Eugene weekly., December 29, 2011, Page 11, Image 11

slant
• While Occupy Eugene might have lost its home for the holidays, it
gave us the gift of hope. OE’s efforts brought the issue of homelessness
in Lane County into the headlines where it belongs. It showed Eugene
that Ph.D.s, street kids and activists could work together to create
change and that the general population has had enough of corporate
greed and letting banks and corporations control politics. And it showed
us that the Eugene cops can handle a mass protest and occupation
without breaking out the Tasers and the pepper spray. Eugene had one
of the nation’s longest Occupations by our count, and we’re looking
forward to seeing where Occupy Eugene will go next with its cause. How
about occupying a Lane County commission seat or getting an OE
volunteer on a city or county advisory committee? A protest march here,
a vote on a key issue there, let’s Occupy everywhere.
• Two women to work for in 2012: Suzanne Bonamici is the Democratic
candidate for David Wu’s lost seat in the First Congressional District in
the Portland area. She spent many years in Eugene earning degrees
from LCC, UO and the UO law school before moving on to Lane County
Legal Aid Services. We see her as a strong statewide candidate in the
years ahead. Our delegation praises her gutsy work in the Oregon
Senate. Bonamici should win her way to D.C. in the late January election.
The other super female candidate is Elizabeth Warren, of course, going
for the Kennedy Senate seat in Massachusetts, temporarily stolen by
Republican Scott Brown. You’ve probably already picked up her stirring
advocacy of the middle class on the internet (see http://wkly.ws/15e).
Karl Rove has seen the viral videos and he’ll be throwing his million-
dollar lies against her until Nov. 2012. We bet on Warren.
Continuing Education
Registration is happening now!
Classes start throughout the term.
• Prepare For A New Career
• Enhance Your Skills
• Pursue Your Passion
Register by calling 541-463-590 or in person at 1059 Willamette St. Eugene OR 97401
or on myLane at lanecc.edu • More information at: lanecc.edu/ce
• If you listen to Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers on NPR you will
hear one of the Magliozzi brothers say at the end, “Well, it’s happened
again. You’ve wasted another perfectly good hour of your life listening to
Car Talk.” As 2011 wraps up we hope none of us have wasted a perfectly
good year without accomplishing something of significance. Looking
around, we’re seeing a higher level of awareness of political issues, but
where’s the action that usually follows awareness? There is much work
to be done, as evidenced by the lowly 43 percent turnout of Democrats
in the special primary election that was held for David Wu’s empty
congressional seat.
One good way to crank up your activism as the year comes to an
end is to take advantage of Oregon’s political tax credit program to
support qualified political parties, causes, organizations or candidates.
As an individual you can give $50 (a married couple can give $100) and
receive the full amount back on your taxes for 2011. If you owe state
income taxes, you can subtract that amount from what you owe; and if
the state owes you a refund, they will add that amount to your refund
check. Make sure your donation happens before midnight Dec. 31. Find
rules at oregontaxcredit.com Oregon also has a cultural tax credit
program with different rules. See www.culturaltrust.org
D ONALD D EXTER J R DMD LLC
DENTISTRY
• We were sorry to hear that Portland’s Just Out LGBT newspaper has
shut down this week after years of serving not only Portland but the
greater Oregon area for 28 years. The groundbreaking free newspaper
was considered the most influential print publication on LGBT politics,
arts and other issues in the region, but it was not able to survive the
crash in advertising revenues over the past three years. Will someone
pick up the baton? As we’ve discovered, it is possible for print to survive
in this economy.
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
"The first wealth
is health."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Invest in your health, the returns are abundant.
2233 W ILLAMETTE S T , B LDG B • 541-485-6644
w w w. d r d e x t e r. c o m
WAR DEAD
In Afghanistan
• 1,847 U.S. troops killed*
(1,846)
• 15,138 U.S. troops wounded in action
(15,090)
• 981 U.S. contractors killed
(981)
• $486.1 billion cost of war
($486 billion)
• $143.5 million cost
to Eugene taxpayers
($143.5 million)
In Iraq
The war officially ended in December 2011 with a total of 4,421 U.S.
troops killed, 31,921 wounded in action and undisclosed hundreds of
U.S. military suicides. But U.S. contractors are assuming a larger role,
high levels of U.S. spending continue, and the body count from civil
unrest grows.
• 1,554 U.S. contractors killed (1,554)
• 114,042 to 1.2 million civilians
killed* (113,770)
• $800 billion cost of war
($800 billion)
• $236.1 million cost to Eugene tax-
payers ($236.1 million)
Through Dec. 26, 2011; sources: icasualties.org; defense.gov, U.S. Dept. of Labor
* highest estimate; source: iraqbodycount.org; based on confirmed media reports; other groups calculate Iraqi
civilian deaths as high as 655,000 (Lancet survey, 2006) to 1.2 million (Opinion Research Business survey, 2008)
LIGHTEN UP
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$8.99 all you can eat.
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-Eugene Weekly Readers
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No joke: Have a happy 2012!
BY R A FA E L A L DAV E
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
Sunday Dinner
Buffet Special
$12.99 all you can eat
(children’s prices vary)
Student Lunch
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$5.99 (to go only)
-Register Guard Readers 2010
Catering available • Full menu available to go • Delivery through Pony Express
2495 Hilyard St. • Eugene, OR 97405 • ph & fax (541) 485-9698 • ph only (541) 485-9560
EUGENE WEEKLY DECEMBER 29, 2011 11