NEWS BRIEFS
father.” He adds, “Art Robinson’s long-held belief that we
should abolish public education, his support for additional tax
cuts for millionaires and billionaires and his recent statement
that the most important issue in the upcoming election is not
jobs, but the ‘right-to-life’ issue, are not traditional Democratic
issues.”
The younger Robinson had suggested they debate on the
OSU or UO campuses and as part of the same response,
DeFazio asked that both Robinsons attend, pointing out that
the campaigns share the same campaign manager and address,
and both Robinsons share fundraising and political views.
These points were lost on the 24-year-old Robinson. “Your
suggestion that my father, Art Robinson, participate in a
Democratic primary debate is highly unusual,” he wrote in a
March 15 letter back to DeFazio.
DeFazio also asked the debates be restricted to registered
Democrats — those who can actually vote in the primary.
DeFazio announced on April 3 that Matthew Robinson has
declined to debate him because of the limitation.
Robinson maintains that he would not drop out if for some
reason he did in fact defeat DeFazio in the Democratic
primary. “It wouldn’t really be honest to let the Democrats
elect me and then step aside,” he says. He adds that he and his
father would separately run general election campaigns and
let the voters decide in the end.
— Ted Shorack
HUMAN NEEDS VS.
WAR, WALL STREET
A coalition of peace, justice and labor activists are
organizing a series of actions on Tax Day April 17
demanding that Congress redirect war dollars and
increase taxes on the top 1 percent to fund education, job
creation, universal health care and other vital services.
At 11 am Tuesday, people at Eugene’s downtown post
office at 5th and Willamette will be invited to participate
in a “penny poll.” Participants will be given 10 pennies to
put in jars representing a six-category breakdown of the
federal budget.
At noon at the post office will be a rally with speakers
and music. War tax resisters who object to more half of
their federal taxes going to the military will be redirecting
these “war” taxes to local organizations.
At 1 pm will be a procession from the post office to the
new U.S. Courthouse with stops along the way at a few big
banks. Congressional staff from the offices of Sens.
Merkley, Wyden and Rep. DeFazio will be asked to come
speak to the group and outline what they’re doing to fund
human needs and not war and Wall Street.
At 5 pm, SEIU has organized a Stand Up For Tax
Fairness rally outside the main post office, 3148 Gateway,
in Springfield.
For more information Contact: Michael Carrigan of
CALC at 844-4677 or email calcpeace@efn.org
ACTIVIST ALERT
• North county commissioner candidates Rob Handy,
Pat Farr and Nadia Sindi will be speaking in a special City
Club candidates forum at 7 pm Thursday, April 12, at Trinity
United Methodist Church, 440 Maxwell Road. City Club will
resume its regular Friday meetings with Rep. Peter DeFazio
talking about “Congress, Timber and Transportation” Friday,
April 13. See www.cityclubofeugene.org
• Authors and photographers Paul Dix and Pam
Fitzpatrick are back in Eugene after an East Coast tour with
their acclaimed bilingual book Nicaragua: Surviving the Legacy
of U.S. Policy. They will be talking about their book and their
return trips to Nicaragua from 3 to 5 pm Friday, April 13, at
J-Tea on Friendly Street. Journalist Bill Moyers says he was
“deeply touched” by the book. “You have done the people who
suffered and died a profound service.”
• The 18th annual Holistic Options for Planet Earth
Sustainability (HOPES) conference at UO will bring in national
design experts for free workshops and discussions April 13-14.
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Topics will include worm composting, permaculture, earthen
finishes, sustainability and urban gardening. See schedule of
keynote speakers and more info at pages.uoregon.edu/hopes
• Peace activists from around the Northwest, including a
contingency of vets from Lane County, are gathering from
noon to 5 pm Sunday, April 15, at Jon Dam Plaza in Richland,
Wash., for a Hanford rally. The anti-nuclear action is looking
at issues of clean-up of what Occupy Portland calls “the most
contaminated site in North America.” Helen Caldicot is one of
the keynoters. The local Squadron13 vets bus is going up if
they can get more donations to cover gas. Email gs@
squadron13.com or call 729-7760. Info on the action can be
found at hanfordrally.wordpress.com
• Dalit Baum, Ph.D., will be speaking on “Occupy the
Occupation!” at 7 pm Monday, April 16, at the Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship, 2945 NW Circle Blvd., in Corvallis; and
Tuesday, April 17, at UO’s Willamette Hall 100. She is an Israeli
feminist and anti-occupation activist and co-founder of Who
Profits from the Occupation (whoprofits.org) in the Coalition
of Women for Peace, researching corporate complicity in
Israel’s occupation of Palestine. The Eugene talk is sponsored
by Students for Palestinian Liberation, and the Al-Nakba
Awareness Project.
• Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network
Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, will speak at 7 pm
Tuesday, April 17, at Ninkasi Brewery, 272 Van Buren St. He will
also speak in Corvallis at 5:30 pm Wednesday, April 18, at
OSU’s new Linus Pauling Science Center, Room 125. The events
are free and open to the public. See www.space4peace.org for
tour updates.
• Max Rameau, director of Take Back the Land, a national
movement “liberating” vacant government land and foreclosed
homes by moving homeless families into them, will be in
Eugene for several events, sponsored by Reality Kitchen,
Occupy Eugene, CLDC, Lane Peace Symposium, and A
Community Together (ACT). At 6:30 pm Wednesday, April 18,
Rameau will be guest trainer at Occupation Education series at
Occupy Eugene V, 1274 W. 7th. Free, donations welcome. He
will speak on “Community Control of Land and Human Rights”
at 7:30 pm Thursday, April 19, at a fundraiser for Reality
Kitchen, 245 Van Buren, Eugene. $10 advance, $12 at the door
(tickets at realitykitchen.org). This talk will be recorded by
David Barsamian for Alternative Radio. Barsamian will be in
town that week for several appearances, including City Club
April 20.
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10 APRIL 12, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
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