BY MICHAEL CARRIGAN AND PEG MORTON
Never Again
We remember Hiroshima, Nagasaki
T
ogether with communities around the world, the Eugene community is
gathering to commemorate the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. Sixty-two years ago this August, the U.S. dropped nuclear
bombs on these cities, the only nuclear bombs ever used before or since in conflict
in this world. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people died in the immediate
aftermath of the explosions, and untold thousands experienced slow and painful
deaths from radiation sickness in the months and years that followed.
We will gather at Aug. 5 (see details below) to re-awaken our hearts and our
memories of what happened Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, and to teach those who are too
young to understand what transpired those days. It is imperative that we never
forget what happened and that we do everything we can to make sure it never
happens again.
The Iraq War has pushed the nuclear weapons issue to the back burner.
However, the nuclear threat has not gone away. The U.S. still has huge quantities
of nuclear weapons, many on hair-trigger alert, ready to be used at a moments no-
tice. The Bush administration is devoting billions of dollars to develop and build
new nuclear weapons, returning our nation’s production capacity of nuclear
weapons to Cold War levels and pushing to develop the first new nuclear warhead
in nearly two decades.
The Bush administration has stated that the U.S. has the right to use nuclear
weapons against countries who do not have them and that the use of those
weapons does not require an imminent threat against our country. It’s conceivable
that the administration could order a nuclear attack against Iran even though this
would cause a regional conflagration that could result in the deaths of millions of
people.
It’s time to intensify the challenge to the Bush administration’s nuclear pro-
gram and take action to abolish nuclear weapons. As the people of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki rose out of the ashes to devote themselves to the building of a peaceful
world, we must join with other groups around the world who are also proclaiming
never again!
Grassroots action is making a difference. Congress has refused to provide any
funding for the Bush administration’s proposal to build new nuclear weapons facil-
ity. The House Appropriations Committee recently cut the nuclear weapons
budget proposed by the Bush administration by $630 million, increased support
for nuclear non-proliferation programs by nearly $1 billion and declined to give the
administration any money for what would have been the first new nuclear weapon
in two decades, the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW).
Along with political action, it’s critical that we honor those who died or have
suffered at the hands of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. We’ll be gathering to
acknowledge and condemn the racism in our country that permitted our govern-
ment to murder so many innocent civilian Japanese people, remembering also
with sadness and anger the internment during World War II of so many thousands
of innocent Japanese-American people living in our country.
We will mourn the suffering of Native American people during and prior to that
war who worked the uranium mines in Indian country, unaware of the hazards to
their health and the use to which this uranium would be put.
Please join us at Alton Baker Park as we bind our community of friendship
more strongly with each other here and others around the world — deepening our
courage, finding our creativity, and strengthening our commitment to abolish nu-
clear weapons. We’ll share food, listen to Bob Watada and other speakers and dis-
cuss action alternatives. We’ll honor those who died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki by
quietly floating paper lanterns to the beautiful koto music of Mitsuki Dazai. As
they light the darkness, they’ll also lighten the hearts of those whose have re-
leased them and provide hope that we can attain a nuclear-free world.
WHO YOU GONNA BLAME?
Michael Carrigan is the community organizer for CALC’s peace program, Progressive Reponses. Peg Morton
is a Quaker activist working for peace and justice. The Hiroshima-Nagasaki commemoration will be held
Sunday, Aug. 5 at Alton Baker Park’s small shelter, located near the park entrance and the duck pond. The
event will start at 6:30 pm with a community potluck. At 7:30 pm there will be a program featuring Bob
Watada. The event will close at 8:30 pm with the floating of candle lanterns on the Duck Pond. For more
information, contact Carrigan at calcdev@efn.org or 485-1755.
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Eugene Weekly • 1251 Lincoln Street • Eugene, OR 97401 • 541.484.0519 • fax 541-484-4044
4 AUGUST 2, 2007
TO THE EDITOR
FRESH OUT OF IDEAS?
NIKE’S SHADOW CAMPUS
I had the pleasure of attending the first
“Lane County Commissioner’s Listening
Tour.” This is long overdue. On April 22,
2004, The Register-Guard reported that “the
Lane County district attorney’s office will
cease prosecuting more than 100 nonviolent
misdemeanor crimes in a budget-cutting
move to save $271,000 by turning away 2,000
charges.” This was three years ago.
Most people I talk to feel that the commis-
sioners have not listened. The commissioners
seem to have two ideas: more taxes or cut
services. The problem is, according to the
Oregon Center for Public Policy, “as the tax
burden has shifted from corporations to indi-
vidual taxpayers, low-income taxpayers have
been the hardest hit with the increases.” Those
with the “deep pocket” in Oregon, the corpo-
rations, paid 18.5 percent of all income tax in
the early 1970. Now they pay 4.6 percent, and
by 2009 it will be 4.4 percent.
City council and school board members
are mostly volunteers. However the five
Lane County commissioners each receive an
annual salary of over $70,000 plus benefits
and a paid staff member. That amounts to a
total cost of more than $500,000 a year. For
that kind of money we should expect a lot
more creativity, not just three years of
attempts to increase taxes and cut more serv-
ices.
The county government is sick and dying.
It needs “intensive care.” The commissioners
maybe the solution or the problem. Two of
the commissioners, Dwyer and Green,
“declined repeated requests” for an R-G
interview regarding this issue. Perhaps they
are totally out of ideas? Perhaps they could
do Lane County a favor and resign. Then the
remaining members could interview creative
people, listen, learn and get some life support
systems for our needed government. If noth-
ing else they could not fill the two positions
and save the county government over
$200,000.
Ron Davis
Cottage Grove
I live in the Fairmount neighborhood and
pay close attention to the uncontrolled and
predatory growth of the UO’s development
goals.
It’s obvious that President Frohnmayer’s
proposed arena project is actually the center
of a larger public/private shadow campus he
and his investor friends hope to construct and
sustain. One of the main problems with this
sprawling development focus and annexation
is that Frohnmayer has accumulated nearly
$150 million in deferred maintinence on the
existing campus. The only way to get
Frohnmayer to do his job and upkeep the
main campus is to deny him his ability to
sprawl on top of existing neighborhoods uti-
lizing the power of eminent domain. Reining
in Frohnmayer’s ability to kick off construc-
tion of his new private dream campus would
help preserve the integrity of the main cam-
pus.
Nike’s yearly payments of $40,000 to
Frohnmayer have ensured the sustainability of
Frohnmayer’s underhanded dealings in favor
of the company over the years. Frohnmayer’s
current threats and use of eminent domain
against existing businesses on Franklin (R-G,
7/11) will collapse his proposal. Alan
Zelenka’s advocacy for the arena project and
the recent approval of $35,000 for “traffic
calming” in anticipation of Phil Knight writing
the long awaited $130 million check shows the
city of Eugene and the UO Foundation are in
direct collusion in soliciting this final private
donation.
Eric Eiden
Eugene
CAT HEADS WITH FLIES
While living in the People’s Republic of
Eugene for more than 30 years, I have seen
more than my fair share of “political correct-
edness.” As an adult, I have the option to
“take what I want and leave the rest.”
However, it is my responsibility to help facil-
itate my daughters’ learning experiences
while they are in my care.