TO THE EDITOR
NOT A TOY, A TOOL
I enjoyed Max Schwanekamp’s letter
(3/15) about the BugE. He partly gets it: The
BugE is for grocery getting and other errands
and short trips around town, but it’s not to
drive the kids to school or “serious shop-
ping” (that’s what four wheel drive SUVs
seem to be used for), and if Max’s $400 bike
is working for him, pedal on, dude!
I disagree with his claim that the BugE is
an irrelevant toy; rather, it is like a new tool
for the vehicular toolbox. The BugE isn’t for
everyone; all we suggest is that you use the
most efficient vehicle for your task. The
BugE is just a new option between the bicy-
cle and the Buick.
And for two people, you can’t beat Max
Shepanek’s smart car although in a few
months you will be able to save about
$15,000 off his gray market price and get a
brand new 2008 smart car from a factory
authorized dealer. Use the money you save to
buy three BugE kits for you and your friends
to play with.
Mark Murphy
Creswell
ART GOES WITH POOL
When a bowling poster of Richard Nixon
gets better press than EW’s voted “Best Local
Artist” Scott Boyes’ Adams Family, it makes
you wonder why Chuck Adams (“Art
Barhopping” 3/22) gives Diablo’s Downtown
Lounge such a bad rap. After all, Diablo’s is
not a “newer hybrid” of art bar, booze and
visual stimuli; Diablo’s started monthly art
shows seven years ago, perhaps the first
nightclub in Eugene to do so.
Diablo’s features 12 local artists a year in
conjunction with the Eugene Art Walk. Dan
Hitchcock, another EW “Best Local Artist,”
is featured once a year. Yeah, he’s the guy
who painted the mural on the back wall of
the EW’s office. Granted, Diablo’s art choic-
es can be edgy at times. That’s what you’d
expect from this venue. Diablo’s is delicious-
ly different. That’s one of the reasons
Diablo’s Downtown Lounge was selected as
an “Elite 2007 Top 100” bar by the editors of
Nightclub and Bar Magazine (Oregon’s only
venue given this honor).
Hey, it’s downtown. Eugene should be
proud. Art in a pool room? Ridiculous?
Mockery? A threat? Art and pool go hand in
hand. Show me a rich guy with a pool room
and I’ll show you some nice art hanging in
there. Incidentally, the Adams Family piece
was the first one sold this month. Scott will
be happy.
Chuck should give Diablo’s art gallery
a second chance next month. Hell, we’ll even
provide him some safety glasses and a helmet.
Troy Slavkovsky aka Diablo
Eugene
SPREAD EAGLE
In response to Dan Owen’s letter (3/29):
Dan, it seems you have a major misconcep-
tion on pornography. First, the American
Apparel “centerfolds” in the recent editions
of the Weekly are nothing like the “center-
folds” in Hustler magazine and would hard-
ly make any XXX star blush. You see, Dan,
in Hustler the women are naked, usually
spread eagle beagle and some sort of phallus
stuffed in every orifice. If they’re not blush-
ing at that, then women posing in thermals
isn’t going to faze them.
Second, Dan, if you’re uncomfortable
with a picture of the human body posed in
jammies, then throw out all your mirrors and
stay at home. That should keep you relative-
ly safe from the evil nakedness that runs
abound this planet daily. Think cooties!
Finally, you should thank “GOD” for the
stork that brought you here cause the rest of
us came from vaginas. Cheers, buddy.
Jamie Hartley
Eugene
EW GETS AN F
For 20 years I have supported What’s
Happening (now EW) by advertising in their
paper because of their community values and
weekly calendar of events. As time went by
WH lost some of its moral values by demean-
ing woman’s bodies by allowing ads show-
ing sexual suggestiveness to sell products.
About three years ago when WH had
allowed smuttier pictures in the back section
of the paper, in my sales contract with WH I
added “Do not place my ads on the same
back pages.” Today I refused to sign my new
contract with WH because of the Dan Savage
trunk
show
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articles they choose to print. I am for equal
rights and open to other people’s opinion. I
feel these articles are not appropriate in a
community paper.
Star Gate Awareness Resources has sur-
vived for 20 years as an independent and
locally owned book and resource lending
library store. I take great pride in our com-
munity and try to promote a higher potential
of human awakening. What’s wrong with
sacred sex?
Our world is on the edge of a total col-
lapse because of our obsession with power,
money and sex.
Staying in business can be difficult
because you are always being tested for your
accountability, integrity and staying true to
your heart’s vision.
I give WH an “F” grade because they
allow controversial articles to generate
income over much needed examples of com-
munity moral values.
Alan Stein
Eugene
BEST THEY CAN DO?
The House of Representatives just voted
to give President Bush the billions he’s asked
for to fund an escalation of the war in Iraq on
condition that troop withdrawal begin by
October 2008. House Democrats say this is
the best they can do, but bringing the troops
home in 18 months isn’t good enough — by
then hundreds more of them will have been
killed and thousands more wounded or men-
tally maimed (not to mention the toll on
Iraqis) — all for no reason but to realize
Bush and his corporate cronies’ imperial
designs.
I agree with Judi Ivy, who wrote (3/22)
saying that if Congress can’t deliver on the
mandate they were given in the 2006 election
to bring the troops home now, a million or
more of us should peacefully occupy the
halls of the Capitol, telling most of our so-
called representatives — as well as the pres-
ident and his cabinet — that they’re fired.
We can also support Congressman
Dennis Kucinich’s second campaign for the