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
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8 OCTOBER 21, 2010 EUGENE WEEKLY
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