letters
LOCAL • FRESH
FAST!
TO THE EDITOR
columnist Dan Savage’s obscene defi nition
of “Santorum,” but without crediting the
source SpreadingSantorum.com or its
inspiration, the former Republican U.S.
Sen. Rick Santorum who is on record
supporting laws against gay anal sex that
were declared unconstitutional by the U.S.
Supreme Court in 2003.
Conversely, the mainstream press will
only prudishly mention Santorum’s “Google
problem” if he decides to run for president.
Fortunately, Dan Savage’s “Mark
Twain” style of biting political satire is
still protected as free speech under the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
by multiple U.S. Supreme Court rulings
that bar politicians and public fi gures from
suing for defamation, libel or slander.
Thomas Kraemer
Corvallis
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our understanding is that
spreadingsantorum.com was a project of Savage Love.
Savage had a contest to rename something kinky for
Santorum, and all the finalists are listed in his column
at http://wkly.ws/123
CAN’T FOOL ME
After years of having my letters
substantially edited by liberal R-G editors,
I’m changing my venue to EW where free
speech is honored.
An old proverb declares that “A fool and
his money are soon parted.” Soon enough,
Eugene residents will be asked to part with
some more of their money by voting on a
so-called “temporary” city income tax for
the Eugene School District. How ironic
that on the very same ballot is a separate
measure to renew an existing “temporary”
tax. Somebody needs to call Ripley’s
Believe it or Not.
Looking at my Lane County property
tax statement, nearly 40 percent of my tax
bill is already going to the Eugene School
District, including two “temporary” taxes
known as Bond I and Bond II. One is set to
retire soon, but only a fool believes that any
tax is “temporary.” In fact, Measure 20-183
seeks to renew that “temporary” tax, while
Measure 20-182 seeks to set in place yet
another “temporary” tax for the district.
The Eugene School District is playing
us for fools. Well, my momma didn’t raise
no fool, so I’ll be voting “no” on both tax
measures come May 17.
Don Richey
Eugene
MISDIRECTED ANGER
I went to the kick-off press conference
March 8 for the Strong Schools Eugene
campaign. As I walked up I saw 10 or so
people donning Americans for Prosperity
T-shirts and holding “No New Taxes” and
“Reform PERS” signs. AFP is funded
and backed by the Koch brothers, also
the fi nanciers of the Wisconsin debacle. It
seems to be their goal to blame our economic
woes on public workers, including teachers.
I wanted to remind them that our current
problems were created by Wall Street
bankers and the overall paradigm of neo-
liberal economics of the last three decades.
I don’t think they would have listened, so
I’m writing this letter.
We have experienced 30 years of failed
voodoo economics. The assumptions of
Reagonomics, that lowered tax rates on the
wealthy would lead to higher tax revenues,
were fl awed. Now, instead of growing tax
revenues, we have dwindling funds to pay
for our needed public services.
Many of us were swept away by Barack
Obama’s promises of change. But we were
deceived. Obama surrounded himself with
the very architects of our fi nancial demise.
We can’t look to the federal level for help.
If we are to combat the stranglehold that
corporations have on our government,
we will have to struggle at the local level
to build the institutions, safety nets, and
protections that give our children real
hope for a decent future.
I have two daughters, ages 7 and 5. When
I look at them, I fear for the future they
face. Will they have access to high quality
education through high school? Will Social
Security exist for them in their old age? Will
the environment be so trashed by corporate
malfeasance that a healthy existence won’t be
possible? I don’t know. What I do know is that
it is up to my generation to pass on a fi ghting
chance to live decent lives. I will do my part
by voting for the Strong Schools initiative.
Geoff Barrett
Eugene
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ALL IN THE FAMILY
Sometimes people have the cozy
thought that the small population of Oregon
is like a family. It has functioned like that in
the past. But it has been falling apart. First
we disowned crazy Cousin Jake. Then we
turned out crippled Aunt Betty. Eventually
huge numbers of the disabled Oregon fam-
ily were homeless and abandoned.
What causes families to fall apart? Ad-
dictions. Bad habits that are costly and have
nasty results. Oregon’s addiction is two-fold.
The oldest addiction is giving tax breaks to
the rich. The later addiction is no govern-
ment debt, no defi cit. Most real Americans
have debts. Oregon goes into debt by giving
away tax revenue and believing that new
taxes on the rich will cost everyone.
Well, this family, Oregon, has hit the
very bottom on this addiction. Now it
wants to “save” by throwing out whole
families and children. The governor’s sick
budget includes huge tax breaks to the rich
and destruction of most of the safety net
for children and families.
Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families (TANF) is the downscaled
miserly welfare offered to families with
children. It is paid for by a “block grant”
from the federal government. Budget
squeezers are planning to reduce the
amount of time a family can get assistance
from fi ve years to 18 months. This huge
cutback doesn’t stop there. No provision is
made for families who become homeless.
Oregon has shown no interest in helping
the thousands of disabled people who
are homeless and is cutting back the few
swamped services that now exist. Adding
thousands of Oregon families to the huge
derelict community of discarded people
is more than our community services and
faith organizations will be able to care for.
We need a citizen intervention. We have
to end the giveaways to the rich and the cuts
to the poor among us. End the tax breaks.
Fund our human services. Take care of our
family.
Jerry Smith
Eugene
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MOTHER’S DAY
IS MAY 8
EUGENE WEEKLY MAY 5, 2011 7