NEWS BRIEFS
Jimmy Radosknasko of Planned
Parenthood Southwestern Oregon said
that a major part of Planned Parenthood’s
mission is reducing the number of
unwanted pregnancies through family
planning, sex education, and access to
birth control. This would reduce the
demand for abortion.
Hymer also admitted that the amendment
would make it harder for a woman whose
health was compromised by her pregnancy
to get an abortion. He said that “when the
mother’s life is endangered, abortion would
still be allowed as a form of self-defense.”
He went on to say that “it’s important to
note though that self-defense requires the
defender to use the least force necessary.”
Radosnasko speculated the amendment,
if passed, could even criminalize
miscarriages as the grieving mother could
face a criminal inquiry into the death of her
fetus.
The effort in Oregon to get this
amendment on the ballot in 2012 is still in
its infancy. Oregon anti-choice activist
Kelly Le Claire has collected 1,500
signatures so far, according to the Oregon
page at personhoodusa.com. Le Claire is
making her third attempt at getting this
amendment on the Oregon ballot. She failed
in both 2007 and 2008. — Philip Shackleton
GOALS: TAX WALL
STREET, CHANGE
THE CONSTITUION
The goals of Occupy Wall Street are
getting some backing from Oregon’s elected
officials. Rep. Peter DeFazio has introduced
a bill that would reinstate a tax on Wall Street,
and Sen. Jeff Merkley is a cosponsor of a
constitutional amendment that seeks to undo
the ills of the Citizens United Supreme Court
decision that lets corporations donate
unlimited amounts of money to political
campaigns.
The Wall Street Trading and Speculators
Tax Act would place a small tax of 3 cents on
$100 in value on most non-consumer
financial trading including stocks, bonds and
other debts, except for when they are initially
issued. If a company were to receive a loan
from a financial institution, that transaction
would not be taxed. But, if the financial
institution traded the debt, then the trade
would be taxed.
In an interview last week, DeFazio said
his Wall Street tax is set low, so it would not
affect most transactions, but it would put a
curb on the high speed supercomputer trading
and tamp down some of the volatility
it has created. He said the computer trading is
“just gambling, sophisticated high-stakes
gambling.” DeFazio said he has heard that
there are some days when more than 70
percent of the market trading is done by
supercomputers
The Wall Street tax would raise $352
billion between January 2013 through 2021,
according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
DeFazio said there is precedent for this tax.
He said, “We had one from 1916 until 1966”
and added, “Congress had more guts in those
days.” The money, DeFazio said, was used to
rebuild the economy through things like the
Works Progress Administration, which
employed millions of Americans in building
bridges, roads, airports public buildings and
parks.
Merkley said that the constitutional
amendment he is cosponsoring would address
another concern that has preoccupied Wall
Street Occupiers. The proposed amendment,
announced on Nov. 1, would undo a 1976
Supreme Court ruling that said campaign
spending was the same as free speech and
undo the 2010 Citizens United vs. FEC ruling
that removed all limits on campaign spending
for special interests, corporations and labor
unions. Merkley said the Citizens United case
means that companies, including foreign
companies, can give unlimited sums secretly
in American campaigns. “That is the exact
opposite of what our country is about,” he
said.
While President Lincoln spoke of a
government by, for and of the people,
Merkley said, “The vast sums unleashed by
Citizens United and the secrecy involved
makes a government that’s by and for the
powerful.”
He said the Citizens United case has had
an enormous impact in two ways. First of all
it has impact in direct terms of the money
spent. Merkley said that if Exxon was to have
spent 3 percent of its net profits on the 2008
presidential election, it would have outspent
all other the parties engaged in the election.
He said that one 15 minute boardroom
discussion could have put more resources in
CONTINUED P.10
slant
• The Occupy movement continues to grow —
even little Reedsport is getting into the action,
and Mosier in the Columbia Gorge with a
population of about 400 now has an Occupation.
Occupy’s greatest gift is educating the public
about economic injustice. Education enables
change, and knowledge brings responsibility —
the ability to respond. For many years we and
others have been lamenting that the rich are
getting richer and the poor are getting poorer,
but now, thanks to the Occupiers, this abstract
concept has become visible and more real.
Economic disparity is right in front of us in the
faces of the people and the signs they carry.
Kudos to those in our community who are
organizing teach-ins and carrying the message to
family, friends, neighbors and whoever will listen.
on YouTube at http://wkly.ws/14q Where was the
projector? Zupan tells us no one could figure it
out, including a cop walking by. Folks are getting
mighty creative in this blossoming movement.
• A “Wall Street Ticker Tape” series of anti-
corporate messages was projected against the
wall of Wells Fargo Bank all evening during the
First Friday Art Walk Nov. 4. Video of the
messages, such as “Too Much Money in
Corporate Hands” and “Make Wall Street Pay,”
have been posted by Eugene activist David Zupan
• The flap over St. Vincent De Paul asking a
veteran to get written permission to hang his
U.S. flag in a common area in his federally
subsidized housing made headlines across the
country from Fox News to the Washington Post.
The mainstream media made it sound like an evil
landlord was cracking down on a defenseless
8 NOVEMBER 10, 2011
EUGENE WEEKLY
• Love Saturday Market but haven’t been for a
while? This Saturday, Nov. 12, rain or shine, is the
last market of the season. The indoor Holiday
Market starts the weekend of Nov. 19 with a mix
of Saturday Market folks and some other
vendors. Buying local gifts and other goods keeps
money circulating in our community. Plus,
Saturday Market and Holiday Market are great
places for people watching, food, live music and
reunions with old friends. Single folks might even
find love hiding among the tie-dye and
stoneware.
biz beat
We hear Dawn Baby is recovering
from a bad accident and is back
part-time at Dawn Baby Salon, 1355
Willamette, with daughter Amelia.
Dawn says on the salon’s Facebook
page that she’s had “a great fi rst
week back beautifying the masses.”
Dawn is also known locally for her
time on the air as a DJ at KWVA radio.
We wrote in this column Oct. 27
that Splinters Fine Woodworking
Group has moved to 191 E. Broadway
next to Zenon, but we’ve since heard
that Tim Boyden and Seth San
Felippo are running the gallery and
it is called Out On a Limb. Hours are
11 am to 6 pm Wednesday through
Sunday, or by appointment. Call 342-
5937.
Blair Boulevard Small Business
Neighborhood Renovation grants of
$3,000 went this year to Angelica
Salgado of MiTierra Taqueria; Shane
Tracey of Nib: A Modern Eatery; and
Kaila Knighten of Marco’s Salon & Wig
Gallery. UO student architects and
Wells Fargo employees are involved
in the improvements to the small
businesses.
Dates for the annual Eugene
Marathon and Expo have been set
for April 27-29. This growing event
attracted 8,500 runners last year
from 49 states and eight countries.
See www.eugenemarathon.com or
www.bazusports.com
LCC will get $1.7 million from a
three-year Department of Labor grant
for job training for unemployed and
underemployed workers and those
eligible for Trade Act Adjustment
benefi ts. The grant will support the
training of 350 students for jobs
in aviation, computer information
technology,
health
professions
and advanced technology careers,
starting next spring.
A little factoid from Travel Lane
County: Visitors to the Eugene,
Cascades and Coast region generated
$150.9 million in food and beverage-
related expenditures in 2010, making
it the leading category of visitor
spending. We haven’t heard how
much of that was for beer.
Send suggestions for Biz Beat items to editor@
eugeneweekly.com and please put “Biz Beat” in
the subject line.
veteran, but a closer look at the facts shows St.
Vinnie’s was simply asking the resident to follow
the rules. In the end, the vet got permission to
display his flag on holidays and all ended well.
But lost in the furor over the flag has been all
the good work that St. Vincent De Paul does for
vets and low-income families. We’d hate to see
that good work hurt by all this. Want to support a
vet? Donate to St. Vinnie’s, www.svdp.us
• We admit to being clueless about the
significance of 11/11/11, but hey, any reason to
celebrate oneness is welcome. We understand
some Eugene folks went to Machu Picchu on
10/10/10 and will be going again 11/11/11 and
12/12/12, but maybe not 13/13/13. For those less
obsessed, a gathering is planned atop Skinner
Butte from 10:30 to 11:11 Friday morning, followed
by a comm unity event with Sufi dancing from 7:11 to
11:11 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 40th
and Donald. See StarGateEugene.com for deets.
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes
compiled by the EW staff. Heard any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at
484-0519, editor@eugeneweekly.com
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