero emissions.
If I can change, then hopefully people on
the other side will someday be able to reject
violence.
Lance Jacobs
Springfield
SAVE YOURSELF
I’m responding to Jeffrey Luers’ letter
(1/25), and his taking offense at being com-
pared to a “right-wing pro-life” arsonist.
What Luers seems to not be able to under-
stand is that when the cause, however well in-
tentioned, becomes sacrificed to the means,
then you’ve lost public support for your ac-
tions.
Personally I detest SUVs and the mass
consuption culture they represent. However, I
can’t support the actions of “eco-saboteurs”
and the like, who would burn down the world
to save it. I am extremely doubtful that arson
has become justifiable in the eyes of the gen-
eral public even if the cause is “right.” That
Luers negelected to give an example of the
exception is unsurprising.
Luers’ inablilty to see the difference be-
tween his actions and those using non-violent
methods to further the cause of environmen-
tal sanity puts him squarely in the camp of
terrorists, no different then those who would
firebomb an abortion clinic. In fact, his ac-
tions are a stain on the environmental move-
ment and are no doubt welcomed by those
who would paint real environmentalists as
“wackos.”
If he wasn’t rotting in jail (his choice), I
would say he could have been a paid provo-
cateur of the timber and oil industries. Mr.
Luers, forget about saving the world from
your jail cell. Save yourself, reconsider your
mindset, and repent!
Jeff Innis
Eugene
ROBOCOURT
I know everyone’s done trying to nick-
name the courthouse, but when I was chow-
ing down at IHOP today I thought a good one
BUILDING
COMMUNITIES
Franklin Corridor
Study
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 2, 11:50 AM
EUGENE HILTON
$3 admission • Free to City Club Members
485-7433
www.cityclubofeugene.org
would be “RoboCourt.” Straight out of “New
Detroit.” Now I’d buy that for a dollar!
Steve Crowe
Eugene
IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST
The critics of Commissioners Dwyer,
Sorenson and Fleenor and their decision to
not reappoint Mike Schwartz to the Fair
Board need to take a closer look. The
Fairgrounds belong to everyone in Lane
County, and these commissioners have
stepped in to remind the Fair Board of the
public good.
Shaking up the Fair Board and getting
new members with the greater public interest
in mind is just what the commissioners
should be doing. Thank you Commissioners
Dwyer, Sorenson and Fleenor for having the
courage to take a stand.
Jim Crain
Eugene
CRIME IN THE FOREST
Clearcuts were once the new beginning of
life in the forest. Now the industrial timber
industry has changed all that. It is now the
end of an ecological system the Earth had
known for millions of years. The poisoning
of the Earth after clearcutting has changed
our ecosystem in a way we will not compre-
hend for many years to come. It allows for
only certain types of vegetation and a
monocrop of trees bred for short-term eco-
nomic gain. I feel that the poisoning of our
Earth for any reason is a “crime against hu-
manity” and it terrorizes all human beings
who have any compassion for our future gen-
erations.
May the New Year bring compassion for
our Earth to all human beings who rely on
this Earth for their sustenance.
Fred Mentzer
Greenleaf
The Eugene Waldorf School & the Eugene Public Library present
the 1 th Annual
Alternative Education Fair
Saturday, February , 1 - pm
at the Eugene Public Library, Downtown
1 West 1 th Avenue
Come meet representatives of these and other alternative schools:
Blue Mountain School • Eugene School District 4J • Eugene Waldorf School
HomeSource • Network Charter School • Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School
The Village School • Whiteaker Montessori School
E UGENE Find out about the educational alternatives available
W ALDORF in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information,
call the Eugene Waldorf School, 683-6951
S CHOOL
The Oregon Humanities Center in collaboration with the Department of Architecture presents
the 2006–7 Colin Ruagh Thomas O’Fallon Memorial Lecture in Art and American Culture
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and
will print as many as space allows, with priority given to
timely local issues. Please limit length to 250 words, keep
submissions to once a month, and include your address
and phone number for our files. Email is preferred to
editor@eugeneweekly.com (please put “letters” in the
subject line), fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln,
Eugene 97401.
A lecture by
architect and
architectural
critic
Michael Sorkin
Wednesday
February 7, 2007
7:00 p.m.
150 Columbia
1215 E. 13th Avenue
University of Oregon
This lecture, sponsored by Betsy Mayer and the O’Fallon family and
cosponsored by the Carlton and Wilberta Ripley Savage Endowment for
International Relations and Peace, is free and open to the public. Seating
is limited to 500. For more information, or for disability accommodations,
please call (541) 346-3934.
EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity
FEBRUARY 1, 2007 7