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
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