TO THE EDITOR
simply because they will be too expensive to
drive. At least there will be more parking and
less road wear and tear. And with scrap metal
prices up, you might want to sell your SUV
while you can still get a few bucks per ton for
it. The next generation of smaller, lighter and
more fuel efficient cars won’t be cheap either
since the automakers will need to make their
profits off them and recoup their belated in-
vestments in hybrids and electrics if they
aren’t bankrupt first.
With gas in Canada already over $5 a gal-
lon and China and India buying up “our oil”
in the Middle East, the question really is:
What will you drive when gas is $5.95? Give
or take a few cents of taxes.
Mark Murphy
Creswell
SWEET RUMSFELD
I like to chew Wrigley’s spearmint gum
when I work. It helps me think, relaxes me
and soothes my stomach. I bought a pack last
week and noticed it said “Better Mint Taste”
on its package. Wrigley has been selling the
same spearmint gum since 1893. I started
chewing some and immediately spit it out be-
cause of a bad chemical taste. I looked at the
list of ingredients and there it was: aspartame.
My favorite gum had finally been laced with
this poison. Now most sugar-free gums sold
have this poisonous artificial sweetener
added.
Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by the
G.D. Searle company. They could not get
FDA approval for its new artificial sweetener
until they hired Don Rumsfeld as CEO.
Rumsfeld used his political clout and “called
in his markers” to achieve FDA approval for
aspartame, better known by its trade name
NutraSweet.
Independent studies have proved conclu-
sively that aspartame is a neurotoxic, carcino-
genic and highly addictive drug now lacing
over 9,000 products. Rumsfeld received a
$12 million dollar bonus.
I silently put up with rocket fuel in my let-
tuce, E. coli in my spinach, growth hormones
in my milk, toxic plastic in my cat food and
antifreeze in my toothpaste, but I have to
scream bloody murder when the only good
gum remaining has been poisoned by “Better
Mint Taste.”
Michael T. Hinojosa
Drain
DO-NOTHING ATTITUDE
Regarding “Biking a Better Eugene”
(cover story 5/24): With eight miles of new
bike lanes down Main Street of Springfield,
the new bike safety corridor being built
sometime later this year in Glenwood and the
new EmX buses, the city of Springfield is
moving alternative transportation at a much
quicker pace than Eugene.
When I called the bicycle people with the
city of Eugene about a month ago when
Mayor Kitty Piercy suggested that bicyclists
do, I was verbally told that they weren’t all
that interested in the input from longtime
Eugene bicyclists. That they wanted to hear
input from people who were novice bicycle
riders instead of people who have ridden the
streets of Eugene for 15 to 20 years.
What better way is there to ignore the
calls for the repair of the dangerous disre-
paired bicycle lanes and paths, calls for new
bicycle only streets (like 12th and Alder) and
pedestrian bridges over dangerous and con-
gested intersections (like what is needed on
BY SALLY SHEKLOW
Franklin and Onyx)?
It’s the same do-nothing attitude, not just
from the city bureaucrats but also from the bi-
cycle business community, until too many bi-
cyclists die or the city gets sued, that irks me
the most.
Suggestion: When someone like myself
who really cares about our community calls
to get involved and provide input, take them
seriously and don’t blow us off.
Shannon Wilson
Eugene
MEANS OF INTIMIDATION
What a hoot! Convicted domestic terrorist
Chelsea Gerlach accuses the Bush adminis-
tration of “name calling” and says that “it cer-
tainly is not going to stop me from working
for peaceful, sustainable change in society.”
The sustainable change we need is for
Chelsea and her cohorts to stop setting fires
as a means of intimidation.
Now her sister describes her as “kind,
compassionate.” Well, the kind and compas-
sionate people I know don’t use arson to
force their views on everyone else.
Chelsea’s sister goes on to ask if the terror
label will be used against those who use legal
means to protest the government. No, it will
not.
The terror label is appropriate for those
who use violence to force their views on oth-
ers. Burning things down is violent be it a ski
resort, a lumber mill or a Planned Parenthood
facility. Human death need not occur for an
act to be terrorism.
And here’s a little tip for those who feel
that they can’t get their point across by partic-
ipating in “the system.” Your failure to
achieve your goals is very likely a reflection
that your views are in the minority. That’s
life. Get over yourself.
Randy Kolb
Eugene
PSYCHOTIC BREEDERS
The Bible does not say, “go forth, metas-
tasize and smother the Earth.” Nor does it
command us to keep female cats, turn them
out when they are in heat, take them back to
have their kittens, then turn the kittens out to
roam the neighborhood in search of food and
shelter, and to breed freely. Yet we have a
family here in our neighborhood that is doing
just that. They have, apparently, several
breeding females, which each produce one or
two litters a year. The kittens are turned out to
roam the neighborhood when they are six or
eight months old.
The neighbors are all getting sick of this
behavior. Those people refuse to stop turning
out kittens. There have been at least a dozen
this year. Orange tigers, various colors of
shorthaired kittens with fluffy tails and prob-
ably others that I haven’t recognized.
Those people are clearly psychotic. The
neighbors don’t know what to do. We can’t
afford to neuter and feed all those cats. We
don’t want to take them to animal control to
be destroyed, but what else can we do? The
kittens become feral within a year or two.
Right now, they are trying to get into any
house they can because they think they be-
long in houses. They are right, but they can’t
all find houses.
I don’t think the authorities care. They
will tell you that dumping cats is not illegal. It
should be illegal. There should be a heavy
fine, say $1,000, for each kitten or cat turned
out or dumped. Better yet, $1,000 for the first
Are You Gay-Friendly?
Take the quiz and find out
L
ast month Oregon’s Senate Bill 2, the new law to
protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
Oregonians from discrimination, and House Bill
2007, recognizing domestic partnerships, were signed
by our governor and set to take effect Jan. 1, 2008. But
even before the ink dried — and with a ballpoint pen
that’s pretty quick — the opposition launched its drive to
put the new laws to a vote.
Now, our civil rights are on ice until the November ’08 general election.
Then they’ll become law only if the no-on-equality vote fails.
Gauging from past anti-gay ballot measures around here, the lead-up to the
elections won’t be pretty. Queer-hating rhetoric will get air time under the guise
of political debate. All of the old nasty myths and stereotypes will be unleashed.
Make way for more tough times, especially for LGBTQ kids, who you know
are going to hear a lot worse than That’s So Gay.
We fair-minded folks will need to know who’s on our side. During the tough
political months ahead, we’ll be checking over our shoulder to see who’s got our
backs. Can you be counted among the LGBTQ-friendly? Take the quiz!
1. When I meet lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer or questioning (LGBTQ)
people, I usually:
a. Tell them they’re an abomination against God
b. Try to act cool, but I can’t help wondering why they’re That Way
c. Shake their hands
2. I believe LGBTQ people are:
a. Morally degenerate
b. Kind of weird, but they can’t help it
c. Earthlings
3. Some of my best friends are:
a. Grieving for Jerry Falwell
b. Gay-acting
c. Not allowed to get married under Oregon law
4. Homosexuals are:
a. Sick
b. Sick, but they are good cooks
c. Sick and tired of harassment and discrimination
5. Most LGBTQ people want:
a. To take over our schools and teach immoral behavior to our children
b. To dress like the opposite sex
c. Equality
6. When someone tells a fag joke I usually:
a. Get an adrenaline rush and want to go out and smear a queer.
b. Laugh real loud so nobody thinks I’m gay.
c. Explain why the joke perpetuates harmful stereotypes and that most
homophobes are insecure about their own sexuality.
7. My opinion about the ban on gays in the military is:
a. Keep the ban
b. Don’t ask, don’t tell
c. Ban the military
8. Oregon’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should:
a. Repent
b. Keep it in the privacy of their own bedrooms
c. Be protected against discrimination, so I’m telling everyone not to sign the
petitions against nondiscrimination and domestic partnerships, and log
on to www.basicrights.org and pledge to vote YES for Equality in the
2008 election
How did you do?
Add one point for every “c” answer.
Add zero points for every “b” answer.
Subtract 10 points for every “a” answer and do 10 hours of community service.
Key:
7-8 points = Congratulations and thank you, you are LGBTQ-friendly!
5-7 points = Nice try, but I wouldn’t let you marry my sister.
< 5 points = Your eyelids are getting heavy, you will forget to vote in 2008.
Award-winning write Sally Sheklow has been agitating for equality in Eugene since nineteen-seventy-fucking-two.
JUNE 28, 2007 7