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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2011)
letters TO THE EDITOR BYPASS THE OGRES I’ve been doing some reading about Occupy Wall Street and the confusion about “What do they want?” As the lead imagineer for the Eugene City of Peace, I can tell you that ending poverty, homelessness, and battlefi eld trauma are high on the local list of priorities. The rapid growth of numbers in the Occupy movement indicates the degree of frustration and anger felt among us all. Although it seems that there will be blaming and demanding, the conversation is also about the need to localize economic and political power. The general assembly method of decision-making the occupiers are using is an opportunity to create a new culture of connection. Sustainable change will then come from formation of teams to make an “end run” around the rich and powerful ogres of the current system, to not oppose them but rise above them. I believe this movement will empower individuals to participate in proactive politics, affi nity groups, social entrepreneurship or nonprofi t activism; and the service performed for the sake of the common good will create an even larger network of friends. It will make occupation understandable to the mainstream, attractive, fun, simple, and productive of measurable results. After all, as Jane Barry has said, what’s the point of the revolution if we can’t dance? David Hazen Eugene ON THE NEW KLCC Make no mistake, my music-loving brothers and sisters, the KLCC we have grown to cherish is — well, they are zipping up the body bag as you read this. We are in danger of losing something increasingly rare and truly precious: the fi nest public radio station for music lovers on planet Earth! Really, this station had no equal. Not even close. Then the station was taken over by aliens who thought it should sound more … commercial, right about the time Don Hines took over. The next thing we knew, Tom Krumm and Liz Wise were having to say, “Hey! You’re listening to Fresh Tracks on KLCC” after every other song, all day long, as if we were all going senile and had to be reminded a couple of hundred times a day what station and program we were listening to. Then Earth Songs mysteriously disappeared. Then, out of the blue, less jazz. And then (hey!) the incredibly stupid Wait Wait. Don’t Tell Me! began airing twice per week, and so on. And once Fresh Tracks became too annoying to listen to seriously anymore, they just killed it and replaced it with talk, and then more talk. As hard as it is for me to imagine Downtown Deb saying, “Hey! You’re listening to Dead Air on KLCC” after every other song, or Cina Kroft having to say, “Hey! Welcome to the Heartwood Hotel on KLCC” every few minutes, you might want to at least entertain the idea that this is the direction KLCC seems to be heading. Save our station, or let it sink into oblivion. And don’t take the passive route. Sending emails or leaving a message on the 4 OCTOBER 27, 2011 EUGENE WEEKLY Dozens of lawn signs had sprouted overnight like poison autumn mushrooms. The signs say “Wrong Project, Wrong Place.” What they mean is “Peasants Keep Out!” I’m not religious but even I know Jesus will judge us by how we treat the least of his brethren. Ramona McCall Eugene ECONOMIC RIGHTS alien’s voice mail does no good.The only way to save the KLCC we so dearly love is to call during pledge week and tell them that you will never support commercial- sounding radio, and either get back to the way things used to be, when music really mattered, or you won’t send them a dime. That might work. David Kennedy Florence REFORM TAKES MONEY All the reform in the world isn’t going to solve the basic problem of our state’s schools (cover story, 10/20). They have to have more money. It won’t come from real estate taxes and it won’t come from income tax. We’ve maxed out on those sources, either fi nancially or politically. We have an opportunity in this state to solve the problem with a sales tax that is dedicated only to education. It can solve education problems and other money matters in the state. Yes, it is a regressive tax and it is hard on the poor. So is an inadequate education. We will never solve the poverty problem as long as our education problem is lacking in money. Once there is money, we can do all sorts of reform in education. Talk to me about it. bcassidy@efn.org Bob Cassidy Eugene LAMBE NEEDS TO GO As a former member and president of the Emerald People’s Utility District Board of Directors between 1981 and 1994, I continue to be disappointed as to what has happened in the last 10 years. The latest was pointed out in Claire Miller’s letter Sept. 10 in The Register-Guard regarding our manager Frank Lambe’s disregard for public meetings laws. Our board President Patti Chappel had an ethics violation fi led against her. The Ethics Commission could not fi nd Chappel in violation due to a lack of board minutes; however, they indicated that open meetings laws had been violated. Later Miller’s letter indicates that she was able to get a copy of some recorded board minutes where Lambe said, “The problem is we didn’t get rid of them (the recordings) soon enough.” This is reminding me of the Nixon tapes, which might have lead to his impeachment. What else is being hidden? We the people have a need to know what is happening with our vital electrical power resource. It is basically a monopoly and what they charge we must pay. The board was elected to watch out after our best interests, and to hire a general manager who will serve us. If in doubt, the majority of the board has the power to change the management. I believe the time is way past due. Act now before more irreparable damage is done! Contact your board director and request that they demand the resignation of the general manager. Ron Davis Cottage Grove SPEEDING DUCKS Speed is a prime commodity for Ducks football backs this fall. Trouble is, some don’t seen to know how to harness it for use on the gridiron instead of the highway. An all-American defensive back was arrested for driving 118 mph. Now a runningback who is counted on to fi ll in for the injured LaMichael James is arrested for driving 85 mph. In both cases, the arrests revealed the players turn out to be quite slow in a related area. Neither had paid fi nes for a series of previous traffi c arrests. In the fi rst case, the player was suspended from playing in one game, the opener — a small price for a crime that could have endangered lives of any of us who might have been on the roadway at the same time. If the second does not get a suspension, the reason will be clear. The Ducks feel they cannot afford to be without him when he is needed to play in place of James. The public needs protection from such dangerous, habitual behavior. High-speed arrests that climaxed the traffi c law- breaking for both should have resulted in both players being suspended for the season. It is clear that arbitrariness is what governs Oregon football’s meaningless sense of justice and punishment. George Beres Eugene NO PEASANTS The other day I was riding my bicycle through my northeast Eugene neighborhood as I often do. I participated in the Occupy Eugene march recently and with my own eyes could clearly see that people from every walk of life make up the 99 percent. These patriotic citizens want what one of our greatest presidents wanted. Franklin Roosevelt felt that a second “economic” bill of rights was necessary to meet the needs of a rapidly growing nation and “to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.” He believed that freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence and stated that “Necessitous men are not free men. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” Most of these rights are those which the 99 percent are asking for all our citizens, such as the right to: a useful and remunerative job; earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation; adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health; adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident and unemployment; a good education; and the right of every family to a decent home. So for those who seek to dismiss these occupiers, marchers and protesters, think about what Roosevelt said: “All of these rights spell security. America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens. For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.” Christopher Michaels Eugene REVERSE GROWTH Eugene’s City Council should vote to maintain the existing urban growth boundary and to not spend heavily on freeways, instead focusing on making the city more bikeable and walkable. The goal of reducing fossil fuel use 50 percent by 2030 will achieve itself. The U.S. peaked in oil extraction in 1970, natural gas in 1973, and producible energy from coal in 1998. According to the IEA, world oil production peaked in 2006, and oil use is now down 10 percent in OECD nations. According to the Export Land Model, our oil imports will be cut off by 2020. “Shale gas” is a chimera; its EROEI (energy returned on energy invested) and fl ow rate are lower than tar sands. According to David Huges, one of Canada’s top geologists, “there may be 100 years of methane, but it may take 800 years to produce.” We’ll be lucky if we’re using half the fossil fuels in 2030. “Renewables” are an absolute economic and engineering disaster. Even hydro, which provides Eugene with 70 percent of its electricity, is declining due to global warming and silt. According to a new MIT study on the future of nuclear power after WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
