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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2010)
letters TO THE EDITOR efforts to protect clean water, provide good jobs and preserve Oregon’s special places. Donna Riddle Eugene IGNORANT BUNCH So while Sens. Merkley and Wyden, with the help of John Kitzhaber, propose sensible plans to ensure health care for all Oregonians, Chris Dudley suggests we should have athletes educate children and parents on the importance of exercise and healthy diets. Maybe he can hire LaMichael James to head up his domestic violence team and Plaxico Burris to educate kids on gun safety. He could ask Jeremiah Masoli to come back and head up an anti-theft task force. This shows the ignorance of the current Tea Party bunch. Dudley also suggests tax cuts for business will bring jobs. OK, tie tax cuts to jobs. For each job created, give the business a tax cut that is tied to the wage level of that job. If a business ships a job to India, raise their taxes. Dudley and crazies like Art Robinson have about as much chance of really bringing jobs to Oregon and Dudley did bringing an NBA title: none. Christopher Klein Cottage Grove CHANGE THE RULES As a new UO skateboarding student and seeing the masses of other skaters fl ying around campus, I was curious about the rules and regulations of the city’s skateboarding laws. Initially, I assumed that skaters were free to roam anywhere with their boards as long as they are not defacing school property. However, after reading this article (News Briefs, 9/9, and Slant, 9/16), I am truly surprised about the unfairness and unclearness in the rules. In my short time I have spent on campus, my skateboard was always with me. I have yet to receive a warning but would be just as upset as Tyee Kyvelos if they threatened to take my board. I believe a skateboard to be pretty similar to a bike as they both have wheels, a driver and ways to stop. Skateboarders should be allowed to ride in bike paths. The sidewalks around Eugene are not nearly smooth enough to skate anyway. Giant cracks and uneven concrete on the sidewalk are the reasons for the scrapes all over my arms after my wheels locked on a ridiculous gap between cement slabs. The police need to understand that sidewalks need to be left for walking pedestrians only and skating in the street is the same as, if not safer than, riding a bike. Unless the city is willing to repave the sidewalks, fund a separate skateboard path or change the rules, skateboarders around town will continue to put themselves at risk by breaking the law. Marshall Gustafson Eugene WORDS SAVE LIVES I have long felt that Dan Savage saves lives. I recently found out he and his husband, Terry, started the “It Gets Better” site on YouTube. I know this will save lives, so thank you for carrying “Savage Love.” Sue Theolass Eugene ART OBFUSCATIONS I am growing a little concerned about Dr. Art Robinson’s misrepresentations. I can’t help but wonder: If we the people elect this guy, what else will he gloss over or obfuscate? As a science student, I am concerned that he represents the research that he did in the early 1970’s as “recent.” In fact, the research journal he cites changed its name more than four years ago. I plan to go read his papers at the UO science library to see if they are worthwhile, but the fact is that they are nearly as old as I am. In the game of biochemical science his fi ndings are ancient, and anything dated post-2000 is self-published, which means that it is not peer-reviewed. I also have to wonder why, if he was such a valuable associate of UC San Diego and continues to do research independently, he is not listed as an emeritus professor of theirs? In addition, he claims that multi- culturalism is a creation of a socialist government (ours) and cites Ebonics as an example of ways in which his major competitor for students, the public school system, is messing up. Two things wrong with this: Eugene defi nitely does not need to be represented in Congress by a racist in denial, and the Ebonics debate is 14 years old. Think I’m making this up? Do your own research. It’s all there on Robinson’s own website. Ariana White Eugene GIVE NEEDLES VALUE I fi rst want to commend Jim Evangelista (letters, 9/16) for his approach to his concerns about discarded needles/syringes in Scobert Park. We would be a far more informed and accepting community if more people were willing to openly ask questions and seek information as he was when confronted with a disturbing issue like used needles in a place that’s supposed to be safe. Many cities have done studies to see if the incidence of discarded needles changes appreciably when they start needle exchange programs. The logic is that if needles are now worth something for exchange, then they will be more likely to be turned in for a new one rather than left in a park. Every study I have seen says that indeed these cities fi nd fewer needles lying around when these programs exist. There is actually quite a bit of research showing that our initial concerns about needle exchange are not borne out by research — in fact, most studies show a very positive impact in the communities where needle exchanges operate. I encourage you to check out http://wkly. ws/s5 as a good source of evidence-based information. Heidi Schultz Eugene KITZHABER FOR GOV Dr. John Kitzhaber is a sincere, honest, hardworking and intelligent man who knows how to be a governor. Chris Dudley is an insincere, dishonest, stupid man who has never held an honest job in his life and doesn’t know how to do anything, except pretend to play basketball. If you vote for a Republican such as Dudley, you are voting for people who hold up getting more money than anyone else as the greatest good and who judge the poor as subhuman because they lack money. This is the party that portrays themselves as good Christian Americans and portrays everyone else as anti- American and anti-Christian. They have persuaded half of Americans that wealth is a sign of God’s favor. That it might really be a sign of God’s scorn is beyond their comprehension. The Oregon Republican Party’s biggest donor is Loren Parks, a man who calls himself a sexual hypnotherapist because he allegedly hypnotizes women and then has sex with them [see Common Cause story at http://wkly.ws/un]. I guess this is what Republicans refer to as “a good Christian man.” The criminal class supports Dudley. He will make them even richer than they are now, smothering them in ill-gotten riches because they are his friends. The Republican Party is a criminal conspiracy against America. A vote for a Republican is a vote for mass suicide. Your choice is clear. Vote for John Kitzhaber, a physician who cares about our health and welfare, and wants to serve Oregonians. Or vote for Chris Dudley, a sneering fraud who can’t wait to enrich himself and his friends at our expense. Ann Tattersall Eugene THE RUCKUS The year was 1995. Our football team was undefeated. As in previous football seasons on game days and the night before, more than 100,000 people would amass like a mob outside the stadium and around campus, making a general ruckus. There was even widespread underage drinking going on everywhere. Not a policeman or police car in sight to deal with the pandemonium! The place was State College, and Penn State University was undefeated. And of course later that year when Oregon and PSU met at the Rose Bowl, PSU won. The moral of the story is that Oregon’s football program is inferior to Penn State. The second moral of the story is that PSU is totally more chill than the UO. State College and Eugene are roughly the same size, population-wise. However, I don’t think the police in State College even have riot gear. I know they don’t have an armored vehicle. The third moral to my story is that this place needs get a grip on reality and not respond to over-exuberant student gatherings with police in riot gear and armored vehicles because I think that just makes the situation worse. We still have a constitutional right to freedom of assembly — even the freshmen. It is also not clear to me whether the property destruction occurred before or after the jackboots arrived. I would like more info. I could be wrong on that. Either way, the UO will never beat Penn State. Jack Schaeffer Eugene The Shipment is Until Oct. 31st Save 20% on milk, dark, white and extra-dark chocolates for our once-a-year Bulk Chocolate Sale! PLUS 4 new easy-to- use, free recipes! Euphoria aprons and T- shirts on sale too, while they last... OAKWAY CENTER Ƈ VALLEY RIVER CENTER 17TH AND WILLAMETTE Ƈ STEWART AND BERTELSEN Cocoa beans, the tasty fruit, the more you eat, the more you, er, want more. 8 OCTOBER 21, 2010 EUGENE WEEKLY WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
