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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2007)
TO THE EDITOR we always need help! Come and plant trees with us: It’s fun and rewarding, it lifts the mind and it puts things in perspective. It’s good for you too, Erin! Alby Thoumsin Certified arborist & president, Eugene Tree Foundation STREETS VS. AVENUES There’s a simple explanation for Mr. Glenn Leonard’s first two questions in his “Howcum” letter in your Nov. 15 issue. Before Eugene adopted its present roadway grid system of named streets running north/south and numbered avenues going east/west, there were just streets and roads. Hence the original 5th Street Market, which antedates the current grid system, is located on today’s 5th Avenue. John E. Heintz Eugene THE ORPHANS I SEEK As the weather gets wet, I move my shopping habit from free boxes to thrift stores for dry goods. I come to the counter with an odd unmarked assortment of things that were once part of a whole. I love to dig at the bottoms of bins for broken toys, strange plastic food and tiny animals to use in art. This time of year I can count on find- ing every type of icon in miniature in the Christmas ornament department: trans- portation, sports, tools, angels, kitchen ap- pliances. Fallen haloes, armless people and train cars without an engine are the orphans I seek; I crave the unwanted junk. But this year I browsed store after store only to find everything organized, bagged and tagged. No bins with phony fries or single doll shoes covered in dust at the bottom; what’s wrong? Where are my Charlie Brown toys? Finally I found my way to the St. Vinnie’s on Broadway. I delved into the bins, grateful for the broken glass orna- ments that told me the junk was still junk. I filled my basket with toy soldiers, fake car- rots, a string of plastic lifesavers and birds, and found a couple of teeny trains. M.E.C.C.A on the other end of Broadway yielded toy balloons, plastic diaper pins and all the usual magic. Total bliss. I’m happy the re-use places in town are doing so well and doing so much good, but please leave some real junk for people like me. Digging is part of what makes junking fun! And love and thanks to the folks in town with generous free boxes. You make bike riding for transportation fun, and I save money on clothing and art supplies while saving gas. Ruby “the Resourceress” Colette Eugene HIS SWORN DUTY In his letter, “Do Your Job, Watada” (11/8), L. Paul Meier exposes himself as se- riously under-informed. Lt. Watada is per- forming exactly his only sworn duty — to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Meier asks, why did he join the Army? Watada joined following 9/11 as did many young citizens in a spirit of patriotism. Having completed a tour of duty in Korea and learning that he would next be deployed to Iraq, he reasoned as an officer responsible for others’ lives that he should learn more about this war. From James Bamford’s Pretext for War and other sources, Watada learned that the war was not only fraudulently justified but was clearly illegal under our international treaty commitments, including the U.N. and Nuremberg charters, which prohibit aggres- sive or pre-emptive war. Since our treaty obligations are defined in Article VI of the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land,” he recognized that the war violates our Constitution as well. The Nuremberg Tribunal, in fact, de- scribed aggressive war as the “supreme in- ternational crime.” Watada saw that his par- ticipation would be a war crime, and the order to deploy to Iraq in a combat unit was therefore an illegal order he was duty-bound to refuse under the Nuremberg principle within the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In its court-martial proceedings, the gov- ernment performed desperate handsprings to keep these facts out of evidence, first denying Watada all his distinguished expert in Eugene and Springf s n o i t a c ield 8 Lo VEGETARIAN MENU • Veggie Taco Salad • Veggie Nachos • Veggie Burrito • Tofu Burrito • Bean Burrito • Bueno “No-Cheese” (vegan) • Potato Hard Taco • Chile Relleño • Cheese Enchilada • Cheese Quesadilla • Veggie Taco • Potato Taquitos • Veggie Tamalé *menu availability varies by location* DECEMBER SPECIAL $ 50 5. Large Veggie Taco Salad *Remember our gift certificates for all your Holiday needs* NOVEMBER 29, 2007 5
