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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2010)
letters TO THE EDITOR reply mail postcards for you to send back to express your opinion. The wording on the postcards is exactly the same as a purportedly unbiased telephone survey I was subjected to earlier. Does Jay Bozievich really think that we voters are so stupid that we can’t see instantly that this is part of his campaign? Do you want to elect someone to represent you who insults your intelligence, uses such underhanded campaign tactics and takes money from these anonymous, out- of-county donors? I encourage you to send back the postcard for Jerry Rust so they will have to pay the postage (attach it to something heavy!) and then vote for this experienced, honest, and hardworking candidate. Unlike his opponent, Jerry Rust has integrity! Sharon Blick West Eugene VOTE FOR HOYLE Almost one in fi ve or 62,000 people (including 9,000 children) are uninsured in Lane County. Access to affordable health care, prescriptions and health insurance are critical needs in Lane County across all socioeconomic, age, and geographic groups. Val Hoyle is the Director of United Way’s 100% Access Health Care Initiative, a group of private businesses, nonprofi ts, government agencies and community leaders working together to bring high quality health care to more people at less cost. viewpoint Hoyle is also the representative for House District 14, which includes west Eugene and extends north to Junction City. She is working with leaders on this issue on both sides of the aisle and in all sectors of our community. She has been endorsed by The Register-Guard, the Oregon Nurses Association, and many others. Hoyle’s experience, leadership, commitment, and vision will serve us well. I encourage you to vote for Hoyle as state rep. Harriet Merrick Eugene There is much to lose in this election. We could lose many valuable seats in Washington, and DeFazio’s is one seat we should not lose. Be sure to vote and have your voice heard. DeFazio has represented us for 12 terms, and we should not let him down. He works well with both sides of the isle in Washington, D.C., in his down-to-earth, fairness-based approach. He has earned his place in Washington. Let’s re-elect DeFazio. He knows what he’s doing. Diane Devillers Eugene DOWN TO EARTH JUNK WRITING Now is not the time to change our choice for congressman in Washington. Peter DeFazio has worked for decades representing progressive Oregonians and has made real change. He has advocated for the middle class and for women. He has protected our Oregon wilderness as senior member of the House Committee on Natural Resources. He worked hard to get health care for 47 million more Americans. And let’s not forget he was against the bank bailout, and he stands in the fi re time after time for his ideas. DeFazio’s opponent Art Robinson is another right-wing Tea Party candidate who has old ideas. Did you know that 90 percent of Robinson’s campaign donations have come from outside of Oregon? He wants to extend the Bush tax cuts to the rich. Do you even know someone who makes more than $250,000? I don’t. While reading your Sept. 23 issue I came across Rick Levin’s “Squawk: Sports and Shit” column. Being a sports fan, I dove in to read about Oregon’s best sports team, the UO football team. Not even halfway through I found he was right in his title: This was SHIT. Next time you guys decide to write about sports maybe you should fi nd someone who knows what they are talking about. Instead of alluding to the moral implications of the game, maybe he should have read the stats. He would have found that the team that got a “Neanderthalic beating” proved to fare better against the Ducks than the Lobos of New Mexico, holding the Ducks to 668 yards of total offense, and pushing 140 yards out of the nationally ranked Duck defense. Nobody bitched about the 72-0 score of the Lobo game who I’m sure got paid to play the Ducks as well. Bottom-line is the Ducks played better than the Viks did. For those of you who say it was impossible for them to win, that’s what thousands of Texas fans thought before unranked UCLA came in and gave #7 ranked Texas a beating on their home fi eld. And did this guy just quote Jesus and compare Eugene’s beloved football team that regularly sells out it 50,000-plus seat stadium to the poor people in the Bible? Who does this guy think he is? Someone who writes this junk should not be allowed to write about the team that Oregon loves so much. Joshua Harris Creswell PAT’S THE RIGHT CHOICE It is easy to feel frustrated by our local economic situation. Searching the internet for unemployment fi gures, I found every number between 10 and 13.2 percent. I then questioned if those numbers refl ected those community members who have exhausted their benefi ts. You do not have to do a computer search to see the economic impact in our community. Simply take a walk in your neighborhood and count all the Realtor signs. Check the help wanted ads and notice how few family wage jobs are listed. Ask any employer how many responses they receive to help wanted listings. In a very short time we can use our votes to promote change. I plan to start on a local level by voting for Pat Riggs-Henson for Lane County commissioner. She is in touch with BY G.V. STATHAKIS Principle Above Politics The ideals of Wayne Morse remain relevant and timely A gain this year the mayor proclaimed Oct. 20 Wayne Morse Day in Eugene. Who is this man many claim to be among the greatest Oregonians ever? He represented Oregon as a U.S. senator for 24 years. The U.S. Courthouse bears his name. He was dean of the UO Law School for 14 years. The law school lobby is named for him. The entrance to the Lane County Courthouse is called the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza. It features a statue of the senator pointing at us with the Constitution under his arm. He was a lifetime farmer, and his 28-acre family farm is now a city park. This man of principle loved his family, farming, teaching and representing the people of Oregon. We celebrate his spirit of dedication to democracy; open, clean government; and civic discourse. When Morse moved to Eugene in 1930 he became the youngest law school dean in the nation. He died here in 1974 during a closely contested Senate race using the same motto he used when running for president of his college class: “Principle Above Politics.” Although his achievements are impressive, we celebrate his spirit today because his efforts to end militarism, racism and exploitation are ongoing. To understand the spirit of Wayne Morse is to understand the spirit of democracy 2,500 years ago. The Greeks were the fi rst to believe that humans were capable of 6 OCTOBER 21, 2010 EUGENE WEEKLY governing themselves. Their celebration of humanity needed no gods, warlords or kings. The Greeks put into practice the belief that humankind is born with a sense of justice and that people can rule themselves. Morse, like the Greeks, trusted in the people. He once said, “I have complete faith in the American people to do the right thing if given all the facts. My charge is that the government isn’t giving the people all the facts.” Open, honest government was a key Morse principle. Another was citizen involvement and civic discourse, bringing to mind another Greek word idoites (our word “idiot” today), which originally meant those citizens who took no part in public affairs. We celebrate his spirit by acknowledging efforts of citizenship locally and globally. Many citizens stand on his shoulders but have never heard his name. Today his spirit is manifested by many involved in grassroots education. He believed ordinary citizens can make extraordinary differences in our society. The spirit of democracy assumes altruistic efforts for the common good. In the spirit of Morse’s commitment to farmers and sustainable agriculture in Oregon, the Wayne Morse Now award honors Dan Armstrong for his grassroots advocacy for local farmers and to keep Oregon agriculture at the center of our civic discourse. Armstrong promotes a vision for the Willamette Valley based on a re-localized and reinvigorated agricultural economy. He helps coordinate local food advocates to make this vision a reality. His involvement with the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project and the Lane County Fairgrounds Repair Project uses civic discourse to educate citizens on food security and the necessity of rebuilding our local food system. His website is www.mudcitypress.com How would Morse today evaluate the progress of our democracy? Militarism at home and abroad, racism and poverty have not abated; nor has secrecy in government. The gap between the rich and poor grows, the level of civic discourse is not the “marketplace of ideas” he cherished. On the other hand the many altruistic citizens working for the common good carry his spirit even though they may have never heard his name. To those people we send our encouragement and appreciation. Democracy implies citizenship. Bottom-up change implies local activism. Local talent and ideas are fi ne- tuned in the crucible of discourse, Wayne Morse and the Greeks valued giving without self-interest. To celebrate democracy is to celebrate humanity and this man. G.V. Stathakis is chair of the Wayne Morse Youth Program based in Eugene. The program can be contacted at morsenow@efn.org WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
